Digipak Examples

Shoot

Sarah and I will be filming 3 scenes tomorrow within our free lessons to create more time for us to edit within lesson time. We will be going off site to my house to from the bedroom scene where we will be using stereotypically 'normal' props that you would find in bedrooms such as pillows, photo frames and teddy bears and show our artist throwing them around to express her carefree, rebellious nature. The costume will consist of comfortable clothing such as jeans and a blouse (pictures will be shown below) to make the scene look natural and show our artist in what is being represented as her comfort zone. We will predominantly be using a mid close up camera angle on a tripod for this scene however we will be using an extra camera to experiment with more creative angles that we could include.

We will also be reshooting the opening clip showing a split screen of hands clapping and lip synching of the "la la la" in the opening. We are doing this because our first clips were of poor quality in regards to lighting therefore we are going to film again to try and obtain a more professional standard of work.

Camera angles:

High angle - we intend on having Sarah sitting cross legged on a bed, possibly in pyjamas or comfortable clothing with the camera tilted downwards slightly.

Low angle - we will alternate between high/low angles to show the artists powerlessness of the situation when she's made a mess of her room.

We will also be using pan and tilt camera movement in order make the scene more asthetically pleasing. We may also use a tilt shot and point it towards a ceiling before moving to a new scene where the camera tilts from the ceiling to the artist in a new location. This will show off our proficient continuity editing skills and will not be too difficult to edit.

Digipak - Nicola Roberts

When researching digipaks at local music stores and online, we found that the artist Nicola Roberts (of Girls Aloud) best reflected the image we were trying to create for our artist. She has a quirky style of dress sense, a similar genre of music and is still currently establishing herself as a solo artist, away from her group, which effects how she expresses herself as an individual. This is important to us as we are creating a promo video and also need to show individuality and promote the artist to her target audience in the most effective way possible.

Here are some examples of Nicola's past single/CD covers:

Now here is one of her music videos:

I found that the synergy between the single covers and the music videos, or even amongst the CD covers alone, was excellent. For example, the use of the same font used to introduce her and the name of the song is consistant and bright colours are used to make it stand out against the image in the background. The costumes the artist wear are a part of the same street/retro style that is currently in fashion, showing that she is up-to-date and current, something which will appeal to her target audience. It also singles her out and portrays her as a bold person who is not afraid to dress in her own way and not conform.

In regards to our own digipak, we want to express the individuality of our artist, however because she is a teenager and the song we have chosen talks about how she makes mistakes an isn't perfect, we still want to include an element of normality and not make our artist look too unique. We want her to have her own style, as teenagers often do, but not wear outfits that are hard to find in normal high street shops and therefore hard for our target audience to find and replicate. The idea of using a consistent, bold font is something we will be including however, to create the same synergy and recognisable almost, 'logo' for our artist.

The, what can be described as odd poses Nicola is doing within the cover images are not showing her in a natural stance. For example, you wouldn't usually lie on top of a washing machine or sit on a chair on top of a pile of junk, however the artist looks comfortable in her skin and exutes confidence. The idea of having glamourous poses against and urban background is appealing and is something Sarah and I may consider.

Digipak Planning

A 'Digipak' is a form of CD packaging that is often made from cardboard of think paper. The covering can flip open like a book or can have panels that open from each side, leaving the CD in the middle. Digipaks are usually more expensive than usual albums, and were created by MeadWestVaco. The piece that holds the CD is still made out of the conventionally used material, plastic, and is attached to the cardboard background.

They usually consist of 6 panels, however this number can vary. Digipaks can also be created using a sleeve to insert the CD into rather than a plastic casing, to give it a more authentic, and simple feel. A 6 panel template includes a tray for the CD, a front panel, a back panel, 2 inner panels and also a fold in panel. Sarah and I have opted to use the 6 panel digipak as this is something that is a comfortable number to work with and will allow us to promote our artist futher, by having a range of panels to express her through e.g. showing her style of dress sense and her face multiple times.

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Some initial ideas I had for my digipak was to create something similar to the Nicola Roberts CD cover (next blog post), but making it look more playful and less serious. The overall brand image we have created and are trying to portray through our artist is what could be described as a quirky girly-girl, however to give her that 'wow factor', we will be editing her photos and dressing her in flattering, unique clothing to show her individuality and make the digipak look professional.

The colours we hope to use are similar to the ones we are using in our music video i.e. pastel colours (mainly pinks and yellows), however we want to create a link between the indie feel of the song in addition to the pop by dressing her in slightly retro clothing similar to what artists such as Delilah, Yasmin and Ellie Goulding may wear.

