Logo WIP

After looking back at my logo, I decided that it did need to have the stroke increased to be a little higher in places, as this would make it stand out some more. I also added some circles to the points of the hourglass, and a explosion/fire using the star shape at the bottom.

This looks a lot clearer, especially when small and will fit nicely onto my inlay and label. I toyed with the idea of adding the star effect to the top of the hourglass too, but decided against it.

This is going to be my final design. I mostly used the ellipse and rounded rectangle tools, with the star tool to create a simple yet effective logo. As mentioned in a previous post, this image could be made almost any size, The circular points in the corner would not become pixelated or out of shape, while the curves of the ellipses would likewise, stay as smooth as they are now.

Illustrator and Logo

Illustrator is going to be used for 2 things within this project, the DVD label and a company logo.

This post will feature my design and initial ideas for the company logo. I decided to go with a simple but bold logo that would stand out, be recognisable yet simple enough to create.

I decided an eye motif would be a good start, as it works well with the idea for the film, is a bold shape, and can be added to to create a bit of detail. 

One of my other ideas for the logo was to use an hourglass, as another easily recognisable shape, and I decided that I could include both of these together in the same image. Having an hourglass replace the pupil for the eye, a simpler border would be the very basic logo.

I think the dark blue, as a logo background works well. I have considered Changing the background colour, although the white will give a nice contrast to the black used for the Disc and the Inlay. I do feel the lines may need to be adjusted. Increasing the thickness of the lines may make it easier to see, as the image will be rather small when used.  

The use of Illustrator rather than Photoshop to create this is that it is a vector image. This means that it can be made any size and still keep it's shape without pixels becoming too obvious. The way this is achieved is through the use of points and lines, to create a shape, rather than just using an actual shape. For example, the data used to store a normal image would consist of which colour each pixel (a dot of colour) is, this means every single dot would need to be accounted for. And making these images bigger or smaller (taking up more or less pixels) means that sometimes imformation or colour is lost. Especially if made bigger, each pixel is stretched, and this usually ends up in the square edges of each dot becoming visible. If made smaller, it is very hard to combine pixels, so some depth of colour can be lost.

In contrast to this, a vector image uses a series of lines and points to plot out a shape, and then information on each line and the space between them is assigned a colour. This allows a curve or bend to maintain it's shape indefinitely, due to the lines being broken down into a series of instructions on the angle, thickness etc of the line. Rather than each individual pixel being enlarged, the computer will use the information to perform calculations to decide how the line will appear. Each line in a vector image is referred to as a path or stroke. Each of these strokes has it's own information stored. Vector images are also a lot smaller than a traditional image. This is because a regular image, as stated, stores information about every single pixel. So a 100x100 square, needs to store information on 10,000 squares. While a vector image that is 100x100 would only need to store the information on each stroke, and then information on the colour to fill the gap with. Saving a lot of space in this example.

The downside to vector images however, is that due to their nature, they cannot be as detailed as a standard image. As being able to plot out each individual square allows for a great deal of intricacy in an image. A vector image isn't capable of this, otherwise they would likely replace standard bitmap style images all together.

Adding noise to DVD Inlay

After deciding to take the steps to try to bring elements of the DVD case more in line with the visual effects used during the introduction sequence for Archer, I have added noise to the coloured rectangles used as backgrounds/borders for some of the images on the inlay.

Noise itself is a random variation of the colour information, such as brightness, in images. So by lightening some areas, and darkening others, it gives the image (especially block colours) a texture. So by adding this onto the block colours being used, I can easily add some depth and texture to the images, while keeping to what is commonly done in the Archer introduction sequence.

To do this, I selected the rectangle I wanted to apply the filter to, and using the filter menu, selected add noise, as shown below.

This brings up a separate window, allowing you to change the amount of noise etc

With the available options, I needed the noise to be visible, but not overpowering or too distracting. I found 15% gave a nice subtle amount of noise, that added some depth to the image, rather than just a block colour, seemed to match up with the style used on the introduction whilst not being a detriment to the images displayed over it.

I decided that Uniform gave a better result than Gaussian. Gaussian was a little too bright in some of the pixels. Monochromatic was also unnecessary as it didn't change much, but didn't look quite as good as without. 

