Rough Draft

This is a rough draft that I have edited. There are some gaps which I need to fill in. There are some clips that I will need to colour correct and adjust so the lip sync will be better and so its visually pleasing to watch. I will fill in the gaps with outside shots and some more master shots that I shooted.

Feedback

Generally the feedback that I got was good, however some people didn't understand the narrative. They just thought it was a girl working and stressed out. Furthermore, they said that the work scene goes on for a long time and that it gets a bit boring watching her work. I had to explain the narrative to everyone I showed which means that no one understood what I was trying to do. This may be because of the blanks in the video as they are quite long. Despite these things, everyone like the way I shot some scenes especially when she is working. 

The shooting went well

Overall, the photoshoot went well. I really enjoyed filming with my artist. She listened to instructions well and helped me achieve my targets. One thing that I struggled with was filming the mastershot. This is mainly because of the lighting and the colour of the background. The most enjoyable day was filming the work scenes as it was very quick and easy to direct. One shot that I particularly struggled with was a spin look shot. For this shot I had to practise going around my artist as well as my hand movement. I was still trying to get a shaky movement with the camera while going around my artist. I added in extra shots that were different to my shot list when I was filming for when my artist was getting ready to out. I wanted to try do some unique shots to reveal my artist and do something different. I also tried to experiment with the mirrors. There was one small mirror and one big mirror. I tried to get the artist's lips or eyes in the small mirror while she was putting make up on.

Behind the scenes

Behind the scenes - Kizoa Online Movie Maker

Shooting Schedule

SATURDAY 5th DECEMBER 2015

SUNDAY 6th DECEMBER 2015

Final Photoshoot

I am very happy with how the photoshoot went. The artist worked well with the instructions that I gave and had enjoyed herself.

Photoshoot Schedule

MONDAY 30th NOVEMBER 2016

This will be the day that I will be doing my photoshoot. It will be done in the evening at my house in a living room with a white background. I am planning to take many mid shots and close ups for the front cover. For the back cover I would like to show her hair and the back of her outfit. Additionally, I want an extreme close up of her eye with the make up on. Generally, I want to enjoy this photoshoot with my actress.

Experiment 2

In this experiment I was looking at the sorts of shots that I would use for my final photoshoot. I was experimenting on background and lighting again. I have now finalised that I would like a white background as I believe it gives a professional and angelic finish.

Experiment 1

In this photoshoot I wanted to experiment with the lighting and background. I simply used a work light but realised that there were too many shadows so I then didn't use any lighting just to see how the pictures would come out. I realised that without the lighting the pictures looked "grainy" especially when using a black background. Using a black background made my face stand out a bit more as well as my outfit however my hair blended in with the background. I then tried using a white background which I preferred as it made me look angelic which I would like my artist to look. I also took into consideration the colour of clothing for the artist. I want to choose something bright so it will bring her face out more and I would like to do her hair curly to make her look made up.

Mock Up

Feedback

I will try to use different shots, but also make my artist pose in different ways to make my CD cover look unique.

Props and Costume

For my album cover I will not be using any props as I just want to show my artist as being simple. She does not need a prop to help convey a meaning. I will be doing her hair and make up for the photoshoot. Her make up will be simple but pretty and her hair will be curly to make her look 'girly'. As for her costume I will get her to wear a bright coloured top to attract audience members and to make it look eye catching. It will be more of a 'going out' top as I don't want her to look boring on her album cover.

Artist revealed!

Maya is an India, Sikh girl aged 21. She will be releasing her first album this year. Her music genre is indie pop, and tries to express her thoughts, feelings, and emotions through her songs. When she was younger she felt quite isolated and didn't have anyone to talk to. This is what sparked her interest in writing music. Since then she has been writing her own songs and has been performing locally to family members, friends and in pubs. She has had a lot of attention and now at the age of 21 she has been recognised my republic records who have taken her on. She is planning to release this album and go to music festivals to promote her album. She is going to be creating a CD and Magazine poster for this promotion. She is hoping to have a second album in a couple of years time. 

Album and Artist

I created a survey which I had distributed throughout the sixth form. I explained the concept of the song and album and this is what they thought:

I am happy that the majority chose the name 'Maya'. This is because it means illusion in hindi/punjabi and it relates very well with the concept of my narrative. When I asked why they chose this name, they answered that it is simple and easy to remember, which is what I wanted. With the album name, most people chose 'Reverie' which means lost in one's thought, daydream. They chose this because they thought it was unique. Some of them did not know the meaning of reverie, when I explained what it meant most people chose it but some liked 'Lucid dreams'. I am happy with Reverie as it amplifies the meaning of my narrative. 

