Still Photos

I took photos of the band members in costume to use for the inside covers of my Digipak. I varied between midshots and close-ups of the two members and used different levels between them (for example, one standing and the other sitting etc).

I also took photos of headphones to relate to the dance genre or music and the band's name Galactic Express on a sign as it links to the genre of their music; dance.

Once I had uploaded the images, I began to edit them using Adobe PhotoShop Elements. I adjusted the lighting levels and increased the contrast levels to give each shot an unusual red tint. For the image of the headphones, I did the same except I added a purple/blue tint instead to add interest to the overall design.

Editing Song

I edited the track using Adobe Premiere Elements to make it a suitable length for my video. I did this by using the razor tool to crop sections of the song and clipped larger sections to do this. I was able to have seamless transitions between cropped sections and therefore a smoother sound.

I added a fade to the end of the song, so that the volume of the track would fade to nothing, rather than having a sudden finish. This adds to the eerie feel of the song and its video.

Introduction to Adobe Premiere Elements

I started using a new program: Adobe Premiere Elements in preparation for my music video. Its functions include: adding numerous videos and audio clips to create layers with seamless overlays and adding effects to audio and visual clips (e.g: mosaic effects, fades, colour transitions, strobe lights...). Using this program, I will be able to edit the track I am going to use, and later add the video over the top of it.

Plot for Music Video

When listening to the song I am going to use for my music video, I had some initial thoughts and ideas as to what the plot could be. Some words and images came to mind including:

Dance, euphoric, utopia, gun shots, nighttime, robotic, scared to meet new people, alien, starship, eyes, galaxy, hysteria, Pet Shop Boys, Bloc Party, Sam Sparro, black & white/colour, fade.

This is the basic plot that came to mind:

- Point of view shots throughout (alien/robotic being?)
- Landing (dark lighting)
- Ramp of "spaceship"
- Delirious/strange contrasting colours
- Metallic
- Meeting new people/confused at new experiences
- Shaking hands/reflections
- Shooting stars
- Shots of people looking at the "being" in a strange way
- Dancers
- Eyes (circular theme)
- Tempo/beat matches the camera movement
- Walking past shop windows?
- Lightning/night sky
- Disco light to end? - Fade

With these ideas, I was able to create a storyboard for my music video to get the concept clear in my head, ready to start production:

Conventions of Digipaks & Magazine Adverts

I went into more depth when researching Digipaks in order to understand the codes and conventions I needed to include in my own. I looked at a number of examples, such as KT Tunstall's Acoustic Extravaganza. I found that the main things to included were:

- Album title
- Bar code
- Track list
- Images of artist
- Album artwork
- Colour scheme running throughout/house style
- Images overlapping as a common theme
- Theme images (in this case peaceful - links to acoustic genre)
- Booklet inside (more artwork, photos and a foreword)
- Contrast of colours from outside to inside
- Made from cardboard as it is a special edition
- Short reviews/ratings from industry publications
- Related websites (usually on reverse in booklet)
- Artist acknowledgements

As well as incorporating the essential elements of the Digipak, I could also include some of the additional features used in this one when it comes to creating my own.

I also looked at several examples of magazine adverts, and found the codes and conventions I need to include in my own. These included:

- Branding/band name
- Image relating to the product or picture of the band
- Tag line/information about the item being promoted
- Release date of product
- House style – colour scheme/theme
- Continual font
- Be unusual/individual

For my own magazine advert, I will use most of the codes and conventions, but will subvert some of them. For example, I would prefer to emulate the cartoon style used in the Digipaks, rather than a simple photograph of the band, as I feel it would add to their independent nature.

Digipak & Magazine Advert Research

I began my research into Digipaks, promotional CD packages, and magazine adverts and produced a sheet of examples which I found interesting and perhaps inspirational for my own promotional Digipak and advert.

The graphics used on particular CD covers I found to be intriguing, as they related to the style I wanted to emulate. For example, Kanye West's Graduation and Mika's Life in Cartoon Motion. I felt that the cartoon imagery was very eye-catching compared with other Digipaks I've seen, and I wanted to use this graphical idea for my own cover designs and magazine advert.