CD and Website Test Shots

 Here are some test shots that we captured using the green screen in which we used for our CD cover and website. These shots are of our group for the project but only one of them will be performing in the music video.

Music Video Performance

Due to the poor weather conditions we decided to film our artists performance on the green screen facility in college instead of the previous location we were going to use. This way the weather would not affect our filming. It also gave us control over lighting. Although using a green screen removes the urban vibe the video creates, the green screen also allows us to use a dark setting, which will relate to the lyrics in the song. Using the green screen will also be relevant as the group Pendulum tend to use green screens. Alike Pendulum in the video 'The Island' we will be using one artist in the performance whereby we will also use close ups and a similar editing style, which will include fading and dark lighting.

Chris Wilson

CD back cover

This is the back cover for our CD, which will include our track listings. This has the image on the right facing the opposite way as it is now on the back cover we thought this was relevant.

Chris Wilson & Danny Rankin

Website Design

This is the current website design we are developing, this is not the finished product. Again we have incorporated the urban, blue theme that relates to our generic conventions. This has also been designed using photoshop.

Chris Wilson

To stick to this blue tinted theme we highlighted the logo of our band. The logo is featured on the CD design and website. We have decided to use a cartoon logo as this relates to  the urban, graffiti style of drum and bass. Artists such as Chase and Status have previously used this idea on their website.

Chris Wilson

Pendulum CD Cover

This is the CD cover we designed on adobe photoshop. Instead of using the graffiti fonts we created previously, we decided to use the font Pirulen because we thought it related to our chosen artist more. We also decided to use the negative effect and incorporate a blue theme, which Pendulum also seem to use in videos like 'The Other Side.' This theme will also be found in our music video. The spray paint dripping effect we designed is a reference to the urban side of the genre. Many artist, such as Sub focus and chase & status tend to stick to this urban style.

Chris Wilson & Danny Rankin

Here are some titles and the artist logo that we're going to use for our website and cd cover. Firstly I drew these  items on paper and scanned them into the iMac using a CanoScan Lide scanner. After this I edited them on photoshop using the paint and pencil tools. This graffiti style relates to our artist's image.

Chris Wilson

Song name

This is the making of the word crush for the homepage on our website. It was edited on photoshop using a graffiti style that relates to our artist's urbanized image. Before creating it on photoshop we drew it on paper and scanned it into the iMac on photoshop.
Chris Wilson and Danny Rankin

Music Video Perfomance Location

When we first chose the location of our artists performance we were going to have our artist on the other side of the fence on the knocked down building site, however when we went to check the location we discovered it would be too dangerous and unsafe to have our artist performance here. As a result we decided it would be a good idea to have it on the outside of the fence and on the cobbled road next to it, which is rarely used by the public. The images below show the locations where the performance will take place.

Pavement outside the knocked building site

We think this will relate to our artists image as we are looking to  release an urban image for our artist. This environment will match our plans for this image because it is a dark, rough setting that you would expect to see for an artist with this image.

Cobbled road next to knocked down building site

Here is the cobbled ground next to the site, which we have also chosen for the artist to perform on. We think this is again suitable for the artist as it is another urban, dark and empty setting that would suit the artists reserved, working background image.
















By Chris Wilson

Mark Ronson Web Page

This Webpage uses a similar style to the cover of his latest release 'Record Collection' he does this to maintain synergy throughout his products as the songs in the album are featuring the artists that he has used there artwork to create the image.

Danny Rankin, Chris Wilson

Mark Ronson Case Study

Mark Ronson's album cover for 'Version' has a unusual style as the cover looks like a worn-down billboard. We noticed that the album contains cover tracks, which may link to the design of the artwork because we see a number of layers to show that he's covering past billboards with his face. This could be a metaphor to show that the album is a collection of cover songs. The colours are quiet dull and retro to represent his old fashioned image. The album cover reminds you of the past because you wouldn't expect to see a cover like this in the modern times.

Mark Ronson has used another unique style as this album cover is made out of different types of CD covers and records. This may be influenced by the name of the album, 'Record Collection'. He's using a collection of records to form his face, which is very artistic and creative. It uses a retro style again from the use of a range of bright colours, which would be associated with the 1980's. So you could say that this album is associated with he 1980's.







By Chris Wilson and Danny Rankin

Digipak Cover Research

The digipak is quite appropriate for the genre and fits in with most of the conventions. The mise-en-scene follows the conventions as it uses computer generated text and and the spray paint effect added on are ways that the artists in this genre express them selves and use to sell their image. The image on the cd cover is incorperationg the design into the text, this along with the contrast between the bright and dark colours catches the audiences attention. The design on the digipak allows the artist to brand their product in their own style therefore making them recognisable and sell more copies.

