My Artist And Ancillary Texts In The Real World

To make my artist and her products seem more realistic I decided to use a website called 'LoonaPix' to enable me to put my album poster in different locations that they could be advertised in, but also I managed to put my artists album onto iTunes and onto my phone which makes it look like I am actually listening to her music and seems quite realistic. I decided to do all of this to see what these products would look like when they have been released into the real world for a range of people to see - especially my artists intended target audience. On top of that, I decided to create a Twitter account for my artist where I have photo shopped a verified symbol next to her name to make it look like she is a successful professional who is popular and has been in the music industry for a long time - I think by expresses that my artist uses social media, it presents to the audience that she interacts with her fans and wants to keep them involved with everything which will be a admirable concept for the audience and will hopefully want them to keep track of what she does as an artist.

Here are the photos to prove what my products would look like in the real world and also what my artist would be like through the use of social media:

Once I had put my products in real life situations, they then looked more realistic and professional and I think the good use of Photoshop had also made this possible because if the album cover or the album poster didn't look professional when on its own, then it will most likely look fake when it is placed in real life situations, so I think this is one of the reasons as to why my product looks more professional in the real world. All in all, I believe that my ancillary texts have turned out well and that they will hopefully engage and attract people to buy my artists album, but to also follow what she does as again, through the use of digitalisation, the audience will be able to keep track of her and what she does musically through the use of Twitter and most likely other social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat. 

Music Video Drafts

When creating my music video, there were a range of different features that I wanted to try out and this meant that I would continuously need to keep creating different drafts of my music video to ensure that I would get the outcome I wanted. Overall, I created quite a few different drafts, but some of them are similar due to the fact that I may have only slightly changed the colour of a shot or something similar to that and because of this I have decided not to present all of the drafts I have created - however, I have shown some of them. Below you will be able to see some of the drafts I had created throughout the time I spend on my Media coursework to see how features have changed throughout the development of my music video. As well as these drafts, when you look at some of the various posts I have created on my blog, you will be able to see other features that I had tried out which haven't been presented in these drafts, but overall I believe that I have made an array of changes to my music video and have finally got the outcome I wanted. 

Here are some of the drafts I have created:

Draft 1

Draft 2

Draft 3

Techniques Used In Adobe Premiere Pro CC

When I was creating my music video using Adobe Premiere Pro CC, I used a range of different techniques, some of which I have included in my final video and some of which I haven't. Some of the techniques I have used may seem quite complicated and can only be used if downloaded separately - however, there are also simple techniques like adding transitions between shots which I have also used. There are an array of different techniques that I have used when creating my music video - however, in this post I am only going to talk about the techniques which I believe took a bit longer to do or were just generally important in relation to how I created my music video. One of the important features I have used is effects by a company called 'Rampant Designs' - however, I have not mentioned them below due to the fact that I have previously already created a post about these effects and how they could be used in a video. Below you will be able to see some of the techniques that I may or may not have used in my final music video, but nonetheless, I did try them out to see if I would like to use them in my music video. 

Colour Grading 

I think one of the most important techniques I used when creating my music video was the use of colour grading - this technique was especially important for my music video due to the fact that I needed to have quite a dark and gloomy music video and because a lot of the shots I had were quite sunny, I had to rely on the use of colour grading to enable me to make sure the music video is the type of colour that I want it to be. When actually beginning to colour grade, I had to edit each shot separately and this was because all of the various shots were under different lighting - when it came to editing the colour of the shots in the green room and in the loft I mainly just copied and pasted the adjustment layer as all of the lighting was the same - however, with the shots in the woods, I had to use different adjustment layers and different effects - this was due to the fact that each shot was done in a different location which meant that Laura was under different lighting each time.

As each shot was different, I decided to film myself editing one of the shots in my music video to enable you to see what the process is like, but like I said, in the video I have presented, I have only edited one shot and the majority of the rest of the shots will use different effects. At the end of the video you are able to see how the colour of the shot had changed as I change from the original footage to the edited footage. Here is the video I have created:

Removing Objects

When editing my music video I did notice that sometimes there were objects in the background which was extremely annoying as the shots themselves were good - however, object in the background of shots generally isn't conventional in a music video (depending on the genre), but for my music video, it will make it look unprofessional. The only time I really had an issue with this was when I was filming in the loft and at the time I did believe that I had all of the objects out of view, but this wasn't the case. The most annoying thing about this situation was that the objects were only small, so I thought about the things I could possibly do instead of wasting time shooting again, so after some time I realized that I was able to remove the objects from the shots and I have presented how I was able to to do this in a video below.

