planning digipak - Miss Miller

A digipak refers to the packaging style for an album which differs to the typical jewel CD case. Digipaks are often more personal compared to jewel cases as it appears that artists tend to add more personal information to them, for instance via adding personal notes to fans such as thank you notes, providing them with added extras such as posters or chances to win tickets to up coming concerts or simply adding more personal photos.  Hence this helps to promote the artist as being someone who is a good role model, as they appear to care both about their fans as they are taking the time to provide them with this extra information and personal notes so to help the audience feel closer towards them building upon the relationship between the artist and the audience and portraying that the artist really does care about their music and that they aren't simply producing music as a money making scheme but because they feel that have a genuine talent and really care about music and their work. This helps to convey the artist as a positive role model as it creatives  this image around  them of obtaining good morals and wanting to do right by their fans. Henceforth urging the audience to allow a relationship between themselves and the artist as they feel that the artist is a good person and therefore someone they can look up to as even with their talent and believed good wealth they do not allow these aspects to ruin them  at their core. The artist is also able to really focus on the relationship with their target audience so in the case of my artist being of the soul genre her target audience would be members of the soul genre audience. As they can highlight aspects which follow codes and conventions towards the genre within their work therefore as they have a larger amount of space to fill which the artist is likely to look at. In the case of a jewel pack although many albums come with a little book full of images and side notes from the artist the audience tend not to look at this especially when they are browsing for albums to buy, however as with a jewel pack it appears to be a lot less aggravation for the audience to read and it usually catches their attention they have a look. It is essential for the artist to provide codes and conventions towards their chosen genre on their digipak so to attract their chosen audience and therefore gain the success they are aiming towards. Hence as a digipak is able to provide the artist with further opportunity to capture a more personal relationship I shall be opting to use a digipak for  my album rather than a jewel CD case. The reason I desire this extra bond with my chosen audience is that if the audience feel as though they are more easily able to relate to the artist they are more likely to like them as a personal and enjoy their music as they view reflections of themselves within them. Hence throughout my digipak I plan to apply to the codes and conventions of the soul genre.

As digipaks are so important as they are so beneficial I decided to put much planning into my digipak before I had even began taking shots for the digipak. If I was to make mistakes with my digipak then the digipak wouldn't have all of it's benefits as I wouldn't be following the necessary structure so to that I was creating a successful digipak. For example without codes and conventions suiting my chosen genre, audience members wouldn't know that this is an album which is suited to them and they should therefore be interested in, meaning that they would likely completely miss it.

Here is my original rough plan for my digipak:

Throughout the images displayed on my digipak I have produced codes and conventions towards the soul genre. Which was an essential task when creating my digipak as without these codes and conventions it would be hard for the audience to tell without prior knowledge that the artist belongs to their chosen genre. Even with this select knowledge it may still be hard for the audience to tell as many artists are known for changing their genre of music as they grow as an artist. For instance artist Rihanna has been widely recognised for her transformations in the world of music throughout her career. One of the codes and conventions which I displayed throughout my digipak would be

the iconography of the microphone and the microphone stand which are conventional elements as these are things which you would expect to see paired with an artist of the soul genre because artists of said genre are recognised for performing live on stage in places such as jazz bars which is the chosen location for said scene also be conventional. The importance of the microphone on it's stand represents that the artist is talented enough to sing live without auto tune or anything of the sort. It also demonstrates how the artist doesn't need to put on a big showy performance, performing various dance routines etc. as she wouldn't be able to with the microphone in it's stand which is beneficial as it means that the artist is talented enough to put on a big performance without needing to apply any of these elements.

