Biographical Information

For my biographical information included in my digipak I intend to keep it quite short, as the digipak will be mainly art based, and have a greater focus on the visual impact.

Jack Pout is a young Blues-Folk musician from Norfolk.
He's obsessed with John Martyn, a wannabe Beatnik, a Pink Floyd fanatic and a would-be Buddhist 'but I think I'll be one in the next life, I'm happier an Atheist'. His drive for music comes from his dream of playing on stage to people who can honestly appreciate music for what it is, and living off his music, He doesn't want to be famous, just to make music that people can enjoy.
When asked some of his favourite things he answers: "I love pancakes, fruit, jelly and cult films. My musical style is basically the 70's backwards although I love 90's metal...I prefer baths to showers...and I love J.P Donleavy's writing."

Any other information included will be focused on the songs, and the motive's behind each. I may just do this for the main track, sleeping pills, which I am creating my music video for, however I think it would be nice to have pictures/sketches relating to each of the songs along with the inspiration behind the relevant song.

Digipak Opening

Jack Pout Questions

A video showing me asking questions about the whole process and music video.

Jack's Responses To Designs And Idea's

Below are Jack's video responses to my idea's for the different video's and Digipak designs.

Questions For Jack

This is a list of questions I hope to ask Jack upon interviewing him.

Do you have any idea's as to a brand identity for yourself?
What artworks do you like ?
What style would you like artwork to be for you ?
What are your thoughts on surreal art?
What are your thoughts on the current sketches for the digipak artwork?
Which is your favorite and why?
What do you think of the music video initial ideas?
What do you think about the video's i showed you ?
Would you be happy for techniques like this to be incorporated into your video.
what do you think about the current sketches for character designs ?
Are you happy with the direction the music video is going into Do you think your idea's and input is being included into the designs?

Initial Ideas for Digipak designs

Possible special features my digipak could include :

• Original Shape for Packaging.
• Competition to "meet the band"
• Merchandise Freebies 
• EXCLUSIVE - T-shirts, merchandise
• Free tickets to 'secret' gigs
• Booklet
• DVD's showing making of, extra's, special features, backstage, interviews.
• CD of album and DVD of album video's
• Artwork/Photography
• Photo/Art Book included
• Posters
• Bonus Tracks
• Exclusive Remixes
• Signed by the band
• Including the wording 'limited edition/special edition' onto the CD case

Brand Identity:
     I want there to be a clear theme running through my digipak, music video and magazine advertisement. I  am going to achieve this by using imagery of the clay figurine in most of the Jack products as then it will be clearly recognizeable and people can easily see that it belongs to the 'Jack William Pout' brand. The advantage of this is that people will then want to perhaps collect the imagery if they enjoy it, easily recognize a product from Jack and it sets a identity for Jack that he may elaborate on.

Initial Idea's.
 Below are scans of my initial idea's for the digipak. All items below do not include blurb's or descriptions of Jack's work as i want his CD to be quite clean and minimalistic, however i do plan on including this information in the special features given. This is an advantage of including special merchandise and the like as it means you have more space and can therefore create a cleaner outside CD case. At a later stage if i did choose to include a blurb on the cover i would most likely add it to the middle panel as it would still leave the case minimalistic but the information is more obviously visible to buyers. My reason for wanting a relatively clean case is that this adds mystery to the case, especially when it's a limited/special edition as it makes it feel more artistically based and would attract customers as they can easily identify it as being that extra bit more.

Blurb/BBFC certificate/Barcode/Reviews.
 Although i would include a copy of the blurb within the case, i also think that it is good to consider including it on the outside. Although i wouldnt want to clutter the CD case with this information, it is possible i could put it onto a plastic wallet containing the CD which would be removed when open. Things like the BBFC certificate, barcode and reviews would be included on the outside plastic also and i would design this to fit the final case, so as not to cover any aesthetic details. This information would also be included in the back of the booklet included so that if needed, it can be reffered to.

Digipak Research

 What Is A Digipak ?

A digipak is a form of CD packaging that may also include freebies related to the band/artist. It commonly has a book cover format and will fold out to reveal artwork or photography of the band on the background however with CD(s) held in front of these on a plastic tray. It may also have included special extra's such as a booklet containing special information like exclusive interviews or artwork related to the band. A digipak can be collectible when it is a special or limited edition and fans of the band will be keen to acquire these.

