Feedback from Ex- Student

Tori Lorente: I really like the shots outside hylands, the dress and everything make it work really well! but i’m not so sure about the on the stairs or in the subway? the acting/miming in the hylands shot is really dramatic and makes the other miming scenes seem a bit boring. i feel like it would look more dramatic if she was either in the same outfit or something completely different in these shots.

Website Feedback

Straight away the first picture on the home screen is very professional, the artist is clearly comfortable on the camera bringing across the professionalism even more so. The title font of the artist name is very clean and stylised. I think the little message from the artist on the home screen, though cute, actually destroys the professionalism that is being built by everything else so far on the website. Maybe just have artist name big in the centre really establishing the brand and name. Transition between pages is a really nice touch. Navigation is simple and clear. The picture on the about page is brilliant and the effects on it bring more to the brand image, an edgy side to the beauty. Someone else writing the about page and then bringing in a quote from the artist makes it seem like there is a team behind the artist, a continuation of the professional feel of the artist and her approach to the industry. Music screen is perfect. Tour page completely breaks the websites theme, the grey image in the background filling the whole page unlike in the others where there is white borders. The text cannot be seen and the ticket buttons look tacky compared to the clean style across the rest of the website. Gallery aesthetic is really nice. Would maybe do another shoot to create a bit of variety within the gallery, the repeated photos focusing around the hand on the wall get a little bit boring. Want the whole gallery to be exciting and intriguing to look at not “oh look there’s that photo again with a slightly different angle”. Contact page is very professional. There isn’t a merch page? Is this a mishap or is there no merch from this artist? Merch would give the chance to extend the synergy of the brand being created for the artist.

 

Tori lorente – There wasn’t any continuity within font. In addition, the font on the tour is really hard to see, if you are going to try and sell tickets you need to be persuasive with bold font. I really like the album picture, make sure you use this synergy into the digipak and possibly the tour poster.

 

Tori – Missing a full stop at the end of the first box (After recent updates). Too many different fonts being used in the about page, try and stick to one font, otherwise it is difficult/annoying to read. Tour page writing can’t be read, the colour blends in with the background image. Nice gallery page, but there is an uneven amount of photos and it looks unprofessional, add another photo and remove the excess space at the bottom. Contact page has dots in the background where as the other pages do not, not much continuity, either change it to blank white like the rest, or add grey dots to the other pages. Score 6-10 Ben Griffiths

Can’t see tour dates. Really boring although looks nice. Tori Llorentes vocals are insane. Level 3

 

Home page on the website is a bit boring but I like the photo. I like the picture used on the about page but it is a bit plain and boring. Good music page. The picture you’ve used on the tour page means you cannot read the writing so I cannot see half of the writing. Good and unique gallery page but good have more photos. Overall I like the website although I think it is quite plain. Ella O

 

Clean photos on the website. Think the tour photo could be better and match the colours of the photo album. Layout is nice. Think the colour scheme could be better. Nice text.

 

Good first image that comes up as soon as you enter the website. The text in the first box could be a bit bigger and bolder as it doesn’t really stand out. The colour scheme is very basic and there isn’t much going on. The text on the about page is really small it needs to be bigger. The music page is good and the album cover is a nice photo. You cannot see the white font against the brown background on the tour section. The photos on each of the pages don’t match and they don’t have the same theme, the gallery photos don’t look very professional and there is not much synergy. It is very basic could be more interesting.

 

Home page is simple but really good, I like how you did a personal note on the front page and finished it with writing ‘T x’ which makes it seem personal. There could be more on the about page and use it as a biography so we could learn more about the artist. Add something to the music page. The tour page looks really good, but maybe you could change the colour of the font or make it bolder so that it would be easier to see. Gallery look really good.

 

I like the photos used and the filters which are used throughout to give the website a consistent theme. All the links work well and I like the font used. Also like the honeycomb collage of photos because it looks unique. However at points the website can be boring and not very engaging (the about section), maybe change the colour of some of the text, to make certain parts stand out more. Also text on the tour page isn’t visible enough to read due to blending into background and it also isn’t big enough to read clearly. Finally you could add a shop for merchandise.

