Evaluation: Digipak codes and conventions

   Here I shall compare my Digipak design with other Digipak's that are currently in the market. I shall explain why I choose to use certain features and why I think they are effective.
            
                                                         Photo and lyrics page
Although 'The Wanted' are a very different type of artist to our own, the have the same target audience, teenage girls, because they are 'heartthrobs'. Therefore I thought that who ever made their digipak must have designed it to attract this target audience, therefore I made my design similar to also attract this audience, but also followed the codes and conventions of artists' similar to mine, such as Taylor Swift and Ashlee Simpson. The current page currently in the market is similar to my own in the way that it has a photo with no text on the left side of the page and lyrics on the right. I think that the photo page is effective, as it straight away gives the audience an insight into the personality of the artist. It also breaks up the text meaning that the audience are not put off by the amount of text. I needed to make my page more girly than that of The Wanted, therefore I added small hearts on the page to let the audience know that this is the album for them. This feature also broke up the text, making the page look more approachable.

                                                                             

Back of CD case

The back of the CD case has many codes and conventions that apply to all albums. These features include the bar code, production credits (such as who the album is licenced to, the record company and ownership) and also the logo of the record company. Albums have a main convention of the CD case which is the name of the tracks which are on the album. I included all of these conventions onto my Cd case in order to create a professional looking product. There is one more thing I need to add, which is the small text at the sides of the case. This means that if the audience were to put the case in a CD rack, they would know who the artist is straight away because of the name of the artist on the side. This also includes a serial number, so the product can be looked up quickly in a store. To keep the consistency with the digipak, I added a photo behind the text with a layer of pink over it, again attracting the target audience. A problem that I encountered when designing this product was the text as I originally wanted to use typography 'Handwriting- Dekota' which is a font I used in the digipak. However, when putting this into practice, the text was not bold enough and got lost on the page, therefore not following the correct codes and conventions. I changed this to Calibri, which is a font commonly used on CD cases currently in the market, creating a sense of verisimilitude for the audience as the typography in instantly recognisable.

Middle double page

Something I noticed when researching into digipak's was that the middle page was often the one that stood out the most, and the most interesting. I liked two different artist's middle pages, The Wanted's and Ashlee Simpson's. After discussing this with my group, I came to the decision that The Wanted's page would show off our photography more, otherwise much of this photography would go to waste. The Polaroid photography effect I think works really well, and the white at the bottom of the photo allowed me to incorporate the artist's name. When I showed the first draft of this to my teacher, he said that the idea as good but I had encountered a problem by cutting off some images that should be central as they are the strongest images. I noticed that on The Wanted's collage, the most effective images were in the centre and the less interesting images we're cut of at the sides. Therefore, to match the codes and conventions I moved the best photography into the centre. I also put the same effect on these images as were on the other photo's in the digipak, keeping consistency. Also, I dulled down the brightness on the other images, making the others stand out.

 

Double lyrics page

The lyrics pages consist of a coloured background with white text, in size 6 font. I encountered a problem when creating this page as this was too be my last lyrics page but the song lyrics ended when I still had blank space but not enough space to add another song. Therefore, I added four hearts on the page to put the two pages more in proportion and so I didn't have a blank space at the bottom of the page.

Development: Poster Development

Here is how my poster has changed from the first draft to the final product. Here I shall also show how my product meets the codes and conventions of a perfume advert that is currently in the market.

This was my first draft for my perfume advert. The aspects I liked about my first draft were that the font used 'handwriting-Dekoto' is the same font used in my digipak, showing consistency throughout my products and the pink used also shows this. However, there were many problems with this piece, such as the image, which did not match the codes and conventions of a perfume advert. The image is not glamorous or mysterious like most perfume advert images I researched were and the outdoors look was not one that matched with advertising perfume. Therefore, I decided to use a more appropriate image. Also, my teachers and I agreed that the artist's name did not stand out enough, not allowing the advert to catch the audience's attention or match the conventions of a perfume advert.

This is my second draft. I like how the banner doesn't cover the photograph because of the opacity tool I used on the image via Adobe Photoshop, meaning that the effect of the strong image still has an effect on the audience. I added a review from LOOK Magazine, as reviews are a common convention of a perfume advert. I thought that LOOK Magazine has the same target audience as the artist, therefore if the target audience we're to see that those who read Look would like it, then they would too. I added a Boots logo as this is also a common convention of a perfume ad, as well as the smaller text at the bottom of the page and the website.