Key Elements Of A Digipak

• Biographical information on the band.
• Contents of the Digipak, any special freebies? 
• Booklet containing Information on the band/artist.
• Feature the band's logo.
• Record Company Logo when applicable
• How to contact the band/Record company-myspace/website addresses
• Barcode
• A BBFC certification (not always applied)
• Artwork/images/photography
• The Digipak must focus on the brand identity.
• Small blurb summarising the music on the album
• Review quotes from magazine (Kerrang/NME/Q/MixMag)

 Forms of Digipak? 

Although there are different options of digipak layouts available I am most likely to use the 6-panel book format as I think this is the most simplistic and appealing to customers. My personal views on other digipak designs is that they are too messy and become over complicated, reducing the audience likely to buy them. Below is a diagram showing a six panel digipak, the placement of CD's and the slit for a booklet is likely to be changed for my design.

Why Would A Digipak Appeal? 

A well made digipak would contain artwork that would appeal to the target audience, they would want to buy it because the artwork is beautifully done-to their taste. A digipak would also represent the band and associate with the brand identity of the band therefore a fan might want it as a collectible of the band's merchandise. In association with this they may also want it to show off to other fans of the band which would then create more interest in the product. Some digipaks contain collectible/exclusive merchandise of the bands which would further generate interest. In the recent climate where people are questioning wether ''Youth Culture is destroying the music industry'', buying a digipak helps to fund the band and further they're career so by buying it a fan is showing they're support for the band. Also, it's just nice to have a physical copy of music, something to be able to hold rather than a download track which is exactly what a digipak provides but in a more special way. Some digipaks are limited edition or for special anniversary's etc. and owning these translates into you owning something rare and coveted, which any true fan would own. Below are some examples of Digipaks:

My favourite CD Designs

Below are just a few of my favourite CD designs for idea's as to how i might present my digipak and the style of artwork that i would like to explore.

Amy Winehouse-Back To Black

System Of A Down-

System Of A Down-Mezmerize

In Flames-Sounds Of A Playground Fading

Pink Floyd-The Dark Side Of The Moon

All of these CD covers have one thing in common, no matter the genre, and that is the minimalistic design. Its important to me not to overcrowd a CD case as this can completely ruin the artwork and would be more likely to ward off buyers. I also think a more simplistic design would suit my artist anyway, with the laid back nature to his music. I also think that an overcrowded CD case is never successful as people just don't want to bother looking at all the information. If the information is spread out and more easy to read they are much more likely to purchase the CD. Most of these covers have surreal designs and this type of artwork would be likely to feature on my outcome.

Art My Artist Likes

As im representing him with this digipak I am very keen to include my artist Jack's opinions to create a final brand identity we are both happy with, following a conversation on digipak's Jack shortlisted his favourite CD covers/digipak's/artwork to these

The Faces- OOH LA LA

This cover takes a simple image and then by editing it they have created a more surreal image. They have edited both the eyes and mouth area to create more interest to these area's. I quite like this design however am not really sure how I could use it in my own digipak design

Captain Beefheart - Bluejeans and Moonbeams
I really like the dreamlike feel of this CD Design. The contrast between colour and black helps to not overcomplicate the image and keep it simple and clean-making it easier for a buyer to instantly recognize the CD. The artwork was most likely done with some method of painting, which gives the blending effect on the Deer.  I think it would be a good idea to consider doing similar artwork for my own digipak design

John Martyn-Solid Air

Mr Big.-Lean Into It

Cover to Dharma Bums book

From this selection i can see that my artist is also fond of surreal art and as such my designs should be able to work well with his own idea's.

Artwork That Inspires Me.

No Artist Found

Assembler-Kosmur

John Baizley-Kvelertak _S-T_ Cover

 

Research into My artist's youth subculture

Artist's clothing

It's quite difficult to stereotype my artist and as such I have decided to include a moodboard of different clothing he wears.

Director Research- David Daniels

DA on Prezi

Director Research- PES

PES Director Research on Prezi

Director Research- Allison Schulnik

My Prezi showing director research for Allison Schulnik

Allison Schulnik Research on Prezi

My Band Profile.