Here is the video I created:

In the video I have presented above you are able to see that there was a small white object is the corner of the screen and I was simply able to get rid of it by using the 'Content-Aware' tool in Photoshop. You are able to see that all I had to do was save the shot as an image, edit it in Photoshop and then I just had to open it back up on Premiere Pro. However, once it was on Premiere Pro, you are able to see that only the image was shown on the shot and the video was being played behind it, so to solve this I just had to select the masking tool which enabled me to select only the section of the image that I want to use on the video and once I had done that you are able to see that it made it look as if the objects were never there and you are able to see the video being played at the same time.

Fading Heads

One of the techniques that I was unsure whether to use or not was when the audience will see the two heads fading in and out of one of the shots. Before actually shooting the music video I wanted to do this effect as I thought it would be quite interesting and would appeal to the audience, but also because it ties in with the silhouette idea as the silhouette has been used to represent the actors conscience and the two fading heads again reinforce the idea of the conscience even though they actually appear before the silhouette scene. After I thought a lot about the technique, in the end I decided to use it as I asked quite a few people what they thought about it and they said it was 'cool' and 'interesting' (I have no proof of this due to the fact that I actually spoke to these people where I asked them what they thought). Nonetheless, I decided to use the technique and you are able to see how I was able to create it through the use of the video I have presented below.

Here is the video I have created:  

Neat Video (Noise Reduction Plug-In)

When I first watched over all of the shots that I took in the loft, I noticed that there was a lot of noise and this was most likely due to the fact that even though I had a spare light with me, the room was quite dark which will commonly cause a lot of noise to appear in a video. As there was quite a bit of noise in the video, I decided to do some research to see how I may be able to remove some of this noise and I came across a plug-in called 'Neat Video' which would reduce the noise in a video, so I downloaded this plug-in and used it in my video. However, after some time I noticed that my video was actually better without the plug-in, but also this plug-in leaves a watermark on the video which was annoying as you will be able to see from my first draft video which uses this plug-in as there is a green box around the shots that were filmed in the loft. Even though I decided not to use this technique I still decided to present how I was able to use this feature, but in the end I just decided not to use it. 

Again, I decided to create a video to present to you how I used this technique. Here is the video I created:

In the video I have demonstrated above you are able to see that once this neat video effect has been added to the video, it makes the video look a lot smoother, but at the same time it also gets rid of some parts that are in the video and makes it look fake and this is partly one of the reasons why I decided not to use this technique. However, another reason I decided not to use it was due to the fact that it made the video lag a lot, but also I was unable to remove the green box that appeared when this effect was added, so the best solution for me was to actually just not use this technique which I think has benefited me. In the video above, I don't actually select the download button and this is due to the fact that when I filmed this I had already downloaded the plug-in, so I just wanted to show you the process I went trough to download it and then I went straight back onto Premiere Pro to enable me to start using the plug-in.

Song Title

When I was creating my storyboard and animatic, my initial idea was to have the title of the song which is 'Not Enough' to appear at the beginning of the music video - however, after I tried out a range of different things I decided that it would be best not to use the title of the song at the beginning of the music video and this was due to the fact that for my specific music video, it made it look less professional and unappealing, so I made the decision not to use it. When creating the title, I even used the same fonts that I had used in my ancillary texts to help create continuity between the texts - however, it just wasn't appealing and I didn't want to keep it on my music video. Nonetheless, below I have presented an image of what the title would have looked like if I decided to keep it. Overall, I prefer to have no title in the music video rather than having one which I think is unappealing and will drive the audience away as they may think it is an unprofessional music video as soon as they start watching it. 

Here is the image of what my song title perhaps would have looked like if I decided to keep it on my music video:

In the image I have demonstrated above you are able to see that the text is quite unprofessional and even though this is the main font that I have used in my ancillary texts, it just makes my music video look messy and unprofessional. When actually trying to create this song title I did try out various different fonts and techniques, but nothing went well with the video so overall I just decided not to add a song title.

