Fonts for Digipak

During my foundation portfolio I experimented using different font faces from the website www.dafont.com. The website was very useful as it provided fonts which are not accesible using the ordinary Photoshop programme. The main headline on the album and magazine advertisement will clearly be the name of the artist featured in my music video "BrooklynWood"

I really like the font face "Orator Std" for my main headline on the CD cover/album poster promoting the artist.
In terms of the font face for the songs on the back of the digipak itself, I find that calligrific choice are better suited to the genre and theme. However it does mean the text is quite difficult to read, especially in my situation as I have a bold and busy background. Usually a fundamental colour is used like black or white, however both of these basics do not stand out. I am unsure as to whether to experiment

I dont know whether to use "Monotype Corsive" or "Vladmir Script" for the main title on the front of my CD cover.

Critical Analysis of Album Digipak 1

Rhianna's fifth studio album "Loud" was released in 2010 continuing her fame as an RnB artist. I have chosen to analyse this digipak to investigate how sucessful the promotion package of a digipak has to be for a successful artist like Rhianna.  A close up image of the artist has been used on the CD cover as a main promoting device, it makes the Rhianna's new album identifiable anywhere to the audience. The close up image is almost made almost iconic of her musical career. The image promotes the colour red through her hair and lips connoting a theme of love. The colour red also promotes a warm tone which again reflects the theme of relationships and happiness. The bold iconic features of the CD cover are loud and eye catching, representing the artists fame and popularity.

On the main album cover the close up shot of the artist does well to promote her facial expressions and overall look to the audience. The artist having her eyes closed in the image could suggest despair and upsetness adding to the connotations about love and possible heartbreak. The name of the artist and album has been placed at the top and bottom of the page in a simple white font face. It could be argued this has contrasting connotations of quietness however as Rhianna is a global musical talent she is instantly recognisable therefore doesnt need her name largely printed on the cover. She is already has an established market in the music industry.

A very similar image has been placed onto the album cover with 3 pannels showing the continuity of the theme and the narrative following her songs. The mise-en-scene has been continued throughout the digipak constantly reinforcing the theme of love and heartbreak. For example the use of the roses included in the shot are the ultimate symbolism of love. Also the artist is wearing a simple white dress in the medium shot connoting her purity and naevity. This directely relates to the majority of the included songs on the digipak which have relevance to heartbreak. The pose of the artist in this 3 pannel image again promotes the feelings she portrays in the main album cover; depressed and lonely. Again the face of the artist is unrecognisable to the audience however her fame in the industrty combined with her individual look (red hair) make her easily identifiable.

Finally the CD itself simply includes an image of a singular rose, but with focus on the colour pink. It must be noted that pink connotes more of a romance and love than the colour red which emphasises the passion and heartbreak. This colour may have been specifially chosen for this reason all the songs are relevant to love and only few involve the concept of heartbreak. I really like the simple technique used on this CD image and may possibly use the same effect.

Critical Analysis of Album Digipak 2

The digipak "The Writer" was released as the 4th single on Ellie Goulding’s main album "Lights" to only include her singular hit in 2010. Certainly this digipak follows more of a country style from the use of outdoor locations in comparison to Rihanna’s "Loud" album. This differentiates the genre of pop and country and given me different ideas following a simplistic tone. The digipak follows a very casual and natural tone which is very suited to the style of the artist’s slow and peaceful songs.

The album cover has been staged in an outdoor meadow location promoting the simplicity of the artist’s music. However small gold glitter circles have been incorporated into the image at the right hand side of the cover. This connotes the star fame she has as an artist, as gold is associated with royalty. The inclusion of this effect hints to the audience that she is a musical modern artist as well as a traditional and natural singer. When analysing her additional albums it appears this effect is continuously used on other covers therefore poses as a signifier or logo to her musical career. The shot of the artist itself is in focus over the meadow background which is made blurry as increasing in height; this ensures the artist is the main focus on the cover and dominating. The artist is not actually making eye contact with the audience however this has been purposely staged to create a calm and soothing atmosphere which represents her music style. In terms of mise-en-scene Ellie is wearing a white blouse which again (alike Rihanna’s appearance on her album cover) connotes the purity and innocence of the artist. Her loose and flowing hair adds to the connotation of freedom and the easy going style of her music.

The CD style itself is quite bold and detailed in comparison to the simple effect of using a rose which was used on Rihanna’s digipak. Calligraphy styled text has been included on the CD with both the artists and albums name. The font face adds a simple beauty to the exaggeration of words making it very suited to the continuous theme of purity. The white square background included makes the important details on the CD, this effect is dependent on the fame of the artist which in Ellie Goulding’s case, is necessary to include as she has yet to reach global fame.

The images used on the top left and right section of the digipak adopt a very artistic feel. Especially the medium- long shot of the artist playing the guitar as it directly involves her musical talent. Her facial expressions show the audience how much enjoyment she seeks out of playing and recording her music, perhaps a personal addition which would prove popular with the artists fans. I expect this image to use as an additional photograph as part of a selection sometimes included in a digipak making the package more interesting for fans.

Examples of Digipaks

I decided to research Digipaks which I felt had a common interest with my genre or music video. 

Examples of Magazine Album Advertisements

Research into existing album advertisements will help me identify certain conventions and forms which i must use.

Possible Names for the Featured Artist

I simply researched existing names of female country singers which had a unique element to their names. Here is a selection of different female country singers:

• Brook Dunn
• Shania Twain
• Martina McBride
• Faith Hill
• April Pailsley
• Carrie Underwood
• Tanya Tucker

I am going to mix around sections of the different artists names to produce a new identity for my artist. I have decided to name my artist Tanya Wood!

Ancillary Texts Overview

I must also focus on the production of the digipak during the construction of my music video. I have chosen the two selected briefs:

• A cover for its release as part of digipak (CD/DVD package).
• A magazine advertisement for the digipack (CD/DVD package).

The production will involve both critical analyses' into existing products, specific research of what to include in my digipak, the photoshoot and then the actual production of the package using Photoshop.

Production Plan - Stage 4

30/01/13 - 10AM

Completing the rest of my filming is important as once I have completed my music magazine I can begin to concentrate on creating the following Digipak. From previous filming sessions the model does already know the words to the song which should speed up the filming time.

I aim to complete the filming in all 3 of the locations I have chosen to use:

• The Barn
• Heron Lakes
• Beverley Westwood

Also I am going to make a slight adjustment to my music video by adding another location. This will still be on the same site as "The barn" however will involve the fields behind giving me a broad and clear landscape to experiment with. The shots following this location will involve both the male and female model showing their happy relationship before the break-up.

I have created a more precise structure for filming my music video. However this does mean I will need to allocate more filming time to ensure i have all the required shots. This will follow the form of splitting the filming into two different stages:

Before the break up and after the break up.

Also I am going to film the model in the different locations singing the entire lyrics to the song. This will give me backed up footage which may be useful to fill in certain spaces I may have in my music video.

Update on Weather Conditions

Unfortunately it seems I will not be able to complete any filming during the month of January as the weather conditions have greatly deteriorated. The outside location of my music video has meant filming has been very difficult as the snow both interferes with the mise-en-scene and safety of the models and camera equipment.

The snow was continuous for up to two weeks which greatly pushed back my production time. If I knew the snow would be grounded for this long period of time I might have completed my filming using these weather conditions to my advantage. However I did not know this, therefore it was too risky to begin filming when the weather could have changed overnight. This would have massively affected my mise-en-scene as different parts of my music video would show different locations.