This is at the other end of the scale to the previous digipak however it is still within the conventions of the genre. The layout matches the title as it is as though they are in space, they have also used simple font to focus the attention on the meaning of the image. Again there is a sharp contrast between the Dark and Bright colours used, this is intended to again put emphasis onto the picture as this makes it stand out. There is the use of computerised images which is quite recognisable of this genre. This also is away for the artists to sell themselves as it shows their creativity and allows people to connect and buy their cd.

This shows the computerised text again which is a big characteristic in the conventions of this genre. instead of using a black background they have gone for white this is another way of making the audience  focus on the image. The image looks like he is handing you a pair of headphones as if to say go on listen to my music. The artist uses this to say go on buy it and you wont be disappointed. On the back they have took a segment of the image on the front and added a bright orange effect onto it this is to make it different and stand out, the use of bright colours is another convention.

Again have gone with the convention of the dark and bright colours to go with the genre and the use of computerised images to show their creativity and help market their brand. Layout keeps your attention and withe the use of images looks like they have used intertextual references to the production of the music. The use of imagery is as if the artist is saying look at what we can do creatively on this imagine our music, and they use this to sell their products.

Pendulum, the artist we are choosing, has gone for a slightly different style with this album cover they have kept to the use off dark colours but instead of using very bright colours they have used the dark blue slowly fading in to light blue, this adds a calming effect and this is the style that they have chosen in the album music as well. There is still computerised images and the text is computer text although not as extreme as the others. This is Pendulum branching out and attracting a wide range of audience while still keeping their old once.



We have took in all of these ideas and used them do create our own digipak, we are going to use the computerised images and text whilst using the contrasting colours we are going to add them more reduced to keep the calming look of Pendulums design. This will allow the audience to see our creativity and we will have our own individual ideas, to show that we are original which will help to market our product. The layout will be interesting to captivate the audience and the font will bee in a graffiti style for the song title to go along with the conventions.

Danny Rankin

Bedroom location test shots.

These are shots of a location that will be used in two of our scenes. It is the scene where Character 1 goes and worries about the fake fight that's going to happen. Here he will stare in the mirror anxiously, pray and look depressed. He will then go to sleep and dream about past events in the day. On another scene we will see Character 1 preparing for the fake fight later on by doing bicep curls with a dumbbell and press ups.
By Chris Wilson

Music Video Narritive Character

Here is a selection of test shots that we have collected for our video. This is the confident, aggressive character 2 training in the gym as a way of preparing for the fake fight.

Chris Wilson and Danny Rankin

Textual Analysis Grid

Danny Rankin

The weather forecast for the week commencing the 1st of november shows poor weather conditions for filming as the variations in rain could cause continuity errors as puddles may suddenly appear, also it would be quite hard to get the actors all together in these weather conditions.
However weather permitting we are planning on filming the week after, at this stage it is hard to check on the forecast for that week as the BBC Weather only shows a five day for the area and the weather may change between now and then as these are only predictions.

Danny Rankin

Pendulum Website Home Page

Pendulum

http://www.pendulum.com/

The layout of pendulums website is a lot more organised than chase and status and Sub Focus’s websites. We see a consistent blend of colours that relate to the album cover of Immersion. The use of the sea is a reference in their music videos, such as Witchcraft and watercolours. At the top is a bar containing the page names. They’re in a similar bold font and capital letters, which makes it easy for the audience to find what they want to know. Again the page features gig dates and links at the bottom to social networking sites like myspace, bebo, facebook, flickr and lastfm. We see a boarder at the top, which changes from advertisements of the album Immersion to advertisements of a single on the album, The Island and it also changes to the torso and faces of Pendulum. The band has serious faces and are all wearing black leather jackets, which shows the image they’re trying to present to the public. They are trying to display a ‘cool’ laid back image and attract a target audience of males aged between 16 and 25.

By Chris Wilson

Website research and analysis

Chase and Status Website Homepage

CHASE AND STATUS
http://www.chaseandstatus.co.uk/
(This website design has now been updated)

Chase and status have decided to use a bright pink background, which is unlike other drum and bass artists, such as Sub Focus who has a dark background. The pink background could be signifying the upbeat vibrant feeling of listening to drum and bass. Again their site doesn’t focus on the artist image as on the homepage we only see a small image of their faces in the top right corner. The image of them looks computer generated and the artistic technique of graffiti is incorporated, which represents the urbanized side of their image. The layout of the site is quite simple as the homepage separates everything into 5 boxes, which makes it easy for the viewer to browse. Again we see tour dates and sponsors like facebook, youtube and myspace at the top. The site doesn’t tell us much about the artists, themselves, which tells us that the sites not used to attract new fans but to release dates and new songs for current fans by the lack of detail. This vibrant pink background is not what you expect to see for the target audience of males, so maybe the website designer is trying to challenge ideologies about the genre. The website is influenced by art forms like graffiti and this is incorporated into the spray painted background and the Chase and Status logo at the top of the page.

