Editng progress

Creating website 1-12 Analysis

We have chosen to use this page layout for now. We are still yet to decide on a font so I will be keeping this Default font temporarily. The diamonds across the page were chosen to be our groups symbol as it has links towards their music genre
We decided to revert to our original layout choice, we have also decided to keep the background for the webstie, this is because we believe it fits in with our music genre.
The old website layout did not seem to fit our music video genre and felt more like a rock/alternative style, this one looks more hiphop and urban which is what we are aiming for.
We also like the slide show in the front of the page which would be very eye catching when we get some photos on to it.
I have started to add more content to the website. For example I have created some "latest" news such as: a debut single and a merchandise sale, I hope to be able to create a page dedicated to merchandise to show what is 'on sale' I will be able to do this by creating some artist merchandise through editing photos with Adobe Photoshop.

The current video on the page is not our finished music video product but we hope to be able to upload it within the following weeks.
I Have now added the Merchandise store to the website, currently I have created 5 products all with the same Diamond logo on it and I am calling it the 'Diamond' collection for obvious reasons. The products I have created are simple but affective as they highly relate to the music genre we have chosen. There are conotations with urban music and 'urban' style clothes. For example Beanies, small pouches and wrist bands, these are loosely linked because it its part of the urban music culture and are seen a lot on hip/hop artists.
I have chosen to create the Diamond collection because we had decided that it would be EZ Mak's (our artists) symbol, as documented on my first website creation post. I hope to be able to create more merchandise for the page and update the slide show on the photo.
Created more merchandise for the EZ Mak shop, I decided to make 2 types of headphones for the shop to give a feel of availability and flexibilty to the 'brand' this makes it seem more prestige and allows me to 'charge' premium prices. I will update the shop soon and hope to be able to put up the digipak and sell it as an album soon.
I have added some photos to the website shop and updated the shop so it is functional, the slideshow at the top of the page shows some of the current items in the shop so it is asthetically pleasing and give the shop more content. I have also updated the cart page and added a shopping cart button which links the shop to the cart so customers can 'pay' I hope to be able to update the news and home page soon.
We have decided to change the website background, this is because we thought that the other background didn't fit in with our group and the diamond background went with our branding that we wanted for our group. I have also added a few more pieces of merchandise to the website, these include: A cap and a Hoodie. We still have no photos to put up for our homepage slide but we hope to have the photoshoot done soon and upload some photos within this month. We also hope to be able to finish the whole website and publish it this month.
some new changes on the website, I have decided to enlarge the name 'EZ Mak' this could help show the significance of the name and allows it to stand out a lot more than it had. i have also brought it slightly down to be able to put a banner at the top for some social media links. I have also added the chat box at the bottom on the screen. I have done this to allow a more 'interactive audience' and create a closer link with the listeners.
From the second photo we can see I have made some additions and changes. I have added the comment box below the news to assume a more interactive audience, the box contains more social media links. I have also decided to get rid of the music box which used to be on the right of the screen to now become a social media and mailing list box. All the changes I have made allow a perspective of a community and more interconnectedness through the media.
I have added a small shop window on the homepage to show some advertisement for the merchandise on sale. I have found that it is a convention for artist websites to have a shop in many of their pages, nearly all of their pages, so i have decided to implement this.
I have also added a tour date page, however because we don't have any actual tours I have put all the tours as sold out to avoid any buyer.
I have decided change a few things on the website home page. I have added a banner which shows our artist, this is a convention I found from looking at other websites by the same type of artist, so I have decided to add this. Also I have decided to move the navigation bar down under the banner, this is because it is more practical and allows for easier navigation. However I have only changed this for the homepage and the navigation bar will stay at the top for the rest of the pages and there will be no banner for other pages.
 I have changed the photo at the top of the home page to be edited a little differently, having a less obvious black and white gradient. I was finally also able to find a way to size the resolution of the photo to be enlarged in Wix without it being distorted, this allowed me to actually make it into a banner. I also added a social media bar to the navigation bar. this was a convention i found from looking at other websites.
I was able to add a few more new articles which are in chronological order to encourage continuity. However the scheduled photoshoot is still yet to be commenced therefore i have used a couple stock photos to fill the headline place.
I recently started the improvements of the mobile counterpart to the website. I initially thought that everything done on the computer part of the website would transfer seamlessly onto thw website counterpart, however it seemed a little out of edge and not to the same quality to the computer website. Therefore I have started on this. Also I feel as though it would benefit my work as it would show that I have an understanding that not all of my audience want or can browse the web on their computers and therefore go to their phones. I hope to be able to create a similar browsing experience and I can in comparison to my computer website.

