Analysis of Digipak Adverts

Final Advert!!!

Our final advert is complete!!


This is our final advert, I am very happy with the outcome we have added everything that was suggested in our feedback from the class as well as using plenty of brand identity and recurring conventions for Alternative Rock!

The Making Of The Advert

In the making of our advert for Imagine Dragons 'On Top Of The World' we used photoshop to put all our ideas together and to create our piece. Our initial ideas when looking at several other Alternative Rock adverts was to use the same background as our album cover on our advert background. This is a common generic convention in alternative rock adverts.

 We slightly changed the effects of the background to a darker lighting so that this made it different to the album and it also gave a nice contrast to the original. We copied a slightly more darkened section of the original picture and placed this at the bottom of the advert so that when we put our written information at the bottom it could be more clearly seen.
We added the symbol of the triangle, this is brand identity from our album/digipak, we used this on the advert so that it is a recognisable symbol to audiences and would represent the album it is covering. The best features of the triangle on top of the background is the contrast in illusional pictures, this is very stereotypical of Alternative Rock artist albums and adverts as they use very out there different ideas to attract an audience. It makes our advert and album unique and individual.

 After this stage we then needed to add the other little details which adds up to make a successful and appealing advert. In the top right corner we added the 'Available on iTunes' logo, this gives an audience more choice as to where they can purchase the album and promotes iTunes for selling the album. In the bottom left corner we added the 'Interscope Records' logo, this needed to be there as it represents the artist record label company, as they are the ones that produce the album and the artist together. It also shows people the label so that they can research other bands and artists they might like from this label who might be of the same genre. In the bottom right hand corner of the advert we have added the QR code which leads audiences straight to the Imagine Dragons 'On Top Of The World' music video, this commonly appears on Alternative Rock adverts, this is a consistent convention to the genre, it also promotes the video for the song.

After adding the small details in the corners of our advert we then added the artist name, album name and release date. This is crucial to advertising so audiences know who the artist is, what they have produced (the album) and when it is available to buy and download. The font is the same as the album, this again makes it recognisable to audiences and represents the band/artist in a certain way, this is brand identity to the band so that seeing this font anywhere else you would connect it to the band. We have put the album name font the same as how it looks on the album to keep the similarities and the same font is used for 'OUT NOW' we underlined this so that it stands out more to audiences so that it might intrigue people to go out and buy the album literally 'now'.
I like the look of the font and the title being right underneath the triangle symbol, its effective, its individual and it fits the genre.

Finally after our class discussion feedback there was a joint decision to add something to the bottom of the advert. Most people suggested putting a review or rating on it so for this we have done both. We took a rating and review from Q magazine as Imagine Dragons appear in this magazine weekly. As the class suggested it does fill in the gap at the bottom and it makes the advert look more fuller, professional and promotional.
As well as that, the other feedback we got was that we needed some websites on there somewhere to promote the band and the record label, we have added both the artist website and the record label website to the top left corner this also fills a gap and adds just that bit more information that the advert needs!

Advert Feedback

We presented our advert to the class to get feedback on our ideas and preferences to what people thought was the best advert, also to see if there were any changes that needed to be made to improve it.

The three designs we showed to the class were very similar, the main difference was the background to each advert.

The majority vote was for advert background number 1 as the more darkened theme was quite catchy and slightly changes the look of the advert compared to the album. The feedback for number 3 was that it was a nice look for the fact it is the same as the album cover, the is a generic convention for Alternative Rock albums.

They liked the font and wanted us to stick with that font, they also thought the QR code on the advert was good and impressive as it gave people a direct link to our video, its creative and fits in with our genre and would appeal to our target audience. They liked the fact we have used the iTunes label as well as it shows other available ways to purchase the digipak.

In terms of the content on our advert we got feedback on this too. The class thought we should lose the DVD logo, it didn't seem relevant to our genre. They also suggested to fill in the gap at the bottom with either reviews and ratings or other information.

Altogether we decided to add websites to our advert as this is something that is commonly found on Alternative Rock adverts, this encourages an active audience, which is essentially our target audience.