Location - Park scene

Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene is arguably the most important factor of our music video and will determine whether the video is aesthetically pleasing or not which is why we are going to be putting a lot of emphasis into what we're is shown within the music video and how everything is going to contribute to our overall video and represent the artist.

We will be including:

Make up - which will make the artist pleasing to look at and fit in with the stereotype that teenage girls care a lot about their looks and will do whatever they can to look better and more like celebrities. We will be showing the artist wearing 60's inspired thick black eyeliner with a flick at the end and long lashes to make her follow the quirky/retro style that is extremely popular this year. This will make our artist look current and stylish, as well as representing her distinct style. She will also be seen wearing different coloured lipsticks that can be described as bold therefore making her seem bold for being confident enough to wear such bright colours. The look will be aesthetically pleasing for females who like experimenting with make up to try on themselves to follow the trend or to males who may be interested in watching the music video. It will also communicate the narrative of the song/lyrics as the lyrics talk about her being 'wild' at heart, which could mean that she is up for trying anything when experimenting with make up. The lipstick/make up style will also be changing along with the costume changes so when she talks about how she's not what she was before, it can physically show how. 

Change of costumes -  We will be including various costume changes within our music video to show the changes of personality the artist goes through. This will be representing the life of a teenager and how they stereotypically go through phases in their lives and experiment with a range of styles and personalities in order to find what they are most comfortable with. It is often a case of trying to fit in, and showing her wearing different clothing and having some suit her whilst some don't. This will show how although we want her to come across as confident, she still has insecurity's and wants to be liked and accepted. This will hopefully appeal to our audience as they may be able to relate it to their own lives. It will also represent our artist in a 'down to earth' way and towards the end, she will be wearing a consistent quirky style of clothing that she looks good and comfortable in. It will also entertain our audience as she will look funny at times in what she is wearing and then different and interesting at other times. We are going to be putting a strong emphasis on the costume of our artist and this is a promo video and we need to make sure that her overall image is being portrayed properly through her clothing and style. This will support her brand image and make her stand out from other artists as she will not be represented as a perfect, inconceivable female artist which is common in the music industry.

Swings -  These will be shown to show her costume changes in an interesting way as well as to show her having simply, childish fun. We may also show her lip synching here as the shot will be filmed from the side and will make her lip synching look more accurate because there isn't a direct focus on her face/lips. We will be using the swings at a local park (Swanswell), which has trees behind it which makes it aesthetically pleasing and will be filming it when it is still light outside on a cold day. We will be integrating elements of our 'what makes you happy?' responses here as many people said 'nature' and  a few said 'going to the park'. Others even said 'winter' so having all three of these things within our music video will please at least some people and play on what they personally enjoy doing. The interesting angle from the side will be unique and we may speed the swinging up to match the tempo of the song and be upbeat.

Rooftop - We will be using this location at the end of the music video to show the backdrop of a sunset. It will be aesthetically pleasing to look at as people wrote that 'sunsets' as one of the things that make people happy and will also be a nice way to finish the chaotic music video by ending it on a mellow note. The rooftop was included in our questionnaire however people weren't aware of how it looked like or how it may look within the music therefore it didn't receive much of a positive response. We will be shooting from a tilted low angle looking up to 'the couple' to represent the idea that things are looking up for the artist. We will have to film at a specific time and will need to film on a day when there's a clear sky to create the right atmosphere of a cosy, winter afternoon. We are going to aim for a purple/pink/orange sky to match the colours we will be using within the rest of the music video.

Park/Nature - We will be using various parks within the city to try and create the best shot but the overall aim is to use the simplicity of nature to create a backdrop for the artist to then lip sync and essentially show off her costumes and show her at different angles. This will be a chance for the audience to see the artist properly as this is a promotional video and we will be trying to show the artist in as many interesting angles as possible. 

Pink - 

Equipment list

We will be needing the same equipment throughout the entire filming process and will be filming during our free lessons so that we have our class time to edit as we're filming.

The equipment we will be needing is:

- Digital video camera

- Nikon camera (for high quality shots that need to look smoother than the chaotic ones e.g. the swings)

- 2 tripods (for the two cameras)

- Joby tripod (to try to include unique angles such as ones from the ceiling or a tree)

- Apple Mac computer (to edit as we film)

- Lighting (to create the bright, youthful glow)

- A dolly may be needed when we're showing the artist walking through the treees

Crew List

Due to the fact that my group consists only of two of us (Sarah Jeena and Tasnim Khanum), we will be interchanging roles to make sure we both do equal amounts of work in both the production and editing process.

