Initial website designs

We went through the development of our website, first drawing out basic flat plans of what we wanted our website to look like, and the different page designs, leading to what our website looks like now. 

 The picture on the left is one of our original home page designs, with our band name in large writing over the top of the home page followed by the menu bar underneath. We planned to have a large box with a slideslow of band photos, and a facebook and twitter feed either side of this for viewers to post and comment about the site and our band. The pictures help the audience to interact with the band and feel like they know a bit about them from seeing the photos.

On the right is a pop up we wanted when someone first looks at the website. We planned to have it as a round pop up, due to the shape of our logo, with pictures and news cut into the logo. You could then press click the small 'x' button to lead to the main website.

Following designing our home page, and pop up, we planned the layout of a few of the main pages, such as the gallery and the recent band news page. For the gallery page, we decided to have a main photo to click from each gallery that leads you to a large gallery of our band shoot, our video shoot. We liked the simple design and this design is exactly the same on our website now. For the news page we wanted to have main news down one side, with older news in an archive that could be opened up. Our plans for each page have influenced the website alot, although some have been adapted and changed to create synergy across all our pages and also just to be more fluid and interactive.

Animatic

Instead of drawing out a key shots storyboard, we decided to make a titled animatic. We did this so that we could see where each shot would go in the video, how much time they would take up, and where the gaps were in terms of spaces without key shots or spaces with too little or too much of one set-up. We also drew out some of the most important shots so that we shared the same vision for these.

The colour coding for the Animatic is as follows:

Hospital
Dancer in brick lane
Grunge
Projection



Making the animatic was incredibly helpful in terms of the progression of the pre-production of the music video. When filming, we ensured that the band performance was particularly strong in shots that we knew we would use for that particular set up, and we took care to get good quality takes of all of our key shots.

Through making our animatic and through the editing process, we realised that we would confuse audiences by introducing all four set ups right from the beginning. Even the initial flashes of Kai (the dancer) were too confusing to start from 15 seconds in alongside hospital and grunge, two set-ups we definitely needed from the start. For this reason we decided to introduce the projection set-up at the beginning of chorus 1, and the dancer set-up at the beginning of the verse. We feel like this really helped to make the concept clearer to the audience than it otherwise would have been had we not made the animatic.

Flat Plans for Album Cover

After having brainstormed and finally planning our album cover, we drew out these flat plans to ensure we collectively shared the same idea for all four panels. Also, once drawn out, we could check that our ideas worked, and could identify any larger or smaller problems we may have with our proposed idea. For example, after talking to media teachers and showing them these flat plans, we were realised that the front cover shot may be very difficult to light. This is because the bathroom is very small, and we could not use flash as it would reflect from the water. Furthermore, we could not take the photography lights out of school as they were not portable. In the end we bounced a fill light from the ceiling in order to light our subject evenly. When shooting out of water, we used a spotlight to give depth to the portrait. 

Front Cover

This image denotes a close-up of Arianna submerged in water, looking directly into the camera with a completely blank expression. Her make-up is perfect and her hair is flowing and voluminous in the water. The image is striking and has connotations of Arianna being powerful and bold, despite having a blank expression. The band name is at the top and bottom of the panel and the album name slanted at the side. 

Back Cover

In this image Arianna has seemingly come out of the bath, however now she is dripping wet and her make-up has run down her face. Again she looks directly into the camera and at the audience and she wears a blank expression, except to the audience she is no longer connoted as powerful, but much more vulnerable. The track listing appears next to her with the bar-code and record label logo at the bottom of the panel. 

Brick Lane Location Plans

These show the different locations that we decided to shoot at following our location reccie. This corresponds to the shoot schedule made in which locations are quoted with the same numbers. 

Shoot Schedule For Brick Lane Shoot 1

We made a shoot schedule for the On-Location shoot in brick lane with our dancer, which took place on Sunday 17th November. We took into account the diminishing sunlight hours we would have, and for this reason planned to start our shoot at 9. 

This meant that we would arrive at 8.30 to set up and do make-up, and could leave our houses at 7.30, giving our actors as much sleep as possible!

We did not plan the times of individual shots in Brick Lane as many were flexible with location, instead we planned out the possible locations for each shot, and whenever we ran ahead of schedule, we could shoot the more flexible shots. 

To see the map with images of these locations, click here. 

