Embedded Files
Before doing any filming or production I will be creating various pre production documents which outline what I will be filming, when I will be filming, how I will be filming, where I will be filming as well as any permissions needed.
I will be doing two main days of filming - one for all of my images such as album cover and back cover, tour posters and album posters, any general Instagram posts/photoshoots and a magazine cover. And one for where I film my advertisement but I need to do the first day of images first as I will need these products in my advert.
The first set of pre production I will be completing will be for my photography shoot.
Release form
A release form is where anyone featured in my project says that they are okay with me using them in my work. This was signed off by my friends Grace who will be playing the role of my artist - Valentina Winslow.
Location Recce
Location recces are used to show where I will be filming and what the area has for me to use.
In my location recce I have provided an image of the outside of my house as I am filming here. I have made bullet point notes if any issues I may run into regarding equipment, my cast and props I will be using and then what I can do to resolve any problems faced.
Risk Assessment
My risk assessment is where I can outline any hazards or risks that may occur during filming. This can be physical hazards such as falling over something or technical risks such as the camera running out of storage.
I have put what each of these are, what may get damaged, who may be harmed, how likely this is of occurring and any actions I can take to limit this.
It is important to do a risk assessment as it can reduce the risk of harm to people or equipment as everything is accounted for and outlined.
Mock up shot designs
When I will be filming for my advertisement I will create a shot list to show how I think I will create and show certain shots. As I am not filing at the stage I have made a brief sketch of outlined ideas of what I could make my album covers, tour posters, album posters and magazine cover look like.
After conducting my research, I understood the use of props and the connotations that could be seen throughout my images and posters. For my album I reflected on how I want to use a dead plant to show that Valentina and her success has been organic and that she is not an industry plant and she has worked hard for this. The dead plant symbolises the end of industry plants in music as her songs start to hit the top 100 and a self grown artist from a working class family who has no direct ties to the industry. As this is part of my contextual focus I have included a plant numerous times throughout my album covers and tour posters to reflect on this.
For my tour poster, I would like to have my artist with a shocked expression or maybe with an expression that could infer to the audience that she is surprised that she will be touring and performing in different areas. This again to reflect on the quick gain of fame and success and how this has changed her life.
For my album poster, when conducting market research many artists simply have the album cover as the poster so I will be following this as well.
For my magazine cover, in my research I looked into using a strong arm pose to infer to the "We Can Do It" WWII advert as this can be linked with determination, strength and has recently been used as a sign of feminism. My artist Valentina Winslow is linked to all of these things.
Products
Finished album edit
This is my finished album cover and back cover. Looking at my research into the fundamental features of albums covers and back covers such as mise en scene, the use of a track list, any additional images such as label logos and barcodes for purchasing a physical copy of the album. I also added in copyright and credit information such as "Performed by Valentina Winslow" and "Copyright @ 2024 Sony Music" ect.
I used a blue colour filter as the connotations of the colour blue can mean "calmness, tranquillity, honesty, being reliable and loyal". I liked these means and thought they related well with my artists brand image of having organic growth and success, being family orientated, coming from humble beginnings and being very vocal about her gratitude for her fans. I also added the smudged/blurred effect over her head to infer that this has all been a bit of a "blur" to Valentina as this change in her life has happened so quick and out of the blue for Valentina. I think that overall these points been reflected well.
Whilst using photoshop I experimented with the generative AI effect. I used this to expand my images and make sure that fit in the sizing I wanted for when I get the album printed. This was very trial and error as I hadn't used photoshop much and this was a relatively new editing tool and I found that I would often use it and it would not match my image at all so I just had to keep on using it until it was right. I also tried selecting the colour of the background and using a pen to see if I could just use the object outline instead of just having the background wall. I did not like this as I felt as though it lost the realism which was one of my aims. Another technical aspect I developed though my editing using Photoshop was the use of text. I wanted to experiment with my logo which I looked into in my action research as well as just playing with different effects in Photoshop. I experimented with adding depth to the backing of my text. I liked this as I felt it made my text more definition and almost 3d. I felt as though all of these things have added to the finished result of my project by helping me meet my aims of working on my editing skills as well as making it feel realistic and authentic.
I personally love how my album has turned out and I think that I could see it on the shelves in record shops and trending on social media.
Album poster
When conducting my market research into other album release posters, they all simply had the album cover as the main subject of the poster with a release date, a review or a bit more information.
For my album poster, I elongated the image by using the generative fill feature on photoshop and made it to a A3 size as this would be used for a small poster (such as on the London underground). I used the same technical as my album cover ( using generative ai to slightly expand the image. I tried working with making a sticker effect but I think this needs work as it is not that visually appealing. I did this by adding the rectangle shape and then adding a crinkle and a border around it.
