My chosen font.

I conducted a survey in my class to help me choose my chosen font. The class, out of eighteen (including me) had to choose one font they would pick if it were there album cover. I then plugged the results in the form of a pie chart from the website http://www.mathwarehouse.com/ .Here are the results;

As you can see, Ghetto Marquee (as coloured bright blue) gained the most votes with a total of 38.8% and this will be my chosen font.

My chosen font:

Font Ideas.

The font of my album cover is key to its design. Because of this, I will take extra care in the font of my album cover by searching for different fonts and how/why I think they could relate to the feel of my album cover. I have obtained these fonts using http://www.dafont.com/, a website I have used before and thus know its reliable. I have narrowed my search down to four different fonts with feedback from various classmates. Later on, I will conduct a survey as to which font recieved the most fonts; using this is as my final decision on which font to choose. My chosen fonts are as follows;

1. Que FONTita!

I chose this font as it has a youthful, comical feel to it and seems like the type of font that could appear as part of a fun, upbeat song. If you look closely, small pictures are placed around a few of the letters, something I thought would appeal to my target audience and something that, on a personal level, I thought looked good.

Lance: I like this font as it seems fun and boyish (something that would appeal to me - and also would appeal to the male dominated target audience of the music project). The boldness of it is appealing and I think it could really work well with the music project.

Ashleigh: The font works well as its fun and bold, meaning it wont fade out amongst other aspects of the album. The little pictures are intricate and intriguing, something I think an audience would really enjoy.

Rachel: The font works well because it looks hand written/drawn, and gives it a bit of authenticity. The white and black work well together and make the font look fun and quirky.

2. A Love of Thunder

In this font, what really appealed to me was the simplicity of it. By making it simple, I can add other quirky effects to the album cover. As I believe my music video and chosen song is more male orientated, I wanted to project this onto my album cover; believing that out of all the font's chosen, this is the most male orientated thus relating to my target audience.

Chris: I like how simple this font is, and its boldness, but I fear it could become a bit boring. However, it has potential to be really good if everything else on this hypothetical album cover is constructed cleverly.

Sarah: The boldness is something that, as a teenager and therefore part of the target audience, appeals to me. It draws me in and intrigues me into what the album cover could be like. Its very easy to read and stands out, which is good.

Amy: This font I enjoy because it works in a very understated, simple way. It seems to draw the reader in and gives them an impact. The small faded bits are very implicit, but give it an authentic look, something I really like.

1. Elastic Wrath

I picked this font because I felt it fit with the criteria of that I wanted out of an album cover; fun, silly, informal and something that would appeal to a teenage target audience. I personally really liked the swirls that define the "0's" of the writing, and the curls emphasise the fun I wanted to get out of my album cover.

Lee: I enjoy this font because its eye catching and fun to look at. However, I think if anything, it could relate more to girls and because of this, its not my favourite. But, I could definately see a title like this in an album cover for The Wombats because its quirky, fun and epitomises youth.

Naomi: This is one of my favourite fonts because its really fun and different. Having an individual looking font could add an advantage as it attracts more of an audience. This fun font envokes positive emotions - something I think could even more attract an audience.

Jack: This font is fun and unique, but to me it looks a little too girly for the key target audience and it may be too flamboyant for a simple album cover. However, it certainly is different and looks authentic - something I and I believe an audience would appreciate.

3. Ghetto Marquee

So far, this is my favourite. Mainly because it looks authentic and almost natural - like photography. This font seems gritty and pertains very cleverly to both a predominately male and teenage age criteria. This font caught my eye because in my music video, I am using flashcards as props to create a fun and quirky feel and this font looks like each individual letter is made of a flashcard, so relates very much so to my music video and the overall feel of my music video project.

Hamish: I like this font as it looks very indie, something I think The Wombats music is. The font looks very authentic and natural, but with a gritty edge to it that adds quirkiness. My only criticism could be that it looks a bit too dark, and sharp and in that sense, doesn't fit in with the quirky music.

Perry: This is a unique and "indie" looking font that I think could fit well with the idea of the music video, if constructed properly. It could be a bit too dark and grungy though, and might not add in with the target audience.

Kris: I really enjoy this font type for a title as it looks unique, different and fits in well with the male target audience. Though it does look a bit dark in colour and sense to be classed as fun if it was part of an album cover, it has a lot of potential to be constructed well and would catch an audiences attention.

Alternatively...

After considering all four of the titles, I have to note that I could choose more than one font, and alternate between the album name title and the bands name title etc. However, that would tak choosing two fonts that look similar together. Still, the option is open.

Album Cover 3

Album Cover 3: Jack Johnson - To The Sea


The first noticable thing about this album cover is that, in a sense, it relates to the album name. "To The Sea" creates an idea of serenity, mainly through the idea of the ocean, and this is related in the both the album front and cover in which blue is the predominate colour. This idea of relating the album design scheme to the album name interests me as it sets an entire theme for the album, artist and music - binding them all together to create an entire theme. I may use this idea in my album making; finding some way to link all three musical aspects together. On both the front and back cover, the artist appears in a medium to medium long shot, but looks comfortable and relaxed (not posed) thereby giving a realistic nature to the shot, making the album feel more personal to the audience. The artists name and album name are in line with one another, linking the artist and the album together and they correlate with the black/white title colour contrast. Whilst the contents is not numbered, it is listed chronologically and so in a sense, the numbers are not needed. Once again, the technicialities and minor details are placed on the bottom of the back cover (probably because they are the least interesting aspect of any album cover).