Sarah will be featuring in the music video as the main artist and will be in charge of the props e.g. making sure we have the right ones with us when filming and looking after them when we are not. During the filming process, Sarah will also be in charge of the mise-en-scene to make sure everything in front of the camera looks good and is comfortable for her to work with.

I will be filming the music video, hopefully from two angles at most times (one left on a tripod and one I am in control of) to try and make up for the lack of crew we have. During the filming process, I will be in charge of the camera work, including angles and shots to make sure that everything looks professional and has the effect we want it to have from behind a camera.

Junuz Jakapovic, Omar Abasi, Deacon Ali and other various boys will be featuring in the music video to represent the artists past loves and her new one at the end. All of these males are available to use within our lessons which will make filming easier for us as they will be at hand most of the time.

Various other friends will be shown in the background, however they will not be playing any significant roles so I will not name them.

Moodboard

This mood board shows the different ideas and concepts behind our promo video in a visual way and includes the colours and atmosphere we want to create through our music video. This will help us visualise what we need to include within the video and put our ideas together in a simple way. The main ideas integrated within this moodboard are:

- Pastel colours - these represent innocence and youth to me, and I find them to be mellow and not overpowering as background colours. In addition to this, they are 

- Autumn leaves

- Rebellion

- Young love

- Quirkiness

- Fun

I have tried to use photos showing what we intend our 'artist' to do within the video, for example, swinging on the swings in the sunset whilst the shot is filmed from the side. Another example is the picture of established pop artist who is dressed in what would be described as a quirky style of dress sense. We will be adopting this style but making it less provocative so it still looks young and fun rather than promiscuous or 'slutty'. The magazine signifies the clip within the music video where we intend to show our artist posing and being seen out with different males within the magazine so it looks like she's a 'waster on the cover of a magazine' which is a part of the lyrics of the song.

Rough Sequence - In order

• Split screen - hands clapping on one side - lips singing 'la la la' on the other - lip colour changing (red, orange, pink and nude lipstick) - nails the same colour as lips
• Park - walking through trees - autumn/winter leaves falling to ground - gradually coming towards the camera - winter clothes (coat, hat, scarf, gloves)
• Magazine - clips within 'HELLO' magazine front cover - Sarah posing with different guys - having fun - glamourous
• Swings - filmed from the side - every time she swings foreword her clothes are different - she has a different style - reflects lyrics about her changing as a person 
• Girl lip synching against backdrop of cars zooming back - or her walking with friends? - on phone texting - fast cars - going sideways or foreword/backwards
• Calendar - going through months - photographs - going through them - ex's
• Sitting on her bed - throwing everything around the room - show clips of things breaking e.g. frame, messy room, things knocked over 
• new love/fling - young innocent fun - walking towards the sunset OR on school rooftop - Sarah & Deacon sitting together on bench with the sunset in the background

In between: 

• Stop motion heart - pink post in notes - have it going backwards

Questionnaire

This is the questionnaire Sarah and I created to hand out to students and teachers within our school as well as the general public. We specifically handed 50 questionnaires out as this was a managable number and all of them were filled in with us present to make sure we recieved them back. We included a range of questions so that we could gain feedback regarding the person actually answering our questions (question 1 and 2), what genre of music they're into and why (question 3 and 4), what they would like to see in a music video (question 5) and finally concluded by asking questions regarding our own ideas for our music video. 

Digipak - Research

Having started the research and production part of our music video, we are now trying to produce some ideas about how we want our digipak to look. We have already decided that we want our artist to have a girly, quirky style, however we are aware that there are already artists out there that dress and come across in this way, which is why we went to HMV to research and see a range of digipaks for ourselves in order to gain some inspiration. Once we were there, we realised that the digipaks were security protected and covered in plastic so we could only see the front/back cover. Shown below are some of the examples we liked we best and what I thought of them.

This CD cover was interesting to be because of the simplicity within it and how the image at the front is the same as the one at the back but is in a pencil drawing. The simple black and white image shown with a layer showing the faces of the artists or model again is effective and is interesting because they obviously can't be in two places at once. The editing has been done well, and shows how much you can do with one simple image. The pencil drawing is unique and the almost expressionless faces are focused on, which puts more emphasis on the artist. Although this cover doesn't reflect what Sarah & I want to do with our digipak, we liked it and thought we could take the idea of simplicity and intrigue within our concept to make the cover stand out like this one did to us. 

One thing we didn't like however, was the way the name of the band and the songs were written in such a small font. The pictures wasn't eye-catching or distinct enough to make the artist recognisable straight away and this, with the combination of the small black and white font, although interesting to look out, will not be effective or suitable for a promotional video or digipak.

