It's been a long drought for Lovelyz and Lovelinus since "Obliviate" era back in September 2020, therefore making Woollim's collaboration with Makestar to release another photobook project with Lovelyz even more exciting and much needed. Makestar first announced this "Special AR Photobook Project" on April 16th at 6PM KST on Twitter, along with the link to the project page which contains the various packages and item prices.
Introduction
The physical reward is the special AR photobook, worth $38.60 USD before shipping, and you can choose to enter the physical OT8 fansign event (30 winners) or individual member video call. The product page also indicated that the first 300 purchasers will receive a folded Early Bird Event Poster (it is unclear if it is 1 poster per photobook, per order, or per account). It said that pre-orders begin in "about 20 hrs" but I refreshed the page at about 11:30PM KST on the 16th, and pre-orders had already opened with 248 StarMakers already having participated. I quickly placed my order (DHL shipping was $30.43 USD to the US) and was the 255th StarMaker, hopefully falling within whatever constitutes as the first 300 purchasers.
As always, Makestar held their PR event where posting about the project on your SNS and commenting on the project page will enter you into a raffle for 1 of 8 signed Polaroids. And like with Lovelyz' previous photobook project, with this project there were 4 additional autographed Polaroid events for those who participated within a certain time frame. These can be found within the Updates tab of the project.
The event was originally supposed to close on May 17th. However on May 11th, Makestar posted a "Project Extension Notice" on the Notice tab that the deadline would be extended to June 7th and that more photoshoots of the members will be released. The Story tab was also updated with the fansign event and 1:1 video call events to be held on June 27th. 100% funding of the project was also achieved, with all participants being rewarded a 100% Achievement Poster which is different from the Early Bird Event Poster. A 150% stretch goal was also announced with the reward being a limited edition postcard set.
By May 27th, the 150% stretch goal was achieved, and a 200% stretch goal was announced with the reward being a limited edition mini poster set (A4 size). I checked on the day of the deadline, and there was a 230% stretch goal that was added and achieved, with the reward being 2 different photocard sets.
Delivery
On July 5th, I received an email from Makestar that the digital reward delivery is now accessible. I checked my Makestar account, and 2 identical copies of the TALK-PIC User's Guide manuals were available for download, along with my tracking number. The tracking showed that the label was created on July 2nd. On July 5th, the project page status stated "Reward Shipping Start". I checked my account again on July 8th and my StarMaker Certificate was ready for download.
My package arrived on July 7th PT! My package came in a waterproof plastic bag envelope with no bubblewrap lining. All my previous Makestar packages (projects and pre-orders) were always in a cardboard box, so this surprised me.
But opening up the flimsy pink envelope revealed a heavy duty, sealed bubblewrap envelope! This is the same internal packaging that Makestar used for Lovelyz' first photobook project, and I'm happy to see that Makestar is continuing with this high quality packaging. All the contents of the project are inside this bubblewrap envelope.
Opening up the flap reveals the contents of the project stacked neatly inside.
From top to bottom are the pack of stretch goal rewards placed in a clear resealable bag, followed by the early bird poster in its own clear resealable bag, and lastly the photobook in a clear shrinkwrap.
The early bird poster is folded and has a high quality, matte finish. The dimensions of this poster once unfolded are 23.375" by 16.".
Here are all of the stretch goal rewards.
The stretch goal poster has the same high quality and dimensions as the early bird poster. Unfortunately this image is slightly blurry compared to the early bird image.
Here is a general look at the A4 mini poster set, postcard set, and both photocard sets. These are all very high quality. The poster and postcard sets are cardstock and have a matte finish. The photocards have a glossy finish. The photocards are so fresh that they were still stuck together. All these items were in age order from Baby Soul to Yein.
And lastly here are the 2 photocard sets. I really like how the stretch goal rewards are photos from a variety of photoshoots, showing various concepts of the girls. The photobook contains 4 photoshoots, and 3 of the photoshoots are included in these early bird and stretch goal rewards.
Photobook
The photobook is titled "Blooming Lovelyz". The cover of the photobook seems like a new design arts student put together, with the random background, photo plopped on top, and hard-to-read text. I am clearly not a fan of the design.
However the quality of the photobook itself is very nice. It is hardcover and very sturdy and quite large and thick overall, with dimensions 8.875" by 12.125" by 1.1875".
One flaw I found was how "MAKESTAR" was misprinted on the spine, which is a bit funny since I'd think they'd want to advertise their company on their product.
