Digipak intial ideas and what I have learnt from my research so far

Digipak intial ideas and what I have learnt from my research so far 

Digipak intial ideas from wolfgang13

Above is a Slide share containing a scan of a mind map of ideas for the look of my digipak. To see the details of the scan please refer to my Prezi here or at the bottom of this post which should allow you to zoom in and read the finer details. When considering the style of my product a few things I feel need to be reflected to really represent the type of song and the type of artist I have been working with. Firstly after researching other music videos and digipaks and album artworks I have noticed that said artwork always features a link to the music video whether in tone just like Kavinsky outrun and the theme of 1980's cop films or Calvin Harris' vibrant and bright themes seen both in acceptable in the 80's and his I created disco album. I have also noticed that they may feature an edited still or image similar from a music video featured on the album. An example of this can be found on the Eric Prydz call on me album cover which uses a still from the music video call on me or Calvin Harris 18 months album and the video I feel so close, both of which feature a similar setting.

As a result of this, firstly I have had to think about two things if I were to go down the edited photo from the music video route what still from the video would be the most effective in communicate both the style and tone of the music video as well as the tone of the song itself as well as the artists image. This will be both thought about in terms of my own personal interpretation of the song since this affected the design of my music video as well as the artist's interpretation as well.

In addition to thinking about the style/ tone of the video and track itself as well as the artists image, to produce a successful digipak design which clearly promotes my artists style in an effective way, one would need to explore the graphical conventions of the genre I have chosen to work with as well as similar genres. In the slide share, I have gone over this briefly however to go in detail from my research I have found that:

·         A use of geometrical shapes and styles seem to be prominent which conveys technological themes and computer like imagery linking with the technology based way in which electric type music is produced as well as conveying a sci-fi and futuristic look to the music to which to those who listen to this type of music may actually have connotations of. -  As seen in Com Truise, Daft Punk, Kraftwerk, Eric Prydz and electric music magazine ads.

·         Sci-fi themes and visual motifs of technology which further link to the way the music is produced and gives off the "futuristic effect" as seen in Daft Punk's, Com Truise and Kraftwerk graphics.

·         Some sort of link or reference to the 1980's or a retro theme. This can be seen via the use of font styles such as brush script which was a graphical convention of the 80's and serves to make the artists name either more elegant or sophisticated or much more energetic and connotes how energetic the music is. This can be found in Daft Punk, Kavinsky, to an extent Martin Garrix's advert as well as my own artists chosen logo for himself who claims to be inspired by a similar artist The Phantoms revenge who also adopts said font as his logo. However with said artist this seems to be used more for a B movie film like look and persona. These 80's themes are not just exclusive to type they can be seen in theme for instance similar artist Com Truise adopts the look in his graphics of 80's style Peter Savile graphic design for Synth bands such as New order as well as a look similar to 80's video game covers as well as featuring imagery from 80's technology. Whereas artists such as Eric Prydz makes intertextual references to 80's workout videos in his artwork as well as Kavinsky opting for an 80's crime thriller look to his graphics. Artists such as Calvin Harris and Telsa boy also feature a similar 80's aesthetic  with Calvin Harris centering a song around the decade and featuring visual stereotypes and Tesla boy adopting the use of Brush script font in there album as well as a composition similar to a classical 80's Synth album. Even to some extent one could suggest that Daft Punk themselves have adopted this 80's fixation as seen one the cover of Random Access memories which features a similar font style to Michael Jackson's album Thriller which was released in 1982. From my research I have found that these references serve as linking back to electronic type music style height of popularity during the 80's as well as the stylistic origins of sub genres which of electronic music.

·         Bright vibrant colours/Neon lights. Throughout my research of electronic type of music I have found the use of bright vibrant lights to convey an upbeat mood to the music featured on the album or the use of Neon lights which helps in creating a look of energy and electricity which communicates the energetic styles of the music featured. 

From here, I started to explore what themes I have depicting in my music video, these themes include:

·         An eccentric theme/Random

·         Computerised themes/ tech themes around a virus

·         Frank Sinatra as a visual motif

·         Colourful and glitchy aesthetic

·         Robots and so called "infected"

With these themes in mind as well as my research on music videos and album art to make sure that both products link well. I propose possibly exploring the idea of making the digipak itself as strange as the video featuring imagery that in a normal context wouldn't fit together as well as breaking some visual conventions of the  electronic type genre however not too much to make the product not recognisable to audiences as said genre and without losing the link between video and song. This could include things such as featuring a leaflet for takeaway as an internal artwork or sleeve with pictures of Frank Sinatra and the Robots image pasted all over it to show how the virus is glitching even simple things.

Other things such as the use of a vibrant palette, computer like graphics and the robot featured somewhere possible, as the main subject would do well in keeping with the synergy of video to digipak.

In addition to this, I have briefly explored descriptions of the song based on my artist profile of Tropiika and what he has said to me as well as my own interpretation of the song, which can be found in the slide. With this in mind, intend to use these descriptions to contribute to the outcome of my digipak.

Finally, in the slide I started to pick apart how Tropiika promotes himself already as well as potential fonts to work with for the logo of my digipak. When exploring Tropiika's persona I had found that he already adopts the use of the brush script font as previously mentioned but also features a tropical tone his identity thus connoting a vibrant and upbeat image to the type of work he produces. This in mind as mentioned in the slide, my digipak should feature some sort of vibrant colour to both fit in with the music video and communicate my artists brand successfully.

British film 1990-2000

British film 1990-2000

Investment in film production rose dramatically.

In 1989 the annual investment was £104 million but by 1996 this rose to £741 million. However dependence from the finance of TV financers such as BBC one and channel 4 still meant that budgets were small and home grown projects were fragmented. The British film industry still relied on Hollywood investment.

However these problems were compensated by working title films a  British subsidiary to PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, who released Four Weddings and a Funeral in 1994 which grossed 224 million dollars worldwide, introducing Hugh Grant to global fame and also leading  to a renewed interest in British films. As well as setting the trend for British set romantic comedies including Sliding Doors (1998) and Noting Hill (1999).

Eventually PFE was sold and merged with universal pictures in 1999 with the hopes of "building a British-based company which could compete with Hollywood in its home market".

Tax incentives allowed American producers to invest more in UK- based films throughout the 90's such as Mission impossible (1996) Saving Private Ryan (1998) and star wars episode 1: the phantom menace(1999).

Miramax an American film distribution company, distributed British thriller The Crying Game (1992) which was ignored in the UK but found success overseas in the US.

Miramax also enjoyed success in releasing BBC period dram Enchanted April (1992) and The wings of the Dove (1997).

In addition in 1994 the Madness of King George was released which debuted strongly at the box office proving that there was still a market for British Costume Dramas with other period films following including Sense and Sensibility (1995) and restoration (1995).

In addition, the 90's saw a release of the 17th James Bond film Golden eye after a 6-year hiatus due to legal reasons.

Writer Mike Leigh became a significant figure in British cinema during the 90's with a series of films financed by channel 4 about the working and middle class life in modern England, including Life Is Sweet(1991) Naked(1993) and Secrets And Lies (1996) which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

Other emerging talents during the decade include writer- director-produced team of John Hodge, Danny Boyle and Andrew Macdonald responsible for Shallow Grace (1994) and Trainspotting (1996).

Transpotting significantly generated interest in other "regional" productions, including Scottish films Small Faces (1996), Ratcatcher (1999) and My Name Is Joe (1998).

Other significant events in British film during the 90's include:

·         The BBFC granting Samuel Fullers film Shock Corridor a 15 that had been previously refused a certificate when first submitted in 1962.

·         Daniel Day Lewis wins Best Actor for Oscar for My Left foot in 1990.

·         In 1994 a group of British film producers including David Putnam and Jeremy Thomas launch IMPACT campaign to revitalise  British film industry.

·         Criminal Justice and Public order act contains an amendment to the 1984 video recording act that requires the BBFC to consider specific issues such as the potential to harm when classifying videos.

·         1995 - The lottery film fund was established.

·         1996 - After a trial in 1995, the BBFC begins offering consumer advice next to the printed classifications on video sleeves, offering detailed information on reasons for particular classifications  such as the 18 certificate for example detail like sex, violence or bad language.

