Link to webpage

Here is the link for my website, http://www.swfcabin.com/open/1398249390 The video may take a few seconds to load

Construction Of Inside Sheet

 The first stage I had to consider when constructing my inside sheet, was the dimensions of the inside sheet, as it would have to be smaller than the front cover, therefore I reduced the size to 4"x4" so that it sucessfully fits into place. I have chosen to do a lyric sheet for my artists video, as it is the first and main song of the album. To comply with the continuity of the rest of my DigiPak, I have carried the crumbled paper background through to my lyric sheet.

The second thing I found appropriate to do, was to add an image of my artist, as this lyric sheet needs to be visually appealing, for my target audience. To keep in with the theme of my DigiPak, I have added the same effect to this image. In regards to my image, I have placed her in the right corner for two reasons, the first being, that her body is leaning to the right hand side, and also, the front and back cover have the main image positioned like this aswell.

The title of the song is 'Wrecking Ball' therefore these are the words that are displayed in the header of my lyric sheet, I have chosen to use the same font that I have used for the title of my album, I will also be adding this font to my artists website, so that will be something that is unique and associated to my artist. When researching DigiPaks, most of them had an aspect that was unique to the artist, wether that was a logo, style of makeup or background.

The final aspect of creating my lyric sheet, was to actually insert the lyrics, instead of copy and pasting them, I decided to type them out myself, I decided to read the lyrics from a well know and trusted lyrics websites, to ensure that there would be no type errors on my lyric sheet, so I could maintain a professional standard. Underneath is my finished lyric sheet, as you can see, I have postitioned the writing around the outskirts of my artists body, this connotes that they are protecting her, from the hurt that is in the lyrics.

Finished Lyric Sheet:

Here is my completed DigiPak, with a front cover, back cover, inside sheet and a disk. As you can see I have kept a continuous theme between all of the features, and the theme also compliments the theme of my music video. I have used 4 different images, which involved 3 different outfits, and 3 different hair styles.


Feedback:
Here is a selection of feedback I have chosen to import.

Construction Of The Disk

When creating the disk design for my DigiPak, I used a template which I found on Google images, as I did try to design my own, but they did not look authentic enough. I will now need to add my desired image onto a seperate layer, in order to position it onto my disk.

 After inserting my picture, I then added the 'torn edges' filtered effect, to fit in with the rest of my DigiPak, the image looks distorted, as I will need to erase some of the image, so that it will fit correctly, onto the disk template. This will be the most time consuming aspect of the construction of disk. So once I have applied the effect, I will need to go on and do this.

This is a print screen displaying how I edited the image, to make the main image of the artist fit in completely with the disk. I used the eraser to eradicate extra bits of the image that fell outside of the template, and tried to the best of my ability to make it as precise as possible.

This is my completed disk, that will feature in my DigiPak, I think this is an appropriate image, as the artist is laying down, and as the disk is a flat surface, I think this is an authentic look for the disk, I have chosen a picture where my artist is looking directly at the audience, so that they connect with them.

Spine For CD Case

Here is the Spine that I made that will sit in between my album cover and back cover, on my DigiPak. In regards to the continuity of my album cover, I have used the same background, and the same font in which I used to make my album title. I have decided to keep this simple, letting the title take up most of the space, this is to make my spine eyecatching, as this is  what people may see, depending on what way the album is displayed. The dimensions of my spine are 0.3892x4.25, I have used the same height so that is fits adjacently with my front and back cover.

 Here is a print screen of the outside of my DigiPak placed on a template, the template fits the same dimensions as my front and back cover, which I then inserted my spine into the middle, as I couldn't find a template with a section for the spine, that complied with the dimensions of my album. As you can see, there is a continuous theme of the crumbled paper background, the main reason for this was to make  it a relation to my website, to show this is a current album, and the website is current. I have also used a black and white theme on all theree pieces, as I think this connotes how my artists feels, I also think it fits with the names of the songs that are located on my back cover. The most eye catching aspect of my DigiPak, is my 'filter effected' images.

