Brainstorm of Focus Group Planning

To ensure I cover all necessary points and conduct a fluent focus group I have had a brainstorm of possible facilities, questions and set up. I will plan more precisely after this and finding participants who can attend.

Responding to Hot Desking

One point raised during hot desking is that the right panel lacks infrormation and writing. I tried to add an important lyric from the leading single. I found it really hard to encorporate it into the design. Above are the results and I feel that this really doesn't work. The black is too harsh and the typography really stands out. The other panels are really busy and I feel that this empty panel breaks it down through use of space. For this reason I will ignore this response to hot desking as I don't feel it benefits the design or the consumer.

Hot Desking Results Analysis

To ensure I get the most out of the hot desking I will analyse the answers and see what I should improve and what I should keep.

Hot Desking

To develop my designs I wanted to recieve some feedback that would introduce some possible improvements, tips and strengths. Below is the document of the questions and feedback that was actually used during the hot desking exercise.

Second Draft Digipaks

After creating a thank you letter it meant I needed more room for text but still wanted to include as many images as possible. For this reason I removed one image but made the main image larger to incorporate text. Below are my two drafts (each with a different front cover):

Digipak One:

Digipak Two:

What is in a Thank You letter?

Looking at the overall results I have considered some factors that I know to be true. I kept the note broad so I wouldn't imply anything untrue about the artist. Subjects such as make-up and songwriters are unlikely whereas family, friends and fans are paramount. I used colloquial language to enhance the chilled approach of the artist and to embrace the fans. Making them feel like they are the artists best friend who they have known all their life. Below is the thank you letter.

Well honestly I don’t know where to start. There are so many people to thank and I wouldn’t be here releasing an album. So I will firstly thank everyone at YDNA Records who laboured with me to produce this record. Especially my band who we’ve shared many early mornings and many cups of tea. They are truly the inspiration of every string plucked.

My family have been behind me every step of the way and I’m forever grateful of my parents taking me to every gig and introducing me to the guitar. Thanks to my friends for the late nights on the beach and making memories. You kept me going when it looked like I wasn’t going anywhere.

Finally thank you to my fans. Thank you for your support in buying and sharing my music. You have all pushed me forward to the best that I am and I look forward to sharing many life changing experiences with you.

Let long straight lines guide you to paradise.

Love,

Matthew

Fourth Edit - Music Video

After taking a couple weeks break from my music video I decided to watch it again and to review it. I came up with this list of improvements:

• The extreme close up of the eyes towards the start of the music video.

To build suspense I added an extreme close up of the girls eyes. This was at a 90 degree rotation and I felt that this rotation wasn't very fluent and disrupted the video. Although I have to have a rotation for an extreme close up to be featured (due to cropping already existing footage). In my fourth edit I have decreased the amount of rotation so there is less fragmentation and heightened fluency.

• Check sound clips at around 30 seconds.

While watching my third edit I was convinced I could hear sound clips (pen on paper) from the original footage that wasn't intended. I checked the whole video and found no unintentional sound clips and checked again. Overall there were and are definitely no more sound bites that weren't intended.

• Check lip syncing at 1:11.

Whilst watching I thought the lip syncing was slightly out but after slight alteration I believe the lip sync is now more convincing.

• Change clip just before 1:14.

I found that one clip stuck out particularly just before 1:14 and after watching it repeated I found that I understood more and more why the clip was there and why it worked. Although to ensure it isn't just my opinion I will raise this point during audience feedback.

• Check guitar playing is synced correctly.

During the close up of the guitar being plucked to the tune I found it to be slightly out of time. I corrected this error but then decided that there was too much focus on the guitar and it didn't match the pace of the music video. For this reason I shortened the music video and added two more clips.

• Alter light leak at 1:58.

I added a light leak to create a fluent transition between far apart locations. I felt that this effect was too sudden and dark so I added a fade in and made it longer so there was more of a build up and a more successful transition.

First Proof - Digipak

I have designed two possibilities for my digipak that were influenced by my adverts. Each digipak is the same apart from the front cover. I am unsure on which one to pursue so I will create them into physical products and present them to a select few who are my target market and see which one is preferred. I will also present the adverts as well to what ones my audience prefer.

Digipak design 1:

Digipak design 2:

Second Draft Advert

After completing a photo shoot for my ancillary products it allowed me to replace the screenshot with a real image. During this I reviewed my first draft and decided to replace the black iTunes logo with a less distracting and simplified white one which I find more effective. I also replaced the quote from Clean Slate Music with a shorter one from The Fly as it is more attention grabbing and doesn't make the advert appear so busy.

 

After this I also experimented with using a different image as a backdrop and how it would work. I really like this new design but am unsure. I intend to have the album cover the same as the advert so I will experiment with this new layout and with input from hot desking and audience feedback I will decide.

 

 

Contact Sheet

Above is my contact sheet from today's shoot. I feel that I have given myself a lot of different varieties of the same thing and that this works quite well. There will definitely be an image I could use from this contact sheet for my magazine advert and cover of my digipak.

Contact Sheet (Instax)

Above are all the photos taken from today's shoot. I am really impressed with how they turned out. They're not all 'perfect' but this fits in with the aesthetic of the Instax image. I will use most of these in my digipak.