 

I like the homepage – simplicity of colour + font fits the image of the artist. The photos are pretty and I like the effect on About header I like the hexagon shape of the photos on Gallery page - original About page: ‘woman’ instead of ‘women’ Hard to read tour dates because of photo – text needs to stand out more Need more information about artist e.g. current playlist, Youtube videos Level 3 – 8 By Angel

 

6, - I find the website quite bland as there is little writing and little going on, doesn’t catch my eye, Cannot see the tour dates as the font is the same colour as the background, I do like the photos and font as it makes the site more clean and crisp

 

7Cannot see the tour dates on tour page, More photos and colour, Font flows well throughout and Great about page.

 

Cant read any of the tour dates, Not that many pictures in the gallery, No link to merchandise on the website, effects on pictures are good, website a bit bland, like the fonts, gallery shown in a interesting way. 5/10

 

7 - The images on all of the links work well, on the tour link the text is difficult to read on the left hand side of the page. Maybe put a colour behind it so it stands out. The social media links (facebook, youtube and soundcloud) don’t work at the bottom of the page, they only go to the wix pages so just link that to your own. All the links at the top of the page work and look good, the colour scheme works well with the artist. Maybe ad in a merch shop as well. By Charlie

 

On the tour page it is quite hard to see the writing as the background is black and white, I do love the photo on the background though. I do like the photos in the gallery however i feel like there need to be lots more in order to create a personality for the artist. Also you need to give the photos a title as when you click on them it comes up with what they're saved as 'IMG_5855' so this would make it much more professional. I love the contact me page as it looks very professional however you could add a lightbox to pop up on the screen to make it more interesting. Overall I love the quality of the photos and the different ones on each background, you need to add a store with merch though so that fans can promote the artist. I would rate this an 8/10. Clare

 

“Therefore, since living around London this is when Tori began to write and compose music about her childhood and the lifestyle she used to have.” This sentence doesn’t make sense on the about page. Not sure the black and white image on the tour page matches the images on the other links? As all them pictures are quite soft focus. Also hard to read the writing on the image as it blends in with the background. No clear links to her social media websites? However, overall I feel a real personality comes through on the website as a sweet, innocent young lady – if that was what you was going for? Overall I would mark the website 6 marks as it still needs improvements. Kelsey

 

Really liked the images, good quality- look professional! ( Level 3), the layout is a little repetitve and mainly includes text and an image (Level 2), Good synergy, colours represent artist ( Level 3), however, it is easily forgettable.. .Needs to stand out more! Also, on the tour page.. you can't see the text as the image hides it (Level 1) But overall, good :)

 

Level 3 - LOVEEEEE the close up pics they look peng. Nice group of different pictures all together and the page gives off a homely vibe. However its still quite bare so thats the reason for not giving level 4 - Millie

Film Directors Feedback

Tori:

Opening was LOVELY, shots that followed let the opening down - stick on that lovely light bulb stuff. Again, chill with those black flashes. Pink effect at 0:53 is nice, should be used more. Performances are cool, and the cameraman has a good eye. Liking the use of tunnels - instantly cinematic

 

Teachers Feedback

More cutaways and close-ups

Light bulbs appear again somewhere or dissolve in?

Too many pan lefts, perhaps reverse one?

Second 17 - sit down step shot: may be able to tweak by zooming and colour

Cutaway tripod - second 27

Wobbly - second 45

Lots of filler John Lewis/tunnel

Different size shots

Digipak- Draft 3

Draft 2- Digipak

New Vision - Reflection and Moving Forward

After receiving our Draft 1 feedback we realised that everyone loved how our video looked visually but found that there was no meaning to our video and they didn’t understand it. Our teachers have also been brutal with us and told us that we would not be able to achieve the grades we desire with the video we currently have. The majority of our feedback also stressed that we were only working at a Level 2 (Basic 15-23 marks) which is not what we want as we are all hoping to get Level 4’s. As a group we have discussed why we haven’t excelled in the music video creation and have come to the conclusion that we don’t feel a connection with the song, ‘Hold Me Down’, and have consequently been unmotivated and haven’t been enthusiastic – meaning that our video has lacked in creativity.

