Wow. My last post. Wow.
I've attached my creative critical reflection below. I posted the script on a previous post in case something wasn't understood.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5xkpse88XtpUzZtQjNqMXNSWG8/view?usp=sharing
Thanks for following me throughout this all.
Bye!
-Isa
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Final Project
I can't believe it's all finally done. I hope you love it as much as Cata and I do!
Here is our music campaign-
Video: https://youtu.be/ojAozH_vrPY
Website: http://emsasson.weebly.com/
Digipak: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_d1UeccEiX8VkxxZ3ZMSW9XbW8/view?usp=sharing
For a closer look at each of the digipak panels:
https://www.canva.com/design/DACSI4H7fJA/tfyG4BXWXpMj5QrR_BXEIA/view?utm_content=DACSI4H7fJA&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton
Until next time,
Isa 💗
Here is our music campaign-
Video: https://youtu.be/ojAozH_vrPY
Website: http://emsasson.weebly.com/
Digipak: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_d1UeccEiX8VkxxZ3ZMSW9XbW8/view?usp=sharing
For a closer look at each of the digipak panels:
https://www.canva.com/design/DACSI4H7fJA/tfyG4BXWXpMj5QrR_BXEIA/view?utm_content=DACSI4H7fJA&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton
Until next time,
Isa 💗
Saturday, April 15, 2017
CCR Script
Hello, my name is Isabella Armas and this is my A level Media Studies Creative Critical Reflection. This year, I did a music campaign for Emmanuelle Sasson with my partner, Catalina Castro.
For my AS level project last year, I did a film opening for the movie, Lasting Leah, which portrayed a struggling artist as she channeled her emotions into art. I think that the main difference between last year and this year was the difficulty of working for a real life person. Rather than manipulating all of my own products to my liking, this year I had to consider Em’s opinions. This caused me to be dependent on another person for my work, which definitely took some getting used to.
However, I’m extremely proud of this result and can obviously see the improvements I’ve made over the past year.
-How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?
I used an array of different technologies to accomplish all of the aspects of my project. I used my HP notebook to access the internet and download any apps that I needed to use. Additionally, I used the internet for research purposes, and blogger.com to create my blog.
For the music video, Cata and I filmed on an IPhone 7 Plus to maximize the quality of our video. A struggle that we had on the IPhone 7 Plus is that although the camera was very advanced, it absorbed the lights of the set differently every time we started a new video, without us actually changing the brightness. This caused the editing process to be way harder than we expected as we needed to balance the coloring of the shots to the best of our abilities. Catalina and I edited on my computer with the software Wondershare Filmora, a great app that works similarly to iMovie.
For the digipak, Cata and I utilized the online program, Canva. The great thing about Canva was the flexibility that it allowed us to have with the designs. Cata and I were able to create various designs and then compare them to each other right there.
For the website, we used the online program Weebly. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to use Weebly because it's extremely user-friendly, especially for those of us who aren't really tech-savvy. One of the best things about Weebly is the template or theme options that can b e selected, especially as Cata and I found a website template that was specifically for a musician.
-How do your products use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?
While researching conventions for alternative pop/rock, both Cata and I did case studies on single artists similar to Emmanuelle. We picked Alessia Cara and Ed Sheeran, both extremely successful artists who seemed similar in personality to Em. From them, we drew inspiration to make our website, and included traditional conventions such as having a mailing list, and about me page, etc.
In addition, we embraced conventions by creating a promotional music video as Em’s first video. We decided on a promotional music video as Em isn’t well known yet and consumers must be able to connect Em’s music and sound to her face.
For the digipak, we used a traditional four panel design. However, something unique that we included was Em’s handwritten-type note, which we wanted to include in order for her audience to picture her as personable, something that both millennials and gen-z’s are attracted to. Instead of feeling like they are being marketed to, it feels more friendly.
-How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of branding?
My main purpose while producing each component of the music campaign was creating a sense of cohesiveness. To start, Cata and I had to figure out Em’s brand. Since her music is mostly alternative pop/rock, we tried to portray her in a very androgynous, dark, yet quirky look. Once we nailed her brand, we did a photoshoot that had a lot of street style, which goes hand-in-hand with her personality, fashion and music.
Cage’s dark and heavy beats emphasized Em’s troubled mind, yet the dancer in the video symbolized Em’s expressive and artistic side. The website’s white space allowed for a very clean and friendly look, but the pop of colors in all of the visuals highlighted the diversified sounds that one can find in her album. Her digipak was one of the things that Cata and I struggled with cohesively, as each panel had to be a remembrance of the next. At the end, to accomplish this, we kept using the inside images of the cover design as backgrounds or pop of colors.
I think, overall, the sense of branding in our products is definitely there, as we used some of the images on all of our components and tried to maintain the same color palette and tone throughout.
-How do your product engage with the audiences and how would they be distributed as a real media products?
After much discussion, Cata and I decided that Em’s music was best targeted to young millennials and older gen-z’s, in the age range of 15-30. As research has shown, Millennials and Generation Z’ers have the most purchasing power as of now, which would work to Em’s benefit. They’re also the biggest social media consumers, which is why we placed a huge emphasis on Em’s social media through all of our products, and tried to make her music campaign as personalized and interactive as possible. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat are all linked to her website and mentioned in her digipak, as well as her Youtube.
The main way we are planning on distributing our product is through Em’s Youtube Channel. With over 280 subscribers, she already has a small fanbase that she can expand upon. Her website will be promoted and linked in all of her social media. Since she is an upcoming artist, it’s unlikely that she will produce the actual physical album. Rather, she will just use the digipak cover and stream her album in iTunes, Apple Music, and Spotify. Depending on its selling success, she will produce the physical digipak.
