Our Draft Logo Design

This is our draft logo design that was created on the programme Photoshop. The design of the flower is a good idea, as our artist is female and is represented to be as glamorous. The next stage will be creating the logo that we will actually use for our Album Cover.

The pros of this particular design are that the flower represents our female artist well and is well drawn and conveys the artistic side of our artist. The font that we have selected as well, represents the genre of music and matches the brand identity of the female artist.

What we could improve on this logo could be the background colour as at the moment it is white, and very boring. We need to attract an audience and appeal to our target audience so the background colour will definitely need to be changed and suited to the main image (the flower). Perhaps in the next stage of the editing process, we can make the image more detailed by perhaps adding another image in the centre of the flower to attract the eye of the viewer.

Our Suitable Record Label: Epic Records

Epic Records is an American record label that is owned by Sony Music Entertainment. It was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, but is now represented a variety of genres.
This would be perfect for our artist as Sony Music Entertainment are very well known, and marketing would be easy to reach our target audience. Also the fact that our artist is very independant and writes her own music, Sony Music will be the perfect record label for Veronica Summer.

Also the main artist of our inspiration Paloma Faith is also signed to this record label, and we are recreating a version of her song Technicolour, so this is another reason why this record label is perfect for her.
As well as Paloma Faith, Epic Records have also worked with female Soul singers such as Natasha Bedingfield so the music style will not be unusual.

Talent Release Form.

As the main artist, I had to fill in this form so that I knew what the images and film footage of me were going to be used for and so I was aware of where the work was going to be conveyed to the audience. This is whilst I'm in role as Veronica Summer.
By signing the mentioned forms, I agree to the showcase of this certain piece of work, and I allow for images and footage of me to be used on the internet, and shown at the Media Studies Showcase.

Track Permission Letter

This is the email that Cameron wrote on behalf of the entire group to Sony Music requesting permission to use the Paloma Faith song- Technicolour. This is important as the record label need to be aware that we are creating a professional music video featuring this song for our A-level in Media Studies.

Location Permission Letters.

This is the email that was sent to North Cheam Sports and Social Club requesting permission to use their facilities as two of our major locations in our music video. As stated in the email, we were asking to use their small and slightly larger function room (which had an additional bar). We were granted permission but it was made very clear to us that we had to leave the rooms in the condition that we found them, and we had to credit them in our final product. 

It was really important that we asked the Manager to use this location, as without this we would not have been able to create our music video exactly how we had hoped. 

After sending the above email, in return we received this letter which states that we are allowed to use their facilities in the given time period. They booked the function rooms for our use, and agreed with our conditions of use. 

Shooting Schedule.

This is the shooting schedule for my group when we produce our Soul music video. A shooting schedule is an essential part of the planning process and it ensures that all the filming runs smoothly, and all the instrumentalists and backing dancers know where to be in each shoot. This is also very helpful for the main artist. It enables my group to be very organised, and will hopefully decrease the duration of the filming process.

This shooting schedule was made to ensure that all the people involved in the creation of the music video, can clearly see where and what they have to be doing at each time and on the different days. This is so all the appropriate props, costumes and instruments can get to the locations at the right time and day of when we are filming. 

Storyboard.

This is the Storyboards that we created so we knew the type of shot to use, any movement of the camera and the duration of each shot. This storyboard has been thoroughly though through so we all know exactly what shots we are filming. The pictures drawn by Katie Lee, are very clear and make it easier for the rest of my group to understand what the shots are that we are using in the video.

Above the storyboards, is an animated video that conveys the individual shots in an even clearer way. This makes it easier when it comes to producing the music video. 

Photo Shoot Plan

We have decided to have three different locations for our music video.We will take photographs in each of the locations, then choose the best one to have as our CD cover and Album advert. This will mean that we have created a brand identity for our artist, and it will hopefully fit into the genre of our music. If it does, then it will create a very effective Digipak.
As mentioned in the equipment post, we will be using a SLR still camera to take the photographs so the quality of the work will be very high, and our images will look professional.

List of Props, Costumes, Make-Up and Equipment.

We have chosen to have balloons of a variety of colours to use in our music video. This doesn't necessarily suit the genre of our music video, but it is perfect for the song that we have requested permission to use-Technicolour by Paloma Faith. The balloons will challenge the conventions of the Soul genre, making the music video more interesting.
The taxi that will be used will suit the genre more, and was an inspirational idea from other Soul artists.
I will be having three costume changes to make sure that viewer fatigue is non apparent throughout the music video. Also different costumes will match the selection of locations that we have, making it more enjoyable to watch.
The equipment that we require to shoot our music video and indeed the photo shoot will need to be very high-tec. We will be using a SLR camera to film the variety of shots and a different SLR camera to take the photos for the photo shoot.