This cover includes most of the elements we were thinking of including within ours e.g. quirkiness, pastel colours and a focus on one female artist. We found this cover interesting to look at in regards to the bold, capitalised font which made her name stand out and recognisable against a picture of her. The picture of the artist itself however, makes her look slightly bored and doesn't suit her outfit or background which suggests that she has a wild, messy character. I don't believe that it is a suitable image for a cover, however, her outfit and her distinguishable ginger hair makes her look different from other artists and made us pick this cover up in particular. 

The back cover is simple to read and uses colours that contrast well with each other, however it is plain and I believe it would look better with the chair in the corner being shown more. 

This front cover uses bold colours, a striking close up shot and an interesting font to make it stand out on a shelf and make the artist easily recognisable to a customer or fan looking for the CD. The use of red behind her white skin and blonde hair make her features stand out. In addition to this, the way the picture is taken with Robyn looking straight into the camera makes it more bold and confident, which is how the artist comes across in her music. This creates a link between the artist and the cover and suits her genre of music. Sarah and I will also try to do this by using pastel colours and costumes similar to those used in the music video and within the genre of indie/pop. As well as this, we will be using dominantly pink against our artists black hair to create a similar contrast in order to make her face stand out.

The font used to write the artists name is unique to her and not often seen on other album covers. We found that out of all of the covers we came across whilst at HMV, this one was the best suited to the artist and personalised to her style of singing as well as her personality. 



This cover stood out to us within the indie genre as it was simple and slightly weird, thus making it stand out to us. It shows a picture of part of a tree and another of a girls hair, which seem completely random to us. The randomness works however, and along with the use of black of white, it makes the case look class and unique. This idea can be used within one of the inside panels of our digipak rather than the front/back cover as it doesn't endorse the artist or show the face of our artist. Sarah and I could possibly use pictures of stereotypically 'girly' items such as pillows and make-up or a puppy etc. to include more examples of the conventions of a pop/indie music video. 

The bland, white background contrasts well with the images and we may also use a white background to create the same effect. In addition to this, the extremely small font can be used to quote a specific lyric from the song and personalise the panel slightly by including text.

This CD cover wasn't one of our personal favourites, however the name 'whitesnake' and the daring picture of a woman's chest and back with a snake draped across it correlate well with each other and create and eerie, dark effect. The artist is only seen from her mouth downwards which wouldn't be effective when promoting the artist, however it still works well with the black background and overall dark theme. When looking at the song titles, I found that the songs were rather negative and explicit, therefore the cover went well with the songs. Sarah and I could take the idea of being conventional but twisting the idea within our own digipak. In addition to this, the simple idea of using a snake, although obvious, still works which shows that simplicity isn't a bad thing. 

This extremely colourful cover is interesting to look at and includes all things summery and natural, whilst also including the faces of the artists in an interesting way. I like the cut out or zoomed in effect as well as the colours used and this idea can be used on one of our panels. The use of flowers is effective and Sarah and I have decided to use flowers within our work too, in order to fit with the convention of pop and also as a prop to use in the background of our video/images to make them generally more aesthetically pleasing to our target audience.

Both the front and back cover of this CD cover were articulated very well and come across as natural and simple. The way the camera is angled, as if as a P.O.V shot peering at someone outside is extremely effective and almost vulnerable, along with the use of black and white. The back, which shows what looks like a hand-drawn image of a mans hands, indicates thinking and maybe nostalgia.



The front cover of this CD, which uses a range of images in small square boxes, can be used as inspiration for back cover or one of the panels for our digipak. Although it looks slightly 'busy', if Sarah and I use simple imagery with pastel colours, we can make it look quirky and girly instead. For example, if we put an item of make-up or a phone or even our Artist pulling a range of faces, we can make the cover look natural whilst promoting the artist at the same time.

The contrast of the black and white imagery with the brightly coloured flowers on top/around it makes this front cover automatically different to a lot of the covers we have come across so far. The flowers are almost 3D as they are intentionally not a part of the background image, which makes it look natural. In addition to this, the newspaper cutout font when writing 'The Cribs' adds to the vintage feel of the cover and go well with the genre of music.

This artists CD cover was one of my personal favourites and is one of the main inspirations for my own ideas. A close up if the artists face against the bright pink background fits into the genre of music. The slightly animated editing done to the picture of the artist make her eyes stand out and make her look playful. The pose itself is different and not very glamourous which will go with the idea of our artist being young and carefree.

The back cover is also effective as it shows a whole range of chains and necklaces hanging off the artists arm which fits in with the idea of 'girliness' and 'glamour', however it has a different take on it with the use of a black background, especially with the use of the black half glove item she's wearing which is slightly retro and represents 'street style'.

These are some other good examples of CD covers we found and liked elements of: