Ancillary Task- Digipak analysis
Lana Del Rey-Born to Die
Front cover
The main image of the digipak is of the artist. As she is at the centre of this image, it highlights that this project is going to be based around personal experience that she has endured.The image used here also follows Goodwin's theory of creating a star image, the mid shot of Lana, making her a vital aspect of this project, also she is connecting the audience to her music by looking into the camera, this is called direct address, making the audience feel they are getting a glimpse into her life. Moreover, the simplistic colours and background setting used places all of the audience's focus on her. The contrasting of the title colours also creates an eye-catching display for the audience. Furthermore, as the picture is of the artist, her fans are more likely to buy the album. Also the title 'Born to die' creates a melodramatic atmosphere for the album which is may be a main intention of the artist. Her name is also at the top in bold white writing, contrasting to the blue skies in the background, further appealing it to an audience. The fact that Lana's name is more prominent that the title of the project suggest that her name is more of a selling point rather than her actual project. I feel this convention is something that I will use in the formation of my digipak- the artist i used was Selena Gomez, her name is extremely well known so I feel it should be more present than the name of the project. There is also correlation towards the sky in the background picture and the title of the project 'Born to die', insinuating that when you die you reach heaven, adding some religious tones to her music/project
Back of the Digipak
The back of the digipak contains a track list, these are lists conventionally placed on the back of the digipak detailing the name of tracks that are included in the album. The text used here is the same font and colour as the front of the digipak , maintaining the connotations of colour and font being used. Furthermore, the font is also in bold like the front of the digipak. The background colours used here are the same as her white shirt on the front cover, the contrasting colours between the white and the blue places the focus on the song titles. The back of the digipak is very much simplistic with no photography or graphics used. This is something I would like to include in my digipak, I feel the simplistic look still captures the audience's interest yet still allows for correct information to be displayed without it being too busy.
CD
Immediately we see a graphic of a roses, this is the only detailing other than the cream coloured background. The colour of red can be symbolic of many things but for this project it is mostly representative of love and passion, Lana is known for her deep, emotional lyrics. So again following Goodwin's theory of the relationship between lyrics and visuals. Further more the colour palette of Red, Blue and white is very much symbolic of the american flag, with Lana having north american roots, she is somewhat paying homage her homeland and displaying her sense of patriotism, this can further be seen in the song title "National Anthem". Moreover, the image of the rose can be closely related to the title of the album 'Born to die' as it can also be an image of danger/death. Roses have thorns which can be dangerous to humans- perhaps relating to the sad experiences she details in her melancholic lyrics.
Contents
The back of the digipak contains a track list, these are lists conventionally placed on the back of the digipak detailing the name of tracks that are included in the album. The text used here is the same font and colour as the front of the digipak , maintaining the connotations of colour and font being used. Furthermore, the font is also in bold like the front of the digipak. The background colours used here are the same as her white shirt on the front cover, the contrasting colours between the white and the blue places the focus on the song titles. The back of the digipak is very much simplistic with no photography or graphics used. This is something I would like to include in my digipak, I feel the simplistic look still captures the audience's interest yet still allows for correct information to be displayed without it being too busy.
CD
Immediately we see a graphic of a roses, this is the only detailing other than the cream coloured background. The colour of red can be symbolic of many things but for this project it is mostly representative of love and passion, Lana is known for her deep, emotional lyrics. So again following Goodwin's theory of the relationship between lyrics and visuals. Further more the colour palette of Red, Blue and white is very much symbolic of the american flag, with Lana having north american roots, she is somewhat paying homage her homeland and displaying her sense of patriotism, this can further be seen in the song title "National Anthem". Moreover, the image of the rose can be closely related to the title of the album 'Born to die' as it can also be an image of danger/death. Roses have thorns which can be dangerous to humans- perhaps relating to the sad experiences she details in her melancholic lyrics.