I also opted to follow codes and conventions to the soul genre when considering aspects of Mise en scene regarding the artist representation. For instance I have decided to go for the typical make up expected for a woman in the 1950s/1960s which involves fairly basic base make up, rouge lips and cheeks with more emphases on the eyes. I shall opt to be doing this so to really highlight the artist as being a member of the soul genre as this is the conventional make up style expected from artists from the soul genre as is adopted via soul artists such as Duffy. This is because this is the time in which the soul genre was officially structured and created of which it has rarely developed as the audience are fans of the genres classical vibes hence keeping these elements in within my music video is a conventional element to the genre which I know the audience shall enjoy. This is also important as if I was to promote aspects of the soul genre which weren't as well adored they may not have the same effect possibly even facing audience members missing out of the aspect of these elements being conventional as they aren't so well loved and therefore not seen or recognised as much. I also plan to adopt this style for the artists hair and costume. For instance in these images the artist shall be seen with hair which is fairly bigger to what you would expect to see today as it is fitting to the styles adopted by women from the time period. A good example of a conventional costume the artist shall be wearing for the digipak shall be the dress which I as the artist shall also wear in the performance scenes which take place in the jazz cafe. This costume is conventional for much of it's detail for instance the colour of the dress itself is conventional as it is black which is a stereotypical colour to see women wearing from the time period as well as red as these are thought to be rather classic colours. The dress is also slightly suggestive as it comes of off the shoulders revealing the upper area of the artists chest however she is still fairly covered. Also the dress is quite long, this is all important as what would be seen as suggestive today would have been seen as completely shocking within this time period. For instance the types of costumes which are often worn within the industry by artists such as , Britney Spears and Katy Perry which are seen as acceptable in today's society would be seen as completely inappropriate and highly socially unacceptable during this time period. Which is something I need to remember throughout the stages of my production as well as any issues alike as this can prevent how well my work comes across as conventional to my chosen audience. Making these simple mistakes can ruin the entire effect which I am creating for the digipak therefore stopping my design for the digipak from being effective in attracting members of the soul genre audience. Hence I shall be demonstrating codes and conventions so to represent the artist throughout so to ensure that I am attracting the right audience in the most beneficial way. 

Another way in which I wanted to demonstrate codes and conventions towards the soul genre throughout my digipak was through the use of relate-able locations. Relate-able locations are conventional towards the genre of soul as they remind the audience of the factors of the artist of which they can relate to as well as presenting the artist as someone who endures a normal life and takes them away from the confines of their fame which prevents the audience from viewing them as an actual human being rather than a star or even a product following Dyers theory. Hence as I want the audience to be able to feel as though the artist is someone who they could see themselves getting along well with and finding to be relate-able I wanted to portray her in these kinds of locations so to enforce this and help the audience to view the artist in this manner.  For instance I added an image of the artist in her bedroom which is a relate-able location as it is a scene which most people are frequently use to seeing or being even in most cases pretty much everyday. As well as the connotations of a bedroom themselves, as a bedroom is thought to be a rather private and therefore personal place where people behave as their true selves, hence this allows the audience to feel as though they are being provided with a glimpse of the audience in her own personal space. Which suggests that the artist is reaching out towards her audience along with the style of typography which urges the audience to feel a better connection with the artist as she appears to be a good role model who really cares about pleasing her audience as well as getting to know them and helping them. This is also beneficial as it represents the artist to be someone who has a genuine passion  for her music rather than just being an artist who enters the industry as a way of making money and achieving fame. This is an aspect to the artists representation which helps the audience to warm towards her as she appears to be a much more positive role model who is creating music which she really puts thought and effort into. When tying these concepts with the artists codes and conventions towards the soul genre members of said audience are likely to be really appealed as it appears that the artist has put much time and effort into the lyrics which the audience will find relate-able as her persona demonstrates that she adopts a soul genre way to life and shares interests with those other members of the audience. The concept of the artist puting more care into her music is also conventional as artists belonging to the soul genre are thought to care much more about their content and attempt to make their a better experience for their audience in the way that artists from the indie genre would contrasting that of artists from the pop genre as they focus more on the connection and content than simply working as background music to promote both a good time and the artist themselves. Thus I shall be demonstrating relate-able locations throughout my digipak so that the audience feel as though they would be able to connect with the artist which in turn makes the audience grow more towards the artist building upon the relationship between the two which sees that the audience want the artist to do well. Meaning that they shall purchase the artists music in a bid for them to achieve so. 