Who Are they ? : Jack William Pout, solo artist.
Genre Music ? : Folk Blues
Where do they play out ? : The Langtry pubs/other pubs. Played at Playfest festival.
Where do they rehearse ? : Jack obviously rehearses at home, however he is currently a student at 'Access to music' in norwich, where he is able to progress and further his musical knowledge and abilities.
As we are close friends i can easily contact him via phone/email/directly.

Myspace: www.myspace.com/jackpout
Facebook: Personal -http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150181493209989&set=a.10150176515084989.363188.772859988&type=3&theater#!/profile.php?id=1033817302
Music -
Bandcamp: jackpout.bandcamp.com/album/and-then <-- Track 6 is the song I am doing for my music video.
Studio recording: yes
Reliable: Jack is relatively reliable however due to the style of music video that is being made, he will not need to be present unless he would like to, however I will be certain to keep in close contact with him to allow us to share idea's and for him to let me know his thoughts and feeling on the music video's progress so that it represents him in a way he is happy with.

A Review of Jack from http://albatrosmusicwells.wordpress.com/2011/06/12/friday-17-june-2011-8-30pm-jack-pout-blues-and-folk/ :
"Young guitarist and singer Jack Pout will bring mostly original material of bluesy folk tonight. Jack’s lyrics are strong and intriguing. Combine them with a quite interesting voice  and you might want to come and listen to the music."

Director Research And Examples

Possible Directors For Research

Allsion Schulnik

Video for "Ready, Able," from Grizzly Bear's 'Veckatimest.' Directed by Allison Schulnik.



This video uses claymation to create a surreal video that transforms alongside the music.

Tobias Stretch
Video for "Weird Fishes" from Radiohead's 'In Rainbows'. Directed by Tobias Stretch



David Daniels
Opening Sequence for 'freaked'



David Daniels invented his own technique known as 'strata-cut' in which the clay in moulded into a loaf which reveals an image with each slice. This technique gives a visually impressive result however for my music video i think the movement of being free would be required to help create the wanted effect.

Bruce Bickford
Claymation scene from 'Baby Snakes'. Mix of claymation and footage from Frank Zappa's 1977 Halloween Concert at New York City's Palladium Theatre.


This video mixes claymation and live footage.

xBox Commercial
Directed by Moo Studios.


This video uses claymation and animation also but creates a great effect/

PES
Game Over By PES


PES is more stop-motion based than claymation, however i think the work is still quite inspirational and helps to develop ideas.

Body Painting
Body painting work by Elena Tagliapietra,Photographer Dennison Bertram,Model Pille Riin


This is a stop motion video however i like the idea of body painting with stop motion, to show something 'growing' over the model.

Detailed analysis of three music videos

Pantera-5 minutes alone




This music video structure is representative of one of the three basic structures, recognized by Joan D Lynch. This particular video represents: "the most common by far, the one centered on performance". The intro to this video is really artistic and sets the mood of the video. The re-winded clip of the light bulb being smashed into the wall with an overlaying image of Phil Anselmo (the singer) suggests towards the somewhat violent video to proceed. By Looking at Diane Railton and Paul Watson's suggested four genres of music video, we can assume this to be a hybrid of  a staged performance and an artistic music video, that has interesting close ups and angle's throughout. The technique of overlaying images is used to show the different band members playing without having to necessarily loose one or the other member. This is a useful technique to use when several really nice performance shots are taken and you don't want to waste a shot. This also builds up the layers of the video along with the music. These more artistic elements make this video an 'enhanced performance' video according to Joe Gow's six central genres of music video theory as it blends both performance elements with other visual elements. The song is made as a response to someone insulting Phil Anselmo to which he replied 'Give us five minutes alone'. We can see the violence of this throughout the video. The use of strobe lighting creates a pace in the video and the graphic merging between the eye and dimebag (guitarist) again creates anger and pace to the video. By using close up shots of the artists with this song it creates a sense of being close to them and possibly in the 'mosh pit' atmosphere, usually associated with gigs for this genre of music, which fans of this music would enjoy. These close ups are also useful in presenting the artists image, and the two most famous members: Dimebag and Phil Anselmo, are seen in c/u most. Certain clips are also slowed down to show the emotion and action that would usually be too fast to make head nor tail of. The staged preformance is mixed with clips of phil in a cage-like structure with us looking down on him, showing him as trapped sorta hints to his boiling anger and how he's holding it in. We also see him break a light which relates back to the initial clip of a light being broken on the wall. Looking at Steve Jones' 'narrative forms' theory this can be associated with his analog narrative theory, as it has non-concert performance elements of the song intercut with other material. However towards the end of the song at about 4.20 a live preformance video is also faded between and the action crosses between staged and live to show the atmosphere's in the two . At 4.53 several clips of phil singing, a light being broken and the guitar being played are merged to really emphasize the pace and emotion between the three and the song.