I only made a small change to the final product. The text 'With love' on the previous draft has not been used before in any of my groups or my own products and we needed the products to have consistent typography throughout. Therefore, I changed this to the font 'Handwriting- Dakota' which is a font used throughout the digipak, meaning that the products are consistent. This is important to audience attraction. I also added the five star feature to my product as this is a common convention of perfume adverts and by having this review would also make the perfume more appealing to the target audience for if those who read Look magazine thinks the perfume is five stars then so will they as they too read the magazine and have the same intrests as those who like it.

Comparing my product to that of a similar artist, I think they are similar but unique in many ways.

Development: CD Case Development

This is the first draft of my CD case. Although this follows the conventions of a cd case, such as having around 19 songs, barcode and album credits, there was one problem I encountered. In all the CD Case's I have looked at for research, the production credits are at the bottom and songs nearer the top. Because my CD case did not match this convention, it did not look professional. 

With the production credits and songs moved, an improvement can be seen in the CD case. However, when looking back at other CD cases, I noticed that on the majority of them feature the songs in the middle left of the page instead of top left. To solve this problem, I moved the song list to make it look more professional.

Before I started creating my CD case, I researched into other CD case's of similar artists to make sure it matched the codes and conventions. The typography I used was 'Calibri', a very clear font. This is also a convention of CD cases.

CONSISTENCY THROUGHOUT PRODUCTS.
The pink overlay was used because this is a feature on my perfume advert. It is important that throughout all of the products that consistency is kept so that the audience immediately know that the products relate.

Here is a draft of my perfume advert...

Although this is draft is unfinished, the consistency between the two products are clear. This product is also consistent throughout with the digipak as the images have the same effect and the house style colour of pink is used throughout all of my ancillary tasks and those in my group, as well as the effect on the images and typography.

Tomorrow I shall be updating my blog with images of existing products in the media, comparing them to the final versions of my own.

Development: filming + audience attraction

Yesterday was our final filming session and Amy and I successfully got the footage we needed to complete our music video. The piece of equipment that came in use to us the most was the steady cam, which we used to get hand-held type shots but steady instead of shaky. When filming the boyfriend scene, we filmed in two different locations, on the sofa and in the kitchen. These locations were important to attracting the target audience, as they are very normal locations so many people can relate to it, whereas if the location were in somewhere like a studio, not as many people would be able to relate to this, creating a sense of verisimilitude. For the kitchen scene a bright light was used, contrasting to the dim lighting used for the sofa scene. This creates a sense of time for the audience, making them think that there is a long time period between the two scenes. One problem we encountered when filming was that we wanted this to be our final session, as we now have plenty of footage, but we wasn't sure what verse needed more clips. To solve this problem, we decided to do shots in the woods where the artist is just walking, instead of signing, so we could use this shot where ever it was needed. We are aware than when we get to editing the footage, some more may need to be added and some may not look as we hoped it would. Overall, I think the footage we got matches the codes and conventions of a music video, such as close up's showing emotion of the artist's face and using lighting to show time change.

Development: Digipak progress

I wanted to create a poster effect for the middle page of the Digipak, however my first draft was too plain and uninteresting with too much blank space. I decided to change the font to match the front cover of the album and to also use a black and white effect, again similar to my front cover. However My teachers told me that this was not one of the strongest images, I therefore decided to use four of the strongest images in one poster. I edited these images to make sure it was consistent throughout, as the others in my group had used this effect. As I said in a previous post, the social networking logos and addresses and a convention in recent Digipak's, cross promoting the products, As the audience will have seen this feature used in many other Digipak's, it will create a sense of verisimilitude for the audience.

I really like the collage effect used here and I think it is one of the strongest parts of the Digipak. I used this because I saw it used in another Digipak, meaning it meets the correct conventions. Although I liked my first draft, after gaining feedback from my teachers it was clear that I could do more to make it better. In the first draft, some of the stronger images are being cut off and not standing out as they should be. I therefore, using the photoshop light tool, make the strongest images brighter and toned down the brightness on the other images, making the stronger ones stand out. I also moved these images to the centre of the collage. I changed all the images to a Polaroid style to break all the images up and so that I could incorporate the artist's name into the collage.

I thought my first draft was too plain, and although it meet the conventions of a lyrics page, could be made more eye-catching. I therefore edited the image to match that of others in my group and to make it jump out more. I also changed the colour of the background to pink so it attracted the target audience, teenage girls.

