DIGI PAC-
This is my finished digi pac design which majority of elements were created solely by me bar one area (the main butterfly shape was the working of my partner). The front side graphic was mainly formed using tools on fireworks, modelled in fitting with the song/music video, but also so would be eye catching and appealing to the viewer. The front cover design is based around a photo derived from the stop motion part of the filming put together in a pop art format in a broad range of colours. This use of existing imagery was drawn from my research prior to the conception of these ideas as is a more efficient and profitable way of defining the relation to the product. This image had the surrounding colour removed with the magic wand tool so it was ready to be used and furthered in appeal, with the photo editing tools (brightness, contrast, saturation) adding to the digi pac design as a whole. With an inverted image of butterflies as the background (which was also edited with the same tools as the caterpillar) and the title in font- Bauhaus 93 which is in keeping with the pop art 70's style which I changed into colours which were conflicting and didn't merge (distinct from the caterpillars colour- bold). The acid hues behind the main butterfly were created with the paintbrush tool which I used on three specific settings (3D glow, fluid splatter and paint splatter) to make for an almost hypnotic and most defiantly striking location for the textual based and structured butterfly. On the inner side, it reveals the same imagery of the set used in the stop motion, which I had to manipulate to fit the chosen area. I did so by seeing how much one section of the original image would cover the digi pac, once it was apparent that an extra slab was needed I went through the process of cutting the furthest half from the middle edge, reversing this and then merging it in line with the current image. To make certain that this was not apparent I used the pencil tool (in matching colours) to blend this line and continue the sketchy effect over the 3 sections, which was repeated with the grass. For the tree however, I had to go around with the pen tool, then The butterfly photograph, I was lucky to discover in my dad’s collection of pictures he has taken, then using the pen tool I made it free standing and placed to look as if it is collecting nectar from the flower and the caterpillar was simply copied from the cover and shrunk to fit. All images used and incorporated where tweaked using the brightness, contrast and saturation adjuster so the images seemed more professional and distinct. Finally the vortex of butterflies in flight was a using the same template of the large butterfly then shrinking them, getting smaller the closer to the centre the get adjusting colour and forming in a circular pattern. I’m really pleased with the outcome of the initial idea as, when made into the intended shape of a digi pac I feel it will defiantly catch o few gazes. It projects the theme of not belonging, which is the gist of the ugly bug’s feelings in the song, with the front cover presents to us a group of caterpillars, all in various flamboyant colours, but the caterpillar in left corner has a tear drop- revealing the unhappiness (positioning important as being left in the corner represents this feeling of the outsider).
MAGAZINE ADVERT-
The magazine adverts I analysed weren't of the same genre as mine, in that they were aimed at different audiences but they informed me of the involvement of components from the video and song (in a striking and enticing way).
This is my magazine advert. It is a conglomeration of photo imagery, scanned up sketches and computerized effects (created on fireworks).
The work process
My magazine advert was a conversion of the stop motion composition, as I made the setting in plastacine and the caterpillar by my own sketch. The plastacine objects (tree grass and flower) were shaped onto an A4 piece of card which was painted to make for a summer sky. I took a photo of this then on a basic photo editing program I have at home (Picassa 3). I cropped the background image (removing the unwanted faults and constructing cleaner lines) and added a focal black and white effect so that the bottom left corner gradually feathered into monochrome. Next I imported this image onto the fireworks program, with canvas size for an A4 advert (2361 W by 3120 H- in pixels) adjusting the image scale to suit the canvas. I tuned this image using the filter tools (brightness, saturation,contrast and saturation) for a more dynamic and professional piece, adjusting until i was happy with the result.
