draft designs for album cover

for this design i wanted to fill the front cover and try minimise empty spaces by making the buildings stretch across, this gave a more full and 'plenty' look. the reason for the censored sign across my mouth is because it is common for rap artists to feel 'silenced' and hushed down due to the stereotype of their anti social relationship with general society,police and the government.

draft designs or album cover

2nd draft

first draft

for my album cover i am aiming for only 2 colours that contrast and stand out when combined, this will give me a minimal and simple look which is what im looking to have. i also want to include an element seen in the video and relating to the genre, i.e the broad water farm estate i have put on the album cover, this may give a slight hint to what the songs in the album are about. for the writing i want to use a graffiti style font in bold capital letters, the reason for this is because graffiti is normally seen on street walls and rap/grime/hip-hop emerged from urban streets where graffiti is commonly seen.

album cover research- hip-hop/ grime

aspect of research,ancillary work,photoshop tutorial lesson.

final product

whilst editing, shown in screenshot are different layers

today we had to show our photoshop skills in lesson,we first watched a tutorial given to us by a media technician and then put our skills to the test by creating a digipak/album cover on a previously made layout. Because i already had previous experience working with photoshop and designing with photoshop i found this task quite simple, i already knew my taste in designs (simple but effective) so i had already planned what i was going to do next. i wanted to use colours that did not complement each other but actually clash and stand out from one another(causing the prominent/striking effect) so i combined a pure faded shade of grey with a rich full vivid colour,red, my choice was quite influenced by the artist kanye west's album cover of 808's and heartbreaks(which is in the same genre as my choice of music video and this test digipak) 

808's and heartbreaks album:Kanye west

by analysing many other digipaks i quickly came to the conclusion that convential digipaks often have the artists face at the front of the album cover (the face most of the time is a close up of the artist), and the artists name in big bold font at the top, with the album name in smaller font usually at the bottom of the cover. So going by this convention i chose to put a close up of my chosen artists face at the front of the cover (travis scott) and the artists name in bold large font above the image, the artists first letter of his name "t" is replaced with a cross associated with the religion christianity, not only did i choose to use this because of the cross looking like a T but because the artist has a few songs which are influenced by christianity, god and prayer, such as the first song on his album "days before the rodeo" "PRAYER", i found this quite effective and it showed some synergy and consistency on a deeper level.

for the back of the album cover i wanted to keep it simple, so i had the executuive producers name (giving him credit) and left the corporation (label) at the bottom with the artists website alongside it ( a space in between both) and the barcode on the bottom right hand side. overall i went for a uniform,symmetrical and consistent look which gave me what i intended to end up with, a simple but effective digipak.

(aspect of research) analysing the print work of 3 students

analysing group 28

analysing group 19

Analysis of the print work of 3 students

introduction to ancillary work-blog task 1

in the few weeks leading to january i will be individually producing a digipak for the album that my music video comes from and an advertisement for the release of it, to do this i will first conduct my research into other rap albums and analyse their album covers, i will then have a photo-shoot for my digipak and then go into the production of it.

Introduction to ancillary work

From now to sometime in January, I will be producing a digipak for my groups album along with a magazine advertisement to go along with it. I will research other digipaks and advertisements from the rap genre to become familiar with the conventions that I should use for my own.

Deadline Day Vlog

We are currently adding the finishing touches to our music video on deadline day by colour correcting and changing the widescreen filters for all of our shots.

Filming our last verse for ace cold and last chorus for DJ zed in Angel Islington

On Tuesday we filmed Ace Cold's last verse and DJ Zed's last chorus in areas close to our college in Angel Islington. We wanted to include shots with lots of movement in them as we thought that we were lacking in that area prior to filming. We also used the environment to our advantage when filming as we saw infastructure that we could interact with to make our video more unique. Some examoles include the shot where Ace Cold is sitting on a gate and the low angle shot of DJ Zed singing on a balcony.                                