The full ‘Cage’ music video will be posted on her Youtube channel, so that interest will spark interest i her fans to listen to the rest of the album. Hopefully, the video will also stream in sites such as Vevo, and clips of it will also be posted on the rest of her social media.
-Final thoughts?
In conclusion, I just want to thank Catalina Castro for being a great partner for this project. We motivated and pushed each other to do our best, and supported each other every step of the way. As for Emmanuelle, I thank her for letting us help her to the best of our abilities, and I don’t doubt her future success. I’m sad that the journey this class has taken me in is coming to an end, but I’m grateful for the skills that I’ve learnt as a producer, director, and as a person.
For my AS level project last year, I did a film opening for the movie, Lasting Leah, which portrayed a struggling artist as she channeled her emotions into art. I think that the main difference between last year and this year was the difficulty of working for a real life person. Rather than manipulating all of my own products to my liking, this year I had to consider Em’s opinions. This caused me to be dependent on another person for my work, which definitely took some getting used to.
However, I’m extremely proud of this result and can obviously see the improvements I’ve made over the past year.
-How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?
I used an array of different technologies to accomplish all of the aspects of my project. I used my HP notebook to access the internet and download any apps that I needed to use. Additionally, I used the internet for research purposes, and blogger.com to create my blog.
For the music video, Cata and I filmed on an IPhone 7 Plus to maximize the quality of our video. A struggle that we had on the IPhone 7 Plus is that although the camera was very advanced, it absorbed the lights of the set differently every time we started a new video, without us actually changing the brightness. This caused the editing process to be way harder than we expected as we needed to balance the coloring of the shots to the best of our abilities. Catalina and I edited on my computer with the software Wondershare Filmora, a great app that works similarly to iMovie.
For the digipak, Cata and I utilized the online program, Canva. The great thing about Canva was the flexibility that it allowed us to have with the designs. Cata and I were able to create various designs and then compare them to each other right there.
For the website, we used the online program Weebly. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to use Weebly because it's extremely user-friendly, especially for those of us who aren't really tech-savvy. One of the best things about Weebly is the template or theme options that can b e selected, especially as Cata and I found a website template that was specifically for a musician.
-How do your products use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?
While researching conventions for alternative pop/rock, both Cata and I did case studies on single artists similar to Emmanuelle. We picked Alessia Cara and Ed Sheeran, both extremely successful artists who seemed similar in personality to Em. From them, we drew inspiration to make our website, and included traditional conventions such as having a mailing list, and about me page, etc.
In addition, we embraced conventions by creating a promotional music video as Em’s first video. We decided on a promotional music video as Em isn’t well known yet and consumers must be able to connect Em’s music and sound to her face.
For the digipak, we used a traditional four panel design. However, something unique that we included was Em’s handwritten-type note, which we wanted to include in order for her audience to picture her as personable, something that both millennials and gen-z’s are attracted to. Instead of feeling like they are being marketed to, it feels more friendly.
-How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of branding?
My main purpose while producing each component of the music campaign was creating a sense of cohesiveness. To start, Cata and I had to figure out Em’s brand. Since her music is mostly alternative pop/rock, we tried to portray her in a very androgynous, dark, yet quirky look. Once we nailed her brand, we did a photoshoot that had a lot of street style, which goes hand-in-hand with her personality, fashion and music.
Cage’s dark and heavy beats emphasized Em’s troubled mind, yet the dancer in the video symbolized Em’s expressive and artistic side. The website’s white space allowed for a very clean and friendly look, but the pop of colors in all of the visuals highlighted the diversified sounds that one can find in her album. Her digipak was one of the things that Cata and I struggled with cohesively, as each panel had to be a remembrance of the next. At the end, to accomplish this, we kept using the inside images of the cover design as backgrounds or pop of colors.
I think, overall, the sense of branding in our products is definitely there, as we used some of the images on all of our components and tried to maintain the same color palette and tone throughout.
-How do your product engage with the audiences and how would they be distributed as a real media products?
After much discussion, Cata and I decided that Em’s music was best targeted to young millennials and older gen-z’s, in the age range of 15-30. As research has shown, Millennials and Generation Z’ers have the most purchasing power as of now, which would work to Em’s benefit. They’re also the biggest social media consumers, which is why we placed a huge emphasis on Em’s social media through all of our products, and tried to make her music campaign as personalized and interactive as possible. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat are all linked to her website and mentioned in her digipak, as well as her Youtube.
The main way we are planning on distributing our product is through Em’s Youtube Channel. With over 280 subscribers, she already has a small fanbase that she can expand upon. Her website will be promoted and linked in all of her social media. Since she is an upcoming artist, it’s unlikely that she will produce the actual physical album. Rather, she will just use the digipak cover and stream her album in iTunes, Apple Music, and Spotify. Depending on its selling success, she will produce the physical digipak.
The full ‘Cage’ music video will be posted on her Youtube channel, so that interest will spark interest i her fans to listen to the rest of the album. Hopefully, the video will also stream in sites such as Vevo, and clips of it will also be posted on the rest of her social media.
-Final thoughts?
In conclusion, I just want to thank Catalina Castro for being a great partner for this project. We motivated and pushed each other to do our best, and supported each other every step of the way. As for Emmanuelle, I thank her for letting us help her to the best of our abilities, and I don’t doubt her future success. I’m sad that the journey this class has taken me in is coming to an end, but I’m grateful for the skills that I’ve learnt as a producer, director, and as a person.
Sunday, April 9, 2017
Updates
It's CRUNCH time!!!
Cata and I met yesterday and today and have been working tirelessly with this project. It takes a long time to just put everything together and make it cohesive, but we are making very good progress!
