Story Boarding.

WEBSITE PLANNING

The first sketched image is my original layout plan for the website that I was to create. After researching current websites, for example 'Florence and the Machine' and 'Jack Johnson' I began to suede towards the 'cluttered' effect. The bands were heading for the 'Vintage' notebook effect of trying to fit everything about themselves into the homepage of their website, making it look their own. I really liked this effect as it allows the audience to relate the images, symbols and connotation to the personalities of the band's/artist, as like I have said our 'modern audience' need more to be satisfied than just listening to their music

. As I have mentioned previously, 'GoldBloom's' genre forwards a very laid back, free-will approach to their music. I wanted to portray their 'casual look' into the 'welcome mat' of a website, the homepage.

Creativity also plays a main role in transferring sketch images to CAD (computer aided design) What can be freely made up on paper, is extremely difficult to draw through technology. This is where I have come to the conclusion that Creativity is found through the nature of the hand, the ability to freely draw whatever creation that is made up in your mind transferred to the paper, the only restrictions that occur is when you try to transfer your creative idea's off the paper. This is what I found difficult when trying to make my sketch creation of the website become a real looking, professional website.

All the images on the homepage have been taken from my photography, and a few taken from the band's personal inspirations, for example the 'Buddha'. My inspiration for this 'scattered' image effect has applied from 'Jack Johnson's' website, all his images are of connotations about himself portrayed through pictures. This again is conveying a creative viewpoint suggesting that the creation of images can be just as important and can symbolisea persona just as well as written text can.To convey the personal 'Notebook' effect, I needed a way to express the look I was trying to portray. I came up with the idea of 'Layering' different images, with a slight angle to create the 'flicking of pages' effect. This is shown with the bottom layer of the united kingdom flag, then overlapped by the 'straw' naturalistic effect, then topped with a main image of the band. After researching a few 'online marketing' books, I came across a good accusation, of audience enjoying the participation of interacting through a website. I portrayed this effect through the animation of the small picture framed images, and the animated navigation bar.

After showing GoldBloom, and my potential targeted audience my original idea for their website, they asked if they could see a different style of website for them to choose between, and compare. Their chosen inspiration was 'Mumford & Son's' a current, folk band. The band specifically liked their 'sophisticated' layout of their homepage, and liked the 'LESS IS MORE' approach. This included a black background, with the name of the band, and their logo. I decided that I needed to make use of my photo shoot images of the band, and I also felt that an image of the band is a friendly way to introduce them to a new audience and to help them acknowledge who they are.I sketched asimple layout of a large main image in the bottom centre of the page, with a clear navigation bar, and a bold heading of the bands name, 'GoldBloom'. I found that from having such a simple layout that the image of the band had to be unique, and stand out to grab the audience's attention, as the homepage is the 'welcome mat', the first page to many. Ever since exploring more edit's on 'Picnik', I became fond of the yellow/vintage effect. I really like the warm, friendly connotations that the colour bought to the images. It just so happened that the picture I had chosen to use had a shining sun in the background, this fitted perfectly as I didn't have to edit so much, and the band really liked the idea of having the 'sun' as their logo. I also created a 'Fish eyed' effect on the image, which 'circled' the image, to instigate a friendly, close loving band. This second website idea was much easier to transport my sketch idea to CAD.

PROMOTIONAL VIDEO PLANNING

Similarly to my As foundation project I sketched potentially 'prototypes' of what I wanted the video to be based around. I had used flat plans in my AS production to create 'prototypes' of a magazine cover. After finding the sketched plans useful in AS I was even more certain that they would be useful for my ideas for the promo video. After researching current promotional videos from current bands for useful inspiration, The 'Wombat's' video clip was very similar to how I had imagined my video to be like. After watching the clip, I used my Creative drawing ability to sketch a story board of initial idea's that I had for the video. 'The Wombats' promotional video gave me inspiration to draw my sketched storyboards. I wanted to create an 'Interview' based video so that the bands audience can know deep information about them as a band and as individuals, but also to know vital information about their music, albumsand upcoming gigs.