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Draft Advert Design

This is my attempt at creating a Album Advert for my Digipak part of the course. I feel that it works well, as it suits the genre that we are working in, therefore will appeal to our target audience.
After looking and analysing other artist's album design, I made mine to perhaps contain some of the work that they possess, this is why I believe it is effective.
With the main artist being surrounded by musical books, it conveys her passion for producing and creating her own lyrics. It also shows her determination to succeed.
I added effects to the original image, giving it a different look, but as I am yet to develop my skills on Photoshop, I was not able to make any challenging adaptions to the image.
When it came to selecting an image that could perhaps be used for the draft Advert design, I had to choose carefully, and judge it on the posture, costume, font and overall image that the artist presents. Her costume fits into the genre of Soul, and also matches the artist's name.

Location Shots

For the creation of our Music Video, my group decided that we wanted to use a setting that had a bar and a stage. This represents our genre of music very well.
This kind of setting is easy for a narrative type video and will be easy for us to portray a music video that contains a rehearsal performance. This was very important to us when we though about creating our video.

To the left, is a picture of the bar that we have booked to use when filming our music video. This bar is perfect as it is red, which symbolises the colour of passion, and our artist is very passionate about her music. This is also a very conventional colour to suit our genre.
To create some shots, we will have our main artist sitting on the bar performing, so she isn't on the stage the entire video.
This bar is a very well decorated and lit bar, which will make it look more beautiful on camera.

This is a staging area from a different room but the same Social Club. We have decided to use this area for our artist's rehearsal performance in the music video.

This will be a good stage to use as it is very spacious, so the main artist and her backing singers and dancers will be able to also be on the stage.
In front of the stage is a main floor, which will provide more space for the dancers and singers to perform if need be.
As well in the music video, we would like to include some instrumentalists, this is a big enough space to accommodate for them.

As well as the Social Club, we have decided to use the inside of a black taxi, to film some scenes from our music video. This will be a very effective setting for a few shots, as previous Soul artists have used a black cab as a location and it really suits the genre. The fact that the seats are dark and matches the conventions of the Soul genre. Whilst I am sitting in the taxi, I am going to be surrounded by multicoloured balloons which will go against the norms of this particular genre of music. This particular idea, fits into the lyrics that Paloma Faith sings, when she refers to the different colours in her room, so the audience feel that perhaps they are in the artist's world when watching the music video.



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Brand Identity

Below are some ideas of possible fonts that we can use for our Digipak and publicity photos that are featured in our advertisement side of the Coursework.

Font Name: Vanessa

This is one of the choices of font that we could use on our Digipak and Advert work. This is would be an effective font to use as the lettering that is used suits our genre. Also our inspirational Soul artist Paloma Faith is seen as artistic and unique, so this font portrays that. Our artist is female and this particular font can be seen as 'girly'.

Font Name: Monbijoux

This is another font option that we have for our publicity photos and Digipak. This is also another effective font as the lettering really resembles the artist's characterstics. She is a very artistic person, and in the music video will be wearing tattoos, so this font symbalises her creative side very nicely.

Font Name: Eminent

This is our final option for the range of fonts that can be used. This one is also an idea that could possibly work as the letters are in bold, which could represent the personality of our artist and how important her music is to her. This could also show to the audience that she is not overshadowed when it comes to her musical career.This font has less detail compared to the others but it is still an option for us.

When creating our publicity photos, we had to consider the brand identity of the artist, in this case Veronica Summer. We have to take into account her image such as costumes, props and make-up while she is on camera.


The image of the main artist is essential to the creating of the music video. There are lots of elements to take into consideration, the costumes that she will be wearing, the props that she comes into contact with and the make-up that can be seen throughout.
Our artist will have a number of tattoos on her body, to symbolise her creative and artistic side. The different designs that she has, also show to the audience that she is open minded and this is also relevant in her music.

-tattoos
-red lipstick
-back combed hair
-black heels
-skinny jeans
-little black dress
-vintage patterned dress

When it came to actually the filming the footage, we adapted some of the tattoos that the main artist had, instead of the skull tattoo that we had originally planned we designed a variety of different other styles that are also effective to the genre of our music video. The tattoo designs were a bow, heart with a banner through the middle creating a more creative artistic style of the artistic, smaller hearts on the neck and also a small daisy chain around the wrist, which emphasises the glamorous side of the female artist. 