Some things I didn't discuss before:
Cata and I met yesterday and today and have been working tirelessly with this project. It takes a long time to just put everything together and make it cohesive, but we are making very good progress!
Some things I didn't discuss before:
- We are using Weebly.com to create Em's website. Cata and I love Weebly because its very user-friendly, especially for those of us that aren't very technologically inclined. We are having a scrollable website because our target audience uses mostly their smartphones to reach websites. Another special feature is that we are including a merchandise tab. Cata and I love the interactive feature of having merchandise, as her fans get tangible materials that link back to the album...and who doesn't love hoodies? Additionally, we are including an email subscription so that her fans can keep up with her latest news and marketing. The URL will be www.emsasson.weebly.com
- For the digipak, we are using Canva.com . We decided on Canva because, similarly to Weebly, its very easy to use and understand. Although it is a bit limiting, it's the best that Cata and I know that we can also work with. Due to time limits, we choose to do a four panel digipak instead of the originally planned six panel digipak. However, I think we made our information more concise so it ended up being better for the overall image of the digipak. The girl that Em hired to do the cover art is behind schedule, so we don't have the finished product of the cover yet. Nevertheless, Cata and I already designed a digipak without the artist's cover art in case she doesn't finish on time (See! We learn from our mistakes!). Here is the last update that we got from the artist:
- As for the music video, we are using Wondershare Filmora. Although iMovie would've been ideal, both Cata and I have laptops with Windows, so we settled on Filmora. It's the only video editing software that Cata and I foung to be most like iMovie, and it really gives us the freedom to do what we want. It also lets you play with saturation, brightness, contrast, and some very cool filters. Our main struggle with the music video editing so far is matching up the visuals with the words on the audio, and trying to balance the overall lighting, as the lighting kept changing for all the videos without us changing the actual lights.
That's it for today,
Isa
Friday, April 7, 2017
Photoshoot
Hey everyone!
So on Wednesday, Cata and I did a photoshoot of Em for her website and digipak. We decided on using Cypress Bay as our set because of the variety of backgrounds that it offered us. Also, since Em isn't allowed to be driven by us, we thought that the school was a good place for her parents to drop her off while at the same time getting some good shots.
Here is a short vlog of our experience:
As a sneak peak into our website, here are some of my favorite unedited shots of the shoot(we took over 500 pictures!):
So on Wednesday, Cata and I did a photoshoot of Em for her website and digipak. We decided on using Cypress Bay as our set because of the variety of backgrounds that it offered us. Also, since Em isn't allowed to be driven by us, we thought that the school was a good place for her parents to drop her off while at the same time getting some good shots.
Here is a short vlog of our experience:
As a sneak peak into our website, here are some of my favorite unedited shots of the shoot(we took over 500 pictures!):
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Filming Process
WE FINALLY FILMED!!!
Yesterday night, Cata and I got to film all of our music video in our school's auditorium. I think one of the best things about filming in the auditorium was that we could manipulate the lighting to give the video a sultry, dark look. Our dancer, Rachel Capo, glowed in that light with a blueish, reddish tint that made the dance even more mysterious.
One of the things that must be mentioned is the skill and professionalism of our dancer. Both Cata and I were left in awe at Rachel's work ethic. She learned the whole dance in less than a half hour, and she danced tirelessly even after we made her repeat the dance countless times. Our coreography, created mostly by Cata, came to life and it couldn't have been more perfect.
Our main struggle with filming the dance was balancing the movement of the camera with the movements of the dancer. Many times, we were too slow to move the camera and capture the dancer's sharp movements. Also, we ran into some problems as we learned to use the lighting and curtains of the auditorium to tailor it to the set we wanted. For example, bringing down the main curtain (which you see as the black background) was extraneous work because it was extremely heavy. Somehow, I ended up being the one always moving the curtain so my hands were raw from the rope by the end. As for the lighting, we played around with the brightness of the camera to make the shots a bit darker and more glowy, but I'm worried because that might have caused the different shots to slightly differ in coloring.
Overall, I think filming went very smoothly. I'm grateful for the team that I worked with and wouldn't change it for the world. The song and vocals created by Em and the emotion portrayed in Rachel's dancing mixed together beutifully to create an intense, dark and yet emotional video.Now that I've filmed, I can't wait to start editing to see the final product.
Here is a short behind the scenes look into our music video experience:
Yesterday night, Cata and I got to film all of our music video in our school's auditorium. I think one of the best things about filming in the auditorium was that we could manipulate the lighting to give the video a sultry, dark look. Our dancer, Rachel Capo, glowed in that light with a blueish, reddish tint that made the dance even more mysterious.
One of the things that must be mentioned is the skill and professionalism of our dancer. Both Cata and I were left in awe at Rachel's work ethic. She learned the whole dance in less than a half hour, and she danced tirelessly even after we made her repeat the dance countless times. Our coreography, created mostly by Cata, came to life and it couldn't have been more perfect.
 |
| Cata going over the movements with Rachel |
 |
| I decided on a natural look for Em's makeup |
 |
| I created shadows in Rachel's face by contouring her face |
Our main struggle with filming the dance was balancing the movement of the camera with the movements of the dancer. Many times, we were too slow to move the camera and capture the dancer's sharp movements. Also, we ran into some problems as we learned to use the lighting and curtains of the auditorium to tailor it to the set we wanted. For example, bringing down the main curtain (which you see as the black background) was extraneous work because it was extremely heavy. Somehow, I ended up being the one always moving the curtain so my hands were raw from the rope by the end. As for the lighting, we played around with the brightness of the camera to make the shots a bit darker and more glowy, but I'm worried because that might have caused the different shots to slightly differ in coloring.
 |
| As you can see, Em and Rachel bonded during the long filming session |
Overall, I think filming went very smoothly. I'm grateful for the team that I worked with and wouldn't change it for the world. The song and vocals created by Em and the emotion portrayed in Rachel's dancing mixed together beutifully to create an intense, dark and yet emotional video.Now that I've filmed, I can't wait to start editing to see the final product.
