For the text on my front cover i didn't want to use a font that had been used on other album covers, especially since i wanted mine to be unique, for this i researched into many fonts online but none really fitted the image i had in my head.
In the end I decided to use Scrabble Letters, i set them up on my scanner and cut around them separately in photo shop. I think that this is effective since people will recognise the letters from the board game and it also hasn't been used on an album cover before.
In 'Faking It' I added an extra I as i was planning on turning it into an Exclaimation mark in photo shop but when actually trying this it didn't look very realistic so instead I decided to completely cut it from my writing.
Scrabble Letters.
Album cover
I have decided on the name Constant Invasions for my band and the album will be called Faking It, Both of these names have been chosen from Lily Allen lyrics and are selections that I feel will fit in with our genre of Pop/Rock.
I asked a friend, Hasan Beyaz to pose for pictures that I could use for my Album cover, i decided i didnt want just a portrait since when looking at other album covers there are very few that just have a plain picture, effects are frequently used and make the cover more interesting.
We decorated his face with pinky/purple face paint and a lot of glitter, this made for interesting pictures. These are my favourite 9 pictures, I am pleased with the results as they came out exactly how I imagined them.
My Questionnaire.
To help make my digipak the best it could be i have made a questionnaire to find out what people like/dislike and are/arent attracted to in an album cover. I handed out 30 copies of my questionnaire and here are my results;
Gender: The female to male ratio is very biased. There are only 9 males: 21 females which means that less then a third of my questionnaires will represent the male views on album covers. However i could use the fact that more females would prefer to listen to the band, due to the feminime lyrics and powerful lead female vocals.
Preference to digipak: Similarly to the graph above, the ratio is very uneven, this time however since its due to opinion it is not detremental to have to adapt my album cover. The 10 people that chose Jewel Case Cd's compared to Digipaks wrote many different reasons as to why they prefer this option, some claim that they preferred 'having less space with just the two sides of the cd case rather then the never ending panels on some digipaks' and oone person said that they 'just buy the cd for music and do not need or want the extras that some digipaks provide.'
Overall most people would prefer a Digipak, because its 'modern and easier to store' and 'gives you bonus features and interesting information on the artist or band' compared to the standard jewel cases.
My Band.
When listening to our song, i have always thought of the singer being part of a band rather then just a solo artist, its a usual sight that the main singer of a band is the most popular and recognisable member, which means that most people are fans of the singer rather then the band all together, and interviews and other projects are often done as a solo thing. Its also a very reoccuring thing that the lead singer is female, examples include;
Hayley Williams; Paramore, Elly Jackson; La Roux, Beth Ditto; Gossip, And Florence Welch; Florence and the Machine.
This shows that even if i chose a band then its likely that the lead female singer will be the iconic image if the band were mentioned. Another positive of having a band rather then a solo artist are that a band will enable more people to relate to the band, perhaps certain members could be personal favourites to different people, creating more fans and also making a bond between the other members, which could feel less superior to the lead singer, that usually has all the attention. This will help to make all the features of my Band, album cover and Music video become realistic and effective.
CLC visit number two.
Our second trip to the City Learning Centre gave us the oppurtunity to edit our film with a professional near by, able to help us with any problems that we have or any questions we might want to ask. This was helpful since as mentioned before we werent very confident with the new version of iMovie and the online tutorials couldnt answer all the questions we had.
When talking to the people at the CLC we were told firstly that our transitions were too slow and werent going with the beat, which was important so as not to make our music video look sloppy or unprofessional. We were quickly helped by being introduced to 'Beat Markers' which was a simple marker that you can drag onto your clips which would automatically change the time of the clip in order to make sure that it didnt miss the beat or go on to long.
We were also informed that our hopes of imatating the technique used in Blink 182's video of having three different sections to the clip, to show off the three boys, it wasnt possible due to the programme we had, something that we will have to change on our storyboard and work round, finding alternative ways to show off the three dates. Possibly a wipe across the scene, which if timed right could look just as effective.
I think that the trip has helped us, because it enables other people that are professionals to look at our video and give us constructive criticism, and to let us know things we are or arent able to achieve; another example being the fact that our video is very grainy in some scenes, we were informed that we couldnt actually use any type of programme on the computer it has to be done when actually filming, which means that we can remember this for future projects, to help us get a more proffesional result.