When it gradually became closer to the filming that we did, we decided that instead of my hair being definitively backcombed, if it was curled and slightly backcombed afterwards it would look more effective. When we did filming outside in Nonsuch Park, I made the decision to have my hair less curled as we realised that my hair would be blown by the natural wind anyway. This also gave the artist a slight change in the image, which makes the music video more interesting to watch and reduces the chance of viewer fatigue. Below is a contact sheet of the tattoos that I did have on while I was shooting the music video.

These images are successful as they display the tattoos very well, and with the main artist wearing a black corset, it conveys the Soul genre that is a huge influence of her life.
Also the majority of the designs of the tattoos are in black which also symbolises the genre of the music.
The costume that she is wearing (black corset and skinny jeans and black heels) could perhaps make the audience seem that she is confident with her appearance and could perhaps give off a sense of glamorousness.



The vintage dress is worn when I am filming in the Bar location. The lighting that is used on the bar matches the design of the dress which creates a strong colour scheme to follow for the duration of the music video. When discussing locations we used a variety that differ from each other, so that the viewer can see a change in scenery and will reduce the opportunity for viewer fatigue. 

Image Annotation

We wanted our artist that we chose to be a mixture of similar artists in the same genre. This makes Paloma Faith perfect. In my eyes, she is a mix of both ends of the Soul spectrum combining both Amy Winehouse and Duffy. Although Paloma Faith has a very whacky and unique style, she is no Lady Gaga. We would perhaps combine the image for our main artist from both styles of Amy Winehouse (with the tattoos) and Duffy (with the little black dress, to make her look classy and glamorous).
Although Paloma Faith is a soul singer, we will add a slightly more convential image to our artist so she is recognised as a Soul artist.

Above I have annotated the main features of the artist of inspiration, so we have a clear indication about what elements to add to our main artist and perhaps what her image should be based around.


In our music video, we would like our main artist to be have an image of a mixture of all the artists in the GIF I have created. We would like to use fake tattoos to symbolise her artistic side which is represented by Amy Winehouse, then we would like the dress and fashion sense of the Soul singer Adele, and the unique style of Paloma Faith.
We have to use Paloma Faith as an inspirational artist, as she is the artist of our choice.

Concept

Our main concept that we had to focus on was the performance of the main artist. We were exploring the idea of the artist in a bar perhaps performing some simple and classy dance moves with a structured story to follow. Of course none of this is certain. An idea that was ver intelligent, was to have the music video as a practice performance for the main artist, instead of a real life audience involved in the video. This will emphasise the love and passion for their music that all musicians share, and perhaps the image of the performer not so crucial.

IMAGE: To the left is the exact dress that the main artist will be wearing when it comes to performing in the music video. This dress is perfect, it is black which is a convention of our genre, but also if you look closer, there are tattoos on it as the design so it matches what we were hoping to achieve in image.

The dress must stand out and look good on the performer, as it defines who the artist is and this is very important in the making of a music video.

It is also important that my backing dancers and singers have the right look when performing. They need to also feed into the conventions of a Soul genre. We have decided to have the males in black suit which then matches the little black dress, and the backing singers to be wearing something floral that perhaps looks like a prom dress.
The dresses that are in the picture to the right are dresses that Katie owns so we won't have a lot of trouble getting those. The suit that is in the picture is very smart and is also black meaning that the dancers and the artist will be as one in the music video.

SETTING: We have come to the conclusion that a bar or club type venue will be perfect for us to use when filming for our music video.
As we have the idea of the music video performance to be a practice performance, a bar will be the perfect venue. Below is a picture of our chosen location.

This is an image of the bar that we are using to recreate our own version of a music video. We will use this bar, for the main artist to sit/pefrom on instead of having her situated on the stage through the entire music video. This is an easy way that viewer fatigue can be prevented.

Lyrics Annotation

Above is a video that we created as a group displaying the lyrics of our chosen song that we have read and annotated. A soundtrack of our song that we are doing a music video on has been added underneath so the audience can read the lyrics and hear the song at the same time.
We analysed the music video, so that when it came to reproducing our music video, we had an idea of what shots would work well with which lyrics.
We also discussed the main artist in the video, so we knew how to portray our artist in a similar and yet at the same time in a different way.

