Digipak Analysis: Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

The front cover of the Digipak immediately connects to Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze. This is due to her being naked, yet being covered by a pink cloud. The position of her laying with her legs up and staring into the camera also makes her very seductive. This will therefore attract not only her young audience of girls – which is symbolised through the colours and typeface – but also men as they will be attracted to a beautiful woman on the front of the pack. Having the artist on the cover also makes her recognisable to the public. They may not know Katy’s name so having an image of her with her on name will make her become more recognisable to audiences.
The images used are all dream like with the theme of sweets which is connected to her image. Her music video for the song ‘California Gurls’ is created by sweets. This again is represented in her cover. The song title ‘Teenage Dream’ could be viewed as candy canes spelling out the title. The style of font makes it appealing to audiences as it is sweets and desirable, this could also further represent Katy as an artist and the genre of audience she is appealing to. Moreover, the artists name could again be seen as written in a sweet font of strawberry laces. The cloud Katy is lying on could be seen as candyfloss, reinforcing the sweet theme throughout this album cover. The candyfloss being clouds relates to the album title of ‘dream’ which could explain why Katy is looking seductive as she wants to presented to audiences as a goddess or angel like.
The bright eye catching  colours and the style of the album cover depicts the audience this is for. This is also further shown through the title being ‘Teenage Dream’. Having the audience she is aiming her music at, and making a song, makes her more relatable to her intended audience therefore could possibly increase sales. The bright colours also portrays the genre (pop) that she is creating.

The disc of Katy Perry’s album, adapts to the reoccurring theme of candy. The disc design matches the replacement of ‘o’ on the back cover, appearing to be like a sweet.  The theme of the album art being sweets represents the music Katy Perry is producing. The bubbly and childish theme depicts the girly pop music and the audience she is aiming this music at. The house colours used in this digi-pack are dominantly red, white and pink. The use of soft baby pink and blue denotes the more innocent youthful music she is making, which is further explained by her audience being younger members. Furthermore the soft colours also makes the image of Katy Perry stand out more on the front. It also isn’t bright, harsh colours making it more appealing to audiences.

The design on the back of the Digi-pack is similar throughout the whole of the pack. The track list in a bubble style of font again gives it a more childish feel to it. The track list is also written in capital letter which makes  it easier to read. Using a readable and easy font reinforces the target audience as an easy font is needed for her audience to understand the track titles. Parallel to the disc the ‘o’ in the song titles  are like candied sweets, reoccurring theme of her album.  Like any album the back has the company’s logo at the bottom and the production company telling us that it is professionally made. 

The theme of the Digipak is candy. This design reflects her pop image, as she is a very upbeat and unique kind of artist. The cheerful theme suggest its a very fun and bubbly album which is what Katy Perry wants the album  to come across as. The texts across the whole Digipak reinforce the artists image as the candy theme gives the idea of ‘sweet’. The theme is also  representing the artist and her music in a new and unique way. The image she has given herself of this original idea, will make her stand out more to other artists and also associate herself with everyday things such as candy and candyfloss. The theme of candy is present in a lot of her work as it is evident in her video ‘California Gurls’. 

Digipak Analysis : Justin Bieber - Purpose

The front cover of the Digipak shows the artist so straight away, the fans will know who it is. However as the artist is looking down it will make people who do not recognise the artist look further to the album. This will therefore bring the album more attention as they will want to find out who the artist is. The artist being topless will attract the female audiences to the album; furthermore the fans of the artist will also recognise his tattoos making the artist more recognisable on the cover.  The artist body language with his arms together and his head lowered looks like he is praying. This could symbolise that is album is all about forgiveness. This could relate to the past publicised stories that this artist has faced, and that he wants forgiveness for his past. The praying hands and the white paint on his body, shows a sense of purity and innocence, which again could relate to the idea that he has changed from his past. Although we cannot see his face from a straight on angle, we can see his blank facial expression. This could suggest this album is a stripped back album and a showing more of himself as he is opening up to his true emotions. The combination of the artist being topless, while also having messy slicked back hair with not much effort, shows that this artist is trying to put cross his emotions in this album. It further emphasises that this album is all him and him being open to the public, and that there is no fancy distractions to hide anything.

The font of the artist’s album name ‘Purpose’ is written in more sophisticated writing. The use of formal script making it look like handwriting, suggests the idea that the artist wrote it himself. This could further imply that as he has written this himself that he has put the effort into the album, and everything was done himself, including the writing of the songs. The written ‘purpose’ also looks like a signature. The sophisticated writing depicts a more mature sophisticated album, which is further emphasised by the use of black and white.

The artists name is not present on the album cover; this distinguishes the renowned fame as he is so recognisable that he does not need to put his name on the album. There being no name further emphasises that just his body without a clear image of his face will being known by audiences. Having no name on the album also displays to audiences that this artist doesn’t feel he needs his name to sell his album and that he believes he can sell this album without the placement of his name to help the sales. This then influences the audience into buying this album as they replicate the idea of the artist’s feelings that this album is good, that he doesn't need his name on it.

Like many album disc, they are very minimal as they will not be on the front cover grabbing the attention of the customer. The stripped back disc symbolises what the album is going to be like, and be quite minimal, implying that it is a soft and more exposing album. The sophisticated approach of this album is further depicted by the same font of ‘Purpose’ used on the disc as well as the front. The pure black of the disc further emphasises the more sophisticated approach to the album. Moreover, the colour black relates to secrecy and unknown, giving this album a hint of mystery. Black being a colour of hiding thing such as emotions reiterates the idea of that before this album, things were hidden from the public eye, but this album has released all these emotions and is breaking down the barrier from himself and the public. The production company is on the front of the disc confirming that it is a legit album and that this is not a fake CD being sold. It also reassures the buyer that this album is made to the best quality as having a production companies name on it shows that it is made to the highest standard. The disc also has the artists name on. Except from the spine of the CD case, this is the only part to have the artists name appearing on this album. This shows the artists success as the name is only in small print in comparison to the name of the album , meaning he is an established enough artist to not have his name anywhere as he will be recognised. However having the name on the disc makes people who will not recognise him on the front to explore more and find out who the artist is from looking inside the CD.

The back of the album again has the theme of black and white again making the album seem sophisticated. The text is fairly difficult to comprehend and harder to read, presenting to audiences that this album is more for older people rather than younger. There are also songs with numerous artists on them, giving this album a wider audience as fans from other artist may listen to this album if they feature on it. The vast amount of songs on this album also make audiences feel they are getting their moneys worth as they are getting lots of songs to listen to. The image on the back cover has an artistic feel to it again reiterating the more mature approach of this album. The image of the artist alone looks quite isolating making the album feel will be more about him and more of him and his input rather than a lot of people controlling the album and him just singing. The idea of him putting further input in to this album is the named producers on the back. The artist and two others are the producers and the other two are his manager and mentor, making it clear to audiences he has put more work than other artists would have making the album seem worth the money. Having a list of production teams and the record label being present on the album shows the authentication of the album. This indicates to audiences the standard this album has been produced to. 

The overall theme to this album is a lot more mature and grown up to what audiences are usually use to when it comes to this artist. The artistic feel of the graffiti like font and the artistic images further emphasise this arty image. The colour black is a strong colour associated with power. As it is quite a deep colour this implies this album is quite serious and direct, and that he is communicating to his fans through this album. White has more of a peaceful and safe connotation. The white promotes creative thinking and also fresh beginnings, further emphasising the artist using this platform to communicate to his fans. The black and white theme emphasises the more modern grown up approach to his image, sending the message that this artist has changed and that this album is representing this. Using black and white shows a more serious and professional image. This suggests to the audience that this is how this artist wants to be viewed and that he does want to be taken more seriously as an artist. The whole image of this album suggests that this artist wants to recreate his image from what it use to be hence using white to represent new beginnings. 

Digipak Analysis: Ariana Grande - My Everything

The two main colours used in this Digipak is a combination of black and white. These two colours symbolise the genre of this artist music, Pop and well as R&B. Also as it is black and white colours this could suggest that the audience for her music is a mass audience as it doesn’t denote to one certain audience which would colours usually associated with that age and audience (e.g. a vibrant pink would usually be connotated with young girls). Although there is no clear indication of the audience, usually the colours black and white does infer that it is for an older audience rather than really young as the sophistication of using black and white is usually associated with a higher sort of style.
The typography of the album title ‘My Everything’ is in Italics, and her name on the album is written in a bold so it will be easily recognisable to everyone. Having her name in clear writing in bold therefore means audiences will be able to identify who the singer is. The curly italic writing of the album cover and the contemporary bold font of her name further emphasises the genre of her music, pop.
Having the artist, Ariana Grande on the cover will attract to her fans as they will be able to recognise her straight away. This will also further sales as fans are more inclines to buy something with their idol on it. Her clothe style for her album cover is a short black outfit with white heels. Again the theme of black and white is running throughout this showing again sophistication but also simplicity. The short clothes of the artist relate to the theory of Laura Mulvey’s, The Male Gaze. This is because she is wearing short clothes, it is revealing which not only attracts women as they will aspire to look like her, but it will also attract men.

The actual CD itself is different, as many CD’s usually are plain with no image of an actual person and are usually one block colour with the title of the album on it. Ariana’s CD with herself on it makes it engaging to fans as when they open the Digi-pack they will see her face on it. The pattern on the CD over her face makes her become more covered again enticing the audience to listen to the CD and to purchase it. The winking expression suggests that she is hiding something and as it is on the CD this could relate to the music on the CD, again making audience want to listen and buy it. Furthermore the ‘My Everything’ connotes the mysteriousness and emphasises that she is hiding something, as this could hint that she has secrets about someone.

The font on the back is bold and sans serif so it is clear to read the song titles. The simple yet retro font makes the album and artist come across and stylish and contemporary. The simplicity of the back of the album makes it again easy to read and understand so it is concise to the readers and not complicated. The backs of albums are usually plain as they usually aren’t on show to customers. Furthermore they usually consist of the title names of the songs, so therefore can’t be too complicated as people have to be able to know what songs are on the CD. Furthermore the simplicity and clear font makes it easy to recognise the artist featuring on the CD. The side of the CD includes a strip with her name and album name on it again making it able to distinguish the CD from the side. Furthermore, having the block with all the details and the record label on the back, highlights to audiences that this is a genuine CD professionally made at a high standard quality.

What is a Digipak

A Digipak is a form of packaging for CDs or DVDs usually made from cardboard or plastic to hold one or more discs. The format of a Digipak is a gatefold style, where it is like a book. Digipak's are especially popular in the music industry for CD singles, or albums with multiple discs. They give a product a more professional and certain look based on the intended message of the artist. The CD art work and specialist print finishes such as lamination or embossing can add to the professional look and make it look more expensive.

Health & Safety

As I am creating something with other people in it, I am solely responsible for what goes on therefore I will need strict health and safety procedures and to carry out a risk assessment. Risk assessments are very important as they are a fundamental part to help create awareness of hazards and risk and identify who may be at risk in a situation

Lights : With many lights around there will be numerous of things in the way. Also with the lights being on for a long duration, they will be rather hot. This means I will need to make sure no one touches them as they may hurt when touching and even worse cause burns so these could be a problem. Also with the lights being on for so long, it will get very hot in the studio. If I am filming for long periods of time I will need to make sure me and any models will need to have breaks as the heat could cause problems and make people feel a bit fake. I will have to make sure to keep everyone dehydrated, however this cannot be near the lights so fresh air breaks will be needed.


Electrical Cables : Electrical cables are a huge hazard when filming as these can be trip hazards. These are a crucial hazard that I need to be careful of as they can become caught on corners and can stick up making them easier to trip on. Also if they do stick up and someone does trip this can cause the lights to fall and causing more hazards and they could then fall on someone and cause serious damage. I therefore will need to carry out serious checks to make sure there is no possibility of any trip hazards.


Paint : For one of my ideas paint is a key feature as I need it to be coming from my models eyes. This can be very dangerous as if it is not the right kind of paint and it goes in the models eyes it can cause serious damage. For this I will have to make sure that I am using the correct kind on paint that will not cause irritation on the skin but also that the pain will go no where near the eye. I may need to rethink this idea through in order to cause no harm.

Video Prototype

This short clips was my first bit of editing after my initial filming ideas were all shot. I edited 15 seconds of the beginning of my video to show to audiences to see if I was fitting to their preference.

