CD cover: constructing

After dragging the photograph across to my background it was apparent that the outline appeared too sharp, thus I wanted to add a outline. In order to do achieve this I used this video from youtube as a guide.

CD cover so far:

I am rather pleased with the outcome of the outline, however I am unsure whether to use this background, thus I will reevaluate the overall appearance after adding text.















First final of the CD cover:

This is the first completed attempt of my cd cover. However I wish to experiment with the fonts colour as I don't think that it is very eye catching, when promoting the artists name is one of the most important aspects of an album cover. I am also going to try using a head shot so my cover is more conventional.












After changes: 

I definitely prefer the headshot for my cd as I believe that the photograph is more strong, the artist is direct as she is looking directly at the camera which will attract people's attention. Although I am now happy with the layout of my CD cover I have decided to use a different picture that was originally a headshot, as cropping a medium shot down has made the photograph blurred and appear unprofessional.










Final CD cover:

This is the final version of my CD cover.

CD cover: Choosing a screen name

Rather than using my models real name I decided to create a screen one. However, I was unsure whether to use 'Sophia London' or 'Dakota Harper', after asking my class for their feedback and opinions it became apparent that 'Dakota Harper' was preferred the most.

CD cover: contact print

I booked a studio at Shiny Row college in order to take photographs of my model, Sophie Tait, as I wish for my products to have good visual impact and appear professional.

Photographs I have decided to use for my poster and CD:

Outfit change

Original outfit: 

 I believe that this particular outfit did not suit the edgy, mature, appeal that I was going for and appeared rather childlike. The blue and lettering on the top would have also detracted too much attention if used on both the CD cover and poster, as when researching other products of the same genre the artist usually wore something plain or stuck to one block colour.














Outfit I decided to use: 

This outfit change definitely contributes to my artists persona. 'Dakota Harper' struggles to be an idealistic teenager from the suburbs and feels that her teenage years are being wasted in a town which are based on conventional appearances. This is why I have chosen to use the song 'Teen idle' for my music video.

Record labels

Interscope Records:
Interscope Records is an American record label owned and founded by Jimmy Lovine and Giorgio Saravia in 1989. It is based in Santa Monica, California and is home to over 146 artists. I believe that my artist would be signed up to this label as Lana Del Rey, my biggest inspiration whilst creating my products, belongs to them. They also house other popular artists such as Lady Gaga and Madonna, which proves that they are well established. 

some of the artists that belong to them

This is the record label's logo. 

















Polydor: 
Polydor Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the UK, where it operates as a frontline label. Additionally, it is affiliated with UMG's American based Interscope Geffen A&M label, which distributes it's releases in the UNited States. Artits such as I believe that my artists genre and style would fit in with the Polydor label, as Sky Ferriera who was my main inspiration for my artists outfits and makeup is signed to them. Artists such as The Cure, Snow Patrol and Robin Thicke belong to this label which makes it apparent that they are a well established company who possess successful musicians. 

Preliminary task: fonts

I used the website 'www.fontspace.com' in order to discover the font that I wish to use for my cd cover. I have decided that I will use a cursive font to convey femininity and maturity as I believe that the more bold fonts will not appeal to my primary audience of teenagers as it appears a little childish.

Possible font styles:  
I was initially going to use one of the fonts featured below, however I am going to revisit the website 'fontspace' to choose another.














Font change: 

Preliminary task: Planning

Mood board of inspiration:
Backgrounds for cd cover
Poses

Main inspiration for pose: 

I have decided that I will adopt a similar style when shooting for the main image for my own cd cover. Using a  cigarette as a prop will create an apparent contrast to the pastel pink background, a style I chose in order to represent the conventional, innocent teenager.

Mise en scene:
Hair band or bow
Cigarettes
Black dress
Makeup: eyeliner, eyes shadow, mascara and red lipstick

Chosen background: 

 The whole persona/story behind my artist is to highlight the idealistic appearances of suburban teenagers. The background is pastel, with a vintage hint to it which I chose in order to portray what the conventional teenager would like, if I was to dress my artist in an outfit to emphasise this representation I would have had her wearing an outfit which conveyed innocence, such as a summer dress with little makeup. I will have my artist wearing dark colours and dramatic makeup in order to emphasise that she is almost an outsider, and goes against the convention of the innocent teenager. 

Album cover research

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This is a Prezi presentation to show my analysis of three different album covers.

