Making the Band Logo

Bands have their own recognition symbols and have their logos designed in a specific manner so that audiences are able to recognize immediately what artist or band they are listening to. 

For our band "Awaaz" we decided to make the logo using calligraphic reference from the Newspaper: Awaaz. 

Using Photoshop to create the logo, we used the pen tool to trace it out. Since our logo will be in urdu it gives a traditional look allowing more audiences to be able to relate to it. To make it easier for all sorts of audiences to understand we will have "The Voice" written underneath the logo.

The image above shows the process to create the logo, we used the pen tool to trace the letters, we added different colours to each part of the letter to make the process visible and easier to understand at first. The final logo with "The voice" written underneath is also shown to make it understandable for all audiences.

Having our own logo gives the band their own recognition for people to be able to recognise them instantly developing the star image of the band, making band promotions and marketing easier.

By Fatima Ali

Digipak (Photography)

After preparing the sketches and getting the ideas about the Digipak from our group member Faisal, I went out and did the photo shoot for the Cd which we chose would have a plant on it with barren soil behind it where the depth of field will be applied. and i will add the burnt effect and also add more color to the background as well in Photoshop.

For our main Cd cover we were planning to Keep a shot of the whole band, or create a picture in Photoshop which will basically be a Tree in the center and the side poses of the vocalists on either sides of the tree trunk.

On the Inlay we will have a collage of pictures such as the one above and of another members, candid pictures and behind the scene pictures as well. so a lot of pictures in a unsymmetrical collage will be on the inlay of the CD cover.

By Humble Awan

Brainstorming: Digipak Layouts

Here are some of the layouts for the digipak cover/ inlay and back:

These sketches have been made by Faisal Yazdani.

The final layout chosen is somewhat an inspiration from a couple of these designs and a lot of experimental ideas within photoshop. 

Digipak Analysis (Silver Side Up- Nickelback)

Silver Side Up- Nickelback



(Front) Literally, the front cover shows a picture of the wall crying but the denotation is much deeper. The picture is emphasized to be dark and gloomy. The name of the band is on the centre- left written in block letters and is highlighted creating more of a solid effect to the cover with the album name written right under it. The dark imagery highlights the element of pain and aggression that exists all around.

(CD) The CD has the artist and album name conventionally placed on the top with the record label placed below, normally also seen on the back cover. The manufacturing and distribution details are seen around the cd. The imagery however is a version of the front cover with the same tear on the right side  of the tv. The monochrome effect has its own impact.

(Back) The Back cover features the list of the songs with the barcode and rights details right under it for audience attention. A picture of the whole band is placed right next to it. Such conventions are followed by many albums. 

Digipak Analysis (Prism- Katy Perry)

Prism- Katy Perry

(Front) Katy Perry is featured outdoor against the sunlight in both the front and back cover. The Artist name is featured on the top while the name of the album is conventionally placed in the middle of the cover. She is not wearing anything which signifies her being represented as sexual to the audience, while she looks directly into the camera creating a sense of connection with the viewers.

(CD) The CD shows the album and artist name featured on the top with the list of the songs at the bottom. Usually the song list is on the back cover.

(Back) Katy Perry is shown looking directly in the camera posed sideways, with the seven colours of the prism shown coming out of her. The barcode is at the bottom right and the rights on the bottom left for audiences to check. 

Music Video production journey

For the Post-production phase of our Advanced portfolio task of a music video, We started off using Adobe Premiere to edit the music video and added in all the footage from the narrative shoot that we had done.

After this we added shots according to the shot list. not all shots were the same as that identified in the shot list as we had to deviate from that and add more shots and rearrange them with the performance shots to make sure it did not become monotonous. So we added the shots and fitted them according to the amount of seconds we wanted to allot to each shot, after adding all these narrative shots we added the performance shots as well and the music video started to have its shape. 

After adding and putting the footage in its place between narrative and performance, then we added effects and transitions, the most we used were "Cross dissolve", "Film dissolve", and "Dip to Black". 

Then I also added the effects to merge performance shots with each other and with the narrative as well.

Then we also added a diegetic of the thunder where we showed the black rainy clouds, for this we had to download a thunder sound and then crop out the part which we required by adding a sound effect to the music video, for this we picked out the part which had a more appropriate thunder sound and then placed it to the music video editing window.

Then we also did the color correction and added Video effects as well to make the music video more meaningful. We kept a slightly dull and Sepia tone till the middle of the music video to show the struggle and hopelessness and even used black and white shots as well in the start. for this we reduced the saturation and also the contrast, our teacher advised us to not disturb the brightness levels as that makes the footage look unprofessional and pale. Below is a comparison of how a shot looked before video effect and after adding the saturation and reducing contrast: 

We also increased the lighting and saturation in the shot of the 2 homeless guys and increased contrast in the shot of the old man.

Finally towards the end of the music video when the plant grows and it rains overnight which is a sign of blessing we added more color to the shots and increased the contrast to depict hope and blessing.

After adding all these audio effects, video effects and video transitions and improving on the drawbacks of the first 2 drafts we took out a final music video in Mp4 format and uploaded it on Vimeo.com. This was our production journey which was full of learning and a fun experience that helped us learn a lot and also show our creativity by using the tools provided.

Music video Post production editing done by Fatima Ali and Humble Awan
Post Done by Humble Awan

Final

Sequence 01_2 from fatima Ali on Vimeo.