Song Details

This is the song that we have selected to do for our A2 Media Studies music video. This is a real reflection of the Soul genre song that we were thinking about when it came to our Initial Ideas.
Paloma Faith was chosen as our artist, because she has the perfect image and her music is a mixture of different but similar artists such as Duffy and Amy Winehouse.
Her style is known to be very unique and quite out there, so for the music video that we are creating we will need to tone down her image for our artist, but her music and her image is a real inspiration to us.
This song was written by Paloma Faith and was never released on her album. This was incredibly lucky for us, as we needed to choose a British artist with a song that had never been released, so had no music video already.

Technical Tutorials

This is a video that we created with the Green Screen. We are all featured in the video but have different roles. I am the main artist singing 'Set Fire to The Rain' by Adele, Katie is to the left of me playing piano, and Cameron is behind playing the drums. We had to perform one verse and one chorus so the video was not too long.
This was a practice before we go ahead and recreate the music video for our chosen song for our A2 Media Studies.
To create this video, we set up the Green Screen in our Media Studies classroom and all helped out filming each other's. There were three video cameras situated in front of the classroom which the performing band were facing. One camera was the film the main artist, the second the accompanying instrumentalists and the third any other members of the group or the singer and instrumentalist in one shot.
Once we had finished filming our practice video, we used the programme Final Cut, to upload what we had created and to edit the work we wanted to keep. Instead of using the Green Screen as the backdrop behind the performers, we imported a picture of New York City with natural lighting from various buildings to create a more interesting music video.

Above are two draft CD covers that were created to show what kind of work we could produce for our Final Cd cover, after we create our A2 Music Video.

They belong in the genre of Soul and the main artist is a female. When it comes to our final piece of our CD cover, we will use the same image as we have done here. In each picture, the lighting is slightly different with more concentrated lighting used in the second one.

As the artist is looking straight at the camera, this is an effective publicity shot. The background matches the artist and the genre in which she fits into. Both fonts from either picture can be seen as bold, as they stand out and mean that the audience notice the writing as well as the main image in the frame.

The posture of the artist is effective, as there are a limited amount of publicity photos with the artist laying down or tilted from the camera. This is a very well composed shot as although the artist is in the centre of the screen, there are music books surrounding her, which could portray to the artist her influences and her passion for music.

This is all the draft CD covers that were created for the same artist, each containing a different album name.

Roles

To make a music video successful, you need a range of people involved that are responsible for different elements of the creation. This is what we have in our group and will be explained below.

Katie Lee

This is Katie. She will be taking the role of a cinematographer and the main editor in post production with the help of Cameron and I. This is a very good role for her, as she is great behind the camera and her editing skills are excellent.
As well as this, she is our main Locations manager which entails her to contact owners of various locations and get permission for us to use their facilities.
When it comes to the main artist (me), she is going to also be in charge of my style. Trying out a variety of hairstyles and clothes that make up my image in the video. This is vital as we need it to meet the conventions of our genre which is Soul.

Cameron Roberts

This is Cameron. He will be assisting Katie and I in the editing of post production and will also too be behind the camera filming various shots. His main role however, will be to cast actors in our music video to act as the main artist's backing dancers. It is very important that these people are selecting carefully as we need the perfect Soul 'look' for our music video. We need 4 or 5 male dancers and 2 or 3 backing singers to support the artist.
Also he will be in charge of props, so obtaining various items that will be featured into our music video(with the help of me).

I will be performing as the main Soul artist in the music video. That means that my main role before any shooting begins is to learn the lyrics of the selected song, practice my performance as it has to be perfect and go over and rehearse any dance moves that are evident in the song. This is an essential role as the music video needs to look professional and we need people to want to watch it and enjoy it when they do, so having a good performance by me is vital.
I will be first in charge of sourcing any costumes that I think may be worn by myself or perhaps the dancers or backing singers. As a group we have discussed maybe investing into some temporary tattoos for me to wear, just to give me that essential Soul genre 'look'.
To make sure I am always developing as a Media Studies student, I will be given the opportunity to set up and film various shots so that I am improving my practical skills in the subject.

Initial Ideas

Our initial ideas have been recorded in a discussion that we had about all the elements of our music video, whether that be about the image of the main artist, location of the shoot for the video or the song that is going to be featured in our music video.
When it came to editing the video of our Initial Ideas, cutaways were added so that the audience do not just witness us having a conversation, and they can see how we planned out what was said in the discussion.
We didn't script the conversation so the Initial Ideas that were written on the board were just for us to keep in mind about what we should mention and highlight in the music video. I think this works and is very effective.