Saturday, 8 January 2011

Analysis of 3 digipaks

Analysis of 3 digipaks that relate to my digipak
The artist my digipak relates to is Sandi Thom due to using the song "wish i was a punk rocker" 



Below are 3 other artist i believe relate to the genre of my artist which goes well with my pop video 

  
This digipak is from the Oasis - Acoustic album, its from the same genre but is very different from the Sandi Thom digipak. Firstly unlike the Sandi Thom digipak this one has no image or photograph of the artist. However is uses nice bright colors like the Sandi Thom cover. In my own digipak i am also thinking to use bright color. I would like to use a color theme instead of randomly placing colors on my digipak. I believe it is important to pick colors wisely so the digipak can have a nice flow to it, meaning the color should relate to the text as well as the images. They should all compliment each other well in order to create a attractive digipak.


  
Duffy is an artist also of the same genre to my music video. Her digipak consist an image of her self. I am most definitely going to place an image/photograph of the artist on my digipak when designing it. I believe if there is an image of the artist then the audience can automatically see what this CD cover is about and could also relate to the artist. This can be done in various ways, some audience will obviously buy the album due to liking the music and others will buy it to follow a fashion trend. So by adding an images of what the artist looks like can get more people to buy the product and it would be successful.



Ladytron is a band that is from the same genre but the way the digipak is represented is very different to the rest. By looking at this cover i would not expect them to be a band. My instant thought is this artist is probably a female solo singer, due to the red and gray flower. But in fact Ladytron is a band that consists of two female and two male artists. Its very unclear to understand what the band is actually about. However the placement of the graphic design and text are very well placed. It doesn't look messy and all over the place. It looks very professional and neat. this is something i am going to take into consideration when designing my digipak. My digipak like the Ladytron digipak must look neat in order for it to be attractive.  
Things i can take into consideration when designing my own digipak:
  • by looking at other digipaks from artists of the same genre i can create one similar that will attract audience that like the genre i am working around 
  • good use of color
  • good of clear text that is eye catching and understanding 
  • good use of layout
  • no stretched images or photos 

Friday, 7 January 2011

What is a Digipak?

A Digipak is a cheaper and easier way to produce rather than a normal jewel case which is made from hard transparent plastic. Digipaks are made from card and instead of opening up like a jewel case, it folds out like a book. It is used to package (special edition) CDs and DVDs as it is designed to hold multiple discs (depending on how many panels - from a four panel to an eight panel. The reason for more panels is to contain more discs and the amount of information.  


Own analysis of a selected sequence from rough cut

Shot from rough cut video at 1:10sec in the video. CLEARLY framing is a big issue in a music video. Due to the mad rush at Camden Town and the uneven ground, filming hand held was a difficult task. Also, with only a limited amount of time with the camera, this caused our group to rush along with the filming, furthermore, the weather didn't look promising either. The sky was a mixture of sunlight and dark clouds, which was risky to film as it could jeopardise the continuity editing. Then again, it was a big risk overall to film outdoors due to many pass-byers and the issue of filming in local places.

 Another shot we discussed was my scene (the homeless person) at 1:57sec. Despite the bad acting, the scene wasn't very convincing. It was clear that it wasn't really planned in detail, for example, a good location spot where the homeless person would sit. Rushed ideas lead to bad footage. This again was due to the time limit we had with the camera and the weather. This scene had to be done again (preferably by another actor for the homeless person). 

Feedback from the rough cut

During the 'show and tell' lesson where we had the opportunity  to watch rough cuts of other groups and give feedback on how to improve. Here are a few key words on what to improve on... 
As this 'wordle' clearly shows, camera work, framing and lip syncing are main areas to be worked on. In all honesty, I strongly agree. The most difficult part of filming was the fact our video was mainly all hand held except for when we used the tripod to record the base tracks. Lip syncing is just the matter of closely spending time perfecting the video. 

On a positive note, most people found the humorous parts humorous; especially the fight scene between Amy and Estefanie. But baring in mind, this is just the rough cut...
I will be talking about the Do's and Don'ts!

Don'ts! 
  • should not place text or graphic on top of the artist face, this makes the digipak look messy and unattractive
  • don't use unnecessary effects
  • do not stretch images this will make it look unprofessional and cheap looking, also it makes the image look out of focus 
  • layer style effects what the final image looks like so i will avoid using it 
  • don't randomly pick different colors for the text it must go with the genre  
    Do's!
    • make sure a clear font is used 
    • font should follow the genre convention 
    • take the color theme into consideration and try following it through images as well as text 
    • use appropriate industry logo's and place them properly
    • use a font size that compliments the image 
    • photos that are not stretched
    • line up photos in comparison to the page 
    • use a font that is eye catching as well as clear 
    • take placement of where to put the text on the digipak into consideration

    Photos plan to use

    Four photographs for my digipak. 

    I have chosen four of these photographs to place in my digipak. In my digipak i have decided to follow a certain theme. this theme consists of the background (the outer part of the photograph) is in a gray color and the inner part (the middle of the photograph) is left colorful. This relates to my music video by showing the outer society is living in a gray miserable and up setting atmosphere. meanwhile the middle of the photograph is bright to show maybe there is still some hope left in the word. Lyrics from the song "i wish i was a punk rocker" shows the artist has hopes and dream about being something they enjoy and are happy with. In my photographs i have decided to run a color scheme through out it. This color scheme is the touch of gray on the out side and a hint of pink in the middle. reason why i piked gray is because it represents sadness and miserableness very well thus the song "i wish i was a punk rocker" talks about about how society nowadays are much more miserable and uncaring. The reason why i piked pink, is because i used the image of a pink flower to put in my digipak. Also its a bright color that represents happiness and joy. the reason why i used the flower image is due to the lyrics in the some " wish i was a punk rocker with Flowers in my hair". I am also going to use images of the artist to give identity to my product (digipak). i believe having an image of the artist defines what the digipak is about. I believe it connects to its audience and drags there attention towards it.

     



    Short List of Fonts

    I will be using one of these fonts as I believe they have connotations with the genre of the music, and will go well with the pictures i will be using on my digipak.

    Showcard Gothic
    Melody davis

    Comic Sans MS
    Melody Davis

    Footlight MT Light
    Melody Davis

    Tekton Pro Ext
    Melody Davis