DIGIPAK RESEARCH

CD FRONT COVER• I decided to look at existing products to get inspiration for my product. I looked at albums

from alternative rock bands including the band who’s song I have chosen to create a music video to. From this research I have found that all album covers have the name of the band and most have the name of the album and a picture that dominates the cover. I have found that not all album covers feature the band/artist giving the album an element of mystery. From this research I have decided that I will use a picture of train tracks when the sun is rising for my front cover. I decided to do this because the band who's song I have created a music video for has a train station and I wanted to follow a similar theme. I also chose to use train tracks as it symbolises a line you follow and my bands name is ‘The Lifeline’ and a lifeline is another line you follow therefore linking the two and showing continuity.

CD BACK COVER• From looking at existing products I have found that all back covers of CD’s have the songs

that are on the album are in order and are in columns. I also found that all the albums I looked at had the copyright statement and a barcode. I found that bands generally had a picture of the band on the back cover of the album to reinforce that they are a band and it is not all just about the lead singer though in most cases the lead singer is at the front or shown as ‘bigger’ than the other members in the picture. In a lot of cases the picture of the artist/band are landscape to so the writing does not distort the image and makes the writing easier for the audience to read. For my product I am considering having a picture of my artist on the back cover as his face does not feature in any other covers on my digipak.

THE INSIDE COVER• From researching existing products I have found that some albums have an inside cover

on the right under the CD and some on the left so you can see the full picture. I have found that it is conventional to have at least 1 picture as an inside cover. In relation to my product I have decided to place the picture on the left hand side of my inside next to my CD as I am creating a digipak that includes a DVD and the DVD will be behind the CD. I will also include some form of picture on the inside cover that is situated behind the back over. From looking at existing products I have decided that I will not be using a full picture of my artist but a picture of their hands close to symbolise the closeness of people in the songs but also the ‘lost’ feel I want for my album.

THE SPINE • I have found that on the spine of the album it features the artists name, the album name

and a number, usually from the manufacturing. I have found that some albums do have the record label logo. For my product I have decided to put a number on the spine as it is conventional of most album spines, the name of my band and the name of the album as well as the record label logo (RCA records) to make my spine look professional. The font I used for my bands name on the spine is the same as the one I used on the front cover to show continuity. The font is the bands logo, so people can recognise my band from the style it is written rather than the name as there might be other bands or companies with the same name and this way my audience will know it is definitely the band they are looking for.

THE CD/DVD• From research into existing products I have found that album CD’s usually have

some form of image or pattern to make them stand out. It is also conventional of a CD to have the name of the band and possibly the name of the album. This shows continuity throughout the product and helps the audience identify the CD. Another convention of a CD I have found is that most CD’s have some form of copyright on them to prove that they are real. I have taken inspiration from the yellow lifehouse CD and used a black silhouette with a bright background colour to make my product stand out. Similarly to the CD the DVD has a copyright on as well as the DVD symbol to show the audience that this is the DVD part to the digipak.