As a result, we have decided to recreate ‘Tori Lorente’ as an Urban character in order to fit our NEW song ‘I Don’t Mind’ (originally called ‘COLD’ by Urban Nerd Beats).

Our concept will involve the artist around the London Soho area. The lyrics in the song say ‘I don’t mind if we think about you’ so we are thinking about incorporating a narrative of the artist and a boy that she likes but can’t have – he is drifting away from her but she is willing to compromise her pride in order to make the relationship work.

The video will start with the artist being the focal point and then transition into her mind with various shots of her and the boy (but he will appear uninterested in her) and end with solo shots of Tori to explain that her relationship with the boy is just a fantasy and that she is in fact alone.

Tori, as an artist, will originate from Soho and have an urban, streetwear style which will be inspired by posts on the Instagram account ‘baesmentapproved’. We are also taking video inspiration from Streetwear Lookbooks on YouTube that have been used in our new Steal-O-Matic.

Risk Assesment

Magazine and Front Cover Article

This is our final magazine cover and article. We chose to use the magazine NME as it is widely read amongst UK audiences and it covers a range of different genres in its issues. We have used the colour scheme of red, black and white in order to link the cover and article to our music video, digipak and website.

Digipak Idea

For this digipack cover idea I took inspiration from The Weeknd's 'Beauty Behind the Madness' CD cover - shown below:

 

To achieve our version (shown below), I printed off a photo taken on set of our Soho filming in greyscale. I chose to do this because our colour scheme involves black and white/grey. I then cut up the image in a similar structure to The Weeknd's and fitted the paper back into order, but with deliberate gaps to achieve the distorted look. To incorporate our prominent colour theme of red, which is used throughout our website and music video, I applied a red background to the image. Overall, I think I have achieved a good potential digipak cover which suits the urban genre of our artist.

The original image:

 

The Digipak Idea:

Hold Me Down - Draft 1

Below is our first draft for our music video for the song 'Hold Me Down'. This draft will be shown to the media classes and they will evaluate and mark our video, giving positives and suggesting improvements.

 

Artisit Influences

The female urban music sector is dominated by African-American and Latin-American artists which made it hard for us to find some influences as we want to break the stereotype because Tori is a white english artist in this genre. These are the artists that we found that are the closest to what we wish to achieve for Tori Lorente.

Nao (British)

Ha-Ha (French-Algerian)

Dua Lipa (British)

New Idea and Vision

After receiving our Draft 1 feedback we realised that everyone loved how our video looked visually but found that there was no meaning to our video and they didn’t understand it. Our teachers have also been brutal with us and told us that we would not be able to achieve the grades we desire with the video we currently have. The majority of our feedback also stressed that we were only working at a Level 2 (Basic 15-23 marks) which is not what we want as we are all hoping to get Level 4’s. As a group we have discussed why we haven’t excelled in the music video creation and have come to the conclusion that we don’t feel a connection with the song, ‘Hold Me Down’, and have consequently been unmotivated and haven’t been enthusiastic – meaning that our video has lacked in creativity.

As a result, we have decided to recreate ‘Tori Lorente’ as an Urban character in order to fit our NEW song ‘I Don’t Mind’ (originally called ‘COLD’ by Urban Nerd Beats).

Our concept will involve the artist around the London Soho area. The lyrics in the song say ‘I don’t mind if we think about you’ so we are thinking about incorporating a narrative of the artist and a boy that she likes but can’t have – he is drifting away from her but she is willing to compromise her pride in order to make the relationship work.

The video will start with the artist being the focal point and then transition into her mind with various shots of her and the boy (but he will appear uninterested in her) and end with solo shots of Tori to explain that her relationship with the boy is just a fantasy and that she is in fact alone.