I took inspiration in using the 5 stars from Bilboard rating from Harry Styles poster for his album Fine Line which I looked at in my research. I also added where consumers would be able to find the album.
Going forward I feel as though it needs something else to make it better, weather this being changing the font, rearranging it or resizing it, working on more visual editing skills.
I will be working further on this,
Tour poster
The next print advertising marketing devise that I used was creating a tour poster. Genrally asfter releasing an album or leading up to releasing an album a popular artist will announce a tour. When starting off this will be more central to where there fame is so I have made my tour poster for the UK and Europe.
I initially made the first one using the same image as my album cover by accident. In my market research, I found that artists would use the same aesthetic as their album cover but would not use the same image as their album. So whilst shooting, I took lots of different images that I could use throught out my marketing campaign.
And decided to use this one of my artists with a shocked expression on her face. This could symbolise how shocked she is that she has gained enough success to even be going on a tour and how this is exciting for her and any fans who will be wanting to come to shows.
I used the font and blur effect that I experimented with in my action research as well as using the font on the album cover so that the aesthetic continues throughout my promotional advertisements, this also again contributes to brand awareness as for fan may come to the tour in similar colours or outfits compared to the album (like fans did for Taylor Swift's eras tour and Sabrina Carpenter's Short N' Sweet tour).
I really like how my second poster came out but one thing I would like to work on and re do to make it better would be to edit the structure of the dates and how they are laid out.
Magazine cover
Here are two versions of my magazine cover. In my research I looked into Rolling Stone magazine as I personally am a consumer of Rolling Stone and they are one of the biggest music magazines in the world.
I created two versions of the magazine cover as the first one was not as authentic to magazine cover structure as I had the text surrounding the image. This is not usually seen but I felt as though it was the best way to make my contextual focus and unique selling points seen in my marketing and promotion. I tested removing the other music headline stories and putting these contextual/USP points where they are but agasin felt as though this didn't work. For the second version I went with a more proffesional and accurate version of the cover by simply removing the text. I knew which one was more accurate but I did not know which one I found more visually pleasing I conducted a short survey to find out what a focus group through.
The feedback on this was that 75% of people preferred the cover with the addition words on. Whilst only 25% preferred the version without the words on. I will take this feedback forward and will se if there are any corrections and changes I can make to compromise and have the text but maybe place it elsewhere.
Instagram Account
I have started off my Instagram account by keeping it very small and unknown - only for Valentina and her friends and family. I represented this by having a private account, only allowing a few followers and having a very basic bio of her age and where she lived.
MicrosoftTeams-video (2).mp4To show how long Valentina has been on Instagram and to show that she comes from a normal, working class family in the rural country side I included lots of pictures of Valentina Winslow growing up with her sister and her dogs and any general posts that you would see on someone's Instagram. I tried to make the image progress as the sisters got older until Valentina is more of a teenager.
I focused the posts on family and friends and then more and more into music as posts got further along, this is where my audience and viewers can see that this is the path she would like to take and begin the climb of getting into music.
ScreenRecording_12-08-2024 21-35-46_1.mp4From this point more musical aspects of Valentina's life has been seen. I did this by having her show her vinyl record collection, this shows that she is very much interested in music and I also used the caption "growing my collection" showing that she has already been very interested in music and this is continuing.
I then used a range of music themed images such as guitars, a image page from the Oasis book Supersonic, various concert images ect. One of the most important posts on this Instagram account is where Valentina shows a electric guitar and amplifier and explains that it was a present for her birthday from her parents. This is fundamental to my marketing as any fans who will be looking through her Instagram can see that this is a fundamental moment for the start of Valentina's music career.
From that post on I added more images to do with writing and creating music for example a image showing pieces of paper with writing on them (writing lyrics).
To then help my contextual focus of challenging the music industry that is surrounded by success of nepo babies and industry plants when doing my announcement of her first single Hometown Glory I posted it with a picture of Valentina with her mum and sister to show that whilst they are a close knit team as well as just being normal people.
After the announcement of Hometown Glory I used a old picture of my singer on her road as a small child to represent where she has come from and how things have changed since she was little. And then added pictures of her and her friends on release night. To follow up the songs release I found the statistics of the songs success and uploaded these to Instagram and had Valentina thank fans for the support.
After this I provided images of Valentina in America and added pictures from the Columbia office as well as meeting rooms to signify that she was being signed to a profession label and that her career was picking up. I also then added the beginning of the song - Ray Of Light as a form of teaser to fans that this would be her next single. Teasers are commonly used by artists during promotion and adverting for singles and albums. I repeated this process again by announcing the song was out and then thanking fans.
