Group Digipak

Myself and my group were presented the task of creating a digi pak. This would be one of our additional ancillary products and if successful would enhance our artists image and work with our music video to advertise the artist we created. Each Group member individually created a paper version of our idea, we later combined our ideas and incorporated a variety of conventions in order to make our digi pak successful. We developed our skills by using Photoshop on Apple Macs; editing them and enhancing the design in order to make the CD visually interesting. We then came together and discussed our finished products.

Alongside the magazine, the group and myself felt that my own digi pak fitted the conventions of the indie genre the most, and would give Georgia's image continuity as it matched well with both the video and magazine advert. The level of skills on photoshop used were high within my digi pak, probably because I had more experience with the software and a clear image of what I wanted to create from the photo shoot images. The other digi paks did follow conventions, however my group and I felt that mine would have the most impact on the audience. All conventions were followed in terms of using simplistic images, yet edited in a dynamic way, remotely to become eye-catching for our target audience. Coventional indie digi paks take on a range of forms, usually a simplistic and natural image is enhanced with diverce iconography or surreal effects which bring new and exciting art elements to the album. This gives the album more visual impact and is typical for the indie genre. I wanted Georgia to stand out yet still appeal cool and edgey I feel i have achieved this through my editing style, which left the image of Georgia relatively untouched yet diverse and dynamic colurs were used in the background to make the digi pak stand out. Playing with the opacity levels and filtering the saturation levels gave the images a mysterious and all round indie feel. This showed the artist to be talented and edgey as well as attractive and iconic. Each slide brings a new element to the digi pak yet all of my slides work perfectly together therefore My own designs was chose for our final ancilary product design. In relation to the magazine advert, we wanted to create a product that could be sold alongside the CD and music video, this would build a greater relationship with artist and audience, therefore we included more conventional elements such as Georgia during performance with live music being a typical convention of the indie genre. This showed how much of a talented musician Georgia was, and pictures of her alone with her guitar show her to be deep in thought and mysterious which sells her as a talented and deep individual. An audience will be sold this idea and think that Georgia cares deeply about the music she writes, for an indie artist this makes her successful as conventionally indie artists write their own music and care about the music before anything else.

The images and varying views on the aesthetics of the digi pak varied within our group. First I will be looking at Georgia's digipak;

Georgia has followed a variety of indie conventions including using a guitar as dynamic iconography in order to promote the image of a raw talent which will attract an indie artist. She has used simplistic editing styles which again follow the indie genre, and also has an edgy motif in the form of a brick wall design which is used throughout the digi pak for continuity. There is a strong link between the media product and the artist is displayed in a grimy and iconic light which will of course appeal to both an indie and mainstream artist. The ripped paper effect is very interesting and eye catching, which with editing of the pictures to a more darker and low key lighting style completely follows the conventions of a typical indie artist whose audience will be expecting a product which is hip and diverse. Georgia's style comes across well within the digi pak therefore the audience are able to see her as both iconic and talented which again is typical of the indie genre. To improve the digi pak I would suggest a greater variety of images, as the brick wall appears slightly boring and pointless on every single slide. Text or a eye catching effect would make the digi pak more diverse and interesting. The scruffy brick wall image however is convention of grime and therefore engaging to our target audience.

Rhianna's digipak:

Rhianna's use of images within her digi pak are conventional for the indie genre, the forest setting and use of guitar all convey with the indie genre. However their is no distinct theme for each slide, with the letter 'G' not really matching with the rest of the images. The use of typography again is conventional for our target audience and the front cover works well to promote our artist, however the last two images have next to no relevance and just appear to be there rather that working together to create a final product. This digi pak requires a lot more additional work in order for it to appear more profession and have more relevance to our artist, the ideas are good with the message from Georgia standing out and creating a personal feel to the record in order obtain a wider image however the wording of it appears childish and breaks the conventions of an indie record.

Jennas's digipak:

When looking at Jennas digi pak it is clear to see that editing and light airy effects give the design imapact and continuity. The use of forest images follow conventions of the indie genre, with the guitar being played also being of the indie genre as it promotes the idea of raw talent and helps to sell the image of our artist. The lyrics and message give the Digi pak a personal touch, and this helps to engage the audience further as the conventions followed allow the artist to be iconic and attractive. The typography appears professional and also in keeping with the genre. To improve the digi pak i would suggest editing some kind of effect on the first and last image as they appear different from the rest of the images, which damages the flow of the product. Overall Georgia is represented as an indie artist, yet at times the font used to advertise her name doesn't follow conventions of indie and appears lost in the background meaning the title doesn't stand out. the 3rd and forth image that was used are edited to a high level and appear in many ways conventional as Georgia looks like a typical teenage girl which is the aim of our product to create an ordinary star and is keeping with the indie genre.

After reviewing all digi paks we decided to submit mine as we believed it too be the most professional and followed the most conventions of an indie artist. The images used were edited to a higher standard, and appeared more diverse and interesting which is a key convention of the indie genre. The typography stood out well and promoted the artist, with the ripped paper effect being found within the magazine advert we simply thought that my CD and magazine advert would work best alongside each other.  The images of Georgia with the guitar again are conventional to the indie genre, and the CD features a girl holding a sparkler alongside lyrics to the song. This builds a lyric and visual link with the sparkler symbolizing 'playing with fire' which is what Georgia does in her troubled relationship. The strong motif of the ripped paper over a natural background are typical of an indie artist as grime meets the natural world giving a raw and edgy result. Georgia is also edited to look mysterious and intriguing which again follows further conventions of the indie genre as a mysterious nature who is seen with her guitar makes her appear talented and will make our artist more successful.