Slipknot-Dead Memories



Dead Memories is, when categorized by Diane Railton and Paul Watson, an artistic video that follows the singer: Corey Taylor, as he follows through different rooms with each of the band members in which represent the different characters in which they are supposed to play and, somewhat, the stories that are associated with them. It was directed by P.R.Brown who creates music video's for songs of similar genres and has also created videos for other slipknot songs such as 'psychosocial', 'sulfur' and 'snuff' and Shawn Crahan, the percussionist of Slipknot. It centres on the Joan D Lynch's theory as a hybrid between narrative and 'experimental film' video and has no performance aspects. In the intro to the video we see a man dragging a shovel and it is by using this shovel to create a grave that the video commences, this man is Corey Taylor also, just without his mask on, and this connects the two 'sections' of the video and suggests that the normal Corey Taylor wants to bury this other side to himself, which connects to the song's title and theme as it suggests that he is burying his past memories of himself and his previous character. The hyper-enhanced contrast between the two Corey's make us assume that this other Corey is like a nightmare to the normal one, and something he wants to escape from. It uses many different techniques to pull off a very dark video of the band. Editing techniques are used to both slow down clips of the video and speed it up which give a 'disjointed' feel to the video which marries into the song. It has been edited after being filmed so that effects such as the turntabilist, Sid Wilson, can be seen crawling on the wall, and a subtle use of editing within the guitarist, Jim's 'room' wherein the footage from that room has been reversed but in such a subtle manner that the only area where it is really evident is by the feathers which float upwards due to this. These effects are used to help create a more surreal video. Due to these effects i would categorize this as a digital narrative when looking at Steve Jones' theory as these elements help to create an impossible performance with no elements of staged or concert performance whatsoever. Due to this lack of performance and both the effects and style the video is shot in the music video is also a hybrid between an anti-performance piece and a 'special effects extravaganza' when looking at Joe Gow's theory's. I think this video was created to help further the fans understanding as to the characters within the band and their relationships' with one another. When Corey firsts enters the 'nightmare world' we see him in a room with turntabilist Sid Wilson, whilst in this room Corey looks out a window, only to see dirt, suggesting he is underground, it is important to note he does this on the lyrics 'i can't go back again' which suggests that he is trapped within this place, with no escape and has no choice but to proceed through the rooms. In the first room, Sid is represented as a creature that know's only to crawl on the walls and seems very primal in character. In the Next room Corey encounters Joey Jordison, the drummer, whose mask can be associated with Jesus due to the crown of thorns and the symbolism this has for christians. Joey's character can be seen as mocking Jesus and the celebrity status he is given, as Joey acts very vain, surrounded by women and looking at himself in a handheld mirror, surrounded by photographs of himself on the wall whilst he sits on a throne and is treated like a king. In the third room Corey meets sampler Craig Jones, who wears a mask covered in nine inch nails, an inch per band member, this room has been edited so as it is solarized, or put into negative, and as it appears so white we can assume the room is infact very dark, this can also be assumed by how carefully Corey steps around the room. As Craig's character is known as 'the silent one' this room reveals little more about his personality other than that. In the fourth room Corey encounters recently deceased bassist Paul Gray. The room is surrounded in mirror's and although we see Paul in one of the mirrors as Corey initially enters the room, Corey doesn't notice he is there until a few seconds later, where we see him look back at the mirror, visibly shocked by the reflection. Corey then appears to 'play' with Paul and watches as he copies his moves, however when Corey waves into the mirrors, Paul returns the wave using the wrong hand, revealing that he is not in fact a reflection, however this does not appear to be noticed by Corey. Paul then looks at Corey in a terrifying manner and runs at the glass seperating the two, attempting to break through, although Paul doesnt reach Corey, Corey falls to the floor through a door, proceeding him to the next room. In this room percussionist Shawn Crahan, who also directed the video, is seen dancing with lots of women and seems not to pay attention to Corey. As Shawn Crahan's mask is of a Clown, this associates him with the idea that clowns are often at parties and creates the idea that he is somewhat 'the life of the party'. As Corey leaves this room some of the girls try to pull him into the dance but Corey manages to proceed through to the other room. The next room is a small white corridoor and Corey is faced with 'Seven',guitarist Mick Thompson. Mick Thompson is quite a dominating figure and looms over Corey's small frame. Corey runs at Mick and is, easily, rebounded. However when the two run at eachother and a painful collision is set to ensue, Mick disappears and Corey appears to have just ran into a door. This next room holds James Root, another guitarist, and this is the room in which the action is reversed so that the feathers are rising upwards, due to this reversed movement, when James whips his hair across it gives a warped effect and this looks really strange and unnatural to the viewer, there are many girls dancing in this room also, but they are more focused on throwing the feathers up in the air. When Corey leaves this room the feathers come off him and he is back to normal for the next room. In this room percussionist Chris Fehn is seen lighting candles in a room that is heavily covered in graffiti. This makes him appear quite unhinged, especially in how religiously he lights the candles. A woman can be seen walking backwards through part of this room but as to why she is there is unclear to me. When Corey and Chris meet face to face after Chris has lit a candle they observe each other momentarily and then Corey blows out the candle, coinciding with the music coming to an end. After this we see the 'normal' Corey shoveling dirt into the grave as the other Corey rises out of it. This effect is the same that I have attempted as Test Footage in response to the Radiohead 'Street Spirit' video where this effect is much more evident.
Korn-Twisted Transistor



