flat plans analysis

In order to show that we have thought about different ideas for our Digipaks, we must show three different flatplans. This will also help me choose the best ideas for the digipak to get a better outcome.

I have found a good font that I would like to use on the front panel on my front cover. For "Florence and the Machine" the writing is from dafont.com, it is called "peach sundress". It is neat but curly writing which gives it an artistic look. It is also very clear and stands out, so that the audience can recognise it. The font I will use for the title of the single and video "Swimming" is also from the same website and called "Freebooter Script". It is in a calligraphy style, I chose it as it is quite different from the other font so they look seperate frm eachother. I think they will both be in black and white and i will continue the same script in my other flatplans as I have made my definite decision.
I have printed out a few different fonts to see which one most people like.

Here is my first flatplan:
The picture on the front panel is an extreme close up of our actress, representing Florence Welch. I would like this picture to be in colour, and for her to wear bright make-up so that it stands out and reflects the colourful scene in the woods. I would like her hair to be blowing in her face so that you can see she is outside as is our video. I think that by using a clear and bold picture of the "singer" the audience would recognise her immediately and it would stand out. The picture on the outer back panel is of the beach where we will fim. I would like to take this in black and white as this section in our video will also be, it will give recognition to the video as it will be of the set where we film it. The script used on the back tells us which tracks it features, this and the email at the bottom will both be in the same font style as "SWIMMING" but not in capitals. I have put the bands' email address at the bottom so that the audience immediately know where to find more information on the band, it is a way of promoting them.
The inner left panel is a picture of our actress again, she is on the beach this time and it will look as if it is a still taken fromt he video so that people buying it will recognise it when they see the video. I think I may have this photo in black and white like the the beach scene in the music video although having it in colour would make it stand out more. The inside right panel shows a view of the ground near where we have filmed the scene in the woods. I would like this to definitely to be in colour and mabe hav some of the previously painted leaves in the photo too.

Here is a copy of my second flatplan:
The front panel is of the actress again, I think it is important to use a significant icon, such as the same person that is used in our music video as people who may have seen the music video and like it will immediately recognise the photo of the singer and so want to buy the cd. In this photo she is reading a book in the woods, we see her do this in the music video in shots number six and seven. The writing on the book is also the title of the CD. By putting "by Florence and the Machine" makes it seem more part of the book and as if the video is a story. This is quite an unconventional way of displaying the title which
also represents the band's own style. Again the outer back panel has the song title i have also put "swimming remix" as this is typical of most singles to add a remix someone has made of the song to the CD. The photo is a picture of both seaside and woodland like the part in the music video where she walks from the woods and finds herself on the beach.

My third flatplan: The front panel will have the same script on as my first flatplan. On the front cover i again have used a mid shot photo of our singer's face, for reasons which I have already expressed. She is in a beach scene now, I think it is important to sketch different possibilities and i feel that this could be just as an effective front panel as the woods ones as there are also parts in the video where she is on the beach. I have made the back simple and just put a close-up of some leaves (they could be coloured) which signifies the wooded area. In the middle she is also in the woods as if it is a still from a scene in the film, so people will recognise it. The other middle panel is of the book which is a significant prop in the film and it also says the title "swimming".

planned mise-en-scene, storyboard, animatic and brainstorm.

Brainstorming ideas for our video:

We looked at the lyrics of "Swimming" and want to relate the video to them. So our first ideas were for the set and location. We thought that it should be set at the beach as swimming is the main theme of the song. We were thinking of making the video have a 1920's beach theme, like an old black and white film. It would all be set on the beach and the shots would be quite simple. For example walking across the beach, looking out at sea. For the repetitive sections of the song they would be set in colour with brighter more modern clothing. The reasons for these ideas are: we wanted it to have relevance to the lyrics, we wanted a theme/ storyline that the audience can follow and we wanted to relate to Florence's other videos so that the audience can identify the song as hers.