Here is a short behind the scenes look into our music video experience:
Until next time,
Isa
P.S: Filming dance scenes is a workout! Both Cata and I had to hold the camera and follow Rachel's movements so many times that we too were out of breath by the end.
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Music Video Coreography
Hey everyone!
Here is the coreography/written storyboard for the music video. It might be hard to understand, but you will see once we film it. We are finally filming tomorrow and I could not be more excited. Although Cata and I are not coreographers, I have to say that it turned out way better than I ever expected.
Cage Music Video
Voices surround me, it's harder to breathe - Em looking straight out; CLOSE UP PAN
there is no escape, my head is killing me - Em hands to face with tortured look; CLOSE UP
i stand in my cage in silence and fear - Em staring straight into camera; CLOSE UP STILL
for the demons of darkness have driven me here - Em staring into camera; SLOW ZOOM OUT
Sticks and stones- Em; QUICK ZOOM IN
May break my bones but words will tear me apart most of the monsters in my head only scare me in the dark - Em making faces; QUICK VARIOUS SHOTS(CLOSE UPS, PROFILES, EXTREME CLOSE UPS, DANCER QUICK SHOTS ETC)
I'm trapped inside a cage- Dancer wall wall stomach down face slowly up
I'm like- Half extended leg and half turn
a deadly machine- Turn back with tilted leg/split
My heart is locked- Kick tilted leg twice
in chains- Squat with feet outward and then heels up
My mind is a disease- Torso spin in squat with heels up
Can you Can you save my soul?- Slowly go onto back until shoulders touch floor
Can you Can you save my soul?- Rise slowly from the floor until standing straight in tippy toes and hands touching throat
People are watching, they think that i'm insane- Dancer turn dramatically away from camera and walk in circle; Em appears in middle of circle slowly
I see them, they're talking- Dancer in front of Am going down a little
do they know i'm not okay?- Dancer swishes torso to side and smirks
(Beat) Turn to floor and drag behind Em
Shadows are screaming that I am alone- Dancer slowly comes up behind Em; focus moves to Em
I hope it's all a dream, i'm out here on my own- Dancer walks back and disappears
Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will tear me apart
most of the monsters in my head only scare me in the- Em crouches down with Em frantic movements
Dark- blackout or feet shots
I'm trapped inside a cage- Dancer runs up to Em and puts arms around her w/o touching
I'm like a deadly machine- Dancer spreads arms into scarier position and Em moves hands too
My heart is locked in chains- Dancer grabs Em's arms without touching her and tugs her from angled side to side
My mind is a disease- Dancer throws Em down
Can you Can you save my soul?- Em fallen down slowly looking up
Can you Can you save my soul? Em slowly gets up
Deep inside-Em stay still-mid shot
Where nothing’s fine
I've lost my mind
Oh, deep inside- Long shot of Em walking towards camera and Dancer behind her and one w/o
Where nothing's fine
I've lost my mind
(Beat) Dancer freestyle/creepy/zombie clicks
(Beat ) Lights flashing/Strobe lights and Dancer crazy
I'm trapped inside a cage- dancer and Em dance simultaneously
I'm like a deadly machine
My heart is locked in chains
My mind is a disease
Can you Can you save my soul? - Em close up with still camera
Can you Can you save my soul? - Em close up with still camera
Extra footage/Add-Ins:
Camera pans to Em’s medium shot
Dutch angle or 360 of Em
Pan around Em and stop in her profile
Profile of Em still
Saturday, April 1, 2017
Music Campaign Project: A Preparation for Life.
Hey everyone!
I apologize in advance, but this post isn't necessarily showing the progress we've done with the project. Actually, it's kind of the opposite.
We have lost our dancer. Two days before filming was supposed to happen. TWO DAYS!!!
Cata and I were completely dumb-founded when she told us. I know I never officially told you that we had found a dancer, but we had. I've decided to omit her name from my blog because she seems very sensitive to the whole situation, but to give you a general idea, she was one of Em's friends. Both Cata and I had high hopes for her because she is also in musical theater (but not in our class), and she has black hair, so she could've resembled Em. She had been a dancer for many years, so she would have no trouble doing the choreography that Cata and I assembled.
BUT (because there's always a but in real life apparently), one day she became overwhelmed with life. She said she had too much in her plate, and that she wasn't sure the video was going to turn out well, so because she didn't want to look bad to the rest of the world, she became hesitant. However, when Cata and I assured her of our skills and of our vision for Em, she reaffirmed that she was committed to the video and decided to stay, even though we told her clearly that it was her last chance to say no. This would give us some time before the weekend to find another dancer.
Fastforward to 18 hours later, we get a text from Em with a screenshot of the dancer's text dropping out. Cata and I were together at the time and we were fuming. FUMING. How could this girl drop out after she had reaffirmed her commitment? and less than two days before filming? It happened.
It also turns out that this girl flipped, and starting blaming us for everything, so she was incredibly rude and unprofessional. Here is where the life lesson comes in: Instead of being rude back or unprofessional, we sent her a pretty nice text. We said that we completely understood and that even though we were upset that she had dropped out on us so late, we were going to find a solution without her, and like that, we cut ties.
