Production
Centre Number: ID136
Embedded Files
Changes in Actor + Clothing Issues
Initially, we asked Denzel to become our actor.
However, we ran into many problems while trying to line up our schedule with his. The first time, he had an internship period that lasted until nighttime so he wasn’t able to attend the film shooting. Once his
internship period was over, we set up another schedule to meet with him and he agreed. The day before our second meeting, we sent him a confirmation message to ensure whether or not he was able to make it for the shooting. However, he suddenly had personal plans and mentioned that he wouldn’t be able to make it for the second time.
As I was unsure about his willingness to become our actor, I decided to change our actors. I asked our teacher (Ms Detha) whether we could use her husband as our actor. She then gave us his contact details and we contacted him ourselves.
Her husband’s name is Alfin and since he is a teacher, I refer to him as Mr Alfin. As usual, I briefed Mr Alfin on the clothing he was supposed to wear to the set. However, he did not have any retro-looking clothing, but he did have a black collared shirt, black trousers, and black shoes similar to the ones I mentioned in Look 2 of my outfit planning. He also had a green blazer, which suited the theme of the music video, so I let him wear the outfit he suggested to me.
Shooting Day
We planned to meet at Jalan Tunjungan at 18:00. However, as I had to look for a camera equipment in my house and didn't have any assistance, Michelle came to my house at 14:00 to help me look for the tripod stand. We also needed to pick which stores to visit in order to film some scenes and finalize the filming plan, another reason why she came to my house earlier.
There were some delays due to traffic, so the filming was delayed until 18:30. After we met up at Jalan Tunjungan, we scanned the area to find suitable spots to film the lip sync scene.
Fortunately, we found a spot with a microphone stand and a few band equipment, so we decided to use that spot to film the lip sync scene.
Here is what it looked like:
For the following scene, we were near a pedestrian crossing, so our initial plan was for Mr Alfin to record himself running across the road in a wild manner. Of course, we asked Mr Alfin if it was okay with him to do so as it was a pretty risky scene to do due to the heavy traffic. This scene was pretty difficult to film as the crossing lights only allowed about 15 seconds for pedestrians to cross the road, so we had to act fast and make sure that Mr Alfin understood what he needed to do so that we would not have to repeat the same scene over and over again, which wastes time.
We found a tree which was bound by neon LED lights, so we decided to use that specific prop for another lip sync scene as it would appropriately complement the title "Blinding Lights" as the neon LED lights were bright.
There was a scene where he had to smoke in an isolated area, and the only area which looked "isolated" was a restricted area guarded by security guards. At first, we had to ask for permission to use the area for filming, but our first attempt had failed as the security guard shut us down quickly. After further persuasion, he agreed as we mentioned that the filming would only take five minutes.
Here is a picture taken at the area:
We also had to go to a bar to film another scene showing the actor drinking a substance. The beverage they drank wasn't alcoholic to ensure that the actor stays sober and to avoid any health repercussions. We also made sure that the employees were alright having us film at their place.
Shortlisting + Editing Pictures
While Michelle was recording the clips for the music video, I took the opportunity to take the pictures for our digipak and social media. I took about 100 pictures just in case and put them in a shared album michelle created, so we could discuss and shortlist the pictures we both like, and so that she could share the raw clips of her filming as well. After discussing with Michelle, I shortlisted 13 pictures and put them in a separate album to be used for the social media and digipak.
Shared Album
Shortlisted Album
Problem with the app:
After shortlisting the pictures, I had to edit them in an app called Picsart. We planned to use a green filter for all the pictures and clips to create an “intoxicated” atmosphere which is a part of our branding, so that meant that I needed to find a green filter in the app to use for the pictures. Strangely enough, I wasn’t able to find a premade green filter on the editing app, so I was pretty anxious at that point and decided to familiarise myself with the features of the app.
Solution:
Soon after, I found the colour curves option that let me adjust each component of individual colour channels in a picture. Unfortunately, I have never used colour curves before so I found it pretty confusing to use. After watching tutorial videos on youtube and playing around with the colour curves, I figured out how to use it and successfully edited the pictures to have a green filter and compiled them in another album, which now look like this:
Colour Curves
This is what the colour curves feature looked like:
Making the Social Media
To create the social media page, I used the app Photonote. This was due to the fact that we were unable to edit the number of followers on the official Instagram app, and Photonote allows us to do so.
PROFILE:
Bio
For the bio, i decided to be straightforward and mention that the album is out now, along with the link of the music video so that audiences can be aware of the release of the album and can access the music video easily.
Follower Count
The follower count is 33M, which indicates that the artist is famous, I did this to follow the social media conventions of similar music artists in the real world.
Blue Verified Tick
In order to show the authenticity of the account, I decided to put the blue verified tick next to the username, again following the usual social media conventions of real music artists.
Highlights
As for the highlights, I decided to use the same cover picture as the CD in order to establish the branding of the city lights, and just used a different text for each one to symbolise each highlight's purpose.