This shows how my digipak front cover has progressed since the first stages of the production process. I liked the way the lips were in colour whereas the rest of the image was in back and white, however, this wasn't consistent throughout the rest of the images used and therefore didn't match the codes and conventions. The text on my first draft was too small and didn't stand out enough, not making it clear to the audience who's album this is. Making the image darker to my current album cover means that the white text stands out more, making the name of the album clearer to the audience. Although I like the current typography in a recent progress review our teachers said that my group and I should change this typography as it is too commonly known, which is not a convention of an album cover.

Development: Album cover conventions

I decided to use a black and white image on my front cover because I thought this album cover is the most effective of those I have researched. Hilary Duff also has the same target audience as our artist, meaning that the audience would see the album cover and think there is something in the album for them.

These album covers are all similar to mine in the way that they all have a close up of the artist's face, and the artist is not smiling. Many are also similar in the way the artist has her mouth parted and there are also similarities in the artists' hair, which in many of these album covers, is wavy and not perfect. This could suggest to the audience that the artist's are not perfect, like the audience, and perhaps listening to this album could give them an insight into other similarities the audience and the artist share.

When comparing my album cover to the others of current artists', it is clear that the typography I have used it too bright, therefore I shall tone in down more to make sure it meets the codes and conventions of a Digipak.

Development: The making of... Video's

Once we have finished editing, we will start working on our 'making of...' video which will will include outtakes, setting up of equiptment, and why we made specific decisions such as location, lighting and types of shots used.

Development: Digipak Development

I used black and white on the front cover so that the typography showing the artist's name 'Pixie Lott' would stand out in contrast. After a progress review with my teachers however, they said that the typography used would need to be changed as it is too commonly known and we needed to use something more unique.

I used this image because it shows clear iconography of the chosen genre because of the mic and think it is a strong image with good lighting.

                                   

The background throughout the digipak was origionally white, however this looked too plain. My teacher suggested that I put an image of the artist under the text with a low ocpasity, I shall try this and compare the final outcome to the exsisting one. The name of each song is used in a typography that looks as if the artist has signed it herself, attracting the audience.

I have been told my peers and teachers that these are four of the strongest images, therefore I decided to encorporate them into one poster. A poster within the Digipak is a feature i've seen used in a few of the digipaks I have researched. The information of the artist's social networking sites is another feature encorperated in newer digipaks. I used the white banner of the bottom of the page to break up the writing, so that the audience would be more likey to read it, if there were too much text it would look unappealing.

The 'Thank you' section was a feature used in all of the DigiPak's I have looked at. I shall add some more to this as I need to use up the blank space left on the page.

This is my favourite page of the Digipak. This collage effect gave me plenty of opptunity to show the wide range of photography taken and the polariod camera look allowed me to add the nae of the artist in the typography 'handwriting- dakota' which looks as if the artist has signed it herself. I dimmed down the lighting on some of the images using photoshop and made the other images brighter. This allowed images that I thought were strongest to be noticed first.

This looks alot like one of the previous lyrics pages. They are consistant throughout, using the same colours and text. This is a crucial convention of a digipak. The name of the song is in the same font as the font on the college, again creating consistancy. It was very important that there were only a few fonts used, otherwise it would be too confussing and unprofesional. I used a variety of different types of song's in the digipak, as I noticed when researching that alot of artists similar to Pixe Lott do this is order to attract a wider audience amd to make the album more exciting.

I think the lighting used on the back page of the digi-pak is strong and this is one of the strongest photographs. It is important to have a strong image on the front and back cover as they are on their own without text.

Evaluation: Consistancy throughout products

The cardigan that our artist is wearing in this photo she is also wearing in a clip in the video. Relating the ancillary products to the music video is important, as the audience will know who the artist is, if they have seen the video and are looking for another product, such as an album or calander. We have made sure consistancy is kept throughout all of our products for this reason.

Development and Evaluation: Comparing our shots to those of similar artists'. How they are effective and how they make the audience feel.