I plan to use both close ups and long shots of the artist throughout my digipak. I like the concept of providing the two contrasting shots together as it creates the idea for the artist that they have a better knowledge and therefore understanding of the artist as they have seen them from such different angles etc. For the close ups of the artist I plan for the audiences attention to be really focused towards the artists make up the effect of this shall both help the audience to put the artist towards the soul genre as well as helping them to find the artist more attractive and therefore building a stronger relationship with her. Following Goodwin's theory as males find themselves finding the artist more physically attractive meaning that they find themselves developing a different sort of relationship with the artist therefore embarking upon any other forms of relationships they may face with the artist encouraging them to feel more deeply towards the artist which is being beneficial as this means that they are more likely to purchase the digipak. For female audience members this is likely to urge them to find the artist more respectable as she is presented to be so so talented, thought provoking and yet she still takes care of her appearance. Hence viewing the artist to be father successful as she is able to juggle managing all of these different things and still doing them all so well. Due to which the female members are likely to look up to the artist more and view her as more of a role model which builds upon the relationship between the audience and the artist meaning that the audience are more likely to purchase the artists digipak. I plan to use long shots for scenes where I want to show of the location for instance on location for the 'walk of shame' scene  I plan to break away from the shooting for a moment of time and have a photo shoot where I as the artist shall pose for photos for the digipak which represent the artist as being conventional to the genre, due to her appearance and location, as well as allowing the audience to feel as though the artist is providing them with more of herself as they are able to view her in such a variety of different ways. Which is a beneficial factor impacting as it means that the audience feel as though they have more of a relationship with the artist. A long shot also represents the concept of the artist being fairly shy and liking to keep themselves to themselves which is conventional within the genre as often soul artists are thought to be quite stand offish as they think more deeply about things compared to other artists meaning that they find it harder to connect with others as they cannot see past certain things or forget them. Hence this representation of the artist follows codes and conventions of the soul genre as it provides the audience with a stereotypical representation of the artist which may urge them to see more of themselves within the artist therefore building upon the relationship between the audience and the artist making the audience more likely to purchase the artists digipak. Whereas a close up represents the idea that the artist is attempting to become closer with their audience as their face is physically closer to the lense. This also portrays the concept that the artist is allowing the audience to obtain a true representation of themselves as they are so close to the camera it suggests themes of the artist promoting herself as herself. This comes from the fact that it is thought to be harder to hard the closer up you are to a microscope etc as your flaws etc. are going to be highlighted. This helps the audience grow towards the artist as it appears that she is attempting to reach out to them hence I plan to use these elements within my digipak so to capture the sense that the audience are being provided with a better insight into the artist than they would be able through other outlets when buying the digipak. Which is important as the sole purpose of a digipak compared with other forms of holding an album such as a jewel CD case is that digipaks are much more personal and allow the audience to know more about the artist. Using these kinds of shots suggests that the digipak shall allow the audience this further insight as they are seeing different photos of the artist in a variety of different places, performing different tasks which represents the concept that the digipak forms knowledge for the different sides of the artist hence not only selling the artist and their music but also the concept of the digipak itself.  

I plan to keep the design and layout for the digipak fairly simple as this represents that the music itself is of such a good quality that the artist doesn't need to promote herself with fancy layout techniques or images as the music is able to speak for itself. Which is also conventional towards the genre of soul as often the idea of keeping things simple aids for an element of class which is reminiscent of that which was available during the period the genre was formed. Due to it's conventional themes this style of layout has also been used by other artists for their digpaks for instance soul artist Duffy applies a rather simplistic layout for her digipak. A good example of how I plan to capture this theme within my digipak will be for the side of my digipak where the songs from the album are listed. I wish to keep this simple as this really enforces the idea of the music speaking for itself which shall in turn highlight that to the artist the most important to her digipak is her music not promoting herself. Therefore suggesting to the audience that the album is of a good standard as the artist has evidently put a lot of work into it. I plan to create this kind of simplistic layout but using images which don't appear overly edited thus appearing more simple which provides these kinds of connotations, I also plan to achieve it by sticking to the images used without adding other images on top as again this would take away from the simplicity of it, this will also mean staying away from any overly bright or neon colours I also want to keep any text fairly short as a lot of writing can appear like a lot of unnecessary effort for the audience therefore applying connotations upon the digipak which suggests that it requires more effort on the part of the audience again taking away from the simplicity. It is important to keep to this theme throughout the slides on my digipak so to prevent confusion on the part of the audience and so to not ruin the effect. 

