Front Cover Problem

As from my previous post, I've stated that I have been inspired by the artwork for T.I.'s latest album, 'No Mercy' and am going for a similar look. The problem I am facing is that the font that I think fits best, is hard to read and may look pixelated once printed. To overcome this I would need to choose another font, preferably something similar, or try and make the font I'm using clearer and easier for the audience to read, which I may be able to do on Adobe Photo shop.

Last night, we had the photo shoot of Chanan, after he has been signed. As my sister was able to book an apartment 'West bridge Wharf' room 405 (one we have tried booking before) we were able to do the photo shoot there. This meant that the mise-en-scene would be perfect for the look I was going for, eg/ the rich and fabulous life. Again i took a total of 235 pictures, and would be only using roughly 2-3 . this will allow me to choose the best picture which will illustrate and connote the feeling of rich and fabulous to the greatest extent.

We were lucky enough to take pictures with an Aston Martin, Nissan 350z, Bmw 3 series coupe and a Mercedes S Class , as these were all in the car park, this will help represent the look I'm a trying to create.

Pictures will be up soon.

Front Cover Insperation

Photoshoot - 'Street'

Today I did the photo shoot for the 'Street' look before Chanan was signed. We waited until it was dark as this would create a lonely and rejected feeling as this is the look I'm trying to create. The mise-en-scene was great and worked exactly how I wanted with the,costume, lighting and setting. In total I took 169 photos, which I will need to select roughly 2-3 to use for my digipak. Taking this many pictures will allow me to pick and choose the most suitable picture which will fit my look best.

I will upload the pictures soon.

Dates for Photo Shoot

We have arranged to do the photoshoot, for the 'Street' look tomorrow, the 4th of December and Sunday the 5th for the succesful look.

Costume for Streets

For this costume, I will need:

• 
  
  Black Sweat Hoodie


• 
  
  Plain White T-Shirt


• 
  
  Baggy Stone Washed Jeans


• 
  
  Black Shoes


• 
  
  Black Chain

I will re-create this look , with a few minor changes, to connote the 'Street' look, using all of the above, setting and lighting, as these are all important conventions for this look.

Costume for Rich and Fabulous

For the costume, I will need:

• 
  
  Slim White Shirt


• 
  
  Fitted Shiny Black Suit


• 
  
  Thin Black Tie


• 
  
  Black Shoes


• 
  
  Aviator Shades


• 
  
  Rolex Watch


• 
  
  Thick Cuban Cigar

This is the look that I will be trying to create, as this connotes wealth and success.

Inspiration for Street Look

Inspiration for Rich and Fabulous look!

Situation!..

After taking over 300 pictures of Chanan for the digipak, I found that pictures taken, din't quite fit the image and feel I was going for. Therefore I will have to arrange another photo shoot with Chanan so that I can present the image I am going go for to the best of my ability!

For my digipak, I'm trying to incorporate the story shown in our music video, to my digipak. So again, I will take pictures of Chanan ,before he was successful and then pictures of Chanan after he's 'made it'. I will use costume, lighting and settings to help portray this look.

Photoshoot Slideshow

I CAN'T FIGURE IT - PHOTO SHOOT EDITS SLIDESHOW from Nicky Chapman on Vimeo.

Photoshoot for Digi Pak

Today we are heading over to Countersthorpe College for the Photo shoot of Chanan, for the digi pak. We have deiced to go Countersthorpe as it has a white screen and great lighting, which would maximise the quality of our pictures. Many costumes will be used, so that we could pick the best looking one, that would fit our specific look and the genre.

Photos will be uploaded soon!

Front Cover Mock Up 3

Official Version!

' Official version of 'I Can't Figure It'... Please enjoy ;)

I CANT FIGURE IT from ricken ram on Vimeo.

Filming- Completed

Filming the footage if now finally all done, which is a huge relief. All scenes and filler shots are filmed to our best ability with ideas and contribution from all four members of our group.

However, the editing is yet to be completed, which is one of the hardest stages in making a video, because we would need to put everything in order, and make sure we get the message that we are creating across to audience as clear as possible. As we filmed, way more scenes and footage than we would ever need, this may make the editing slightly easier as we can pick and choose the best looking footage which would fit correctly into our music video, giving it the best look.

I will upload our the official and final version of ' I Can't Figure It' soon!

Last Scene - The Ending

Last night we filmed the very last scene of, Chanan walking up to his car, with someone opening and closing the door for his, after a long studio session. We believe this fits well with the documentary look we have gone for and would be a great way to show his success and put an end to the music video.

Below is a short clip on Ryan Leslie where this concept has been used.

Signing Scene - Problem!

Our original idea for the 'signing' scene was to use 'R Code' as it was practical for us to get too, and was perfect for the look we were going for. However, we were not able to gain permission from the owner as he believed, other customers would feel uncomfortable whilst we filmed our footage. As we dint have any back up places, we had to walk around to other local bars and restaurant, which would fit the image were going for, and ask for permission . Again we were rejected. Eventually we found a place called 'Natterjackers' which was luckily quite close to us and we gained permission to record there.

As it wasn't our first choice, it wasn't quite what we were looking for. On the other hand, as we were desperate to film, so that, we don't fall behind on our schedule, we shot the footage, which turned out great and looked a lot better than expected, which was a huge relief

Front Cover Mock Up 2

Front Cover Mock Up 1

Font MoodBoard!

Digi Pak - Ideas!

Heres an example of T.I. Six sided Digi Pak, with all Six sides, representing his split personality. I would like to use the same concept, to represent, from an average person on his 'everday hustle' too a succesful mainstream producer.

The Final Car Scene!

After discussing the best way to end our music video, we came to a conclusion that we should have, Chanan having a studio session and then being escorted to a car and being driven off. We believe this will show his success and complement the documentary look.

Street Scene Second Part - Re-filming

Today we re-filmed the scene, were I listen to Chanan's Demo disk, in my car, as in the first cut, there was only a disk. As this would brought confusion to how I got Chanan's contact details, we re-filmed this scene, with Chanan's contacts detail on a torn up piece of paper, which came with the demo disk, this will now show that I have received his contact details, and will take out the confusion of how I contacted him in the signing scene.

The Last Scene - Weather Forecast!

Here is the weather forecast for both Wednesday and Thursday, as we are planning to film the rest of the footage (the ending) on one of these two days.

The Signing Scene!

For the scene were Chanan gets signed, we have decided to film at a Bar around the corner from us 'R Code'. We have chosen this place to film as it has a modern look from the inside, which would be great for the mise-en-scene and would compliment the rest of our video, it also has great lighting

Me and Chanan, will meet, and Chanan will be given a contract to be signed to Platinum Records. This will be used to connote the start of Chanan's success.

However we would still need to gain premission from the owner to see weather we can film here.

Can't Get Aparment!

After ringing the owner 'James' of Leather Factors in Leicester, to see if any cancellations were made, so that we could re-film our apartment scene, we were turned away as no rooms were available. However on a positive not, we contact many other modern apartments in Leicester, for example, 'West bridge Wharf' to see if there was any spare rooms for us to hire. But again we were let down.

So we figured, we were not going to be able to get an apartment, and discussed new ideas for the ending of the music video as we dint want to wait any longer for cancellations, and rather be productive. After many ideas, we all agreed on one.

This would be for me to contact Chanan, and arrange for a meal or a drink at a posh bar or restaurant. I would then offer Chanan a contract, which we will both sign, showing that Chanan has now became a member and is signed to 'Platinum Records'

Track List!

After, disccussing protential track names, within our group, we have came up with:

• Back to th Basics


• It Must be Me


• R.A.M


• Still Dreamin'


• Beast Mode

Ident Ideas!

Here we have the potential ideas, for the record company, Ident. We have gone for a simple but, an attractive look, that gives a sense of professionalism. We believe that this style of Ident would be used for a mainstream record label.

Editing - Day into Night effect

We filmed a shot looking out of a car window which we hope will connote that time is passing by. However as the the shot wasn't as visually pleasing as we thought it would be, and the lighting wasn't great, we used a tool on iMovie to edit it.

We first played around with the speed, to figure out, at which speed the shot will look the most effective and connote time passing by, as we assumed, the audience will think that this is the reason the shot is used. ( Print Screen Below)

We used a tool called 'Day into Night' which applys a blue tint to your footage, which can be used to suggest time has gone by as the lighting is less brighter, giving a nightly look. It also creates a 'mellow' mood which creates a certain feeling upon the audience, which is the feeling were going for, during the flashback in the video, were Chanan is on his 'Hustle'

Apartment Scene - Refilming!

As our first footage from the apartment scene, brang confusion to the audience as there were few mistake we have made, we decided to cut it out and re-film the whole scene. However, this time we have a different idea that we believe will make the narrative stronger and give the audience a better understanding.

We have now decide that, this time, i will invite Chanan round to the apartment and then give him the keys, which will connote that he has now been signed and is on his way to success. This would make it alot clearer for the audience and allow the music video to flow.