Album Cover 2

Album Cover 2: Blink 182 - Greatest Hits

The album is simple. That being it follows a simple colour scheme (or shade scheme as technically no colours are used). By using this simplistic technique, the artist creates more of an impact to the target audience especially when the bands logo is used and placed large and in the centre of the front. The target audience (that being Blink 182 fans) will instantly recognise the logo and thus, be attracted to the album instantly. The album and bands name "greatest hits" has a font that is similar to the bands logo, and this shows the logo (and therefore the band) is central to the entire design scheme of the album and the logo. However, the back does not link too much to the front as the font is different and it contains no logo. It does however, clearly show that this is the artists album by naming it at the top, and the colour scheme is the same (black and grey/white) so in this sense, there is still a distinctive connection. The colour scheme itself relates to the target audience because it pertains to the theme of the music - punk rock. As punk rock is usually dark, gritty music, the black and grey/white colour scheme is recognisable to that music style and therefore, relates to the bands target audience. The contents is organised neatly in a chronological list as the contents clearly needs to show any audience what songs play when. After the contents, comes the technicalities (an order i've found on the majority of albums when researching albums).

Researching Album Covers and Album Cover 1.

As part of my media project, I will also have to create an album cover (front and back) in accordance to my music video. Before I do this, I have decided to research a couple of album covers (front and back) in order to get into perspective the kind of themes and ideas I could use for my own album cover. I obtained all of my CD Album covers by either taking pictures myself of my own albums, or using a simple google image (free from copyright of course).

Album Cover 1: Michael Buble - Crazy Love

On first looks, there is a simple but effective connection between both the front and back of the album cover. Whilst most of both cover sides are primarily a picture of the artist (for the obvious reason to draw attention to them and their music), there is a colour scheme present also. In this cover, the cover theme is a serene, happy kind of colour scheme will creams, light greys and yellow. This relates to the style of the artists music which is primarily pop/jazz, meaning it usually has a relaxed feel to it. On the front side, there is a close up shot of the artists face to present an intimate feel to the artists music; allowing them to relate to it more. However, on the back it is a medium shot, designed to show the artists clothing and further imply to the target audience of the style and feel of the music and the music album. In this sense, the music album becomes a summary of the type of music inside. On this cover, there is a simplistic feel. Not much is going on unless it is necessary such as the title, contents and artists name. On the back, the contents is clearly shown in an organised manner; each song labled in chronological order with the font large to draw attention to the reader the songs. The yellow banner that contains the artists name links the front and back cover together as, put side by side, you can clearly see it follows on. This connection clears up confusions about which artist the CD is of. Looking at the technicalities of the album cover, I can see the necessary labels that are issued on the back to signify to the audience certain things: for example, the bar code, the artists record company label and a symbol to show the CD can play on a DVD player. I will use these in the making of my own album cover to make it appear professional.

Animatic (Without Music)

Currently, I do not have the music on me to demonstrate the storyboard shots with the music. However, I have compiled an animatic on me that demonstrates each storyboard shot in turn. This has given me a more clear idea on what my video will be like, or how I want it to be like. I created this animatic using Windows Movie Maker to which I then uploaded onto http://www.vimeo.com/ , and this gave me a brief demonstration into video processing and editing, something I will later be using in more detail when editing my music video.

Storyboard Animatic from Alex Machin on Vimeo.

Location date.

I've planned my location date. I have given my main characters and extra the time, location and what they need to bring (though this shouldn't be tricky as i'll provide most of the props and equiptment needed) through email. As i've mentioned before, as I know my actors and extras personally, it was really easy to contact them through email (I already had their email addresses) and i've recieved replies from all of my actors to say they can make it! I chose my particular date in accordance to the weather. The weather being a really important factor in my shooting as it will mainly be outside.

What's next?

With all my main planning needs addressed, I need to think about what comes next in terms of my music video project. Later on, I may play around with my storyboard pictures; possibly turning it into an animatic with my music song. However, I also have to think about my album/single cover including photo's for my cover, font styles and colours. To organise myself, I have compiled a list of the main needs at this moment in time.

• Location Dates (In progress)
• Shooting (In progress)
• Choosing my fonts for my album/single cover
• Choosing styles/colours
• Photography
• Animatic?
• Editing

Obviously, there will be more to come, but at present these are my main points that need to be covered.

My storyboard.

So far, I have covered almost all of my primary needs for planning including;

• Actors



• Location



• Prop Ideas



• Permission from Artist



• General themes for my music video.

However, to wrap everything up, I have created a storyboard in which I have taken pictures of the storyboard I drew (I have explained this in more detail in my powerpoint presentation) and explained the different styles, themes, shots, props, and characters I am looking for in my video. By doing this, I have shown myself and the readers of this blog a more clear idea of what I want my music video to turn out like.