All of my 10 different members who partook in my feedback, all agreed that the lips were the best past and there were mixed reviews about the speaker. Many of them liked the speaker idea, yet they said watching it from the same angle got a bit boring and that it would be best to change the angle of the speaker once so it has a more exciting feel to it. 

Many of my audience feedback also said that the idea of the model was good but that it was not shot properly. It was not as exciting as the lips and it needs changing in some way. I also had particular feedback that it was not engaging enough. The camera shot was making the artist seem more distant from the audience. This is not the atmosphere I want in my music video so therefore I will need to reshoot this scene with my model

Location

My main intention from the start of the process of my ideas for my music video is that it would be solely based in a studio. This is because I want my music video to be quite artificial and studio based as many pop lively music videos are. The artificial lighting I will use will also give me the best results in definition for my model as natural lighting would not give my video the definition that artificial lighting would. Also as it is in the studio this therefore bring no distractions away from my model.

Not only is it the model that need defining but the most important part is the lips. This is a key feature in my music video. Therefore artificial lighting is key as the lips need to be highly defined. 

After audience feedback the section of my music video with the model signing people were saying how it was not exciting enough and boring. I then got an idea to shoot the model in different locations of her miming and to interchange the locations when editing just like the lips. However when it came to this the model was not available to come to shoots often enough for me to feel happy with the amount of locations I had, making me rethink about a chunk of my video.

Locations in mind:

After lots of ideas, I decided to have just a plain background. For this as the studio did not have different coloured backgrounds, I then thought of the green screen. I had not tested this properly when initial testing as it was not in my original ideas, so I was concerned as I was behind on time for finishing this project. What I would do is shoot how i originally did with the model but place a green screen behind my model and then have a background placed on it. This then gave me opportunity to make the video more exciting with colours and moving images being presented behind my model.

Props

Props is key in any music video. Props make a music video message more clearer and also helps present a certain tone to how the artist wants their music to be portrayed as. Therefore when choosing props I will need to carefully think what ones are best to decided how I want my music video to look.

One main prop that I have in mind to use is an old fashioned microphone. I have actually taken this idea from the actual music video that I am using as my song. The artist has an old fashioned microphone to make the scene of her singing more excited. When thinking more about the video, I thought it would be very boring to have just my model standing there miming. Therefore, I took the idea to use an old fashioned microphone as it gives more excitement to my music video. It also make it look more unique as it is a modern music video but with an retro prop.

Another Prop I will need is paint. For my idea I want paint to drip down the face of my model to represent the tears that are mentioned in the lyrics. I will need to make sure that this paint is suitable to use on my model and have to test this so it will work.

Along with the microphone I will also use sunglasses as a prop. This again will make the video more exciting rather than the model just standing there and singing. This could also make the setting of the video more fun as sunglasses are usually associated with holidays or festivals, therefore putting the model in a exciting setting.

Makeup and Wardrobe

For my music video, makeup is a key feature. So in order to make sure I can film and use my time wisely, I need to think of what makeup each one of my models will wear. For the main chunk of the video it will be solely focused upon the lips, therefore the makeup on the face wont be a huge feature as just the lips will be shown in the shot.
As I do not have a huge budget, or a professional makeup artist, I have been realistic in what ideas I can do and afford for the lips. I went on to google to get inspiration for the video and screen grabbed ideas I thought that I would be able to pull off.

For the main model who is featured in the music model I don' t want her to have a supermodel look.I want her to look fairly natural and like a 'normal' girl. I have decided this as industry's now make unrealistic ideals for girls, and making my model look like just any other ordinary girl without over the top make up.


After looking at different types of lipstick, I decided on doing block (one) colours rather than fancy patterns on lips as it is less time consuming meaning I can film more and have more variety in my video. I looked a a variety of different colours and chose colours that were not similar so the video could be as colourful and bright as possible and also be more exciting to audiences as it would interchange the colours whilst they were lip syncing to the song.

As I have numerous scenes in the video, I want each scene to look different. Therefore makeup on my model and clothing will need to be different. As I said previously, I want my model to look natural as it will portray a message to my target audience, especially the younger spectrum of my audience. Therefore for the majority of the scenes I will want my model wearing as little makeup as possible. The hair on my makeup again will not be in extravagant styles and will be simple. However I do want my model looking nice and presentable so I do not want hair being messy. As I do need to change scene and make the video exciting, I will have the model looking different with maybe something different such as bright makeup or hair in a particular way.

