I want to use quite a solid and condensed typeface as this is what has been used for the artists associated with the label and the label itself. Here are some of the typeface I am considering.

I've put together the channel 4 ident to go at the beginning of my title

sequence. I'm really happy with how it looks, and it's a good way to

add a context to my programme.

I thought one way to start my TV titles would be to have the channel 4 ident beforehand. Rather than using the normal channel 4 logo, I used the first logo channel 4 used, relevant to the era I am looking at. I then gave it a 2-Tone make over to reflect the programme about to start.

Thatcher made prime minister

Southall Riots

Some of the images I've produced for the tv titles. Taken from screen grabs of news footage, I've discarded the colour and merged them with a texture. The shape of the images seems more suitable than having a very square image with sharp corners. This shape reminds me of old photographs and tv screens, which is more appropriate.

Flyer - session 3

To put together this flyer, I had to decide what were the most important bits of information and how to gain the correct reading order. The type in the racism in Europe section was too compact and looked like too much text, also the logos attracted too much attention.
We discussed the addition of logo's and that ideally we should arrange them in a way that communicates each logo having the same importance. On the above example ULB and Anti-racism seem the most important.


Here I have tried to arrange the logos so they all look equal in terms on heirarchy, the hope is that doing that and then putting them into the flyer, they will stop being so noticeable and more attention will be paid to the information on the flyer.



I've now addressed the heirarchy issues, re-done the logo's and broken the bulk of text into 2 columns to try and make it more readable. I also changed the reverse out anti-bnp because before it seemed to promote the BNP rather than being against it.

Timeline

A more refined idea of the structure of my timeline for the TV
title sequence.

Test Pieces/After Effects

This is a test into whether I can move individual elements of the album cover, in order to make them appear less static and become more involved in the animation. One of the things I really like about 2-Tone is the movement and energy it portrays, it's important that this is reflected in the TV titles.

Composition to show how the two images will work together.

Using the logo I found previously, I created these two figures of Walt Jabsco. These will be animated like a stop frame to give the appearance of him dancing.

Frames to show the content of the TV titles. I think that the artwork looks too static and so perhaps it might be worth while separating the different elements onto different layers so I can take advantage of how much I can move about.

Originally I was going to use just the checkered lines across the top and bottom of the frame but after watching that for 50 seconds it would probably be too boring. Maybe adding the feature of the nutty boy dancing will re-emphasise the rhythm.

Possible composition for the timeline

As part of my time line idea, I want to show movement of the people involved through stop motion. Here I have taken images from a madness gig, and singled out the dancer. I've reproduced the images of him using black and white and then applied it to a texture that represents an old vinyl cover. One of the idea's I had was to have images from the timeline come from different places, so this video is to test how that works visually and whether it fits with the soundtrack.
I'm happy with this, at a testing stage, however there are parts I want to tweek and I am also considering whether I should use the texture as the background for the whole composition rather than the stop frame...

Considering how the images could be set up in different depths so that the camera can zoom to different events

Soundtrack

Here's the music I've decided to use for my tv titles.
The track is called 'Sea Cruise' and performed by Rico. I decided to go for a track without lyrics so that the meaning of the song wasn't forced upon the tv programme. At the moment I think the fade in is a bit exaggerated but I want to wait until I start putting the imagery to it before I change anything.

Instead of keeping the sequence just black and white, the white will be replaced by this textured paper I found on istock photo. This is to give the appearance of old paper that the record packaging may resemble. This way when black images are layered on top they won't look so crisp and will have a sort of aged appearance, which is more appropriate.

The content list of the timeline

Possible imagery to include within the sequence.

Examples of how the timeline could be structured, also I've tried to divide the time into segments dedicated to each year so I know what I'm working with. Idea's for the timeline include having the timeline come towards the screen, and information/related images coming off it. Also having a panning timeline with other images interacting with the timeline.

The feedback sheets after the crit. This was really useful because it made me think more about how I could use the dimensions to my advantage rather than still thinking in a 2D way.

