New Idea for page in Digipak

In my digipak there was one page that I needed to re shoot - the location shot of Worcester cathedral with the artist in it. However due to time commitments and practical issues with getting the artist there and with no people around I have decided to use other ideas such as having a 'Special Thanks To Page...'

These were my ideas based off these examples....

Post Technology Skills Week

It was our task this week to further develop our technology skills ready for completion of our print work tasks. In this week my aim has been to further work with programs such as Photoshop and Adobe Fireworks so that my skills on these programs would be better and so I could use them more effectivly when working on both my print tasks and our music video respectively. I believe that I have successfully completed all what I set out to achieve as I was able to complete teeth whitening on Photoshop and able to create simple introduction on Fireworks.

Technology Skills Week

This week we will be concentrating on developing our technology skills. On the whole I believe that I am confident using such programs such as Blogger, Facebook, Prezi, Slideshare, Powerpoint and Windows Movie Maker and do not feel that I have any problems with using them for my coursework. However I feel that I could be more proficient with Photoshop as a program so this week I will be doing some experimenting, looking on Youtube for instructional videos and also looking through Adobe's own help section. This week I will also look through other programs like Adobe Firework and Adobe After Effects to see whether any of these programs will be of use to me during my coursework.

Target Audience Feedback; Advert

Later I asked a small number of my target audience to evaluate my digipak and give me feeback on what they liked and disliked.

• They liked the pictures used, they said that they looked professional and well thought out as it fits in perfectly with the exsiting CD adverts out there.
• They also like how the same colours were used as a running theme so that the audience immediatley knew that the advert was promoting the new album from Rox.
• Liked the use of reviews as they enticed the audience to believe that if professionals like the album then they will as well.
• The inclusion of the website was also good as it enticed the audience to look further online at the artist, making them feel that they know her personally - a form of micro marketing.
• Overall they thought that the advert looked professional and well thought out, especially by including the small print in the corner.
• However the target audience said that whilst they liked the inclusion of the small album cover in the corner they thought that it could have been smaller.
• Likewise they thought that the reviews could have also been smaller as they felt tha they took up to much space.
• Whilst it was easy to read they thought that it also looked a bit busy and overcrowded, making them not sure what to look at first.

After gathering this research I have choosen to make both the reviews and the album cover smaller so that the advert would not look so crowded.

First Attempt at CD Advert

This is my first attempt at a magazine/newspaper advert for the new album from Rox. I tried to use all the forms and conventions that I found with my research into exsisting CD adverts so that mine would fit in with these and look professional. I tried to use the running house theme of the fonts and colours used to make it seem more professional and attracting the of the target audience.

I used the small picture of the album cover on the front so that the audience would recognise that the advert and the album are promoting the same person. Likewise I included the reviews for the album and the picture of her label to further entice the audience and even to look further online (the website is also included) and find more artists that relate to Rox and maybe buy their albums. Similarly the inclusion of the website and use of close ups make the audience feel that they have a special connection with the artist, making them more prone to buy her music, a form of micro marketing.

Target Audience Feedback

Later I asked a small number of my target audience to evaluate my digipak and give me feeback on what they liked and disliked.

• All of my target audience liked the coulours used. They said they seemed to fit in with the artists' image and the message that she was trying to convey.
• They liked how the colours ran all the way through the digipak as a house theme.
• Lots of the audience members liked the poses and the photos used on the digipak. They said that the poses were fun and lively, fitting in with them as a target audience and what they were trying to convey as an artist.
• It was well laid out, making it easy to read all of the information without having to hunt around for it.
• However they were confused about why there was a picture of Worcester on the cover and without the artist. They thought that it had no relevance to the artist or the album.
• Some thought that it might have been a little bit more interesting if she was took with another person or subject in the background instead of just the plain one.

After this feedback I will change the picture of just Worcester Cathedral to one with the artist in and with either a different background or with another person in.

Second Attempt at Digipak

After this I concentrated on my second attempt at a digipak. One of the problems with the first one was that I wanted to complete a six pack rather than a four and that the template that I used made everything appear in black and white. I changed the template and decided to use different pictures to try and promote the album.

The pictures that I used convey a fun and energetic side to the artist and one what would fit in with the target audience, the number of songs on the album is a method of micro marketing and tries to entice the audience to buy the album just for these special versions of the songs, likewise the inclusion of the website and close ups of the artist to try and make the audience seem that they know the artist personally (another form of micro marketing). The simple yet professional design also appeals to the target audience as they prefer to know what they are looking at without having to search around for the information.

