Back Cover Progess

This is the image I am going to be using for the back cover of the CD; I like the image as Emily is not looking directly at the camera as she is looking down. It creates a mystery, disconnected feel that ties in with the theme of the main song on the CD without giving too much away.

I am going to be editing this image using PicMonkey as I did on the CD cover. In order to be able to create consistency in my DigiPak I am going to be using the same filters as I did on the front cover therefore I am going to be following the same steps.

Starting by applying the black and white filter.

Next the Daguerreotype filter that increases highlights and shadows.

Then I altered the exposure to again to increase the highlights and reducing the brightness. 

I then used the paint tool in black to go over the background where things could still be seen to totally black it out.

Then I applied the Time Machine filter to add the same colour effect as on the front.

Next I cropped the image into a square with both Emily in the centre and on the left as I am undecided on which I prefer so doing this will enable me to choose later.

Left side; text could go down the right side.

 

Centre; text could alternate between each side.

 

Video Feedback

I received feedback on my music video from a group of girls aged 14-16; these are some of the comments I received:

Most of the comments said that the Car section of the video was too long; because of this I am going to go back and shorten this section.
Some of the comments also said that the start was too repeatative and that some of the transitions between videos where sudden or jumpy. To fix this I am going to go back to the start and work out which clips I can take out or change to prevent it from repeating. To make the video transitions smoother I am going to add some effects so that they aren't as jumpy.

Near the end of my video it rewinds back to the start as this is the point in the video where their eyes meet and they kiss. It symbolises that when they are one they are happy taking it back to the beginning allowing them to redo what they have done but that they are now happy. Some people didn't like the rewind affect but most people loved it. From getting this feedback on the rewind section I am going to go back and tidy it up maybe using a slower transition so that it is not sudden allowing the audience to be able to see what it symbolises.

By making these changes my video will be better and more appealing to my target audience.

Back Cover

This is one of the pictures I took on the day of filming; I had originally planned to use it in a blog post about the outfits warn although I am now thinking about using as the back cover of the the CD. I am going to use a similar theme to the one used on the front of the CD by backing it black and white with a green tint. 

To edit this image I am going to be using Adobe Flash CS4 and PicMonkey.

CD Cover progress

 

I am now starting to edit the image for my CD front cover; I started by opening the image on PicMonkey then playing around with some of the filters. I started with a Black and White filter and liked the way it looked.

I then used another filter that brought out the highlights in the picture and added shadows, I loved the way this looked as it created a theatrical stage feel. Although I liked this I wasn't sure on the left side of the image as it then looked out of place.

 

To fix this I saved the picture then opened it in Photoshop; I used the pen tool in black to colour over the remaining parts of the picture that weren't already black.

This created a completely blacked out professional looking image; I also used the clone and transform tool on some areas of his jacket and tie to move some of the lighter sections into the darker that were previously shadowed due to the light that was coming through the window to make it appear that the picture was used with good and professional lighting. 

 

This is one of the filters I then used on PicMonkey; it has an ombre blue affect from black and white in the top to blue in the bottom. I then added a light affect in the corner. Doing this was experimenting with the different filters PicMonkey offer to see what looked best. I asked my friend Emily for feedback on this image to see what she thought about it.

 

"I like the professional studio effect you have used on this image although I feel that the filters don't suit it as much as they look a little busy, I like the black and white feel you have used and can see why you wanted to add some colour to make it standout but you should consider another filter that provides the colour element you are looking for that also matches and suits the black and white classic vibe you are trying to create."- Emily Brown. 18.

 

After getting this feedback I considered what she had said and agreed with the points she made, I went back onto PicMonkey and changed the filter to the one shown in the picture above called Time Machine. I love this filter as I feel it keeps the black and white classic effect whilst also creating a slight pop of colour.

Theo Carter is the name of the artist that I came up with and liked after combining two of some of the current popular names for boys 'Theo' and 'Carter'. I chose the colour of the font by swatching the colour from the picture so that it would match and tie in with the image. I found the font on PicMonkey it is called Script Pro; I chose it as it looks like a hand written signature rather than printed text providing a more personal touch.

