Task B - Music Packaging

This weeks task was to design a CD cover for a specific genre of a compilation of 20 tracks.

I decided that i would like to design a CD cover for a Regae greatest hits, as it is one of my favourite genres. in class we learnt how to create the back ground which i thought looked pretty cool. first of all i opened a new file with the dimensions of 12.7cm X 12.7cm - the exact size of a cd cover. First of all with the new file i chose the gradiant tool and made the image red and white, with red down the bottom and white above. I then chose the filter option then followed the options through to distort and wave, i changed the wave to 38 and the amp to 40, and other options to square and repeat edge. this created red and white faded stripes, that already looked pretty cool. I went back to the filter option and click on polar coordinates, which made all the previouse straight lines, start in the center and get larger as they reach the edge of the image.

The next step was to download a colour to replace the white in the image, i went to google image and searched 'old paper' i chose a yellowish/brown image of paper that would be a good colour as the background image, i opened it in photoshop and dragged the file ontop of the image i had been working on, i changed the order of layers so it was behind the orginal layer and changed it to multiply.

I wanted teh third layer to be an image, so i searched for a rastafarian man on google and found an image for the bottom left hand corner, i used the lassoo tool to cut the man out of the rest of the file, and placed him in the corner.

Next i thought the cd cover needed some text, so i grabbed the text tool and in green wrote 'UP IN SMOKE' which i thought would be an appropiate for the genre fo music i was advertising. i used other text to describe some information about the cd, and then added black boxes as a new layer behind the text to make the text stand out. Finally i downloaded a pararntal advisory sticker to make the cd cover look as real as possible.

Motion

Today we used a different program called motion to create a motion video. Firstly i downloaded a file called itchy mikey green screen. It is a video of two dudes with their shirts off dancing. we then opened the motion program and dragged our new file into the workspace. there was bad footage at the start so i used the cut tool to delete the footage that didn't work, i used a short cut (I) to cut the footage in, not out, because i wanted to cut inward. i then moved the footage to the start of the video playback.

i then found the library tool bar on the left of the screen then followed the options through filters > keyers and primate RT, where i dragged to the file i was editing. i then created a yellow rectangle across the whole file and changed the order of layers so that the rectangle was behind the video of the dudes dancing. Then i used the rectangle mask tool and selected the same area as the yellow rectangle so i could now delete parts of the rectangle (putting a hole in the layer). Then i chose mask-circle to cut circles out of the yellow rectangle, two semi circles left and right, and a bigger circle centred. This created new layers that i renamed to suit what they were.

Now it was time to add motion to the circle. I selected the centre circle and went to properties - right clicked on the 'x' and and selected oscillate. when i pressed spacebar the video started to play like such;

3D Effect

Week 3 - Tutorial 3 - The 3D Effect.

This week we looked at turning something 3D, in this case text. i opened a new blank page and added a orange and yellow gradiant, with orange down the bottom as the more dominant colour. I then added the new text layer and wrote my initials 'DK' and placed it in the middle top half of my file. I found the 'Repouse' option in the 3D section of the menu bar to change the settings. I then changed settings in this menu that came up. I changed it to inflate, changed the to depth to 0.3 and changed the sides to front and back. I also changed the strength of the inflate to 0.4. Finally I changed the lights for the scene settings to mardi gras which changed the colour of my text.

I then rendered the text using Chrome2 and duplicated the text, then multiplied the new layer. The other layer i flipped and pulled the opacity to a lower percentage so it would look like a shadow of the other text file when it was in place. with transform and perspective i positioned the vertically flipped text underneathe the other, then added a vignette effect to the whole image.

Vignette

Week 2 - Tutorial 2 - The Vignette Effect

This week we were asked to find a photo from the internet for applying some effects with photoshop. i chose a photo of my own, a photo of my duck. I opened the file in photoshop then duplicated the background layer, so i could add effects to the new layer.

I then added a new layer and changed the name to 'Vignette', i changed it to overlay so i could then add the vignette effect to the new layer. After selecting the new layer, I went to the filter from the menu bar > distort > lens correction. i changed the amount to 0% and the midpoint  0%.

The Vignette effect has put more of a focus on the duck, where i would like the attention of the viewer to be focused on. This was the final result.

25 random facts about me

1. My name is Dominic Keating
2. I will be 22 years old on the 19th of october
3. I live in Essendon, just moved from Footscray
4. I have a mustache and a pet duck named Perry Quacks
5. I grew up in Albury/Wodonga
6. My last job was at Jb Hi-Fi in Fi-Fi sales
7. This is my first attempt at writing a blog
8. I travelled 15 countries in 2009 including; Thailand, Egypt, Czech Republic, Italy, Ireland and The Netherlands
9. I love live music, i have seen many bands that range from bob dylan to rage against the machine, from regina spketor to snoop dog, plus ,amy more.
10. I Prefer the original Star Wars than the new.
11. I own three guitars but never play them
12. I occasionaly eat tacos
13. I used to study management, now i study communications
14. I own an iPhone - because everyone else does
15. Favourite t.v shows are; Always Sunny In Philadelphia, East Bound & Down, The Simpsons.
16. I dont have a car or a licence to drive one.
17. I used to live on VU Student Village
18. I enjoy collecting records
19. I go out  2 - 5 nights a week.
20. My favourite Australian Beer is Melbourne Bitter
21. My favourite Foriegn Beer is Budějovický Budvar (Original Budweiser) from Czech Republic
22. Famous people i have met are; Hamish Blake, Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden), Pauly Shore and Tom Green.
23. People say i look like Tom Green
24. Favourite actors as Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Johnny Depp
25. I dont own my own pair of shoes.