Looking at different beaches we wanted one that would be easily accessable and not too crowded. We think that Eastbourne beach would be ideal for this as we could also use the pier, filming with it in the background or beneath it, which was built in 1870. Setting and filming in winter should ensure the beach is not too busy. There is also another option, Phoebe owns a beach hut at Hastings beach which we could use. Both these beaches are easy for each group member to get to.

on the left there are images (from google images)of the beach in the 1900's, and on the right is Eastbourne beach and pier now.

We have been researching on the Internet what we are going to use for our mise-en-scene. Looking at Florence and the Machine's website we found that it links to our old fashioned theme. On her website she had old, browned and ripped photographs and we want a similar grainy feel when shooting our video. We want to keep to our 1920s theme in our costume and makeup too and we want our actor to be dressed in a "flapper" dress. The hair and makeup will also be in this style. I have created a mood board of photos from Google images to show the style of costume:

The hair will be curled and up maybe with a feather in it. She will wear make-up with a smokey eye and red lipstick. I own a string of pearls that she can wear as from the photos we can see they were popular. We will also have a more modern, colourful, contracting, outfit for the repetitive sections of the song. For example it could be similar to Florence's normal wear or something that our actor owns already. We think that a 1920s theme would suit Florence's style as a contrast to it which would emphasise the modern parts of the video. She also looks like an English rose, I personally think that she would suit this style. I think that the modern senes are needed because these are the parts that will mostly appeal to our young target audience, for example they will like what she wears, or be able to relate to her style, these scenes will also reflect Florence's real style.

Here is a photo of Florence Welch in her own clothes: (google images)

We have chosen two different people who we think will be appropriate for the role of the singer in our video. We want only one person to represent Florence because it keeps it simple and relates to her own music videos. Although we would like her to vaguely represent Florence, we feel that it doesn't matter if they don't look similar. We may cast the girl on the right of this photo as she is willing to play the role, she dances and is a performing arts student. I think that they will both be good to in our music video so I think we will chose whoever is more available.

Mise-en-scene revisited:

One of the main themes throughout the video will be an old 1920s film. To achieve this we will film in black and white and afterwards will superimpose a grainy edit. Our other idea was not to have the whole video in this style but to have the chorus sections to be in colour so that there is a contrast, her costume will also be different, probably more modern and in her own bohemian style. we will brighten these colours while editing, similar to Florence and the Machine's existing videos. We would also like to use another location in the video so we can contrast and separate from the colourful, modern chorus section to the black and white, old fashioned verse section. We have now decided to film the colourful section in the woods similar to Florence's dog days video. there will be paint on the trees. We have found a place in Lewes where we could film this, it is a wooded location next to a large pond.

Brainstorming re-visited:
We have spoken about our video in our group and have decided that we need a clearer storyline. Here are our ideas: It will start with a black and white old fashioned title page with the song title on it "Swimming" it will then go into our first shot which will be of an old looking book also with the same title printed on it. (this woods section will be in black and white, old fashioned) There will be a series of shots to go in time of the music fading in and out then we would like her to mouth the words to the song and she will walk around the woods. She will then find an opening in the trees which leads to the beach. We want it to look as if she had stumbled upon it. So it would go with the lyrics as she sings more about swimming she gets closer and closer to the sea. (tthis section will be coloured and modern) There will then be a series of shots inwhich she gets closer to the sea untill she is finally there. We have had a few different alternative endings for example the book dropping out of her hand at the edge of the waves, or she could jump into the sea and swim off, or she could wake up in the woods again. I have created a mind map displaying our thoughts and ideas so far.

Brainstorming re-visited:

Courtney and I have discussed our video further and done some testing film of our location but we are thinking about making the whole video modern rather than 1920s themed. I think that this way we can still relate it to the lyrics but appeal to our target audience more. We have done some test shots of the wooded location and think it will definitely look better as bright and colourful. Then because the music during the beach scene is louder and faster it would go to the music better if she was in modern clothes and there was a bright and colourful theme throughout. We have filmed our first part of the film and our actress tried on the white, old fashioned dress we found on ebay. But we felt it would not go with our plans anymore, I think that this is definitely a better approach by keeping to the same theme throughout because the target audience will relate to it more and it makes more sense with our chosen artist and song.

here are the dresses we will now use in our video:

The first one we will use for the beach scenes, we want her to have a change of clothes as this section is ambiguous, she is almost a different person here or she may be in a dream if we choose the waking up in the woods ending. It is quite summery which relates to the location as we plan to film on a sunny day. The second is simple but with a burst of colour at the bottom, this could be something that Florence wears herself or that one of her fans wears. I think this dress reflects the genre of the piece.