Animatics of StoryBoarding...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjCdC0A-OII

Creating an animatic of the sketched storyboards will help me gain a clearer idea of how the promotional video might turn out like. Creating an animatic will also help me gain a clearer idea of how to use and explore different effects on imovie so that I will be more experienced when I come to the real thing. I wanted to create an 'Interview' based video, shown on the drawing of a sofa and questions that the interviewer would ask the band. I wanted to include original music of the bands music, however I needed to know how to import the music and clip the audio, from creating the animatic I have been able to know how to do these effects. I played around on different effects, for example 'Mosaic' 'blackout' and the 'cube', playing around with these effects will me decided which effects that I would like to use on the real clip, which ones work well, which ones don't etc... Creating an animatic is almost like the PROTOTYPE of the real promotional video. It will also help me gain a clearer idea of how to transport imovie videos onto Youtube.

Animatic used as a 'TEST SCREEN'?

Test screenings arethe most common form of audience research used by hollywood and the film industry as a whole. Long in advance of the release of a film, a small audience will be invited to a secret preview. Effects may not be completed, the sound track may be temporary and the film will sometimes have barely left the edit suite before it is screened to a few film fans to gain feedback from the audience. A questionnaire is generally handed out after the film and the audience asked to complete it. Questions could be on anything from the opening of the film, to the individual characters, or even tothe ending of the film. The audience will be responsible for giving the filmmakers feedback on what does and doesn't work.

Test screenings can be responsible for a huge range of changes made to a film, from a complete re-shooting of the ending all the way down to a simple change of title.

The disadvantage to test screening is that people argue that they are damaging as they can lead to piracy and leaks.

I decided that I would use the animatic of GoldBloom's PROTOTYPE of their promotional video as a 'Test Screen' to a small audience in GoldBlooms focus group ages ranging from 15-20. I handed out a questionnaire for the audience to feedback on what they liked and what could be improved.

Example of Questionnaire...

No Rest For The Wombats - Promotional Video.

The Casual Opening to this video, immediately indicates that the video will be a laid back relaxed approach, which also indicates the personalities of the members of the band. The beginning image indicates clearly how many members of the band there is, and most importantly points out the name of the band. "Hi we're the Wombats". I am quite attracted to this first image, as it shocks the audience in a humorous manner, from the mise en scene of the costumes of 'paint balling' equipment, the humour element is shown through the fact that paint balling has no indication towards their music. The humour also comes into the fact that the text is clearly constructed, but not perfectly, this again comes back to the casual approach, that I may use in my promotional video. This laid back approach suits the genre of 'GoldBloom' and the young audience that my promotional video will be suited towards.

Fast Editing then moves to soft beat music, with an image of New York - A well known place that everyone can recognise. I will consider using the idea of creating a moving background image with the word "presenting" in an 'old school' font written on top in a contrasting colour. The natural lighting of sun shining through making it look like a spotlight, matches the connotations of my 'Golden sun' logo, which would convey that the video is a constructed text. It is very important that the name of the band is mentioned at the beginning, in writing "The Wombats." The editing of making the traffic move really fast against a still object/word is definitely something that I will consider using. The music slowly builds in the introduction, increasing in speed and volume, the nearer it gets to image of band, this will be a good editing shot, as when the beat rises to a high point, I would like the image to be of the drummer hitting the main drum. I am attracted by the effect of videoing the band on their way to gig, or band having fun, this links to the 'modern audience' of wanting to know more about the band, rather than just their music. "Music is not enough to keep fans satisfied" This will persuade the bands target audience to want to buy their album, and from the promo video it will allow the audience to know more about the band, what are they like, and how they interact, as well as liking their music. I may use the jolted movement of someone purposely holding the camera, instead of a still image (casual effect).

Close ups of bands faces, so that they are clearly recognised for audience to acknowledge certain character. I like the idea of lowering the camera, facing upwards watching the band members walking and talking until they leave the shot. The video clip of the band performing in gig, with a voice over of band member talking about the album, again shows a cleverly constructed video, This effect is definitely something that I will use in my promo video. To suit the Bands music, and target audience of a younger, slightly rock star audience, the use of dark lighting when videoing the gig, creates a more professional, friendly grunge, nightlife look, that young teens thrive towards. Close ups of instruments, then to faces of band members singing, is another technique that I will possibly use in my video, as the band want to show off their instrumental skills as well as their image.