Construction Of Back Cover

I have started to construct my back cover for my artists album, I have used the same dimensions as the front cover,which is 4.75 inches x 4.75 inches, they have to be the same size, in order to create a fully authentic cd case. I have chosen to use an image where my artist is looking away from the audience, as I think this contrast with looking forward, on the front of the album, therefore she is looking backwards on the back of the album. To ensure there is continuity in my album, I have used the same filter and black and white effect, so I have a black and white colour scheme. To fit the conventions of an album, I will need to add 10-12 song titles that are featured on the album, and also a barcode that will allow the album to be sold in the shops.

Here I have started to add the songs to my album, as you can see I have chosen to do 'Wrecking Ball' first, as this is the song I have chosen for artist, so this will be the most known song on my album, which will attract my target audience. For the second song, I have chosen to use the name of my album, as when I was researching albums, I noticed that many artists named there album after one of their songs. To keep with the continuity, I will keep the theme of 'heartbreak' in regards to the name of the songs, I think that this fits in well with the black and white theme, as it shows someone who is blank, therefore the album does n
ot connot happiness, but the sadness of my artist, I think my image also portrays this, as my artist is looking away from the audience, this makes her seem vulnerable.

Here is my albumwith my complete list of songs, I have chosen a normal sans serif font for this, as it appears that a lot of artists use this on the back of their albums, I think this is because it is an easy to read font. I have chosen all of the song names myself to avoid copyright, if there is any songs with these names, it was not intentional, so therefore there was no copy right intended. I now need to add a barcode to my album,

 Here I have added my barcode, which I got off Google, however I searched it as copyright free, the barcode will allow my album to be sold in shops all around the world. I have now noticed that it seems that I have forgotten to add my background to my album, therefore that doesn't fit in with the continuity of my album, so I will have to go back and add this.

 Here I have added the background onto my back cover, I had some difficulty adding this in so late on in the progress of this piece, so therefore I had to use the 'magic eraser' tool, to go round the artists head, without cutting out bits of her head, I used a blur effect, so that it would add a glow around the outside of my artist. However, I can't change the background behind the barcode, as the linings are really small.

 Here is my completed back cover for my album, where I have continued the theme from the front of my album, I have tried to keep my backcover to a minimum, as I didn't want it to look crammed, I was going for a more authentic and professional look, to connote the classiness of my artist. The songs all follow the semantic of being heart broken, which fits in with my artists song from my music video and also the album name.

Construction Of Front Cover

 I am editing my album cover in Adobe Photoshop, I have used the picture that I chose when I analysed my photoshoot, on a previous date. The first thing I did was to change the effect of the image, as I don't think a colourful image, would suit the theme of my song, or my artist, I used the 'rough edges' effect, that is found on this software. However, the positioning of my image, does not follow the conventions of an album cover, so I will have to reposition this, in order to fit my album name, and artist name on the cover. I will also need to add a background as there is to much white space. In order to edit this image, I will need to rasterize the layer that is highlighted in the image above, I will do this by right clicking, and selecting rasterize, this will allow me to transform my image in anyway that I would like.

As you can see, I have re-positioned my image, so that the picture looks properly positioned, because of the angle of my artists head, I have chosen that it would be most appropriate coming from the right hand corner. I think the image is effective, as it is a direct address to the audience, as my artist is looking straight at them, this makes them feel more involved, like it is popping out at them, it is also more inviting rather than my artist looking away from them, I also think this is appropriate seeing as it is the 'front cover' so therefore she should not be looking behind. I still need to add my background, and also my album name.

 For my background, I have chosen to use the same background that is seen on my artists webpage, this shows continuity between the album and website. The image is a crumbled up piece of paper, I think this looks effective, as the effect I have used, makes the image looks drawn, therefore its a good contrast with the paper background. I have also added a bevel and emboss effect to my background, so that the creases in the paper are more defined, so people can make out what the background is. To make my image viewable, I had to use the 'magic eraser' tool, however, I was unable, to show the background on her neck, but fortunately, I don't think this looks out of place.

I have decided to name my album 'broken' as I think it is a good representation of how my artist is feeling, after the song 'Wrecking Ball.' I created my title on www.dafont.com, where I print screened the image, and then cropped it in word, whilst making the image transparent, so it was coherent with the background. I used this font, as it is each letter is from news paper clippings, which have been broken away individually, therefore I thought this would be an appropriate font to use for my album, the text is also black and white to fit in with my image. As you can see, I have written my artists name in the corner, but I don't think that looks very authentic, as it is in just a plain sans serif font, and is not very eye catching, so I will have to re-do that.