Trailer - Early Stages

While working on my trailer and doing some research of different clips where Archer is missing or away, I found a few clips that will make the trailer work well incorporating elements of the actual story. This has meant I have changed a few of my initial ideas, linking the first idea of it being an introduction to the story, and mixing this in with comedic elements to make a good trailer. I will be using scenes from different series of Archer for this, and have considered changing one of the bigger clips I am planning to use. I have searched on creative commons for different clips that could be useful, although have struggled to find anything that would actually fit the theme of the trailer. This is largely because of it being an animated production that won't use real life footage. I have found one or two small clips from YouTube videos that I will most likely make use of in the trailer.

One of the issues I have faced at this early stage is that the resolution of the videos I have been using are rather low, leaving a black border around the edge of the clips. I may actually incorporate this by adding titles etc around the edge, utilising this space as somewhere to display any actor names/credits that need to be included. Although these are usually omitted from most other Archer trailers/clips. My other option will be to find higher resolution versions to use.

Update - I actually have found that I can stretch the clips to fit the screen size I am using. This has saved me a lot of hassle having to find footage in the right aspect ratio and resolution. This is done within Premiere by selecting the piece of footage, right clicking on it and using the "Scale to Frame Size" option.

I have also found an issue with some of the clips I've found, as most of these were found online, there is occasionally an issue with TV channel logos being present. Unfortunately, even purchasing the video on YouTube won't solve this problem, as it removes the ability to download the file for use. This may just have to be something that I accept, as it obviously wouldn't be an issue if this was actually being produced for the studio.

Update - I have minimised the effect this will have on the trailer by using a border around the edge and reducing the time clips with a large logo are present.

Deciding upon transitions to use and any effects I want in the trailer is the next step. I will be using these at the start and end of the trailer, but in trying to keep as true to the style of Archer, there will be very few if any used between clips, as the standard is to go from clip to clip with no visual change, but with the sound and/or conversations linking the clips together.

Starting the Trailer - Planning

For my project, having chosen to do an Archer film, I'm going to have to use already existing footage, as drawing new scenes would be beyond my ability.

First off, picking how the trailer will play out is the most difficult. I have a few different ideas;

- Trying to use existing footage/sound to construct a story

- Using effects to make it appear like some sort of briefing (brief shot of each character, with names etc)

- Going down the comedy route to just make a funny trailer that shows off entertaining lines/scenes from each character, using intro text like "If you've enjoyed these moments..."


While I think that the first could be rather effective, I will most likely aim for the second option. So I will have to pick out clips for each of the main characters. This will give me a rough idea on how much time I have to fill with other images and clips. The characters I need to include are;

Stirling Archer
Lana Kane
Cyril
Mallory
Kreiger
Pam
Carol
Ray
Woodhouse

If need be, I could get some footage of recurring adversaries, although if each character has 6 seconds, that would be 54 seconds of footage. So I may need to double up some of them.

I have considered looking into other adverts, for a dramatic voice track to use. Possibly making my own. Or, if I go for the briefing idea, I could avoid it altogether by using text.

Constructing the draft

So far in my work on this assigment, I have been working towards what is my Draft copy of my DVD sleeve and DVD label.

While I've had issues with Illustrator, I've manged to make a fair amount of progress on my sleeve in Photoshop. I've changed my idea a few times as I've been working on it, but I am happy with the progress I've made so far. I decided to adapt the style and imagery used in the opening sequence of the show, namely the black background with rectangles of bold colour.

In later series of the show, these rectangles have been altered slightly, and have a bit of texture to them, with line drawings also implemented into the image.

As you can see, the image has a little more depth now, and I am going to apply a similar effect myself by using the noise effect on the coloured squares I have already decided to use. Depending on the time I have left at the end, I may try to use transparancy to apply the line drawings on the background, as seen in the first picture, although this may not always be worth doing, as I am using fairly large pictures on top of the squares.

I may also try to incorporate this usage of bold coloured shapes into my work in illustrator. This would be a good use of the vector shapes, easily allowing me to adjust them to the size needed without distorting them. 

Feedback

Today we had feedback on our assignments so far. We worked with other members of the class to assess the work we had done, and make suggestions for improvements, also noting what we had missed out from the mark scheme thus far.

I have planned to include most of the elements that I need to, although I need to be sure I have included effects and levels in there. Transparency I had already decided upon, and I will likely manage to incorporate fairly eaily. For the effects, I am thinking that the main front image may actually benefit from these, to try to make the image fit together better, possibly making it look more like a single image, than a set of images placed together.

My main goal currently is to address the parts of the assignment I have already decided upon, then working on the rest of the parts I've missed.

I also need to allow myself time to assess the moral and legal implications in a later blog post, covering the use of copyrighted material and the like.