Evaluation Question 4 - How did you use Media Technologies in the Construction and Research, Planning and Evaluation stages?

Evaluation Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Evaluation Question 2 - How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Evaluation Question 3 - What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Final Ancillary Task - Poster

Here is an image I took off our final poster.

Final Ancillary Task - Album Cover

Here is 4 images I took off our final album cover with images printed onto photo paper and put into a blank CD case. 

Final Music Video

This is mine and James' finished music video. 

Final Design All Ready For A CD Cover

After a few changes, these are our final designs for the ancillary task. I have cut out the images and am currently putting them into a blank CD case.

Final Designs For Ancillary Task

Here are the final designs for the front cover, back cover, 2 inside covers and spine for our ancillary task, all ready to be sized up correctly and put onto a template.

Fitting The Covers To The Template

During the design stages of the album cover, I didn't consider the specific measurements I would need to set the canvas to on Photoshop in order to make sure everything fits to an accurate template. I had measured an CD cover and used these measurements to scale my images.

After getting hold of an accurate template, I managed to change the image and canvas size in order to make sure it fits perfectly to the measurements I need to abide by.

Here is a screenshot taken of the images I have fitted to the template so far.

Back Cover Progress

After much thought on what images to use for the back cover of my CD cover as well as the layout of the cover, I decided on a design that related to the other covers on the case with a 'unorthodox' layout with the text which is shown as slanted. This is against tradition of cd covers and is not usually seen on CD covers.

I have also thought about the genre of music and my target audience and therefore included 'cool' and 'trendy' images which relate to the music video and grab my audience's attention.

Here is a screenshot of the finished back cover.

Album Cover - Back Cover

After a lot of thought about the back cover of the CD case, I decided that I wanted to use one of the images I took whilst in London filming.

As I took my fish-eye lens, I managed to take a lot of good quality and effective shots of scenery and locations around London.

Here is an example of one of the photos I took whilst in London which I would like to use as the back cover and place track names on top of the image to the left where there is space.

Unorthodox Album Cover - Inspiration

Due to the fact James and I need to create an album cover which relates to the song title 'Unorthodox', we have decided to do some detailed research into album covers that use an unorthodox theme in which to attract their target audience.

Here is an example I found.

I feel this album cover focuses on a simple image of a man standing in a soldier-like position and then having a large amount of hands behind him coming from all directions. This shows how a simple image can be turned into something quirky and eye-catching.

I would like to use a similar idea with my album cover whereby I use the images taken in the studio and then add effects and filters and editing images so they have a greater impact on the human eye in order to make the album cover appealing to my target audience and symbolic of the hip-hop genre.

Album Cover - Inside Covers Progression

My original idea for the 2 inside covers was to split an image taken of Nick and I facing each other. I have decided that the most recent front cover idea is very reflective of the song title, therefore I feel that including an image of both artists, Nick and I, on the inside covers would be a nice touch and would appeal to the target audience for this genre of music.

I have decided to split another image of Nick and I in half and place one image on the right hand cover and one on the left which will become effective when the case is opened as the two images will essentially come apart.

Here are the 2 images I wish to use for the inside covers.

Album Cover Issue

After finishing the basic idea to the album cover, I began to try and connect the song title 'Unorthodox' and the design I had come up with. Due to the fact 'Unorthodox' means 'not following trends' and going 'against a stereotype', I feel that my album cover idea does not reflect the word 'Unorthodox'.

As a result, I am going to try some different filters on Photoshop and also make the whole idea behind the front of the album cover more 'fun' and 'countertype' so that my audience needs are better met and the song title is reflected in the aesthetics.

CD Cover Without Text

James and I have just completed putting the border onto the album cover and now we are going to add the text which will say 'Unorthodox'.

Here is the album cover so far.

Inside Covers - Album Cover

For both inside covers, James and I have decided to use an image of me on the left cover and Nick on the right-hand cover. We are planning on using this image and cutting both of us out of it in order to put them on both inside covers. This is the un-edited image which we will probably use to create this effect.

Meeting Audience Needs - Album Cover

Throughout the planning stages for our album cover, James and I constantly referred to our audience and what they would like and what would attract them. 

Our 3 segment idea appeals to the audience due to the fact they can relate to the artists and the mild humour of the images. Although this is a simple idea, I believe it will be very effective and will certainly make it stand out in stores etc. 

Album Cover Photos

Here are the images we are going to use for our album cover in the order they will be in. We are in the process of editing the images so that they are split into segments on the cover and are 6cm x 6cm so they fit on the cover perfectly which measures 12cm x 12cm.

4 Segment Album Cover

I have found an album cover that is split into four segments which include an image in each. This album cover is by 'The Game' and this rap/hip-hop group are very well known and this particular album cover will appeal to all their fans. The album cover consists of a storyboard-type theme with various images of lego men in various scenarios.

There is no clear implication as to why 'The Game' have decided to use lego men on their album cover; however, the men do resemble the artists in the band and this will be immediately obvious to the audience.

This is the main reason as to why I thought that doing something similar to this would be effective as the audience of our song would recognise Nick and I as the artists in the song.

Studio Photoshoot for Album Cover

The photoshoot went very well and I managed to get photos of all the ideas that I had thought of as well as some new ideas that sprung to mind in the studio.

I have gathered all of the photos together and have begun editing on Adobe Photoshop at home. I have only begun cropping at the moment and will continue to edit in school.

Album Cover Most Recent Idea

Just before Nick and I went into the studio to take photos for the album cover, I came up with another idea.

I thought this idea could be very effective on the album cover as it will immediately draw the audience's attention and also state the name of the album which would be edited onto mine and Nick's T-Shirts.

Todays Photo Shoot for Album Cover

Today Nick and I will use my mums photography studio and set up a camera on a timer and take some shots from the idea I have drawn up.

After getting these particular shots, I will then take shots of Nick in a tuxedo and myself in a matching tracksuit to create an effect of which is 'unorthodox'. From here on we will simply be using any idea that springs to mind and getting a lot of photos so we have a lot to work with in the editing suite.

Album Cover Initial Idea

I came up with a potential idea for mine and Jame's album cover and decided to draw it, despite my less-than-perfect ability to draw. I thought that it would be good to draw what I was thinking so I would not forget the idea.

Here it is.

Since drawing this idea, I have come up with a few more ideas and changes to this drawing. This idea will just consist of Nick (singer in video) standing next to each other wearing the same coloured t-shirt. We will take one photo of Nick facing the camera and me with my back turned and then take another picture of the opposite to this. This will enable us to bring both images together during editing as well as editing the text onto our t-shirts. This was the initial idea; however, I now think that we will use a crazy colour effect on the right side of the cover and a black and white effect on the right hand side of the album cover.

We need to consider audience needs and what the song title and lyrics represent which is why I believe that the album cover should be 'unorthodox' and different. 

Album Cover Ideas - Lupe Fiasco

This is an album cover by Lupe Fiasco which caught my attention. I like the idea behind it and the editing effects used. I think James and I will aim to use some form of obvious editing to appeal to our target audience as this is clearly what a lot of Hip-Hop album covers do.

Inputting Text into the Video

Due to the fact a lot of Hip-Hop videos use texts during the video, James and I decided to include the word 'Unorthodox' during our video.

For example, 'All of the Lights' by Kanye West and Rihanna uses text throughout the video.

This is what we included in our video. I felt this worked really well in our video and makes the  clip look a lot more aesthetically pleasing.

Editing Effects

James and I did some research into effects for a specific clip in our video which we thought needed something more so it appealed to our target audience more successfully as it felt a bit long winded.

As a result, we decided to use the Sin City effect which would change the colours seen in the shot to make everything black and white but make chosen colours stand out. As I was wearing a purple polo and purple glasses, James and I decided to make these items of clothing to stand out.

Album Cover Ideas - The Game

It is important to consider the various Hip-Hop genre album covers so James and I can design our album cover to meet the genre conventions and audience needs and expectations.

This is an example of an album cover by The Game. I took a liking to this album cover because of the colour coordinated  aspect of the image and title. This appeals to the Hip-Hop target audience due to the fact The Game member is seen dressed in typical Hip-Hop clothing.

James and I will use a similar idea to this but with myself and Nick in shot with a colour coordinated aspect to the shot through editing.

Editing So Far

So far, James and I have edited the first verse completely and are happy with how it looks. We will obviously think of different ideas and therefore are likely to change the editing techniques used but so far we are comfortable with how the verse looks.

We have used letterboxing in the first verse and feel it really meets our audience needs as it fits with the tempo of the song and engages the audience.

Rough Cut

Other than working on our rough cut in lessons. James and I have stayed after school today in order to try and complete the rough cut. We have planned it well so that we complete the rough cut tonight and therefore have an hour in the lesson tomorrow to make changes and act on our teachers' feedback. 

So far we have edited two minutes worth of footage and so far it is looking good. We have more than enough footage for the length of the song and so far none has gone to waste. Framing is looking good and in order to meet our audience's needs, we are currently focusing on using specific cuts such as jump cuts to engage the reader into the tempo of the song.