I chose to follow the usual social media conventions as well for these highlights.
Username Picking
As for the username, I was initially conflicted between a few choices: @alvnthegreat, @alvnandthechipmunks or @alvnator (the current username).
I got the name @alvnthegreat in reference to Alexander the Great, but the history of Alexander the Great did not really relate to the artist’s theme as Alexander the Great was a military general. Additionally, I felt that the username would be too long, so I decided to scrap this idea.
Inspired by my childhood favourite cartoon “Alvin and the Chipmunks”, I came up with the username @alvnandthechipmunks, removing the letter “i” from the original title as the artist's stage name is ALVN. However, I thought that doing this would mean I am infringing copyright as Alvin and the Chipmunks has established a branding and a company currently holds its rights and intellectual property assets. Moreover, this username is more suitable for groups as @alvnandthechipmunks would mean that the artist has colleagues and ALVN is a solo artist, so it is not suitable.
I actually came up with the username @alvnator from the word aviator, just adding the name ALVN into it, hence, @alvnator. The word aviator refers to a pilot, and I thought that pilots ruled the skies, which had a good meaning for the username @alvnator as it meant that ALVN rules the music industry. So, I chose to pick @alvnator as the username.
LAYOUT:
I had to carefully pick the pictures to use for the social media as I had to visualise the layout before publishing the pictures.
Complementary Pictures
There were some pictures which had the same vibe as they were taken in the same location but just had different poses. I figured that these pictures had to be on the same row, preferably at the sides.
After much consideration, I decided to put these pictures in the middle row, surrounding the "Blinding Lights" post.
Coming Soon Post
I created a coming soon post, similar to real music artists’ social media conventions (example: Billie Eilish in my research) to inform our audience of our future INTOXIC8 album release. I made sure that this picture was in the most bottom row because I initially planned the release of the music video post to be in the middle of the grid, and this post has to be published before the music video post is published.
I did not use the PocketBall font for this post as I believed that the overly repetitive use of it would make the design less unique and boring because everything would be seen as the same, so I used the "Wide" font instead.
I used the same city picture as the CD in order to establish the branding of the city. Therefore, whenever audiences see the city, they get reminded of the INTOXIC8 album.
"Blinding Lights" Post
This post refers to the "main" post as it contains a preview of the newly released song. As it requires the most attention, I decided to put it in the middle of the grid (middle column and middle row) so that it is arranged in the centre and can get the audience's attention better. I did not use a green filter for this post as it features a pink light, pink is the opposite of the colour green in the colour wheel, which complements the green colour of the other posts, and allows the post to stand out from the other green filtered posts.
Merch + Tour Posts
Only after I planned the 9 pictures to use, I realised that I forgot to create the post for the tour and also the merch, so I designed those in Canva and created the posts.
I also made sure that those posts were published in the top row, after the complementary pictures and the Blinding Lights post were published so it is chronologically ordered.
Editing Process:
As Michelle had more graphic design skills than I do, I asked her for help and feedback in making the T-shirt design. She used a template which featured a futuristic design, so I continued with her work by changing the fonts in the template and by choosing the picture to use for the shirt.
In addition to the shirt design, I also decided to design a totebag similar to the design of the shirt so that it complements each other.
Below is the final outcome of the merch:
Deleted Post
Initially, I wanted to put a selfie of the actor with a pretty psychotic expression in order to hint the audience on the “intoxication” theme, the post is also comedic in order to increase interactions between the audience and the artist and keep them excited.
However, I realised that the picture did not really match the vibe of the other pictures and it did not look that formal and professional, so I decided to use this picture instead, which is still comedic but the green filter can be seen more clearly than the selfie, hence why i chose to replace the selfie.
Selfie Post
New Post
Digipak Making
After compiling all the pictures and editing them, I had to design the digipak.
Problem with the Fonts
1st Front Cover Design
To start off, I first designed the front cover of the digipak. At first, I used the wide font provided for free by canva. It looked a bit boring, so I decided to duplicate the text and make 3 layers on top of each other and create a gradient between green to white. However, the design was a bit awkward and didn’t look too professional, the shade of green was also a bit different to the green filter of the picture. So, I needed to find other fonts.
Long ago, I came across a video about canva font ideas on tiktok, so I decided to do the same and search for inspiration on tiktok. Most of the fonts on tiktok had the serif style and were more suitable for girly and royal themed posters, so it took a long time for me to find the right one.
Fortunately, I found some Y2K futuristic styled ones which were pretty good looking and decided to search them up on the internet and download them.
I didn’t run into any obstacles while downloading the fonts, but I wasn’t able to upload the fonts on my Canva app for some reason.
Again, I searched up how to upload the fonts on Canva and realised that I was part of a Canva team made by my friends, which was a problem as I had to ask them to upload the font for me if I wanted to upload new fonts. I found that troublesome as my friend (the leader of the team) did not take Media Studies, so I decided to leave the team in order to upload the fonts.
