"JACE" Artist Logo Design Drafts

I have decided that the artists name will be "JACE". I came up with this name as the artists real name is Joseph and i wanted to mix the name Joseph with the word Ace so i came up with Jace. These are the drafts for the artists logo. I will shortlist it until i get one final font. All the fonts where provided by dafont.com I do not own the logo designs what so ever. I wanted to use fonts which looks like graffiti and urban art to push the urban theme.

Font: MARSNEVENEKSK

Font: Inner City

Font: DCC - Scisor

Font: Culdesac

Font: Dystopia

Font: Lazy Sans

Font: Cracked

Font: Vademecum

Digipak Inspiration #4: Chance The Rapper - Acid Rap

This is another illustrated album cover, which is closely similar to the genre of WPAP pop art. The colours used in this album cover is quite 'trippy' which can relate to the tone of the music of this artist. This type of album artwork was most likely made on photoshop & Illustrator.It is quite simplistic but the colours used can tell the audience something about the music that will be on the album.

Digipak Inspiration #3: Kid Cudi - Dat Kid

This is another illustrated album cover which belongs to Kid Cudi. I would like to create an album cover like so that the audience get familiar with the artists face and so that the audience can establish the type of vibe that the artist has, which will described by the type of colours/colour schemes used.

Digipak Inspiration #2: WPAP Pop Art

This is WPAP pop art, which is considered a neo/modernised version of Pop Art. WPAP art includes segmenting the picture into shapes based on the tones of the image. The colour scheme is then added to the shades which makes a sort of kaleidoscope. Different shapes can have different images added inside of them. This is good if the artist has a set of distinctive colours that they use. 

Digipak Inspiration #1: The Underachievers - Indigoism

Im trying to go for an illustrated look such as this from the group The Underachievers. I want to add meaning to the artists album cover to add a subliminal message which could be interpreted in different ways by different people. The album cover should be a visualisation of how the music will feel when listened to; sort of a hippy ideology ;)! I will probably have to use a combination of programs which will probably be Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

Inspiration #7: Skate Shangai

These are the type of shots I should use for all the skating shots which are pretty dynamic and can add a concept to the music video with the help of effects (e.g. Slow motion)

Inspiration #6: Hopsin - Sag My Pants

Although, this song is not a conscious rap based song, the main purpose of this music video was to introduce the artist to the big industry (as this was his debut single which gained him a significant amount of recognition). It represents him as rebellious artist who is against the main artists and representation of artists in the big industry. He is also represented as a urban artist through the clothing he is wearing and the scenery where he is performing. 

Inspiration #5: Chuck Inglish x Ab-soul x Mac Miller - Easily

Although this song is not necessarily labelled as a conscious Rap song, the thing i like about this music video is the used of good scenery and the clothing that all the artists are wearing, i think that this plays a role in giving the music video a urbanised feel. The main thing i like about this song is the use of animation and how the animation is an illustration of the lyrics in the song. I think that the animation used plays a BIG role in allowing the viewer to remember the beat of the song but most importantly the lyrics of the song, which then makes the song extremely catchy. In fact this was my first time even hearing the song, I just happened to stumble across it as i was doing research on my inspirations on exiting music videos but already I have added it to my playlist!

Inspiration #4: A$AP Ferg - Perisan Wine

Although the song does include quite a lot of profanities, the song is orientated around having a "brotherhood" as a means to survive in life; as the chorus says' Imma ride for my ***, pull a nine for my ***, provide for my ***" the music video, like all the other music videos in my inspiration list, include a Mob mentality, as a large amount of extras are used in the background, especially towards the outro of the song, where the artist and extras are walking around with flamed torches. This can denote the same meaning as all the other music videos, which is that young black youths find they have to struggle as a means to survive.

Inspiration #3: A$AP Rocky - Multiply

Although the contents of the song has more to do with fasion and "trap" concepts, the scenery and location of the music video is somewhat what i would like my music video to look like. However, an aspect of the music video which is similar to the other music videos that are in my list of inspiration, is that "mob' conceptuality and also the costumes and clothing that the artist and the artists are wearing, which gives the music video a urbanised look.