However I would need to change the picture of just Worcester to one with the artist in so that it looks relevant to both the song and to the artist.

Lighting Effects

For the back cover I wanted the background to be darker yet still have the light on the artist so that the focus would be on her rather than the writing around it. I used the effect on render and lighting effect to achieve this.

First Attempt At Digipak

This is my first attempt at creating my Digipak.

I liked the pictures but at first I thought that there were too many pictures of the artist so I added a picture of the location where we will film. However due to a problem with the template all of the pictures were in black and white whereas I wanted them to be in colour. I also prefered to complete a six pannel digipak instead. In my real version I would also add the text, barcode and songs etc.

Post Creativity Week

This week our class has been concentrating on the creative tasks within our coursework. So far students have ...

ExExperimented with green screen, Made a mock up of the Digipak cover, Scribbled ideas for an animatic storyboard. This week I have planned the template of my digipak and advert, taken the photos and begun the editing process.

Creativity

What is Creativity?

'....Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new (a product, a solution, a work of art etc.) which has some kind of value....' Wikipedia

Sir Ken Robinson argued that if you are not prepared to be wrong then you will never come up with anything truely original. He says that we are all born creative yet at school we are taught out of being creative and that this is because we (schools, jobs etc.) stigmatise mistasks therefore some people are now to scared to make mistakes and to be creative.

Pablo Picasso -'Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.'

In my opinon of creativity I argree with what was mentioned above. Many people are scared to be wrong as throught our lives we have been taught the 'right way' of things i.e. the correct way to write an essay, therefore stifling our orginality and creativity.

The link below details ways of becoming more creative;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPC8e-Jk5uw&feature=fvw

Photoshoot - 23rd November 2010

We arranged for my photoshoot to take place on the 23rd November 2010 in our photography studio at Worcester Sixth Form College. This was a ideal as it was quiet, hidden (so that the artist would not feel nervous) and provided a blank background that I wanted for my photos, connoting a more professional feel.

Here is a sample of the better photos that were taken and will be choosen to go on both my 6 Sided Digipak and CD Advert.

Print Task Rethink

After rethinking my ideas I have decided to take inspiration from the album covers and photoshoot below. In these the artist, while still slightly sexualised, is not overly sexualised as this connote that this is a serious artist what enjoys making music and believes that this will persuade the target audience to buy this album and not just because the artist is sexalised on the cover.

Trial Photoshoot - 22nd November

On Monday 22nd November I booked the Photography studio to run a few test shoots with regard to my shadow based entropic prints.

However due to the limited space and lighting available the shots did not come out how I would have liked and I found it difficult to make good and strong shadows.








After this failure I have decided to rework my house style for the print tasks. Whilst still appealing to a mainstream audience and other music album with this genre the photos will not be over sexualised making them both redundant and entropic.

Ideas for Digipak and CD advert 1

These pictures are a test shoot for what I would want to achieve for my digipak and cover.The shadows and optical illusions make it more entropic and more interesting for the audience to look at and remember. They also show the key conventions that I learnt from my digipak and CD advert research.

Analysis of Existing CD Adverts

Analysis of Existing CD Adverts

View more presentations from Leanne Gelder.

Further Research into digipaks

Throughout my research into digipaks I have found that they have similar characteristics and key forms and conventions;

The front and inner sleeves of the digipak are filled with pictures of the artist, usually with nothing behind or around them so that the audience can concentrate solely on them.

These are all MCU's so that the audience can feel connected with the artist and possibly buy the album.

The artist is sexualised and wears revelling clothing. This is primarily for the male gaze and widens her target audience.

Each have a house style that reflects the brand image of the artist.

Simple, clear designs and has such items like a barcode and media label.

Research; Genre based Digipaks

The genre that we have chosen is Pop; the song Rox - 'I Don't Believe'.

To begin this research I looked into three artists within this genre and noted the forms and conventions that they used in their digipaks.

Katy Perry - Teenage Dream (2010)

Within this digipak there are clear forms and conventions.

The front of the digipak is filled with pictures of the artist, usually with nothing behind or around them so that the audience can concentrate solely on them.

These are all MCU's so that the audience can feel connected with the artist and possibly buy the album.

The artist is sexualised and wears revelling clothing. This is primarily for the male gaze and widens her target audience.

Simple, clear designs and has such items like a barcode and media label.