More than anything, I think doing this project has taught Cata and me that when you're working on real work projects, you will always depend on other people. Therefore, you need to have different cars on your sleeve. For this music campaign, it's not only about Cata and me, but about everyone who is involved in the production and is impacted by it in any sort of way.
And with that philosphical view at this media study project,
Adieu
P.S: BTW, we did find a solution! There is a friend, Rachel Capo, who is a close friend of mine and has been in musical theatre with Cata and I for years. Although she dropped out of dance two years ago, she has many years of dance training behind her back, and she was glad to help us in our state of emergency.
I apologize in advance, but this post isn't necessarily showing the progress we've done with the project. Actually, it's kind of the opposite.
We have lost our dancer. Two days before filming was supposed to happen. TWO DAYS!!!
Cata and I were completely dumb-founded when she told us. I know I never officially told you that we had found a dancer, but we had. I've decided to omit her name from my blog because she seems very sensitive to the whole situation, but to give you a general idea, she was one of Em's friends. Both Cata and I had high hopes for her because she is also in musical theater (but not in our class), and she has black hair, so she could've resembled Em. She had been a dancer for many years, so she would have no trouble doing the choreography that Cata and I assembled.
BUT (because there's always a but in real life apparently), one day she became overwhelmed with life. She said she had too much in her plate, and that she wasn't sure the video was going to turn out well, so because she didn't want to look bad to the rest of the world, she became hesitant. However, when Cata and I assured her of our skills and of our vision for Em, she reaffirmed that she was committed to the video and decided to stay, even though we told her clearly that it was her last chance to say no. This would give us some time before the weekend to find another dancer.
Fastforward to 18 hours later, we get a text from Em with a screenshot of the dancer's text dropping out. Cata and I were together at the time and we were fuming. FUMING. How could this girl drop out after she had reaffirmed her commitment? and less than two days before filming? It happened.
It also turns out that this girl flipped, and starting blaming us for everything, so she was incredibly rude and unprofessional. Here is where the life lesson comes in: Instead of being rude back or unprofessional, we sent her a pretty nice text. We said that we completely understood and that even though we were upset that she had dropped out on us so late, we were going to find a solution without her, and like that, we cut ties.
More than anything, I think doing this project has taught Cata and me that when you're working on real work projects, you will always depend on other people. Therefore, you need to have different cars on your sleeve. For this music campaign, it's not only about Cata and me, but about everyone who is involved in the production and is impacted by it in any sort of way.
And with that philosphical view at this media study project,
Adieu
P.S: BTW, we did find a solution! There is a friend, Rachel Capo, who is a close friend of mine and has been in musical theatre with Cata and I for years. Although she dropped out of dance two years ago, she has many years of dance training behind her back, and she was glad to help us in our state of emergency.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Set Options
Hello!
So while Cata and I have been working on the website and digipak, our main focus is the music video. As of now, we have our dancer, song, and artist, but the only thing we are missing is the set for the music video. After much searching our brains for the perfect set, Cata and I thought that an industrial-looking warehouse with black walls and a gray floor would be best fitted for the song. Here are some pictures of our ideal set:
This picture was our inspiration for the look of our dancer in the music video:
We scouted for different locations and we've narrowed it down to three:
Option #1: Cypress Bay Auditorium
Both Cata and I are extremely familiar with our high school's auditorium. After taking four years of musical theatre in there, it has become our home away from home. The great thing about filming in the auditorium is that we can get our hands in professional lighting, which would elevate the quality of our video and make it much more professional. The annoying part of filming in the auditorium is that it's almost always booked, so getting a time slot to film there might be hard (but not impossible!)
Option #2: Michael's Garage
Michael is one of our best friends, and he has a spacious garage where we could hang black blankets from the wall and film. However, the lighting is awful and it'd be hard to film in such a hot place for prolongued amounts of time. Nevertheless, it's accessibility to both Cata and I is great.
Option #3: Wynwood
Ah...Wynwood. You can never go wrong with Wynwood. It's colorful walls make for an incredibly aesthetic background for our dancer. I know it's the opposite of what our image for our set was, but I think it would work flawlesly (Cata not so much...). It must be said though, that Wynwood is an hour away from our homes, and taking two 15-year-olds with us to Wynwood might not be the best as they have pretty protective parents.
Overall, we decided that the auditorium would be the best place to film. We even asked our teacher, Ms. Lutwin, if we could use it and she let us borrow it on Monday at 6pm. This would set us back a day in filming but we believe its totally worth it.
That's all for today,
Isa
Sources:
http://afasiaarchzine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Jo%C3%A3o-Mendes-Ribeiro-.-Ad%C3%A9mia-Office-Building-and-Industrial-Warehouse-.-Coimbra-27.jpg
http://www.sharpeproperties.com/uploads/homepageimages/original/premier-industrial-warehouse-interior.jpg
http://www.sharpeproperties.com/uploads/homepageimages/original/premier-industrial-warehouse-interior.jpg
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSHTTy8FQWH/?taken-by=sophialucia5678&hl=en
So while Cata and I have been working on the website and digipak, our main focus is the music video. As of now, we have our dancer, song, and artist, but the only thing we are missing is the set for the music video. After much searching our brains for the perfect set, Cata and I thought that an industrial-looking warehouse with black walls and a gray floor would be best fitted for the song. Here are some pictures of our ideal set:
This picture was our inspiration for the look of our dancer in the music video:
We scouted for different locations and we've narrowed it down to three:
Option #1: Cypress Bay Auditorium
Both Cata and I are extremely familiar with our high school's auditorium. After taking four years of musical theatre in there, it has become our home away from home. The great thing about filming in the auditorium is that we can get our hands in professional lighting, which would elevate the quality of our video and make it much more professional. The annoying part of filming in the auditorium is that it's almost always booked, so getting a time slot to film there might be hard (but not impossible!)