Preliminary task reconstruction: Process

  

I used the editing software 'Adobe Photoshop CS5.1' in order to reconstruct an album cover I thought that I wished to recreate. I opened up two separate photographs, editing their 'levels' and 'curves' in order to readjust the lighting. I then placed the two layers on top of each other and changed the opacity of the sunset to 57%, in order to give the cover the best possible impact I changed the layer type to 'Darker colour'.

Preliminary task: Time management

Communication: 

As I wish to have completed my CD cover by next friday I used the social networking website 'Facebook' to arrange a date to take photographs. Given that my model has other obligations such as work and college I have given her a weeks notice in order to arrange a date when she is available.

Rather than using a background from the internet for my cd cover I have decided to ask my friend Amy Summerill to create one for me as she does graphics at AS level, meaning that she is confident using the particular software.

Preliminary task: Reconstruction

Original:

   

 I after reconstructing the album 'Head First' by 'Goldfrapp' I have decided that I will not be adopting a similar style when creating my own cd cover. Even after trying three diverse sunsets the editing side of making the sky appear more bright, thus giving greater visual impact, proved difficult no matter how many different tools I tried. 

Target audience: Profile

Although I have already asked three teenage girls which live in Sunderland questions to gather information about their interests I decided to use the social networking website 'Tumblr.com' in order to see if my primary target audience could live in different countries.

It is apparent that this teenage girl from Indonesia also has the same interests and hobbies as a teenage girl from England. This makes me confident that my product would be successful not only in the UK but possibly worldwide which means that I would attract a wider scale audience.  

Outfit choices

I decided to experiment by trying three diverse outfits in order to discover which style was most suitable for my music promotion video. I have decided not to use the two outfits to the right as they lack visual impact, where-as the outfit I have decided to use appears unique and will captivate the attention of my audience.

The outfit I have finalised on: 

Target audience: Profile

Name: Sarah Worrall
How old are you: 17
What do you do in your spare time: I watch films, my favourite being jumping jack flash. I also socialise with friends by: shopping, cinema, going out for a meal and parties.

Occupation: Work at Mcdonalds as a crew member
Study: film studies, english and law
What do you do in your spare time: I watch films, my favourite being jumping jack flash. I also socialise with friends by: shopping, cinema, going out for a meal and parties. 
Favourite artists: Demi Lavato
Favourite book: Frankenstein
Preferred genre: Pop
Role model: Cobie Smulders and Rhea Seehorn
Tv show: How I met your mother
What do you spend your money on: I recently bought a apple mac
Favourite drink: Orange juice
Favourite food: Olives/cheese/crisps
Pets: cat, 3 fish
Career aspirations: Police officer or prison guard

Name: Kelly Harrison  

How old are you: 17

What do you do in your spare time: Listen to music, socialise with friends

Occupation: College student
Study: Media studies, photography, english language and literature 
Favourite artists: The 1975 and Paramore
Favourite book: The hunger games series
Preferred genre: pop rock/indie
Role model: Jennifer Lawrence
Tv show: How I met your mother
What do you spend your money on: Clothes/shoes/music
Favourite drink: Diet coke
Favourite food: Pizza
Pets: cat
Career aspirations: Journalism or something media based

Name: Anna Higgins 

How old are you: 17

What do you do in your spare time: Go to gigs/listen to music 

Occupation: College student
Study: Media studies, geography, english language 
Favourite artists: Paramore, Blink 182, fall out boy
Favourite book: The fault in our stars by John Green
Preferred genre: pop/rock
Role model: Hayley Williams
Tv show: The walking dead
What do you spend your money on: music magazines/cd's/makeup
Favourite drink: Lemonade
Favourite food: Lasagne
Pets: Dog
Career aspirations: Geographer

Mood board of audience's interests: 

I have discovered that my primary audience all have similar interests. Each teenager has a female role model which they either look up or relate to; therefore I believe that the choice of using a teenage girl in my music promotion video was a perfect idea, given that they will be able to create a relationship with her. It's apparent that most teenagers use music as a form of escapism, a fact I discovered when interviewing a girl that is my primary target audience. I believe that my artist will offer that. She sings about all of the things she wish she had done as teenager, which will prove to the girls listening that they should not hold back or be phased by people's opinions. I believe that my artist offers some guidance, and who can prove that my audience do not have to live up to an idealistic view but be their own person.I am also considering to include props such as: makeup, clothing and glitter - all of which my target audience have an interest in therefore they will relate to my product.

