Main Influences/Inspiration - Kieran Panchal 9652

The final scene in Whiplash, a 2014 film directed by Damian Chazelle, provided us with great inspiration for our product, despite it being of a different genre to our product. Not only did this influence the decisions that we made in the planning of our narrative, but also those made when planning shot types, mise-en-scene and cinematography. In terms of the plot, we were particularly enticed by the passion and intensity of the music in the piece, and this was something that we were eager to replicate in our own product. In terms of cinematography and editing, we were significantly inspired by the way that short sequences have been created in the most intense parts of the scene using quick-paced editing techniques with cut transitions, increasing the vigour and passion. In particular, Extreme Close Up shots have been utilised to great effect, outlining his facial expressions and the details of the drum kit. We could use this to a similar effect, to show the drummer's passion whilst also showing the worn condition of the drum kit.




The music video for Holocene was another large inspiration for us in terms of the miss-en-scene, and in particular the locations where it was shot. Throughout the piece, there is a continual theme of natural landscapes, which form a very organic and raw aesthetic. We were keen to emulate this in our own product to some extent, however, we plan to modify this convention in order for it to be more fitting with our narrative. Whilst we embrace the idea of using large landscapes in our piece, the picturesque and idyllic feel of them will contrast, as we plan to create a post-apocalyptic and desolate setting rather than an attractive, scenic and vibrant one. The use of long shots and extreme long shots which allow us to contextualise the physical size of the location in proportion to the subject are also an effective element of this piece, which will transfer well into our own product.




This music video created by Sia and Daniel Askill has inspired our product very much so in relation to costume, makeup and colour grading. We felt that despite the fact that this music video has been created for a different genre of music, the themes and concept can be applied to our own product. Here the makeup and costume are the main influences towards the overall mood of the video. By making the subject look very dirty, un-groomed, gritty and unhygienic the state of the subject can be depicted. Here, the intention is to make him to weak and physically as well as mentally ill. This can be related to our product and we can apply the same technique in a similar way. Our character is placed in a post-apocolyptic world so everything will be bleak, dirty and deteriorated. By making our character look filthy through the use of makeup, scruffy beard and hair and dirty costume it will allow us to create and indicate a specific perspective on the character in relation to his deteriorated health and state. This will therefore contribute to the overall bleakness of our product, which will be furthered through the colour scheme/grading which we use. We feel that the little contrast and dull greys used in Elastic Heart would also work very effectively with our post-apocolyptic theme.The colours in our product are very important as they indicate the context and content of the film. We will aim to make the visuals appear cold and desaturated and will experiment with contrast levels.

Production Schedule - Kieran Panchal 9652

Primary Research - Digipak Designs - Kieran Panchal 9652

After carrying out two digipak mock up designs, I decided to gain some quantitative and qualitative feedback through the use of an online survey platform 'freeonlinesurveys.com'. I decided to gain both quantitative and qualitative data as this would allow me to analyse statistically using graphical forms, whilst gaining opinionated responses that allowed me to constructively analyse my work ideas, based on the suggestions of others.

I distributed the weblink 'http://freeonlinesurveys.com/s/ZzsRaBrp' to 15 members of my previously established target audience. In this survey, I asked my respondents what their favourite of my digipak mock up designs were, and then asked for the reasons for their choice. The results that i gathered were as follows:

Design 1

Design 2

This shows that my target audience favoured my second digipak design. Votes were in favour of this design by 2:1, with 10 votes to 5. This proved to me that i should base my final ancillary digipak design on this photographic style of design rather than an illustrative style. The quantitative data that i gathered was as follows.