Costume List

Grunge:
Ella: Light Denim Shorts, Black Sparkly top, black boots
Rakhi: Medium Denim Shorts, Black top with lace, black boots
Alice: Denim shorts, black crop top, black boots
Arianna: Black high-waisted shorts, bright orange crop top, black heels

Hospital:
Ella: Scrubs
Rakhi: Scrubs
Alice: Scrubs
Arianna: Straight Jacket and White Nightie

Projection:
Ella: Black sparkly dress, black boots
Rakhi: Black rainbow band dress, black boots
Alice: Black geometric cut-out dress, black boots
Arianna: Red lacy dress, black heels
 

Props List

Props List

Grunge:
Microphone stands x4
Microphones x4
Guitar
Bass
Amps x 2
Wires for Amps x 2
Drum Kit
Chains!!!!
Smoke Machine IS LOST
Scaffolding
Ladders

Hospital:
Syringes
Needle heads
Trolley/table
Straight Jacket
Chains
Bed
Mattress
Bed sheets
Blanket
Pillow
Pillow Cover
Pills
Pill Cups

Projection:
Guitar
Bass
Amps x2
Drum Kit
Projection Reel
Lights for lens flares

Test Shoot

We had our test shoot on the 7th November, in the studio, to test out our lighting and the whole mise en scene of our studio shots. We focused on the mental hospital scenes, to test out the cyclorama and because the hospital scenes have the most complicated shots.

We did a test shoot and after completing it we learnt:

- The lighting that worked - in our hospital scenes, the infinite white really works on the camera we are using, and in our band scenes the lighting looks good, but we need to adjust the spotlights on each band member because there was too many shadows and the spotlights were slightly too dark.

- It took us 3 hours to set up the studio before we started filming, however it will be quicker when we do it for the real shoot, because we have had practise but we have to make sure we are efficient in setting up the studio to ensure we have enough time for shooting all 3 studio set ups.

- During our test shoot for the projection set up, we have lens flares either side of the projector, and we have to change the position of the bass and guitar players in the band because they were getting in the way of the lens flares, so we have had to rethink the set up of our band when they are performing.


Our group was really pleased we did a test shoot, because we now feel more positive about the real shoot and are happy with the mise en scene and lighting for most shots. We also got practise on the camera we will be using, so got ready for working with that and learning all the settings as well as practising using the dolly for moving shots, to make sure we get a lot of variety in our shots.

Logo Development

When creating the logo, we had a clear idea of a rough image: we wanted graffiti style text for an edgy urban feel, warped into the shape of a circle, however, details and additions to this design came along the way. The following pictures demonstrate the process we went through in the making of our logo:

This is the initial font with only a text warp; this was not round enough for the effect we were trying to achieve.

We used a free transform warp to create a slicker, circular text which was still legible, having reached the initial idea however, we decided this was too plain.

Since our band name is derived from an adapted movie quote not an affection for the extinct creatures, we did not want to affiliate ourselves too much with their image, however, to give the logo more depth we thought we would add the shadow and outline of a dinosaur, using a clipping mask, to just the text not the space in between. This makes our logo more eye-catching as it is not immediately obvious what the overlaid image is.

The final logo
To  reinforce the edgy urban feel, we erased the edges of the font slightly so it looked more like graffiti and added a black circle outline for a slick finish and so it looked like the font was bursting out of somewhere instead of just being round which reflects the larger than life attitude of our lead singer.

Grunge Costume

We have tried out lots of outfits for the grunge set-up, such as those below.

We liked these outfits individually, however we agree with feedback that we do not look like we have been stylised as a band. For this reason we will change the grunge costume to create unity among the band, such as everyone wearing denim shorts to create a unified, grunge look.

Projection Set-Up Costume

We decided that we wanted strong unity for this set up. Initially we decided that we would all wear black dresses, and so we all bought in what we had.

 However, after trying Arianna in all of these dresses, we decided that the best way to make her stand out would be with a different colour dress. We chose red because it is extremely bold and dramatic, connotations the audience will immediately recognise.

We eventually decided on the dress on the left because we felt it suited her more and because the connotations were less sexual.

This is our final costume for the projection set-up. Arianna is clearly the lead; this is connoted by her stance at the front as well as her red dress which draws attention to her.
Ella, Alice and Rakhi (left to right) are all in black dresses, creating unity amongst the band.