We can still use some filler shots that we have from our previous footage, which will allows us to purely concentrate on this scene to make the narrative as strong and clear as possible as we will have less time than we had before (5 hours) due to the apartment 'Leather Factors' being fully booked.

We have tried booking the apartment for some time this week as, we would need to get it done, so that we would be back on schedule, but were told to ring back tomorrow to see if there has been any cancellations. On the other hand we have been looking at other apartments that also look very modern and would compliment the look of our music video, for back up, if we don't manage to get our original apartment.

Further Feedback - Facebook!

For further feedback oon our music video, we uploaded it onto facebook, as its a great place to promote anything. Even though the Music video was only a draft and not quite completed, we still recievd positive feeback, and more importantly awareness. The final version will be posted once it is completed.

I Can't Figure It - Second Draft!

After gaining feedback from both of our teacehers, we decided to cut the apartments scene out the video, as it had no relevance to the story. After continuous debating between our group we have came to a conclusion of, re-filming the apartment scene, to show Chanan receiving the keys to the apartment, which will connote that he has already been signed and has been give the apartment as gift, to show his success. On the other hand we have an idea of, Me and Chanan, arranging to meet up after finding his contact details, with he Demo disk I purchased, for a meal or a quick drink at a bar. Here we will show me offering Chanan a record deal and having Chanan signs some papers, to show that he has signed a contract for the record label. This will connote the first step, to his successful future.

We were also considering using another instrumental, which is a remix of 'Power' by Kanye West, which was also produced by Chanan, as i diagetic sound, for the 'car' scene. However, after comments were given by the teachers, it was suggested that, this may cause confusion, with the original track. As the audience may not understand why the songs has changed or which songs is the original track that was intended to be promoted through the music video. So we deiced to scrap the ideas, so that its a lot clearer for the audience.

Here is our second draft. Below. (comments are welcome)

Untitled from ricken ram on Vimeo.

Below is the remix of 'Power' by Kanye West made by Chanan

POWER RMX 1 by ricken_ram-1

Steet Scene Part 2 - 4th Day Filming!

Today we filmed the 2nd part of the street scene were, I listen to the demo disk in my car, after purchaisg it from Chanan a few hours before. To show that time has gone past we, waited until it was dark outside, before we went out to film. Overall, the footage turned out just as we needed, which will need to be edited int our music video.

Two Songs in One Video!

I have posted this video as it shows that even mainstream artist merge two songs by the same artist into the same video.

Two Songs in One Video!

This video by UK Rap Artist , Giggs, has been made up of two songs, You raised me and Open up. This is purposely done to create a buzz, as this attracts the audience so that more interest is gained. This is also done to promote singles and albums that the artist has also produced towards the end of the video.

As our song i cant figure it, is repetitive on a loop, the audience may start to loose interest, so using a convention like this to switch the song, also created by chanan, will draw the audiences attention again. However we may challenge the convention by switching back to the original song towards the end of the music video. After searching on the Internet, i haven't managed to find any music videos that do this, however this could add a unique style to our music video.

Name Choices

After discussing names for our record company for Chanan to get signed too, we came up with 'Record Breakers'. However after researching on the Internet, we found that 'Record Breakers' was a name for a children's TV show. So we all agreed that we should change the name as we dint want the audience to think of the children's show and the theme tune every time they saw the name. After some further discussion we came up with 'Platinum Records' as we believe that, this sounds professional.

Teachers and Student Feedback!

After receiving feedback from both teachers and the students in our class, our first draft was described as 'Beautiful but nothing else' meaning that it all looked good but didn't really inform the audience of the storyline and show whats going on. We understood that's the narrative was weak and took the feedback as a positive thought.

The street scene, which is going to be used as flashback of Chanan on his 'hustle', hassling pedestrians to listen and purchase his demo disk, was filmed on Wednesday.After being edited and applied to the video this would obviously make the narrative stronger and give an overall clearer understanding.

'Street' Costume!

Black Converse High Top

Gloves to connote that its cold. Shows he's on a daily 'Hustle' no matter the weather!

Cheap Black Duffle, to carry the 'Demo' disks that he's selling.


Black Rain Mac

Shots from the 'Street Scene'

Digi Pak!

We are also expected to create a Four sided Cd Cover as apart of a Practical Coursework. This will contain :

The Front Cover:

• 
  
  Name of Artist


• 
  
  Image of Artist


• 
  
  Sutiable Font Style


• 
  
  Eye Catchy


• 
  
  Slick

The Inside of the Front Cover

Back, were the Cd's Placed

The Back:

• 
  
  Tracklist


• 
  
  Suitable Font Style


• 
  
  Easily Read Font


• 
  
  Name of Artist

When designing the digipak, we will need to consider continuity throughtout with the style, genre,colour schemes and the expected conventions of this genre.

