Updated Ancillary Texts Video

This is the ancillary text video that holds the newest and final versions of my ancillary texts. In this post is also images showing the panels of the digipak side by side for a more real feel.

Revised Updates of Ancillary Texts

Upon completing my digipak and advert I took a step back and looked at it as if I was a member of the public coming across the advert in a magazine or seeing the digipak instore/online. From this I found that all aspects of both texts worked quite successfully with an exception of the font choices for the name of my artist and for the 'Out Now' and nme quote. I think these didn't work very well because they were all quite plain and 'comic sansy' and didn't reflect the style of the artist or the quirky indie nme character. Therefore I went back onto dafont.com and looked for a font that would reflect my artist. Out of selecting a range of possible fonts I decided on a 40's style font called 'Noir Et Blanc' for the artist name as it has much more of a character and I think the overall image for the artist with the short classic hair and soft make up with the focus on her bright eyes gives her a 40's feel. I used this font on both the digipak and the magazine advert. Also, for the 'Out Now' and nme quote I used a similar 40's style font called 'Night Club'. This worked well alongside the font choice for the artist name, as it ties in visually to give a sense of continuity and it is clear and easy to read yet its sharp angles I think give it a quirky style that works well with the NME reputation for being modern, sharp and individual.
The final edit I made was to shrink the artist name and album title on the magazine advert as I felt it covered too much of the width of the advert with no room around the edges, by shrinking it slightly it just made it appear neater and more succinct.

Final Pieces: Music Video and Ancillary Texts

MAGAZINE ADVERT

OUTSIDE RIGHT PANEL (FRONT COVER)

OUTSIDE CENTRE PANEL (TRACK LISTING)


OUTSIDE LEFT PANEL (THANK YOU's)

INSIDE RIGHT PANEL

INSIDE CENTRE PANEL

INSIDE LEFT PANEL

VIDEO OF ANCILLARY TEXTS

MUSIC VIDEO

Ancillary Texts - Work In Progress

These are the original images for my ancillary texts.

The first two images were taken up against the wall in the bedroom that was used in the bedroom scene within the music video. By using the same location for the music video and ancillary texts I am ensuring continuity, also this means there will be very similar lighting maintaining the same warm lighting effects in both the music video and ancillary texts. With this first image i flipped it vertically so that she was looking up to the left and used it as the right panel on the inside cover if the digipak.

The second image is located on the left hand panel for the inside cover. These would work as the two girls that frame the 'doodles' as shown in the planning/sketched ideas for the digipak. In order to strengthen these images i played with the brightness, saturation and contrast of the two images. To smooth the facial detail and make it almost seem as though the image has been sketched i used the 'dust and scratches' filter with a raduis of 14 pixels. But so as to avoid losing the detail on the eyes, earrings and lips i used a combination of the selection tool and layering to copy the original versions of these areas of the image to an above layer so that they weren't affected by the 'dust and scratches' filter. Then to ensure good quality i used the eraser tool on different strengths to tidy up any visible changes in texture between the two sets of images. To further perfect the images and to make the girl look more 'perfect' i used the clone stamp tool to copy clear areas of skin over blemishes and the bags under her eyes. Finally in order to follow the plan I initially created I cropped the images slightly

so just over half her face was visible on each image.

The following two images were for use on the outside panels of the digipak. This image is the image to be used on the front cover. I have pulled away from the original plan for my front cover and back panel as I thought it would be a better idea to keep the locations the same as the locations in the video for continuity and to strengthen the Ruth Bewsey 'brand'.

Therefor I took this image with the the front cover of Tristan Prettyman's album 'Hello...x' in mind. I liked the idea of personalising the album to the audience through the simple placemement of artist

name and album title in the direction of the artists mouth. So i took this image ensuring that the main detail was on the right third so that there would be room to place the artist name and title along the left and centre thirds. In order to smooth the image and increase the quality i once again played with brightness, contrast and saturation and used the clone stamp tool to perfect the skin quality. I also used a light filter to bring out the detail on the artists hair and face and to also dim the background so that the artists face was a strong centre of focus.

The image with the inclusion of the guitar, amp and suitcase follows the initial sketch/plan. I wanted to include props used in the video so as to increase continuity, also the guitar is an iconic image that the target audience aspire to.

The lighting in the drama studio was fantastic and made the quality of this image really good. The only problem i encountered was that by taking the image side on the dimensions did not fit the required dimensions of the 12.4x12.4cm panel and i really needed the main detail to be on the right third of the image so that the 'thank you speech' could be shaped around the left of the image. Therefore to fix this issue i had to use the clone stamp tool to draw the background across to the left, this was tricky as I had to draw in some of the suitcase and there was a huge risk of this looking badly photoshopped and clearly not real, so it took a lot of time and effort but with a lot of tweaking i managed to make the canvas fit the dimensions without stretching the image or damaging the quality. In order to make sure that the shading and warmth of the image was the same as that of the front cover i once again had to alter brightness contrast and saturation slightly.

These images are scans of the original hand drawn images that were to be used on the CD and in the inside centre panel. Once scanned in i opened the images up in photoshop and cut out each individual picture into a new layer. Once each in a new layer i took a sample of the yellowish background colour from the right panel with the eyedropper tool and with the paint bucket tool i filled in the white areas with this, i left some areas white as it gave the images a varying texture. Once i had done this with each image i could copy the layers on to the blank canvas that i had for the centre third and through the use of the 'free transform' tool i could resize and play with the angle/perspective of each image until they were framed on the page in a way i liked. This was probably the most time consuming part of the digipak making process but when it was done i think it worked perfectly.

I also used the flower flourishes across each of the outside panels, i altered the colour/opacity of them to fit each panel as
i wanted. This created an ongoing theme to the digipak.
Finally on every panel i used a sandy texture and altered the opacity of the image and placed it on the top layer on each photoshop file for each panel. This gave the digipak an earthy texture and also emphasised the natural/beach theme created throughout.














For my magazine advert I used the image from the right inside panel of the digipak. In order for it to fit into A4 dimensions i cropped the image, taking away her shoulder and some of the negative space on the left third of the image. With this the girls face takes up the centre and right thirds of the image, leaving the left third to hold information. I also copied the sand texture onto the image to keep up continuity and make the advert aesthetically pleasing. On a new layer I copied the NME logo from the website and modified it to get rid of any white background around the logo using the magic selection tool. I also copied a white star off of the internet with a black outline and modified it using the paint bucket tool to make it a matching red to that of the NME logo. I then duplicated the star four times and spaced them equally apart cantred above the NME logo. Above this i placed a quote to appear as though it was from NME magazine saying 'An andgelic voice. Not to be missed' and 'OUT MARCH 10th'. For both sets of writing i used relatively plain fonts as I wanted them to appear neutral, easy to read and to not draw too much attention away from the main title. The black font colour against the sandy background popped out well and made the information very easy to read. I centred these two pieces of text to keep the layout neat and tidy. For the artist and album title i used the same font styles and colours used in the digipak. I placed them at the top of the picture and made the artist name the width of the A4 page, this way it captures the audiences attention. I then placed the album title underneath this but slightly smaller so as to avoid cramping the piece, also as it is quite a short title if i stretched it to the width of the advert it may look over stretched and unnatural. So i placed it below with the same size font as the artist name and centred it beneath so as to keep the balance even on each side and to further give an overall 'neat' feel to the advert.

Digipak Planning

Through researching the layout of cd packaging by similar artists i decided that i definitely wan't to use a cardboard digipak as opposed to the jewel case style packaging because i feel it reflects the earthy feel of the genre better, and i also think they are much more original than the jewel case and i personally find them more appealing.

I have decided upon the three panel style digipak mainly because of the idea i have for the inside panels. This idea is described below, and i feel it wouldn't work so well with a two panel digipak. Therefore for the front cover i decided to use a similar approach to the front cover of albums by artists such as Beth Orton, Tristan Prettyman and Colbie Calliat (these covers can be found in the collage on previous post). The front cover will be a naturalistic image of the artist in natural surroundings, this will promote the artists image, and in this style it will promote it positively avoiding objectification. Also in the style of Tristan Prettyman's cover for her album 'Hello...x' I have placed the artist name and title beside her face as it will appear as though she is speaking her album title. The artist name may end up in another placing on the front cover if there is a lack of space and the two titles look cramped together, but the album title will stay in the planned area. The artist name will be written in a clear, printed yet delicate font to keep it easy to read but that will reflect the delicate feel of the artist and her music. The album title on the other hand will be in a font that appears hand written, once again adding to that personal feel, and will be decorated with a small hand drawn flower flourish, this will become a type of signifier throughout the digipak that will be found on most panels and would be something that would be used on future albums, adverts merchandise etc. to create an identity for the artist.

This image will follow on onto the second panel so that when opened up the two panels create one elongated image. On the second panel will not be any part of the artist but it will just be a landscape image, personalised once again with the hand drawn flourishes. Hopefully due to the natural, earthy feel in combination with the genre convention it will be able to stand alone successfully as a single image taking up a whole panel. On the final panel will be the track listing, this will be kept simple with no photography to add variance to the view and texture of the digipak. But to avoid the panel being too simple the flower flourishes will be once again added to create a personal and naturalistic element.

