Printing the Digi Pack

Today we have printed the digi pack. The front has come out really well with the lettering and the image standing out to portray her Diva mystique. The spotlight provides a focus and moves her into the starlight. The logos are very bold and look better printed out than on screen, along with the text because it is all more visible and easily read. The only poor aspect is that be back and side images of Beyonce are not as easily visible as on screen, this is due to the Mac's being back lit, however the pack still looks very professional and with her being slightly 'hidden' adds to the mystique of her Divaness. The inside of the pack looks very well with the bold CD standing out due to the white on black, the dark writing on top adds more contrast along with the glasses lifting off and providing a visual aspect. The image of her on the left side, gives an aspect of her glowing with the sphered edge. We had a slight issue with the inside of the digi pack because the coloured CD background did not fit in the circled edge so we have had to alter the shape then reprint the pack.

Printing the Magazine Advert

Today we have printed off the magazine advert. The image has come out darker on the copy than on Photoshop on the Mac, this is due to screens being back lit. However the poster looks very professional and realistic in being a magazine advert, in that it would be perfect in a music magazine. With the darkness and Beyonce blending in to the background, this makes the bright lips and spotlighted glasses stand out from her face. The light glisten on her lips gives emphasis to her Diva like glow and draws the audience's attention in so that they look at the advert. Her glasses provide a barrier, as they do not let the audience see her eyes which gives away a person's identity. This shows the audience her Diva status as she is protecting her identity but giving off a vibe of attitude.

Digi Pack Update

We have recently received a delivery of discs ready for printing and uploading our video onto disc but also adding the illustration. Along with the dics came the digi pack cases where we can put our covers into. Two types of discs were delivered, Titanium Full Face White Printables and Datawrite Full Face Silver Printables. We have decided to experiment with which disc we print our disc cover onto, however we would prefer the silver disc as it tends to look more professional when printed with black ink.

Filming Outside

Next week we are hoping to film the final shots outside, we have researched the weather so that we know which days will look best outside. This eliminates bad weather shots such as rain and overcast skies.The best day is thursday so hopefully if all goes to plan, we shall complete the last of our filming that afternoon.

Green Screen

Yesterday we set up the green screen and filmed two sequences of Beyonce singing Diva. We did a close up of head and shoulders that can be used to provide a upclose view of her on screen. We also chose to film her with most of her body in the shot, this is going to be used in further away shots where she is on the background. We had difficulty with the green screen due to it not reaching the floor, therefore we could not incorporate her feet. This was overcome by shooting above her knees and therefore altering the aspects of the background to follow.
This is where we have synced both the green screen in with the song, this will enable us to cut aspects out and put them onto the backgrounds with her lips being in sync with the music. We had to match the beat with the song in the same sync point as the other filmed clips.





This is where we used the chroma key along with the eyedropper to select the colour green and remove all of the green from the video, just leaving Beyonce in shot. This then enables us to place her onto backgrounds and into other clips with just her body on show.





This screen shows that we have put both videos in and now can start to select certain pieces and mix them with the backgrounds. This allows the audience to see Beyonce close up in performance shots of singing, not just dancing.


The reason we selected to film her on green screen was due to weather conditions because putting her infront of the walls would make her skin a different colour than when filmed in studio due to the overcast sky. There is also the issue of costume in that we wanted her to wear the same outfit and if we filmed her in front of each location it would take longer than just filming her on green screen twice then cutting her onto the locations.

Locations

Today we have filmed short clips of locations, ready for transferring Beyonce from the green screen of her singing on to the clips. We selected many locations, including trees and wooded areas, steps and a white wall. We have decided to use different effects such as having Beyonce in black and white with the background in colour and vice versa. There are other aspects we shall include such as green screening her onto coloured background such as black to match the digi pack and also pink to represent her lips.



This is the first clip we chose to shoot, we selected to capture two minutes of footage for each clip. This gives us plenty of space to alter putting Beyonce into the clip, instead of replaying the selected clip many times. We chose this shot due to the leaves on the ground making up a wintry image and the bare trees playing a large part in the shot. Therefore when Beyonce is placed into the clip, she will look large next to the background, this is portraying her large star persona and diva image.


This next shot is the same scene but from a different angle so using different trees. We selected it for the same reasons but thought it would be best to have two options to pick from, therefore creating more available locations.








This next image is of the staircase up close, so that we could place Beyonce dancing on the stairs. The style is very rustic which fits in with the theme of the derelict building we used for the opening and closing shots.The style of the staircase will be used as an opposite to the neatness and fresh look of Beyonce.






This is the same shot but further back so could be used for a close up of her feet dancing, like in the video to compare with the floor of the dance floor to the contrasting rustic steps. We liked the look of the old fashioned brick work behind with the ivy, to make the image look old, not modern.