My model will need to wear 3 different outfits as there are 3 different scenes that I am intending to shoot. I want my model to look stylish and up to date so she can relate to my target audience and also be a some what role model to them. I do not want the outfits that the model is wearing to be to bright or out there as I want the concentration to be on the model and what she is doing rather than what she is wearing, however I still want the clothing to be an important aspect and not to be wearing anything.

From my storyboard, the section where the model is dancing along to the song, I want her to be wearing a plain black tshirt whilst also wearing a hat. I have taken this idea from Beyonce's 'Countdown' video where she is reacting along to the beat of the music while the background is changing. The clothing being plain will make the background of the clip pop out. Furthermore the hat will also add a slither of class and elegance, it will also be quite out there and make the video have a more elegant feature about it as big hats are usually associated with elegance.

Casting

For my main model I need someone who can be confident in front of the camera and will be able to present my video in the best way possible. Due to the artist who has made this song, I do not need any particular hair colour as the artist of this song is always changing colour. However one thing I will need from my person is too be in the older age range of my target audience as they will need to look up to them so if they are not old enough it would not work.

Name : Frankie

Age: 18

This attractive female would be a good choice for my model as she is naturally pretty and is very photogenic. However i do not feel she is the right fit when it comes to being my main model. I may consider her to use when filming the lip part of my video as she has very plump lips which is ideal for that part of my video.

Name : Marni

Age : 19

This beautiful female is a good contender for my model as she is old enough and many viewers would look up to her. However she says she would not feel comfortable being in front of the camera without wearing much makeup and my model would need to feel comfortable with or without makeup. Furthermore, Marni has prior commitments to fill so would not be available often therefore limiting my filming time with her.

Names : Olivia & Ciara

Age : 17

Having twins in my music video could make it more interesting. However this is a solo artist that I am making this video for so therefore having both of them would not look right as it is only one person singing. However as they look very similar it could be possible to interchange between the two of them as one of them may not be free at times so I could use both but at separate times. However when it came to it, they were not as confident as they seemed so were not right for the part.

Name : Corinna

Age : 20

This gorgeous female is a good option as she is very appealing to audiences so could also attract the male side of the public. She is also the oldest out of the contenders so also will be looked up to most by the target audience as they will see her as a role model. However, again being my main model she did not have the particular style or confidence that I am looking for in my model. Again though, she has very plump lips so would be ideal to use her in my lips section of the video.

Name : Ellen

Age : 18

Ellen is a perfect fit for the character I am trying to portray in my music video. She has the confidence to do things and is up to do absolutely anything. This gives me a lot of freedom to try and test new ideas out on her. She also has a lot of time as she is only in college 3 times a week and she can also drive. This makes it very easy for me to get her in to do some filming on short notice. She is also very photogenic and pretty, meaning audiences of a younger age will look up to her to inspire to be someone like she is.

Design For Music Video - Storyboard

When creating the design for my music video, I took the lyrics of the song and paired it with images of how I want each part of my music video to look like. However with this plan, it isn't to be followed strictly and but I will go by it vaguely so I need to know what I film and where it will be linked to the song.

One

This is the introduction to the song, and in it there is a harsh heavy bass so to have glitter jumping to the beat will make the intro to the music video exciting. Also as my main theme will be lips and different coloured/arty lips I will have snapshots of them emerged with the speaker and glitter. Also as it is the intro I wont have the snapshots of lips miming the lyrics, I will just have clips of them.

Two

In many music videos, there are various shots of the artist singing to the song, so therefore with my design of the video i have decided to include this. With this idea, I am going to film these parts to the whole song, the same with the lips, so I can include these and slip them in the video if needed.

Three

In my ideas I wanted the idea of a split screen, so for my music video i am going to have two sets of lips in a split screen. My original idea with the video was the have four split screens, but with the editing technology we have I am unable to do this so decided to stick to two split screens. when editing if it turns out I am able to make 4 different screens I will include that in my music video too as well as the split screen.

Four

With this idea I will use a projector to transfer images onto the artist and a plain background. However I will need to do lots of testing for this to see if it will actually work as the images may not be as clear as I want and the quality of the projection may not be the quality I want. Therefore this part of the design may change.

