Work at home in preparation for digipak design (By Laurence Ewen)

On Sunday 12th December, I decided to work at home on our digipak for Unkle's album, 'Psyence Fiction' in preparation for the next media lesson when we would be using a computer as a group to complete the design template.

In the plans for our digipak, we planned on having a picture of various instruments in a studio on one of the pages. Because I produce music, I already had some studio equipment available in one of the rooms of my house. As a result, I was able to take pictures of my MIDI keyboard, my turntables, my guitar and my microphone to use as pictures on the page in the digipak. I waited until it was dark to do this so I could use flash on the camera and enhance the shadowy atmosphere of the imagery.

I also have Adobe Photoshop, which we would also be using at school. I have had previous experience in using this software, including for Media coursework in GCSE, so many of the features were not unknown to me. There is a tool known as 'brushes' on Photoshop, and in this folder, it is possible to import images and art which you can 'brush' over your project in your preferred colour, size and position. Fortunately I already had some brushes which I had legally downloaded previously, and I manipulated them into ways which would be appealing and applicable for the inside pages of the digipak. The tone of the digipak design and the conventions of the album were considered throughout this process which took many hours to complete, and I was able to take this work, as well as the shots of the studio instruments to class the next day after saving everything onto a flash drive.

Below are some work in progress pictures which show my work on inner pages of the digipak design in chronological order:

Digipak template (visual) by Laurence Ewen

After completing a template for our digipak, with written descriptions on each page describing the content which would be applicable, we created a more visual template which we could fold

into shape and refer to when using Photoshop.

One aspect that we deemed quite

important is that the sides of the

pages are faded out to black. This is especially appropriate for the front cover which has a picture of the protagonist bear from our music video sitting on a dirty street pavement next to a brick wall. The effect symbolises the bear's seclusion from the rest of society, and he has no escape from his current life position where he is always ignored and rejected. The state of his surroundings assist in emphasising this as it suggests that he is homeless like in the music video, and it establishes quite a melancholy atmosphere for the viewer to go with the similarly 'dark' toned music.

Lesson Overview 13/12/10 - By Meryl Cariaga

In today's lesson each responsibility of the group members were divided. Overall, we had finalised the design of the digi pak and started to create the actual digi pak, using Photoshop. During the creation of the digi pak, we concluded on what images to use within the inside and outside panels. The centre panel inside, will be the tray, where the CD will be contained, with only a black background, framing the CD, is the abstract art consisting of black and blue streaks. The extra panel, which folds inside are the images of the equipment which would normally be used in the creation of the music, for example, a microphone, turntables, a guitar. Of course all images are taken at an angle to give a professional hint, then using photo shop, the images are given a black and blue hint to add to the consistency of the theme being used. On the front cover, is an image of the bear sitting alone in front of a brick wall. We then used photo shop to edit the colours, in this case, black on the outside framing the photo, and a hint of dark blue on the picture. As you can see, the theme we hae decided to use within the digi pak, portrays the particular genre, and sets the mood.

To follow, the conventions of a digi pak, we included the name of the artist, in this case the logo of UNKLE. We used this logo, for artist identity. This means that the same logo is used on other albums published by the artist, which is used to establish the artist as a recogniseable band and creating familiarity with its audience.This means that fans who already own an album of UNKLEs’ will automatically be drawn as the logo has become recogniseable.

How our Digipak meets conventions- Diranjeet Sohi

When designing a Digipak we had to ensure that we designed around the typical conventions. It was essential that our Digipak appeared like a Digipak, otherwise it would just be an ordinary, uninteresting CD case. The Digipak is supposed to offer more to the customer.

After our research into conventions in our lesson, we had them in mind while brainstorming ideas. The conventions caused us to consider the marketing aspects. For example, we decided to use Unkle's iconography to appeal to the audience's eye. It would be the first thing audiences would pick up on, as they are associated with this logo. We also had to decide on a colour scheme. It had to be consistant, as well as suiting the genre of music. The genre of the whole album Pysence Fiction, is trip hop, so bubble-gum pink was already cancelled out. Red and blue together would appear too childish or christmas-themed. We decided based on the mood and genre of the album, to go with black and electric blue. Trip hop is described as downtempo electronic music, therefore our colour scheme is appropriate.