Option #2: Michael's Garage
Michael is one of our best friends, and he has a spacious garage where we could hang black blankets from the wall and film. However, the lighting is awful and it'd be hard to film in such a hot place for prolongued amounts of time. Nevertheless, it's accessibility to both Cata and I is great.
Option #3: Wynwood
Ah...Wynwood. You can never go wrong with Wynwood. It's colorful walls make for an incredibly aesthetic background for our dancer. I know it's the opposite of what our image for our set was, but I think it would work flawlesly (Cata not so much...). It must be said though, that Wynwood is an hour away from our homes, and taking two 15-year-olds with us to Wynwood might not be the best as they have pretty protective parents.
Overall, we decided that the auditorium would be the best place to film. We even asked our teacher, Ms. Lutwin, if we could use it and she let us borrow it on Monday at 6pm. This would set us back a day in filming but we believe its totally worth it.
That's all for today,
Isa
Sources:
http://afasiaarchzine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Jo%C3%A3o-Mendes-Ribeiro-.-Ad%C3%A9mia-Office-Building-and-Industrial-Warehouse-.-Coimbra-27.jpg
http://www.sharpeproperties.com/uploads/homepageimages/original/premier-industrial-warehouse-interior.jpg
http://www.sharpeproperties.com/uploads/homepageimages/original/premier-industrial-warehouse-interior.jpg
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSHTTy8FQWH/?taken-by=sophialucia5678&hl=en
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Progress(Part 2)! Digipak Rough Draft
Hello!
Cata and I have decided on our digipak layout and we are super happy to share it with the rest of the world! I'll try to explain our mental image to the best of my abilities! However, before I start, I wanted to share with you some of the digipaks that inspired our own layout. Shoutout to Mrs. Stoklosa for bringing digipaks we could physically touch and see to class. Thank you!
This first digipak to the right is from artist Courtney Bennet. Cata and I both loved the simplistic design of it, and thought that the white space gave it a very clean look. Taking that into consideration, we will play around with white space to create a similar look.
One thing we absolutely adored was the way that the packet of lyrics was designed. As you can see in the picture to the right, the paper unfolded to create a poster with some of the lyrics of the album. We feel that this is a very creative idea to keep fans immersed in music as they have the option to not only read the lyrics to the songs, but to hang up a poster in their rooms.
This next digipak was not necessarily our favorite. We didn't gravitate towards the two CD spaces and the song list and packet in the middle. However, we appreciated the three separate panels, and decided that we were definitely going to have three panels. Especially because it gives us more opportunity to share information with Em's fan base while at the same time creating an aesthetic theme.
So, what we've all been waiting for, our rough draft. TA-DA!
I know, I know... It's not the most beautiful thing, but like I've mentioned before, Cata and I are not artists. Nevertheless, it gets the point across. Maybe it'll be better once I explain it. As you know, the front cover is being designed by one of Em's friends who can actually draw, so that will be the front cover of the album. On the inside of that panel will be a small half-pocket with the booklet of song lyrics. These two are represented by the top and bottom square on the far right of the drawing. On the middle outside cover will be the song list with a minimalist design. The inside of this panel will be the CD holder. These two can be seen as the middle squares in the drawing. Finally, the last panel is the third one which goes into the album and comes out when you open it. The outside panel of the left would be the first thing that consumers notice once they open the album, and it will have a handwritten-type note from Em to make the album as personable as it can be. The inside of that panel will be full of her website and social media, so that fans who just buy the album can find others way to interact with her.
I hope that explanation helped in understanding what goes on inside our heads, but if it didn't, Cata and I are thinking of doing a vlog which will explain the digipak more in detail once we start the actual production of it. But more now, this is it!
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Progress! Video Rough Draft
Hey there!
Cata and I met today in class and were super efficient in our preparations for the project. First, we discussed the music video. As we listened to the song, we came up with part of our storyboard. Since both Cata and I are horrible artists and we can clearly picture our storyboard in our heads, we decided to create a list of shots/angles/camera movements that we want to get.
Check them out below:
"Voices surround me, it's harder to breathe" CLOSE UP and PAN circling around Em's head.
"There is no escape, my head is killing me" CLOSE UP and STILL camera of Em's face with a tortured look as her hands touch her face
"I stand in my cage in silence and fear" CLOSE UP and STILL camera of Em's face staring straight at the camera
"For the demons of darkness have driven me here" slow ZOOM OUT of CLOSE UP to MEDIUM shot
"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will tear me apart" quick ZOOM IN into Em's face, quick editing of various types of shots/angles.
"Most of the monsters in my head only scare me in the dark" EDITING of different angles follows a fast/fast/slow pacing with many DUTCH angles.
Once the chorus starts with "I'm locked inside a cage", Cata and I are conflicted with what to do next. We are both sure that we want an illusion of going inside of Em's head, and we would like to express her emotions with a symbolic dancer. However, since we don't know that many dancers, we need to speak to them and see if they'd like to help us out. The dance would be a lyrical/contemporary style, with a dark undertone, ideally in an aesthetically-pleasing colorful background that would be juxtaposed to the simplistic shots and mise-en-scene of Em's appearance in the beginning.
Some of our inspiration for the dance would be the Sia videos. Like you can see in the music video to the right, the main dancer portrays a lot of emotion through her movements. It's not necessarily a plot line that follows the lyrics, but it portrays the overall theme of the song.
The reason that we decided to include Em in the music video is due to the promotional value that it would hold for her as an artist. Since she is a new artist, consumers must be able to connect Em's music back to her. However, we feel that a strictly promotional music video wouldn't do "Cage" justice with its emotional value, which is why we feel that a mix of both promotional and artistic would be perfect.