 

 

Skills development

In terms of pre production, I have developed my skills in various ways. One way I done this was by learning how to use Timetoast in order to make our group's production schedule. I also learned how to use social media such as Twitter and Instagram, which I had no experience of using prior to A2.

My developed production skills include learning how to use the following: widescreen filter, colour correction and transitions. I learnt to use all of these features by watching the others in my group use them frequently and I understand their effects on video by observing the shots that we used them in.

Rough cut 2 feedback

Our rough cut shows that we have closely followed Goodwin's theory. One way that we done this was by using many shots where the performer breaks the fourth wall, which we used to help the viewer connect with the lyrics of our song. Our video also features amplification, which empasises our songs lyrics to the audience. An example of this is the shots of Blazer in a cage which combines with the lyirics to suggest that he is trapped. In addition to this, the use of this shot also relates to Goodwin's theory as it is repeated throughout the verse, thus making his confinement a recurring theme.

We have also implementes various aspects of Vernallis' theory into our video. An example of this is the special effects that we include such as: colour correction, transitions and slow motion which make our video more appealing visually. In addition to this, we have even more jump cuts when compared to our first rough cut to ensure that there is a wide varitaion of shots and maintain a high tempo.

Colour correction blog

We are currently in the process of altering the colours that we use in each shot to get a specific effect to go with the images that we show. For example, in the shots that we show grass and trees in, we have made the colour brighter to make them more vivid, thus having the effect of bringing the plants to life.

Instagram update

Since our last update, we decided to look through some of the followers of our main artist, Maverick Sabre, and follow them ourselves. This allows some of his target audience to notice us so we can get an idea of how successfully we have branded our project. In our research, we found that the majority of his followers were females, which helps us to get a better idea of the audience's demographic. After we followed them, 3 of them began following us back, which suggests that we were somewhat successful in our branding. One of them even enquired to see where we were based, but we told her that it was only for our media project. Furthermore, 2 out of the 3 that followed us back were females, which suggests that we have adopted Maverick's audience.

News clip for our music video

We have considered implementing a news clip about the London Riots when Blazer is talking about his old friends having 'stab wounds' and the ones that have passed away. This will give the audience an idea of the type of people that he was around and shows how his mindset has changed as he got older.
UPDATE
After seeing how the video looked with the clip in it we decided not to include it so we can use a wider range of shots.

rough cut for our music video- edited by Youssof mallah

Editing Vlog day 3.5

Changes to widescreen filters

When looking through our rough cut, we were experimenting with different effects and discovered that our video would look better with a different widescreen filter. We decided to opt with the 2:35 :1 format as it is most popular among rap videos and we thought that it looked the best.

An image of an establishing shot with the default widescreen filter

The same shot with the 2:35 :1 filter

Feedback for our rough cut

 The main focus of our feedback was about the cutting that we used in Blazer and DJ Zed's verses. This is because the cuts occurred mid way through certain lyrics, which made the editing look unprofessional. We were advised to solve this issue by letting the artist say the entire word before cutting to a next shot. In addition to this, to solve this problem on a specific lyric we were advised to use slow motion to make the lip syncing more accurate, as the performer said the phrase too quickly.

IMPORTANT!

Change of location for 'Ace Cold '

We planned to have Ace Cold lip-syncing Devlin's verse on Westminister Bridge with could establishing shots. However, a day before the filming schedule, i listened to the verse with my eyes closed. And this time, the only scenery i could identify within my mind is Ace Cold being at home. Living a hopeless life, a lonely man with no intentions for brighter days. A man who had enough of the world, who couldn't make anyone happy in the long term. A man who was only respected when someone needed him for something. While in search for happiness, he found him self trapped at home, a victim of drug use and a alcoholic reflecting back to his past. Having hatred and aggression, he doesn't know what to do 'next' with life other than writing his thoughts down on paper as no one cares when he speaks. He always feels like he talks to him self and has no one who actually wants to help him. A man who isn't easily able to socialise with members of the society due to his past, rises trust issues. 