 As you can see here, I have created my artists name, in the same font as my album title, however, it doesn't fit in properly so I will have to re-position my main image, to make that fit. I have also used an effect with the rubber, to make it look like a piece of the album has been burnt, as this also fits in with the lyrics of my song, and is 'broken' which is the title of my album.

Here you can see that my artists image has been re-positioned so that the texts fits on the album cover.

Finished Front Cover!

My inspiration for my album is the Beatles album 'Revolver' as the artists have been computerised so that they look drawn, I find this very authentic, and think it looks really good, this is why I have chosen to do my album cover like this. When I was researching album covers, I also found that a majority had a black and white colour theme, so I decided to use this aspect, when creating my album cover.

Second Ancillary Task - Album Cover

I have decided to create an album cover for my artist, which I will then incorporate onto my homepage for my website. So I have started looking into album covers, the first fact that I found was album covers are roughly 4.75 inches by 4.75 inches. I will now start to analyse other artists album covers before I start the initial design process of my cover.

This is the album cover of a Lady Gaga CD, I have chosen to look at this one because as she is known for her outlandish behaviour I wondered if her album cover would also represent this. The most eye catching part of the cover is the artists face, which has been well edited so it's very defined, it almost looks 3D, this is a good way to make the cover eyecatching, therefore visually appealing to her target audience. She has also chosen harsh black makeup, to emphasise her facial features. Her face is covered by an upside down triangle, which is associated with the 'illuminati.' The background is a purple background, which has been put on a gradient so desolves into a lighter purple. The bottom of the cover has images of lady gaga's head. In the bottom left hand corner, is a 'parental advisory' sign, this is used on many explicit videos, but in this case I feel that it used to connote the extremism of her personality.The only writing is the artists name, and the name of the album is one of her songs, so I will bare this in mind when designing my album cover. They have chosen a rather girlish font, for a female artist.

The next album I have chosen to analyse is pop singer 'KE$HA' this keeps with the same conventions of the Lady Gaga album, the artists face is the main attraction on the page, it is fairly big, and extenuated, however, I feel that this album cover is quite ferocious, the image is harsh not smooth, and the font chosen is pointed like spikes. I think this fits in with the album name 'Animal' so the idea of the cover is to be fierce, I will also keep this in mind when making my own album cover, this is emphasised by the lightening bolt that has been added to her face, I also think this connotes the shock that she has caused as an artist.

Album Cover

I have been playing around, using pic monkey, to edit my photo, and mess around with different fonts, here I what I have come up with:
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For my artists name, I have stuck to sans serif fonts, so that they are easily readable, and seeing as I have used a playful font on my webpage for the artists logo, I feel that I should carry on the consistency on my album, as many famous people have a repetitive brand.

Ancillary Task 2 - Album Cover

For my second ancillary task, I have chosen to do an album cover for my artist 'Jessika' this will also link in with my web page, where I will be displaying my album cover, and offering a 'buy now' button which will be linked to iTunes. I have taken 2 photo shoots so far, the second one being the most successful as the first one, my artist was shown wearing black socks, and didn't look like an authentic picture that would have been taken of a well known artist. I will post the most likely pictures below:

 I really like the image, as it refers back to a shot I used in my music video, so this would be suitable for an album cover. I also think that it portrays quite a seductive look, which doesn't intertwine with the lyrics of my song, therefore doesn't really go with the theme of my music video. If I was to use this image, I would edit out the background, and put her above something that is more significant to the song.

 I think this picture is really direct, and where she is looking at the camera, it is like she is looking into the eyes of an audience, which would be a welcoming image to have on the front of an album, in terms of getting people to purchase it. I also think its a really simple and subtle picture, which links with the message behind my video, showing that the partner that she has split with, has stripped her and left her empty, the blank expression on my artists face connotes that. I also think the quality of the picture is nice, with her face looking airbrushed, and with some editing has the potential to like quite professional. In this picture, I have given my artist a dark look, dressing her in dark colours, which is contrasted by the white wall behind her, so that she stands out. I have also gone for a subtle colour foundation, however, using dark smokey eyes, to show her upset and anger towards this man.