Poster analysis

Poster flat plan

I have decided to advertise two particular songs that feature on the album as it will attract two audiences. My marketing strategy was that the songs advertised were in the charts and occasionally people will enjoy the artists songs that are a hit but fail to give the rest of their work a listen. Thus, they may be tempted to buy the album if the popular songs advertised capture their attention. When researching poster advertisements it became apparent that they often featured praiseful quotes from respects magazines. I decided to use 'Company' magazine as it is a fashion magazine that I personally read, and given that I can be categorised into my target audience, it is likely that other teenage girls will also read it. I will carry on both my artists persona and ensure that I will incorporate the background used on my CD in order for them to work together as a Digipack. The artists name will be at the top of the poster in eye catching font for promotional purposes, as my main goal is to advertise her name in order to make people remember her name. My artists appearance will similar to the CD cover as I want her persona of a unconventional, clean cut teenager to be apparent. Overall, I am ultimately following the conventions adopted when creating a poster.

Flat plan for CD

The colour palette for the entire product will be: Black, White and Pink. I have decided to only use three colours as most CD's only use this amount, thus I want my product to be authentic. These colours will also appeal to my primary audience of teenage girls.










Front cover:
I have decided on my artists makeup by taking her persona into careful consideration, a unconventional suburban teenager. I overall want my artists appearance to be continuos in order to make her recognisable, thus I will adopt the same look on my poster. 'Dakota Harper' will be a cursive font to not only portray femininity, but to contrast with my artists appearance. I believe that this will exhibit how my artist still adopts a pristine, conventional personality and likes particular things despite her breaking out of the mould. The font will also attract my target audience of teenage girls. I have decided to use a  pink wallpaper background which appears vintage to yet again contrast with the boldness of my artist. I believe that the background is able to portray the artists suburbun lifestyle before she became a singer, and proves that you can become whoever you want to be no matter where you originate from.

Back cover:
The track list will be completely original apart from 'Teen Idle, the track I am using for my music video. I will create these songs by gaining inspiration from: Lana Del Rey and Marina and the Diamonds, as they too cater for my primary audience of teenage girls. I will include a barcode and essential information, like copyright infringment, at the bottom in order to make my CD appear realistic.

Conventions:
I am following the essential conventions of a CD cover by using a typical layout and including essential information. However, I have decided to sway against conventions regarding my main image. After researching an array of CD covers it is apparent that a head shot of the artist is usually used, however I have decided that I will take a side profile. I think that this particular pose will reflect how unconventional my artist is, and exhibit how she likes to break away from following the trends.

 













 Inside sleeves:
 I have decided to include a thank you note to exhibit my artists personality and gratitude towards her     fans, which will make her a likeable person. This will make people who purchase the CD form a attachment to my artist, which will hopefully make them buy more of her work and overall create a positive, strong fan base. I decided that I will include a image at the side where her eyes engage with the readers, to emphasise the sincerity of the note. I have decided to add a background to my inside sleeve, thus I will have the place where the CD goes white in order for the overall product not to look over cluttered.

Album covers: main inspirations

I am confident that I would be able to create a album cover similar to this one on Photoshop. I would arrange a date to use a professional photography studio where I would take a headshot of the teenage girl featured in my music video using the high key technique. I am unsure whether I wish to use the sunset as I am currently debating whether or not to use glitter or flowers instead.

I would take the photograph of my model in a professional studio using the high key technique. I particularly like the over the shoulder pose, but would ask my model to pull a diverse facial expression. As for the background, I think that I would either use a location shot or the fabric from a prom dress, (which relates to the lyrics - 'wish I'd been a prom queen fighting for the title'.

Album cover inspo mood board

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Magazine advertisements mood board

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Creating a Pinterest allows me to gather an array of inspirational advertisements. Using this website will be beneficial as I can keep adding to my online mood board incase I discover new advertisements which spark different ideas.

Target audience research

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This is a video of me interviewing a fellow student about his favourite music genre and asking whether or not he listens to Marina and the Diamonds, a artist who is my main inspiration. This video allowed me to discover that female teenagers are my primary target audience as the male who is featured does not enjoy listening to the electro-pop genre and has never heard of the artist I am using as inspiration.

Click here
This is me interviewing a student about her interests, why she listens to music videos and if she likes marina and the Diamonds. Interviewing both male and female has made me discover that females are my primary audience.

Creating this video allowed me to start practising with the equipment and software I will need to use in order to create a music promotion video. I learnt how to correctly set up a tripod and use the camera and was also introduced to the editing software 'Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5. Using this software definitely proved a challenge as I had never used the programme previously, thus I had to familiarise myself with all of the different tools. This experience has definitely made me feel more confident about producing a music promotion video as I no longer feel cautious around a camera and believe that I will be able to use the editing software.

October schedule