This is a shot of a white wall, which we thought would be good to contrast the dark colouring of Beyonce in comparison to the bright brick work. We may have her in colour or in shadow so that her star persona is bold when against the background.








This is the staircase from far back which is a useful shot so that we can have her full image into the shot but also in incorporates more of the background to give the audience more of a feel for the location.







Finally we chose this rustic brick wall, we filmed from 4 metres back so that there is the option of including her full body or just head and shoulders shot. This is the image where we shall have her in black and white so that she is contrasting largely with the wall.

Magazine Advert

Firstly we set up the page to be A4 size as in our research we noticed that the bigger artists such as Pearl Jam and The Beatles had full magazine adverts whereas the smaller artists used quarter or half page sized. Obviously this is in reference to cost, the larger the advert the more popular the artist, also it will stand out more and be recognised more easily. The idea also came about that we would publish our advert on the back cover of the magazine as it is so startling it would be easily recognised. This would be an increased cost but the advertising powers woul be stronger so would be worth it for such a huge star as Beyonce. To start we coloured the background black, this is in reference to the digi pack which was all black and helped the lettering and pictures stand out. We then had to consider which images and what text to include as many of the adverts we researched were very simplistic but still contained large amounts of information to give to the audience about when the DVD is released, where it can be purchased, who it is by and what is included. Usually there is also a positive review or star rating to help the promotion of the music/digi pack.


Next we created a second layer and selected the picture of Renie/Beyonce that we used for the digi pack cover. We chose to use the same image so that the audience could reference the picture on the advert to the digi pack cover. Therefore when they go to purchase the DVD they will easily recognise it. We started to blend around the image of Beyonce so that it was all black instead of the white colour, this is shown in the image as a work in progress. We used the eraser tool to create this effect and altered the brush size and the harshness as we got closer towards the image. We did not like the necklace she was wearing as it drew the audiences attention away from the glasses and her overall image. Therefore we decided to blend it out.







This is a close up of using the eraser tool, to show how we went around the edges with a finer brush detail.
















This is the final image of Beyonce onto the background, we now had to decide what else to include onto the advertisement.
















Here we have added the text of Beyonce and the title of the DVD/song name. We chose to keep the same text as on the digi pack so there is reference for the audience when they go to purchase it. However we did decide to change the colouring of the Beyonce title to the pink of her lips and this makes the lips stand out and provide a point of observation. We then selected a bold white text for writing Diva, this makes it stand out from the dark background and even though it is larger lettering than Beyonce it does not over power her name.


Here we have added a by line that says the new single DVD is out now, however later on we made the decision to add a date of 7th December. This is so that it is released on a Monday, therefore the radio stations will be reviewing it over the weekend and then customers are more likely to go out and purchase it on the Monday if it has a good review. We also selected a quote from a newspaper Media Times, so that the audience can recognise and are given information about how good it is, providing more incentive to complete the purchase. We chose standard Times New Roman text to make the information look plain instead of fancy. The choice of white writing was due to it being written over Beyonce's chest and we had to select a colour that would stand out but not take too much of the significance away from the main image of her.



Here we have added in a HMV logo, we have researched and found it is the most popular music, DVD and game retailer. We thus decided that the audience are more likely to purchase from this shop, especially if they have confirmation by the logo that the DVD will definitely be there for sale.









In this shot we have added a pink frame around the advert. This is also where we added the release date as mentioned earlier. We purposely wanted the advert to be simplistic with the main image of Beyonce standing out and portraying her star persona out to the audience. This is the reason for the simplistic text and small HMV logo. However to add a slight edge of colour and in reference to her lips, the Beyonce text and the HMV logo we added the same colour pink frame which boosts the colour factor but also gives an edge to the advert.

Here is the final image of the advert, we are very pleased with how it has turned out as it portrays Beyonce's star persona and her diva image but is also simplistic in that the audience are not overpowered by the advert. In this image we have altered her hair as there were some white parts where we had not erased fully so these had to be altered.

Final Magazine Advert

Inside of the digi pack

This is the inside of the digi pack which is now finished. We decided to make it very simplistic to allow the front cover to give the most impact. We chose to continue with the black background to then allow the DVD to shine out in white. On the DVD we chose to use the Diva glasses that Beyonce wears in the video to give the audience something to reference when the DVD is out of the case. We felt that on the front cover of the digi pack, the most striking point of Beyonce's close up was her glasses. They hide her image away and give the audience something to focus on as they are so eye cathcing. Therefore we chose to exploit this image by putting the glasses on the DVD, as they draw the audience in but also stand out from the DVD making it easy to see when it is out of the case. Another strong point is that the audiencewill associate the song Diva with the glasses, meaning that if people pick up the DVD they will automatically know who it is. We chose to keep the same lettering on the DVD as on the digi pack, to help the purchaser associate the products, therefore keeping them together and not just leaving it as a blank DVD. On the other side we chose to include a picture of Beyonce showing her frontally and adding a mirror reflection. This indicates both sides of her personality are on show to her audience. She is looking away from the camera to give off an attitude as if she could not care less, promoting the Diva aspect. We decided to blur around the edges to fade the image into the background slightly, therefore not just having a block image on the cover. This is effective due to looking realistic instead of being stuck on.