As we could establish from the lyrics below (only a section of the whole verse for Ace Cold) , we could reveal his aggression towards the world and how the world 'betrayed' him. I believe an indoors setting with alcohol would reveal his recklessness and attitudes towards the world. Him being trapped indoors and not having a act

I show this world love, and it spits at me in return 

Jealousy and envy offended me, now they're friends of me

i think i lied to myself, cause i hate that 

I'm deprived of my health, small divides that i felt

started darkening my heart, its too real

for anyone to market it and now I'm just a bustard with

many bad thoughts... 

Editing Vlog day 3

Reflection

In my most recent blogging health check I recieved a mark of 10/20, which is a D grade. At this time I only had 30 blog posts when I had a target of 50. Since then I have worked to fill in the gaps of my blogging checklist and added more extra blogs, so I have 53 blogs now. However, I am expected to have around 60-65 next week so I still have some catching up to do. Despite me catching up, I still need to implement more aspects of technology into my blogs, which I plan to do before the next blogging health check next week.

Edting progress so far (day 2)

So far, we have implemented some aspects from Carol Vernallis' theory into our video. For example, we used various base tracks to show different parts of our portrayed aritst's former residence. This prevents the video from getting repetetive and makes it more appealling visually. However, one feature that we are yet to include is special effects. This is because we want to finish editing the verse before we add a grey filter to the footage and we plan to have achieved this by the end of our third day of editing. Our footage so far also shows that we break the rules of continuity editing to keep the viewer on edge and ensure that they stay entertained.

Editing Vlog Day 2

Twitter updates

Screenshots of Whatsapp conversations

tyler springer's Slidely by Slidely Slideshow

These conversations took place between the 7th and 9th of November, when Blazer's and DJ Zed's parts were filmed. I don't know why the picture quality downgraded like that.

editing our basetracks for verse, for Blazers verse

different range of clips

the AIF file

the basetracks/markings

we have began editing our basetracks for Blazers verse, we have inputted the AIF file (the actual song) and marked/synchronized it with the different clips , this will make it much easier editing the video to the beat and making it seem he is actually singing the song.

Verified Follower!

we have a verfied follower on our twitter account which is a singer that covers a range of songs

Group vlog

Update: Our new instagram page

Prior to this update, our instagram name was Group26, however in response to feedback from our pitch we have changed the name to GroupVolume to make us easier to distinguish. In addition to this, we also updated our profile picture and added a to the front cover of our digipak to reflect our brand identety.We have also added a brief overview of our group to give potential followers an idea of who we are.

First Twitter Follower

Minutes after our first hashtag of #GroupVOLUME and following different record labels, we received a follower. 

Surprisingly, our follower deals with management of music and other things related. 

Twitter Account Update

Our Twitter Account followers could now take use hashtags to widen our grounds for audience. If it turns out to be a trend, well end up having account users clicking on the hashtag which will take them to our profile.

Group biography

We are a British music group that connect with our audience through the stories we tell in our songs. Our group consists of the following artists:
DJ Zed - Born and raised in North London, he is the main performer of the group who sings about the ups and downs of his life.
Ace Cold - Also hailing from North London, he is a rapper that focuses on the harsh nature of the streets he grew up in.
Blazer - Also originating from North London, he raps about his troubled past and hopes for a bright future.

An idea for our group logo

I used the website Dafont to find suitable fonts for our group name and I thought that this one was most suitable as it is memorable and emphasises our role as a music group.

Costume and location task

'It's Okay (One Blood)' by The Game is an example of a gangster rap video. Throughout the video, The Game wears 5 different costumes that change as the day progresses. For example, at the beginning of the song he is outside of his house with a white vest on, whereas when he starts walking down the road he puts a black t-shirt on. Costumes such as the black hoody that he wears in the latter stages of the video are typical of the genre as it signifies an association with 'the hood'. The video takes place in various external locations around Los Angeles to show that The Game is well known throughout the area, which illustrates his lyrics. The internal location of the poster room also reinforces the song's lyrics as it shows that he is a  successful rapper. Game's GAME chains are also a significant prop in the video as he wears them with every costume to show his wealth and success. Chains and other jewelery are widely used props throughout rap, so this song conforms to the conventions of the genre.