Overall, I believe that all of the effects and techniques I used and may not have used were all very important as they enabled me to edit my music video in the way I wanted it to look and without these techniques I would have never been able to construct the music video I now have. To demonstrate how important these effects and techniques were, I decided to show what my music video would look like if I didn't add any effects to it. So below you will be able to find my music video - however, this time it has no added effects, except from transitions to enable the shots to blend well together. Also, I have presented my final music video with all of the effects to enable you to see the difference between the videos and how the effects can make such a big difference.

Here is my music video with no effects:

Here is my final music video with the effects:

Making Of The Ancillary Texts

When it came to creating my ancillary texts, a lot of research and planning was put into the process to ensure that my texts would look the best I could make them, but would also conform and appeal to the right target audience. While creating the panels on my digi-pack and my album poster, I decided to screenshot the steps I went through to get the outcome I wanted - however, the process I have gone through only presents what I did to achieve my first full draft which I have presented in a previous post, so this will not be my final texts, but also I haven't presented all of the different features I tried out to eventually reach these two drafts. Nonetheless, I have did save these drafts as different documents, so I have been able to present some of the features I tried out before I eventually decided I wanted to go with the features I used in my final first draft. Below you will be able to see the process' I have gone through to get the outcome I wanted for each of the panels on the digi-pack and also for the album poster:

Front Cover 

The very first thing I decided to work on when it came to my ancillary texts was the front cover for the digi-pack. There were an array of photos I had taken from my photo shoot which I could have used for the front cover, but below you are able to see the image I actually decided to use. Also, you are able to see that I have presented a before and after image for the front cover where you can see that there is quite a massive change - especially in terms of colour. Below these images I have presented the process I went through to get the outcome for this after image, but also I have demonstrated some of the various other features I tried out before I decided that I wanted my front cover to look like the image I have presented below. 

Here is the process I went through to get the outcome of the image I have presented above:

Back Cover

The next panel I decided to begin editing was the back cover, I personally think that this is the panel that took me the longest to create due to the fact that there are a lot more conventional features that needed to be placed on the back cover, but also I needed to ensure that the colour of the image itself and also the colour of Laura was similar to what has been presented on the front cover. Again, below you are able to see the before and after of the image I decided to use for the back cover, where again the majority of the change is in the colour. Nonetheless, I was able to get the outcome I wanted and below these images I have again presented the process I went through to get this image to look this way, but also, I presented the different drafts I went through before I got to this final piece. 

Here is the editing process I went through to ensure my back cover looked the way I wanted it:

Inside Right 

Similar to when creating the back cover, I did find editing the inside panel challenging and this was again due to the fact that it was hard to get the background colour and also the colour of Laura to look the same as in the front and back cover of the digi-pack - getting the background colour the same was not so hard, but it was mainly the colour of Laura due to the fact that in each of the photos I have used, Laura is under different lighting, so I had to add different effects to each of the images to ensure they looked the same colour to create continuity across the whole of the digi-pack. Below, you are able to see the before and after of the image I decided to use for the inside right panel, but underneath that, you are able to see the process I went through to get this outcome and also the different drafts I came across before I actually decided that I wanted the image I have presented below to be my final first draft image. 

Here is the process I went through to get the outcome of the image I have presented above:

Inside Left

Although Laura doesn't appear in the inside left panel, I still found it quite difficult to edit in relation to the colour and this is due to the fact that the top half of the image is brighter than the bottom half, so it meant that I essentially had to split the image in half in order to make the whole of the image look the same colour. Again, I have presented the before and after image below and you are able to see that I was not able to get the bottom and top half of the image to have exactly the same colour - nonetheless, I was able to get it as close as I could to make it fit in with the digi-pack and also look appealing towards the target audience. Underneath these two image, you will again be able to see the process I went through to get this outcome, but also you are able to see various drafts I came across before creating my final first draft piece. 

Here is the process I went through to get my final first draft piece for the inside left panel:

Disk 1

When it came to creating my first CD, there wasn't really a before and after process as all I decided to do was get a disk template from Google Images and then just create my first disk from there, where I would add all of the conventional features that I feel would be necessary. On top of that, when it came to using images for my first disk, I didn't use any of my own images and decided just to get designs again from Google Images as it went with my digi-pack more and I personally think it is more appealing. Nonetheless, I have again demonstrated the process I went through to get the outcome I wanted for the first disk, but have also presented the different drafts I created before I decided that I wanted this CD I to look the way I have created it to look. 