There will not be many props used in our video as we want to keep it quite simple. At the beginning of the video she holds up a book with the name of the song on it. I have a hard back black plain covered book which I think I could use. In the woods scene we also want there to be some paint or coloured leaves, I will also be organising this.

Here is a photo of the tree I painted:

Here are some music videos that have inspired our ideas:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA7ycePZujY Fiest: "1234"

I really like the way this video is filmed, it is done all in one take so the camera is mounted on a crane to give various high angle and low angle shots that flow together. The singer enters on her own and dancers run in from the side. They all wear different colours, the singers costume is glittery so that the audience can identify her out of them all. They perform a routine which goes with the feel-good music. Some bits look slightly improvised which fits in with the alternative music genre. The routine is creative and in one part she is picked up, a high angle shot is used and it is made to look as though she is walking round. This imaginative choreography will appeal to her creative audience. At one point the dancers all skip around her, they all Cheer and you can hear this over the track. This shows that they are having fun and will make the audience want to be a part of it. At the end as the music slows and so does the dancing, they all line up behind her but disappear. It is as if she has had a dream but we have been a part of it. This is like Florence's music video in that sense.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gKLsMtcvnU&feature=channel "Dog Days are Over"

The very first shot of the video is of the forest with colourful decorations around it as if there has been a party. From this setting, we will use some of the ideas in our own music video. Her audience will be of the party generation and so will want to be there. The camera pans around to show people dressed up in bright clothes with their faces painted. At first Florence wears a black and white suit but she changes into a more colourful dress, her audience are more likely to wear this type of clothing so will feel that they can relate to her, or want to be like her. The costume in our video will have bright colours part of the time too as we are planning to have a similar target audience. The dress she wears is also the same that she wears on the album cover and one of her single covers. This will enable higher identification of her from her audience. The end part of the video shows them all having a party. They are dancing, laughing and look like they're having fun. This will make the audience, like Feist's, want to be there and be a part of it.

This video relates to and represents Florence's individual and eclectic style through the colours and costumes.

Although these videos are similar in genre they have given us an insight into their own music videos and Florence's style. I will take some of these ideas and use them in my promo pack for example for the photographs I will take as I plan to have a picture of the woods with colourful decorations. We want to use this in our video too, the bright colours used in Feist's music video

will also show up in ours.



Animatic: in addition to and before our storyboards we produced an animatic on "final cut pro" by taking photos of our locations and put them in line with the same parts that it will be in our story boards. It enabled us to learn the basics of final cut pro but also made the basis of our music video clearer. Because I was ill the day Phoebe and Courtney went to take the photos I later added some of my own when we were editing the animatic. I think it would be better if we had more particular photos of each shot but I don't think we were at that stage yet. considering this it has been a very helpful process.

Story boards:

I drew out the storyboards for our video, I tried to include the shot type and timings for each shot.

At the beginning it starts with a silent title page displaying the name of the song to give it an old fuzzy look.then there are 16 beats before she starts singing so I thought that we could have eight shots (one shot every two beats/ one shot per second) which give bits away about the setting.

Courtney and I thought that the next parts were focused on her singing, we worked out the correct

timings each shot should be so we put timings in between most of the shots. On shot number 11, to make it more interesting I thought of making it a high angle shot.

Our actress then goes through the woods and finds the sea, which we will film at a wooded area near Eastbourne beach. the shot where she is on the stairs will be a low angle shot which was inspired by a photo Courtney took on location.

