Idea Update - Performance Footage

So we have a new idea to try and incorporate performance footage into our own music video after seeing the benefit it had on past A2 coursework videos. The idea is to have the two members of Daft Punk set up in a room to film with two keyboards and a laptop. We plan to film in the afternoon at Tom's house to get all the performance footage we need. This is going to be added into our video in different sections in a hope it will make the video more interesting and so the encounters don't drag on. 

The idea is to have our two members dress up in a suit wearing a bike helmet in an idea to try and replicate the outfit worn by Daft Punk. First we have the challenge of locating the costume, we are going to use suits provided by Tom and Andy as well as borrowing two bike helmets. Then we will have to set up lighting and the set. Our idea was to have a large table with a black out cloth over it with the keyboards back to back. The idea is to set up the laptop on the end and have it play footage from our music video on a loop. We are going to set up wires around the keyboards and will experiment with wires coming out of the back of the helmets. The idea around the performance is to link it into the narrative with a contrast of lighter and darker scenes. As most of our video so far is a quite bright we decided to add a more serious dark tone with the performance footage. 

Managing Cast

Our video included a lot of characters and because if this it took some organising to make sure everyone could make it too the shoot. Our main character 'the Traveller' was played by two people. We organised the shoots through Facebook at a time when everyone was available. If one person couldn't make the shoot we could use the other person as the traveller. During our video we used a narrative enigma surrounding our traveller which was useful as we could change the costume easily as Tom and Andy where similar builds. This meant the audience wouldn't notice the change in character, this was shown through our audience feedback. 

Facebook Post - Organising People

For the other characters we used a few different techniques to organise the actors. First of all for the party scene we had to organise a few people. We got a number of people who we thought would be willing and interested to appear in the video and added them to a private message. From there we could organise dates and times when everyone was available to film. Another way we got people to act in our video was to ask around in the sixth form centre for volunteers. We got a couple of people to film a busking scene, however this wasn't included in the final cut. 



List of characters we filmed: 

• Tom (traveller/daft punk/cards/party)
• Andy (traveller/daft punk/magazine seller)
• Will (skating)
• Beth (taxi driver)
• Daniel (break dancing) 
• Charlie (original traveller)
• Bakers (bakery)
• Danny (buskers) 
• Barker (biking/party)
• Jack (biking)
• Luke (lift/party)
• Vicky (party)
• James (party)

As you can see from this list there are lot of different characters in our video we took some organising. Whether that was planning a specific time and date or managing to get to a location. 

Podcast 8 - Magazine Ad Contest

This is a podcast about our new viral marketing strategy which we put in place in order to link our ancillary texts together and help us with our evaluation. 

Using Different Programs

During the production of the digipak design i've used a few different programs on the mac in order to produce the final product. For my first digipak dummy and the suitcase design I used photoshop elements. I used a variety of tools such as opacity, emboss and clone stamp. Elements allowed me to move parts of the digipak around and position text in the right areas as well as placing stock pictures into the design. The software worked well for basic photoshop functions however isn't as good as the latest cs6 version of photoshop. Some tools where limited in the usage however it was  good enough to produce the first drafts.

   

For the latest digipak design I used adobe after effects. Being used to the interface and function of the programs I could create the digipak much more quickly and easily. This program allowed me to use more effects and 3D work on the new design. The new idea involved a larger variety of fonts and used more images from our music video which was easier to do with the improved text tool functions in after effects. The program allowed more flexibility in the design with coordinates you I could accurately position text and images in the right position. 

Digipak Codes And Conventions Summary

Front Cover:
The first and most obvious convention of the digipak's I have looked at is the title of the album and the artists name on the front pannel. There will normally be an image on the front of the digpak dipicting the artist or a concept image which relates to the centre. We normally see a specific colour scheme all the way through the design of the digipak relating to the front cover. An example of this is in the Daft Punk's album 'Human after all'. The front cover will often use bright or contrasting colour in order to make the digipak stand out. In 'Buscare' bright reds and yellows contrast against a black and white image of the artist. On some digipaks we also see a sticker which will give information about hit singles within the album or bonus features such as a dvd or live footage.