Five

With this part I will again use the lips, but this time I will have them miming to the lyrics instead of just being filmed still. In this part I will also have lyrics visually on screen. For this I will film the words 'lying' in magazine letters and have face paced editing so the lyrics come up on screen as soon as they are said.

Six

The lyrics of the song in this section have 'tears' in it so I thought I would use that lyric in some way. I decided to go with the idea of using paint for tears. I will have the paint dripping down the face and then reverse the film so they look like they are going back in to the eye. I have chose to do that as it will link to the lyrics 'too late', which suggests they should be there.

Seven

Again a link with visuals and lyrics, I will have my chosen artist shown while holding a mask over their face and moving it side to side. With the editing I will jolt this part so the movement is fragmented and sharp so that it is in time with the beat and lyrics 'two faced'.

Eight

As this video is aimed at young girls, I want to include really girly thing in it. Therefore I am going to film the artist sitting through a mirror at a dressing table, filled with lots of things such as makeup and hairbrushes and straighteners. I will also have them singing.

Nine

As my main theme of this music video is based on the lips again there will be multiple shots of different lips with art on it and the editing style with make the lips appear and disappear quickly. Again the lips will be miming along to the lyrics of the song. Like many music videos, not just pop, there are interchanges between the artist just singing and different parts of the music video. Therefore I will incorporate this in to my music video quite a bit so we can see the artist multiple times.

Ten

This part of the music video needs to be tested a fair bit. This idea is to have UV hair and lips on the artist while just singing. I need to make sure that when testing it is visible to see the lips and hair clearly in order for this to work.

Eleven

In this video although the extreme zoom on lips is the main theme of the video, i also want mid shots of people miming along to the words. I want there to be a mixture of races in this music video so for this part i will have three different people all who have different ethnicities. However although there is not extreme close up on the lips, that will be the main focus. So in these shots they will all be wearing identical wigs, which will cover their eyes so, they as a person isn't the main focus. There will also be wearing different bright coloured lipsticks so the audience again focuses on the lips.

Twelve

As this is the final part of the song, i will incorporate many different shots. I want this part of the video to have an extra upbeat tone to it. Therefore i want to have things like confetti and balloons for it to have a very happy upbeat tone of this video. Again, the artist just singing will be edited into these different shots, so the audience get a final picture and view of the main artist singing.

Testing

Testing is a key stage when creating products. For my music video testing is crucial in order to know what will and what won't work. I first tested the projector idea. However this idea really didn't work so i knew straight away this idea was to be scrapped.

I also tested the idea of the lips and the lyrics coming up on the screen as well. I wanted to present the sharp change and test the music being linked with the visuals and lyrics on screen. I also wanted the view of how close to see the lips and whether I should get the face in the frame or not. I decided against the idea of have the models whole face in frame so went for the extreme close up of the lips. However when going to edit I realised the quality of the video isn't as sharp due to me zooming in on the editing. Therefore I know when it comes to shooting I will need to have the camera on the lip area rather then having the whole face and me zooming when it comes to editing it.
Testing the lips also made me realise that as I am so zoomed in on the lips, the model does move about when miming along to the music. Therefore in my future tests I will need to come up with a way to make sure the head of the model will stay still throughout the whole video.

My main part of editing was testing the speaker and putting things like paint and glitter in it to react to the bass of the song. I first tried paint as I saw examples of this online and saw that it reacted well. However this process was very messy as the pain was going everywhere, also I had to put cling film over the speaker so it would not be damaged, this therefore meant the affect of the music was not as good as the glitter as it was not in direct contact to the speaker. When testing the glitter, it reacted better than the paint and was a lot easier to control and handle, therefore I knew I was going to use the glitter.
Once i decided glitter was better than paint, I tested different shots to decide what angle would be best to use. I shot many different angles to get different perspectives and to see which view point had to better affect on how the glitter reacted and what would look best when shooting the real shot for my video. The angles where the camera is lower and sees the glitter jumping turned out to be the better ones. However, with audience feedback, the general theme people said was although the low angles were the better ones, i would need to get closer as that is how they are filmed in professional videos and that it would look best to use that type of angle.