 

I chose the name 'Lost in Rome' for my album as I really like it, I like the way it sounds and chose it after looking through the names of the top 100 album chart to get an idea of names. I used the same colour as before. I wanted to use a hand written type text again as I like the effect it gives. This is the first font I tried.

 

This is the second font type I tried, I prefer the way that this one looks as it is more mature and effective than the first was.

 

This is my complete CD Cover.

Editing my CD Cover image

I am now going to be making my CD cover, from the pictures in my previous post I have decided to use this one

I do like this picture and want to use it on my front cover but unfortunately the top of Charlies head has been cut off. I am going to try to edit the picture to recreate the top of his head to be able to make the picture completed.

I am going to be using Adobe Photoshop CS4 to do this as I have used Photoshop before and know how to use the features it provides to be able to do what it is I want to do.

I started by opening the picture in Adobe Photoshop CS4.

 

I then resized the image slightly to create a gap at the top as shown in the image above.

 

Next I selected the top left corner using one of the tools in the tool bar, once I had selected the area I wanted I pressed 'control and t' to transform the image allowing me to drag it upwards to fill the remaining space, I was careful when selecting the area so that it would not be clear that the image had been modified.

I then repeated the same step as before on the section next to it.

I did the same again on the far right, repeating the same process. Leaving me with the space in the middle.

In order to fill this gap I had to think about how to either exaggerate or fill in the missing piece of the picture. To do this I looked through other pictures and videos to see if I could find the picture; I found it in one of the videos so I paused it and print screened the still image then opened it in Photoshop.

I then copied it onto the original picture.

Then selected the area I wanted around the picture.

And put it into the correct position and resized it so that it would meet the position of where the original picture was.

I rubbed out the remaining area around the picture so that it would match well.

I then manipulated the remaining area on the right and used the stamp/clone tool to fill in the last of the white gap.

The final stage is to add the top of Charlie's head in order to be able to complete the image. This is one of the pictures I took on the second day of filming; the top of Charlie's head is very clear and open in this picture making it suitable to use.

I copied the image into Photoshop onto the original picture and resized it so that it fit in the right position.



Then I cropped to just the top section of Charlie's head.

I then rubbed out the remaining area.

This is the final image after using Photoshop to manipulate it to create the top of Charlie's head; the picture is now complete but there is a colour difference due to a change in daylight between each picture. To correct this I am going to use PicMonkey.

 

I started by opening the image in PicMonkey.

I then used the highlight tool and used multiple layers of the brown shade on the top of Charlie's head to match it to the colour of his hair in the original picture.

 

After doing this I cropped the image into a square so that it is the correct size and shape for a CD.

I then saved the picture ready for me to continue to edit later on. 



Complete Draft

I have just completed the first full draft of my music video by adding all clips, effects and music at the right times.

I am going to ask for feedback on my video from my target audience so that I can see what they think of my video and whether they understand the purpose and what I am trying to show. By asking for feedback I am able to make any changes I need to based on the suggestions provided.

First Three Minutes

I am now up to three minutes into my music video repeating the same steps as I have before to put all of the clips I need to be able to achieve the narrative story I had planned to do.

Next to finish the last minute I am going to re insert the clips I have already used but put them in reverse speed and speed them right up to create a rewind effect.

CD Cover

These pictures of Charlie were taken on the second day of filming; as Charlie is the singer I want to use him on the cover of my CD. I am planning on manipulating these images to find which is best suited for my CD cover. As these images are also portrait meaning that they will have to be cropped so that they are the right size for a CD cover.I prefer the last two images as Charlie is looking down not directly at the camera which creates an atmosphere that suits the song and the theme of my video.

DigiPak

I am now going to start work on my DigiPak so that I have enough time to complete both my video and DigiPak.

My DigiPak is going to be made up of a CD cover, back cover, Disc, Spine and inside cover and a billboard poster.

Whilst creating the parts of my DigiPak I will continue to edit my video and upload my progress with the parts of the video I have completed.