Background music of the band signing at gig (nice feature) I like how it then quickly edits to where voice is coming from, then an image pops up of the three members outside in the snow talking about them as a band and their album. I think what ruins the video is the interview with record studio, it loses the fast rhythm and speed of editing. The video style that I may use is of someone in the audience videoing the band, close ups and heads moving of others in the audience. I like the red and yellow lighting of the spotlights on bands faces, again creates a more rock/professional look. I will consider using voice overs of all of the band members having their own opinion and own speech. I will definitely consider creating diagetic, or non diagetic background noise of crowds screaming in the background.

Researched websites...

When starting to create the website, the first thing I did was look at real artists’ websites to learn the conventions and provide a basis for what I needed to put on there. Some “key ingredients” of a band website include:

• Fan interactivity
• Merchandise
• Videos
• Playable music
• News
• Purchasing opportunities for the music
• Tour dates
• Gallery
• Artist biography

Similar to 'Florence' and 'Paolo Nutini' Jack Johnson has created a very personal website that has significance meaning to him as an individual as well as an artist. I love the vintage layout of a rusted tin background with the use of images to create significant meanings to him as an artist. He has used images instead of written info about him, which I personally feel is risky but has a very effective outcome. The 'Old Fashioned' images act as the navigation bar, for example the small plant could have connotations of where he began and info about is journey making his way up as a solo artist. The camera obviously means images of him, my personal favourite is the two tin cans attached together with a piece of string, an old fashioned way of communicating, which suggests how can can get in touch with Jack. Cleverly the site has a small navigation bar at the top of the page, so that if fans/people do not understand the significance of the images they can use the written navigation bar.

This is another one of my favourite websites personally as a teen viewer. I have spoken about not being TOO graphic heavy, but there is something about the graphic, images, font and layout that makes the page so interesting. When you first click onto the homepage the large 'LIVER' is animated and pumps up and down, this links with one of 'FLORENCE AND THE MACHINES' album name 'LUNGS'. Music of Florence singing immediately plays when you enter the homepage which I thinks is a nice feature only if the viewer has access to turn it off and on. The site has a vintage theme which matches her style of music and vintage persona that she portrays. The site is very personal to the artist for example, her name is florence and she has added a vintage image of a flower, the site includes random little images and sayings, which makes the site easier for fans to get to know florence as an individual as well as an artist.

This is one of my favourite websites, I love the 'Mise en Scene' of the whole of the design. As this website is for a solo artist "PAOLO NUTINI", it's nice for the artist to make their website quite similar to their style of music and persona as an individual. For example 'Paolo' is very unique and has a very vintage, laid back approach as an artist, creating relaxed music to suit any genre and audience. As he has no specific target audience, his website has to be designed to suit any age. I feel that his site has really acknowledged that a range of ages will be going on his site as the design has played safely with a cream/vintage paper effect, with a nice animated feature of moving picture frames at the top of the page. The typeface of his name is his signature logo which is used on his album cover as well, this unique vintage font is easily recognisable for fans/people. The only criticism that I would have is that the site has no navigation bar, which again will confuse viewers. The layout is nicely full of different info and video's about the artist, which will keep the viewer interested.

I love how this website has kept a sophisticated, clear layout with the use of a vibrant 'SUNSET' themed colour scheme of reds, orange and yellow. The warmth of the colours create friendly, welcoming connotations. I like the fainted blurred out image of the band behind the font of the info, making the font easy to read over the image. My favourite feature of the site is the clear navigation bar made to look like a wooden strip across the top centre of the page. The only criticism that I would make to improve the page is for the homepage to include a signature logo of the band as the band do not have anything for their fans/people to recognise them, also company's would not have anything to see on t-shirts, album cover etc... so their advertisement side would let the band down. Although the typeface and white font of the name of the band "KINGS OF LEON" stands out well, I would have made the name slightly bigger, as they do not have a logo, they would need to make their only signature, their name stand out more. The layout is very similar to other sites, which is playing safe, and is what the viewer is used to, however the first information about the band is their 'TOUR DATES', as a viewer I would feel that I want to get to know the band a bit more before I decide to book tickets to see their tour, this is forcing a 'BUY THIS BUY THAT' effect on the viewer.