Creating the website 1-12

Organising Photoshoot

Due to me knowing the artist, I had to organise the photoshoot and often take part in taking the pictures. The organisation was done through whatsap, an mobile phone communication app. I contacted them him three times, completing 2/3 photoshoots with one of my other group members completing the third. 

Equipment Issues

We had a few camera issues as the camera used was not personally owned by one of us. This led to us only have limited time with the camera. To resolved this, I had created a schedule to fit the availability of the camera in order to get all my footage done. 
After completing the music video production, a major issue occurred. The mac, that was used for editing, had corrupted. This resulted in me not being allowed to upload, export or edit the video. This was a major crisis for us as this meant that our video was lost. We took the MAC system to Apple Store in Oxford street where they offered to reset the whole system for us. This was also not convenient as it would wipe the music video data off the MAC. To resolve this I had to spend my whole Easter holiday re-editing the footage and because i had done it once it was much easier to replicate. Also halfway through my two week break I had stumbled across a first draft edit of my music video on an old memory stick. This made the process much easier and faster to complete.

Shooting Script

Website Mock up

http://ezmak1.wix.com/ezmak

Digi Pak - Moodboard

I really like all of these album covers as they are bright, bold and colourful as well as being creative. This is not something that is usually portrayed from many artists as they usually focus mainly on the artist's face rather than the design. In addition to this, with the increase of consumers downloading songs online, they hardly see the album covers so many producers and record labels have shown to spend less time on the design.

However, these album covers are the complete opposite, it is clear that the designers behind these covers have thought about the artist, genre, target market and how to make the CD stand out. The most effective cover, to me, was the 'Nameless' cover as it incorporate a drawing as well as the use of digital design which is something I haven't seen before. I would like to include this feature and pitch the idea of using hand drawn elements in the Digi-pack.

Organising/Planning - filming

One of my close friends was celebrating his 18th birthday, by hosting a party. Knowing this, I used this opportunity to gain footage for my video. This is because a party scene would fit the genre of my video very well. It also links with the song and the typical convention of a rapper. Parties link to the characteristics of the chosen artist (Lil Kay).

After gaining permission from the host to film, I then asked if it was ok if I brought my friend along with me as he was helping me film by carrying the equipment, driving, etc. He was also my co-director.

Organisation of Personnel, Equipment, Location and Props/Costume (Mind-Map)

Preliminary task

After selecting a genre, creating a logo would need to follow along the same theme (Hip Hop/Dance). The Logo was created using Photoshop CC, which allowed me to improve my design skills. The logo features a diamond design with multi coloured lines as well as the band name 'EZ - Mac' in a white bold font.

January schedule

Here is the schedule produced for January. This is a strict schedule that needs to be kept to as not keeping to this schedule would lead to us not being able to complete the work and meet the deadlines. Also this gives the group a chance to give feedback on the productions. All three productions will be worked on throughout this month, mostly on weekends

Production Scheduling: November

Location, Equipment and Personnel

Music Video Scheduling

Here I sent a mass message out to all the people that are participating in our music video. We gave them a location & a time to meet. This is part of the production scheduling for the music video.

Photosheet

Audience Feedback: Mock Up, Storyboard & Flat plan

Digi Pak Flat Plan

| Design your own Photo Book with Mixbook's easy online editor.

- Ryco

Digi Pack Mock Up

Lauren: I really like the overall look of this digi pack as it looks professional, consistent and colourful; something that would appeal to me in a music store. The main improvements I would make are the blue lines that are on each page, they seem out of place. Other than that a 4/5!

 

Ella: This CD package is great! It is colourful, bold, realistic and has most of the CD cover conventions. I don't like the same use of the artist on 2 of the pages as it gets a bit boring. I would rate this a 4.5/5.

 

Amil: This is an edgy digi pack which is nice to see as lately all I see are plain and simple ones! I like the use of the diamonds overlaid on the artist. It adds a nice effect. I don't like CD slot design as it doesn't look professionally done. I would give this a 3/5!

 

After receiving this feedback, I agreed with most of the comments as this is a mock up, there is plenty of time to make improvements as well as gain more skills on the software. I would give this mock up a 4/5 as the overall look displays all the conventions making it look like an actual digi pack however a few details are missing.

 

- Hussein

Song Choices

Ryco