Projection Brainstorm

After realising that the amount of clips we had planned for our projection was no where near enough, we decided to have another discussion about what we could potentially include. This is a list of what we came up with:

• Labyrinth
• Marilyn Monroe - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slfkiWZ7ozI
• Shawshank Redemption - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRBl0GPBm4o
• The Crucible - courtroom -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUPpP2khS9g
• Inception - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bsGUOVTA84&safe=active
• Mulan - face wipe - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A_Rl8aQxII
• Rocky Horror science fiction http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5MHNvOVl8Y&list=PL53B7B603E0C0F4A3 timewarp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rtkdo7bOmJc
• Young people using mobiles 
• Candy
• The Simpsons
• Breaking Bad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjWBm1T9MHY&safe=active
• Luther
• Alice in Wonderland - falling down the rabbit hole? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHte24GGHD4
• Wizard of Oz - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzAJT18VB_k&safe=active
• Mary Poppins - Chalk Drawing - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy7XEMeBROQ
• Kill Bill - snow fight http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTFJPfQ4rLc
• Dollhouse - Pod bit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW9vtJDzsM0
• Gattaca - swimming http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll5qiWa6YDk Irene http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEOPA4dzK2s
• Life of Pi - tiger bits - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aee2cbOh5kk&safe=active

Meeting 31/10/2013 (and some album art research)

After meeting with our actor we had a media meeting in which we made the following to do list for the near future:

• Finish visual references
• Order chains
• Finalise grunge outfits
• Choose and download projection clips
• Order needle tips
• Develop key shots
• Chose Brick Lane locations
• Brainstorm album art further
• Arrange a second studio planning meeting
• Create social media accounts (twitter, instagram, facebook)
• Decide on and find visual references for make up and hair

We also went to HMV to look at album art and decided we thought it would be better to have a CU  of Arianna on the front cover. This is because the image would be more striking, and it is too small to have four figures with enough detail to be seen to still attract the audience. An example of a cover we really liked was Jessie J's new album. We found ourselves drawn to this much more than the others on display. We also liked Union J's marketing strategy of selling the same album but with four different covers, one for each band member, as well as a deluxe album with a group photo. This encourages fans to buy the album in order to support their favourite member.

We came up with several new ideas for album art. The first was a CU of Arianna holding a needle syringe to her head like a gun. We liked this idea because it is a very striking image but we realised this may have connotations of suicide, something we very clearly want to avoid so we ruled out this idea. 

We then thought we could change one side of her face, maybe disfigure it, or make one side perfected and leave the other side natural looking. This idea is still in development. We also noted that we wanted to keep the chains iconography if possible. 

Props - Syringe Orders

To make the hospital scene more realistic and graphic, we have ordered syringes and needle heads. These items have instant connotations which the audience will recognise, and lets the nurses have more interaction with Arianna. We can also shoot graphic close ups to offset the audience. 

 

Whilst making an order for the needles, we thought we could achieve a graphic extreme close up of the needle sticking into flesh by using meat as a substitute as we clearly will not inject Arianna. We brainstormed ideas and decided that some of our options are the rind of a piece of pork, or perhaps a sausage if we could find a suitable colour. 
 

Meeting with Kai (Dancer/Actor) - 31/10/13

This post is a summary of what we discussed over lunch with our actor.

We decided that we wanted a mixture of static, flowing movements and more dramatic motion, including jumps and levels. We all listened to the song, and picked out sections which movements could correspond with. We asked him to choreograph certain sequences for parts of the song, but also asked him to be prepared to improvise within the themes we gave him.

In terms of costume, he assured us that he was happy to dance in most types of clothing. Therefore, he is going to send us pictures of a variety of options and we will see which best fits the style.

He also confirmed that he was available for the shoot and the re-shoot date just in case. We have arranged to meet with him once more prior to the first shoot in order to have a proper look and the dances he has prepared. In this meeting, we hope to make any final adjustments with him.

Performance Scene - Projector

In one of our performance set ups, including the projector in the background, we are showing short clips from films that have relevance to our band, such as Heathers and Fight Club. This includes references to pop culture that the audience can relate to.

For example, the scene at the end of the film Fight Club, is of buildings falling down, and is an iconic moment in the film, after the main character has just found out he has two personalities and has been imagining one. This will be recognised instantly by most people, and adds to our band identity.

Other clips we wish to include on our projection are:

Fight Club: where Tyler gets a chemical burn on hand
Heathers: JD and Veronica shooting scene in the forest
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest: McMurphy breaking a window
Shutter Island: Scene in ward C talking to another mental patient
Shutter Island: End scene - Teddy Daniels realising he is Andrew Laeddis
Candy: Opening scene, with the 2 main characters spinning

We have not decided on every clip yet, but these are some of the clips we have been thinking about. When we design our projection we have to ensure that the clips are powerful but short because shots will be short as a lot of montage editing will be used, so the clips have to be easily recognised as they are scene for only a couple of seconds at a time.