Digipak - Design of Front, Back and Inside Panel

Above is the first part of my design for my digipak. The beach hut is a screenshot from my music video and needs to be replaced with a higher quality photo. The inside panel also contains found images of Matthew P but I will replace them with my own similar style images as well as presenting them with the textured edges. I will also research the contents of a thank you letter so I can produce a note with a more genuine quality. Apart from this I feel that this part is complete and ready for audience feedback.

First Proof - Magazine Advert

Above is my first proof of my magazine advert. I have conformed to conventions  by including information such as reviews, using the same imagery as the front cover, where the album/digipak could be bought and including the title of the artist/album. I am yet to attend a photo shoot so the beach hut is from a screen shot but this is the style of composition that I would like to obtain. Overall I feel that although in some places the advert works in others it doesn't. For example the beach hut appears to be slightly cluttered with "includes the new single On Top", Matthew P's website and where the digipak can be purchased. I really like the text in the sky and how it gets less and less towards the centre of the advert, this directs the viewers eyesight.

Reviews of Matthew P

As part of my advert I would like to include review quotes, information and stars so I will be exploring different reviews (from professional critics to listener reviews) to see the general feedback and how I can present the track in the best light to increase fans and sales.

Alt Sounds

http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/149310-review-matthew-p-long-straight-lines-album.html

Star Rating: 3 Stars (out of 5 stars)

Best Quote: "A pleasant enough debut album that people of all ages can enjoy.

Overall: The review doesn't depict the album in the best light and I would only generally consider a 

rating of 4-5 stars. The best quote appears hesitant and this might rub off on the viewer when looking

at the advert, which isn't the desired effect.

Clean Slate of Music

http://cleanslatemusic.org/2012/07/13/album-review-matthew-p-long-straight-lines/

Rating: 8.5/10Best quote: "An album worthy of your time. An artist worthy of more than a passing glance."Overall: This review presents Matthew P in a decent light and the quote certainly suggests that the viewer should listen to the artist and investigate more. The repetition of  "worth of your" suggests wealth and that the viewer will gain from the small amount of money that it would cost them to purchase the album. The rating is also a decent one and although it isn't a perfect 10 it still encourages and promises the viewer value for money. I will investigate the feeling of whether ratings affect whether a viewer becomes a consumer and how low can the rating be before they are put off from purchasing the album.

IndieLondon

http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/matthew-p-long-straight-lines-review

Star Rating: 4 Stars (out of 5 stars)

Best Quote: "Debut album Long Straight Lines is a beautifully crafted listen"

Overall: The review really accentuates the positives of Matthew P's compositions which is reflected

in the rating but also a few imperfections. The quote isn't the strongest but the star rating justifies the

purchase and would still encourage the viewer to make the purchase. Maybe I will consider just

having the rating/collective of ratings and one quote to demonstrate the positives and not to crowd the

advert too much and to convey my point as quickly as possible. I will probably present the ratings as

starts due to the association within our cultural capital of this sign.

Manchester Scene Wipe

http://www.manchesterscenewipe.co.uk/reviews/matthew-p-long-straight-lines-review/

Star Rating: N/A

Best Quote: "There is no doubt that with the sun shining and beers flowing this album would make a

perfect soundtrack."

Overall: The review doesn't really state the emotions towards the album and whether it's approach is

positive or negative. I really like the informal quote which reflects the singer/songwriter genre but it

might not be appropriate for my audience due to them being teenagers and the legal drinking age

being 18 (despite the strong associations of under age drinking). It might also suggest an explicit

nature to the album and might mean that parents would prevent the purchase. Overall I feel that the

quote isn't appropriate for the magazine advert as it would probably do more harm than good.

Amazon User Comicasa Dude

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Long-Straight-Lines-Matthew-P/dp/B007YX6BRC

Star Rating: 5 stars (out of 5 stars)

Best Quote: "Solid song writing and some very slick guitar licks makes this one of the finest albums

of the last couple of years"

Overall: The review is very positive and would be worthy of appearing on my magazine advert but I

worry about the fact that it was written by a user on Amazon which would remove it's credibility and

could be biased. For this reason I wouldn't include this on my magazine advert due to unreliable

source as it could be written by anyone, thus losing the trust between the viewer and the persuasive

advert.

To conclude I will use the quote from Clean Slate of Music "An album worthy of your time. An artist worthy of more than a passing glance" due to the high positivity and the encouragement of the viewer to purchase the digipak. I will use the rating from IndieLondon as it was 4 out of 5 stars which is still acceptable and wouldn't necessarily put the viewer off  from purchasing. I will only include these two as I really like the use of space and wouldn't want my advert to be too cluttered.

Sketch of Magazine Advert

Advert Vision

Above is the vision of what I want my advert to look like. This is only a collage from current images I have. The beach hut is a cropped screenshot which is obvious through the quality of the image appearing slightly blurry and there's less of a crisp outline. Yet I really like the use of the singular beach hut against the detailed blue sky which was taken from a current image. I really like this layout and when planning my photo shoot I will remember this design and take photos to improve quality. The only disadvantage of this design is that there is no feature of the artist which I think should be paramount taking into account he is trying the raise his profile. The advert includes the minimal amount of information of the artist, album title, leading track and website. I feel that more information needs to be added such as reviews, social networking and record label details.