Based on our research into The Prodigy's Digipak "Prodigy present The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One", we agreed on the idea of using images of music production equipment. Furthermore, we decided to use particular shots taken out of our music video footage, as well as one photo of the bear taken prior filming. The mood of the screenshots is linked to the mood conveyed by our colour scheme. The screenshots really convey a sense of feeling blue and isolated. However, we would have to modify the background colours to match it to the black/blue colour scheme. This would be done using Adobe Photoshop on the Mac. The images would have a blue tint to them, as well as blurred black edges.

Reviews are not going to be used on our Digipak, because Unkle itself is a niche artist, their music is not contemporary thus they are less likely to have professional reviews. Plus, the Prodigy album we were using as research, lacked any reviews. The example on getaheadocrmedia.blogspot.com was quite the contrary. They included reviews and where to buy it. We felt this would not fit in with our design. Moreover, much like the Prodigy's album, our lyric list will be on the back panel.

Lesson Overview 8/12/10 by Alex Brown

On Tuesday's Lesson we began designing the digipak. First of all was a class discussion, where we discussed the different conventions of a digipak, so we had an idea on what to do. We then went into our groups and started designing. We used the internet to find examples of other digipaks, as well as using some of the examples provided by Mr Compton. Laurence also provided the digipak for The Prodigy's 'The Dirtchamber', which we were also influenced by.

Meryl had posted on the blog the dimensions used in digipaks, which we used to create a paper plan on A3 paper. On the A3 paper, we drew 6 separate boxes which represent the 6 sides of a digipak.

We managed to roughly decide how we were going to design each side of the digipak.

For the front cover, we decided to use a picture of the bear sitting by a wall, along with the artist name and album name. For the back cover, we decided to use a picture of a brick wall, which is where the track

listing (in white font colour) will go. For the extra panel, we decided to use macro images of instruments (i.e. guitar, turntables, keyboards), which were provided by Laurence. For the left and right inside panels, we will be using black and blue abstract colours, and for the CD Tray we think we should us

e a still image from our video. We looked for fonts to use, and as a group we voted on which font to use, which we decided to be 'Letter Gothic Std'. We also decided the colour theme for our digipak. We decided with the black and blue colour scheme, which will be used in the images as well.

Lesson Overview 7/12/10- Diranjeet Sohi

During this lesson, we were given the task to research Digipaks. As a group, we divided our duties.

Firstly we had to go into the history behind Digipaks, and their origins. We then looked at blogposts which gave lists of Digipak conventions, as well as detailed discussions of typical traits we might find with a Digipak. Some include: artist iconography, song listings and reviews as powerful promotional tools. We also looked at some examples. This research was vital as we will design our own Digipaks. It is crucial that we use this research to focus on the marketing aspects of the Digipak.

In addition, we emailed the record label to ask permission to use their song without breaking Copywrite laws. We discovered that the record label no longer existed, therefore we emailed the artist.

Dimensions of a Digi Pak - By Meryl Cariaga

As part of the planning stage in the creation of the digi pak, we needed to research the dimensions of the digi pak, in order to create an accurate and correct finalised digi pak.
As mentioned previously, within the conventions of a digi pak, they usually consist of 6 panels. From research i have obtained, i was able to find the dimensions a typical 6 panel digi pak would have.

Just click onto the image to view a larger size.

Examples of digipaks and how they have used the conventions - By Meryl Cariaga

Following our research on what digi paks are, and the conventions they all have in common here are some examples. Below shows digi paks, which follow the particular conventions.

As you can see on the right is an imae of a typical digi pak, the artist is shown on all the faces of the digi pak, that is, both front and back, this is particularly used to make the audience identify who the artist is.

Also, the name of the artist is on the front cover of the digi pak, this is also used to identify the artist which will allow the audience to know who the artist is.

In considering the style of the digi pak used, as you can see it particularly conveys the style and genre of the particular artist. In this case, the genre of this artist is classical. This is because the particular poses and costume the artist uses within the images of the digi pak portray this.

Above shows all the track listings of the artist within the inside cover of the digi pak, this is another particular convention this digi pak follows. In addition, a holder to place the CD. By the looks of the digi pak, it follows a particular house style, with specific colour usage and a limited amount of images being used. This again, in used to convey the genre of the artist and the mood the artist is trying to portray towards the audience.

