The video and the digipak need to be linked in some way to keep to a certain theme. The artists costume, single/album cover and video should seem like part of a whole package and create the same image for the artist or band. Elements such as mise-en-scene like costume, setting and the use of colour help to create this coherence.
A digipak is a DVD cover that features the song and video of the artist. It usually has 4 images on the back and front of the pack and both sides on the inside. This attracts the audience with the use of many images, the front cover image being the most important and prominent as this is the first image the public would see on a shop shelf for example.
Analysis of Wu-tang Clan digipak
This is a current cover of Wu-tang Clan's DVD digipak.
The use of red colour on the digipak connotes danger and violence which is a key stereotype of Hip hop music. The use of the image of New York shows the group's home town and suggests they feel proud to be from there, this also connotes the Hip hop genre.
The use of the groups logo on the cover promotes the group's name and makes it
easily recognisable for the target audience. I feel the use of the white large text used for the groups name and the quotes really compliments the cover as the white text stands out against the red background tint. Bringing the viewers attention to the text.
The use of photographs of the group inside their logo works really well as it looks quite abstract and interesting again enticing the viewer. It also adds a personal touch as the audience will enjoy seeing what the different members of the group look like and if they feel they can relate to them in some way, for example they may have similar clothing- follow the same fashions.
The use of the quotes makes the DVD look worthwhile buying and watching for the public, it immediately stands out and shows the accomplishments the film has made. This is furthered by the nominations at the bottom of the cover. This makes the film and cover look extremely professional and it seems to be recognised by industry professionals which would help in attracting the public to buy it.
The use of continuity on the back cover is effective and makes sense to the viewer, the back is part of the front cover so must look the same. The use of the same red theme and background of New York has been continued onto the back again creating a natural flow for the viewer to look at. The use of large images from the video give the audience an insight into what the film is about and who is in it, this will help to increase how many people buy it, as they will have a chance to see what they are buying into.
The use of an introduction on the back of the cover invites the audience to find out more about the story of Wu-tang Clan as well as to establish what the film is about.
The use of the special features section is good for two reasons; one being that it entices the audience into buying the product as these features may not be available anywhere else and the second reason being that it makes a space between the two lines of pictures creating a good visual balance and giving the viewer a chance to find out more and then view attractive images.
The various logo's on the back of the digipak advertises the different companies associated with the video as well as showing the viewer that these are successful and well known companies and that it would be worth buying into their product.
Analysis of Talib Kweli Digipak
The use of dark cloud in the background of this cover creates a tense atmosphere together with the barbed wire and dead birds with blood this scene looks very scary and dangerous, this connotes the rough area's many people in Hip Hop come from. The use of graffiti type text with paint dripping down creates an urban feeling and puts a genre to the cover as well as the stencilled font which also provokes a Hip Hop genre feeling. I feel the use of the image of Talib Kweli very interesting as it creates tension as well as mystery, the viewer cannot completely identify the person behind the hat and shadow, this is very effective and makes the overall cover very eye catching and interesting. The longer a viewer spends looking at a digipak cover, the better as that means it has been successful, I find I could look at this cover for a very long period of time. The clothing in this image is very typical of Hip Hop music which again confirms the genre of music for the viewer, this can be very important in attracting the right audience to buy the digipak. Overall, I feel the front of this cover is very effective.
Continuing the theme onto the back of the cover is very effective as it flows naturally and is attractive to look at for the viewer. The use of the theme of the dead birds is very effective and quite disturbing, this leads me to believe that this album is going to of serious subject matter, possibly even political. The barbed wire connotes imprisonment or oppression which again connotes a political message to me as a viewer. The image on the back is more identifiable of who the character is, yet his focus is elsewhere which makes my eye follow and wonder what he is looking at creating mystery, a very good technique in attracting the viewers attention. The colour scheme connotes military or army which again fits in with the barbed wire theme. I feel the text of the title of the CD as well as the track listing leaning to one side compliments the theme of mystery as something doesn't seem quite right. Another reason why this works is because Hip Hop is not a very strict and neat genre it can be very free flowing and natural which is why the text leaning to the side works very well.These are my 3 flat plan ideas for my digipak.
I feel that this first flat plan is the most effective in it's composition and use of many images as it could attract the viewers attention. I feel the use of many images makes the cover seem more personal and relateable for the viewer and hopefully the purchaser. The use of the large Wu-tang Clan logo would also aid the cover in attracting the right target audience and the logo is quite universal in that it is well known and famous, if not more famous than the actual groups faces. I feel that the red, black and white colour scheme will look very effective and stand out, these 3 colours are very strong but work very well together. The only problem with this ideas however is the lack of space for text and too many images.
I like the simplicity of this flat plan as it is almost in stark contrast to the previous design. I feel the use of the motif of the Wu-tang Clan logo holding the images of the group could look quite effective, however it may be quite difficult to create the desired effect in practise. Again the white, black and red colour scheme has been used in this design as I feel these colours are very eye catching and work well together as well as connoting with the Hip Hop genre. A problem with this design is that once I had found the digipak of Wu-tang Clan to analyse I realised they were too similar and that I must have gained inspiration for the design from the original digipak without realising it.
I feel that the simplicity of this flat plan could work very well, however the front cover not featuring an image of the group may not work in it's favour as the viewer may not connect to the cover as much as if it was an image of a person. The size of the Wu-tang Clan title being very large and bold works well for this design as it suits the simplicity and would stand out on a shelf in a shop. It would probably attract the fans of Wu-tang Clan more than generation new ones which may be a downfall of this design.
Completed Digipak
This is my Digipak front and back cover.
This is the inside of my Digipak.
I have received really positive feedback from my digipak on the social networking site Facebook, this is the link to the group I created which features my work. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_164000423656748&ap=1
I received compliments on the colour choices I have made, the layout looking professional as well as the edit of the photograph on the front cover. I also received compliments on the editing of the image on the inside of the digipak as well as the quote I used at the bottom as well as the overall colour of the digipak.
I feel I have gained many skills creating this digipak, such as, confidence in using Adobe Photopshop, a much better idea of how to analyse different texts, thinking about composition as well as colours schemes and what they may connote to the viewer. I feel I have managed to work well in a group as well as on my own, creating a good balance between the two. I feel I have managed to organise myself quite well as well as organise the rest of the group to get things done by certain deadlines. Although it has been quite a challenge I have enjoyed creating and doing all of this project.
My digipak is quite different to the flat plans I originally designed as through the course of the project I found that I was not able to use the Wu-tang Clan logo which changed my idea a lot as I was going to make the logo a big feature of my design. I am quite glad that I was not aloud to use the logo as part of my deigns as I feel it made me think of a more individual idea that did not look too similar to Wu-tang Clan's other digipak's. I have still kept the key themes such as the colour theme which I am very happy with.
Rejected ideas
These are examples of ideas that I tried out but decided not to use because they were not as effective and as eye catching as the ideas I ended with. I tried a white background for my digipak but I felt it looked too washed out and didn't suit the Hip Hop genre very well so I decided to use a black background. The grey background of the front of the digipak idea again looked too washed out as well as the image not being composed very well. I decided that this idea of the digipak inside has too much going on and was not attractive to the eye so I drastically simplified it and I am much happier with my final decision. 
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