On the whole, this feedback provided me with the following point that will enable me to improve upon the development of my main ancillary digipak task. The main points concluded were:

• Continuity across the digipak is preferred
• Simplicity within the designs is preferred
• Designs that continue on from the theme of the video production are preferred
• Juxtaposition of two things that often are not associated is liked as it created enigma code
• Natural tones are preferred, with faded overlays and little contrast
• Central alignment of the track listing is preferred to left alignment
• Photographic style is preferred to illustrative style

Digipak Mock Up 2 - Kieran Panchal 9652

Digipak Design Mock Up - Kieran Panchal 9652

Location Scouting Sheet - Kieran Panchal 9652

Primary Research For Ancillary Task - Poster Advert (Qualitative Data) - Kieran Panchal 9652

After creating three mock ups for my poster designs, i carried out some primary research in order to investigate the opinions of my target audience. The overall purpose of this was to discover which design should be used as a template for the main ancillary advert. I decided to conduct this research, setting out to receive qualitative rather than quantitative data in order to gain opinionated rather than statistical information, as i feel that that this would be more personal and would be easier to follow in the review stages of production. The majority of respondents were within the demographic that i am targeting, meaning that their responses would be most relevant. The results were as follows.

Isaac Randall
Favourite Design: Mock up 1

The design of the poster is very simplistic, yet reflects the theme of the music video well through the close up of the drumsticks on the drum. The colours used in the poster reflect the natural theme of the band (Sigur Ros) and the style of music that they produce. The poster, despite its simplicity, conveys all of the important information needed, such as the website, album name and release date. The poster is visually engaging without bombarding the audience with information about the band. I think that this works well and from an audience's point of view is the best as it best suits the band, in my opinion, capturing the artists true intentions when creating the album.

Luke Sams
Favourite Design: Mock Up 2

My favourite poster out of the three I have seen is this one. The reason I like this one, is due to the use of darkness in the image. It leads the audience asking questions as to what it means, and what it represents in the artist. The text is also bold, with the white making it stand out further, yet it has been positioned elegantly.

Nathan Rawlings
Favourite Design: Mock Up 1

Mock Up 1 is my preferred poster advert design. From hearing Kieran's shoot idea, I feel that this design reflects the mood and feel of the video and the song more so that the other designs, as the blood connotes aggression but also passion as it juxtaposed with drumsticks - an outlet for musical intensity. The piece includes all of the relevant information that would normally be found in a poster whilst maintaining a simplistic layout aesthetic. The colours used in the editing process are also effective, as they include contrasted, dark colours which reflect the video's ambient feel.

James Bell
Favourite Design: Mock Up 1

This is a dramatic poster which conforms to enigma code in that we are left asking the question why the blood stains on the drum sticks, I like the mid tone and griminess of the whole shot which is somewhat disturbing. I would try to work on the font and layout positioning of the main cover line June 2016… you might think of a font that compliments the griminess of the foreground image…  or a plain sans serif design … The font colour may also need adapting..   I think the black is too stark, it could be that you work in layers and create a bloody type of font????

Grace Cambridge
Favourite Design: Mock Up 2

I like the second design as it is the most simplistic design which allows the costumer to take in all the information without distraction. I like the way the background is slightly ambiguous and it makes the audience think. From the research that Kieran has carried out into Sigur Ros and 'Festival' this relates well to the theme, as it appears that the band often like their listeners to interpret their music in different ways. The black and white colour scheme is simple and effective.

Evaluation of Results

From observing the results of the respondents, I have discovered my first poster mock up to be the favoured. It appears that the audience like the way that the image has been carefully crafted and selected to reinforce the genre of the piece. The enigma of the designs also appeared to catch the attention of the respondents and they enjoyed the way in which they are left asking the question why. The audience also appeared to enjoy the minimalism of the posters, and the way it included the relevant information over an simplistic image. Due to the positive responses that i have received i will ensure to adopt this minimalistic and ambiguous approach in my final creation, utilising the dark and gritty colour scheme that i have experimented with in my mock ups. I have also found there to be criticisms of my mock ups which i will rectify in my final designs. For example the font choice has been mentioned to be inappropriate. I will ensure to rectify this in my final designs and will change to a sans serif typeface, to make the aesthetic slightly less aggressive and more rounded.