From this research I will name my artist 'Maya' and call the album 'Reverie'

Shotlist

Key
M- Master shots
O- Outside shots
W- Work shot

Storyboard and Animatic

Copyright

Dear Copyright holder,

I am an A level student requesting your permission to use Lana Del Rey's track Summertime Sadness. This track will strictly be used for educational purposes, A2 level Media Studies. This includes: creating a music video, an album cover and a magazine advert for our new upcoming artist. This involves of creating a new name, therefore I will not be using Lana Del Rey's name. If we gain your permission this track will only be used for educational purposes and only be viewed by my media class, teachers and the OCR exam board. This track will not be used for any financial purposes or to gain any profit. The artist and the record company will fully be acknowledged throughout the project and production, including the final music video created.

Kind Regards
Simran Deol
Park High School

Magazines

I have decided to use The Guide will be appropriate to put on my magazine. This is because The guise gives online reviews from the Guardian online magazines. I believe this is suitable for my artists as its her first album, therefore I will only need one review for her. They also use a star rating system from one to five, which helps the fans visually see what The Guide thinks of the album. They review range of different artists from different genre's and I can imagine them reviewing my artist's album.

Analysis of magazine and digipaks

This is the Digipak for Rhianna's album, Loud. 

In this Digipak there is one theme colour throughout the album. Her bold red hair and the red roses is what will make her CD cover stand out from other albums. I also want to make my Digipak stand out from other albums by using warm colours. However I do not want to use one picture for the inside panels. This is because I want to show different pictures of the artist so that audience members could get to know the artist a bit better. Rihanna is extremely successful and recognisable which may be why she has put her name in a small font on the CD cover. She is also an iconic artist, therefore she can just use one picture across the inside panels whereas it is the first album for my artist.
The back cover shows her track list, record label, bar code and copy right information which I will need to take into consideration. This is done on every back CD cover. The proction details are also in small print as it is not that relevant for Rihanna's fans.

Digipak ideas and inspirations

One main convention that emerges from these pictures is that the artist's name is shown as being bold and big. Most artists have direct eye contact with the audience members. These are all ideas that I really like and I will take into consideration. The shots of the artists are mostly close up and mid shots, so they are easily recognisable by their fans. The font is also very simple and in blocks to help fans read it more clearly. 

For these female artists, the eye make up stands out such as Adele/25and Iggy Azalea. Also most of the covers have bright lighting excluding only a few, where some are black and white. Furthermore, the hair for each of the female artists are shown as being quite made up. I do have some sort of idea for the sort of Digipak that I would like to produce for my artist. I would like my artist to have her hair out and have simple make up on. I cannot forget the pine of the CD cover. For the spine I will make sure the artist and album name is written clearly in a simple font. 

Artist, Props and Costume

My artist will be shown as very simple from her work side however when she is getting ready I want the audience members to feel like she is taking her time and is putting a lot of effort in what she is doing. In the master shots I want to make sure she looks emotional and serious as I want the audience to think about the lyrics while watching her 'sing'.

Costume

          

These are some outfits that I am planning for the artist to wear. The red dress will be for her getting ready to go out as it relates to the lyrics of the video and I believe that there could be some connotations to the 'red dress'. Additionally I will make sure my artist has a good amount of make up on  and she is wearing high heels to make it look more realistic. Her hair will be done in a bun as it was mentioned in the song and it adds to her look of looking smart and sophisticated. The simple vest tops will be for when she is singing to the camera in the master shots. I have chosen a vest stop as it shows simplicity and I want the artist to look stripped back. There will be some make up used in this part. For the outside shots, I will need a coat that looks smart to go with her red dress outfit. Lastly, her work attire will include a simple smart/casual shirt with trousers. I don't want her to look like she is going out to work. Keeping it smart/casual will help the audience realise that she is working from home due to the simple outfit. Her hair will be very simple and there won't be much make up being used at this point. 

Props and Mise en scene

For the work scene I will need a laptop, some papers the artist can work with and a pen. This will make the home environment look more like a work area. When the artist is getting ready I will  need a very 'girly' dressing table full of perfumes, make up, a mirror, hair brush and more. This will help set the mood for the audience. Because the artist is getting ready, I will have to give some jewellery for her to put on during the music video. 

  

Record Label

The record company that I have chosen is Republic Records. It is an American record company that operates as a division of universal music group. According to Media base, Republic Records was 2012's top charting U.S. label. The label's best selling artists include Ariana Grande, Amy Winehouse, Owl City, and Lorde. I am choosing this record label as it has signed many similar artists to Lana Del Rey who have been successful. An american record will help my artist to reach a wide audience as most artists are successful  in the U.S and there is more choice.