Then to go with the crescendo in the music our actress will run/dance around on the beach. there are then several beats whith we will get a long shot, mid shot and close-up of her each on the beat. She dances around to the faster muscic untill she lies on the floor. We thought we could rewind our footage untill she comes to a point with her lieing on the floor in the woods again just like at the beginning.

To look as if it was all a dream (as if she fell asleep reading the book and this was what was in the story) she would then wake up with a smile on her face, as if she shares a secret with the audience.

target audience, demographics and powerpoint presentation

As proof of research into our video, each group created a pitch as if we were trying to convince an audience to let us make the video. We each had to research a section and put it into a powerpoint presentation. We then were filmed reading out our parts of the powerpoint. My research part was the genre of the video. Here is a copy of the pitch in powerpoint format: https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B13FdJq5cNBfOWM0NjRiOGItMTZkOS00ZDgxLTllNTAtNmU2ZDMwMmFkNGVj&hl=en

This is the video of our powerpoint presentation, we each display the different parts that we researched. Unfortunately Phoebe wasn't there so the powerpoint is missing some of the target audience and demographics information, so I have researched some of this myself.

As one of our group members was not present and so couldn't supply the rest of the information(although there is some in the powerpoint) that we needed i have done my own research on the band's target audience and genre. The demographics of an audience is a population's characteristics and defines things such as their age, gender and nationality. Florence and the Machine's genre is described as indie, pop and rock. The typical conventions of rock is usually loud with strong guitar leads. Indie means independant and so is an unconventional form of music which sets itself apart from others. For example Florence's band has a harp, this is quite an unusual instrument to be used in a young popular band. She also wears unusual and creative outfits which, although it is becoming a trend with female artists, is out of the norm.

Florence has been featured in many magazines such as Vice, London Times, Mojo, Clash, Attitude and many more major British magazines such as Heat and Grazia. She has also been featured on the cover of The Fly, London Times Playlist and NME twice.

Here are some of the magazines which she has been on the front cover of. By seeing this it gives us a clear indication of who her target audience is. NME usually feature popular rock and indie artists so there will be aspects of their target audience which are similar. I looked on IPC Media to find out what NME's typical reader is like. The media pack shows us that the median age is 23, I think that this is probably the average to the bands' own audience as although there are many young fans, she is featured on the cover of Times Playlist which tells us she has a following of adults in the ABC1 category too. She probably has more female listeners but as she is on the cover of NME she will have a large male popularity because 76% of their readers are male.

Most of her target audience are British and Irish as her debut album "Lungs" peaked 1 and 2 in the charts in the UK and Ireland. But this album was also 14 and 16 in Belgium and Australia.

This(from Wikipedia) shows which awards she has won and been nominated for.



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DVD Digipacks

The promo pack must be completed by our selves, this consists of one DVD cover for the music video and also one poster advertising this. I wanted these both to tie into the band's current style and relate to the theme of our music video. So the same or similar photos will be used in my poster and digipack which will be taken during filming. This is so that people will relate the advertising and CD cover to the music video and recognise it more clearly. I want it to stand out but also keep to the genre of music so that it still relates to the same audience as Florence and the Machine. The digipack will relate to and acclaim our video, it is also a chance to show our individual creativity without being in our groups.

This part is designing the DVD digipack, it will be in the style of a CD cover as many bands today chose to sell DVDs of their music videos alongside their album or single in the same case. To design our covers it should look as professional as possible so to enable this it will be produced using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign. To make sure i get the best possible photograph for the front, I will be using a digital SLR as i have access to one to ensure it is the best possible quality. I would like the photo I use to relate to our music video so I may take the photo on set after filming.

A digipack is the packaging used for CDs or DVDs. Here is the definition given on Wikipedia: "Digipak is a patented style of compact disc or DVD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI Media, a MeadWestvaco, Inc. resource, which acquired the original trademark holder, IMPAC Group, Inc., in 2000. MeadWestvaco licensed the name and designs to manufacturers around the world."