We will be visiting some set locations during the weekend, so hopefully we can find the perfect place to film!
Cata and I met today in class and were super efficient in our preparations for the project. First, we discussed the music video. As we listened to the song, we came up with part of our storyboard. Since both Cata and I are horrible artists and we can clearly picture our storyboard in our heads, we decided to create a list of shots/angles/camera movements that we want to get.
Check them out below:
"Voices surround me, it's harder to breathe" CLOSE UP and PAN circling around Em's head.
"There is no escape, my head is killing me" CLOSE UP and STILL camera of Em's face with a tortured look as her hands touch her face
"I stand in my cage in silence and fear" CLOSE UP and STILL camera of Em's face staring straight at the camera
"For the demons of darkness have driven me here" slow ZOOM OUT of CLOSE UP to MEDIUM shot
"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will tear me apart" quick ZOOM IN into Em's face, quick editing of various types of shots/angles.
"Most of the monsters in my head only scare me in the dark" EDITING of different angles follows a fast/fast/slow pacing with many DUTCH angles.
Once the chorus starts with "I'm locked inside a cage", Cata and I are conflicted with what to do next. We are both sure that we want an illusion of going inside of Em's head, and we would like to express her emotions with a symbolic dancer. However, since we don't know that many dancers, we need to speak to them and see if they'd like to help us out. The dance would be a lyrical/contemporary style, with a dark undertone, ideally in an aesthetically-pleasing colorful background that would be juxtaposed to the simplistic shots and mise-en-scene of Em's appearance in the beginning.
Some of our inspiration for the dance would be the Sia videos. Like you can see in the music video to the right, the main dancer portrays a lot of emotion through her movements. It's not necessarily a plot line that follows the lyrics, but it portrays the overall theme of the song.
The reason that we decided to include Em in the music video is due to the promotional value that it would hold for her as an artist. Since she is a new artist, consumers must be able to connect Em's music back to her. However, we feel that a strictly promotional music video wouldn't do "Cage" justice with its emotional value, which is why we feel that a mix of both promotional and artistic would be perfect.
We will be visiting some set locations during the weekend, so hopefully we can find the perfect place to film!
Sunday, March 19, 2017
DigiPak Research
A digipak is defined by Wikipedia as "a type of optical disk packaging... Digipaks typically consist of a gatefold (book-style) paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside."
There are different panels in a digipak. The front panel of the digipak is the cover of the album, and is the main promoter of the CD. The back panel may contain a design must usually includes the songs inside the album. Both the front and back album are the main promoters of the disc, so they must be eye-catching.
 |
| A rough draft of Em's album cover |
For the front panel, Emmanuelle contacted a friend to design it. The cover will be a silhouette of Em's head with different symbols inside of it. When confronted with this idea, Cat and I both loved it. Em's silhouette would allow the album cover to connect with her physical self in a way, but it also encompasses the different inspirations and seeds of imagination for all of the songs inside the album.
Cat and I asked Em about her decision for her silhoutte. Here is her answer: "My silhouette is just a representation of what's personal to me, like the aspects of my songs specifically have to do with what goes on in my head and they all have very personal meaning."
The rough draft to the right doesn't yet include the symbols inside her head. Yet Em told us that some of the symbols will be: "a girl holding a mirror and the mirror reflects a skull in a bed, because my darkest thoughts occur at night; an eye filled with flames, which is a metaphor for being blinded by depression which prevents me from seeing all of the good things in life, and the flame represents my desire to see those good things."
As you can see, Em has put a lot of thought into the cover of her album, which is why Cata and I have the hard task of choosing a coherent digipak to go along with the amazing cover. To inspire us, we've looked into some digipaks that we liked. You can see some below.
 |
| Cat and I gravitated towards this abstract yet simple design |
 |
| I adore this dark visual with mostly images. |
 |
| I want to stray away from Katy Perry's photoshoot-type digipak |
 |
| Kylie's handwritten-type note in her lipstick package |
While Cata and I are still coming up with the overall design for the digipak, another thing that we agreed to include was a 'personal note' inside of it. As ridiculous as this sounds, I got the idea from Kylie Jenner's lip kit packaging. The reason for this is that it demonstrates a sense of individuality to each physical album that is sold, and creates a connection between Em and the buyer. Also, since technological trends have decreased the consumption of physical albums, Cata and I want to make a digipak that will be interactive, something that can be seen if the consumer decides to buy the digital version of the album.
Sources:
http://www.discwizards.com/images/ProdImages/Digipak-4-Panel-Booklet-1-Large.jpg
https://www.emaze.com/@AFTCQLCR/Conventions-of-a-Digipak.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digipak
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Music Video Decision: Cage
Last class, Cat and I met with Mrs. Stoklosa to discuss our progress. There were many aspects of the project that we talked about, but one major aspect stood out: the music video. As the major component of the project, the music video is an integral part of our grade and the overall music campaign. However, since both Cat and I have been busy researching the music industry and building Em’s brand, the music video had taken a backseat.
Nevertheless, we still discussed it and were torn between two of Em’s songs, “Cage” and “I’ll Be Fine". These are two of Em’s favorite songs, and they were both great options to choose from. However, “Cage” has a heavier beat and is more about the internal struggle of the mind, while “I’ll Be Fine” is a slower song that encompasses parts of each of the songs of the album in it. While Cat preferred to do “I’ll Be Fine”, I was leaning towards “Cage”. Yet by the end of the meeting with Mrs. Stoklosa, Cat and I decided on doing “Cage” since its stronger beats and lyrics would allow us to do some cool editing and a clear storyline.
