Target Audience: Out of the second set of drafts, which front cover and back cover are better? - Twitter

I have asked my target audience on twitter which of my second set of draft covers and backs they like the best. This is so I can get the 'best of the best' to compare to my first set of drafts at a later stage.

1

2

3

Results:

Conclusion:

The majority of my target audience prefer draft number 2 as a whole, which is the cover with the Placebo Band T shirt visible, and the vodka bottle on the back cover.

Drafting & Planning: Further Drafts

My target audience on Tumblr chose which back and front cover was their favorite. However, those covers were quite focused on "Too Many Friends", as this was going to be the diving single of the album.

To ensure that my CD cover will be as close to 'the real thing' as possible, I have created a few more drafts with a focus on the common conventions of alternative rock CD's, instead of a focus on the track.

1:

Influence:

2:

Influence:

3:

Influence:

Organisation - Construction.

Here are some screenshots of the construction of my first draft. Here I am using the cross fade function to smoothen up quick cuts.

Here, I used two tracks to time each segment of lip syncing to the track. This ensured that the syncing was in time with the track and moves smoothly to the next supporting actor.

For the music break I used footage taken from earlier in the video and used effects on it.

 I added motion blur to simulate dizziness, raised the saturation to change the colour of the footage and slowed the footage down.

I then 'split' the footage and moved small segments into the 'bathroom scene' part of the video, so that the audience understands the reason why the protagonist is drinking.

My draft is now nearly complete.

Research into Similar Products: Placement of text on CD covers.

Now that I have decided on which CD cover I will be creating, I need to decide where the text will be placed on my CD cover. To do this I am going to concisely analyse some alternative and indie rock CD covers.


Golden Age of Grotesque is a very representative example of alternative rock covers. Marilyn Manson does not use direct mode of address.

On this CD the artists name and CD title are pushed up into the corner. This is very different from other genre's such as pop:

Three Days Grace's Transit of Venus was a strange cover for any genre, as no main image is used.

The name of the band is tiny and the title is huge.

The back of the CD is very plain which is somewhat unusual for indie / alternative music CDs.

The text is right - alligned

Breaking Benjamin are also an Alternative Rock band, and similarly to Three Days Grace, they have used no characters in their main image. 

(Apologies if the image is bad quality, I used my own CD as there were no Breaking Benjamin images in good quality on the internet,)

Conclusion:

As I plan for the main image on my CD cover to be quite large, I plan to use the Marilyn Manson format on the front cover, and put the title of the album in the corner rather than on the top of the image or in the middle of the CD.

I plan to use Breaking Benjamin's format on the back cover, as I like the size of the text, and I plan for the image on the back of my CD to be quite plain too.

Target Audience - Which CD cover draft is best?

I have decided to use the blogging site tumblr again (as my tumblr followers are of all ages) to find out which front and back cover my target audience likes the most.

1:

2:

3:

Results:

Summary:

The majority of my target audience prefer the 1st front cover, and many of them like the second front cover.
I was given an in-depth response from one of my target audience members, who pointed out that she liked the self medication aspect of the vodka bottle. She appreciated the shushing, however, as more of the respondents liked the 1st front cover, I am going to use the 1st front cover, and the 2nd back cover.
This will ensure that the majority of the target audience will be happy with the CD, and therefore would be more likely to but the product.

Drafting & Planning: CD Covers - 2 & 3

2:

Similarly to Draft 1 in the previous post, this CD cover mimics the extreem close ups in the music video. I would also use the same vodka bottle on the back cover as was in my music video. I chose to draw an old fashioned phone to relate to 'the super highway' as it has become an old fashioned term for the sharing of data.


3:

Personally, this is my least favourite draft as although an extreme close up is used and red marks on the protagonists neck would be intriguing for a potential buyer, there is no connotation between the marks and the video. However, I would use the same costume on the back cover as in the music video, so this cover would relate a little to the music video,

Drafting & Planning: CD Cover - 1

I couldn't draw the position well, so I found an image of the angle I wanted to present, although my photography would be closer up.

This draft is my personal favourite, as it has synergy with the outside scenes of my music video. The extreme close up used on the back creates a holistic feel with my music video, as similar camera angles are used by the supporting actors in my video. I have also chosen to not use direct mode of contact, which is one of the conventions of alternative rock CD covers.

Research into similar products: Record Labels for CDs.

Record Label: Hut

VC Recordings trading as Hut Records was a British record label brand which was started in 1990 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Virgin Records. It was often regarded as an independent label due to the independent distribution, which was used by Virgin as a means of gaining exposure for new acts via the attention surrounding the UK Indie Chart, and the 'credibility' associated with indie labels.

Record Label: Cooking Vinyl 

Cooking Vinyl is a UK based independent record company, founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt, who remains the current owner and managing director, and distribution manager Pete Lawrence.The company is based in Acton, London.

Record Label: JIVE

JIVE Records (stylized as JIVE) was an American record label under the RCA Music Group formed in 1981 by Zomba Records. Formerly headquartered in New York City, known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and also in teen pop and boy bands during the late 1990s/early 2000s.

JIVE Records operated as an independently managed label until 2003, when Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) acquired the remainder of its parent company Zomba for US $2.74 billion, which at the time was the largest-ever acquisition of an independent label with major-label distribution.

Record Label: Frenchkiss

Frenchkiss Records is an independent record label based in New York, New York. The label was started in 1999 by Syd Butler, bassist and founder of Les Savy Fav.

In early 2012 Frenchkiss Records launched the distribution company Frenchkiss Label Group, which is "focused on growing visibility for indie labels in the spirit of communities such as Dischord, Rough Trade and Touch & Go."

Record Label: Island

Island Records is a major record label that operates as a division of Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica and has been based in the United Kingdom since 1962.

Record Label: Domino

Domino Recording Company, generally known as Domino, is a British independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called Domino Deutschland and a French division called Domino France.

Record Label: Nonesuch

Nonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records, and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Nonesuch Records has developed into a label that records critically acclaimed music from across a wide range of genres.

Record Label: Hollywood Records

Hollywood Records, Inc. is an American record label. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Records label. Hollywood Records’ genre-spanning roster includes Demi Lovato, R5, Bea Miller, Lucy Hale, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Holt, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Bridgit Mendler, ZZ Ward, Marvel movie soundtracks, the iconic rock band Queen and more.

Research Conclusion:

Surprisingly, alternative and indie rock bands don't often assign to independent, small record labels. For example, Virgin Records supports indie bands, but it still remains part of a $4.9 billion dollar company. Similarly, Nonesuch is part of the Warner Brothers label which makes 12.5 billion in profit every year. The creator of Island Records is worth $180 million. As well as this, I have found that Placebo have previously worked with Virgin Records. 

This information was very helpful to me. I have decided to use Virgin Records because it is a famous label that supports alternative and indie bands, and would also be able to give Placebo enough recognition due to the significance of the label. I believe it will be most suitable to place onto my Placebo CD cover.

Target Audience: Texting

To ensure that I please my target audience, I have asked them which test message I should use in my video:

"I had a really great time"

or "I miss you"

ot "We had a laugh...."




Results:

Summary:

I have decided to use "I miss you" then cut to the blank texting screen, as my target audience feels as though this will have the most impact.