Rachel Leveney A2 Media Studies Portfolio

This is what I currently have of my album advert. So far I have added the main image and edited the background using the blend mode (see previous post for a video of how I did this). I have also chosen a font for the name of the artist. The next things I need to do are to choose a font and add the album name and the release date as well as other information that I have not yet included. This is what I have done so far of my digipak. My main focus for the next step is to add in backgrounds to the other squares, choose a font and add the album name and make sure 'Lyrics' is in the same font. I also need to add social media information and a design on the CD itself. 

I have made this video using the Web 2.0 tool Screencast-o-matic. I then edited the video using Final Cut, sped it up and added music. The video shows how I edited the background of the photo for my album advert. Previously, I made my own background layering three images of broken glass on top of each other and changing the opacity. I had this layer on the document, hidden so that I could work on other layers. I has also cut the artist out from the image using the quick selection tool, I also hid this layer ready to use later. Firstly, I changed the brightness and colour balance on the original image, then merged those with the image layer. Secondly, I unhid the broken glass background layer and changed the blend mode to colour burn. Then I changed the brightness and colour balance on that layer, which I then merged with it. Next I unhid the cut out version of her and then I used the rubber tool on 30% opacity to show the coloured background through her hair and 10%/15% opacity for...

I have created initial sketches of what I would like my album advert and digipak to look like, including the placement of each feature on the page. This will be really helpful when I come to start using photoshop to make my album advert and digipak as I will already have a rough idea of the layout of both pieces of work and this will give me a starting point, which will make it easier start making them. I have added below images of the sketches and a video showing me folding the sketch of my digipak to show how it will fold up when it is completed.

These are screenshots of the thumbnails of photos I took while filming to use for my ancillary tasks. I was happy with the photos I took, I captured the performer from a variety of angles, in a number of different positions and with different expressions on her face. I also used quite a few different shot types, including long shots and close ups. I could have taken some more photos to ensure I would have plenty of choice, and in case I couldn't use some of them, however, the photos I have taken have worked well on my album advert and digipak.

I have kept a record of all our group meetings for planning our music video and written them up. I used the Web 2.0 tool Prezi to present this. These meetings were really productive because they allowed us to ensure all the planning and research for our music video was completed properly before we started filming.              

We have produced a production schedule using the Web 2.0 tool Timetoast. This is a timeline to show when we have planned to film each part of the video to ensure we use our time effectively and are able to get started on editing as quickly as possible. This timeline will be very useful when we come to start filming. The first filming session especially will be crucial as it will give us an idea of how long a filming session is likely to take, and how many versions of each shot it would be sensible to film. We can then use this information to help us with the rest of the sessions. For example, the first filming session produced some footage that was out of focus or couldn't be used that we then had to re-film in the second session. We learnt from this that we should film two or three takes of each shot to avoid this issue in the future. I have provided screenshots of the timeline but it can also be accessed using the link below. P roduction Schedule