Using Photoshop Creatively

By using Photoshop CS4 you're collaborating with the photographs taken, allowing you to edit them, establishing a creative process. This process transforms your images into a different way which best represents the message you want to bring across. 
When working with my CD digipak and poster I layered my work accordingly. I had to do this because I had multiple backgrounds and text that I wanted to include. Photoshop helped fix the tone of my image incase there was any over-exposure, this is vital in bringing the quality across. As well as Photoshop, I used Illustrator to adapt a drawing image for my poster. This took a more artistic approach as well as including an image of the band, reminding the audience of the band. 

Feedback on Directors commentary

Excellent considerate understanding of the technologies used in production of the video, for example in terms of set design quality and the use of FCP to create effective set design and mise en scene.

There are evident links between creative decision making and use of technology on both productions of the video using professional digital cameras and in the post production editing process – in discussion of match of action, lip syncing and graphic matching’. This is sustained and thorough and accurate in discussion of the branded themes of a broken relationship for example in discussion of the beat of the song and pacing of the cuts used in the editing process.

The commentary shows a discrete awareness of the use of new media technology and uses discriminating examples really well, particularly to selection and construction of narrative, editing techniques, such as FCP Tools. Excellent command of terminology and understands and discusses convergence really well.

There is sustained justified decision making links between the technologies used the product and audience reception in terms of the creativity that the group used.. Recognises the need to account for errors in the post production stage and the importance of converge technologies.

This is a well considered documentary – you may want to re-edit in terms of the presentation I think this is a provisional draft of the commentary

Evaluation Task 4- directors commentary

Task 4- Using Photoshop

To create the CD Digipak, I used Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Adobe Illustrator CS4, which is a mage manipulative piece of software that allowed me to form a professional CD album product. To the left is the original image that I shot and to the right is my manipulated. I have used different layers with the text and image. For the first layer I created a background with light leek circles, this made a link to the music video where we played with the focus of the lights and gave this effect. The second layer was cropping the lead singer's face and using a gradient filter to create a 'pop-art' effect. The third layer I wrote the band's name. After completing this design, I realised that it was a bad representation of the band because it was only showing one band member.

I then re-shot the entire band to have all of them in the album cover. I changed the background in a similar way to the previous one having a light leek effect. I then placed the band over it and changed the level of exposure. I then placed the band's album name slightly behind the band. 

Above are my completed posters used for the band. The left one is the poster created for a male audience and the one on the right is for a female one. I predominately used Illustrator for this because it specialises with drawing, which is what I did. 

Task 4- digital technologies used in pre-production

The digital technologies I used in pre-production were; filming our animatic, researching how we wanted the style of the band to come across, and looking at YouTube videos that we wanted to relate to.
To film the animatic we used a Sony NX5 camera to film the animatic drawings we made that represented each shot for our music video. We used Google as an online research tool that we used to search similar band styles that fit with our band. We found bands such as; Paramore, White Stripes, and Guns N’ Roses.  Google also helped us discover a lighting and effects scheme for our video, which were light bulbs, strobe lights and a smoke machine.

We went on YouTube, an online broadcaster, which helped us identify similar aspects that we wanted to portray in our video. Videos that helped with this were, Christina Perri’s “Jar of Hearts” and Eminem and Rhihana’s “Love The Way You Lie”.

Task 3 continued

• We gathered our audience feedback by distributing a questionnaire with a set of questions that determined the success of our video. Together with the questionnaire, we filmed a few responses of the people we interviewed to give their overall view. I uploaded the video onto my Facebook account to get a wider range of viewers outside of the school. As well as Facebook we uploaded it onto YouTube to create a global spread of our video. 
• The advantages of exhibiting our video on Facebook and to our school public, was beneficial because of the young age range we are targeting it was correct to get feedback from that target audience. The disadvantage was that we wanted a bigger perspective of our video. The questionnaire was a great way to get an older audience involved. Even though they are not our target audience, the younger teenagers that already know of our album can use pestapower to get their parents to buy it. This is why it is essential to keep an eye on all possible audiences. 
• Upon evaluating our feedback, we found that the strengths in the video lay in; the sound and appeal of the band, the costume and lighting and the narrative identified by the cross-cutting sequences between the band members and the dancers.
• The feedback indicated that the weaknesses were that we didn't have enough shots of all of the band members and that we focused primarily on the lead singer. Some people also thought their could have been a link to the band and the dancers, showing its the singers biography. 
• The encode model for the video was to show the push and pull relationship between the dancers and how they break up and get back together again. This was to relate to our young target audience because it is a common factor in a young persons life in particular. We wanted the audience to decode this message as a reflection of their own relationships or to see it as a recognisable action between lovers. 
• A lot of the audience that gave us feedback said that they saw the link between the dangling broken glass and the broken relationship that was being reflected in the dancing. The flashing lightbulbs were another indicator of changing moods and passion in the relationship. 
• Because we interviewed largely a young demographic, the reading of our video was highly successful. This proved to us that our target audience was correct.