So finally after our teacher's approval we finished our final music video task and did the final editing and color correction as well. I will be posting a post about the production journey soon in which i will in detail explain the steps we did through the post production and editing phase.

Second Cut: Analysis

After making a number of changes in the first cut, we were able to come up with something a lot more stronger. Here is an analysis of the various shots and artistic elements added to the music video in order to make the concept of the entire video stronger.

These two shots are the opening of the music video, this isn't where the song starts but it establishes the mise- en- scene and the idea of the music video with the diegetic of the wind in the background. Most famous music videos begin this way to interest the audience. With the clear sky and and the cloth tied around the water tap the first signifier that comes to a persons mind is of infertility, desolation and barrenness of the entire environment. The feel of the music video is developed in the beginning so the viewer is curious to know what is going to happen next.

The introduction of the protagonist is given after an establishing shot of the barren location is shown, right before the song begins officially. This leaves an impact of the viewers to get to know about what is going to happen in the entire music video. The dryness of the environment and the miserable conditions are seen through the cracks that portray the deserted area. It compliments with the establishing shots of the music video also being able to give the audience a constant reminder about what the entire concept of the video is going to be about.

The performers for the music video are not overly dressed, they perfectly portray the kind of band they are: being indie artists. The clothes they are wearing are a part of everyday life, showing modesty and a very down to earth feeling. The brick background and the warm and cozy atmosphere gives a very strong feeling of a gig; which is culturally related to indie pop bands.

A very significant point to be noticed is, usually when a full shot of the entire band is shown eye contact is made directly in the camera. For our music video, however, it was not the case as the performance has been kept very natural, the concept of the music video has been taking to a spiritual level. The lyrics of the song are very emotionally engaging.

Focusing on the element of digging was important for the music video to be understood and for a connection to be made with the entire concept of the video. The digging of the ground is a sort of an enigma code as when she begins to dig, it makes the viewers curious to know what is to happen next and why this process was important.

The minute the protagonist opens her palm is where the crux of the video begins; the seed represents growth, hopefulness and an element of life contrary to what has been shown in the beginning to develop the bleak atmosphere.

                         

The entire concept of our music video is emotional and is meant to create an impact on the audiences and for that to happen, the expressions of the protagonist mattered the most as it developed the entire feel of the music video. In the beginning of the music video, Mahnoor is seen as being disappointed and somewhat upset with all that is happening and the condition of the society. Despite her still having some sort of hope, she is yet waiting for an outcome to get over the dullness of the society.

The expressions of the performer also played an evidently important role in developing the feel of the song; the song is all about yearning and pray and the performers seemed to be involved at a spiritual level and hence, there was little or no direct eye contact with the camera. The intensity of the song can be felt with such expressions. 

The dry grass and bare stems signify the barrenness of the land; a greater meaning being of the dry situation in the society overall. A number of artistic shots have been used in order to complement the concept of the music video and also to signify the various elements of the society that describe the environment as being dull and dry: with immense lack of hope. The lack of happiness and contentment has caused the death of the general mindset of society in all spheres of life. 

Mahnoor is shown running in the barren land to see if there has been any growth of the seed she sowed. There is a sense of curiosity and desperation to find out what has happened, this also helps in engaging the audiences to figure out what is to happen. An over the shoulder shot is shown, with hand held camera movements to give it a very realistic feel and to make the audience feel like they are a part of the music video as well and are able to feel and understand every moment of it. 

One of the very significant shots of the music video included the breaking of earth on the barren ground. It gave a very strong message about the aggression that exists in the society which is causing more harm as people are intolerant to many things. The destructive nature of society aids in its deterioration, hence the frustrations and unhappiness. 

The rain at the end however signifies life- a new start to the countless blessings; it meant the the prayers had been answered and the desperation and determination of the little girl to get the society out of the hopeless atmosphere was finally fruitful. Setting a moral at the end: If you work hard enough to achieve something, there is nothing that can stop you from getting to your goal even in the worst of times. 

By Fatima Ali

Second Cut: Music Video

Here is the second cut for our music video:

Second Cut from fatima Ali on Vimeo.

Re-shoot of the performance

Reshoot performance

By Humble Awan

Jury

After making the first draft of the music video, our media teacher decided to hold a jury in order to have a third person analysis about what we had created. This not only gave us a clear- cut idea of what we have to improve but also what we can do to depict the meanings of every shot further.

My group members and I had worked together on such a scale for the first time and knew that there were flaws that had to be corrected at all costs. One major problem that the jury felt was of the performance of the music video; the lighting and camera shots were a big issue and hence that being a major flaw was taking over all the effort of the narrative as well. After discussing the good and bad parts of the video we came to a conclusion that we will have to do the performance again at all costs.

This was one of the shots from the first draft, and as it can be seen the lighting is very off and does not seem to appeal the audience at all even if the narrative makes sense. The continuity and flow of the music video was being hampered. Even though it was going to take some extra time and effort, we decided that we're going to conduct a re-shoot of the performance.

We were told to get performers with stronger expressions as the male vocalist seemed to be weaker in portraying the correct expressions needed according to the feel of the song- hence, we replaced him and the guitarist with performers who had already performed in real time and this added to making our music video stronger.

The jury was an important part as it helped us improve the overall outcome of the entire project, we knew what flaws we had to overcome in order to produce something that is going to attract the audience in the first look. The addition of the artistic shots to depict the meaning of the entire narrative were also a plus point added.

By Fatima Ali

First Draft: Music Video

First Draft from fatima Ali on Vimeo.