Album Art Research

Siouxsie and the Banshees

I decided to do album art research on Siouxie and the Banshees debut album. The band is not all female, but the main female vocalist is female, and the bands style is similar to ours, as their music comprises elements of pop and gothic rock. 

This is an unconventional debut album cover, because often on the cover of debut albums, artists include a picture of them to introduce the band. Siouxshie and the banshees have gone for something different, offering an image that continues onto the back of the album. The album art is influenced by a 1968 film called The Swimmer. Their debut album introduced their sound, now regarded as a post-punk sound.

Despite an unconventional debut album cover, the album art does feature many conventions including:

- Some imagery, referencing popular culture of the time from the film 'The Swimmer', attracting viewers
- The band are not featured on the album art creating enigma around who the band are, especially as it is their debut album
- The band and album name in a colour that stands out, bold, against the dark colours of the background
- Synergy between the front and back cover of the album, with similar colours and the imagery continuing onto the back of the album
- The album and band name down the spine of the CD
- On the back cover: bar code, copyright info and information about the record label


The style of this album is unconventional, especially for a debut album, as the artist is not featured on the album art at all, but a strong reference to popular culture of the time as been used instead to attract viewers.

Brick Lane Location Reccie

We decided to do a location reccie before shooting our outdoor scenes so that we could plan our shots and shoot schedules etc. but also so that we could understand what was possible and so that as a group we had a united vision of what was to be achieved. We looked around the areas of Brick Lane and Shoreditch as we knew that there would be lots of street art rather than just normal graffiti, and as a group we had established a preference for this because of the urban feel as well as the many individual connotations of each piece of art. 


Here is a powerpoint with all the locations we went to on the day!


When seeing that one piece of grafitti we loved was covered up when a shop opened (first image below), we realised how important it is to research and plan locations carefully, and to get permissions when appropriate!

We particularly liked the graffiti below due to the bright colours. We had to take into account how things would look on camera and we believed these would stand out.

We found the graffiti below with the rockets on a main road. We then realised that this would be particularly difficult to shoot as it can be very busy. We therefore ensured to look for more locations to replace those which may be impossible to shoot near.

Costume and Prop Research: Strait Jacket

As part of the hospital scene, we want to use a strait jacket. None of us own a strait jacket so we researched online to find one within our budget. Here are some we have found so far: 

Website Research - Cage the Elephant, Noisettes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

This post contains analysis of the websites of three bands with similarities to Chaos Killed the Dinosaurs: Cage the Elephant, a band who had great success with their debut album, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, one of our musical influences with a strong female lead and the Noisettes, a band which also has strong female representation, all of the indie pop/rock genres.

This is the current front page of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's website, it features:

• band branding in the top left corner taken from their most recent album
• a blog on the home page giving users information on band news and pictures and videos of gigs
• a modern, simple font
• an easy to use navigation bar on the side
• a black and white colour scheme which helps the coloured band branding
• a background which appears to be a part of a body with moving bugs crawling on it which is confusing which draws in and fascinates the user
• links to social media in the bottom left hand corner
• a list of people listening with a link to their live blog

This is the current front page of the Noisettes' website, featuring:

• Branding of latest album through imagery, colours and font
• Links to buy first single and new album
• Large band picture
• Female lead of band is more prominent with composition and costume in image
• Bright, eye-catching aesthetics
• Links to social media at the bottom
• Animal imagery of cheetahs
• News about tours and performance on home page
• Links to new, blog, media and live performance at top bar on home page
• Institutional copy at bottom of page
• Iconic band font, different to album font



This is the current front page of Cage the Elephant's website, with notable features:

• black and white colour scheme
• scrolling image reel as main feature, including:
• aspirational tour video (a band member crowd surfing has good connotations about concerts and relationship between band and crowd/fans)
• link to buy latest album
• link to music store
• link to merchandise store
• branding of latest album in synergy with colour scheme and imagery of front page
• blog of latest news on front page
• link to sign up to their newsletter
• music player
• link to news, music, tours, photos, videos, biography and shop on navigation bar

From these denotations, we will consider:

• different fonts for album name and band name
• synergy between imagery on album and website
• what to put in our navigation bar as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Noisettes have minimal navigation options, however this may be because they are more established bands and have less need to promote merchandise to fans
• having a blog or news on our home page
• having a link to "buy" our debut single or album on the home page
• band performance pictures, although this only featured with Cage the Elephant, it is effective in promoting their live music
• having a scrolling reel on our home page as this bombards the user with promotion of the band