Digipak Analysis - The 1975

The 1975 are a British indie pop band and the digipak below is from their second album "I Like It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It". One of the most prominent things about this digipak is that, unlike with most cover art, there is no track list on the outer back cover. Another noticeable thing is the "The 1975" logo is the only thing on the front of the album cover. The logo is a continuous thematic throughout their previous album covers and is something that would be recognizable to their target audience and established fan base. But the logo has a difference in that it is created by pink neon light, whereas for the first album the logo was in black and white digital art. This could symbolize a change in style for the band, whilst keeping the essential parts of their identity.

The use of pink in the artwork complies with the bands image as their lead singer to defy gender stereotypes and so this is shown through the use of a traditionally "feminine" colour on their album network.
Much of the reason people will buy this album is because they know the band and have enjoyed their music before. This is because the artwork of the CD cover is based heavily around the logo of the band and so appeals to their current fanbase.

Digipak Analysis - Ed Sheeran "X"

Ed Sheeran is an English singer-songwriter. This is the front cover of his X (multiply) album. In a live webcast on Youtube, Ed Sheeran stated that he feels "every single one of his records should have a theme that runs through it, even if its just a colour. The first one was orange, throughout, everything [he] did was orange. The X album is going to be green throughout, and everything [he does] will be green in terms of artwork". He cited Coldplay as an influence for this, as they keep with the image of each album they release "for the next two years". The physical versions of the album come packaged in a green jewel case.
This digipak cover doesn't include his face. This reflects his general anonymity in his music career. Its a general theme in both his album covers and music videos - he rarely shows his face. Alternatively, he does make an appearance on the back of the digipak.
The fluorescent green background makes the black X stand out more prominently. This is eye catching and appealing to his target audience and also reflects the acoustic pop style of music he makes.

Final Music Video

Electropop Record Labels

The song I chose for my music video falls under the electro-pop genre. I want my digipak to be as realistic as possible and to do so, the addition of a record label is necessary. I researched a couple existing record labels in my genre.

1. XL
XL Recordings is a British independent label that began as a dance music offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records in 1989. In recent years XL has earned acclaim as one of the world's best independent pop labels through artists such as: Adele, Radiohead, Vampire Weekend and Jack White. As this company is focused on independent pop music, I think it would be good for my music video. An example of a music video released by this company is:

2. Sub Pop

Sub Pop was introduced in the emergence of grunge in the early 1990's out of Seattle, Washington. They were the first label to sign successful artists such as Nirvana and Soundgarden. Sub Pop survived the demise of grunge and continues to be a force in the development of independent recorded music and I think it would be a good record company for my video. A music video done by Sub Pop is

3. Domino Records

Domino is a British independent label formed in 1993. Franz Ferdinand's You Could Have It So Much Better hit #1 on the UK album chart. Its key label artists include Arctic Monkeys, Dirty Projectors, Franz Ferdinand and Hot Chip.

For my digipak, I am going to use Domino Records for my record label. I think their music videos are most similar to mine and have also had the most success, which I would want for my artist.

First Draft

Filming Day Three

So today I was sat editing in the media room when I saw that I had quite a lot of gaps in my video that needed filling. I watched a couple existing media products and saw that it was common for the artist to be seen singing to the camera in front of a colored background. I chose two different backgrounds as shown. I chose the red because red imagery connotes blood and danger in media texts which relates to the theme of decay in my video.

A very common convention of music videos in the electropop genre is the use of shape symbolism. I did not use the exact image shown because I could not find the one I used but this was very similar. 

Costume Ideas

I made a collage of costume ides for my music video. I took inspiration from existing characters such as Effy Stonem from Skins and Jenny Humphrey from Gossip Girl. The look portrays laziness and yet lowkey style.

Magazine Advert Analysis - Kodaline

Makeup Decisions

Along with my two looks - external and internal, I wanted matching makeup looks to further this portrayal. External having a full face of makeup on, altering what she doesnt like. Internal having messy or no makeup on.

Hair Inspiration

For my music videos character, I wanted to portray a certain thing so I researched thoroughly into her look in order to convey that effectively. It was important that she had two sides to her, her external and internal. Her internal look was the messy hair, messy clothed look - portraying her actual self whereas her external look was the perfect hair, perfect makeup image in order to portray her conforming to society.