By Chris Wilson

Website Analysis and Research

Sub Focus Website Homepage

SUB FOCUS

http://www.myspace.com/subfocus

A well known UK drum and bass artist uses a distinct style to portray his image. As drum and bass is a form of rave music played in clubs, you can see this artist has tried to incorporate similar colours and lighting, which you would expect to see. The background of the site is black and you could relate this to the darkness that appears in night clubs. The bright colourful lights could be seen as a representation of UV lights that occur in nightclubs. As well as colour and lighting the logo at the top also includes the artist, Sub Focus hiding behind the CD shaped lights. This helps reinforce audience’s views on drum and bass artists because they usually have introvert personality images and are their presence in music videos, websites and other media forms are quite reserved. Throughout the website we also see a lot of tour dates, which is common for these types of artists as most of their work is more known from performances at events rather than albums. These elements of Sub Focus's website are very effective in displaying the artist’s image and we will use some of them to promote our artist.

By Chris Wilson

Pendulum - The Other Side (video)

Pendulum - The Other Side


This video includes blue tinting for lighting in the video. I think this effect is good for creating atmosphere and allowing the audience to know what mood to be in when viewing the video. As a result we will include this in our video.

By Chris Wilson

Genre:

Pendulum is a drum & bass band that use many sci-fi related things that help represent them as a group, such as a planet in outer space used in the their ‘Watercolour’ video. Their music videos tend to be in dark blue lighting with over-exposed lights throughout to make the video uncomfortable to watch. There tends to be a lot of close ups of the characters in the video and of objects. They like to use unusual weird objects in there videos to continue the supernatural feeling and they are also at a fast pace with lots of cutting, which relates to the genre, drum and bass. In their videos we see the crowds dancing in the audience along with the beat and them performing the music, which is also relevant to the genre. In some of their earlier videos we see people running, such as in the video ‘The Other Side’. In their older videos they tend to use special effects less due to the low budget they had like in the video ‘Propane Nightmares’ where the only effect is colour tinting. They also tend to fade out objects and make things look to difficult to view. Their earlier videos seem to be a bit simpler, whereas nowadays they have incorporated more special effects like in their latest album ‘Immersion’. Pendulum tends to use a familiar story line in all their videos with someone trapped in something and trying to escape. However as they’ve become more popular, their videos have also evolved due to new forms of technology.

Visual style and image:

What signifies Pendulum is mainly down to the use of special effects they use nowadays. The continuous use of dark blues and whites in their videos also help the audience to recognise then like in the ‘Watercolour’ and ‘Other Side’ videos. They like to use fading and cloudy effects to make their videos look difficult to watch. This may be done to reflect on their personalities as they don’t like to give too much away about themselves and are reserved people. They sci-fi element in their videos may also be used to reflect on their interest in science and the world. The artists tend to wear black costumes and seem to be quite laid back and they’re usually just standing singing or performing in their videos. The artist uses a lot of fast cutting in their editing in order to create the sense that they are in a rush to do something or achieve something. This can be reflected on themselves as a group and their intentions. They use all types of shots including a few master shots, repetitive close-ups to show emotions of characters in their videos and mid shots. In their video ‘The Island’ they’ve used a couple of canted angle shots to add the element of confusion in their videos. Pendulums song ‘Slam’ was used as the theme song in the Playstation 3 game Motorstorm, which is a car racing game. This has helped identify the artists image of being identified with pace. Pendulum tend to use the theme of escape in their videos as they usually involve the story line of someone trying to escape but being trapped by some type of darkness.

By Chris Wilson

Pendulum - Crush

We chose this song as we wanted to do a song in the drum and bass genre, and we had previously come up with a basic idea of the type of video that we wanted to create. As you saw in our pitch, our idea is a narrative with a lot of action, which would relate to a fast paced song.

Danny Rankin & Chris Wilson

CD cover Katy Perry

This is a CD cover from a different genre, pop and although it is still creative, unlike drum and bass it is more based on a photograph whereas pendulum and other drum and bass groups, such as chase and status use more computer generated images rather than photos. It is also an image of the artist as in the pop genre it is important to promote your image to sell more songs where as in drum and bass the emphasis is on computer generated sounds so the computerised design emphasises this, it also goes with the fact that pendulum don't often play a major role in their music video's where as Katy Perry is the main icon in her videos.

Danny Rankin

CD cover Chase and Status- Against All Odds

This is a CD cover from a group in the same genre as our song. As with the immersion CD cover this is an "Arty" image used to express the band. The use of computer design is there although as the cover is from a single which features another artist from a different genre there are visual images of the artists which is used to show the branding of the artist.

Danny Rankin

This is a short sheet that we had to fill out in lesson outlining the genre, representation and audience of our chosen band and song.

Danny Rankin

Example CD cover- pendulum immersion album artwork

This is pendulums album cover from the album immersion, which our song is from.
This is quite a creative piece of artwork and fits in with the genre style, although their albums are different they follow similar conventions.

Danny Rankin