Projection Testing

For our music video, we are wanting to do some projections, whether that be images, videos or both - for this reason, we decided to try some out before we started filming to see if we liked the overall look of them. We tried out images of sunsets, flowers and water - to create these projections we opened up the photos on photoshop and changed the brightness, then printed them on clear paper - this is so that we can use the projector without any hiccups. 

We liked the overall look of the projections however, we decided that for the image projections it would be better off if they were on a bare back, this is because the colours didn't pick up very well on a black or white t-shirt - the video projection will work with a while t-shirt as the colours are all over the place, rather than in one place. 

After this exercise, we decided that projections are defiantly something that we would like to incorporate into our video.

Digi-Pack Cover image selection

When discussing the look of our album we decided that it would be suitable to have a photoshoot so that we can get some pictures to consider for the front of the album. We have also said that the images that we do not use could be considered for other elements of our digi-pack such as the tour poster or the inserts to the album.

I was asked by my group, as I am portraying Nova,to bring a variety of outfits so that we can see what look we thought worked best for our album; we would also have a larger range of pictures to choose from. Similarly, the girls styled my hair in different ways to again, give us a large variety of pictures to choose from. We had over 100 pictures to look at therefore, we decided to cut it down to just five, the five that are placed below - the other pictures were either unsuccessful or extremely similar to the ones chosen .

Option 1

We liked this image as we felt that by having my hair up it exposed Nova a bit more, emphasising her sombre facial expression however, we felt that the position that I was sat in looks un-natural, this is something that we do not want for Nova as we want her to look comfortable with herself and her music, to show her passion.

Option 2

This is the second image that we looked into - I personally like this image as I feel that it looks like I am fairly regal however, the others in my group decided that the didn't like the angle that my head is positioned; they felt that the image wouldn't be very eye catching on the front of the album and for this sole reason, we decided to reject the image.

Option 3

This is the third option that came under the microscope. This image was under strong consideration due to us liking my shoulders being on show as well as the vacant look in my eye - I don't look over posed however, this look is a bit vague, this will stop the theme of our album being conveyed to our audience .

Option 4

This image is our least favourite out of the 5 options we have. We tried to make the image a little different by changing to a portrait frame, we liked the portrait as we feel that it brings more to the photograph however, we did not like it for this photo - it just didn't capture Nova how we wanted it to. We also didn't like it as the frame captures a large section of my body, which isn't posing, I am simply just standing there - this looks unprofessional, this is not how we want our target audience to view Nova. In addition, it takes away from Nova's face, which is one of the main elements to getting her out there and noticed in the industry.

Option 5 / Chosen Image

This is the fifth and final option for the album cover - this ended up being the image we chose. As previously mentioned, we liked how portrait frames work, and we feel that it worked well for this image. Another reason why we loved this image was due to the natural vibe it gave off, to me this photo looks effortless, this is a look that we want Nova to have - yes, I will admit, it does looked posed due to the hand position however, it isn't over-posed, this therefore, makes the image look more natural, my group members have said that I look 'subtly photogenic.'
Due to me having a relaxed stance, it enforces the idea of a chilled out state of mind, despite being through a breakup, suggesting that throughout the album Nova is collecting the fragments of her heart and placing them back together and eventually feels contempt with her life however, the vague facial expression leaves the option open for the audience to decided what the songs are about and what the overall message of the album is.

Now that we have chosen the image, we are going to start editing the album cover. 

Photoshoot For The Album Cover

After discussing what kind of images we want to take for the album cover, we went to the studio to begin shooting.

We decided to take a range of photographs (over 250 pictures were taken) so that we would have a large variety of images to choose from, this gave use the chance to be more creative when it comes to the shoot itself. A reason for wanting a larger variety was because, even though we had a rough idea, we still weren't 100% on what we actually wanted therefore, variety was a good thing to have. We also had to consider if any of these photos were to be used on the back cover or inside of our digipack.

To begin with, Tamzin was made stylist for Nova, due to her love for makeup, hair and fashion - She decided what outfits Nova should wear in this shoot as well as how she should have her hair and makeup - she decided to go for a subtle silver smokey eye as this looks glamorous as well as natural. Tamzin also thought that straight hair is a good option for the album cover as for most of the scenes in the video I have straight hair, this will show continuity within our work.

Once in the studio, we took advantage of the studio lights implemented in the area - these lights allowed us to not only control the light source but also, make our images look a lot more professional due to the colour and brightness being top of it's game. Shooting in a studio also allowed us to have a completely white backdrop, this was very helpful as it meant that we wouldn't have a distracting background that would take away from Nova.

In conclusion, I feel that this photoshoot was very successful as we gathered a lot of potential photogrpahs, this will allow us to have a larger variety of photogrpahs to chose from to be on our front cover; if they don't make the cover, it is possible that they will be in the digipack at some point.