Treatment for Digipak
The wilderness is a constant presence throughout our products and this will be no different. It will have an autumnal feel to with a touch of romance too. But also the idea of romance, a midst elements of pain too, because our audience believed that love becomes stronger if pain is endured to some degree. So with that in mind we will implement and juxtapose the hope of a relationship with negative themes as well. Because it is the album, then it would be worth having all the themes in there. Obviously, in a subtle way and a way that won't be too fat and crammed with content. It will not be too out-there because we aim for the balance between alternative and mainstream. Cool and sleek are the things we aim for.
THE IDEA
The front cover will be a long shot of the hipster Boy and Girl walking on the field with a London skyline lurking in the far distance. The innocence of youth in the foreground, with the urban jungle laying as an obstacle in the background. But they're walking away from it, as if to say they don't care as long as they have each other.
The back cover can be where the negative commentary on life can be seen, because we will have a wide, establishing shot of a polluting motorway right beside a bunch of trees and the obvious connotations there are of the poisonous effects of man on nature. This will be the same motorway to forest joining that the Boy crosses in the video, in order to get to the forest. The use of nature is a central element to our artist and for it to be seen dying out is a powerful image, I'm very sure you will definitely agree with.
Like the video and advert, the digipak will have the murky green colour to it, reflecting an overcast day. Also, by sticking to our idea and what our research told us, we must keep the artist himself in the shadows. Therefore a blurred, soft-focus shot of the artist can be be put on one of the covers, so he is massively obscured, yet still there for us to see him and identify his fashion sense.
Taking inspiration from research into magazine adverts, I think having basic, no-frills font is the way forward with this because having an overly stylised font can be cheesy, and for us we want slickness, and so modern and elegant writing is necessary. This really is hipster/niche mixed with mainstream dreams. Our audience said that they'd like to see some aspirations of success from the artist and so we have decided to move forward have a few conventional looks to this digipak.
Obviously, this being a digipak, a collector's item, we need to supply the people who would buy this with special differences to the standard album. A thing I see regularly with collector's editions of things is the absence of a lot of the text. Probably because their audience knows most of it, so you don't need to patronise them with saturated information.
Minimalism is the key to a digipak. The explanation of the bonus features can be left on the inside covers where the images on those covers will be of the artist in various poses. But still not quite in a recognisable way.
Treatment for Music Video
Song:
Dissociation
Artist:
Carl Hauck
By having a moderately tempo-ed song, indie song, this immediately configures a rough idea of what the music video will be. The song deals with a romance and so the video will be based on the relationship between a boy and a girl. We have decided to implement an element of drama as the Boy goes on a journey in search of his Girl. The video intertwines performance aspects with a narrative; because the entirety of the video is him on his walk, while singing the song simultaneously. From audience research we learnt that people will look for a narrative in a video, so it is a no-brainer in terms of including it. Our Ideal Audience Member says that the visual look of the film is imperative, therefore we must try and construct a video that has a story that is both engaging visually and thematically.
THE VIDEO
The video begins with the Boy wandering the streets of Romford market looking decidedly solemn. The mise-en-scene will be quite grey and dank, so as to reflect the low place he is in, due to the fact he is lost without his girlfriend. Then he will have a quick visualisation of his girlfriend in the woods, and suddenly he has a realisation to make this pilgrimage to the forest where he saw his girl. He now moves with conviction and begins to walk away and out Romford, singing as the lyrics now kick in.
As he walks out Romford he makes makes his way down the streets and then the motorways, through the polluted and mechanical cars that drive by, leaving the fumes to blow in his poor face. This is the Boy's rough patch. Symbolic of the toil needed to be encountered if he is to be united with his true love. I would prefer to be able to capture this on an overcast day, in order to further reinforce the toughness.
Then the song and video will come to the climax. The Boy will reach the forest; he'll enter the trees and will break into a jog, as his eyes light up with the knowledge he is nearing his target. The song segues into an instrumental finish and the music takes off into a crescendo of sound. This will be the bit where the Boy emerges from the trees onto an open green field and he'll spot his Girl in the center of the field. She's standing, waiting for him. From there they both run to each other and then embrace.
Also, our focus group unanimously agreed to the inclusion of the artist in the video. By having him appear in cut-aways, playing his guitar and singing along with the Boy. This would signify that this is a music video more clearly but whether it will make the final cut is not decided, because it may ruin the momentum and the point of it just being the Boy and Girl.
The Technicalities
Throughout the video there will be a smorgasbord of establishing shots, in order to represent the progression his journey, and also the shots will be attractive to look at and add another dimension of interest for which to look at the video. The video will be both a visual and thematic piece of work.
We will tinker with the colour palette, thus representing the changing states of emotion. The first half are focused on darker shades of green and grey. This is his stressed state. Then as he nears the forest, the mood improves to lighter shades and the lighting will become brighter.