The title ‘The Ugly Bug Ball’ was also created in the same way as the caterpillar was, which were both scanned up onto my computer ready for importing and editing. I wanted to create my own style of font for the title as searching through the range on fireworks, none jumped out at me or were in keeping with the quirky and the uniqueness of what I felt the song/lyrics represent, also shown through my other ancillary project. After that i imported the title and used the magic wand tool to remove the white space, leaving the text to be tweaked so was bold (using same filter tools) and finally moved into position. Then beneath this, using flood std font to contrast with the main title I included the song writers name. Importing the most important element (the caterpillar) using the same tools (magic wand and tools for tuning), then moved this in the desired location. To end, I used the paintbrush tool to join the title to the tree, bringing the two together as one dimension, then using the background as the guidelines of the monochrome reworking on the photo. Showing a distinction from the smooth colourfulness of the setting with the sombre mood of the angry scribbles with the black and white with the caterpillar and fading (with lowering the transparency of the paintbrush tool) off into the adjacent area, also using the same tool on the speech bubble displaying the album is 'OUT NOW!'. Continuing the illustrator effect of the caterpillar on the surrounding area and speech bubble.
MAGAZINE ADVERT-
The magazine adverts I analysed weren't of the same genre as mine, in that they were aimed at different audiences but they informed me of the involvement of components from the video and song (in a striking and enticing way).
This is my magazine advert. It is a conglomeration of photo imagery, scanned up sketches and computerized effects (created on fireworks).
The work process
My magazine advert was a conversion of the stop motion composition, as I made the setting in plastacine and the caterpillar by my own sketch. The plastacine objects (tree grass and flower) were shaped onto an A4 piece of card which was painted to make for a summer sky. I took a photo of this then on a basic photo editing program I have at home (Picassa 3). I cropped the background image (removing the unwanted faults and constructing cleaner lines) and added a focal black and white effect so that the bottom left corner gradually feathered into monochrome. Next I imported this image onto the fireworks program, with canvas size for an A4 advert (2361 W by 3120 H- in pixels) adjusting the image scale to suit the canvas. I tuned this image using the filter tools (brightness, saturation,contrast and saturation) for a more dynamic and professional piece, adjusting until i was happy with the result.
The title ‘The Ugly Bug Ball’ was also created in the same way as the caterpillar was, which were both scanned up onto my computer ready for importing and editing. I wanted to create my own style of font for the title as searching through the range on fireworks, none jumped out at me or were in keeping with the quirky and the uniqueness of what I felt the song/lyrics represent, also shown through my other ancillary project. After that i imported the title and used the magic wand tool to remove the white space, leaving the text to be tweaked so was bold (using same filter tools) and finally moved into position. Then beneath this, using flood std font to contrast with the main title I included the song writers name. Importing the most important element (the caterpillar) using the same tools (magic wand and tools for tuning), then moved this in the desired location. To end, I used the paintbrush tool to join the title to the tree, bringing the two together as one dimension, then using the background as the guidelines of the monochrome reworking on the photo. Showing a distinction from the smooth colourfulness of the setting with the sombre mood of the angry scribbles with the black and white with the caterpillar and fading (with lowering the transparency of the paintbrush tool) off into the adjacent area, also using the same tool on the speech bubble displaying the album is 'OUT NOW!'. Continuing the illustrator effect of the caterpillar on the surrounding area and speech bubble.
DIGI PAC QUESTIONNAIRE
Q1) Do you often take note of the album cover when buying CD’s?
Yes/No ANSWER: 6YES 1NO
Q2) Which do you think is more important- the imagery on the cover or the text?
Image/words ANSWER: 5image 2words
Q5) Do you feel that a fantastic and professional CD cover can persuade you to purchase the product?
Yes/No ANSWER: 4YES 3NO
Q6) Do you usually download the music, or purchase it from a shop? it Download /Purchase ANSWER: 5download it 2purchase
Q7) Can you tell the difference between a CD cover and Digipak? Yes/No ANSWER: 6YES 1NO
This tells me how important the digi pac design is as it leaves a lasting impression and can make the difference whether the album is purchased or not, even though from my results, many people are using different venues for there music needs (downloading).
To expand our skills on fireworks and get a generalized idea of what structures and ingredients come together for a basic magazine advert. We did a exercise in class devised as a ‘round robin’ system where each person executed a task on one advert in a set time (such as title) then moved one place to the left for another part of a new advert, until we were left with 12 diverse designs. This task helped me to widen my horizons on the construction of my own design as when we had completed the round robin exercise the variations were vast but all had positives and negatives, but also becoming more fluent with the program so when it comes to making my own, I know what I am doing