Within my digipak I shall include on one of my slides a thank you note from the artist to her audience. I plan to do so because it will provide various beneficial features attracting the audience and therefore generating a larger profit as more consumers purchase it. Including the fact that this shall enable the artist to represent herself to the audience as being someone who really cares for her fans and is therefore portrayed as a positive role model. This works as the audience see this as being a trait of a nice person as often it is thought that once stars become successful they become deluded of themselves and their own success and start to forget that it is the help of others which made them so successful. Henceforth seeing artists who appear to be so grateful and considerate of those who helped them achieve their success paints them as being a nicer person and. Thus this urges the audience to grow more towards the artist as this applies further to their like-ability factor because the concept of the artist caring about their fans and being thankful for them suggests that they are a nice person which is important as the audience wouldn't find themselves wanting to buy the digipak of an artist who wasn't someone they particularity liked as this is likely to put them off. Working within the same manner as when a film is created staring an actor who some audience members find they don't like as they aren't going to want to be watching them. Reading the thank you note shall also make the audience feel more appreciated which is important as it means that they are more likely to purchase the artists album. This happens as with the sense of being appreciated fans begin to feel a closer bond between themselves and the artist as the artists words appear to be directed right at them hence making for a more personal experience. This intensifies the relationship between the artist and the audience as they feel as though the artist is fully aware of how the audience are able to better them as an artist and appreciates it. This is also essential as it indicates to the audience that the artist really does create their music for them which reminds the audience of the artists dedication both to them and the genre also encouraging the audience to feel closer to the artist. The thought of being appreciated is something which the audience enjoys and therefore resulting in them becoming what they feel to be even more supportive which means that the audience shall be purchasing the artists music. This is one of the most important reasons as to why I shall be adding a thank you note as not only does it encourage the audience to buy this digipak but it also encourages the audience to stick by the artist, purchasing other forms of their music as well as any music later to come throughout their career. Benefiting the artist as they have a larger sales revenue and therefore a larger profit. The concept of the artist actually writing a thank you note paints the artist as being a better person/role model as it shows how much they care about their work and makes them appear to be nice as they take the time to think about others. These are elements which the audience like to view in the artist as often the stereotypical view of an artist who isn't a nice person is someone whom doesn't particularly care about their audience or even their audiences experience of their music video, they are someone who doesn't appear to care about those who look up to them or credit their music as they feel that they are so good that people should just be expected to behave as so and they are often thought to apply a total disregard for the actual audience. It is most beneficial for the artist to add a thank you note not only as this improves upon the relationship between the artist and the audience but also because it creates a more positive representation of the artist for the audience to embark upon hence I shall be providing one. It also improves upon the audiences view of the digipak as a product alone from the CD after all the audience could opt to simply download the album on iTunes thus the digipak needs to really stand out as for-filling it's duty of providing the audience with a more personal package and further information of the artist than if they were to buy the album through other outlets. Adding a thank you note it able to enhance the impacts of a digipak allowing the audience into a deeper insight of the audience as they feel as though they now have a letter written and addressed directly to them from the artist. 

Another benefit which can come from creating a thank you note for a digipak is that this can provide psychological impacts. As the audience read the note and due to it's direct address to the reader and lack of personal details the audience feel as though it is really aimed at them. This can allow audience members to feel that upon purchasing the digipak they become a part of what the artist views as their fandom. Which the audience enjoys as they like the impacts of feeling as though they belong to something. As a result of this the audience feel it's part of their duty to continue supporting the artist which they want to do as the artist has made them feel appreciated. This is another reason why I have opted to include a thank you note as it certainly strengthens the bond between the artist and the audience which is both conventional and essential for sales as this ensures that the artist has an audience to want to contribute to the artists success and are therefore more likely to purchase their music throughout their career as they continue their support. This shall be achieved by phrasing which shall be included within the thank you note such as; "I want to take this chance to thank you for your constant support" as not only does this appear as though the artist has wanted to announce their appreciation for the audience for a while conveying how truly appreciative they are of them but it also continues the theme of psychological benefits. Because the audience are being told that their constant support is what strives the artist the audience find that they not only want to contribute to this but they want to provide the artist with constant support. As they find themselves wanting to be considered apart of the artists fanbase. The thank you note shall also mention; "I have always aimed to please you and create music which may help you through the difficulties you face" This helps to convey the artist as belonging to the soul genre as the genre is known for it's artists singing about their personal issues and trying to create a relationship with their audience so to better their experience of their music as well as the genre being known for being an outlet for people to connect with their emotions and the music. This also embarks upon the conventional theme of the genre being relate-able as this suggests that as the artist sings about topics which can surface hardship the audience may suffer these appear to be issues which the artist herself has gone through. Thus this helps not only to provide codes and conventions towards the genre and encourages the audience to purchase the digipak as the artist appears to be someone they could get along with but the thank you note is also able to exploit these codes and conventions and make them work in to the artists advantage. 