New Uploaded Fonts
I was able to solve the problem and upload the fonts. These were the few fonts I uploaded:
Outcome
At the end, the look of the digipak was less awkward and looked more professional as such: In order to establish branding, I decided to use the "PocketBall" font for most of the texts (the title, spine, and song titles at the back cover) so people could associate the futuristic text with our album, and seeing similar fonts and designs in public would remind them of our INTOXIC8 album. The futuristic type of the font also complements the song's electropop genre, so I think it was a good pick.
I also maintained the use of the green filter to establish branding for our media product as shown below:
Front Cover
Green-filtered
Back Cover
Green-filtered
Inner Front Cover
Green-filtered
Final Front Cover
I chose to use the picture of the actor sitting on the pavement as it clearly depicts the actor in despair (which is perfect as we picture the lore of the song to be the depression of the artist after a breakup). The picture is also able to depict the green atmosphere, which is suitable to establish the green filter branding.
I chose to use the PocketBall font for the title and duplicated it 3 times and put them on top of each other in order to make the design of the album less boring and more unique, unlike most artists who only put one line of the title. I also put the artist's name on the top left corner in order for people to recognize the artist of the album.
As the theme of the album concentrates on heartbreaks and addictions, I decided to put a parental advisory logo on the top right because the songs may contain some explicit content.
Back Cover
To establish branding, I reused the PocketBall font, except that it is italic this time. Following the usual digipak conventions, I decided to put the list of songs in the back cover. I also made sure to put the barcode, record labels, and credits on the back cover, again following the usual digipak conventions, in order for audiences to be able to identify the product as a digipak.
As for the picture, I chose to use the picture of a door of a diner because it is taken at night when it was about to close, so it perfectly depicts the lonely atmosphere, just like how everything ends with a state of nothingness. In my perception, the back cover represents the "end" of a digipak after the audience has opened the digipak and checked its contents. Therefore, I chose this picture for the back cover as it represents endings.
Inner Front Cover
I visualised the inner front cover to just be another scenery picture as I do not have any experience in graphic design so I choose to use another one of my pictures instead of creating my own. Again, I used a green filter to establish branding.
Inner Back Cover
As for the inner back cover, I chose a plain black background in order to make the CD's design visible and stand out, as the CD's design is pretty detailed and I want the audience to focus on the design of the CD. If the inner back cover wasn't simplistic, it would cause the design of the CD to be overlooked, and it would make the overall design of the CD, inner back cover, and inner front cover look very unpleasing when they are all viewed at the same time.
CD
The design of the CD features the blurred city lights, I chose to use this picture because the blurry effect signifies the instability of the intoxicated actor, and the city shows the vast amount of light the buildings are emitting. Therefore, it shows that the actor is in intoxicated in a big city, hence, complementing the title of the song "Blinding Lights".
It also contains credits to match the conventions of usual digipak designs, but I added the album title
Record Labels
In order to make my design look like a real media product, it obviously had to feature some record labels. So, I designed different Record Label logos and featured it on different parts of our digipak, such as our CD and its back cover.
I chose to name our record label MQ records, the combination of me and Michelle's first letter of our names to indicate that we collaborated together. As for Star Studios, star represents outshining others and standing out, which is good for the artist to stand out. Helix Inc represents a 3D helix structure that represents technological advancement and the future, which suits the theme of the digipak.
Title Track Names
This was one of my favourite things to do while making the digipak as I enjoy coming up with title names.
Here are the meanings of each title I named:
Insanity: Reflects the behaviour of the artist after addiction.
Green Eyes: The vision of the artist turns green to symbolise intoxication, this relates to the excessive use of green in the making of digipak, social media and MV. I was inspired by one of my favourite songs "peach eyes" by an artist called wave to earth when I came up with this title.
Dopamine: When the artist first consumes alcohol, dopamine production increases, causing the artist to feel relaxed for just a short period of time, before things go downhill. This signifies the romanticised delusions of the artist's actual predicament, causing the artist to think he is still in a relationship with his girlfriend when in reality, he does not seem to be, relating back to Blinding Lights.
Lost In The City: Depicts the artist feeling dazed and unconscious of their surroundings in a big city where everything is fast paced, only the artist is able to see everything in slow motion due to instability after substance abuse, this establishes a distortion to reality.
00:00: At midnight, almost everyone is asleep, this depicts the loneliness of the surroundings which the artist can relate to after a heartbreak.
MV Editing
Michelle is responsible for editing the MV, so I just assisted her and gave her feedback on the process. She is a pretty skilled editor, so I did not really have to put that much input as I felt that most of her ideas were great.
However, she also struggled with finding a green filter for the clips so I suggested her to use the colour curves like I did when I edited the pictures in PicsArt.
After some trial and error and helping her make sure the shade of green in the music video and the edited pictures are the same, she published the video.
On the right is a picture of Michelle's editing progress that she sent to me:
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