Back:
On the spine of the digipak we once again see the artist name and the album name, however sometimes just the album name. We will also often see logos for record labels contributing to the album as well as a CD identification number. On the back of the digipak there will be an image which almost always relates to the front of the digipak or the ongoing theme throughout. A track listing will be displayed on the back sometime with the lenght of the tracks and track number. On the bottom of the back pannel we will see information in copyright often smaller and in a different font to the rest of the album. We are also likley to see a bar code as well as the contributing record companies at bottom right or left hand corner. We may also see information such as the bands website or the artisrs social networking sites.

Inside:
On the inside pannels we are likley to see more background images relating to the theme throughout. There will often be details such as song lyrics however due to our chosen genres minimalistic lyrics this is normally not the case for the genre specific deconstructions. We are likley to see the people who played the intruments during each song and anybody who contributed to the song such as the producer. There maybe behind the scenes pictures from tours of the band and in some cases all we see on the inside of the digipak. There are also details on the CD including the recording companys, the name of the album and the CD number.

Digipak Audience Feedback

I went around the 6th form centre and asked people questions about the different versions of the digipaks i've made.

I asked the people questions such as which design they prefered, why they liked the different designs and whether the design would appeal to the target audience.

First I showed them the original design idea with the suitcase. People liked the simplicity of the design and the embossed text effect as well as the globe in the centre. They also liked the details on the back of the digipak and the record labels logo. However, they said they would have prefered for the text on the back to be clearer and to possibly change the fonts in the pack. They also said that the bolts on the front of the original image obscured some of the text. When asked whether they thought it would stand out to the targeted audience they said yes as the font is clearly recognisable however people thought the design could have been more eye catching.

 When asked about the new design they said they liked the 3d effect on the text. Also the use of original images and look that it was projected onto the scene from the video. They also liked the shadows and the right eye catching font. They also liked the different font and said the track listings where clearer than the previous design. They also liked the framing of the shot on the back cover that is in keeping with the narrative enigma. When asked whether they thought it would appeal to the target audience in comparison to the other design they said it would be more likley to stand out in a record shop and would still be recognisable as a daft punk album due to the font. People also liked the fact it gave them more of an idea of the content of the music video.

DP Media Appearances And Our Target Audience

Daft Punk have appeared all over the media in recent years with a few notable examples which we can apply to our target audience. 

DJ HERO:

Daft Punk In DJ Hero

The game DJ Hero featured Daft Punk who provided exclusive mixes for the game and featured in the game itself with their own venue. This would help to appeal to our secondary aspiring target audience of 12+ years old. Younger teens who like dance music but are too young to go to clubs or festivals. This game would help them to experience what it's like to be a DJ without actually going to a party or club. 


SIMPSONS:

Simpsons Appearance

Another Example which appeals to this audience as well as an older audience is the Daft Punk appearance in the Simpsons. The Simpsons appeals to males and females of a variety of ages. The show will appeal to a younger audience with some of the more slap stick comedy involved. An older audience however will understand more of the references in the show and more of the featured characters. This helps to reinforce both of our secondary audiences we have chosen as well as the primary audience. 

Pizza Hut:

Pizza Hut

A good example of an advert which appeals to our primary target audience is the recent pizza hut advert. The song 'Technologic' was used with the lyrics changed to reference the pizza company instead of the original lyrics. This is a good way to get people to watch the original song as well as making a catchy advert. This advert is likely to appeal to students as well as other people in the 15-24 age bracket we chose for the primary audience. This age group often are more likely to order take out food rather than going through the effort to cook for themselves. The advert also offers 50% of orders which is ideal for young people who do not have much money. 



Daft Coke:

Metallic Daft Coke Bottles

In 2011 Coca Cola also distributed limited edition Daft Punk Coke Bottle in France named 'Daft Coke'. These bottles have now become collectors items to certain people. This is a good example of a wide audience appeal as Coca Cola is popular with all age ranges as well genders all around the world. This appeals to all of our selected target audiences primary and secondary.  

• DJ Hero - Appeal to teenagers and aspiring secondary audience
• Simpsons - Appeals to all our target audiences male and female 
• Pizza Hut - Appeals to our primary target audience
• Coke - Appeals to all our target audiences around the world 

As you can see here Daft Punks appearances directly reflect our target audiences which we have chosen.

New DIGIPAK Design

On the new digipak design we can see the title of the album and name of the band. On the next draft I am adding a sticker to the front of the cover to follow convention. On the spine there is the name of the album as well as the virgin records logo as seen on a lot of digipaks. The back cover features a track listing as well as copyright information and record logo. I still need to add a dvd listing as well as a barcode.