Tori, as an artist, will originate from Soho and have an urban, streetwear style which will be inspired by posts on the Instagram account ‘baesmentapproved’. We are also taking video inspiration from Streetwear Lookbooks on YouTube that have been used in our new Steal-O-Matic.

Costume Moodboard

New Steal O Matic Ideas

Draft 1 Feedback

WWW	EBI
Close up shots are nice	Lighting should go on longer
Blinking shots are amazing	Too much blackout
Hylands House shots are great	Not enough colour in the middle
End section is really good	Don’t get mise en scene
Weird editing is great	No apparent meaning
Good lip syncing	Hook of artist changes too much
Like house shots and shiny wall	Red & Blue infrared doesn’t fit
Trippy light bit is good	Lights seem irrelevant at beginning
Effects on beat drops are good	Subway doesn’t fit
Like the performance shots	Don’t like worms eye view shots
Really like when she sings “hold me down” and screen moves	Light projection near the end ruins the quality of the good light effect
Edited really well	Material is a bit random
	Too many outfit changes
	Too much singing
	Don’t get the colour stuff
	Thought beats need improvement
	Studio shots are too long
	Couple of framings could be improved
	Not sure on overlay at start
	Too many flickers
	Some lip syncing out
	Not sure on Hylands House
	Abrupt ending
	Shots don’t match
	A lot of random colours

Signature Trials

To try to further emphasize the image and also to have available on the digipak, a variety of signatures were created. These will be discussed with the whole group and the best one in our opinions will be chosen.

Hylands House Filming

After making the decision to adapt our music video to a performance based one, focusing on the artist as a brand, we have chosen a music video to influence our filming setting of Hylands Park. The idea to film at this location arose from using Bebe Rexha as an inspiration for the layout of our artist website. We then found that Bebe Rexha had produced an Electro-Pop single called 'In The Name of Love'. When we saw the music video for the single, we immediately thought that we could recreate the location by using Hylands House in the background.

Bebe's Video:
 

Merchandise Research

As apart of Merchandise for our website, we researched several artists to gain a detailed perspective of what makes an amazing merchandise range, suitability to artist and pricing. We feel this can really assist us when creating our own Tori Merchandise.

Magazine Research

Digipak First Draft

During our Half-Way Evaluation, we showed the class our first draft of our digipak and asked for feedback. The majority of the class loved the colour scheme as it fit the genre of our artist (electro-pop) and said that the front cover picture looked extremely professional. However, there was a large portion of the class who said that they couldn't read the song titles clearly and that they saw no significance of having the image of the eyes. We therefore need to consider what the image of the eyes have to the relevance of the brand image and digipak to improve and develop our digipak to achieve excellence. 

Overall, the response was positive towards the front cover and not so much towards the rest of the digipak. After sitting down as a group we know that the front cover is creative and powerful as the main focus feature is the artist. Furthermore, it also includes the use of direct adress to link the artist with the audience which we found to show the powerful side of Tori. As the first draft isn't a completed draft, it won't be hard for us to alter it in order to respond to the class feedback.

Our idea for the next attempt at the digipak is to keep with the chromatic effect on top of all of the images as it immediately makes any image fit the electro-pop genre and it is visually exciting. However, I would like to play around with settings which we have included in our music video - the concrete steps (juxtaposition of the dress with rural location), the abstract walls, etc.

Half Way Evaluation

Group Planning and Photos

 

Here is one of our first meetings together where we are discussing ideas about brand image, setting/locations, designated roles within the group and what we want to portray on with a visualize performance.

 

Preparation for our opening scene where a range of coloured light bulbs flick in time to the beat.

 

Group meeting with Miss Brookes to discuss current position of music video progress and the future of our filming schedule and ideas arrangement.

Underpass Filming

We filmed some of the music video in an underpass. We chose this location as it really focuses the viewer as its only her and the light surrounding her in the shot. We have filmed several different bits in the tunnel and this allows us to create a location that isn't random and it makes sense for her to be there.

We used a varied amount of shots including a close up and a mid shot to create a difference between the shots as this will mean that the video isn't as boring.

