Whilst creating my music video, I decided I should start researching into digi-paks so I am prepared when in the process of creating it.
Digipaks usually are made of either card or plastic. They usually consist of 4-10 panels, which includes a CD(s) and sometimes a booklet. Plastic digipak's usually hold 4 panels. Cardboard digi-paks are usually made for special editions of CD's which is why it has more panels and information.
KEY ASPECTS OF A DIGIPAK.
- Photography:
BAND/ARTIST, LOGO, BARCODE, ADDITIONAL IMAGERY.
- Typography:
NAME OF BAND ARTIST, NAME OF THE ALBUM, PRICE, TRACK LISTING, WEBSITE, CREDITS, RECORDING INFORMATION, WHO WROTE THE SONG, OTHER ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (NOT ALWAYS NESSISARY) TOUR DATES, LIMITED EDITION NOTES TO FANS.
- Design:
COLOUR SCHEME TO FIT GENRE, BOOKLET, CD, SOMETIMES FOLDS.
CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF A DIGIPAK.
- The front panel holds an image (usually of the artist). The type of shot depends on the genre or music. The name of the artist and album is also somewhere on the front cover (also depending on the genre) The colour scheme of the front cover usually runs throughout the rest of the digipak to allow it to all fit together.
- The spine is very basic and just has the artist's name, name of the album and the institution.
- The three compartments inside the digipak don't have a specific order. One of these panels includes a CD (or 2 depending on how big the digi-pak is), a booklet, another image/track listing.
- The back of the digipak contains the track listing by itself or beside another image. It also contains credits, barcode and age restrictions.
Often the artist will try to build a relationship with the audience through the use of imagery so they get used to the look of the artist and their CD's/Digi-paks/albums will become easily recognisable.
Digi-pak template!
I chose to use the template of a 6 panel digi-pak as this will alow me to include 2 CD's, an added booklet (enabling active audiences to feel more envolved), and enough information on the inside without it being too overcrowded.
SHORT LIIAR ANALYSIS OF PRODUCTS (LANGUAGE, INSTITUTION, IDEOLOGY, REPRESENTATION)
INDIE/POP ARTIST FRONT COVER RESEARCH
Lisa Mitchell
The image on this photo uses an establishing shot, this helps us recognize the location of the artist, she is placed in the left third of the photo showing she's not the main importance, this is an unconventional code as usually the artist dominates the page. I can see she is dressed in black white connotes dominance, which is also enhanced more as she's leaning out the window almost as if she's looking down on us. The colours on the cover are very nature based, suggesting the audience for her music are indie/hippies. The text is placed at the right third of the photo which is very dominating showing the album and musics importance. The institution of this album is Scorpio Music. I think the ideology that is trying to be conveyed is the fact her songs are quite peaceful and are inspired by nature as there is a lot of nature dominating the cover. I think she is also trying to play up to the indie stereotype as indie is seen as being very individual and wear dark vintage clothing - which she is doing. I think once again the cover is trying to represent the audience as being young female teenagers who are going out into the wild world experiencing life. I think this because she's leaning out the window and is surrounded by nature. I also think she's trying to convey the audience as being a niche, individual audience as the cover doesn't use codes such as medium close ups with the artist dominating the cover.
Ellie Goulding
The cover uses a long shot, however is quite close so we can see her full body. The camera is on a very slight low angle, showing she's powerful and trying to undermine the audience. Ellie is also breaking the 4th wall by making eye contact with the audience, however this helps the audience feel more involved with the media text. The background is very nature based showing individuality. Ellie is positioned in a very posed way as she's almost leaning towards us with her legs apart showing a seductive language. Ellie seems to be dressed quite casual but has a twist to her outfit as she's wearing heals once again showing individuality. Her clothes are very girly as she's wearing a white blouse with brown high waisted shorts, this can be seen as controversial as white signifies pureness and innocence, however as I mentioned she is sat in a seductive pose, showing the audience could be quite rebellious. I think she's trying to target a male and female audience aged between 16-24, this is because the pose she is using could target the male audience, but the style of fashion could draw in the female audience. Her audience could be seen as rebellious due to the controversial ideology which is being portrayed, and fashionable because of the up to date clothes she is wearing. I think she is trying to target a mainstream and niche audience as her music is heavily pop based with the occasional indie twist, therefore the mainstream audience will be interested in her music. However, I think the language of this cover could be trying to target a niche audience as the props and scenery used isn't very popular to a lot of artists.
Rilo Kiley
The photo uses a medium close up which allows the audience to clearly see the artists facial expression and emotion they are conveying. In this example the artist looks quite calm and neutral. The drawing is clearly unconventional as it's not a usual code to include drawing in album covers. The pastel colours make the album look quite angelic and individual compared to some albums which are too bright and in your face. I think the typography works well with the photo as the photo is drawing based, and the typography looked hand rendered which shows continuity in the album.The artist is looking away from the camera showing he's distracted, this is an unconventional code as usually artists are focused on something or looking direct into the camera to show power. I think the album cover is trying to convey individuality which it's doing well as the style of photo isn't often used on album covers. I think they are trying to represent the audience as being part of a niche audience which makes them individual. The audience may also be an active audience which keeps up to date with new technologies (such as animation). The audience could also be the younger audience ages 16-24 as they may be more attracted to the cover as it's a lot more individual than others. The album doesn't give much more representation of the audience as it's such a simple cover, this may be because the artist wants a broad approach to their music and let the audience decide what they want to be represented as. I think the album is also trying to draw you in to listening to the music as if the album is so individual, what could the music also have to give to the audience? I personally hadn't listened to Rilo Kiley before coming across this album and was quite suprised when I listened and saw the video Silver Lining. I thought the singer was going to be male, but Rilo Kiley is actually a band with a female singer. I think this could be a good technique to use in the music industry as it makes the audience wonder what sort of music could be on the album and could be suprised in a good way.
Another Rilo Kiley example...
Rilo Kiley - Silver Lining.
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