Digipack Analysis - Miss Miller

The purpose of a digipak aim is to give more information to the audience about the artist so that fans can get to know them and their personal life. The digipak includes elements to give more information about the artist and the making of the album and this can create a relationship with the audience as they are able to get a better insight to their lives and this therefore makes the audience feel more connected with the artist and they know more about them as individual.

There is more of a design included within the digipak to make it more appealing to the audience which can include more images of the artist and showing them within the studio or singing whilst filming to make the audience as though they are a part of the growing stages of the star becoming what they have through the making of the album. The pictures also show the insight of the artist giving the audience a more intimate feel towards the album as they see the artist in their natural element. The artist can also usually include small notes or a signature from them as the artist to give their album a more personal feel, directing the album to their fans, therefore creating a relationship with the audience as they will feel more connected with them as they believe the autograph or message is just directed to them.

There are more spaces for images which are of main high definition and quality images to make the audience feel as though they are paying a good price for the best images of their artist giving them a more realistic feel to their image rather than one that isn’t of a high quality to make the audience feel more involved and closer to the artist and their work and to the making into their music. 

The six sides used within the digipak is used instead of four as it has to be more detailed within the pack for the audience, it also makes the main points of the artist more accessible for the audience also. 

The Jewel CD case usually has the basic and simple information that you need , which includes the artists name in bold and in the centre and the songs that are included within the album, which can make it easier for the audience to understand song titles and the artist. It can also appeal to a new audience as where it is simple to understand they may entice more of audience as simple reading is what most people want within a jewel CD case.

The artists name is on the front to show the audience who the artist is and to give a clear view for audiences of all ages that this album/CD belongs to a specific artist. This helps the audience to make it easier to identify the same artist on other different advert. If their name is in bold and stands out from the rest of the other CD’s cases this makes it not only easier for the audience to recognise the artist but to identify the artist from other magazine adverts all over and their specific name.

The plastic casing of the CD case will protect the information within the case whilst also protecting the CD, allowing it to not get wet and therefore protecting the main contents which is also makes the CD more durable and protected from the damages it could get from being out in the open.

The lyrics are contained within the pack which may include the main songs within the CD case to allow the audience to sing along and get involved. This would create a relationship with the audience as they feel they can connect more with the artist if they know all of the lyrics to their songs and let them feel their own personal connection to the artist also. Some audiences like to look at the meanings behind the song that they like and therefore byreading the lyrics they are able to study and analyse and read between the lines of the song to gain a better understanding of the artists words and emotions during the song.

 The digipack I have chosen to look at Is by the artist Ellie Goulding which we are analysing and recreating the video to her song 'Burn'. I have chosen to analyse one of her digipaks as I believe that it would be most relevant to the conventions of the indie/pop genre that we are doing and could possibly inspire us to get some ideas from this. The digipak is from the song 'The Writer.

The representation of this artist is being portrayed throughout the entire digipak. This is shown through the front cover and back cover using elements of cinematography close up side shot and mis-en-scene body language and facial expressions. The representations include the artist being portrayed as careless and thoughtful. The facial expressions show that she is thoughtful as she looks bewildered by the natural setting in which is behind her. This is conventional to an indie/pop genre digipak as it portrays the artist to the audience as somebody who is concerned about the world or the song and by including this within her digipak it is essential as it then creates a relationship with the audience as the facial expression make the artist look sophisticated and sexy but strong at the same time due to the body positioning of her head being upright. This would create a relationship with the audience as she is portrayed as a strong female, and the audience maybe able to relate to her or copy her in many ways, and this is why this is essential and convetional to an indie music genre digipak.
Her in the field which can portray her as rebellious, a rebellious teenager/young adult who is alone and captured within her own thoughts. This portrays her as being somebody who may feel alone and somebody who believes that feelings and emotions are allowed to be set free.  This can relate to the audience as some people may also go through emotions or feelings like this and it may allow them to relate to her more as an artist as they will believe she is just like a normal human being. The connotations within this particular section can show that the artist is trying to relate to the young audience by being 'normal', as most teenagers are when they are younger and like to e alone, and be by themselves to gather their own thoughts, and by shutting herself away from everybody in a quiet field shows that she is trying to portray herself as being just like her target audience.

The colours used are mainly of soft and natural colours which are collected and mainly used by the natural lighting around in the areas in which the photography was taken to create a natural feel for the audience. This enables the audience to feel more connected to the artist as she is a natural person, she isn't being superficial or fake in anyway to her audience and  as though they can understand what the she is feeling inside her and how she portrays it to them giving the digipak a more relatable feel. 

The connotations used within this particular section can show or relate that the artist, Ellie Goulding, is a gentle and genuine person, through the way she has portrayed herself through the use of facial expressions, colours, mis-en0scene and cinematography.  if the colours used were 'reds, oranges or yellows' then it would show the audeince that the music is a lot more emotional and loud and therefore is subverting the stereotype of the indie genre. This is what we could possibly use for colour scheme to represent the title of the song 'Burn' to represent the artist and the title as being strong powerful and dangerous, which again is subverting the stereotypes of an indie genre.

 

The typography used is written in italic to possibly show that it may be the aritsts handwriting that is on the digipak.The italic handwriting writing can show the sophistication and gentleness of the artist as the andwriting is neat and elegant showing her individuality as an indie artist as the treotypical conventions of an indie artist would be messy and grung, and here with the use of the italic handwriting it portrays her in a completely different light. The writing could also represent the music within as being gentle and relaxing, and the long widing of the letters shows it is looping and continues being subtle and elegant throughout the entire CD . It gives a more personal feel to the audience as they believe that the writing is by the artist and that gives them more of a connection as the feel that the artist has taken the timr to make this digpak for the fans personally and not just for a wider global audience. This could also link to the sing title the Writer and this could even represent that the title The Writer is actually the artist and therefore linking that the song could actually be about her.

 

The design and layout used within this digipak is mainly close ups of Ellie Gouldings face to show the audience who the artist is and to promote them as being an indie artist by following the conventions with makeup as it would be subtle just like the artists persona. The images gain the
attention of the audience and the personal feel that they are involved with the development of the artist and her music as she has handwritten it to believe that the album is directed to them. The handwriting bing across her body .chest makes the audience believe that it comes from Ellie Gouldings heart and that she loves all of her target audience and this could be a possible representation of the artist and the layout of the title of the song and her name.
This also shows the audience that she is the most important person within this digipak as she is the main artist and therefore should be identified by the audience.
The style of language used is mainly simple and easy to read, as this is meant to reach out to a wide audience it would be unfair for people who don't know about Ellie Goulding and if the publishers started using long words the audience may feel intimidated to buy the digipak as they may not understand what the artist is trying to say. The connotations used within this section show that the artist doesn't speak through many words but mainly through music and therefore the lack of words on this digipak shows that the audience have to listen to the music to gain an understanding of the artist.

I will be using this research to help me with the creation of my own digipak and the planning of it as I have been able to see all of the connotations used within the indie/pop genre throughout the entire digipak. It has also given me ideas about colour scheming and keeping to conventions of the genre as we want to portray the artist to be natural and elegant but keeping the grungy and messy convection aswell but to more of a minimum, so she subverts the stereotypes of the indie genre but also enhances them to a certain degree.

 I have chosen to make my own idea of matching my setting of the front cover to match the setting of our narrative and where it is mainly based, as I believe it will make the artist stand out from the background and make her the centre of attention. Tis will make the audience feel more invovled within their life and the making of the album as It will be a relatable destination and it is also somewhere where the audience may visit in order to feel more personally connected to the artist themselves. The design and layout by using pictures of the artist and close up images of them will help the audience gain a personal relationship with the audience, showing the facial expression of the artist and getting across as if the artist wants the audience to be involved within the music.