'Street' Scene - 3rd Day Filming!

Just like we planned, Me, Chanan, Ricken and Nicky all took the day off college today as Wednesday the 10Th was the driest day according to the weather forecast,to film the 'Street' Scene, which would be used as flashbacks to Chanan's life before he got signed and gained success as a 'Mainstream Producer'.

After receiving feedback by Both teachers and students in our class, we deiced to take Ricken and Nicky out of the 'Apartment' scene as it caused confusion of who they were and what they were doing at the apartment. This allowed us to use them for other scenes so that no extras were needed. Nicky was used as a pedestrian just passing by, with Chanan hassling her to buy his 'Demo Cd'. However I also played a part of a pedestrian walking by, and was also stopped, and got the chance to listen to the CD and then eventually purchasing it. However Chanan didn't know, that I was a producer, with contacts in the mainstream and

was about to change his whole lifestyle.

Overall, we had a successful day, due to the weather and footage filmed, that we all took in turns to do. After applying and editing the footage recorded, into our music video were hoping this would give a stronger narrative and create a much better understanding to the audience.

Untitled from ricken ram on Vimeo.

'T.I. vs T.I.P.' album cover - T.I.

I like the concept of this album cover, as it connotes his split personality. T.I. the famous, rich, globally known rapper has a faceoff with himself before he was a successful, mainstream artist. T.I.P .

As we are trying to express the feeling of , the average ambitious person becoming a rich successful producer, we could also use this concept for our own album cover.

'Transition' album cover - Ryan Leslie

I like how a mid shot is used for the album cover that shows off what he is wearing, which is a slim fitted, white shirt and a thin black tie which connote success, class and gives a smart look. I also like the green neon affect that goes across his eyes, with the title 'Ryan Leslie Transition' , which gives the rest of the album cover a green tint affect. I think that its clever how a editing tranistion is used to illistrate the name of the title which is also 'Transition'. However I don't like the brick wall in the background because I believe it doesn't match, with the rest of the image that hes portraying as i would refer the brick wall, to more of a 'street' look. If i was to do this, i would have used a plain black background, as there would of been a greater contrast with his white shirt and green neon, which in my opinion would of been more eye-catchy.

'Raymond vs Raymond' album cover - Usher

The name for Ushers latest album 'Raymond vs Raymond' connotes the stage of marriage/divorce of himself Usher Raymond and his ex wife Tameka-Foster Raymond.

The picture used on the album cover, connotes that hes drained and fed up, which is represented by the pose and relates to the album. I like how a close up is used with a blur in the background, which looks effective and keeps the eye focused on him. I also like how the 'Raymond' is spelt backwards on the left hand side.

'All or Nothing' album cover - Jay Sean

I have posted 'All or Nothing' by Jay Sean because I really like the black and white used. I also really like the use of the same font, but different size, width and shade of red as this looks really effective and contrast with the background making it stand out. The white brick background makes you focus on the picture of Jay Sean as its blurry, but looks effective.

'Go' album cover - Mario

The close up of Mario's face, is eye catchy, which is needed for an album cover, however I don't like the colours used as they don't really match, so it doesn't stand out as much as it could. I also wouldn't use the font as its not bold enough and doesn't catch your attention, however it is readable.

'I Am Not a Human Being' album cover - Lil Wayne

'I am Not a Human Being' looks really creative even though its fairly simple. I like the use of a full length, that shows his whole body, so that you can see the clothing worn, which help represent his personality , and the images he is trying to portray. the fact that Lil Wayne's not looking directly at the camera is also creative as most people looks straight at the camera when using pictures for their album covers.

The setting used looks like an abandoned area, which connotes he's not a human being, which refers to his album name. I really like the font used which stands out from the rest and is eye catchy and easy to read.

Shooting the Apartment Scene!

These pictures were taken from the apartment scene that we filmed yesterday at the Leather Factors in Leicester City Centre. Me, Ricken , Chanan and Nicky were able to leave college slightly earlier as we had aranged this with our teachers so that we could do our filming. We manged to get all the shots needed done with some extra footage, within the 5 hours that we had the apartment, due to our sufficent planning and time management. As we all took it in turns to film, as the other memebers in the group would get the props ready for the next shot which was extremely useful as it made the process alot quicker.