Lighting will be natural, thus maintaining authenticity and realism. Because we're filming on-location in busy areas, it would be impractical to carry big lights. Equipment will therefore be kept to a minimum. Restricted to a single HD camera and mobile phones for communication.
Locations will be Romford, A12 and M25 motorways, and then Epping/Hainult Forest. The use of fields are subject to change, depending on which area we deem most appropriate.
In terms of actors, we are, at the moment, inclined to have Cameron Lewis as the Boy. For he is white and relatively not ugly. Also, we are guaranteed good hours off of him and the commitment and will to do anything we tell him. As for the Girl, I think we will have Cameron's real life girlfriend playing, because therefore the chemistry between the two characters wills surely be higher and more believable with them two, rather than another actress.
Treatment for Magazine Advert
Taking into account what we have in mind for our artist and what people would expect from an artist such as this; the magazine advert is a very defining way in order for us to convey this persona.
It has developed into the concept that our artist is one not to take the limelight with both hands, like a cookie-cut popstar, instead he is the music and the music is him. Therefore he must blend into the environment, and not be a distraction. This is indie music after all, and our audience say that means he is conventionally going to be quirky. That liberates us to do what we want. His fans are hipsters, but he is not. He makes the music to appeal to them.
THE IDEA
The idea would be to have him the middle ground of a long shot. In the foreground would be blades of grass that are out focus; then he is sat beyond the grass. He is sat on a log, dressed in a fashionable, long, blue cardigan with a scarf, fake Buddy Holly glasses, grey trousers, many wristbands and rings and a hipster hat; and he is looking down while playing the acoustic guitar. Our audience who were into indie music were known to shop and wear stylish, slick clothing. You can slightly see his face but it is angled downwards.
Beyond in the background are the trees and trademark forest. The forest has become a signature of his, as he revolves around the ideas of purity and freedom. He will be positioned slightly to the side of the shot, so as not to become a major focal point, but instead blend in; also, he will be shot on a slightly soft focus. The overall colour tone of the image will be green, like the greenery, but in a cool and overcast tone. The wilderness will blow around him. The whole image will be at an arty canted angle, reflecting the artiness of the indie alternative scene; which is known to be the case, judging by what we found via research.
The aforementioned blades of grass will take up the bottom third/bottom half of the page, because in this section of grass will be the text, telling us the name of the artist, his album and where to buy it from. And then dotted neatly around the artist will be a few critical quotes, which will comment on his emotional sensitivity and catchy indie sensibility.
The whole atmosphere is of this cool, young and handsome guy playing his acoustic guitar in the outdoors. His music catalogue is quirky enough to distinguish from those soppy acoustic-pop artists. Our character is flexible, thus allowing him to appeal to an audience of boys and girls, as that is the demographic that would be interested in something like this, according to our research.
Taking inspiration from research into magazine adverts, I think having basic, no-frills font is the way forward with this because having an overly stylised font can be cheesy, and for us we want slickness, and so modern and elegant writing is necessary. This really is hipster/niche mixed with mainstream dreams. Our audience said that they'd like to see some aspirations of success from the artist and so we have decided to move forward have a few conventional looks to this digipak.
By having a moderately tempo-ed song, indie song, this immediately configures a rough idea of what the music video will be. The song deals with a romance and so the video will be based on the relationship between a boy and a girl. We have decided to implement an element of drama as the Boy goes on a journey in search of his Girl. The video intertwines performance aspects with a narrative; because the entirety of the video is him on his walk, while singing the song simultaneously. From audience research we learnt that people will look for a narrative in a video, so it is a no-brainer in terms of including it. Our Ideal Audience Member says that the visual look of the film is imperative, therefore we must try and construct a video that has a story that is both engaging visually and thematically.
As he walks out Romford he makes makes his way down the streets and then the motorways, through the polluted and mechanical cars that drive by, leaving the fumes to blow in his poor face. This is the Boy's rough patch. Symbolic of the toil needed to be encountered if he is to be united with his true love. I would prefer to be able to capture this on an overcast day, in order to further reinforce the toughness.
Taking into account what we have in mind for our artist and what people would expect from an artist such as this; the magazine advert is a very defining way in order for us to convey this persona.
Beyond in the background are the trees and trademark forest. The forest has become a signature of his, as he revolves around the ideas of purity and freedom. He will be positioned slightly to the side of the shot, so as not to become a major focal point, but instead blend in; also, he will be shot on a slightly soft focus. The overall colour tone of the image will be green, like the greenery, but in a cool and overcast tone. The wilderness will blow around him. The whole image will be at an arty canted angle, reflecting the artiness of the indie alternative scene; which is known to be the case, judging by what we found via research.