Here is a template of our digipack:

This shows it as a flatplan and the different sides we will have to design. number one and two will be the inside of the cover, often, one continuous picture for the inside.

Number four is the front cover which I think is the most important as it is the first thing you see. Number three is the back panel which usually displays the songs/ video which is inside.

We must also research and analyise two existing digipack covers of artists which relates to the genre of Florence and the Machine.


Although our CD covers will have four panes I have found one which is with six. This means that there are two panels either side which fold into the middle.

I have chosen to analyse "The Reminder" by Feist. She is a Canadian singer/ songwriter, who like Florence is a solo artist backed up with musicians. Her genre of music is also described as alternative indie. When I design my own cover i would like it to feature a photo of the artist as this one, and many others, does. The picture is a black and white silhouette, this signifies old fashion and it relates to the design of the inside photo. She is in the profile position so that the audience can identify her features and know who she is. Her hair is tied up into a bun to make the outline more clean cut and simple. She has no top on with bare shoulders, this could connote that she is exposing herself. There is some lighting used so it makes it look more modern you can just about see her eye and necklace. The coloured thread relates to the theme throughout, her fans are likely to like lots of colour as i will explain in my target audience blog. The writing used is a version of Times New Roman but thinner and taller, it is also black on white which is the clearest script. This type of writing is used to stand out to the reader and to be clear. The back panel is creative and quirky showing another silhouette and thread. At the bottom right hand corner there is a thought bubble which may signify that the string represents her thoughts. Using a drawing in this makes it look quite creative. The string on this panel is made into geometric shapes coming from the body. The background is white to make the images stand out. The left and right interior panels are Polaroids, these are a very popular and fashionable form of photography. I think the target audience would use them or be interested in them, the type of person to use them are not mainstream and are interested in art/ photography. As they are a very expensive way of taking photographs, they may be more wealthy which puts them in the ABC1 category. On one photo there are reels of thread, relating to the thread on the other sections. The other shows a hair clip on the same metalic gold background as the first. The gold background has mixed signs but it can signify preciousness and oldness, this old theme is continued with the boarders of the photo's. It is a black victorian looking boarder with the silhoette picture from the front section. This picture is used as a label to identify the artist, it is also used on her website so that people will immediatley know what it represents as an iconic sign. The middle picture shows the singer face on, this is an effective way of drawing the audience in, in the same black and white style. I think that this is important for the audience knows what she looks like so the can identify her in music videos and on other single or album covers. The creativiy of this digipack, for example the use of thread, will relate to Feist's target audience as it is more unconventional. They will be inspired by things such as the polariods as the whole digipack has a very creative theme.

For my second analysis I am looking at one of Florence and the Machines own digipaks of her debut album "Lungs". This album cover, like Feist's, is creative and unconventional. The writing for the band name is used as a label. It is easily recognisable and always the same as if it were a brand. It is in bold and white on black to make it stand out to the audience. The writing is loopy and joined up which has a polysemic sign, that it is child like, smart or creative. The front panel is a photograph of Florence which takes up most of the cover, this image of her is in focus whereas the background is slightly blurred. This is so that her audience will recognise her clearly in music videos and other album or single covers. This is the reason I would like to use a picture of the same girl used in our video when it comes to the DVD digipack and poster. The position Florence is in ensures that the lungs are showing and so that the audience can see the sleeves to the top she is wearing. The background signifies nature due to the dark green cloth, birds and flowers. The title of the album "lungs", superimposed over the image, is over her lungs so that it relates to the image itself. It is also in Caps Lock which makes it stand out. The whole image looks as if it has been retouched after the photo was taken. To make her skin lighter, the background darker and the lungs superimposed onto it. This gives it a painted feel which makes it seem more different and creative.
The back is completely black and, keeping to the same theme, the writing and line image is white, which is quite unconventional which keeps to the different and creative feel of the whole digipack. Like most back panels to album covers, it is used to display the song titles. The script used is the same writing as the title of the album "Lungs" but in the lower case, the words bonus track are in upper case to catch the eye of the audience and make the album more appealing to them. The sketch is of lungs and a heart, it obviosly relates to the album title to keep in the same theme. The drawing is quite unusual to have on a pop album cover and so fits in with the alternative style. The numbers look as if they would represent the different parts but the match up with each song title.
Although i will not be designing the CD it will help to look at it as it is still part of the album. The CD itself has the album title on it in the same script as before, it is noticeable and simple. The image is quite different from the others which fits in with the original and atypical theme. Florence and the Machine's target audience could easily relate to the creative look and methods used on this digipack. They could also relate to the unconventional theme of the front and back panel.