After two single releases (two or three is most commonly seen before albums release). I posted a picture of Valentina from the same photoshoot as the album cover and simply captioned it "Coming soon..." as I thought this would imply to fans that the next announcement would be soon. When I announced the album release I uploaded the album cover and back cover without any titles or track list on it as this is also most common for artists releasing albums. This will be seen when the album is physically printed for vinyl's or CDs. To match the release of the album I changed the Instagram profile so that it matched the album aesthetic (again most artists will do this when releasing new music).
Another thing that represents the change in success of my artist is the fact that her Instagram account has gone from being private with only a few followers to now being public with over 40 million followers. (This has been edited)
ScreenRecording_12-09-2024 18-16-32_1.mp4This is the section of my Instagram account that is more focussed around my product - the album. In my past posts I have represented the lead up to the albums release and these are now the fundamental posts for the albums release. At this stage (just before the album drops, when the album drops and after the album drops) they are all focussed on the same thing. I began with a coming soon poster in the same aesthetic as the album cover and then have moved onto sharing the album imagery but without the track list as it would still be early on in the process and I wanted to keep the fans waiting and in suspense for what will be coming. I then went on to share Valentina's story. This was what I discussed in my brand awareness section of research and how I could make this known to my audience. After that, I posted the full album cover and back cover with the track list - this was the post saying that the album had been released. I captioned this all in capitals similar to how the previous artists that I researched had as this also helps keep it exciting for both the fan and the artist. When my vinyl sleeve arrives, this is where I will be filming from so that it is an advertisement promoting the album and helping fans understand more about her.
Following up from the album I added two posts still promoting the album but also thanking fans for the support and reminding them that all profits made go to charity.
Continuing on and keeping with theme, the last proper post I have made regarding the album has been a post again from the same photoshoot as the album, saying that the album is at number 1 in the Billboard charts and once again thanking fans for this. After this I posted my tour poster to let fans know that Valentina would be touring in the UK and Europe with where she would be going and the dates that she would be going on. In my market research, I found that artists posting for a large variety of dates in varies country's did not post the venue as fans will see these venues when they go to purchase tickets. Due to my poster being created in A3 and Instagram posts being in a much smaller scale it did cut my poster down, but as this is mainly used for print advertising its fine.
A newer form of promotion for artists and their albums is for them to work with different designers and do interviews for magazines. To lead up to announcing Valentina's cover of Rolling Stone magazine, I had her do some modelling with the aims of this being put in magazines. For newer artists that I have hit global success, they are commonly featured in fashion magazines such as Vogue, Elle and Cosmopolitan as this can help introduce them to anyone who does not know them and gain promote their albums. This can also be paried with conducting interviews. As I have used a music magazine called Rolling Stone which is heavily focussed on music not fashion I have kept these posts as promotional and intriguing posts rather than making another magazine cover.
ScreenRecording_12-10-2024 00-11-27_1.mp4
The last Instagram post I have made is the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. This is heavily music based and this is my second main form of advertising as this is another way of promoting music. Uploading it to Instagram is beneficial for the artist as this can increase engagement and help gain more purchases of the magazine when it hits shops.
In the caption, I again spoke about growing up and how she used to beg her mum to buy her one if someone she liked was on it, this is reflecting on the past and the present and her rise to success.
Second production day - Advert
Release form
As I have been filming on two days with two different overall products I have conducted two forms of pre production. My release form features the same actress I am using for Valentina but is for work made on todays updated date.
Location Recce
As I will be filming in my house again and my production needs are the same, my location recce is kept the same.
Risk assessment
My risk assessment is kept the same as there are the same risks whilst filming.
Script
I need a script for my advertisement so that I can have my artist discuss all of my points and explain the theming and context for the album. To create my script I have used a website called Studio Binder, this allows me to write scripts in the correct format and add in any details such as scene headings, action lines, character lines, dialogue, scene numbers, parentheticals ect. As my advert is quite short I will have a longer version of the advert which will feature the whole script and a short version of the advert which will be a reduced version of the script.
Shot list and Storyboard
As my advert will be moving image I will need a shot list and a story board to represent the visuals I need.
Product - Advert
When editing my advertisement I already knew my way around Premiere Pro and did not find that I faced the same issues as Photoshop simply because I understand it better however I still want to find new techniques to improve my work.
Small additions that I worked with is fading in and out with visuals and sound. Whilst this is extremely basic I feel as though this made my advertisement seem more interesting and more professional. I used effects such as warp stabilizer and used the same font and font effect that I have used throughout the process of my project. I followed more of a documentary style to my advertisement but have found that I could have done with more b roll footage to make it seem smooth. I also worked on colour grading and colour correcting to give it a bit improvement and a bit of an upgrade.
I will be looking at each of my projects in my presentation and evaluation.
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