Inspiration #2: Ab-soul Ft Danny Brown - Terrorist Threats

This is a well-known an up-coming artist known as Ab-soul. His style is mainly Conscious Rap and is in the group known as TDE. This song also focuses on the concept of government corruption and being under 'Control' from being a free human being. Unlike Joey's music video, this video was shot in the night time which means they would've needed to have very good lighting. Something which is reacquiring in both of the music videos is the use of the American flag in the background (or in the case of Joey's music video, one of the extra's was wearing an American flag as a cape). This can denote a deeper meaning and can be interpreted in many ways; one way of interpreting it is that they feel as if they are constantly fed the 'American agenda' and feel as if it clothing that they can never remove. However, unlike Joey's music video, this music video uses extra effects which are sometimes in sync with the beat of the song. Perhaps the reason these artist use outside scenery and such urbanised looking scenery, can mean that they feel that black youths are constantly on a struggle to get to where they would like to be. They also use footage from news casts such as reports on police brutality, homeless epidemics etc.

Inspiration #1: Joey Badass x Capital Steez - Survival Tactics

In this music video, the topic of the song is corruption within the government and political system, most of the shots are done outside either in dungeons or dark alleyways; this can connote a urbanised theme to the artists appearance and can also connote how underground there persona is and how this is the environment that the government (or 'higher ups') have put them in to keep them in suppression. In short the song talks about how black youths in poverty driven areas such as Harlem, The Bronx etc, find it incredibly difficult to live life legitimately due to the environment they are stuck in, which in the end leads to to live a life of crime through drug dealing and other criminal activity. Almost all of the people in this music video are wearing scarves, bandanas etc to cover their face; they are also walking down the street in a large group which can connote that they are rebelling against the rules that are set upon them. This can be highly related to the early hip-hop group known as Public Enemy. Groups and artists such as these will film mainly in urbanised areas to connote a raw appearance which is what i will add to my music video.

Test Shot #5

In this footage, i was trying to capture the artist do some tricks on their skateboard. Although the scenery was quiet urbanised, the angles where not that dynamic. Perhaps in the future I should look at some professional skateboarding montage videos and use the same angles that they use in their footage.

Test Shot #4

This so far is the best shot in terms of lighting and framing, however, the only problem in this shot which has been reaccuring in all the other shots is the fact that all the lyrics are not synched with the artist in this shot. When we film again, I will ensure that the artist has learnt all of the lyrics so that the lip synching will be on-time with the music.

Test Shot #3

In this shot, the camera was too shaky and also, the camera lighting was poor, in future shoots I should ensure that I have some sort of lighting before i decide to shoot footage.

Test Shot #2

In this test shot i was able to establish a good very useful and relevant camera angle which i gained knowledge upon through my research (conventions of a hip-hop music video. I also got good lighting. However, the camera was a bit shaky and i did not direct the artist enough. In future camera shoots, i must explain to the artist what they must be doing in greater detail. Another issue was the lip synching which was not one hundred percent on point with the actual music; I should ensure, as the director, that the artist has enough time to recite the lyrics so they are ready to lip sync on beat with the music.

Test Shot #1

In this shot i was attempting to capture the artist walking at a fast pace while lip synching to the music. The issue with this shot is that it was too shakey and thats due to the fact that I did not have a tripod. Next time i film, it should be key that i have a tripod in order to stabilise the footage, or i should film the artist walking at a slower pace and have an idea of where i should be back peddling. 

Anamatic

Storyboard For Music Video

This is the storyboard which i will base my music video around. The shots that i have numbered are shots which will be repetitive. As it is shown through some of the shots in my storyboard, the main theme of the music video will be skateboarding and will involve the artist performing skilful tricks, which could addd some really dynamic angles to the music video and also allow me to add more editing skills e.g slow motion, RGB breakdown etc. Not all the shots are shown on the storyboard this is just a rough outline of what I would like my music video to look like, when actually filming i will also be adding different shots (which have not been added on the storyboard) but also use the storyboard as a reference to where the shot would go in relation to the song.

Response From Relentless Record Label!

The response I received from Relentless, asking me for a draft video, this could be the perfect opportunity. This also helps with making my music video more to specific to my Target Audience as the record label can access wether it is suited to their target audience which should roughly be the same.