'Touch It' by Busta Rhymes features the main artist, Busta frequently changes his costumes to match the colours of  whoever else is performing at the time. Due to the amount of featuring artists Busta uses 10 different costumes throughout the video, which all match the colour of the background in each shot. Costumes such as the chinchillas that he is seen wearing in various shots are typical of the genre as it signifies wealth. The entire video is filmed in an internal location which gives a studio feel to the song. In addition to this, the use of green screen to change the background colours also gives the song a sense of variation and prevents it from getting boring. Props like: chains, rings, bags and the reappearing stack of money that Busta carries all link to the genre as rappers often flaunt their wealth.

'Ghetto' by J Spades is another rap video, however he is London based and independent so I wanted to see how it compares to mainstream American videos. The first difference I noticed is that J Spades only wears one costume throughout the video - a black t-shirt and jeans, which links to the urban, yet simple location of the park. Black clothing is popular amongst independent rappers as they are often still living in the areas that they grew up in, whereas more popular rappers are likely to be seen wearing brighter colours as a result of their fortunes. The video is set in a park and an estate in J Spades' home borough of Hackney. These link to the title and message of the song as it shows that he is from the ghetto and is still there. As he is not signed, J Spades was able to include props like weed in  his video, which highlights the lifestyle of those in the ghetto. Drugs such as weed are popular throughout the genre, with many rappers being users, however they are censored in their music videos.

shooting in our second location - Alexandra palace

Today we filmed in our second location , for the chorus, the weather conditions were also perfect as in our first location (cloudy,grey and windy) this enabled us to keep the theme and mood going it also matched our 'grey' colour scheme/theme/motif

video which inspires us to include in our intro to our own music video

this video promotes the clothing of a young teenager named gianni mora, the video is short and simple , many of the shots in the video are repeated and there are many points in the video where it is played in slow motion finally, throughout the video there is a black and white filter.

we asked a few students in our class what their instant reactions were, and we all agree that despite the haunting feeling it gives us , theres something about the video which draws us in and puts the viewer in a trance, this trance encourages repeated viewing, the main effects which drew us in are as follows; the way the instrumental fits in with the actions and behaviours of the actors, the zooming of the shots repeatedly and finally the haunting shot of the loudly buzzing flies.

on our way to shoot our second location- Alexandra palace

today we will be filming in our second location which is a suburban area, alexandra palace, this place consists of alot of trees, flowers, bushes , and of course a great big palace, what is beautiful about this area and is exactly what we wanted is the establishing view of central london.  the reason why we also chose this place to shoot the chorus is that in the lyrics of the chorus the artist is quite reflective,reminiscent of his past lover, and quite sombre

the palace and some greenery where its ideal to take walks

a semi birds eye view of the palace

the view from the palace onlooking central/east london

filming at our first location , raw,urban estate in north london

today we shot in our first location for our artist blazer , we had several establishig shots in the park and of the estate, this set the raw urban theme, it was a cloudy and windy day which was perfect for our filming conditions/theme. 

currently on our way to film in our first location

we are on our way to film in our first location, in broadwater farm estate and in lordship recreation park in north london, which will see our artist blazer, rap in

front and back of our music album cover/ digipak draft

the back of the album cover

front of the album cover

In our album cover we wanted to feature an effective VCR effect which shows how raw our album /songs aim to be, and that our work was independent and made from scratch, so in order to achieve this look i added some grainy filters and duplicated a few images of me wearing a cap and shifted them about whilst changing their colours to red/green/cyan, this gave the 'ghost' affect you get from old vcr cams and vhs tapes, finally i used a vcr font to make it seem as if the shot of me was taken by a vcr camera when in fact it was taken by a standard still camera. keeping with our motif (the cap) i made sure in both the front and back of the album cover my character was wearing a cap, the name of our group 'volume' is printed across my eyes this is effective as it is in the middle of the screen and it is somewhere unconventional (across my  eyes) this stands out to the consumer which gives them the knowledge of  who the album features/is made by. Finally , becuase our artist's songs are aimed at aspirers i added a 'brit awards winner' and 'independent music awards winner' logo on the back cover.