 I chose to make my artist take a picture like this, as it shows her as vulnerable, I chose to use a midshot, so it didn't reveal her whole body. This connotes that she can't give her full self to anyone, which fits the lyrics within my music video. I also think that with her looking away from the camera, makes her look very secluded, and trapped within herself, I think this creates an authentic look into how my artist is feeling inside, I also think it's a relatable feeling for my audience to be involved in. If I was to use this picture, I would add a different colour into the background, as I think the different shades that are already present on the wall of the picture, have the potential to create a really good effect. I would edit this in pic monkey, and further it in Adobe Photoshop.

Ancilary Task - WebPage

Here is the link for my website, http://www.swfcabin.com/open/1398249390 The video may take a few seconds to load.  


I am creating my webpage in Adobe Flash Player, I have used a stage size of 960x570 px as when I researched the conventions of a webpage, this was the standard size of a webpage. I have chosen to used a scrunched up sheet of white A4 paper, to create a quite authentic look. I took this picture on my mobile phone (Samsung Galaxy S3.) As you can see, I have created several layers to place my features on, this makes it easier to set out, and allows images to be ontop of the background. It also makes it easier when adjusting parts of my page, allowing me to hide and reveal different features.

 Here I have added my banner/website logo. I have followed the conventions of a website, by using a sans serif font, so that it easy to read with no 'flicky' bits. I have also edited a photo of my artist from a previous photo shoot, which I have cropped and edited in Adobe Photoshop, I have chosen this image, as it looks like she is resting on the top of the website, I also think that the picture is very warm and welcoming, and will be a good feature of the website. My logo, is in a quite playful font, which I think will add to the warmness of the website, I have also done this so my artist appeals to the younger generation, as they are more of my target audience. I will add a box around this to make it more sectioned, and add structure to my webpage.

Here I have made a plan where different sections of my webpage will be. I have followed the 'Z' rule, where the audience will start in the top left hand corner (where I have placed my logo) and finish in the bottom right hand corner, therefore seeing all aspects of the website. I have also followed conventions of a website, by adding a 'contact us, cookies & policies' bar at the bottom of the screen, as they are a legal requirement. I want to make my website as authentic as possible. I have added a box where I will place my finished music video, and also another box which will display the album cover for my artist, which I will also be completing for my second ancilary task. I have also decided to add a 'fan pic of the week' making the audience more involved in the website, using a personal approach. I have also added a box for 'news' about my artist, which I will be inserting. The navigation bar will consist of pages that my target audience would like to see, I will decide on these after sending out a questionairre.



Here I have added links to several media platforms, that are real working buttons, some with animations, and when clicked they will connect to the actual website. I have used real social networks, however designing the buttons myself, so there is no plagerism involved in this. I have chosen these social netowrking sites, as they are the most popular ones at this date in time, and also is to attract a younger audience.I have also inserted a header for a section of my website, where there will be my album, I have added the name of the song, and also a button which says 'buy now' and when the mouse rolls over the button, the writing goes from white to black. The album cover will be inserted once it has been designed. Below is a screen shot of what the button looks like when the mouse has rolled over it.
















Here is a screen shot of my navigation bar, with the most popular options from the questionairre (which I will put in a seperate post)

Below you can see that I have added my video, although this is not a compelted one, I wanted to have a completed look of how my website would look, and also make sure that my video was compatible with the software, which it was. Once i've completed my music video, I will be inserting that one onto my webpage.

This is printscreen shows the different layers I used on my homepage, it also shows my library at the side, which I imported images in, in order to post them on my webpage, without them looking pixilated.

 

This is my finished homepage, the video is not the finished video, however, I have added it in order to get an authentic look on how the completed webpage will look. Although my video, and my album are to be in black and white, I dont think this is appropriate for the website, as this is a space for fans to enjoy themselves, and get to know the artist, therefore she should be portrayed as the bright and colourful person that she is.

Here is a print screen from one of my artists pages that are features on the navigation bar, I have created 2 pages with working links, to show both links work, and navigate to the correct page, following the conventions of a website, the 'Jessika Official' links back to the homepage, as this is coherent on most webpages. I have used the background of a pin board, as this is what many people display pictures on in their homes, so this connotes that the audience will feel welcome on my webpage. 

Here is the link for my website, http://www.swfcabin.com/open/1398249390 The video may take a few seconds to load.