My storyboard

View more presentations from Amachin.

Actors.

My main actors will be Jamie Clarke and Natalie Clews

Jamie Clarke -

I chose Jamie because once again, he has some acting experience, participating in school plays and talent shows. Like all of these actors, Jamie is at the same sixth form as me, meaning he can be easily contacted, and I have known of him for a while.

Natalie Clews
Whilst Nat will probably not have a full on screen part, she will feature in props as the typical "girl next door", one to whom the boys are head over heels for. In this sense, she has both a "main part" an a part as an "extra". Nat is a close friend of mine meaning I can trust her fully and she can be easily contacted. easily contacted and trusted.

There may be others to take part in the project at a later date, and if so I will post accordingly.

Ideas about props.

Definition of "Prop"- "A theatrical property".
The chosen song for my video contains lyrics that have a lot of intertextuality to it and feature different mentions of certain things in pop culture. Because of this, I decided to annotate a sheet with the songs lyrics on, to get into perspective what kind of props would be needed in the making of my video. Throughout the lyrics, intertextuality is repeated in the form of pop culture in things such as "Eastenders", "Bridget Jones" and also in the form of everyday life, pertaining to the socio-realist theme (such as "Carrots"). Throughout the lyrics, I have generated ideas to both give a humourous feel to the video (in the form of props) and to link in with the intertextuality present in the lyrics of the song. For example, with the repition of "This is no Bridget Jones", I have taken into consideration the idea of anti Bridget Jones posters around my locations, giving a humourous feel whilst being "intertextual". Below, I have listed more ideas for props generated from the bands song lyrics.

"I've met someone that makes me feel seasick" - Here, I thought about the idea of throwing a sick looking product over the actors for comic effect.

"Whenever she looks I read the nearest paper, but I don't care about the soaps, no I don't care about the soaps.. Though I'm acting like i'm in an Eastenders episode" - This is my most crucial line, as it contains a large majority of intertextual ideas for me to create props. For this, I am considering your typical props, such as a newspaper. I will link the "soaps" and "Eastenders episode" lyrics together for my prop by creating a prop to do with the Eastenders soap, possibly a charicature or a puppet of a popular Eastenders character. This will hopefully add a humourous effect too.

"If this is a rom-com, kill the director" - Here, like the "Bridget Jones" idea, I was going to have anti romance or director posters put up, possibly of popular romance movies or directors such as Love Actually and Steven Spielberg.

"Carrots help us see much better in the dark" - Here, the obvious would be to add a vegetable like prop, my only problem being whether or not this would be too silly.

"This is my head and this is my spout" - The prop here, I thought could be associated with a teacup, here I could play around with silly, nursery tale style themes to emphasise the comic effect.

"So with the angst of a teenage band..." - To relate to the music, my idea was to pull out a guitar and have the main actors pretend to play.

Themes

I have created a Wordle from http://www.wordle.net/ that contains all my themes. These themes will essentially become the backbone of all the production in my music video. Conglomerating all of these themes together gives an idea of what i'm looking for in my video.

Further Ideas - Mind Map

To get into perspective the extras of my planning such as props, clothing and the validity of the actors, I decided to create a hand written mind-map with a series of my ideas. I scanned this onto my blogger in order to show the kinds of ideas for my planning at first hand. I will elaborate on these further.

Props - I'll be making an annotated sheet of lyrics later on containing further ideas of my props as I feel they are a fundemental part of both my video personally, and the theme I am pertaining to. The more props I can get, the more humourous I can allow my video to be, therefore to me, props are crucial. Aswell as this, I have opted for the idea of male orientated props such as footballs, and guitars to add to the music playing in the video. In this sense, I am further pertaining to the theme of my video.

Clothing - The clothing, simple enough, will be supplied by my actors as I want normal/average clothing to pertain to the socio-realism and themes of my video. However, another thought I had would be to feature my actors in formal clothing, to emphasise courtly love and romanticisim, thus making my video more comical. If my actors cannot supply this, I will have to find a way to supply it for them.

Actors/Extras - Once again I will elaborate further on my actors and extras by posting pictures of them. So far, I have delegated my three main actors; Tom Winship, Phil Hawkings and Jamie Clarke. These actors are all in the age range with experience in acting meaning they'll be more professional and more confident. I'll also employ extra's and back up plan actors in case for some reason the actors cannot make it.

Sound - I have opted for non diagetic, meaning my video will contain nothing but The Wombats' music. Upon this, the three main actors will main for socio-realism and comic effect.

Camera - My camera shots, at first thought, will vary to suit the light-heartedness of the video. I'll range them from everything between close-ups to extreme-long shots, giving a random and quirky feel to my video. However, during the filming process I cannot say I wont experiment and try new shots, so it is difficult to conclude indefinately what kind of shots I will be doing.

Main Themes of the Video - These are essentially the backbone of my entire video, and will be what I strive to accomplish throughout. However, like my camera shots, I cannot say whether or not i'll change the tone of the video. My main themes include: Socio-realism, Romance, "Angst" and Comedy.