As you can see the contents of the leaflet is mainly lyrical content of the songs included within the project. Again, the colour theme of the album is very much present here too complimented with a simplistic background. However, there is also detail of blood on the pages, this could be representative of the emotional, physical and mental obstacles she translates through her music, furthermore taking on a more literal sense that her 'blood, sweat and tears' had gone into this project. The lyrics are also in a typewriter font which differs from the main cover, giving it a more personal feel.
Rihanna-Loud
Front Cover
The image used here is an Close up of Rihanna's face, the close up also follows Goodwin's theory, this is the idea that the close up creates a relationship between the artists and the audience. Furthermore, the picture also has features which attract the audience, the contrast of the red tones of her hair and lips and her tanned skin makes the image aesthetically pleasing. Moreover, this image follows the idea of Laura Mulvey's 'Male Gaze', Rihanna can be seen bare shouldered and modelling a red lip, this can be symbolic of seductiveness. In addition to this, the fact that Rihanna can be seen to be looking down could be representative of a sense of innocence and shyness, creating a vulnerability to this cover. This also this encourages the audience to look down where coincidentally the main title is placed 'Loud'- the bold colours used here also coincide with the albums title which could be Rihanna highlighting her personality. The typography used here is similar to that of Lana's , the artist's name and album name, however In contrast to Lana's the albums name is much larger than the Rihanna's name. Perhaps insinuating that her name in small bold is enough for consumers to buy her album, further implying how much of a powerful artist she is.
Rihanna-Loud
Front Cover
The image used here is an Close up of Rihanna's face, the close up also follows Goodwin's theory, this is the idea that the close up creates a relationship between the artists and the audience. Furthermore, the picture also has features which attract the audience, the contrast of the red tones of her hair and lips and her tanned skin makes the image aesthetically pleasing. Moreover, this image follows the idea of Laura Mulvey's 'Male Gaze', Rihanna can be seen bare shouldered and modelling a red lip, this can be symbolic of seductiveness. In addition to this, the fact that Rihanna can be seen to be looking down could be representative of a sense of innocence and shyness, creating a vulnerability to this cover. This also this encourages the audience to look down where coincidentally the main title is placed 'Loud'- the bold colours used here also coincide with the albums title which could be Rihanna highlighting her personality. The typography used here is similar to that of Lana's , the artist's name and album name, however In contrast to Lana's the albums name is much larger than the Rihanna's name. Perhaps insinuating that her name in small bold is enough for consumers to buy her album, further implying how much of a powerful artist she is.
Back of digipak
Much like Lana's back cover, It contains the conventionally placed track list of songs included in the album. Famous features have also been mentioned within the titling of songs. For example, artists like Drake, Eminem and Nicki Minaj, whom are all rappers, have been mention. The fact the majority of features on songs are mainly rappers also indicates that this album is of R&B genre. The Red and Pink tones from the front of the album are also carried through to the back. The light pink wash of the image underlines the beauty and love themes which are very present throughout her song i.e. 'California King Bed' 'Man Down'. Font used here is also the same as the front cover, except a dark pink is used, this places audience's focus on the song titles, a similar convention used in Lana's back cover.
Contents
Here we see a large picture of Rihanna extended over 3 pictures. The image places the focus on Rihanna, the busy background of a rose bush is contrasted with her body delicately lying on them. However, the fact she is laying on the roses suggests that she is in love, however the thorns of the roses could be symbolic of the dangers love has caused her, She seems to embracing them. This could be further representative of her weakness that she experienced when she was in a relationship. We know that Rihanna was domestically abused by her partner Chris Brown in 2009 so this could be her trying to illustrate and sonically explain her struggle.
CD
The CD contains a graphic of a rose bulb, the fact it focuses on the petals suggests that the music on the CD is quite vulnerable to Rihanna. Furthermore, water details on the petals can be seen, this could be interpreted as Rihanna's 'tears' literally speaking she has shared so much emotional detailing within her songs. It also contains credits of people attached to the production of the album, also naming her label too.
Overall I think that both of these albums followed conventions of contemporary digipaks, they each have a consistent theme running throughout their projects which is maintained and not lost. I now have a clear understanding of what conventions I would like to use and perhaps challenge within my own ancillary task.
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