I love the vintage, simplicity of the "ARCTIC MONKEYS" homepage. The black, bold font and the cream background colour contrast nicely together. The layout is slightly different to the other currents sites as the middle sections is wider, which allows the page to include more info about the band. I like the immediate video, almost like an introduction about the band, and info about them, their music and their website. However much I like the page, the navigation is TOO small, similar to 'Snow Patrol', this would frustrate me as a viewer. I love the '60's' style typeface of the album name, although slightly to the left of the page it still is very noticeable. Similar to most sites, the page includes info about what the band have done and achieved and upcoming events that the viewers can participate in.

This site is very similar to the 'Mumford & Sons' homepage, due to the black background colour and minimalist layout of images and fonts. I like the unusual, unique layout of a green soldier anorak image of the left hand side of the site. The uniqueness could symbol the band members themselves and their music. It's unusual as an image of a jacket has no resemblance to the band what so ever, they could have gone for an expected image of a picture of 'DRUMS' to go with the bands name, however this would be too expected, so this image goes against audience expectations. This unique image and layout will also persuade the viewers to want to fond out more behind the unique homepage, 'welcome mat' of the site. However much I love the simplicity of the site, I feel that the blank black space on the right hand side is a little TOO empty, which could create a risk of boring the viewer as there is not much to grab their attention. This sort of website would attract a certain type of audience, which will not promote their music as much as other popular current websites. There is no sign of a navigation bar, which matches the uniqueness of the page, however difficult for audience to find what they are looking for.

I love the futuristic element that the homepage of the website reinforces. The logo image of the 'tabby cat' symbolises the album cover, which again is good way to make the audience resemble the band through their logo. The colour scheme of the edited image of the cat includes tints of purple, blue, green and black, which are very futuristic colours. The main thing that drew me to the cat is the edit of they cat's eyes, they have been edited an emerald green to create the scientific element. The band's name "TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB" is very clear on the site slightly to the left top centre of the page, where the eye naturally likes to see. The font of the name is very clever, and again like the logo resembles the band so that the audience can easily recognise the band from logo and typeface. Similar to "Snow Patrol" the navigation bar is very unclear, which makes it hard for the audience to find what they are looking for, that is the worst thing for a website, to make it confusing for the viewer, which frustrates them and makes them not want to spend time on the site. The layout is simple and easy to follow, however nothing really excited me as a viewer.

I love the simple, minimalist layout of the Mumford & Sons website. The black background creates a sophisticated approach, which is quite relaxing to the eye as it's not overloaded with bright colours forcing the eye to concentrate. The 'relaxed' colour scheme also matches the bands persona of a laid back group of men creating country folk music. I feel that the layout is one of the strongest features of the site. The large centred logo of a vintage symbol takes up most of the top page, which is a good advertisement technique so that the fans/people will remember the golden logo. Underneath the logo stands the name of the band, which again is vital for fans/people to see first on the homepage. The Gold logo contrasts well against the simple black background, with white font to stand out from the black and gold. The colours of black and gold resemble colours of wealth, which could create connotations of wealth of the band's success. I like the layout of the page with 'LATEST NEWS' as the first info about the band, as they are not throwing "BUY THIS BUY THAT" at the audience, they are simply informing them about upcoming events that the audience might like to participate in. In small font at the top of the page is a small audio button, to allow the fans/people to interact and listen to one of the band's songs, this is a clever way to promote their music without forcing the viewer to listen, they have a choice. I love the 'LESS IS MORE' approach that the website creates.

This website clearly conveys that the band has a significant signature of a 'Hawk' that they want their fans and people to recognise as their logo. The image of the hawk over the sun creates warm connotations from the sun, however animalistic, mysterious connotations from the hawk, recognised as a predator in the animal kingdom. The vibrant colours of orange and yellow contrast well against the light grey background of the website. The simple bold, black font of the band's name (very important that name stands out clearly) "SNOW PATROL" again, stands out well against the grey and orange. The homepage, 'welcome mat' of a website is not overly crowded which is important not to be TOO graphic heavy. Throughout researching current websites the 'navigation bars' are very clear and constructive so that the fans/people know exactly where to find what they want to know about quickly. The navigation bar on this site is very small and hidden at the top of the page, when visiting this site I had trouble finding what I wanted to know due to the small navigation bar. I like the simple layout of the site, almost set out like a 'Blog', everything in the centre of the page as you scroll down. Good immediate selling technique of first information on page "THE NEW ALBUM", however this could be argued that the band are forcing the viewer to buy their album before finding out information about the band, what they are like and what their music is like.