·         1998 - Channel 4 develops Film Four as a separate company with a new emphasis on fewer bigger budget productions.

 

Analysing Dance, Club and Electro music graphics

Analysing Dance, Club and Electro music graphics 

After analysing magazine print ads promoting folk and alternative rock albums, I decided to investigate what styles in particular would be found in print ads promoting more electronic based music for use for my own print ad for Burnin Fever. The scanned images in the document are extracts from Mix Mag a specialist magazine in Dance, Club and Electro music.


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Magazines ads analysis from wolfgang13

Kings Of Leon Magazine cover analysis

Kings Of Leon Magazine cover analysis

The ad to the kings of Leon ad uses a similar method of organising its images using a slightly altered version of the z formation. Firstly placing the artist's name in the top centre then directing our attention to the front cover of the album art however, in this case the artwork seems to take up the entire design of the ad, however for a similar effect like the Sigh No More ad both of which allow audiences to understand what the particular album looks like. Additionally such a large image does well in capturing the attention of a scan reader or viewer, which may be a common case when thinking about the context of the ads placement in a magazine, which audiences may skip over to read the articles of the magazine.

Our sight is then directed towards the album name to understand what exactly is being sold to us as well as the release date, both of which are written in the same font as the band's name to keep the design and the effect the type conveys consistent towards the audience. Moreover both the release date and album name are written in the same size font in order to balance the importance of both features as they serve to inform audiences what they are buying and when they can buy it.

After this, we see a link to a distributor of the album, play.com to direct audiences where they can purchase the album after finding out what the album is and when it's released. From here, it appears that when using the Z formation or a structure similar there must be some sort of narrative like structure for audiences to follow in order to understand what is being sold to them i.e. organising the information in a clear name, release date and distributor structure. Instead of starting with something like a distributor, release date and name structure, which may prove to be confusing for readers and cause them to disengage with the ad. Advertisers would need to engage viewer's attention quickly since they would be flicking through the pages of the magazine and may miss the ad hence this structure would clearly and quickly communicate crucial information effectively.

After the link to the distributor, we see a link to the bands website if audiences want to inquire for any more information about the album as well as the bands other works thus promoting not only this album but also other albums of the band secondly. Finally, we see the record company's logo similar to the Mumford and Sons poster, which may possibly be the cause of copyright reasons.

Looking at music videos attached to this album has allowed me a better insight in how the band wants to promote them via this ad since they are labelled under a broad genre such as alternative rock. The music video Radioactive features visuals concerning children playing and communities having fun overlaid with a sepia old movie like filter which may entice feelings of warmth and nostalgia among audiences such as remember ones childhood. Linking this back to the graphics seen on the ad the ad uses a similar sepia colour palette with minimalist imagery which promotes the bands image as warm and welcoming with the palm trees as well communicating feelings of serenity and happiness. From this, we may learn that the type of music the band produces is that of enticing feelings of joy and a relaxed ambience possibly from this particular album.

The type seen on the ad features small serifs on the end of each character conveying this slightly "old timey" effect to the type, which serves well in fitting in with radioactive nostalgic look and also the possibly promoted theme of the band as seen on the ad. Unlike the Sigh No More ad the band members are nowhere to be seen on the ad possibly due to the fact that Kings of Leon are quite a mainstream group and thus do not need to rely on so much facial promotion on their graphics now since they are largely known. This can be further evidenced by the fact that they are signed under Columbia records as seen on the magazine ad; which as of 2012, has the highest label share in Adult Contemporary radio in the US and was also ranked the number one Adult Contemporary label in the same year.

From analysing this advert, it would seem when designing my ad for the digipak I need to think about the context of the placement of the ad and organise the important information about the artist based on said medium. Furthermore, I have found that the graphics featured on the ad can also suit the particular style of the songs featured on the album not just genre as well for example Radioactive's nostalgic and ambient style seems to be featured more on the cover rather than a dominant genre style. Perhaps for my future design I consider this when attempting to communicate my chosen songs scratchy and computerised style on print.