Front of the digi pack

This is the final version of the front of the digi pack. Having conducted research it became clear to me that this cover needed to convey a positive representation of our Beyonce figure. We achieved this by using Photoshop to produce a high quality digi pack. A black background was chosen so that the white and pink writing stood out to the audience but the image of Beyonce would also. On the front cover Beyonce was chosen to be represented staring straight out into the audience, however she is wearing her glasses to give a mysterious diva like image. The glasses included the two camera flash circles, we chose to keep these in as they added star qualities of bright lights in her eyes. The cropped head and shoulders image gave impact as it is such a close up, revealing character, plus the serious expression allows the audience to realise she is not someone to mess with. A spotlight was chosen to aid the star persona that is portrayed by spotlighting her image. We included a parental advisory notification label as the audience needs to be warned about swearing and we realised in our research that all the digi packs included this where necessary. For the spine we chose to use bold lettering for her name and the title. This makes it easy to read and be noticed by the audience. For the image we decided to continue with the theme reflecting all sides of Beyonce with the sides of the digi pack, therefore having her facing side ways covering her face by holding her glasses which aids her mysterious persona and her diva image. For the back cover we selected two labels including a DVD video/audio picture to ensure it is realised that the digi pack contains a video along with the song. We also found a website that allowed us to create our own barcode, as shown earlier in the blog. Beyonce Diva was chosen as this meant the pack can easily be recognised. We used a back image of Beyonce to continue with the theme of reflecting all sides of her and linking with the use of a mirror in the DVD. Putting her hand on her hip shows off her attitude and also as if she has no care in the world as she is not looking out to the camera. We kept her in her dancing costume for the pack, therefore allowing the audience to recognise the pack and her image when they watch the video. Moving her image over to the right side allowed for text and the title listing to be added. For the track listing we used the same colour pink as her lips on the front cover, this provided recognition but also added a feminine element to break away from all of the black.

Produced by AA Productions on behalf of Beyonce music corporation. Unauthorised copying, reproduction, hiring, lending, public performance and broadcasting is strictly prohibited
2009 Productions.

www.AAproductions.com

This is the text that we included on the pack, we also added a copyright logo as this was included on every pack in our research so is a essential image. Choosing to make up our own logo AAproductions, standing for Alice and Amelia productions allowed us to have an independent aspect on the pack and that we are producing on behalf of Beyonce music corporation.

Editing

So far we have edited in the entry and exit into the dance studio, we then synced all of the clips of her dancing to ensure the music track was in sync with her singing and dancing. As we have not yet filmed the narrative, we decided to edit all of the dancing to make a complete video then when we have the next clips we shall cut aspects out and drop in the new clips. This is shown in a print screen below.We synced the track by using markers to mark the large beat near the beginning of the song, this was an easy point to recognise and then made it easy to relate on every video. Hopefully we shall be completing the narrative shots this week, then we can complete the video. In the mean time I shall be concentrating on the digi pack and the magazine advert.

Shooting Deconstruction

When we started filming we had to ensure all the location and aspects were correct. For the location we used the outside of the 'Gifted and Talented' school area, this was a period building to represent a derelict area in which Beyonce's secret dance studio is hidden. However the area had plenty of unused furniture stacked near the door so we had to angle the shots to make the building seem less like a storage area. The building however provided extra shots we had not expected such as filming Beyonce walking past through the window, giving a hidden effect. In the dance studio when we first filmed we had the error of being able to see the reflection of our camera equipment and all of the school display boards. Therefore when we refilmed, we used different camera angles, filming a lot closer to Beyonce and also pulled the large curtain across half of the mirror, this gave us a smaller work space providing close up shots and also reducing the light levels to produce a clearer image. With Renie we had to make sure she had the correct outfit on, wearing leggings, a long vest and cardigan provided an edgy dark look which added mystery but was also a powerful image, letting her Diva qualities out. For the dance routine we added dark glasses to hide her identity and aid the Diva image. For her dance routines, we used a Beyonce inspired look with plenty of attitude and quick movements to keep the action upbeat. We decided to film the action using three cameras and got shots of her feet, her face in a close up and then a shot of her whole figure dancing and this included the mirror reflection. We wanted to use the mirror and found a real good example of how a professional video maker had made use of a mirror in Alesha Dixon's video Breathe Slow. We then refilmed all this with her facing the opposite way away from the mirror, this added different perspectives to the song. When filming we decided to capture everything twice, this allowed us to make room for any errors and be able to cut them out.