DIGIPAK - CD Net (Front Cover)

At first I came up with this front cover however the background was no matching at all and it really wast looking professional in any way so I was suggested by my teacher to do a bit more research into my genre to get a specific background.

I was struggling a lot to find a proper background for my front cover of the CD album and did some research which can also match with my video. Then I thought of putting a background which young people are more into and which can also be reflected on the state of being paranoid. I found this picture where young boys are standing with a graffiti background and I thought of using something similar to this.

I then decided to put a background which has graffiti on it which can help to reflect upon his mental state of being a paranoid and also helps to attract my target audience (18+). I have put a black banner on the top deliberately for the title to be seen clearly. The font for the title and the artist name are both different than the previous one because according to my research its different in every album cover. I have given it green and slightly yellow colour because then it can match with the narrative of my music video of representing his relationship with the nature. 

However, after doing a peer assessment with my classmates Natalie and Elisia I had to change the position of my artist's name because they suggested that its better to put it together close to the title or else the titles name will make it seem as if I am trying to sell my artist rather than the album itself. Therefore, after taking their advice into consideration I changed the position of my artist's name and moved it to the top close to the Title and due to the different fonts my audience will recognise the title of the album along with the artist's name. 

  I changed the picture of my artist because the previous picture was taken from my music video which had poor quality and clarity thus I took new pictures in my camera and uploaded them on the desktop in order to use it for my CD's front cover and also for my advert poster. This picture is very clear and is much better to see. Also, the direct mode of address helps to engage with the audiences more. 

  I again changed my picture because my teacher suggested that his expressions do not seem very appealing for the audience in order for them to buy my music album. I wanted to keep that serious look on my artist's face because that is how he is presented throughout my music video. However, I changed my picture but kept that serious look on my artist. 

I then decided to change the fonts for both the title along with the artist's name because the previous fonts seemed very similar to me which did not look professional. I also changed the colour of my fonts because white seems more neat and clear in contrast with the black and it also then matches with how my advert poster is because on the advert poster all of my texts are in white. 

Finally, I decided to use the last picture as my front cover for my CD album and I feel very satisfied with what I have produced because after all the research and changes I made I realised how to improve my front cover and on every stage I got the chance to learn something new about the music video industry along with photoshopping.  

DIGIPAK - Reflection on digipak

1. What was the task?
The task was to create a digipak (CD album cover) for the music video which I produced. We also had to make a advert poster including the title of the album along with the artist name and their picture.

2. What process did you go through to complete the task?
We had to do everything via photoshop and at the start a photoshop tutorial was arranged for my class which was very helpful, in terms of learning more about all its features and producing a professional looking digipak.

3. What did you learn from the experience? (photoshop)
By looking at the vast amount of features which photoshop has it made me to become more creative and think out of the box in order to create a perfect and thoughtful CD album cover and the advert poster. This also made me to see how people work in the real music industry and how their pictures are edited on photoshop which make them look more glamorous or very dark and eerie depending on their music album. Therefore, when working on photoshop to create a professional looking album cover and advert poster, it gave me a deeper insight in how the music industry works and how editing and photoshop is done.

RESEARCH - Favourite music video and why?

Bruno Mars - just the way you are

There are many reasons why this is one of my favourite music videos -
1. I love Bruno Mars because he is very talented and his music rocks
2. The music itself is very rhythmic, has lots of beats and anyone can hear this song and just start enjoying it.
3. It hasn't got a very deep narrative which is why this video is even more attractive for me because even in simple ways Bruno has made this song very interesting and eye hatching to watch.

Beyoncé - countdown
Countdown is the way song I can hear or watch anytime. It's fun and full of enjoyment. It's colourful it's eyecatching to watch due to its transitions and multiple locations, mise en scene which makes the whole video very vibrant to watch and enjoy.

RESEARCH - Research for Advert Poster

- Brand Image is positive and sexual due to his position (attractive towards girls)
- He looks very relaxed and causal in contrast with the smart clothing
- Glowing due to the back lighting which makes him stand out for the audience
- Font looks as if he has signed it to enhance its effect and make it look personal
- Direct mode of address because he is looking directly into your eyes which engages the audience
- Genre seems disco due to the bright lighting and it was a disco era that time

- It looks very busy for a digipak as lots of things are going on in the scene 

- The set is like a collage, very eye catching and interesting designed by Peter Blake

- It was influenced by the peace movement which was going on at that time therefore props such as flowers and multicolours are used to enhance the theme.

- The Beatles artist are there but many other people and objects are there too which shows that they are giving more importance to the genre rather than the brand image of the artists. 

- She is covering her name which is alright because this enhances her popularity as everyone knows who she is and it also helps to give the cover a 3D effect
- Her clothing is very simple but also attractive because it has the sexual appeal and male gaze to it.
- This was done very recently and nowadays its the CD era therefore not much is going on in this cover as more people will download songs online rather than buying the album. Some people do by albums but not as much as they used to in the past.
- The background here is white therefore it makes her stand out
- The camera angle is low which makes her come across as empowered and giving her higher status

- This cover is very different from the rest of the album covers as it doesn't have any of its artist. This shows that they are focussing more on their genre rather then selling their artist.
- The theme of this cover looks very political and very anti-capitalist
- Nirvana being an Indie band seems very different on this cover. The baby is not supposed to come across as cute but sending across a very serious message
- The background is blue which represents calmness and peace

DIGIPAK - Photoshop Tutorial

For my photoshop tutorial, we were taught everything. Right from the beginning on how to open a new page until how to get creative on your ideas. Although I knew how to use photoshop but I found this tutorial very useful in terms of revising back to know all the features of photoshop. i created a Rihanna poster which was not finished due to less time however I learnt more from this about picking the correct type of picture and the background and how important the colours are in terms of mismatching and using it correctly depending on the picture and background we use. I decided to use a plain green background for me to crop the picture carefully. Moreover, I used red colour for the title to match with the dress which Rihanna is wearing. Also, we were told to name the different layers with what they are for so we do not get confused when selecting the correct layer. And, I also learnt how to hide a specific layer and put another layer on top of it. More features such as using the rubber, magic tool, zooming in and out, paint brush etc which shows how useful photoshop is for this project.

DIGIPAK - Elements to Include (Checklist)

These are checklists for blog work and tells which elements to include. I have done all the work which is ticked off and still working on the remaining work.

PLANNING- Advert Sketches

Here are some of my ideas of advert and how I will be adding everything on my poster to attract my audiences and also to create brand image for my artist. I have included all the important conventions and have thought about the layout for my poster. In order to get more specific ideas I looked at some examples of posters some which is similar to mine.
Down below are some of the examples which influenced me on how to do my layout, what kind of pictures to choose. Both the artist have a dark and sinister look which matches with the narrative and idea of how I want my artist to look.