Editing Process | Process

Once we filmed the first few scenes, we decided to start editing the video so we weren't rushed to finish it at the last minute of the deadline. When editing I was the main editor making sure I asked the others opinion on certain parts of the video to make sure we all had a fair amount of input. When adding a filter or an effect on some of the shots I made sure to ask the others what they thought of it so I had their feedback and we could work from their answer. We decided to use Final Cut Express when editing the footage as I felt more confident with the software as I knew how to edit on it, and I knew where to find the filters and transitions. Using Final Cut Express was a good idea as we could look at all of our footage and decide what we liked from each shot and add it into the timeline through the two viewers available to us. We used some clips more than twice to add some repetition to the video, but we made sure to add different filters to the same clips as we didn't want them to look too repetitive and similar.

We wanted to create a split screen in our video to add the contrast of different colours, but we didn't actually know how to do this. I used Google as a source and researched how to crop and move the clip around to help create the split screen in the video. Once I knew this information I could create the split screen and crop other clips in the video. Both shots of Viki and I's solo shots were placed onto two different layers and cropped so you could see both in a split screen manner. Then once they were placed, I needed to edit them and make sure the lip syncing was in time with one another. This was quite difficult because not only did I have to make sure the lip syncing was correct, I had to make sure each shot was in time was one another as the footage would look untidy.

When editing the powder paint scenes, I wanted to experiment with the different colours I could create through the colour corrector tool. In some of the more repetitive shots I changed the colours of the footage through this tool to make the video look interesting and eye-catching. I also used the colour corrector tool to help balance out the colours of the woods shots and the solo shots. This was useful as it made the footage look natural and professional. We also used the desaturation filter to create the black and white look in some of footage to add some contrast to the colours in the video. We used the speed tool a lot as well to slow the footage down and create a slow motion effect. This was used for the powder paint scenes with the throwing of it and the popping of the balloons. In some clips we have merged two shots together and faded one of them on top of another to make the video look interesting and eye-catching.

When starting the video we had many ideas that we thought over, but we decided we wanted to keep it simple. In our third filming session we filmed glow sticks that we laid out to spell 'Louder' and we added quick shots of that in the beginning of the video. We then added some footage of Viki and I laughing and preparing ourselves for the video to add some personality to the video and to add a connection with the audience. This was helpful to have as it filled the space and also we were getting very close to our deadline, and we couldn't film new footage because of absences in the group. It was important throughout the editing that we saved and rendered each clip to make sure everything was saved and ready to work on each lesson.

When we had finished the video we watched it over to make sure everything was finished and perfected and then we exported the footage when we were happy with it. We exported it as a QuickTime Movie file and uploaded it onto YouTube. We then shared this link on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr so people could watch it and give us feedback.

Digipack | Research

When working on the Digipak we wanted to research on what you would usually find on a Digipak to helps us when creating our own. We wanted to make it as professional looking as possible, so finding out about the different features included would help us out a lot. When researching we realised there are quite a few different features we will need to include to make it look professional.


Inside the Digipak


Inside the Digipak we will need:

• The images of the artist from the music video
• A section for the CD
• A logo of the chosen record label (which is Sony Music Entertainment)
• A booklet containing the song titles and the lyrics of each song.

The Front Cover


On the front cover we will need:

• The name of the artist (which is Vintage Strobe)
• An image of the artist or an image representing the album/artist
• The album name (which is Faded Lights)

The Back Cover


On the back cover we will need:

• The logo of the record label (Song Music Entertainment)
• A barcode (this is so it can be purchased in stores)
• The year of the album release (which is 2015)
• Promotional websites or pages of the artist
• A Copyright/privacy warning sticker
• The list of the songs on the track

Neon Jungle CD Covers | Research

When researching different CD covers, I decided to research some Neon Jungle CD album covers as well to get an idea for our own cover.

This is Neon Jungle's single album cover for their single 'Louder'. The image on the cover looks like a sound wave and also it has a mixture of different colours. The colours on the image are green, blue, purple and a slight pink. The name of the band is in a font that resembles handwriting, and it's larger than the name of the single. The colour of the font is white, and the font type of the single name is in a square type font. The fonts are composed in the middle of the album cover to attract the audience to the single. There seems to be a pattern on the colours that are visible on the cover which a vintage look to the album. The cover isn't too busy and that makes the cover look simplistic and eye-catching.