Here is the process I went through to get the first disk to look the way I wanted it to look:

Disk 2

Similar to the first disk, when it came to creating this second disk there was essentially no before and after process due to the fact that I just decided to get a disk template from Google Images and then decided to create my second disk from there. When adding conventional features to this second disk I essentially just copied the majority of the features that have been used on the first CD onto this one as most of the same conventional features needed to be used which included the artist and album name, some of the logos and even the background image which I just decided to change the brightness of to enable the audience to be able to tell the difference between both of the disks. Nonetheless, I did also add different conventional features as I will need the audience to be able to tell the difference between the disks as the first disk includes all of the music as it is a CD - whereas, this second disk includes videos and instead is a DVD. Again, below I have presented the process I went through to get the outcome I wanted for this disk, but also have demonstrated the different drafts I created before I actually got the outcome for the second disk I have created. 

Here is the process I went through to get the outcome I wanted for this second disk:

Spines

Creating the spines was probably the quickest and easiest part of the digi-pack and this was due to the fact that when it came to creating them, I had already edited the rest of the panels, so I already had the images edited in the way I wanted them to be, but also I had the fonts I wanted, so I was essentially just able to copy and paste the features from one of the panels onto the spines. Again, there is not a before and after process for the spines and this is due to the fact that when I constructed them, all I did was create a new document and then I just added conventional features from the other panels onto the spines which was beneficial as it enabled me to create continuity across the whole of the digi-pack. Even though this was all I did to create the spines, I still decided to create a slideshow which presents the process I went through to create these spines. When creating the other panels, I did create various drafts before I actually got the outcome I wanted - however, when it came to creating the spines I didn't actually make different drafts and instead ended up creating these spine straight away and I think this was due to the fact that there minimum information on these spines, but also due to the fact that they were the last features I created on the digi-pack, so I had already created the rest of the digi-pack in the way I wanted it. 

Here is the process I went through to create the spines I have presented in the image above:

Album Poster

Creating the album poster was actually quite easy and this was due to the fact that I had already created my first draft for my digi-pack, so I essentially just needed to use the same features that I used in my digi-pack to ensure that continuity would be created across both the digi-pack and the album poster. In this poster you are able to see that I have used the album cover, which is what made the creation of this poster easy for me as I just had to insert this image and then add any conventional features that are usually seen on an album poster. Again, there is not a before and after image for this poster due to the fact that there was no before image that had been used and again I essentially just copied the features that had previously been used on my digi-pack. Nonetheless, there were some conventional features which I did create from scratch which again can be seen in the slideshow I have demonstrated below which presents the process I went through to create this final album poster, but also I have presented the different drafts I actually created before I constructed this final first draft album poster. 

Here is the process I went through to create the album poster which I have presented in the image above:

Drafts

As I have previously said, when I was creating my digi-pack and album poster I did try out a range of different features to see what would suit the texts the most and in the process' I have presented above you are not able to see the features I tried out as I have just shown the process I went through to create the final first drafts - nonetheless, below I have constructed a presentation which includes some of the drafts I created before I managed to get the final first draft designs which have been presented under the headings above. In the images I have demonstrated in this presentation, you are able to see that the panels and the poster are not complete and this is due to the fact that at the time of creating these I was just trying out different features to see if anything would be suitable for the texts and was not expecting to get a final piece at the time. 

Here is the presentation which includes some of the drafts I had created:

Ancillary Texts Draft 1

Underneath you will be able to see the first draft for my digi-pack and album poster. I have essentially finished both of these texts - however, I will just need to adjust a few things to ensure that I can make the texts as perfect as possible. The main feature I will need to look at are the two discs that are presented in the digi-pack as at the moment, they have no background and are just disks, so I will need to add a background to ensure that my digi-pack is complete. Other than that, my texts are essentially finished and once I have received some feedback on the texts, I will then be able to make any changes that I feel are necessary. As the images featured in the digi-pack below my be hard to see, I have presented a slideshare presentation underneath which includes all of these images which are larger and clearer for you to look at in more depth. 

Here are the first drafts for my two ancillary texts:

Digi-pack 

Album Poster 

Here is the slideshare presentation which includes the panels from my digi-pack: