Digipak Reflection

Front Cover: 

In order to create my digipak front cover I used a background image of a club scene to follow the conventions of the dance/house genre as it is the setting that this type of music would likely to be played and enjoyed by the target audience. This will therefore further entice the audience to buy the album as it will remind them of a familiar setting as well as grab their attention. In order to make the image more vibrant I altered the Brightness/contrast, Exposure, vibrance and the Hue/saturation. This made the colours of the background image stand out which will help to attract the target audience further and enhance the dance conventions by giving the idea of strobe lighting etc that would be present within the club. The enhanced colours also highlighted the colour scheme that I have included within each ancillary product and make it more recognisable to the audience. 

In a layer above this I inserted the artists name in a bold font to help stand out against the strong colours of the background. I used a dull grey colour for the text so that the background image was the main focal point of the front cover. This is conventional as dance/house artists like the audience to focus on their music rather than the artist image that is created for them. This image is the main reflection of their music which is why I wanted it to be in the foreground. 

Lastly I took an image that we had taken during our photoshoot and used the quick selection tool to cut around the image of our artist and discard the areas of the green screen. This left me with the figure of the artist which I then chose to include a black colour overlay to hide the identity. This is once again conventional to the dance genre as mystery is placed around the artist to create a hype and so that the audience will focus on the produced music rather than the artist himself. The figure is placed with one arm in the air to reflect his passion for performing which further adds to the effect on the audience by making them feel as if they are having fun alongside the audience. This is an idea that I took from my research into Avicii's magazine advert (Magazine Advert Analysis post). I altered the image further by adding an outer glow, satin, inner glow and bevel and emboss. This allowed me to create a 3 dimensional image and allow it to stand out against the vibrant background. 

The digipak that I created is conventional to the dance/house genre as it uses vibrant colours, hidden identity and a club scene. It is also fairly simple with little text which I have also found to be conventional in not only CD digpak's but also more specifically those which belong to the dance/house genre. 

Welcome Note:

To produce my welcome note section of my digipak I chose the effect of a purple colour overlay to be placed to continue the purple/blue colour scheme that I had created in my front cover. I then took an image of the artist (used for my first image) and once again used to quick selection tool to discard any part of the image that I did not need. This left me with the figure my artist looking directly at the camera. This I felt was appropriate for the Welcome note in order to create the idea that he was speaking directly to the audience reading it. I did however choose to once again disguise the identity of the artist to continue the mystery that I wanted to create around him. To create this I placed a darker purple colour overlay over the top of the figure which allowed his identity to be covered while still allowing the audience to see that he is facing them. I once again wanted the image to stand out against the background so therefore chose an inner glow. The use of this once again created consistency throughout my digpak as the same effects had been used to create a similar effect on the audience. 

Lastly, I included a note from the artist to make the digipak appear more personal as well as give an insight into what the audience should expect from the artist. This in turn will lead to the audience to be further enticed to buy the album and to find out more about the artist. I used the same font that I chose for the front cover so that the consistency flowed throughout and would also be more memorable for the audience. I also decided to use a bright white so that it contrasted the dark purple colours of the background image as the text is the focal point of this page. 

CD Cover: 

The CD cover is fairly simple in its construction, however it successfully enhances the dance/house conventions as well as continuing the colour scheme of the previous pages. The image that I have chosen as the background conveys the conventions of the genre by showing beams of light coming from the centre circle. This conveys the club setting as bold lighting would be expected to be used. I once again used a purple colour overlay to go above the blue colour that the image was already present. This continued the purple/blue colour scheme that I have incorporated throughout. 

To create the perfect circle of the CD I placed a white box over the top of my work and used the eraser tool to cut a large whole and reveal the image left underneath. To produce the smaller middle circle I used the ellipse tool and filled it in a white colour. I then inserted the artist name 'Willzon' in the same font as I had selected previously. I then changed the opacity so that the background image could be seen through it as I felt would give it a more professional finish. 

Image 1: 

For my first image I decided to take the image that I chose to use for the welcome note but without covering the artists identity. This I felt would give the audience an insight into the artist and give them enough information to remain interested. Using the photoshop app on my iphone I adapted the image by reducing the noise and sharpened it in order to create a more professional finish and make it appear as if it could belong to a real album digipak. From here I then opened it onto photoshop as a layer. I then added a colour overlay to continue to purple colours that I have used throughout. The background image behind the artist is a bar location, displaying alcohol bottles on the shelf. This follows the dance/house conventions as mise-en-scene would reflect the club/bar setting that the music would be played which would therefore include teenage stereotypes of alcohol etc. This page of my digipak also breaks the conventions by focusing completely on the artist. I felt that this was necessary however to create a familiarity for the audience and build an artist and audience relationship. 

Image 2:

Lastly I created the back cover for my Willzon digipak. I used the same image that I had produced for the front cover, adapting it with the same effects in order to create the same effect on the audience. I used the same font that is present throughout my entire digipak so that it remains consistent. The font is also bold and therefore makes it stand out against the vibrant colours and detail of the background image. I, again, chose a white colour to continue the consistency as well as allowing it to stand out and grab the attention of the reader. This is important as the track list is the most important information present on the back cover and follows the conventions of this section of a digipak. The Parental advisory sticker that I have placed in the corner of the page not only fills an otherwise empty space but also follows the conventions identified for a digipak back cover.