CD Cover. (Systems and Processes)

Introduction
For this brief we were given 1 day to think of a song and then create a single CD cover for that song.

The song i chose was Coldplays - Viva La Vida

Research & image development
My first step was to watch and listen to the song and the video. The video is shot as if it is a moving painting so i decided that the cover should also reflect this. I also noticed that the colours were highly contrasting and that my image should reflect this.

Through listening to the song there was one specific line in it that stood out to me "And I discovered that my castles stand. Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand". I decided that the main focus of my cover should be some form of imposing castle. I did a quick search on google and found Houghton tower about 10 miles away. 

This is one of the pictures i took and felt this was best suited for my needs. I then cropped the image down to fit the size of a CD cover (1080px x 1080px).

Next I slightly upped the contrasts again before using a photoshop filter effect called "Fresco". This then gave the look of a painting.

I added even more texture to the painting by downloading a cracked paint brush from Devient Art. I added these from the edges to make sure it continued the effect of a painting. Finally to keep with the theme of a painting I downloaded a brush font from a free font resource called Da Font. I added the text an in the end came up with two final text fomats. One with a plain white text and one with coloured text. In the end i chose the coloured text as my final CD cover image.

Diagnostic Assessment

This first image I have chosen is by a photographer called Jonathan Knowles. He is perhaps less well known for his work than many other photographers, however it would be hard to go a single day without seeing at least one example of his work on or wall or in a magazine. Another example of his work is the simple bubble adverts for O2.

I have chosen this image of his to look at, as I believe it is a good example of an effective advertising campaign. This image shows how to create a dramatic and almost heroic feel. Yet it does not distract away from the main focus of the image, which is the brand and type of product on offer. The simple lighting set up with a small spotlight used to light just slightly behind the bottle. With one more light used to highlight the bottle. It may have been photographed all as one set up, or post production techniques may have been used to add the bottles reflection as well as frosting too the bottle. The frosting was most likely added postproduction, as the heat caused by the intensity of the lights will have caused it to melt. It appears the bottle will most likely have been set on a table or flat reflective surface and a infinity curve or perhaps a solid back drop was hung a small distance away. I am particularly drawn to this image, as advertising for alcohol usually tends to have a dramatic feel. The more successful ones tend to almost feel heroic, as if this beer is some how meant for greatness or greatness will find you if you drink it. I believe that this is a very successful image.

The next image I have chosen is by a photographer called Michael Kay, who has over 20 years experience photographing food. He shoots on a Hasselblad H3DII-39MS. He owns perhaps one of the only studios in the world that comes with its own professional kitchen.

 I have chosen this image of his to look at, as I believe it is a simple yet effective way of showing food and letting what he is photographing speak for itself. There is nothing fancy about the technique used or the lighting. The skill involved is taking something that is not overly interesting and making it appealing without distracting away from the main focus, which is the food. Making sure the background is white and the lighting gives even coverage with little shadows does this. The way the food is arranged plays a important role as well you have to make it look convincing as if it is something that you at home could make easily. It is safe to say that this image would more than likely be used in some form of cook book. While this sort of photography may appear on the surface not to require much skill, I believe quite the opposite. It is very easy to make a bright and outwardly interesting object into a good photograph. The real skill is taking a object that no one has ever found interesting and making it into something that stands out.