On the other hand, if the artists’ genre is pop, for example Madonna, its house style is unlikely to be similar to that of a classical artist as shown above. Instead it is more likely to be more lively consisting of vibrant colours and possibly more

Image usage below is an example of Madonna’s “Celebration” digi pak.

As you can see on the right

is an image, similar to other digi paks in reference to the conventions of digi paks, the artists’ image is shown within the front cover, along with the name of the artist and the album name.

As youcan see it follows a house style, which is more associated to the pop culture, unlike the classical culture as shown above. The art at the front is done in a pop style, which references a time when pop art was popular. This conveys the era this album was suited for; very 80’s. Due to the use of colours and images, the digi pak strongly targets their specific audience. Although the expression of the artist is not as “happy” a pop artist would usually seem, the use of colours still portray a positive feeling.

On the back of the digi pak shows a full track listing, for both disks inside, barcode, record label logo, and small print including copyright information. To make all text prominent, for example the track listings, it is framed within wonky boxes, all which are numbered to show the audiencethe number of the tracks.

Another example of a digi pak used is the Eminem Curtain Call album. In this case the conventions of a digi pak are all used. The image shows specific artist identity. This is because the name of the artist is consistent in all of the Eminem albums, where the name “Eminem” uses a backwards “E” which are used to establish the artist as a recognisable band and creating familiarity with its audience.

This means that fans who already own an album of Eminem’s’ will automatically be drawn to any other album. Another particular convention that is used within this digi pak, is the use of images, to reflect the tone of the music, in this case rap, as the connotations of the images portray this. For example the image of the artist holding a gun within the inside cover.

However, the front cover image subverts the genre of the artist as it shows a black tie event, and his face not shown to the audience. Another use of a typical convention used within this digi pak, is the consistent use of the theme. With the same font used, and consistent use of colours and limited amount of images. The back cover shows the track listings of the album, with also small print about the record label, which also follows stereotypical conventions of a digi pak.

Another example of a digi pak is Michael Jacksons Ultimate Collection.

This particular digi pak subverts typical conventions, this is because it contains 4 CD’s plus an additional DVD of all of Michael Jacksons songs, where digi paks usually contain one or 2 CD’s.

All of which having iconic images of Michael Jacksons’ dancing. In addition the front cover is totally plain, it only consists of the artist name and the name of the album “The Ultimate Collection”, on plain matt black colour. The only image used is a silhouette of Michael Jackson most Iconic Dance move, even on this image, no colour is used, just back with hint of shine to outline the artist. In addition to this, there is nothing on the back cover of the digi back, just plain matt black once again. In comparison to other digi paks that follow typical conventions, the track listings are usually shown in the back cover.

However in this case, the track listings are shown on the each of the CD and within a booklet, which came with the digi pak. Within this booklet comes more images of the artist during his performances. In addition to the track listings, the lyrics of each song are also within the booklet. As you can see from all the images, the digi pak uses a consistent house style where only black and gold is used. Within the inside cover, shows more mini images of the artist and his iconic dance moves on the spines.

Digital technology (by Laurence Ewen)

Various forms of digital technology were used in the process of creating our music video. In the research stage, the internet was a valuable source of information which we could access with computers. It enabled us to find out information about the genre of the music, which record label the track was signed on, detailed descriptions of the conventions of music videos, and access to video hosting sites such as YouTube, where we could watch other music videos to draw inspiration from.

Computers were also of course used in the construction of all the blog posts on Blogger. Online logs of our progress so far could be written up to refer back to in future use (for example to view the embedded videos which we could draw inspiration from when constructing our music video). Digital cameras proved to be useful as we could take pictures while filming and then save them to a computer, and then these files could be uploaded onto the blog posts to make them more visually appealing.

Other types of digital technology were also used in the production process of the music video. This includes a MiniDV camcorder, which was the device used to film our footage. Due to the possibility of accidently overwriting footage on the camcorder, we were careful not to rewind the tape during the production process unless it was particularly required (e.g. for copying the footage onto the computer for editing). We were however able to use the different functions available with the device, such as zooming, which enabled us to easily choose what is included in each frame.