Nevertheless, we still discussed it and were torn between two of Em’s songs, “Cage” and “I’ll Be Fine". These are two of Em’s favorite songs, and they were both great options to choose from. However, “Cage” has a heavier beat and is more about the internal struggle of the mind, while “I’ll Be Fine” is a slower song that encompasses parts of each of the songs of the album in it. While Cat preferred to do “I’ll Be Fine”, I was leaning towards “Cage”. Yet by the end of the meeting with Mrs. Stoklosa, Cat and I decided on doing “Cage” since its stronger beats and lyrics would allow us to do some cool editing and a clear storyline.
Here are the lyrics to the song for our music video, “Cage”:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Voices surround me, it's harder to breathe
there is no escape, my head is killing me
i stand in my cage in silence and fear
for the demons of darkness have driven me here
Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will tear me apart
most of the monsters in my head only scare me in the dark
I'm trapped inside a cage
I'm like a deadly machine
My heart is locked in chains
My mind is a disease
Can you
Can you save my soul?
Can you
Can you save my soul?
People are watching, they think that i'm insane
I see them, they're talking, do they know i'm not okay?
Shadows are screaming that i am alone
I hope it's all a dream, i'm out here on my own
Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will tear me apart
Most of the monsters in my head only scare me in the dark
I'm trapped inside a cage
I'm like a deadly machine
My heart is locked in chains
My mind is a disease
Can you
Can you save my soul?
Can you
Can you save my soul?
Deep inside
Where nothing's fine
I've lost my mind
Oh, deep inside
Where nothing's fine
I've lost my mind
I'm trapped inside a cage
I'm like a deadly machine
My heart is locked in chains
My mind is a disease
Can you
Can you save my soul?
Can you
Can you save my soul?
there is no escape, my head is killing me
i stand in my cage in silence and fear
for the demons of darkness have driven me here
Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will tear me apart
most of the monsters in my head only scare me in the dark
I'm trapped inside a cage
I'm like a deadly machine
My heart is locked in chains
My mind is a disease
Can you
Can you save my soul?
Can you
Can you save my soul?
People are watching, they think that i'm insane
I see them, they're talking, do they know i'm not okay?
Shadows are screaming that i am alone
I hope it's all a dream, i'm out here on my own
Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will tear me apart
Most of the monsters in my head only scare me in the dark
I'm trapped inside a cage
I'm like a deadly machine
My heart is locked in chains
My mind is a disease
Can you
Can you save my soul?
Can you
Can you save my soul?
Deep inside
Where nothing's fine
I've lost my mind
Oh, deep inside
Where nothing's fine
I've lost my mind
I'm trapped inside a cage
I'm like a deadly machine
My heart is locked in chains
My mind is a disease
Can you
Can you save my soul?
Can you
Can you save my soul?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As you can see from the lyrics, this song is very much a psychological struggle of being trapped inside one’s mind. Since the song follows a story, we want most of the visuals to correlate with the words of the song. Since “Cage” was the first song that Em wrote from the album, it holds a very personal place in her heart, which is why Cat and I want to include her into the creative process of the video as much as possible. In the next week, Cat and I will be exchanging ideas about the music video and hopefully come up with a storyboard by the beginning of the following week.
Until next time,
-Isa
Monday, March 13, 2017
Marketing Music in the 21st Century
The three main objectives of this project are:
-Music video
-Website
-Digipak
Since all of these products relate to the overall music campaign, it seems fitting to start my research by delving deeply into the music industry, to study how musicians nowadays are using technology and media to heighten their success.
“The answer is developing an audience focused on YOU. In a world where attention is scarce, it is artists who have built something that intrigues, and who have the attention of an audience that will win.” Dotted Music
This quote reminds me of the heightened importance of targeting an audience, in a place where there is so much content that quality is overshadowed by quantity. Because of this, Cata and I decided that Em’s alternative rock/pop music is best fitted towards Millennials and older Generation Z’s. Due to the large gap between age ranges, 15-30 years old, our marketing strategy needs to be all encompassing.
The Canadian website, Music Managers Forum, had some incredible insight into marketing music in the 21st century. It’s especially helpful as their information is targeted towards self-managed artists. MMF stated that being successful in this industry consists of three necessary steps:
1. Connecting with your audience
2. Building and maintaining that relationship
3. Converting that relationship into revenue.
As you can see, the audience is arguably one of the most substantial parts of the campaign. It’s about how we are going to make people reach Em’s content, and relate to it so much that they’ll yearn for any interaction with her, which brings me to the next point...INTERACTIVE EVERYTHING! YouTube, Soundcloud, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Em’s content needs to be everywhere. Her website needs to link back to all of her music, and all of her music needs to connect back to her website and social media outlets.
Right now, Em has a YouTube Channel, EmmanuelleSasson, with over 260 subscribers. She is constantly uploading covers of songs, and sometimes even does personal diary-type posts. You can see her most popular cover so far(with over 1500 views!) on the left.
Em also has a personal Instagram, @_emmanuelle_s_, and one that she started only for her music image, @emsasson. However, she uses her personal one much more than her music one, something that we suggested changed. Em's twitter is @emsasson.
Sources:
"Music Marketing in the 21st Century." Music Managers Forum. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://musicmanagersforum.ca/resources/music-marketing-for-the-21st-century/>.
"Selling Music in the 21st Century." Music Business Journal Berklee College of Music RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.thembj.org/2009/01/selling-music-in-the-21st-century/>.
"Being An Artist In The 21st Century." Dotted Music. N.p., 26 Oct. 2012. Web. <http://dottedmusic.com/2011/features/being-an-artist-in-the-21st-century/>.
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