LINKS FOR VIDEO + EVALUATION QUESTIONS

Music video

Evaluation

EVALUATION QUESTIONS: ANSWERS

MUSIC VIDEO: FEEDBACK

ANCILLARY TASK: FINAL DIGIPAK

This is what my final digipak looks like:

ANCILLARY TASK: MAKING OF THE DIGIPAK

I used Adobe Photoshop cs6 to make my digipak. I downloaded a digpak template from google in large size. I also downloaded a CD png file.

I followed a similar technique in editing the front, back, and inside cover as they all have the picture of the artist. As it's all in black and white, one would assume that not a lot of work went into it but I focused a lot on making the pictures look refined.

I desaturated the picture first, as they weren't taken in monochrome setting. And I played around with colour balance on photoshop to bring out the blacks in the picture. I also used the paint brush tool to enhance some of her features and to paint over her lips and eyebrows to make them look darker.

To make the artist stand out more, I underexposed the background by selecting it with the quick selection tool. I also applied iris blur on the pictures to blur out the background. Lastly, I added a white frame to create a contrast and so the covers pop out and attract the audience.


For the text, I followed the procedure in these tutorial videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O4pX770BXA&t=15s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDsvIRNzXKQ&t=449s

For the CD, I downloaded a flower doodle from the internet, and traced over it with my friend's wamcom tablet and i tweaked some details to make it my own.nI layered it over the CD PNG file and used an elliptical marquee tool to cut out the centre and then layered that, along with the other pictures, onto the digipak.

ANCILLARY TASK: DIGIPAK RESEARCH

I wanted the digipak to follow the theme of the music video and the website so they come together to make a brand. As both the music video, and the website are quite minimal, I wanted my digipak to be the same way; main focus on artist with just a few parts of nature. 


I researched on different digipaks and these are the ones that appealed to me the most:

I like how both of these album covers are mainly focused on the artist's image instead of their name or the album's name. This makes a statement about how artists dont need their name on the cover. They're literally the face of it. I'll be incorporating this concept in my album cover.

For the back cover, I thought I'd put my artist's picture as well and so I took inspiration from this.

In my research I found that most CDs have the artist's name on it. I am already keeping the artist's pictures on the front, back, and inside cover so I thought the CD should be something different. I'll be taking inspiration from Arctic Monkey's AM Album's CD and perhaps make a doodle on my CD too.

Just to keep the artist as the main focus, I'll be using Maidah's picture on the inside cover as well. 

ANCILLARY TASK: FINAL WEBSITE

Here is the link to my website: https://whereishome01.wixsite.com/maidahshah


This is what the website looks like:

I decided to keep the homepage free of everything except fot the artist's face, name, and the song name. I feel like this creates a big statement about how the artist is the brand being promoted here and that their music is what's most important. Many websites that I researched on had a very cluttered home page which I personally didn't like. I have mainly taken inspiration from Halsey's website as it is quite simple and I have incorporated those ideas in mine.

I also added an ABOUT tab so the fans of the artist can access information about her and get to know where she comes from and what kind of music she makes.

I included a tab for the artist's music. When you click the MUSIC button, a music video springs up. I designed the website this way so the music is easily accessible.

Other than that, I included a gallery which is mainly to promote the artist and to make the website look more welcoming to the audience. This is the only page with a flower-esque pattern on it and it is to capture the essence of the music video; home is all around her but she can't seem to find it.

Next, there is a tab for the tour dates. I added the dates, venue, and a tab to buy tickets. This is so the fans can stay updated about the upcoming shows and can easily purchase their tickets through the website.

I also added a CONTACT tab so the fans and followers can have access to the artist, and so they can send in their feedback. There are also links to different social media accounts so the fans can follow the artist on a wider platform. The 'subject' section is there to distinguish between different kinds of mail; fan mail or bookings.

Lastly, I've included a SHOP tab. This is where the fans can buy the official merchandise or can get the official look of the artist. This helps promote the artist to a larger audience.

ANCILLARY TASK: MAKING OF THE WEBSITE

I decided to make the website on wix.com
In order to create the website, first I made a separate gmail account dedicated to the music video.

After that I went through a variety of templates to find one that would best capture the theme of the music video. I want the artist to be the main focus of it.

I didn't really find any that was close enough to what I wanted. But I'm up for customizing a template entirely. This is the template I chose to customize to fit the theme of the music video:

The website was fairly easy to make but I spent a lot of time perfecting each and every detail. This is what the homepage of the website looks like after customisation:

ANCILLARY TASK: WEBSITE RESEARCH

Website is a part of the music promotional package. Before I went on with making the website, I did some research on the different kinds of websites and what they should include. Here are some of the website layouts that I think are really good due to the fact that they're not crowded like most websites I've researched on, and the focus is entirely on the artist and their music:

POST PRODUCTION: EDITING

To edit this video, I used the software Adobe Premiere Pro CS6. I started by importing all the footage into the software. I created bins for each day of shooting to make everything more organised and easier to access. The clips were trimmed at the source panel and then added to the timeline to create a sequence. For the clips that needed to be slowed down, I decreased their speed down to 50% in speed control. Some shots needed to be stabilized and for that I used Warp Stabilizer.

A black and white filter was applied to the entire sequence. RGB Curves were used to have a better control over the brightness and contrast of the clips. It was used to make the blacks more prominent.

For transitions I used dip to white and decreased their duration so it just appears as a flash. Also, clips of nature were used as a transition between two shots of the artist. This was done by placing the the nature shot above the sequence and decreasing its opacity. It was also done by nesting two clips (Of the artist and nature) and then applying cross dissolve with the next clip.

For the parts where there are black flashes with the beat, I used a razor tool to cut out small chunks at the beat.

Adobe After Effects was only used when I couldn't stabilize a shot on Adobe Premiere. ( because I had already used speed or clip's dimensions didnt match sequence settings)

staying organised by creating bins

flashes of black

transition

RGB curves

transition