The photobook is broken up into 4 sections, listed on the front cover and on this first page: Sunshine Lovelyz, Sugary Smile, Mono Drama, and Neon Dreams. Each section contains its own photoshoot.
Sunshine Lovelyz
Each section starts with a 2-page spread like the above, and the top left has an icon and states "Pages with this mark have an AR function". This first section is entitled "Sunshine Lovelyz".
There is a group photo starting off this section. The outfits for this photoshoot give off a lovely spring garden party vibe.
Next is another group photo covering 2 pages.
The remaining pages of this section are dedicated to the individual member photos, where each member has 8 pages grouped together and is in age order from Baby Soul to Yein. The first 2 pages of each member's subsection looks like this, where the second page has that AR icon.
And here is the AR clip for Jiae! The app is quite straightforward to use. First, download "Talk-PIC". Once you've opened the app, you can click on the globe icon in the top left to choose your language (English, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese). The app will remember your selection. Next, line up the AR image within the box and the clip should play. Above here you can see how quickly the app identified the image and began playing the clip. This section's set of AR clips are generally 7 to 10 seconds long each, use different Lovelyz' instrumental tracks as background music, and show the girls making hearts.
There is generally 1 photo per page, and the layouts are different to keep things interesting. Though of course the best would be if the photos were as large as possible^^ All of the individual photos from this shoot are taking indoors.
Jisoo fits this concept so well! She has this natural radiance to her, and when she smiles subtly like that, it's really beautiful.
Generally the photos are super high quality, but there are a few (like the one of the right) that's lower quality.
Kei looks so elegant and in her own element here! This pure, streamlined look fits her so well.
I like how there are more traditional portrait photos, as well as candid photos mixed in this photobook.
I love how this shoot really captures the natural beauty of the girls! And the composition of that photo on the right with the archway is so beautiful.
That photo on the left is so beautifully taken! I love the symmetry of the windows along with Sujeong's pose, as well as her pointed shoes matching the window frame, creating nice composition.
While all previous members had 1 photo per page, Yein's is different where she has this 2-page spread.
And the following page contains an extra photo, so that overall she still has 7 individual photos like all the other members.
Sugary Smile
This section is broken up into 2 subgroups, with the first including Baby Soul, Mijoo, Jin, and Yein.
Next are the individual member sections, again in age order, for these 4 members. Like the previous section, there are 8 pages per member including this above title page, and the second page contains the AR photo.
The photoshoot from this section is really cute! It's the girls playing with the toy props or munching on snacks.
There is generally 1 photo per page, though there is the occasional 2-page spread or 2 photos on 1 page.
The AR clips in this section are about 10 seconds long each, and they show each member cutely playing with their props. I can't get over Jisoo's!
Jisoo's set is definitely my favorite within this section! Her smile is so infectious and she her playful attitude is so adorable.
Mono Drama
Next are the individual member photos, this time in random order. There are 6 pages per member including this above title page, and the second page contains the AR photo.
This section consists of both black & white and color photos. Each member has 6 individual photos, including 1 page with 2 photos.
I am in love with Sujeong's look here!
The AR clips in this section are about 12 to 14 seconds long each, and show each member posing more dramatically.
Kei looks absolutely gorgeous; I can't get over her photos here. Honestly, after going through all the photos in this section, the entire maknae line's set of photos are my favorite! I really like the slightly boyish outfits, and the subdued tone is such a contrast from Lovelyz' album concepts.
The last 2 pages are additional group photos from the shoot.
This section is a bit different, where the members are split into pairs and there are no group photos. Each pair includes the title page plus AR photo page for the first member, followed by 6 additional pages for that member, then 3 photos of the pair spanning 4 pages, then the title page plus AR photo page for the second member, and lastly the 6 pages of the second member.
Here is generally how the 2-page spread pair photo looks like. They're generally very up close and at first I thought they were 2 individual member photos.
The AR clips in this section are about 8 to 9 seconds in length each, and are fun and vibrant, as well as a bit dramatic starting off as black and white and transitioning into color, along with the slow motion.
Most of the other 2-page spread pair photos were super up close and looked like individual member photos, so I'm really happy that this one was a bit different!
The last page contains the photobook credits. The first album listed all of the StarMakers names, however this time this was omitted.
Overall, I'm really happy that Lovelyz successfully completed their second photobook project, and the final result is absolutely beautiful! While the cover design is a bit elementary, the inside content is great: the concepts are diverse, the photos, pages, and material are high quality, and the AR clips are nice bonuses. I'm definitely looking forward to Lovelyz' next adventure after this!
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