UPDATE?

I have currently completed the first drafts of my album front cover, back cover, inside cover, poster, CD design and CD tray. I now need to create the spine for the album in order to complete my digipak task. I have also begun to edit my music video after being happy with all the footage I have recorded. Printscreens of me editing the video are to follow this post in addition to the construction of the spine.

CD TRAY CONSTRUCTION

Despite creating a CD tray was not apart of my ancillary task, I thought it was still important to present the important conventions that I had not included elsewhere. This CD will lye underneath the plastic which clasps onto the disk, so when the CD is lifted out the design below is revealed. Because for my inside cover I chose to present another photograph rather than an informative spread I have placed the other conventions discovered through my research here. This includes disclaimers of who wrote, published and recorded the contents of the digipak for copyright reasoning's. In addition to the listing the singers and players, informing new listeners of Ctrl Z as well as personal messages such as thank you's from the band to the supporters. 

I originally positioned the record label underneath the text but realised it was not relevant for this section of the digipak. I instead to decided to insert the signatures of the singers and players which I did by using www.dafont.com and searching for handwritten fonts. I then copied and pasted the desired fonts individually, inverted and removed the backgrounds using the 'Magic Wand Tool' to make it actually look like each member had signed that particular page. I feel this looks effective in making the product more personal from the band and that they had a lot of input in the design and production,  

Below is the first draft of my CD tray:

INSIDE COVER CONSTRUCTION

As previously seen in my sketches of the inside cover, I wanted to keep it very simplistic but also effective and related to the rest of my products. I used another photograph from the ancillary task photo shoot which includes the actress smearing her make-up, also seen during the music video. I cropped the image into a standard square size (the same as front and back cover) then created a new layer for the text. Using the lyric 'did you imagine it in a different way?' I layered this completely over the main image but decreased the opacity to still allow the image to be clearly seen. I chose this lyric in particular as it is taken from the main single 'Regret' advertised on my poster and music video. I also thought this lyric was particularly powerful and intense as it is a direct question to the viewer making them feel possibly similar emotions to the distressed character presented in my music video.

Below is the first draft of my inside cover:

CD CONSTRUCTION

As the design of my CD is inspired by Bridget Riley's work I searched on the internet for a simplistic circular spiral pattern. I then saved and opened the image as a Photoshop file then cropped into a circle using the 'Elliptical Marquee Tool'. By pressing 'layer via copy' on the circle I was able to leave behind a square template acting as the plastic CD tray that holds onto the disk. I coloured the space around the cropped circle into the same navy blue colour used on the back cover using the paint bucket tool.

I was originally going to stick with these black and white colours against the navy blue, however I decided to experiment with the different available filters which were previously successful for my front cover. I liked the 'Neon Glow' filter which created an invert effect and made the colours more neon and electric, resembling the music genre. 

I began to add all the standard conventions of a CD including artist name, album name and record label logo all coloured white so that they are obvious and project against the dark surface. I also added copyright credits at the bottom of the CD, which I curved to fit the shape by 'warping' the text. The text includes the date, record label, location of production and serial number. Using the 'Elliptical Marquee Tool' again, I cropped a smaller circle in the centre to make the design appear more realistic and fulfilling the standard look of a disk.

I lastly added the track listing in the same font used on the back cover and poster to continue the typography house style. I used numbers to separate the songs and listed them positioned centrally on the CD so that the listener can refer back to it when playing the music.

Below is the first draft of my CD:

BACK COVER CONSTRUCTION

For my back cover I wanted to create a more simplistic design as more text and information will be inserted, making the space more busy. Taken from the ancillary task photo shoot I chose my favourite picture, involving my actress Millie looking straight into the camera creating direct eye direct with the viewer. This will draw the viewer's attention onto the model where they will see her dramatically destroyed make-up and hair denoting stress and upset. I cropped the image into a standard square size after opening the document in Photoshop, then applied the 'Auto Tone', 'Auto Contrast' and 'Auto Colour' settings to balance out the lighting and colours. This increased the exposure of the image and made the colours more prominent as well as making the background navy blue alike the front cover.

I then inserted my artist logo and inverted it to white and placed in the top left hand corner by pressing Ctrl T and dragging it.  Taken from the internet I copied and pasted a barcode and rotated it into the bottom right hand corner as it fitted perfectly in this space without overlapping onto the main image. Thirdly I inserted text that would begin the track listing for the album using the font 'Orator Std'. I like this font as it reminds me of the letters found on a computer keyboard and a modern typewriting effect, fulfilling the electronic typography theme. For the track titles I gained inspiration from other indie artists, looking at their song names and copying the odd word and combining it with another. I wanted the names to represent depressive emotions similar to 'Regret', therefore I particularly looked at English folk rock musician, visual artist and poet Keaton Henson. Henson suffers from social anxiety and depression which inspires the contents of his music evoking feelings of despair and distraught. Example's oh song titles include 'Lying to You', 'Not That You'd Even Notice', and 'Judging Books By Their Covers'.

I lastly added the copyright notices at the bottom of the back cover in a small white font, the same as the track listing. I credited the record label, producer and distributor along with the date and copyright logo making it appear as legitimate and professional as possible.

Below is the first draft of my digipak back cover:

POSTER CONSTRUCTION

Using my favourite photograph taken from the shoot I did after filming the projection footage, I uploaded it to Photoshop as it will be the main image of my poster. This image advertises the album well as it is similar to the footage used in my music video and on the design of my CD, creating continuity throughout all of the products. I chose this image in particular due to the composition of the swirl on Millie's head which spirals outwards covering the whole area. I adjusted the exposure and gamma correction levels to make the colours more vibrant and the black swirl more dominant against my model.