Using stills from a Madness video, I've produced this sequence of images to show skanking. I originally produced the images in Photoshop but thought that they were too crisp for the era. By using different types of media to fill in the black and photocopying I attempted to lose some quality. I'm not sure how effective this is and so I might try to layer the images onto a texture reminiscent of a record cover.

press ads - session 2

Designing a press ad for a decorator. This was quite interesting in thinking what information was important to keep in and what was just taking up space. The act of taking one layout and trying it in lots of different subtle ways was a really useful exercise.

personality of type - session 2

Using the typeface that we had previously analysed, we were asked to think about how we would describe the typeface, considering personality traits.



We then had to think about what animal the typeface would be, I thought the typeface would be a feline, specifically a panther. I imagined it would be quite majestic, and elegant but that it would be able to protect and attack if needed.




Giving a profession to the typeface proved quite difficult. I thought the typeface would be the kind of person to own a lot of businesses and be top of the chain. I couldn't really think of what I would call this kind of person and settled for a professional 'bastard'.

Timelined information

I've mapped out the information I've found out about the single releases along a time line, with information about; Artist, Name of record, A Side, B Side, Position in Chart, Date of release. For some of the releases I've also included interesting facts.

A lot of the information I sourced from 2-tone.info and songfacts.com

Also included is events in society along a separate timeline. To find out this information I used BBC news, and watched news footage on youtube. I also contacted members of my target audience to ask them what they remembered from that era. The trouble with this was that a lot of peoples memories were related to their location and so wasn't suitable for everyone.

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Couple of examples:

"I can barely remember what happened yesterday, never mind 20 odd years ago!!! I was 10-16 so let me think....two tone music was big - Specials, Selector, Madness but by the early eighties the New Romantic era was kicking in...Adam and the Ants, Duran Duran, Spandeau Ballet etc.....with this went flamboyant piratey type shirts/blouses, ra-ra skirts, leg warmers and neon colours. Worst of all a lot of men started wearing make-up!!! I guess we were introduced to Madonna at some point during this period too.

The 1980 Olympics took place in Russia.

Video players/recorders became more common place and started appearing in homes! In 1982 Channel 4 started and the world was introduced to the likes of Countdown and Brookside!! Things like Space Invaders and PakMan also became popular (obviously I was too bust doing my homework to realise!!)"

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"1979 big news was Margaret Thatcher becoming first female PM. Iconic film "Life of Brian" was made. Iconic album "London Calling" released by Clash. I started at RHS

1980 John Lennon shot in December. Can still remember that morning stood in assembly and it got mentioned!

1981 THE Royal Wedding (Charles and Diana) which I didn't watch as I was at Guide camp!! Peter Sutcliffe convicted of Yorkshire Ripper murders - these murders had been making the news since the early 70's and it was a very big deal when he was caught. Soft Cell released "Tainted Love" - huge hit

1982 Channel 4 started. Falklands War - the year before girls in the year above had gone on an educational cruise. The one in 1982 was cancelled as the ship was used as a hospital ship. Mary Rose was raised from the Solent - remember watching this on breakfast tv before school. One of my favourite actress Grace Kelly (Princess Grace of Monaco) died in a car crash

1983 Greenham common anti nuclear protesters set up camp. I heard The Smiths for the first time - most excellent. £1 coin introduced. Maggie Thatcher won another General Election (OMG)

1984 Torvill and Dean won gold with the "Bolero" at Sarajevo Winter Olympics. The IRA bombed the Tory party conference at Brighton (again remember watching this on breakfast tv before school). I passed my driving test (first attempt)

1985 End of the Miner's strike. LIVE AID in July on telly all day. Remember watching first episode of EastEnders"

Characteristics - Session 1

An part of understanding the structure of typefaces, we each picked a typeface and analysed it using formal attributes and in comparison to another typeface. We then picked out key characters so that it may help us to identify that typeface in the future.
This was a really interesting exercise, in particular when comparing two similar typefaces and things start getting very technical.

Using formal attributes we spent the session today analysing a typeface of our choice. I chose to analyse Arno Pro.




We then used the characters from our initials to create patterns, this was a really good way to think about the actual shape of the letters and helped to make me understand the typeface a bit more.

