Digipak

A digipak is a form of media that usually includes 6 slides, the front and back cover, artwork, sometimes a note from the artist themselves or a lyric sheet and of course the CD itself, the main content the artist is providing. Digipaks are usually used as promotion for a new album from an artist. It can seem appealing with artwork or by including hit songs which will attract people to buy it, but also people argue that a digipak has a more personal feel than just a standard Jewel Case CD, as the artist has clearly gone a long way with a digipak and taken time to give his fans more material and things such as a personal note can make it heartfelt and give the artist a good reputation, showing that he cares about his fans.

To create our digipaks, we used a software called Photoshop CS6, I used it to edit photos that were taken of our artist (myself) around lakes, side streets and walls. Photoshop is a very efficient tool, it allowed me to do things such as remove unwanted background, add colour effects to photos such as saturation, increase image quality and also add text on them. It is a very effective and high quality editing app, which made my digipak images stand out very well and made my digipak appealing, if I used a lower quality editing software then the images would not have been as good and the digipak itself would have been low quality and unappealing, and if the digipak seemed poor quality to fans, then they would think the same about the music on the CD inside, meaning that potential customers would have been driven away and the artist wouldn't make much money from the digipak. A poor quality digipak may give the artist bad rep, it could show that they are lazy and aren't too bothered about the quality of the content they're giving their fans, showing that maybe the artist doesn't even care about his fans as they won't go the extra length for them.

The ideas for my digipak came from research on Indie artists and albums they have released. One in particular was Gabrielle Aplin, she had a well presented and appealing digipak that did see some chart success. I noted how she used a lot of rural background, which is something that inspired me as this was the main environment of my digipak images.

My digipak consisted of 6 pieces of content, a front cover, a back cover with song titles on, a personal note from the artist, the CD and some artwork.

The front cover shows the artist sitting beside a lake dressed in all black with his guitar in hand. The font used is also black and is placed on the lake to help it best stand out. I downloaded a special font from a website called "dafont" which I believe is really conventional and effective. The words are the album title, Rock Bottom and the artists name John Spencer. This is vital information I have to provide as it tells the fans specifically who made the album and what it is called, something they will need to know if they are interested in purchasing the actual digipak. I choose to colour the font black as it displays the general theme of the album, dark and quite emotional, I wanted to show that the artist was in troubled times and didn't want the font to be flashy and colourful. The design of the font is veritcally aranged, making it easy for fans to navigate, which is helpful as they would not want to buy the digipak if it was too confusing. The font in John Spencer was designed so that both words merge and share one "N", creating a different affect that was used because some people may find it interesting and because of the fact I was using black font which may seem boring, I wanted to add a twist.

I use natural colours from the image in this slide, with slight dark saturation to set the tone of a dark themed album, however the editing is not adverse and is pretty straight forward, natural colours from the rural setting with black font used for conventional purposes. The artist himself is wearing black, black is a colour many indie artists wear, mainly to show emotional pain and that they're going through a rough time. From our music video narrative we can see the struggles my artist goes through, he is wearing similar clothing to the video, still all black to show his pain and this is effective as it also links in with the black font on the cover.

The image itself is of the artist sat down gazing over a lake whilst playing his guitar. When people are seen looking over lakes, it is thought that they are reflecting on things, which is what my album would be about, the artist reflecting on old times and singing about them. It may also show the artist has literally hit "Rock Bottom" and he has fled to the lake, which many people find peaceful and he is with his one love, his guitar, he has nothing else. Here the artist can be away from his struggles and reflect by using his passion, music. We can see in the image the artist is also wearing dark colouring, which is conventional as indie artists are widely seen wearing this, such as Ed Sheeran. It is also purposely on my artist to show the audience his emotions,

In terms of language on the front cover, there is none used other than the vital information of album title and artist name. I wanted more focus to be on the actual image itself, as this sets the tone and is more informative than the language on the cover.

The main conventions featured in this slide are the rural background included, seen in many indie videos such as "Hozier- Take me to church" and "Ed Sheeran - A team". It gives a feel thats true to the artist and shows their fans where they come from and it gives the fans a piece of the artist. Also conventional is the black clothes I am wearing, seen across many indie music videos, sch as "Oasis- Wonderwall" and "Courteeners- Are you in love with a notion?". It is used to show the artists emotion and overall to convey the general tone of the album.

My next slide is of a personal note from the artist written to the fans who bought the digipak. The language and typography is white font and it thanks fans for making the artist what he is, he shows true appreciation and also leaves a personal signature below, giving the fan a collectors piece and something personal. The audience will take great note of the words on the side and feel like they're connecting with the artist creating a relationship, which is conventional to the indie genre as indie artists are often seen as down to earth characters. The fan really feels appreciated by reading the note and will admire the artist for taking the time to reach out to his fans personally by wording the note himself.

The colours in here are natural like many of the digipaks slides. The background is natural and isnt edited, coloured or airbrushed, the picture is what it is and the artist wants to show he is who he is, not using any fake editing and just having himself there behind the note, naturally. The font used is white, not only because this was best to use as it stands out most, but white connotes innocence and it could show that deep down after all of his struggles, the artist is just a genuine nice guy. the colour white is also associated with purity, and the artist is being pure and true, speaking his mind about the fans and showing who he really is behind all the music. He is still wearing black clothing, but it is positioned so that the black is behind the white, which could connote that the bad times are behind him and he is only looking forward, just like he is in the picture.

The image is of the artist with his guitar staring at the camera showing a direct mode of address. This gives a personal feel, the artist is directing himself towards the audience and they can see him face to face for who he is. This again shows the artist is a down to earth character, he is calm and wants to connect with his audience and build a relationship with them, which is conventional to the indie genre as it's artist are usually relatable characters.With him is his guitar, which is conventional as indie artists are always seen playing mainly guitars in their music videos and on album covers. It tells the audience a lot about the artist, that this is his one true passion and he takes it everywhere he goes, again linking with the convention of connecting with the artist. The main purpose of the image is to support his message that it is genuine and try and connect with his fans, not only by the personal note, but also the direct mode of address.

The indie conventions present are the dark clothing, which shows the artists emotions and also the fact he is with his guitar, something that many indie artists are seen playing as it is the main instrument of the genre. The down to earth feel with the personal note and the actual image also supports indie conventions, as like many other artists, my artist is trying to reach out to his fans.

The slide is designed so that the font appears infront of the artist, the note is the most important thing and the main point of this slide, the artist wants to get across his feelings to the fan. The image is placed behind the text as it is less important and not the main purpose.

The next slide is of some digipak artwork, a guitar rested on a brick wall which has been saturated to a green colour.

The image itself is conventional, the guitar is the main instrument of the indie genre and is present here. The brick wall shows where the artist comes from, which is again conventional as indie artists like to show their fans what they're about and where they come from, as mine does here. 

The colour used is a dark green filter, although it may seem conventional, other Indie genre artists have done similar things, such as Ed Sheerans "X" album cover, similarly coloured to this slide. Green is not tied to a specific genre, a bright red or blue could be associated with dance, but green brings a since of misteriority, and makes fans wonder what the artists songs will be about. A plainly coloured picture may seem boring to some and that is used quite frequently throughout the digipak, and it's important that fans aren't bored and that they get entertained by the content, adding colour adds a new twist and it's an effect that they may find peculiar in a good way and enjoy. 

There is no typography or language to not in this slide, as usually artwork would not contain this, the image speaks for itself and is the main purpose of the slide and the main and also one and only feature to entertain the audience. 

This slide is conventional in a few ways, the guitar, the main instrument of the indie genre is present and shows fans what the album will mainly sound like. Also the artist is showing where he comes from and therefore connecting with his fans by giving a piece of him to them, which is conventional as indie artists are considered down to earth and usually relate to their fans. 

The next slide is another featured artwork, but this time it actually features the artist, and he is playing his guitar against a brick wall. 

The colours used in this slide are mainly a faded black on the actual image, it adds a diverse effect and is used for the purpose of showing the artists emotions, that he is fading away and can't take the pain he deals with any more. Although black may seem a boring colour, it adds a different effect to the slide which makes it more interesting, and it has a purpose, it shows the artists emotions. The artist is also wearing all black like he is in all images, this is used to portray his emotions to the audience, which links in with indie genre conventions.  

Again here there is no typography or language to note, mainly because this is an artwork slide and you wouldn't really expect any words in it. The image is the main focus and the artwork pages do not provide vital information. 

The main conventions in this slide are the artists guitar, as many indie artists are seen playing their guitars in music videos or on album covers and also the fact that the guitar is the main instrument of the indie genre. It is argued that the effect use may go against indie conventions, however the colour black is conventional to the indie genre and it is used to show emotion, like many other indie artists like to show emotion to their fans, it's a way of connecting with them, which my artist attempts here, therefore making it conventional. The artist wears black clothes to show his fans that he is unhappy and going through dark times and that the colour black sums up his emotions, dark. This again shows the artist connecting with his fans, which is conventional as indie artists are always seen in their songs telling stories that fans can relate to, or pouring their hearts out to them. 

 The next slide is the back cover of the digipak, which contains all of the tracks on the album. This is vital information and is needed to provide to the audience, as they would not want to buy the album if they had no idea what is actually featured on it.

The image on the back cover is of the artist's guitar rested on a black bench, with the artist seen in the background walking off. This has many connotations, first off being conventional to the indie genre, as once again the main instrument, a guitar is present and the artist is still in his all black clothing. The presence of the guitar could show the fans that this is what the songs will mainly contain, so that they can briefly imagine in their head what they would sound like. In the image, the artist is seen walking away from the camera, leaving his instrument behind. This is to show that he is walking away from his troubles and giving the fans his music, maybe even quitting music for a while. This subverts conventions as indie artists are expected to be upfront with their fans and relate to them instead of just walk away, but the main purpose of this was to support a background narrative rather than the conventions.

The language shows the titles of the songs, such as "Rock Bottom" and "Broken". This gives a general idea to a fan reading this about how dark themed the songs will be, it is clearly emotional and a song called Rock Bottom will not exactly be upbeat and cheerful. This is conventnional to the indie genre as many songs of the genre tell a sad story. Further on, a vital element of the language present is that it shows to contain clear forms of a digipak, which are the two bonus songs, an acoustic song and a live version at wembley. This is considered bonus content and would not be provided in a standard Jewel Case, showing the added value that fans who purchase the digipak can recieve.

This slide is designed so that the tracks appear above the image, as it would be confusing if they were hardly visible and would be overall poor quality, something a fan would not want to invest in. The tracks are laid out in horizontal order and cross the page, it is easy to understand and navigate, it looks professional and it is also made clear to the fan which songs are the bonus tracks from the original ones. A fan may respect that it has been well presented and organised, which shows them the artist took time on it and cared about the work he gave his fans, not wanting it to be messy.

The next slide of the digipak is of the actual CD and the main content of the digipak itself. The image is another direct mode of address view of the artist and also holding his guitar again, but with grass an trees in the background instead of a brick wall. The main 3 elements of the image, rural background, the artist and also his music connote what the album will be about, singing about himself and his love for music and also where he comes from, staying true to himself, which is conventional as indie artists are usually seen in rural backgrounds in their videos and like to sing about where they come from, for example "Stone Roses- Daybreak".

Again, not many colours are used in this slide, the colour is natural and has not been edited, it is the normal photo just shaped to a CD. This could show that the artist is not hiding behind a fake persona by using uneeded special effects, this is also further supported by the direct mode of address he shows. This is conventional as indie artists are always seen as being down to earth and relatable characters and the artist shows this himself by being up front and personal. The artist is seen wearing black, which is conventional as this is used to show his emotions and indie artists are considered emotional characters who sing about their own experiences, my artist is showing that his experiences have been bad.

The main conventions of this slide is that like many other indie artists, my artist gets down to the audiences level and appears relatable. Also the fact that he is wearing black to show his emotion is conventional as many indie artists sing about their emotional experiences.

There are no words to note on this slide which means there is no real presence of typography or language. It is unusual for a CD to have writing over it, usually only a picture is needed as all information that is important is already provided across other parts of the digipak.

Using photoshop to edit and create my digipak had many ups, but also some downs and faults too. First of all, I did find photoshop to be a very efficient tool as a whole.

Overall, I feel that this digipak conforms the indie genre conventions in a number of ways. The artist is shown as a relatable character through the use of a rural background, showing his emotions and also showing a direct mode of address in two slides. Also, we can see he carries his guitar a lot and indie artists are always seen with their guitar in either videos or on album covers, one in  particular, Jake Bugg in his album magazine advert, an artist we took great inspiration from when creating our work. Through the constant showing of black clothing on the artist, it shows that he is dull and going through depressing times, which helps support the convention of indie artists telling emotional and personal stories, it's a way of connecting with their fans, what many indie artists do as well as mine seen in this digipak.

I believe that this digipak does appeal to our target audience, the artist himself is their age, so it makes it easier for the target audience to relate to him and also younger people are considered to have more hectic lives and may have been through some of the things my artist has, e.g homelessness, as shown in my music video.

Creating a digipak secures a relationship between the artist and their fans in a number of ways. Fans see an artist creating a digipak as giving them extra content, which they will admire the artist for going extra lengths. Digipaks are also something that the fan can hold on to that have a personal feel, as notes from the artist are usually included, which is something a fan would greatly appreciate. It shows that the artist is going the distance to connect with their fans, which will gain them respect as it shows that they care about them and want to give back and if more people knew that the artist was giving and cared about their fans, they'd be more tempted to buy their content, meaning the artist could make more money. It also gives the fan a piece of the artist other than music, it provides a unique experience, notes, artwork and other interesting features rather than keeping it bland by just providing music, like a Jewel Case. Note- BETTER IMAGES WILL BE PROVIDED, DIDNT SCREENSHOT BEFORE WE BROKE UP AND WASN'T IN SCHOOL THE MONDAY WE GOT BACK