In the editing stage of our music video, digital technology was used again. We could transfer the files from the camcorder onto the computer with use of the USB cable and import them into the computer using the video editing software, 'iMovie HD'. In this program we could arrange the clips into order, cut them to the preferred lengths, apply necessary effects and transitions, and ensure that cuts are in time with the audio track alongside the visuals in the video. We found the program quite easy to use after understanding how to use the main functions available, and the undo and save functions ensured that we didn't lose any progress in the process.

Some of the blog posts regarding days of filming didn't include any digital camera photos, and we felt they could look more visually appealing with images of the filming we did on such days. To do this, we took screen-shots of visual clips in the music video, cropped them to size and saved these cropped images using Adobe Photoshop, and then uploaded these new pictures to the blog. This highlights our creativity in averting the issue of not always taking such photos with a digital camera when filming.

Problems incurred in the production of our music video - By Meryl Cariaga

- Using our hands to manoeuvre the teddy bear. Our initial planning of moving the bear was by using strings and rods. This was a problem as the strings and rods did not work as well as we expected it to be. Due to this, we had to remove the strings and rods and use our hands and positioning the camera so that the puppeteer was not apparent within the shot. The only way to not include the puppeteer was to only use close up shots which cut the puppeteer out of the frame. Another example of overcoming this problem was holding the bear below the waist so that we can create the effect that the bear is waking along the shot. This creates a “bobbing’ effect.

- Short supply of video cameras. The school has a limited amount of cameras they can supply to students. There was a case in which the year below was using the camera, when we planned to use the camera at the same time. Due to this, we had to wait till the year below had finished using their camera, for us to use it.

- While we were filming at the bus stop the tape had run out while we were recording. This was frustrating as we had to rewind all the way to the beginning of the tape, consuming time, which we could have spent filming. Also by rewinding the tape to the beginning, this led to filming over earlier shots, this was not a problem, however we had to be aware that we would record over footage which we have not uploaded yet.

- While filming within the lounge, we decided to use one of our group member’s dog, Truffles. This created a problem while filming as truffles tended to move, therefore creating an error in continuity. To overcome this problem, we made sure we only recorded footage where Truffles was stationary.

- While filming the flashback sequence, we needed to use a shelf to create the effect that the bear is being up for sale; to show he is in a shop. However, to film the bear in the shelf caused lighting problems, as it was too dark. We overcame this problem by changing the contrast in the editing stage of our product.

- Whilst filming the beginning sequence of our music video, we found that flicking the 10p in the tin was a problem. This is because flicking the 10p within the tin requires accuracy and precision. This was a problem, as it required numerous takes, thus taking up valuable recording space. To overcome this problem the “flicker” simply had to practice flicking the coin in the tin, and the cameramen filming valuable shots.

- During the flashback sequence, the bear needed to be “accidentally’ dropped out the bag, without making it obvious. This was difficult, as there needed to be a technique at which the bear would easily fall out the bag. The actress who accidentally dropped the bear overcame this problem, by only holding the bear slightly, so that when they let go the bear would fall, not making it obvious how the bear fell.

- Dropping the bird poo on the bear was also a problem. This is because we had a limited supply of the droppings. Of course we did not collect the bird droppings, in fact we made the droppings out of yoghurt and mud. Also, dropping the excretion was difficult as we wanted to create the effect that it was a bird, to do this we had to wait for the mixture to slowly drip off the spoon, again this was a problem as it consumed a large amount of recording time.

- To create the effect that the bear was being excreted onto by birds we needed to film birds flying above. Filming birds was too hard; as we found that they move too fast to be able to film it accurately and precisely, in order to get the bird within the frame, especially when we needed to zoom in on the birds.

- From the supply of video cameras, at some days of filming we found that we had used a different kind of camera than previously. Due to different video cameras being used some cameras letterbox footage and some don’t, this led to uneven shots taken. However to overcome this problem, we simply added letterboxing to all shots used in our product. This was done in the editing stage of the product.

- All video cameras used had filmed outside the area that was not visual to the camera men/woman. Due to this problem the tripod leg was apparent in some shots, where we thought the footage was perfect, however, while filming we found that we could not use the footage due to the tripod. Unfortunately we could not use these shots.

- As it is not wintertime, there is limited time available to shoot in London, due to the limited natural light we needed to use. Due to this, we had to leave earlier than expected.

- As required by the exam board, lip-syncing is preferred. However in our circumstances, we were not able to lip sync. Simply because our main character cannot lip sync as they are in fact a bear and not a living individual. Therefore it was impossible to include lip-syncing in the video.

The Editing Process- Diranjeet Sohi

The editing process is part of the post-production stage, and for this we used iMovie HD. The first scene we edited was the flashback scene where we see the bear is last to be picked in the shop. This was also the first scene we filmed. We edited this scene because a group member was absent, and we didn't want them to miss out on the filming.

Firstly, we had issues with uploading. It was discovered that the problem lay with the cable. our next problem after uploading, was the order of our clips. For some reason, our clips in the footage library were in the wrong order which made it difficult to locate them. The editing was smoother from then on. We applied everything from the storyboard. Then, after making sure the footage followed the storyboard, we made changes.

For example, we moved certain shots around in the opening sequence. This was because the order seemed awkward when following the storyboard. It made sense to have the pov shot after the passer by flipped the coin at the bear, as it fit together. Also, we only planned one or two slow motion shots. However, after reviewing our footage we figured we needed more for dramatic effect. Therefore we used the editing suit's features to slow down certain shots.

There were some timing issues. The musicality of the shots was inaccurate. We had to replay the footage repeatedly to ensure they were accurate. Furthermore, more changes consisted of increasing/decreasing the lighting, adding in transitions to indicate flashbacks and to fix any other errors. On error that was fatal was actually due to the camcorder itself. On the camcorder 's screen, we were showed one thing. When we uploaded the footage it showed the camcorder had actually included parts which we thought weren't included. Such as the leg of the tripod, or one of our fingers when dealing with the bear. This was a major problem that could only be fixed by letterboxing or not using the shot at all. The sequence of the bear falling into the bin, needed our intervention due to the camcorder. It showed the fingers and arm of whoever was handling him. We could only show the bear beginning to fall in and after he'd landed. This had to be done using the overlap feature on iMovie.

When near completion we felt a few more changes could be made. This upset the impact of timing, thus we spent a couple more minutes making sure the timing was perfect.

Email to "Lonely Soul" copyright holder by Alex Brown.

One of our tasks was to send an email to the copyright holder of the "Lonely Soul" song by UNKLE, to obtain permission to use the song in our music video.

"Lonely Soul" was released under Mo'Wax records, but after research, we found this particular record label no longer existed. We decided to contact the artist directly instead.

Here is a print screen of the email we sent:

Conventions of a Digipak - By Diranjeet Sohi

Conventions of a Digipak

Basic information:

From our research we have gathered that there are many conventions regarding Digipaks. A digipak folds out like a book rather than a conventional case. It is made out of card rather than plastic, which is cheaper and easier to produce than a traditional CD case. There are many flaps and compartments to store more, thus giving the customer more than they would expect from a plastic case. Multiple disks can be stored with a digipak.

Origins:

The digipak is actually a registered trademark of AGI media. On their website, AGI claim they "create big ideas that can be delivered across a raft of media including packaging, through the line marketing campaigns, flatprint, POS, 3D and digital". Through the digipak they have created a way to further the customer experience. The graphics play a great part because they have to catch the eye of the potential customer, as well as conveying the genre through the artwork.

Below shows the Outside cover of a digi pak:

Inside:

Common conventions:

• Genre characteristics. The artwork should give some kind of indication into the genre of the music.
• Artwork. The artwork needs to reflect the main theme of the album or artists. For example if the album is filled with dark tracks the artwork would be dark and gloomy. Usually the artwork is designed to make a statement.
• Images of the artist and their iconography. The image of the artist itself is usually enough to sell the album. Their iconography acts as a brand, it will include something unique about them like a symbol.
• Intertextual references. The album can be summed up with an image referencing another text. However, this is more troublesome as it is likely to cause a legal dispute. Artists can also borrow from other artists within the same genre, imitating other artwork and incorporating into their own.
• A consistent design aesthetic. This helps the digipak appear more unified.
• Information about the product. Every CD will contain information about the tracklisting, time of the tracks, record company and other essential details to keep the customer informed. This includes the barcode, price and sometimes a warning for explicit lyrics. Sometimes, to appeal to potential buyers, reviews of the artists' success will be displayed with stickers.