Feedback -evaluation Task Three

This is a good start to evaluation task three, but it is incomplete.  Can you please try and post some more over the weekend.  try not to forget to address the set evaluation question and what you are being asked to do.  Thank you.

Task 3- What have you learned from your audience feedback?

"I thought this was well edited and the storyline comes across well. I thought they had an edge to them.  The lighting and smoke machine really brought across the sexual tension between the dancers."


"I love the concept of using light bulbs in this video because it is not only effective to promote the band's image as Indie/rock but also signifies the broken/love hate relationship between the two characters/dancers in the videos. Great video!" 
Im glad this point came across in audience feedback as we wanted to represented the passion of the relationship with the dim and brightening of the lightbulbs. This viewer along with a few others thought our band was Indie/Rock where as we wanted to present Pop/Rock. Because of this comment there must be something in the costume or lighting that is misread. The picture to the left is a screen shot of a shot in the bands original video. It is establishing a light open atmosphere. We decided against a bright scene as it would take away from the rock influence. 

This is the original Questionnaire that we designed. For some people we only asked them to answer some of the questions. This was a direct way to gather feedback and to see if our intentions were decoded correctly by the target audience. 

The result was that there was anchorage in our video and had a preferred reading.

QUESTIONAIRE FOR MUSIC VIDEO	STAY WITH ME –YOU ME AT SIX
How old are you?
GENDER	MALE FEMALE
WHAT ARE BRACKET DO YOU THINK OUR VIDEO IS AIMED AT?	YES NO
HOW DO WE AIM THE VIDEO AT THIS TARGET AUDIENCE/AGE BRACKET	·        ·        ·
DO LIKE THE VIDEO?	YES NO
WHAT DID YOU LIKE/DISLIKE ABOUT IT? (e.g. set, narrative etc.)	·        ·        ·
WHAT DO YOU THINK COULD BE IMPROVED?	·        ·        ·
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE STAR IMAGE WE HAVE CREATED? (e.g. rock/pop star, mainstream, niche etc.)	·        ·        ·
Do you think the narrative in the piece is clear/unclear?	YES NO
What do you think is most clear/unclear?	·        ·        ·
Would this video influence you to/make you want to buy the track?	YES NO
Do you like this song by You Me At Six?	YES NO
What attitudes do the band represent? (idol/role model, rebellion etc.)	·        ·        ·
How have we represented this? (Costume, lighting, set, etc)	·        ·        ·
Have you seen any videos with a similar context/narrative, if so what are these?	·        ·        ·
Do you think the digipak represents the bands star image and does it link to the video?	YES NO
If so how does it do this?	·        ·        ·
Do you think the Poster represents the bands star image and does it link to the video ?	YES NO
If so how does it do this?	·        ·        ·
Would the poster make you want to buy the track or watch the video?	YES NO
Why?	·        ·        ·
Would the poster make you want to buy the track or watch the video?	YES NO
Why?	·        ·        ·
Is the poster eye catching and does it have enough information?	YES NO
How could we improve this?	·        ·        ·
Is the digipak eye catching and does it have enough information?	YES NO
How could we improve this?	·        ·        ·
Finally, is the overall concept of our video, digipak and poster clear?	YES NO

QUESTIONAIRE FOR MUSIC VIDEO	STAY WITH ME –YOU ME AT SIX
1. How old are you?	18
2. GENDER	MALE FEMALE
3. WHAT AGE BRACKET DO YOU THINK OUR VIDEO IS AIMED AT?	8-15 Year Olds 15-25 Year Olds 25+
5. DO LIKE THE VIDEO?	YES NO
6. WHAT DID YOU LIKE/DISLIKE ABOUT IT? (e.g. set, narrative etc.)	·       Mirror/Lighting ·       Dancers  ·       Narrative
9. Do you think the narrative in the piece is clear/unclear?	YES NO
11. Would this video influence you to/make you want to buy the track?	YES NO