This video is a parody with a short staged performance in it, however is mainly pseudo-documentary as suggested by Diane Railton and Paul Watson or, when looking at Joe Gow's theory, a hybrid between pseudo reflexive (as the entire video center's on the production of a music video which doesn't actually exist) and performance documentary as there are elements of live performance and staged performance where they show the video within the music video being made. The key points to this video is that the people used instead of band members are all black, and they've switched the members of Korn with Xzibit, Snoop Dogg, Lil John and David Banner. The video is directed by Dave Meyers, best known for his video of Missy Elliot's ''loose control'' which won a Grammy award for Best Short Form Music Video. He also works with artists such as p!nk and Britney spears, meaning this video represents very different music to his usual productions. The main themes of his music video's are to have video high contrasting sky's and deep colours, however not much of this is seen in this video apart from at times when they do the staged performances. The video is mainly for comedic reasons, presenting each of the Korn members in very exaggerated ways. The video has interviews of both the musicians and the staff that would work with them, each done . I really like the use of Snoop Dogg as Munky, as Snoop is the most recognizable of all the hip hop artists and looks so similar to munky that when i first watched the video and realised that he wasn't actually munky i did a double take. I really like that they have used well known hip hop artists as not only does it promote interest as to why the hip hop artists are in this situation but it also presents them in a very different way to how they're usually seen, and the performance of them in this video is really great and they completely embody the heavy metal characters. I really like towards the end when the real band pretends to have a meeting with the imitators, this promotes the actual bands face but also creates a relationship between the different artists. I really like the quote ''you know we all black when the lights go out'' from snoop Dogg as this is kind of laughing at the video and referencing the reasons as to why they may have chosen to do a music video such as this. I think its a great example of a pseudo documentary music video. When looking at Joan D Lynch's theory i would categorize this as a narrative music video, however as you can see many similarities between this and the film spinal tap it can also be associated with the experimental film category as it shows similarites to the film, as it is shot almost like a documentary of the band. By Looking at Steve Jones' categorization of narrative music video's i would then further categorize it as analog narrative even though it does have some elements of concert performance footage but as the band members are all switched these would be staged specifically for the music video.