Rationale 2-Tone

Brief Title

Top 10 2-Tone Records
Subject and Rationale (including themes, target audience, tone of voice)
My subject is records from the record label 2-Tone. 2-Tone had a big part in reviving Ska music in '79 and the music became a way of life for many, but the era was short lived. The TV programme proposed would be made in celebration of the record label, and aimed at original fan's of the music/label. The target audience therefor are likely to be aged in their 40's-50's. The tone of voice should be nostalgic, since it is a look back to that era, but it also needs to reflect the tone of the original label. Although the lyrics can be quite gritty in reflecting societies problems, the actual music and the 'skanking' often displayed adds an element of tongue in cheek humour. This sense of fun is also apparent in the labels artwork.
Things to include could be; the origin of the music, the beginning of the label, the artists included on the label, famous tours, society at that time/lifestyles.
The main themes are music and society.
Design Directions (Design concepts, tone of voice etc)
A hand made approach seems appropriate currently. This sort of production would suit and reflect the labels artwork well. In response to feedback I have had from my presentation I've decided that the narrative for the TV sequence should aim to communicate the history of the label, alongside events that were happening in British society at the same time. This way, not only is it a reminder to original fans, other demographics won't be excluded and should be able to understand what '2-Tone' is without the use of a voice over.
Black and white is the obvious colour choice, since this is predominately what the label makes use of. However, if I choose to use any other colours in combination it is likely to be red and blue, taken from the chequered clothing of Fred Perry.
Sound wise, I want to use music. Specifically 'Sea Cruise' performed by Rico. I chose an instrumental piece so that the lyrics of the song don't take over the meaning of the TV sequence. This particular song is a good representative of the sounds present in many of the records from 2-Tone.


Action Plan and Deadline,
Map out along a timeline the record releases alongside events in society Saturday
Collect appropriate images of the artists and start reproducing them (either paper crafted or drawn) Sunday
Create logo for the TV programme Monday
Plan narrative for the sequence Monday
Start storyboarding Tuesday
Decide on appropriate image for DVD menu Tuesday

Response to feedback,

The feedback I received for my presentation is in bold.

My responses in italic.

+ Picked a clear subject matter, starting to associate with imagery

Need to collect more imagery, of both the label and associated artists

+ Good understanding of record labels and associated artists

May be useful to jot information down along a timeline to help with understanding the progression of the label

+ Broad range of research

Need to get in touch with target audience, start to gather memories/emotions

+ Considered range of visual design including tone and colour, which has been chosen in relation to the music

- More visuals would help at this stage

Need to gather visuals of events, artists, band identities/logos, other material

* Are you keeping to vector graphics?

I would like the aesthetics to appear more hand made rather than computer generated, this reflects the artwork of album covers and also avoids appearing too modern

* Are you going to be using sound/music along with your ident? If so, which?

At the moment I am considering using music from the label. Preferably the music will be instrumental. Currently I am considering a track from the artist Rico. This track wouldn't be included in the top 10 but the sounds included in the track represent the label well.

* Who are your target market

My target audience are original fans of the label/music. It is most likely that they will be ages 40's - 50's both male and female.

Presentation - 2Tone

Looking at the Walt Jabsco logo, I want to see if it's possible to move him using just the white shapes on a black background. I cut the white shapes out of paper and then moved them round and photographed them, testing to see if I could make him dance. It worked ok, I'm not sure how clear the movement is using stills, perhaps it would be more clear if actually animated and considering pace.

Top 10 Brief

The 'Top 10' brief appealed to me most to begin with. When doing the video's before I was starting to get to a point where I wanted to create a longer video and allow for narrative to expand.
Over the last year or so I've started to enjoy certain music a lot more, in particular ska. Since 2009 was the 30th anniversary of the Two Tone record label I'm quite interested in producing something that celebrates that. Currently I'm considering 'Top 10 Two Tone Records'.
There's a clear demographic associated with this music, and I'd like to target this particular audience in celebration, rather than trying to entice others.
The tone of voice can be decided through looking at the music video's that accompanied these records and see how the artists portrayed themselves. From looking at a few (I'll put links on my context blog) so far, it's quite tongue in cheek.