We are happy with the feedback, and can now work on the amendments to our advert to try and come up with a successful Alternative Rock advert for Imagine Dragons.  
 
 
Advert Number 1              Advert Number 2
 

 Advert Number 3

Conventions Of Alternative Rock Adverts

Conventions of Magazine Adverts for Digipaks

Brief

To create a magazine advertisement for the digipak.

Advert Ideas

For our advert ideas, we wanted to use brand identity of the album using the triangle symbol which appears on the digipak front cover and the locations which as also used on the front and back covers of the digipak. We also wanted to use the same font and logo for Imagine Dragons title and album title. We have also included the Interscope Records logo to include so that that is representative for the band company/producer.

                                                                           

Our first draft idea was the main front cover of the album with the title of their album and band name, along with OUT NOW and the availability on iTunes logo as well as the record label logo for the band. We also added the DVD Video logo. This is our first idea as it represents all types of brand identity and will show a familiarity to the album when purchased.

Our Second draft is very similar to the first except we have edited the location background colours to be darker and more so it looks at night, we like this idea because it has similarities to the digipak front cover but instead of colours of day, it shows colours of night. It looks quite alternative as well which would nicely fit in with the genre.

Our third draft shows one simple type of brand identity with the Imagine Dragons album logo of the triangle with different pictures of locations on it. It also has the same name of album, band name font and information as the others the only difference being it has a plain black background. I really like this idea as it really highlights the logo of the band and album and also makes it stand out more and different to the album so that it is more creative and slightly unique. It also gives possible purchasers something to look for when purchasing the album.  
 

 



Brand Identity

Brand Identity is the name, symbol, term, design or any other feature that identifies a seller's product distinct from other sellers. This is essential to marketing and advertising for record labels and bands/artists.

Examples of specific images and Artist/band font being recognisable and part of brand identity...

These Kasabian logos are a good example of brand identity, the picture from the album which is advertised on the tour poster as well as the album and album advertisement. The same font for the Kasabian band title is used on every Kasabian advertisement, album etc. This is another form of brand identity, this makes the band more recognisable to potential audiences and represents them in the media industry.

The picture involved in this Kasabian album is also used on other advertisements so that it is recognisable to this album and representative. For example on tour advertisements for that album and for posters etc.
This brand identity will represent this album.

The Oasis band name logo is another example of Brand Identity, it appears on every album  - the difference with this band is how the band logo/name has changed over time from being like the logo in the middle of this picture to the logo below it - on the 'dig out your soul' album it is slightly different as well with the same font but a different border to go with the essence of the album.

 

The XX albums and band all have a specific logo which they use on their albums, band performances and on advertisements for albums and singles. This logo appears on stage on their set, such as on drums and amplifiers, the fact their logo is on the music/stage set is another example of Brand Identity.

 



Final Digipak

 Our final digipak has been created. We took in all our feedback and each person in our groups ideas and came up with a final piece for our digipak front, back and inside.
The colour scheme was particular important to our digipak as well as individualism ideas and unique pictures for our digipak. Alternative rock albums and artists are known for having individual, illusional ideas for their digipaks, this was the route we wanted to take with ours, this is clearly emphasised with the moon and man picture on the back of our digipak. This is something that perfectly fits the illusional genre.

The inside of the digipak includes the lyrics to the digipak, as the CD only includes the 'on top of the world' track in different versions. These lyrics are then printed onto the front of yet another illusional picture which nicely fits with the back image. The colours are very much the same as the rest of the digipak which are slightly dark, dull colours which are typical for this type of genre and nicely fit the bands previous albums.

We also included all the right copyright information on the bottom of the back of the digipak, this looks professional and makes the digipak very realistic almost ready to put on the shelves. Since this copyright information is key to any digipak, we needed to include

it on our digipak to create the right impression and effect we wanted for our audiences.

Here is the track listing to our album, this includes different versions of our song 'on top of the world' as well as a bonus track from Imagine Dragons 'Night Visions' album. We thought just adding one other different track would fill the album nicely, making it more of a single than an album.