For the typography for my digipak I opted to creature a style which shall almost appear as though it has been written by hand once I have finished it on photoshop. I decided to do this as this helps the audience to feel as though the artist is trying to reach out to them further as they are applying there own writing which suggests that they have put more time and effort into their digipak than they necessarily had to. As they easily could have left the design and layout of their digipak to their design team. The concept of it appearing as though the artist has hand written onto their digipak pack works as they appealing their signature to something it suggests that they've applied their own stamp onto it which concludes that the artist is proud of their work and wants the audience to experience it as they feel that they are able to gain something from it and enjoy the music the artist has created for them. Hence urging the audience to purchase the digipak as it is connoted throughout the images for instance the iconography of the microphone and the microphone-stand that the artist is someone who obtains a strong knowledge on music therefore the concept that she is proud to present this digipak as her own suggests that the music is of a strong quality and standard encouraging the audience to purchase it so to allow themselves to visit this musical experience the artist has captured. 

Following codes and conventions within the soul genre I plan to use typography which appears almost to have been hand written be cause this is conventional towards the genre of soul for a number of reasons one of which being the concept it creates a more personal vibe around the digipak as this  connotes that the artist has put  a lot of time and effort into their digipak as this is the kinds of connotations which come from someone physically hand witting something such as an invitation as well a highlighting how personal it is to them which represents the concept that their music is  personal to them. Which is also conventional as typically soul artists sing about matters which are personal to them as they are recognised for singing about more personal topics compared with other artists belonging to genres such as Pop, Hip-Hop and dance. The style of typography also represents how the artist is baring themselves within their music so to help them engage with their audience and create a relationship with them. This works as the concept of the artist using their own hand writing suggests that they really are making the digipak as personal as they possibly can as the concept of using their own hand writing concludes that they are putting themselves into their music. Thus this represents how the artist is putting more of herself into her music video which other artists aren't providing again following codes and conventions of the genre as soul artists are known for creating more personal music than other artists which is often interpreted as being deeper. This is an important aspect to promote to the audience as this is conventional towards the soul genre as artists are known for being more personal. Both ensuring the audience are aware of the artists genre as well as providing them with aspects they are prone to find pleasing within the genre therefore providing them with a better experience from the artist. The language used throughout the digipak shall be rather formal. I have chosen to keep to a formal tone of language as it is the conventional tone the audience shall be expecting, because the genre has remained the same since it's birth in the 50s/60s the genre still has this kind of old world feel to it. Thus artists of the soul genre often speak within this manner hence it shall therefore be used within witting which is representative of both artists and of the genre. Hence further employing the artist towards the genre and appealing to the audience as it is the various different codes and conventions towards the genre which they find appealing and attractive them towards it. Regardless of how small or insignificant a code or convention towards the genre may seem even the smallest of conventions when they are all added up and put together can largely impact upon the audiences understanding of the artist as well as how attracted they are to the artists music. 

For the more important pieces of text such as the artists name and the album name I shall use larger font. This shall help inform the audience that these are the more important pieces of information. As throughout the media the audience have been taught this throughout the media. Think of the connotations which are associated with someones name 'being in bold' this indicates that they are someone important thus providing the same effects. This also ensures that these are the pieces of information which catches the audiences eye first. Being that these pieces of information shall be he artists name and the albums title this is important as this shall spark interest in the audience due to the various connotations on the front of the digipak as well as the artist representation throughout the media of the artist being someone who is important and obtains success as well as the tittle being in larger font indicating that this is a good album which she is proud to represent as her own due to which they will be more likely to purchase the artists album. 

When planning a digipak it is essential that you are careful and aware of how different elements may portray the artist or their music in a different way. For instance it was important for me to note the difference between the dress styles which are acceptable now and what would have been acceptable in the period the genre was created as if the artist was to wore something which would have seemed to have been shocking for the period then this would have taken away from the effect I was trying to create fitting the artists representation through various different elements of Mise en scene to the genre of soul as it wouldn't have suited which would have likely confused the audience and prevented them from viewing the artist in this way.