Before we got the shots for our music video, we looked at the videos of similar artists' with the same genre and target audience as our own, and used many shots in our music video that we thought were effective in theirs. These artists inculde Pixie Lott and Taylor Swift, who we looked at cloesly to make sure we met the codes and conventions of a music video. This would mean, when watching our video, a sence of vileresmiliartude would be created for the audience, making them more likely to watch our video. Some of these shots, we were pleasantly surprised to find out, were simple but effective. Receiving audience feedback helped us hugely into choosing the style for our music video as the majority of the audience wanted a 'soft' and 'delicate' feel and also wanted settings that they could relate to. Bollow are some prints screens from videos we looked at that are similar to our own and why we thought they were effective. We studied these current music video's in detail to make sure a sense of verisimilitude is created for the audience because of the girly genre and overall soft and delicate style.

There are the music video's we look at in depth:

'Back to December'- Taylor Swift. This video had the style and overall feel we wanted for our music video, which is delicate and softness, the 'feel' we found our audience wanted earlier on in the research process. This style has worked really well and I have learnt how important it is to listen and act on what the target audience want. Many of our shots, as shown bellow, are inspired by this video.

'Broken arrow'- Pixie Lott. This is the original video for our song so researching into this video, its style and types of shots, were a big part of the research process. As you will see bellow, many of the types of shots from this video were also used such as the boyfriend shots in the car and on the sofa. We also looked closely at this artist, her hair and make up, clothing, facial expressions and body positioning to make sure the 'delicate' feel comes across to the audience. For example, the artist is wearing pastel colours at most points in this video, something we found created the 'soft' effect in our video. Her make up is also light instead of dramatic, which would have brought a 'rock' effect to the video, something we didn't want to do.

'Can't make it over- Pixie Lott' this is Pixie Lott's most current video and we thought it was important to watch all of the artist's video's to get to know the artist's personality. The shot in this video such as the close up at the window, we also used in our video because it relates to the style we want throughout.

Gave theory
The gaze theory is used throughout all of these videos, the male audience will want to watch this video because they think the artist is attractive and the female audience will want to watch because they think by watching the video they will have a closer insight into the lifestyle into the artist they inspire to be like. The gaze theory is something we thought about and tried to achieve when shooting our video.


Shots

We too used a long shot of the bed and window in our video, to let the audience know the emotions the artist is feeling. Many of the target audience will be able to relate to this, making them want to watch the video so they don't feel alone and perhaps hoping that the video holds the solution to happiness. In our audience feedback when asking them what locations they wanted for the music video, the majority said they wanted locations they could relate to such as a bedroom.

A shot of the artist sitting on a bed singing is featured in more than one video I watched with similar artists' to ours. I believe this shot is very delicate and soft (what the target audience asked for during the research stage), like the song, and many of the target audience, teenage girls, can relate to this as this is the time of their life that they will be sitting on their own beds wondering, their emotions pouring out, as these artists show by using this clip.

We decided to change the shot of our artist writting the letter in the cafe and instead wrote the letter on her bed. We thought the audience would be able to relate to this more, as it is perhaps something they have/will experience. It also makes the 'soft' feel of the vido consistant and makes it more personal to the artist and the audience. I feel the setting is alot more apropriate and conventional, it is a shot I've seen used in two music video's from artists' with the same target audience.

The shot of the artist sitting, singing against the wall is also very effective. Because this shot is quite plain it allows the audience to focus on the artist's emotions instead of this attention being lost by the background.

I liked how in this window shot, the artist's hair falls softly around her face, mirroring the delicate setting that the target audience wanted. This is an effective we have captured in our own music video, hoping to create the same effect. The shot at the window was aslo used in more than one music video. I think this shot is effective as movment is created by the hands sliding down the glass. The light coming off the window and onto the artist's face again creates a soft and delicate feel, one which we have also created. All these artists are also blonde, which again adds to the 'delicate' feel.

The hand on the window is a shot we chose to use in our video, as body language is very important as it tells the audience how the artist is feeling. It suggests she is reaching out for someone, which is what we were trying to show by this gesture.

We used the shot of a close up on the letter in our video to give the audience an insight into what the artist is feeling, making their emotions stronger and making them feel the emotions of the artist.

When researching, the audience wanted props and settings they could relate too. I think the ipod/mp3 player is defiantly the majority of the target audience can relate to, as many 14-25 year olds would own an music console and perhaps would listen to music as a emotional release when they are going through something in their lives similar to the artist.

I think this shot of the boyfriend laying of the artist's lap is a shot the audience can relate to because of the setting and I think the soft style of this shot adds to the feel that the target audience were looking for in the music video. I think if this shot was on a beach for example, it would not have the same feel of verisimilitude as the sofa as the audience majority would not be able to relate to it.