This is Neon Jungle's album cover called 'Welcome To The Jungle'. They have used the music artists appearance on the front cover to help promote and advertise the album. Having their faces on the front of the album will help attract their following to the CD which will then make them buy the album. The colours are mainly purple based with a hint of yellow, green and black. The distortion of colours help make the cover interesting and eye catching. The bands name is at the top of cover to promote the band, and also I've noticed the font is the same font they used for their single cover. This is effective as it gives the band recognition. This means that when people see that font, they know it's one of their albums or products. The font used for the album title is a simple upper cased font that is at the bottom of the cover. I like this as it doesn't make the cover too busy and keeps it looking simplistic.

 

The back of the album is dark and simple with a black background and white writing. This shows that they wanted more emphasis on their front cover rather than their back to help promote the band and the album further and keep the attraction their for their followers.

Production Schedule | Produce

Before filming, editing and creating the digipak we needed to split the roles between the four of us. Since Viki and I are starring in the music video we decided that Nadine and Hayley should film the shots in the different settings. Then once we have filmed the footage we decided that myself and Viki would edit the video and Hayley and Nadine would work on the digipak.

Nadine and Hayley

Both Nadine and Hayley took turns in filming the footage of Viki and I. When one of them were filming, the other was helping with the props, the lyrics and the music. When filming the powder paint scenes, Hayley filmed and Nadine handled the powder paint. By this I mean she throw the powder paint and she handed it to us when we needed to have a shot of us blowing it off our hands. When filming Nadine and Hayley would source the music on their phones so we could sing the song to help with the lip syncing when editing the video. When we first started filming, Viki and I weren't too confident with the lyrics of the song so Nadine got the lyrics up on her phone and repeated them to us so we knew what we were meant to be singing. We did have to go over the lyrics a few times just to make sure we were singing the correct lyrics.

 

They will also be creating the album cover and the promotional poster for our group as part of the digipak. They are going to be using Photoshop when creating both the album and the poster and other elements we need as Hayley knows how to use it quite well and it will make our produce look professional and effective. They will create the album cover first, and then the promotional poster so they can use the album as inspiration.

Becca and Viki

Viki and I are both starring in the music video so we will be acting in the video and lip syncing the lyrics of the song. Also due to some absences in the group, we will help with the filming and holding props. When we filmed the balloon popping scenes I held the balloons while Nadine popped them, and we switched roles a few times so everyone had a chance to do it. We would only film if the others need help or if we were short of people, but Nadine and Hayley will do the majority of the filming. Once the filming is finished Viki and I will be editing the video and making sure it looks interesting. I will be the main editor as I knew more about the editing software than Viki does, but she help here and there with suggestions of filters and cuts and different elements like that. When editing the footage I will ask the whole group what they think of the video so far and what we should do to certain clip so everyone has their input in the video. This helps as we are sure to create a final product that we all like and are proud of.

Digipak | Planning

We have started to plan our own Digipak and we have started to discuss what we want it to look like. We have started with a basic Digipak template so we are able to spend more time on creating a final one.

This is the template we are going to use as it's useful when creating the Digipak. When using this we will know only to create the front cover and the back cover of our album. From the research we discovered previously we already know what to include on our front and back covers so all we need to do as a group is decide on our colour scheme, our fonts (which we have already discussed) and the image we are going to use. For the back cover we will also have to think of any images we can use behind the track list. We have discussed that we will include 11 tracks to our album but we haven't yet discussed the names of the them.

We have used a mixture of contrasting colours in our music video so we feel we should the same thing for our Digipak. So when adding the front we are thinking about using neon colours to contrast with the darker images that will feature on the front and back covers of the album. On the front cover, the album name Faded Lights and the group name Vintage Strobe will be featured and we will take some images of our group when filming the video in each setting. We will also take other image that could be useful for the Digipak.


While filming the powder paint scenes we took a few photos of myself and Viki with our hands by our heads covered in powder paint. We wanted our theme throughout the video and the Digipak to be powder paint so we are considering using these images as the front cover. These images will hopefully look good once edited on Photoshop to create more of a neon effect. We could perhaps combine the two images together some how, but we have still yet to decide what we are going to do with them.

Filming Schedule | Produce

When planning the days that we could shoot some footage for our music video, we made sure at least 2 or 3 people were free to film. We decided to keep record of the days we filmed on, what we filmed, and who attended the filming days.

2nd January -
This was our first day of shooting our music video. We decided we would shoot in two different locations during the day to give us a variety of shots to work with when we start to edit the video. Firstly, we filmed in the woods. Viki and I both wore leggings with either a nice dress over the top or a nice top. We also both wore boots and coats with a furry hood. Our make-up was fairly similar; we both had a brown smokey eye with eyeliner for our eyes, and a full face of make-up. We did this because most music artists have a full face of make-up on when they film music videos and also it shows that we are trying to be professional. It also shows our personality and interests.

We chose to film shots of us lip syncing to the song, but each shot is a different location within the woods that we visited. The woods was located near Viki's house so it wasn't hard for us to get to. The woods were pretty much empty so we had an advantage of the amount of different shots we can use when filming. We decided to move around the wood for each verse and chorus of the song to get different shots at different angles, and show that we have used a variety of different shots in our work. We also decided to film another section of the music video as we were all together and it made sense to film twice in one day. Hayley, Viki and I took turns when filming the wood shots, but since Viki and I are part of the music video Hayley filmed most of it. Nadine helped us with the lyrics of the song as neither of us (Viki and I) knew all of the lyrics to the song. Whenever we got a lyric wrong, Nadine would tell us what it was and we would sing it together to help us when filming. Viki and I are in the video, so we were filmed by Hayley and we lip synced the song.

We wanted to film the poster paint shots of our music video on the same day so we could get it done and out of the way. We filmed this at the back of Viki's back garden. Viki and I wore black leggings and a black top so we didn't get our nice clothes messy and also so the shot didn't look to full on and over the top. We decided to keep our make-up quite neutral as we wanted our faces to look plain so the paint could be seen on our faces clearly. When throwing the powder paint, Hayley was filming, Nadine was throwing the powder paint, and Viki and I had the powder paint thrown onto us. We experimented with the different types of shots we could do with the powder paint involved as well experimenting with the close-ups and the mid shots of the shoots. On this filming day all 4 of us were available and we all were able to attend. This was useful as it meant everyone had something to do and we weren't limited with the amount of help that we had.

13th January -
This was our second day of shooting our music video. We decided we would shoot against a plain background to add a variety of different shots in the video. This was filmed at my house, and we used a plain black screen and white screen to film in front of. We decided that one person in the video should be wearing all black against the white background, and the other person should be wearing all white against the black background. I decided that I would be behind the white background, which meant I had to wear all black, and Viki would have to wear all white against the black background. I wore a black top and black leggings, and my make-up was very natural. We chose natural make-up because we didn't want the make-up over powering the plain look we were going for.

We chose to shoot a mixture of different shots for the whole song. For the two verses, the first chorus and the bridge, we decided we wanted to shot above the waist and have me lip syncing to the song. Then when doing the two next choruses we wanted to be experimental with our shots. So we decided that I would be on the left side of the screen and I would face to the left. When we film Viki's bit we will need her to stand to the right side of the screen facing to the right. When editing this shot we will find a way to add two pieces of footage together to make it look like a split screen which is what we want it to look like. We chose this look because we liked the contrast in colours and also we thought it would attract people to the video. For the last chorus we did the same but we will be looking towards each other, however we won't be seen together in the actual video. We want to edit it to make it flicker between both us to add a cool effect to the video, and also experiment with our editing skills.

For the second part of the bridge we decided I should sit on the floor looking to the left, but at a slight angle. We will then add Viki to the other side of the shot to show we have used a mixture of different shots. We did this because in the song one of the singers is singing the melody and another singer is singing an alternative melody. We decided previously that I would sing the alternative melody and Viki would sing the melody. So when editing this it will look abstract as we both would be singing together, and the colours will contrast with each other. Then for the last bit of the song we decided that I would sing two of the last "Louder, Louder"'s and Viki would sing the other two out of four. On this filming day 3 of us attended; Viki was absent as she was ill. Although only 3 of us attended, the filming schedule was still very useful and we managed to get a lot done while having fun doing it. Since Viki did not attend this filming day we will have to film her shots behind the black background on another date once she is better.

14th January -
This was our third day of shooting for the music video. Nadine, Hayley and I all attended this session, while Viki was absent due to being ill. On this day we filmed the balloon popping, the glitter and the party poppers. We used the same black bed sheet that we used for the powder paints for these shots as we wanted the background to be plain to help the colour stand out. We used a hand held camera for this and Nadine and I wore leggings, a plain top and a jumper so we didn't get messy but also so we weren't too cold. We weren't in the shots so it didn't matter what we wore since we wouldn't have been seen. Nadine and I handled the balloons and party poppers and glitter while Hayley filmed. Sometimes we did swap around the roles so all of us had a chance to pop the balloons and film.

We chose to shoot in the same angle so the shots were continuous and effective. We did experiment with the angles when filming the glitter because we weren't sure what angle we actually wanted when showing the glitter in the music video. This filming session was very trial and improvement as we weren't sure whether the powder paints in the balloons would work and we weren't sure how well the glitter shots would come out. We experiment with the party poppers as well, while changing the different angles, but we didn't think they worked out that well, and we decided to leave those shots and film more balloon popping scenes The balloon popping scenes with the powder paint worked out really well, which is why we wanted to film as many of those shots as we could because we thought they were really effective. Once filming these shots we had everything filmed, except for the solo shots of Viki behind the black screen.

27th January - 
This was our fourth day of shooting for the music video. All four of us, Nadine, Hayley, Viki and I, were all there for this shooting day. There wasn't much we wanted to film today as we only needed to film Viki's solo parts, and we already knew what shots and angles we wanted to film so we didn't need to experiment much when filming Viki. We used my canon camera today and we placed it on a tripod in front of a plain black screen. Viki wore a white top and some leggings against the black screen to add some contrast to the shot, and also to appear the opposite of my solo shots in the song. Viki's make-up was natural and not over the top so her face didn't over power the shot and wasn't the main attraction in the shot.

The shots we filmed for my solo shots were the same shots we filmed for Viki's solo shots as we wanted them to be identical when we edit the footage to add an interesting effect and make it eye-catching. Also we did this to show our advance editing techniques. It didn't take us a long time to film these shots as we knew what kind of shots we wanted. Once we finished filming these shots we had completed all the filming and we didn't have anything else we needed to film.

CD Covers | Research

When thinking about our CD Covers we decided we would research other CD covers first, to get some ideas and also to see the different elements that are needed in a CD Cover.

Front

McBusted

The first thing that is noticeable on this CD Cover is the band itself. The band are composed in the middle of the CD Cover to emphasise that they are the main attraction. The location seems to be set outside in front of a gate of some sort. There are leaves and dirt on the floor and the gate behind them is quite messy to exaggerate them being outside. However, this image was probably taken in a studio because the lighting is quite artificial.

It looks as if the colours in the image have been saturated and emphasised when editing to make the colours stand out. This then makes the CD eye-catching to the viewer. The band name is seen above the band and is quite big to emphasise the band. There is no name of the album as it is a self named album, which makes the image look quite simple which in turn adds to the attraction of the album and brings the focus to the band. The image looks as if they are in a trouble and have been caught due to the camera being above them, and all of the artists looking to their right (left on the cover).

I like this album cover as it makes the band stand out and they are clearly the main attraction on the CD album. The composition of the band and colours clearly show the personality traits of the band and it emphasises that they are having fun as a band.

Justin Timberlake

The first thing that is noticeable on this CD Cover is Justin himself. He is composed in the middle of the CD Cover to emphasise that he is the main attraction. The location seems to be a plain white screen with not much of a setting. Since the background is plain white it means the image was probably taken in a studio which also means the lighting is probably artificial.

A black and white filter has been placed on the image to contrast with the font colour and also to add some simplicity to the image. Having the image black and white helps the font stand out which then makes the CD eye-catching to the viewer. The artists initials are either side of Justin's neck to add to the simplicity of the CD Cover and also to make the artist obvious. The name of the album is seen on his costume in the same colour as his name. This is done to add to the simplicity and also to keep the attention and attraction on the artist. In the image, Timberlake seems to be looking through an tester of some sort. This props adds interest into the image and makes the viewer interested in buying the album due to the unusual prop on the front cover.

I like this album cover as it doesn't have too much going on in the image, and the colours are simple which adds a sense of sophistication to the image and gives the artist recognition of being sophisticated along with the album cover.

James Blunt

The first thing that is noticeable on this CD Cover is the young model being thrown into the air holding a toy. The image isn't the best quality and it doesn't have a story behind it, but it's quite interesting and adds some mystery to the cover and the album. The model is composed in the middle of the image to add attraction to the mystery of the young model. The location seems to be in a neighbourhood with houses and seems like a child friendly place. The setting makes the image look relaxed and youthful as it looks personal to the artist.

The colour looks saturated but not too much. The quality of the image isn't great which adds a sense of memory and family fun. The quality of the image resembles a home photo or video of some sort which makes the cover quite personal. This will attract viewers as they will find it sentimental and it might remind them of their childhood. The artists name and album title name is in the same font and the same colour, but the artists name is larger. This is so the name is the second main attraction on the CD cover and people know who's album it is.

I like this album cover as it adds a personal effect to the album, and the baby image makes me feel youthful and positive. The colours aren't too vibrate which makes the album look natural and attractive.

Back

Jason Mraz

The first thing I notice about this back cover is the font against the plain background. The font looks like messy handwriting and makes it look natural. The background cover is a dirty white colour to add to the naturalness of the back cover. The font colour is a dark black colour, but it doesn't over power the back cover as the colour isn't too harsh.

The text where it mentions other musicians and the producers of the album is in a smaller font to make sure they aren't the main attraction on the back cover. The back cover is quite simple to keep the main attraction on the front cover, and also to make the song titles clear. Also on the back cover is the barcode, the copyright mentions and the people that helped compose the music, record the songs and make the album. Also they have the logos of the record label that they worked with in the album.

I like this back cover because it's simple and the font kind of symbolises youth as it's quite messy and not align with each other. I like this however as it reminds me of childhood and also the simplicity of the cover is quite attracting. 

The Script

The first thing I notice about this back cover is the font against the creamy background. The font looks quite square based, it's in capital letters and it's visible to see. The background cover is a dirty cream like colour to make the colour of the font stand out. The font colour is a dark black, but only some of the texts are bold. The title of the artist is in bold, and the titles of the songs aren't. This is so the bands name is quite clear on the back cover. 

The text of the band is quite large, and the text of the songs are smaller than the bands name. This is so the song names are visible, but the band name is clearer than the songs to attract the public to the album cover. The text of the copyright and the names of the people that helped make the album are in a small font because they aren't the main thing in the image. The back cover has a barcode, the copyright mentions and they have the logos of the record label that they worked with in the album.

I like this back cover because it's simple and the font is interesting to look at. The colour isn't too vibrate but that's good because it doesn't distract the audience away from the band and the songs on the album.

Taylor Swift

The first thing I notice about this back cover is the weirdly shaped font and the artist seen on the back. The background cover is a dirty cream colour and a normal cream colour is apparent on the cover. The font colour is a dark red type colour and the size isn't too big. The name of the album name is fairly big compared to the size of the name of the music artist and the song titles. 

On the back cover we see an image of Taylor Swift on the right side to exaggerate the theme of 'red' emphasised in the whole album. The image makes the audience more attracted to the album cover as they would be attracted to the music artist on the front and the back cover. The song names are at a diagonal angle which creates a sense of distortion and adds interest to the image. The back cover has a barcode, the copyright mentions and logos of the record label that they worked with in the album. The logos and the copyright mentions are very small on the back cover and the font colour is a white colour to help it stand out against the creamy background.

I like this back cover because even though the colours are vibrant, the background colour helps tone down the colour and keeps the cover looking quite simplistic. The colour red is the main theme of the album and this is clear through the colours on the back cover.