DigiPak- Attempt 1

During our Half-Way Evaluation, we showed the class our first draft of our digipak and asked for feedback. The majority of the class loved the colour scheme as it fit the genre of our artist (electro-pop) and said that the front cover picture looked extremely professional. However, there was a large portion of the class who said that they couldn't read the song titles clearly and that they saw no significance of having the image of the eyes. We therefore need to consider what the image of the eyes have to the relevance of the brand image and digipak to improve and develop our digipak to achieve excellence.

Overall, the response was positive towards the front cover and not so much towards the rest of the digipak. After sitting down as a group we know that the front cover is creative and powerful as the main focus feature is the artist. Furthermore, it also includes the use of direct address to link the artist with the audience which we found to show the powerful side of Tori. As the first draft isn't a completed draft, it won't be hard for us to alter it in order to respond to the class feedback.

Our idea for the next attempt at the digipak is to keep with the chromatic effect on top of all of the images as it immediately makes any image fit the electro-pop genre and it is visually exciting. However, I would like to play around with settings which we have included in our music video - the concrete steps (juxtaposition of the dress with rural location), the abstract walls, etc.

 

Chelmsford Town Filming

Chelmsford Town Filming

One of our main locations is Chelmsford Town, where a series of a filming will take place. Here we see the new infrastructure of John Lewis that has recently opened, we feel that this could be an interesting place to film due to the the modern features and settings. Due to our music video being based on how society brings different people down and how to overcome social issues, a location like Chelmsford Town where such a diverse range of social groups belong can be influential within our music video. 

                             

Furthermore, Chelmsford has recently become announced as a City which does mean that there is high amount of infrastructure around and more to be built, this however does not mean that there are some amazing natural locations. Central Park; which is a two minute walk from the town centre is a beautiful park which adds an alternative natural side to the City. Our group feels that this could possibly be a great potential place to film giving the music video an alternative feel.

Chelmsford Town is therefore going to most likely be our main filming location with the diversity it brings, which is vital for messages that are going to be portrayed and the amazing visualizations included. 

Magazine Research

Magazine Research

1. Glamour Magazine

Glamour Magazine is a female-targeted magazine aimed at ages 16 to 25. The target audience perfectly fits with Tori Lorente's target audience.

2. Cosmopolitan Magazine

Cosmopolitan Magazine has a similar target audience to Glamour but their audience can range up to women in their 30s because of some of their more mature content. Both Cosmopolitan and Glamour follow the same feminine colour scheme.

3. Billboard Magazine

Billboard is predominantly a music magazine but constantly talks about and collaborates with artists that are globally famous. There is not a specific target audience for Billboard as it is unisex and does not solely cater itself to a particular age range, although teenagers and young adults are the more regular readers. The overall feel of Billboard is more edgy than Glamour or Cosmo. 

4. Nylon Magazine

Nylon Magazine is an American music, lifestyle and fashion magazine. Despite its popularity, Nylon does focus on more diverse artists rather than mainstream ones which would fit our artist, Tori Lorente, well. Despite its good points, Nylon is an American magazine, along with Billboard, which would be unrealistic for our artist.

5. Local Wolves

"Local Wolves is a monthly online and print publication delving into the most creative minds from the world of entertainment, arts and culture." The magazine, similarly to Nylon, focuses on a range of diverse people for their front covers. Halsey (the artist who sang our chosen song 'Hold Me Down') has been on the cover of Local Wolves and that is why I found it appropriate for our artist, Tori Lorente.

6. Disorder Magazine

Disorder Magazine is a magazine that focuses on fashion, music and culture. The artists that they lean towards are less established artists. The magazine is very artsy and diverse which could fit with Tori's look.

7. Tatler Magazine

Tatler is a British magazine focusing on fashion and lifestyle. It is targeted mostly towards the British upper-middle class. It is priced at £4.20. Some celebrities that have been on the cover of Tatler include Miley Cyrus, Amanda Seyfried, Lana Del Rey, etc.