Brainstorming what type of image to use of the front cover to get ideas for my flat plan i have looked at some of Florence's single covers. I really like this colourful single cover, I think i may have a colourful front cover and then the other images to relate to the beach.

introduction A2 coursework

For the A2 media coursework we must create music videos in groups with a promo pack. The promo pack should consist of a CD/DVD digipack for the video and a print-based ad advertising it. We have decided to equally play each role and work in a team. Once we come to taking up different roles we will see who wants to do what and who is most capable at each task. Our first task was to choose an appropriate song to use in our video. The artist we chose was Florence and the Machine as she fits in with all our music tastes and she is currently gaining more popularity. In our group we also each fit her genre criteria and we have all, prior to this, taken interest in her as an artist.

In order to use one of her songs in our video, we had to notify and ask permission from her record company "Island Records". here is a print screen of our email.

Copywriting a song entitles the song to belong to, for example, Island Records and Florence and the Machine. This means that if someone copies the song without permission, it is then copywrite infringement. This is very important because it stops people downloading or sharing it without paying any money for it. This is why illegal sites such as Limewire and Bearshare are so dangerous to the music industry and is one of the factors towards the band itself making little money from their record sales. Here is a quote about copywriting from musiclawadvice.cu.uk:

What Does Copyright Protection Provide?
If you are the owner of a copyright, e.g. in a song, then unless you have given permission for any of these specific activities, no one else can do any of the following with your song:
- copy it
- issue copies to the public
- perform or play it in public
- broadcast it or include it in a cable programme service
- make an adaptation of it.

We found a song that doesn't have a a music video called "Swimming" we chose it as it is important to chose one with no video so we can't get ideas from it. Also we all enjoy the song chosen, here are the lyrics:

Your songs remind me of swimming,
Which I forgot when I started to sink
Drank further away from the shore,
And deeper into the drink

Sat on the bottom of the ocean,
A stern and stubborn rock
Cos your songs remind me of swimming,
But somehow I forgot

I was sinking, now I'm sunk
And I was drinking, now I'm drunk
I was sinking, now I'm sunk,
And I was drinking, now I'm drunk

I tried to remember the chorus,
I can't remember the verse
Cos that song that sent me swimming,
Is now the life jacket that burst

Rotting like a wreck on the ocean floor,
Sinking like a siren that can't swim no more
Your songs remind me of swimming,
But I can't swim any more

Then all of a sudden, I heard a note,
It started in my chest and ended in my throat
Then I realised I was swimming,
And then I realised I was swimming,
And then I realised I was swimming,
And then I realised I was swimming

Pull me out the water, cold and blue,
I open my eyes and I see that it's you,
So I dive straight back in the ocean

Take a deep breath, tuck the water in my chest
Cross my fingers and hope for the best
Oh, take a deep breath, tuck the water in my chest,
Cross my fingers and hope for the best

Then all of a sudden, I heard a note,
It started in my chest and ended in my throat
And then I realised I was swimming,
And then I realised I was swimming,
And then I realised I was swimming,
And then I realised I was swimming

We specifically chose this song and artist as each of us can appeal to her and currently like her music too. We thought these lyrics could be transformed into a music video as they have a clear subject matter. We wanted to chose an artist who is upcoming and successful, who many people could currently relate to. Some of the lyrics could be seen as metaphors of disliking someone so we could make a video representing this side of the meaning. Or we can take it in the more literal sense, I feel that this song is quite versatile.