Analysis of 3 music videos that influenced my final decision

 The music video for 'Don't Go There' by Giggs and B.O.B influenced some of my decisions in planning in terms of: mise en scene, editing and cinematography. An example of this is the grey filter that is used throughout the video which shows the raw nature of the environment that Giggs was raised in. This also applies to the theme of our chosen song and is therefore a valid option. I also noticed that the grey filter emphasises the colour white (1:28 - 1:32). We could utilise this as our main artist's motif is a white cap, which means that we can give more attention to it without having to use much close ups. An aspect of cinematography that I liked was the tracking shots that show Giggs walking through certain areas while rapping. This created a sense of him bringing the viewer with him on his journey, thus allowing them to further connect with him and his lyrics. We will use this in Chipmunk(Blazer)'s verse when he says 'Let's take a walk through the North'. Mise en scene such as the dark costumes that Giggs and others wear are another factor that I took interest in due to the compatibility with the grey filter. Again Blazer will make use of this by wearing a dark hoody to show his roots and appeal to our audience visually.

'Ill Manors' by Plan B is another video that influenced my final production. The location and actors in the video appealed to me as it was an estate full of youths, which highlighted the grittiness of life in poorer areas. We plan to use this location to film Blazer's part as he is reflecting on life as an adolescent in London, however, we won't be including other young people as we don't want to brand our group in a negative light. The establishing shot of the estate also struck me as it illustrated the immensity of the building. We will use this method by making the estate we film on, Broadwater Farm Estate, look immense by filming shots of it from various angles to make it look big. Finally, the editing used when Plan B done a throwing gesture at the camera followed by the jump cut to an MP getting an egg thrown at him caught my attention (1:08 - 1:13). This is because our group could use similar cuts to show the transitions from verse to chorus in our video, which is aesthetically appealing.

The last video that influenced my final planning decisions was 'Hometown' by DVS. From the outset of the video, the array of various establishing shots of both people and buildings gave me a complete idea of the environment that he comes from and set the scene for the rest of the video. We will utilise this by implementing a similar style of filming in the different locations that we film in to help us in establishing the settings we use. The shots they got from filming on the bus also interested me as it provided us with extra angles of Brixton at the same time as showing us how he used to travel. We can integrate this into our own video to provide our audience with more angles of our settings or even use it to show the changes in location as different artists perform. I also thought that the slow motion used to show people getting on with their everyday lives was good as helps to establish what life is like in the area. We will use this method to show the contrast of people's lives as we change locations

.

Analysis of our main artist's digipak

The front cover of Maverick Sabre's first album, 'Lonely Are The Brave' features only two colours: black and white, which suggests that the songs will have a straightforward message. In addition to this, the album cover has a picture of him with a shadow covering half of his face, which implies that there are two sides to him: light and dark. Furthermore, the fact that he is looking down with somber facial expression highlights the sad nature of the songs that feature in the album. 

The back cover of the album features the same colours as the front which maintains the theme of the album. The fact that there is no picture of Maverick or title of the album on the main body of the cover also emphasises the artist's music instead of his identity, which suggests that he cares equally about his image and music.

This advertisement for the album contains the major contents of both the front and back covers of the album to give the viewer as much information as possible using little space. The use of the same colours as the album also cements his branding as an artist with a straightforward message. Detials such as his website address and the release date of the album also provides his audience with a bigger scope of information and prompts them to inquire further into the album.