The CD is fun and quirky which connotes an air of mischief and almost childlike humour as the CD resembles that of a candy cane. This not only implies that the artist is still young and carefree but also widens the audience to younger children as they would enjoy the sweet themed digipak.

Micheal Jackson - This is it (2009)

This digipak also shows the clear forms and conventions of a pop digipak.

The artist is shown in iconic poses so that the audience can instinctively recognise that it is him.

They are MLs or MCUs so that the audience can relate to him and feel that they know him personally which may give them reason to buy the album.

The left and right sleeves are filled with pictures of the artist, usually with nothing behind or around them so that the audience can concentrate solely on them.

Simple, clear design and has such items like a barcode and media label.

The shots of his last ever concert and a small book detailing the events and unseen footage is an example of micro marketing, doing small things that we attract the audience to buy the album.

Madonna - Sticky and Sweet Tour (2009)

The left and right sleeves are filled with pictures of the artist, usually with nothing behind or around them so that the audience can concentrate solely on them.

These are both MCU's and ML's so that the audience can feel connected with the artist and possibly buy the album.

The artist is sexualised and wears revelling clothing. This is primarily for the male gaze and widens her target audience.

Simple, clear designs and has such items like a barcode and media label.

The shots of the ever concert and a small book detailing the events and unseen footage is an example of micro marketing, doing small things that we attract the audience to buy the album.

Rhianna - Greatest Hits (2010)

Within this digipak there are clear forms and conventions.

The front and sleeves of the digipak are filled with pictures of the artist, usually with nothing behind or around them so that the audience can concentrate solely on them.

The shots are both MCU's and MLS's so that the audience can feel connected with the artist and possibly buy the album.

The artist is sexualised and wears revelling clothing. This is primarily for the male gaze and widens her target audience.

Simple, clear designs and has such items like a barcode and media label.

Conclusion;

By completing this research I believe that I have found many key forms and conventions that that the pop genre uses within their digipak. This has given me a baseline for what must be included in my own digipak.

The front and inner sleeves of the digipak are filled with pictures of the artist, usually with nothing behind or around them so that the audience can concentrate solely on them.

These are all MCU's so that the audience can feel connected with the artist and possibly buy the album.

The artist is sexualised and wears revelling clothing. This is primarily for the male gaze and widens her target audience.

Simple, clear designs and has such items like a barcode and media label.

Research; Digi Packs

A digipak is a type of CD case, which consists of a plastic CD tray glued inside a folding cardboard cover. Whilst it used to refer to the patented digipak packaging, it has since become a trademark used to mean any cardboard-based CD package.They were once considered a more environmentally-friendly alternative to jewel boxes. However, they are less common than jewel cases due to the higher manufacturing costs and lower resistance to wear and tear. Digipacks can flip open like a book, or it can have three parts, so that one portion of the packaging opens to the right and one to the left, with the CD in the center portion. Usually, the portion of the digipack that hold the CD is made of plastic like a traditional jewel case CD - the plastic part is simply attached to the paper background.

Digipacks have many advantages but also many disadvantages;

• They look nice, and labels like to use them for aesthetic reasons. The three section digipack sleeves opens up more design options because there is more room.
• However, they're more expensive than traditional liner notes and jewel cases.
• Digipacks don't crack like jewel cases do, but they will rip and the paper will begin to peel apart and separate.
• The trays in digipacks break more often then in jewel cases. Since the outer portion is made of paper there is less protection so the teeth that hold the CD in place crack and fall out easily.
• When the teeth of the tray do break in a digipack, the CD falls out of the bottom of the digipack, because unlike jewel cases, there is nothing to hold it in.
• Digipacks can be more environmentally friendly because they can be made of recycled paper.

Things To Do Update

Update - Calenders Nov/Dec

Focus Group

We also asked numerous other members of our target audience what they thought about our pitch and our music video ideas.

+ All of our target audience loved our choice of song, they said that it was both relevant and contemporary and fitted in all with our target audience.

+ Good logistic arrangements e.g. with the use of our cars etc.

+ Excellent risk assessment.

+ Great choreography that fits in with our target audience and our choice of song.

+ Draws inspiration from other videos but still has some originality.

- The tracking shots may be difficult to do with the college equipment and at the locations.

- The lighting may be hard to shoot at night and at the chosen locations.

Yet in relation to the lighting issue all of our locations will be well lit due to street lamps etc so this should not be a problem. With relation to the tracking shots we will use makeshift dollys and tracks to try and simulate the tracking shots.

Update - Meeting