Radiohead Test Footage.

Quick Test footage of technique used in Radiohead's 'Street Spirit' video. I really like the effect this technique creates as it's quite interesting as to the different things you could use it for. Here we did it quite simply and just as a way to explore the technique. The video does not relate to the music and no editing was done to try and achieve and 'on the beat' effect. i like the outcome of the video as i think that the two different pieces of footage are blended quite well on each of the three sequences. however a slight line of connection is seen when looking very carefully however i think that if it wasn't pointed out to the viewer they wouldn't necessarily be able to notice this. This technique is done by filming two different happenings whilst keeping the camera in the same position and other factors such as the lighting as similar as possible. It is a much easier technique to control when done inside as, obviously, sunlight is subject to change and the same lighting conditions cannot be guaranteed. After filming the two shots you then crop one so that the other can be seen through it, being careful not to overlap the action within the two shots, unless this is the desired effect. If the camera moves just a little during filming then it is subject to change how the two are overlaid and create a visibile line between the two which can also be created due to changes in lighting.


The Original Radiohead Street Spirit video.

Claymation Test Video.

This claymation Test footage was done as it relates somewhat to my initial ideas for my actual music video. I think to improve on this test footage more shots should be taken to create a slightly more fluent camera movement however i am pleased with the video and the story within it. I think it is a cute, clear story as to what is happening within the video, in which the clay character decides to write 'poo' on the keyboard to which the computer decides to fight back and drops his mouse onto the character, resulting in his untimely demise. This is a childish piece of test footage as we felt that might be easier to display than something much more serious and the cute claymation character is easy to use for more comedic videos. This technique is done by taking many 'stills' of the claymation character and moving the character ever so slightly between each shot to create a more fluid movement. The less shots taken for each movement, the less fluid the movement will appear.

An example of Claymation used for a music video - The Bishops 'Nowhere to Run'

The Kabeedies Test Footage

This video was done in response The Kabeedies 'Jitterbug' video. In our video we only did a few shots and i thought it would be nice to try and create somewhat of a story between the shots. This is a very loose story as it was only a test footage piece, however i tried to create the idea of the girl and boy who feature most, being in a relationship together and just a rough idea of this is seen through i feel. This was very loosely the theme and not the focus for the video. However i think we were able to edit the images so that they related to the beat of the music quite well.

The Original Kabeedies Music Video To Jitterbug.

Animation Project

This animation project was done purely to explore different techniques in animating stills and how we could do this using Adobe Premiere. I quite like the outcome as, although it was never intended to be a serious animation video, it's quite funny and strange and is an interesting exploration of the different techniques. We tried to have some beat by beat editing in relation with the song 'In This River' by Black Label Society and i think it is rather succesful in this. I'm quite pleased with this video as i think it is a bit of fun and interesting whilst still allowing us to further our skills with the animation functions on Adobe Premiere.

Music Video Research

Music video research done during A2 transition in a group of 3.

Music video research

View more presentations from sophieasmagazine.

-please note, updated version yet to be uploaded.-

ABC project

This was our first project upon entering the A2 year in which we had to think of different ways to represent the ABC song shown below. My partner and i chose to look around our college for objects that visually represented different letters, to try and create an interesting video which made people want to watch on to see what would be next. I think this is relatively succesful however i much prefer the original version and think it would be nicer if our video had included brighter colours so that it was easier for the target audience of young children to interpret the images and more interesting for them to watched, although overall i am pleased with the outcome.

The original video.

Transition Project

This Video was made as a small introductory project during the Transition phase. Here we have tried to create a music video for the Jackson 5's 'blame it on the boogie'. We have tried to make this a humorous video and used props such as the masks to create a 'spoof' like video. We wanted to create the same energy that's within the music and originally looked at the actual music video and tried to use this as inspiration for our own video. We had created a small dance routine quickly that is used somewhat within the video however not throughout as we originally planned. Upon reviewing footage of the dance routine we decided it would be more natural and less awkward if we improvised some of the dancing and I am very happy that we chose to do this as i think it creates a much more relaxed and interesting video. We tried to edit the clips somewhat to the beat of the music and i think we have done this quite succesfully. Overall I am really happy with the outcome of this small music video project.