In this task me and Elliott completed our 3rd draft of our Digipak. This draft is significant as this is where we actually made a physical product. After many drafts in Photoshop and In design we have finally created graphics we are happy with. Every image was carefully constructed to convey meaning. With this draft we still committed to going against the generic conventions whilst sticking to the technical conventions.

As I mentioned before this task is significant as we actually printed of our designs and placed them into plastic cases. This was interesting as we know had a physical product that looked like it could be in a shop.

Front Cover

Middle Pages

Back Page

In this image below is a form of peer feedback. The idea was to show a group of people our digipak without giving them any information about our artist. They then got to select what genre they believe our digipak is.

As you can see the majority of people believed that our genre was Indie rock. This is not what our genre is and the viewers have not given a preferred reading of the media, rather they had an op-positional. This may be seen as bad thing but due to us deliberately using unconventional/controversial features. Due to this, it is common to get op-positional reading.

So all in all this task was interesting, and I am very happy with how our digipak turned out and the op-positional reading is actually a positive as we have often added unconventional features to be the same but different.

Evaluation:

Our digipak photo shoot went fairly well. Our planning was good as we had completed production meeting agenda, witch gave us clear structure on the shoot. The meeting agenda gave me and Elliott clear roles for the shoot by stating who needed to bring what for the shoot. This then made sure we were prepared witch is important for the overall success of the shoot.

The planning part of our shoot went well and this can be thanked to the many shoots we have done before where we have learnt the importance of planning. The next part of our shoot was setting up the equipment. Here is where we faced our first issue where we struggled to pair the camera witch the studio light. After some rigorous trial and error, we manage to make it work and then with a slight delay we were underway with our shoot.

Once we got the equipment working, we once again referred back to our production meeting agenda where we even planned the poses and camera angles so to start the shoot we followed these shots. After we had completed the planned shots we decided to freestyle some shots that we thought may be good. After we finished those shots the Digipak photo shoot was finished.

What went well:

• Good array of shots
• Good planning
• Good use of MES
• Effective use of time

Even better if:

• Used a green screen
• Remind our self of how to use the camera beforehand
• Use different camera setting

In conclusion the shoot was effective as we had good photos for our Digipak product. The MES was also effective and it conveys the meaning that we intended. We did come across some adversaries but we still managed to get through and complete the shoot so therefore I would deem this shoot a success.

In this task, Elliott and myself had a small photo shoot for our digipak. From the pictures we took we then put them in a contact sheet so then all pictures we took are on display. Contact sheets are a nice way to present our photo shoot and it makes navigating the pictures easier.

Contact sheet:

from our shoot, in particular we liked this image. First of all we liked how the MES is very obvious.

This image we also liked. In this shot we changed the MES slightly so it challenged the conventions and contrasted the first image.

This shot was actually an accident and was taken to test the flash. But when looking at our shots we really liked it. The image is over exposed and slightly blury. This connotes a feeling of an action shot, witch matches our theme of golfer. And for this reason we really like the shot.

Conclusion:

In the photo shoot, we and Elliott faced many issues. For example we had to familiarize ourselves with the equipment again as it had been months since we last used them. But after taking a few bad shots we learnt how to use the equipment once again. From then we took some effective shots that we are happy to use in our digipak.

In these images bellow you can see Elliott and I’s second draft of our digipak. Compared to our first draft we have made massive improvements. The first thing we improved, is that we completed the middle pages of the product. This now means we have a our first full complete digipak.

In terms of improvements for our front cover, we have added 2 dragon fly’s, a golf flag pole and a golf bag. The idea behind the dragon fly’s was that it conveys a soft nature feel. This makes the digipak inviting. Matched with the soft pastel colour the dragon fly’s create this feeling.

This double page spread is brand new. We have quite obviously continued with the golf theme by including a golf ball and astro turf. We used our editing skills to manipulate the gold ball image. We first off all removed the text that was on the ball and replaced it with our own font and number. The artists name is on the ball, and we have purposely tried to make it similar to text you would see on an actual golf ball. This follows our parody theme of the ‘happy go lucky golfer’.

In our updated back page we have added some cool features. We have added a skull and a gun under ground. This adds a feeling of mystery to the digipak. On the surface the image conveys a happy feeling. To do this we have a bright blue sky and a person going about there day playing golf. But underneath there is a dark mystery theme. Perhaps conveying the meaning that not everything is as good as it seems.

This video above, is peer feedback from our teacher. This is very valuable feedback

In this task, Elliott and I completed a Production meeting agenda and a risk assessment for out Digipak shoot. It is good practice to complete this as it is good to have a clear plan of what you want to shoot and and you must evaluate all risks.

Click the image below to access the whole document:

In the Production meeting agenda, we have included stock images of what shots we would like to include. We can use these images to refer to during our shoot. We have included a wide range of shots so we have a lot of variety to chose from.

Click the image below to access the full document:

In the images below, you will see Elliott and I’s first draft of our Digipak. This is a very rough cut as it is our very first attempt at making a Digipak. We obviously aim to improve but for now we have a foundation to build on.

Although we only created the front cover and back page, we still have made a decent start to this project. It is important to create an effective front cover for many reasons. It is the first thing the viewer sees of the whole digipak. Because of this it has to be aesthetically pleasing to draw the consumer in.

Front Cover

Back Page

When completing our first draft we have decided to follow our original plan witch is to go against the conventions of rap and create a ‘retro golfer’ theme. We think this is effective as it follows the idea that if we use enough conventions of rap to please the viewer who is used to general conventions. But on the contrast we wanted to come up with something that challenges conventions to give the viewer something new. For this reason we think the golfer theme is a good idea.

For the front page we decided to use a plain pastel green background as we believe the MES connotes enough meaning that we don’t have to overcompensate with the background rather let the outfit and props communicate meaning to the consumer.

For the back page we decided to use a pov from inside a golf hole. We thought this was a cool idea and it follows the golf theme. We have added placer text to symbolize where the song names will be placed in future drafts.

What went well:

• The star is a prominent part of the pages and it draws in attention
• There is a clear golfing theme witch we aimed for in our plan (good MES)
• Well framed shots
• The pov shot is effective use of Photoshop

Even Better if (peer feedback):

• Complete the whole digipak by including middle pages and borders
• Replace holder text with meaningful text
• Add conventions such as bar code
• Change the typeface and font colour so it fits in better for a more aesthetic design

Target for next Draft:

• Complete the middle pages
• Change filler text with actual meaningful text
• Add more features on the front cover to add more meaning

All in all this is a good start to our project and it is good that we know what to improve on so in future drafts we can improve and make a much better Digipak.

In the near future, I will create a social media page for my artist. But before I start the actual design of the page it is important that I must research and plan beforehand. I need to do this so when I do have to create my page I will have a clear understanding and plan of how to execute an effective and aesthetically pleasing social media page.

This task is useful for me as I have an understand of what is included on social media pages and why they are there. It is important to include conventions on the social media page so it is clearly identifiable that it is indeed a social media page.

Before we start the actual creation of our Digipak, we first drew our original ideas on paper. This way we could have a rough idea of how our ideas could actually look.

Our drawings:

In this image is our very first mockup of our digipak, We drew our front page, back page and two inserts.

As you can see above, we have decided to go with a strong golf theme. This is intentionally un-conventional. We decided this because in pervious tasks we found out that lots of successful artists in the rap genre fulfill their audience’s’ expectations by including general conventions whilst also giving them something unique / different by using unconventional features.

We have decided this is a good formula for a successful artist and we have decided to implement this. The golf theme is very unconventional and conveys a feeling of individuality.

MES is very important in this and as you can see on the front cover the artist will wear an over the top ‘retro’ golfers outfit. By making it over the top, the consumer can understand that it is ‘tongue and cheek’ and they will hopefully find it amusing.

In reflection, this task was very useful as we ran though ideas and have come up with a really good idea. When it comes to actually creating this digitally we can look back at this rough mockup for inspiration and we should try and stick to the original plan.

Myself and Elliott have created a mood board/look book to gather inspiration for our digipak. We used artist that are similar in terms of how they represent themselves. This can give us valuable information on how the professional represent the star and what they use to do so.

Click the image below to access the full Look Book:

From completing this look book, we have managed to find very similar features across multiple artists. On thing we noticed is the use of a plain pastel background. This is interesting as it represent a soft feeling. But what this means is that the artists costume has to portray lots as the background is so plain. One artist who does this well is Tyler the creator who dresses in bright ‘fun’ colours and wears individual outfits and expresses himself though clothing such as brays or dungarees. He is purposely being ironic. Being purposely ironic juxtaposes the genre of rap and this makes the artist stand out.

The pastel background actually conveys a significant meaning. The pastel colour conveys retro nerd stereotype. This is used in an ironic manor. This represents the artists confidence as they are prepared to purposely look geeky.

With this information we know that that the outfit is key for our shoot as the background is going to be so plain so we are really going to put emphasis on costume and posture to convey meaning.

In this task I analysed Tyler the creators album, Flower Boy. I chose this album to analyse as it is similar genre to the artist I will make a digipak about.

Analysis slides:

This task was very useful for multiple reasons. First of all I have discovered what a professional includes in there professional digipak and I can transfer some of the conventions into my very own album cover.

Second of all I got to analyse an artist who goes against conventions, witch is what I am aiming for so I can take some inspiration from a really creative and I can use it to aid my creation.

With Tyler the creator, he has a good mix of conventional and unconventional features in his digipak. For example, the vulgar language is common in rap and is a conventional feature. But on the other hand, the prominent theme of nature and the soft pastel colours are very unconventional. This mix of conventional/unconventional features fulfills the audiences expectations in terms of having enough rap conventions so it is recognizable as rap album whilst also having lots of unique features to give the audience something ‘different’.