Category: Component 3

Here is a link to the first draft of our digipak after our shoot.

I’m happy with how we’ve been able to stitch together the inside spread from two separate photos so it seems naturalistic, and the stamp effect used on the title text looks convincing, with the addition of some slight ink smudges around it to add to the authenticity.

In the next draft we’re going to aim to incorporate the coffee stains and add some content to the inside notes, as well as add details such as the bar code on the back cover.

Below are the contact sheets from after our shoot, it involved a lot of experimentation in terms of lighting and use of flash, as well as working both with and without the black sheet background, but in the end I believe we came out with plenty of usable and good shots for our project, especially considering how much of a simple setup we had. the resulting images we’re using have come out clearly and cleanly with good lighting.

Below is a photo of the setup we had in order to take the photos, with the plain black sheet background and simple light either side to make the lighting flat and clear;

Since our planned design doesn’t involve a model, only simple overhead shots of some paper and files, we didn’t require a full risk assessment or in depth set up, since this could easily be achieved within the classroom with our teacher’s supervision.

Our plan for this shoot was to put together shots for both the front and back of the folder, the inside, and some coffee stains we created on a piece of paper that we could use in editing as an overlay effect. The prop list we compiled was as follows;

• Brown paper folder
• Assorted sheets of paper to act as files within the folder
• Coffee (and paper to create coffee stains on)
• Paper clips (red, to match the colour scheme we’re going for)
• Post-it note (conventional yellow colour, so easily recognisable)
• Black and red pens to add writing and scribbles to make the file seem more used and actively studied

To perform this shoot, all we’ll need in the classroom is a plain black sheet to use as the background, sufficient lighting so the photos look clear and professional, and a camera, with space to position it directly above and face down over the files we’re photographing.

After gathering ideas from our convention analysis’ and moodboard  we drafted together a sketch of how we’d like it to look.On the inside pages we would include a collection of various notes and collected theories fitting to the theme, pulling from real world believed conspiracies and creating intertextual references to draw in the audience further, catch their attention with details that they recognise, with references to these ideas and trigger words found within the conspiracy theory environment; “Sheeple”, “Dark Secret”, “Big Pharma”, “Black Pill”, “Thought Crime”, “Wrong Think”, “I Want to Believe”. Beginning this with our choice of album title, blending with the design and naming it Confidential, attracting attention and playing with the idea that people will naturally be drawn to discover that which is considered forbidden.

To get our thoughts together clearly and start putting together something substantial for the digipak, we assembled a Padlet moodboard of conventions of the genre and general ideas. This collection of inspiration will help us form a fitting and successful digipak plan of our own.

Before approaching our own digipak it was helpful to look at another digipak design from a related artist to get an idea of the conventions and techniques used and how it is successful, attracting a similar demographic as we are aiming to.

Approaching this new task, we made sure to highlight are aims and ideas for the task in a mission statement to make sure we achieve what we want to going into this, illustrated belwo in this slideshow.