All Time Low.
When looking at Pop/Rock Album covers there was one band whose Album covers always stood out. All time low, an american band fall under the same genre as the song for our music video. Before researching about Pop/Rock bands i had never heard of them or any of their songs.
If i were to see these album covers in a shop then i definitely would have wanted to pick them up. They all vary in design,
So Wrong its Right, All Time Low.
This album cover is bright, it has three main colours; Yellow, red and Blue, contrasting with eachother they send off the image of summer, due to the yellow and red being warm colours and the blue as a very small section which could represent the sea or water, something that is strongly associated with summer ie. the beach. The black figures are bold against the background and they attract your first attention, its as if they are jumping, making it seem as though they are elated, perhaps at the album or even reiterating the point of summer since people are often happier in the summery months. The other feature of the cover is the birds that are flying across the whole cover, they fade at different parts and are consitent from one end to the other. These birds have no obvious relevance to the title or the rest of the album cover but its similiar to the colors since it is a contrast to the people and the images in the background. This album cover has features that are opposites crushed together, which makes it interesting and sets the cd off as unconventional which often results in the potential buyer more tempted to pick it up and have a look.
Nothing Personal, All time Low.
This is my favourite out of the three album covers. In a way its simpler then other two, yet more complicated! The image is like wallpaper that has been split into two, crushed in between is the bands name in a huge black block font and the album name as if it has been written by hand, it is very inferior to the band name. The other insides of the album cover include to our eyes random objects, the end of a pencil, an american cinema ticket, a pair of legs and a casette player are a few to name, none of the objects are in full yet we are still able to identify the majority of them. The objects are not bright coloured at all, they are all quite neutral tones that dont really leap off the cover yet it makes them all blend together making all the items flatter eachother and work well all together as well as seperately. There is also the repetition of the birds on this cover, like the 'so wrong its right' cover which could show that its a theme that the band are using to associate themselves to this image, in turn this could make a connection for fans, so that when they see the flock of birds they automatically think of All Time Low. I think that the fact they have such a simple yet busy album is fun and fascinating, as a potential buyer i would be curious about what else is there and why, by making the viewer think about what they are looking at has enabled the band to once again make an interesting and effective album cover.
Put up or Shut up, All Time Low.
The final Album by All time low, is equally as eyecatching as the other two. The main person in the front has no facial features and is the only one in colour, this could be as to not attract the viewers attention away from the album names situated above and on the man. I think that the contrast between the other people and the man in the middle creates an image of individualism and once again the unconventional side of the band because he isnt the same as the others and stands out, making sure that the person looking at the album cover sees the seperation in a positive light rather than negative. It has similar features to both the above, for example; just like 'Nothing Personal' this cover has a HUGE focus stealing band name and an understated, 'handwritten' title. Alike 'So wrong its right' it has bright colours that will stand out when its amongst thousands of other cds and albums in a shop. It appears that the band like to keep their album covers close to eachother by using a lot of the same effects; the birds, the fonts and the colours all show that the band has consistancy but still allows room for change so that the fans and buyers can see a comfortable changing band.
Im going to use All Time Low's album covers for influence when it comes to designing my own album cover and i hope that i can achieve the kooky and fun yet complimentary edge to my album cover like they have, three times!
Album Covers and Digipaks
One of our individual tasks is to make an Album cover, more specifically a Digipak. In order to do so i will have to understand exactly what is needed for a Digipak Album Cover.
Wikipedia says a Album Cover serves three main purposes;
'1. To advertise and identify the contents of the music product.
2. To convey the artistic aspirations of the original artists
2. To convey the artistic aspirations of the original artists
3. In reproductions of the artwork, to serve as a primary image in the promotional efforts surrounding the product, as an identifiable image associated with it.'
and that a Digipak is;
'typically consist of a gatefold(book-style) paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside'
After looking at a variety of websites, most of which showed usually the same thing as the one before, i found that a digipak is similar to a old school jewel Cd case, except this time it can have more than 4 panels, typically around 6 or 8 panels. This often contains information, pictures and sometimes more discs with extras on it and other attributes to help promote the band/artist. Due to moving trends, bands tend to have this lightweight and tougher option when designing there album covers, resulting in an increase in the popularity of Digipaks.
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