Interscope Records are the label which produce Imagine Dragons, their label logo was essential to being put on the album so that they can be advertised and recognised for the band. This also is a crucial part of  digipak, as it is professional and appears on every album.

The Barcode is another essential item to appear on a digipak. This barcode shows that the album is not only for sale but that it is a real album with no copyright or piracy involved. This also shows that this album is unique and recognisable to shops/stores.

This is another barcode, which is also unique to the album, scanning this barcode will take you straight to the album at hand or to the website. This is necessary on any digipak, we had to do research tot create this, however, now it is on our digipak it makes it look more professional and realistic.

The spine of the album has the simple band name and album single name which just so happens to be the title of the song. The spine is essential to having the album for advertising and sale purposes, as in several CD and Album shops etc. the CD will be placed with the spine facing outwards so this is more than likely the part of the digipak which people will see first and recognise.
We made it so it was the same font and the same colour scheme to fit in with the rest of the album, and added the record label logo on the bottom so that the brand identity is clearly verified.

The front cover which part of it is pictured below is the main element to our digipak, is the symbol we want to use to represent the album on a lake and tree background picture. The inspiration for this came from several albums we have seen before which are in this genre such as Kodaline, The XX etc. The XX use a symbol to represent their album which we have similarly done here and the Kodaline album uses picturesque backgrounds for their album 'In A Perfect World'. These two artists were used for inspiration as well as others, and this is our finished piece. I particularly like the use of different locations in the triangle symbol and in the background, again like common digipak in this genre, it is very illusional and unique to the genre.

The Imagine Dragons font is extremely similar to the original Imagine Dragons name that they use themselves, we used a slightly different font so that it was more unique to our digipak and more created by us.

And finally here is our finished piece, with all the typical conventions to our genre used such as illusional pictures, simplistic colours and features, symbols, locations and no band pictures featuring etc. We have used all of these conventions in our own way on our album digipak.


I am very happy with the outcome, I think it looks very professional and fits really well with the conventions of a typical Alternative Rock album.

Working Hard On Our Digipak

Feedback On Digipaks

 During lesson, we gathered as a class to give each other feedback on our three ideas of digipak covers, insides and backs. The feedback we received was generally positive and  we managed to get a class vote of which digipak, cover and back draft we should use and what colour scheme and font.

 This was our first draft and idea, Kain created this dynamic, illusional draft for our front cover. It is in black and white. The feedback we got from this idea was that the idea was nice but not in black and white. People like the illusional effect and the diamonds. The font used for this front cover was preferred as well. I do like this draft, I like the illusional effect it has cause that is quite alternative and would fit in with our genre, however, I like the rest of the class, don't like the colour scheme and I don't think it quite fits in with the happy, uplifting words to the song.

 This was our second draft for the front cover, Kain did this one using his own pictures and colour scheme, I personally prefer this one and so did the majority of the class. They preferred this colour scheme. However, some preferred this colour scheme with the first draft of the front cover which is something will try out in later lessons. I personally prefer this one because it looks extremely indie, and alternative which is the exact vibe we were going for, and it looks extremely professional, before we showed this to the class the teacher thought this was the original CD cover for the band.

 This is the draft for either the back or the inside of the digipak. I created this one with a drawn still shot of the five characters running up the hill, with the four tracks on the digipak written on the back. There is squiggles to represent the copyright information and other legal information as well as a barcode at the side, with the band name and song title at the top. The class genuinely seemed to like this idea and wanted it on the back or on the inside of the digipak, however, they said that this colour scheme does not match the front cover colour scheme which is something we will try in a later lesson.

This is all our drafts together, at the side of this picture is Bex' draft of the tree branches which are used a lot in our video with the lyrics on etc. However, Bex wasn't overly confident about using this draft so we decided against using it. We generally got good feedback from the class and were pleased with our drafts. Progressing from the feedback we are going to try different colour scheme with each draft but using the same font for each as that was very popular with the class feedback we got.

