QUESTION 1Ancillary Text Conventions

Conventions of a digipak

Conventions of a digipak

Conventions of a digipak

Image of artist

Record label

Copyright information

Barcode

Name of album

Name of artist

Track list

My digipak’s conventions

Main image

A convention of digipaks, particularly ones within the pop genre, includes the artist in a close up as the main image. I conformed to this convention as chose a close up image of the artist looking at the camera. By having the artist look at the camera it creates direct link to the audience. This pose works well for the genre of the music as it allows for the artist to show their image which can then be linked with the music being sold. It also shows the defined features of the artist’s face, with the added effect of make up, but it also shows her hair which is being emphasised by the lighting. Style and appearance is very important within the pop genre so with the beauty of the artist being accentuated conforms to conventions.

Other Images

As pop music stresses the image of an artist including more photographs within the digipak conforms to the typical conventions. The photograph on the back cover is a long shot as a way to show the artists body further. The pose allows for the artist to show her sensuality and sexuality, which relates to the message of the album (which is love) but also is a pop convention to advertise your image as a brand (a commercial exhibitionist – Sven Carlsson). The other photograph, on the inside cover, is a medium close up with a pose that is often used within pop. The pose signifies the artist’s innocence which links well to the message of the single song, being love rather than sex itself, but it also gives the artist a sense of ambiguity, which could help sell records to answer the audiences questions about the artist’s ideologies.

Artist and Album Logo

The artist logo and album logo are featured a few times on the digipak, on both spines and on the front image. The use of the artists logo is a convention as it furthers the identity of the artist and this logo can be used on future albums as a way to connect them all to the artist. The name of the album features next to the name of the artist as a way to create an associative link between the two and to show what the album is called. The use of the colour red on both the logos is to fit with the colour scheme of warm colours, and from my previous drafts I found that this colour worked better than others, such as blue. In my planning I created an identity for my artist where I found the font I wanted to use after looking at many other fonts and comparing them to existing fonts and I found that sans serif and blocky fonts is conventional for pop.

Track ListFor the track list on the back cover of my digipak I wanted to use a font that was sans serif, to show informality, but something that stood out. The original font was too thin and did not stand out of the back, and as the track list is the most important part of the back cover I had to make the font bold in order for it to stand out. I chose to make the names of the tracks black to make the bold colour stand out against the light pink background but I also chose to make the numbers red to fit the colour scheme but to also make them look significantly different from the name of the tracks in order to not confuse the numbers with the names. As the single from my music video is also the name of the album I wanted it to stand out within the track list, to draw more attention to it, which is why I made it a cursive font. This decision was inspired by a heavily influential person within the pop industry, Lady Gaga, as on her album Joanne the name of the song and single is in a different font and colour to show how important it is within the album. Through using a different font I have challenged pop conventions as this is not a typical thing that is seen on pop music digipaks.

Colour schemeI chose to make the colour scheme of the digipak warm colours, such as pink, red, and peach. I chose these colours as they relate to the convention within pop music that women have to accept and embrace their femininity and pink is the colour most associated with pop. In a similar way to Rihanna’s digipak as she has a lot of warm colours, such as her hair, dress and the roses, on her digipak which all add to her feminine appearance. The connotations of pink, such as love and romance, links directly to the music video and the song’s meaning. The colour scheme also contrasts the bleu colour of the artist’s outfit making it and, consequently, her stand out against the pinks and peaches.

Outfit

This outfit features on my digipak as it directly links to my music video as this is one of the outfits seen within the video. It is breaking convention to have the artist in something that isn’t a dress but as a way to conform to the conventions I made it so that the artist’s body is still on display through the crop top and skirt. The outfit simultaneously reveals her mid-rift and accentuates her figure but also covers things such as cleavage and her legs being covered by tights.

Location

The location that is seen on my digipak is a studio location, with an infinity background, that is considered to be the most prominent location within my music video. I chose to use this location for my digipak because it links to my music video, making the artist appear professional and dedicated to her music, but it also allows for the pink lighting which creates and furthers the image I am trying to create on my digipak. This conforms to conventions of digipaks which feature an artist as an infinity background puts more emphasis on the artist rather than their location.

Flower Art and Flower Motif

While the choice to include roses on my digipak is not a convention, it is often a motif seen on some digipaks such as Lana Del Rey’s digipak disks. I chose to include roses on the digipak as a link to my music video and the songs message of love, due to roses connotations being of love and romance. The inclusion of the hand drawn roses gives a representation of the artist’s creative side which could give the implication of her writing her own songs. Including a hand drawn element is not a convention of pop but I wanted to challenge this. As the hand drawn roses are always directly involved with the image of the artist, being behind or to the side, shows how the artist is directly involved with the message the flowers hold.

Conventions of a magazine

advertisement

Conventions of a magazine

advertisement

Social media logos

Name of artist

Name of album

Record label logo

Place to buy it

Featuring singles

Image of artist

Release date

My magazine advert’s

conventions

Main Photo

The photograph used on the front of my magazine advertisement is the same as the main image on my digipak. It is a convention to use the same photograph as it creates a link between the two and because the advert means to advertise the album they need to draw similarities so the audience can recognise what has been advertised when they see the album being sold.

Advertising Information

Conventionally, all magazine advertisements will feature the name of the album they are selling as well as a release date. These are seen more on pop digipaks, especially the inclusion of a hit single, as pop music is all about being popular and gaining the most from their audience, which is why I included all of these on my advert. This can be seen on Jessie J’s magazine advert, the use of the hit song and specifying that it is an ‘international smash’.

Roses

I used roses on my magazine advert, the same ones that are featured on the inside cover of my digipak, as a way to create further links between the two products. Creating links between adverts and digipaks conforms to the conventions. Even though the roses are included they are faded and in the background as they would take away from the text, which is more important in terms of advertising.

Colour SchemeI chose the same warm colour scheme as my digipak as not only are these colours most associated with the genre but making both products have the same house style is very conventional. I challenged one convention thought as I did change some of the colours in the bottom bar. Instead of using red, the same as the artist logo and what appears on the digipak, I chose to change it to yellow. I did this because the red appeared too aggressive and I wanted me artist to appear gentle, but also because the yellow against this plum pink background works well with the opaque roses as they are the same colour.

Logos

I have conformed to the convention of including logos, such as social media, places to buy the album, and the record label, to my advert as this is the most popular way of advertising in the modern age. Including social media, especially Instagram, is the best way to further the advertisement of the artist’s image as well as just using the advert and digipak. The record label is there to advertise itself but also to show the artist's creditability within the music world.