I then began to add all the features of a poster including artist's logo, name of album and advertising slogan. To make the name of the album stand out increasingly more as this is what is being advertised on the poster, I duplicated the name and layered it underneath the original with a decreased opacity strength. This added extra depth to the name and gave an almost 3D effect which would look increasingly more effective when printed out large.

I then inserted VAC RECORDS logo which I inverted (holding down ctrl I) to white so that it stands out against the white background. Taken from google images, I also inserted an advertisement for iTunes making the album available for electronic download, a standard convention of modern music posters. Underneath the album name I added the text 'includes hit single regret' in order to promote my music video. The font used is the same as on the back cover of the album, which is electronic and quirky adding to modern technological feel of the band.

I lastly positioned everything perfectly in line at the bottom by adding a ruler to do so. I also decided to add the band's website address so fans and others interested in the band go and find out more information about the new music and band. Below is the first draft of my poster advertising the album 'Altered Visions'.

FRONT COVER CONSTRUCTION

On Photoshop I began to create the front cover of my digipak. I firstly opened the four images I wanted to combine to create the main image of the front cover and cropped them into a standard square size. In order to manipulate and combine the images I inserted all four images into the same Photoshop document and positioned them perfectly layered over one another. Then decreasing the opacity of each of the layers the different photographs of my actress became visible which revealed the four different compositions. The four heads revealed, links with the name of the album 'Altered Visions' as different perspectives of the model are revealed, creating an almost ghostly and mystical effect.

I next started to add the other two main conventions; artist name and album name. Keeping with the theme of different visions created through layering I began to design the the album name in a artistic and quirky way. I used a font taken from www.dafont.co.uk called 'Bebas Neue' which I thought would look bold and outstanding against the complex main image. I decided I disliked the style of font and the design of the album name which I created by layering the two words and decreasing the opacity. 

I inserted my logo and inverted it to make it appear white so that it would stand out against the dark background, automatically informing the viewer and making the name obvious. I also used the 'magic wand tool' to remove the black background space behind the letters so embed the logo on the album more. I realised that I could use the same font as the logo for the name of the album in order to emphasise the electronic, modern theme and the create a sense of fluency.

After adding all the standard conventions to my album cover I then wanted to edit my main image further as I thought it didn't look bright or bold enough. Using the filters available on Photoshop I experimented with the different effects and found that 'Film Grain' was my favourite. This filter made the colours far more vivid in addition to making the image slightly grainy, giving it some interesting texture and reminding me of the low quality photographs taken in the 80's/90's.

Below is the first draft of my album front cover:

DIGIPAK AND POSTER DRAFTS

CD DESIGN INSPIRATION: BRIDGET RILEY

BRIDGET RILEY

Bridget Riley is a English painter currently living and working in London, Cornwall and the Vaucluse in France. Her famous 'Opt-art' pieces feature in galleries such as the Tate in London, which produce a distorting physical effect on the human eye. Her optical illusion art work is what I will be inspired by when designing the design of 'Altered Visions' CD. I aim to create a spiral effect from the centre of the CD outwards covering the entire circle. The purpose of the spiral  is when the CD is being played on a CD player a swirling hallucination effect will be produced, linking to the videos projection of my poster and music video. The colours I want to use will include black, mixed with another bright colour such as yellow or blue to define its shape.

FINAL CTRL Z LOGO DESIGN AND FEEDBACK

Feedback:

 

 

To summarize, from the feedback I have received, font style A was voted most popular despite B and C being very closely popular. These three styles were voted most popular due to being the most 'attractive' whilst 'professional' and 'interesting'. I have chosen to go with font style A as I believe it looks the most techno and electronic, fitting in with the genre of the music and name of the artist. I agree with one of the comments in that it 'symbolizes the behavior of your average indie band' and 'connecting the youth' of my target audience. My target audience will agree that reflects the genre of music in addition to looking very modern and trendy representing the importance of technology on music. I feel the font is very quirky and edgy which will make its significance stand out on my digipak. I may also use this font for the name of the album 'Altered Visions' to create a fluent theme of electronic music throughout the product.

Final Design:

I have no created the final logo of CTRL Z. I decided to make the logo more complex thus more interesting by moving around the letters to create a more detailed design. The inspiration for the final piece came from the standard arrangement of letters found on a computer keyboard. The letter Z is positioned diagonally above the Ctrl button which I wanted to re-create for my logo. My aim is that my target audience will recognize this format, reflecting that the artist is modern and in touch with technology. My young audience heavily rely on technology on a daily basis and are constantly communicating with others therefore will understand the meaning behind the name and design. By emphasising the technology side behind the deign of the logo it will reflect the impact of technology on modern music and the significance on the production and thus sound of it. I positioned the Z more closely to the Ctrl than it is originally on the keyboard to create less empty space in and around the logo. When constructing my digipak I will change the colour of the logo to all white so that its stand out against the dark background.

PROJECTION PHOTO SHOOT

After filming on 15/01/16 the last segment for my music video I composed a photoshoot afterwards following a similar format. The best photographs will feature on my poster and CD design in order to create fluency between my digipak and music video. Using the same projector, I positioned my model in front of the screen and photographed her in a range of positions. The poses used are all very serious and moody but also intriguing, tempting the viewer to find out more about Ctrl Z.  I am pleased with the outcome of all the photographs as they have been successful and look effective (see below)


 

FILMING SCREENSHOTS

Below are screenshots taken from the strobe light footage I have filmed. By producing these screenshots I am able to refer back to them when organising my footage and choosing the clips I want to use during editing. I may also consider using these screenshots for my digipack, or at least to give me some ideas when I begin the planning the design of the products via sketches and drafts.

15/01/16 FILMING - BEHIND THE SCENES

 

 

 

MUSIC VIDEO STORYBOARD