Generic Conventions Of Digipaks

Digipak Conventions

Brief

We have to produce a promotion package for the release of an album/CD, this must include:

A cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD Package)

A magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD Package)

Editing Update

Editing is finally finished our video is complete!

With only a few minor amendments to make, the main entirety of the video is finished.

I have really enjoyed editing, this year compared to last year has been a lot more successful and I'm especially impressed with our use of filters which I have learnt how to add, this makes the video look much more professional and real music video quality like.

Risk Assessment

Scene		Risk-Assessment number	1
Project	Music Video	Names	Anna Hartley & Jessica Bramhill & Kain Stones & Jess Bell & Ross McKenzie
Location	Bus Journey, Lincoln, Office Scene, Florist, Hubbard’s Hills, Boarding House	Assistants	Bex Scuffham, Jessica Bell, Kain Stones

Risk Assessment

What hazards have been identified?	What are the potential injuries or damage? Severity (1, 2, 3)	What measures have been taken to prevent injury or damage?	Number of people at risk	What additional measures or actions are required?	Who is responsible for action?
Anna – Anna’s guitar could have been knocked whilst filming	1	Filming was stopped if too many people were walking past, Anna also leant against the wall to get out of peoples way.	1	Anna had the guitar band round her to try and keep the guitar stable	Anna
Anna – as she is travelling to Hubbard’s Hills she could have fallen down the steps near the bridge.	2	Anna just had to be very careful as she went down and we tried to prevent anyone getting in the way of Anna as she did walk down the steps.	Potentially anyone		Anna
Kain – Office scene objects off desk could have fallen.	2	All objects were pushed back on the desk to ensure there was no chance they could fall off.	1	Kain needed to be careful as he got out of his seat and ran to the door that he did not catch anything with his hands on his way.	Kain
Kain – when running to the door he could force the door too much and the glass could break	3	Kain had to make sure when he was running to the door there were no hazards for him to trip and that when he opened his door he put his hand on the wood not the glass.	1		Kain & Jess
Kain – when running out of the office, he could run into someone	2	Before filming the scene we had to look outside to see if any people were approaching the shop or walking along the path. Once we could see people near then we filmed the running out of the office scene.	Potentially anyone.	Kain also had to be aware that he didn’t run out of the office too fast so that he could be aware and ready to stop in case anyone was walking by.	Kain & Jess
Jess Bramhill – Using spray for plants, spray could go in eyes	2	Jess was given just a spray can with water in, and a secure nozzle so that whatever the spray was aimed at it would only go in that direction.	1		Jess Bramhill
Kain – running scene potential hazards of tripping over someone/something.	2	Kain only ran in places where there weren’t too many other people and all risk assessment boundaries were checked such as any trip hazards and possible causes of injury.	1	Kain didn’t run too far so there was less likeliness of him falling/tripping.	Kain Stones
Jess Bell – Dancing on the dance floor, could be sharp objects on the floor – hazard of treading on them.	2	The floor must be brushed and/or hovered to make sure there is nothing hazardous such as thorns glass, plastic etc. to harm Jess.	1		Jess Bell
Jess Bell – During the curtain scene you could trip over as she is spinning.	2	We decided instead of spinning behind the curtain I would just use my hands to look like I was spinning then there is less chance of me falling.	1		Jess Bell
Ross McKenzie – Having the ladder in the scene could be a trip hazard.	1	To prevent it from being a trip hazard, even though it can’t be scene in the clip on the video, at the bottom of the ladder legs there is black and yellow strips to show there is a potential hazard.	1		Ross McKenzie
Ross McKenzie – have ear phones in could be a hazard if he has music playing he can’t hear any surroundings.	3	To prevent this completely we just added ear phones in with no music playing what so ever so that if we needed him to move or warn him of any hazard etc. he’d be able to hear us.	1		Ross McKenzie
Hubbard’s Hills – running up the hill could be a risk as you could fall down, its steep.	2	To lessen this hazard we went up the hill slowly and all held on to each other so there was less chance of falling down.	5		Jess Bell Anna Hartley Jess Bramhill Kain Stones Ross McKenzie