Choosing a Design

In order to decide how I want my album to look, I researched into different types of digipak:

I have decided that my favourite design is the 4 panel digipak with slot pocket, therefore I will be using it to create the album for my band, DCR.
This is the template for the digipak I will be using.

Digipak Deconstruction Analysis

From deconstructing existing digipaks I have found that there are several generic conventions. I deconstructed "Arctic Monkeys- AM", "Kings of Leon- Come Around Sundown" and "Tame Impala- Lonerism".

All of the digipaks had a clear house style. For example, the Arctic Monkeys digipak had the same black and white graphics running through the whole digipak and similar colours throughout reinforcing the house style. From deconstructing my digipaks and looking at others both online and in stores, I have found that nearly all of them have a house style, meaning my digipak needs to have a house style to fit in with generic conventions.  My house style needs to be attractive and suitable to my target audience.

Another generic convention that I have discovered is that on the spine and usually on the back of a digipak is a symbol representing what record label the band/artist is signed to. Therefore, before I start making my digipak, I need to research different record labels and decide which one would be best for my artist so I can use their symbol on my digipak to make my work look as realistic and professional as possible. 

On the front of the digipak, the band/artist name and album name were usually featured however this was not the case with "Arctic Monkeys- AM". The artists name was displayed however the album name was hidden within an image. The style of the presentation of the band/artist name and album name varied widely from position to font style and colour because of the changing house styles from digipak to digipak.  Coldplays album subverted these conventions. The  band/artist name and album name are usually repeated on the spine of the digipak in the same colour and font style to help enforce the house style.

I have found that the CD's are nearly always part of the artwork of a digipak and not just a plain CD. They are decorated in a style which fits in and compliments the house style. This shows that I need to design the CD of my artist as well in order to have a fully designed digipak and to follow conventions.

On the back of the digipak, the album tracklist is displayed, another generic convention. The layout of these differ due to varying house styles. The tracks are always listed in the order they are played on the album. 

Before deconstructing existing didpaks I assumed that an image/images of the band/artist would feature on the front of the album however I found that my assumption was wrong. Especially within the indie genre it is not typical to see the band/artist on the front of the digipak. I found this was true with all three of my deconstructions. This shows that I do not have to have an image of my band on the front of the album.

I will consider all of these conventions when creating my own digipak in order to make it look as professional and realistic as possible.

Tame Impala Digipak Deconstruction

Kings of Leon Digipak Deconstruction

Arctic Monkeys Digipak Deconstruction

Ancillary Tasks Introduction

In order to promote my music video and band I need to make a a digipak album and promotional poster. I have already decided that I am not going to give the album a visible name. It is quite conventional that a band or artist's first album is self titled.
In order to help me create ideas and to understand the conventions of digipak albums and posters I am going to deconstruct some existing ones.

Choosing a Record Label

After researching into different types of record labels I have decided that the record label that suits my band the most is 'Domino Recording Company' commonly known as 'Domino'. Domino is an independent record label based in London that was founded in 1993. There is also a small wing of the label based in Brooklyn, NY. 

Domino manages mostly Indie Rock and Indie Pop artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand. This is the main reason why I thought my band Dutch Criminal Record would be signed to them. Also the fact that the label is based in London will help give my band a platform and get them more known in a bigger place than just their hometown.

Record Label Research

In the music industry each band/artist is signed to a record label. A record label is a company which is associated with managing a music artist. For example, it would manage the marketing and the production of music and video recordings of the artist that it manages. It also manages the advertisements and promotion of the artists as well as enforcing copyright protection of the band/artists music recordings and videos. They also do things such as marketing albums and singles, promoting album and single releasing by different means such as radio airplay, billboards, flyers, posters etc.

Many artists/bands are extremely reliant on their record label (management) as they do almost everything for them to help them in their careers.

Each artist/band is “signed” to a record label. This means that there is a contract between the management and the artist/band. By signing the contract the record label agrees to invest time and money into the band or artist to get them noticed and out into the spotlight.

There are major record labels and what we call independent record labels. The major record labels are a lot more well-known and usually sign main stream artists, whereas other record labels may be smaller, localized, and known as independent or “indie” record labels. Also major record labels have smaller record labels working within them, for example ‘Epic’ with ‘SONY’.

Major record labels are usually under the management of something called a ‘Music Group’. This is just the larger management that is the ‘boss’ of all the other record labels under its name.

Major Record Labels:

Sony Music Entertainment- Some artists signed to this record label are Olly Murs, Beyoncé, Chris Brown, Pitbull and Willow Smith.
 

EMI Group- Some artists signed to this record label are The Beatles, Coldplay, David Guetta, Katy Perry and The Kooks.
 

Warner Music Group- Some artists signed to this record label are Jason Mraz, Estelle, Bruno Mars and Paolo Nutini.
 

Universal Music Group- Some artists signed to this record label are Billy Ray Cyrus, Black Eyed Peas, Lionel Richie and LMFAO.
 

Independent Record Labels:

• Beatroute Records
• Go! Discs Records
• Launchpad Records
• Pantone Music

Final Music Video: DCR- One Day

Actor Release Forms

The following are my signed actor release forms showing that I have permission to use the footage of each band member in my video.