DIGIPAK - front cover

First of all, I started with the picture of my face paint, desaturated it and then inverted the colour - giving it a bit of a 'minimalist' look which will tie in nicely with my pop band, wrapped in a punk band, wrapped in an art pop band, who are also virtual.

( Honestly there are too many genres which my unknown song can fit into, and so many that now physically and theoretically exist. )

I then wrote the title in bold ARIAL lettering, adding a space between each letter. I then inverted one half of the text and changed its background to white. Changing the 'colour to alpha' to black, the black letters became transparent, showing off the textured background.

Et voila! -- this cover also suits the website nicely.

More to panels soon to come.

Re-filming

After a brief spell of editing in order to refresh my braintatorimagination, I've found that although the content of my music video is odd enough to attract a viewer, the video needs more content.

 

As specified in the music video brief, my final piece must at least include:

• A variety of camera angles
• A show of editing skills
• Sufficient lip-syncing
• Shows the conventions of its genre

Due to the fact that I've been working with puppets, the use of camera angles are minimal. I should add a narrative beginning, end or intercepting-segments in order to keep the viewers on their toes and be energetic: exactly in key with the pop-punk/neo-rock genre.





This rough draft is definitely recognisable as a media student's work: haphazardly put together with minimal edits taking place.

 

This is great for authenticity due to the fact that Macro Friends is an up-and-coming punk band, but leaving as it is will not get me marks.

 

Additional plot brain storm:

• Café/Cantina/Public place with the bands drinking coffee with the puppets afterwards
• Change the ending: Puppets were on TV and the band were watching them, crowded around a TV, then peel away their masks. (over shoulder shots, pan/tilt shots of house, close-ups,-mid-shots, low angle)
• Kid painting a picture of Macro Friends ( close ups on scribbling, child's insane expressions, his dishevelled house, etc.) -- but where do I get a kid???
• DEFINITELY a different location--either outdoors or somewhere more mundane. sunrise? sunset? night sky( torches needed to create sufficient lighting)?

Wix Tinkering

Unlike a conventional Punk website, I have instead decided to opt for a minimalist look: A plain-ish background with a simple black and white colour scheme, with the addition of yellow to make the navigation pages stand out. As you may have noticed, the record complany "Anna-Key" is a combination of my middle name and "key" as in music--the pun sounds a lot like "Anarchy": Puns are important...for comedy value and a reference to Macro friends' genre. The title is white, atop a black background. I did this in order to make it look like the name was taped onto the website in a rustic fashion, like a post on a prick wall.

I am not entirely happy with the pictures of the band and may replace them with the cover of the band's new album or the music video at a later date.

Also for the background, I have recently see this picture of mexican masks hanging on the wall and would like to do the same with my band masks--perhaps in a strip on the right hand side.

On this page, I have yet to change the about second. perhaps one day something witty we be in the place of the Wix default text.

The Merchandise page will display a large number of products, all at ridiculous prices: Pretty commonplace on your average rock website. How else are you going to stick it to the man without official merchandise from a manufactured punk band?

The gallery pictures need to be added to: i would like to perform another photoshoot and also take some pictures of stage venues and fake gigs.

The social links to twitter, blogger and 8tracks are all actual links, but ones that I have yet to make. Also on the bottom bar are tour dates and the address of Anna-Key Studios

Sub Pop Records WIP

Sub Pop is a record label founded in the '80s by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. It was the first record label to sign Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney. Many and most bands on the music scene from the late eighties to early nineties on the Seattle music scene. They're well known to be one of the fair few to popularize the grunge genre; they still grasp onto critical and commercial success: modern bands including Fleet Foxes, Foals, Flight of the Conchords, and The Shins. 49% stake of the label now belong to the Warner Music Group (one of the big six production companies). The label are famed for their blunt letters to aspiring artists who they decline signing to their label: notes open with "Dear Loser".

[IMAGE OF SUB POP RECORDS]


This record label earns millions annually: not exactly your average indie punk record label, but still the company keeps up this image.


With this in mind, I decided to make my record label a parody of Sup Pop records. The simple black and white logo is also pleasing to the eyes, and I shall try to incorporate this into my final logo for the website.

Jimmy Jazz Records WIP

Jimmy Jazz Records, an independent record label from Poland, release mostly punk rock, ska, psychobilly and hardcore music artists. zine Except for records Jimmy Jazz sells clothes and other merchandise for the bands that they promote.

The image of a man in a mohawk drinking whilst another man - bold - leans on the same lamp post. Punk, Ska, Reggae etc. are written around the circular image, and also around the name of the label 'Jimmy Jazz'. As far as logos go, this one is very complex--but it is clearly identifiable as a punk rock record label due to font information and imagery. Therefore, effective.

editing

Due to the fact that I've lost the motivation to film after so long of a hiatus, I have instead turned my focus to editing

Photography

Band photo at school, near the RAC building. The members are leaning on a skip, whereas Summer is sitting (due to the fact that she is short and the height differences of the band are ridiculous).

Second photo of the band at school, looking sideways (except for Dylan); background is a yellow brick wall. They all look to be moving, representing the energy of '|Macro Friends'' music.

Taking at school, outside the playgroup. 'High voltage' song could be a reference to their 'edgy' music.

Dud photo; Summer unfocused. Still, the messiness of the photo ties in with the rock genre.

Texture taken from the bumpy texture of my laptop touchpad.

Close up of my orange shirt.

Frosted glass of landing window: outside is a brick wall. 'Icy' look may look better colorised blue or desaturated.

Another image of frosted glass from a different perspective.

Bare brick wall of old kitchen. 'Beauty in decay' and very grungy, tying into the rock genre and its subversive reputation.

Another image of a more dilapidated part of my house. Orange bricks, yellow plaster and peeling wallpaper. I my used this image as a semi-transparent overlay.

Bare brick wall and central window of my house's outside toilet. Messy paint and bare wires. The brick texture would be useful for an album cover or a web page.

Close up shot of a spider, suspended on its web alongside the murky, plastic window of my shed. Creepy and abstract; I like the colour scheme of brown and beige, and the contrasting patterns.

Wooden crates and old fences that will probably end up on our fire in the winter. They reminded me of the debris in the skip from the first image of the band, and are also reminiscent of urbanism and a junkyard; somewhere the band may perform or sing about.

A shot of the grassy floor with a fallen branch in the corner. Why not?

More firewood. I liked the different colours of the block and the blend that they had with one another.

The faded label of my dustbin. Red contrasting against grey; it also looked 'run down' and befitting punk.

A shot of the patio floor and the corner of our green house skeleton (the glass has been removed). Metal and concrete are typically associated with urban music and rock - as opposed to pop and electro, which have a cleaner, minimalist feel.

Treeline of our garden and a clear-ish sky (clear for Kirby at the very least)

Close up image of a dirty bird bath. The side of the water is only just visible in front of the red algae. I liked the colour - and the fact that it looks like the surface of an alien planet.

Close up of rotting lily pads and dead grass on top. More decay. I like this shade of vibrant green also.

Close up of a rusty saw on a wooden work bench. Reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails' album 'The Downward Spiral'.

Another close up of the saw: this time, of a whole in which the saw is usually hanged upon. Bit of a cobweb can also be seen.

A pretty picture of pretty flours with a red filter added on in the editing process of GIMP

Peeling paint on our shed door. Blue and black is a colour scheme that you don't usually see with punk bands: It's more for RnB and dance music.

Close up shot of hose brick work and cobwebs. More chipped paint and bare wood.

Image of the light bulb in our outside toilet. I really like the colour contract and the amount of light and focus I managed to get on the bulb.

Corner of the outside toilet: a popular hang out for spiders' webs and pubes. Also grimy and befitting the genre.

Cigarette tray in the outside toilet with boosted colour contract add after the editing process.

A shot condensation on my bedroom window: Could be useful for a texture overlay, or if the colours are inversed, a night sky.

Close up photograph of Summer, perhaps useful for an about page for the band.

Quite an intense shot of Danny scowling at the camera. Very befitting of the punk genre.

Dyal posing, high angle. Possibly useful for a propaganda-esque band poster.

Black and white version of the top images, inspired by the back image of Good Charlotte CD cover.