For the inside of the digipak i decided to create a personal connection between the artist and the audience through the use of hand drawn cartoons, scribbles, phrases etc. including images that relate to the song 'Sail Away'. These will be presented as the artists own and as if they are snippets of her own personal thoughts., this makes the audience feel as though they have an insight into the artists personal life, ultimately giving them the impession that they feel a stronger personal connection to the artist. This idea i took from the Jason Mraz album 'We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.' To further emphasise the impression that these drawings are the artists own thoughts I decided to use photo images of the artist at both the left and right, framing the drawings, these images will be one half of her head each on each side, therefore it will appear as though these 'thoughts' are streaming directly out from her head. This is the reason for the requirement of 3 panels, as they wouldn't fit well on a two panel digipak without the 'thought' section being separated by a fold crease. The CD will slip in a pocket inside the centre panel of the digipak. This way it won't corrupt any of the album art. On the CD there will be hand drawn flower flourishes like what will be found throughout the digipak, it will also contain scribbles much like those found on the inside of the digipak alongside the artist name and album title.

Upon revising my original pan for my digipak above i realised there were some mistakes in the layout that needed reworking, being the order of the panels on the outside cover of the digipak. As they were the front cover would be found on the back of the digipak and the extended image would be seen as the front cover, also the track listing would be the inside panel, this would be an unconventional way of presenting the digipak and wasn't what i had planned as i want to follow the layout conventions to avoid confuzing the audience and putting them off purchasing the album. I also scrapped the idea of the extended image for fear it wouldn't stand strong enough alone, also it wouldn't work with the conventional layout as with the track listings in the centre panel the two panels containing the image would be separated. So on the third panel i decided to have a photo of the artist 'behind the scenes' in the drama studio setting of the actual music video. This gives a greater variance and once again adds to the personalised feel that the audience will appreciate. Therefore below is the revised layout plan.


Upon revision i also decided to move where the actual CD will be placed in the digipak, it will now be placed in the centre panel of the inside of the digipak. As the CD has quite similar images to that on the centre panel of the digipak i have decided to keep the image exactly the same on the CD as it would be found on the centre panel, this way with the CD placed in the centre it will still show the same image as will be found when it is taken out of the case.

I also forgot to mention the overall theme/ colour scheme of the image although it is mentioned in the hand drawn plan. There will be an overall colour scheme, of sepia/warm sandy colours and pastel blues to link once again to the earthy naturalistic convention of the genre, it is also the colours of summer and the sea which once again ties the digipak artwork to the song. There will be a sandy texture on the digipak panels aswell to give further variance and generally a nice look to the digipak. This also prevents the panel with track listings from being too plain.

Digipak Reviews and Planning

Using the internet I have found a selection of CD and digipak covers from similar folk/alternative artists that link to my artist and her style of music. I did this instead of looking around for interesting digipak formats so that I could understand what style of cover art and what form of packaging is often used to represent the genre. Here are the covers I found.

Without looking at the format in which the albums come in and focussing entirely on the cover art and putting them all in a collage like this I can clearly see a pattern emerge in the styles. The majority of the images have a very warm, earthy colour palette or the images represent nature and the earth for instance the moth on the Ani DeFranco album ‘Evolve’ which is pictured third down on the left. Another example is Poi Dog Ponderings self titled album (two across from the Ani DeFranco album) which pictures an abstract cartoon image of a tree with skeletons representing the roots and trunk of the tree, also on the image there is a drawing of an eye, other flowers, a bird and a human silhouette.
16/27 of this selection of cover art contains the artist on the cover, showing that the majority use this to promote the image of the artist as opposed to art reflecting their music. This may be something to consider when planning my digipak, although from looking at these images I personally find the covers not focussing on the artist are much more interesting and aesthetically pleasing, this is also something to consider.

For my artist I am aiming towards creating a form of digipak as opposed to the bog-standard jewel case because I feel a digipak is much more exciting with the potential to be a great keepsake and something that can be much more personal to the artist making the consumer feel as though from purchasing this they have purchased a special part of the artists mind, and it is just generally far more artistic. This digipak for Imogen Heaps album ‘Speak for Yourself’ I think has a combination of good and bad points that I can learn from. For instance, I don’t like how heavily the album promotes the artist with every cover consisting of an image of her. But what I do like about the digipak is the colour scheme and how it reflects her music. The front cover is mainly white but it contains lots of colourful pink, yellow and blue spots surrounding the cartoon image of her, and this is similar on the CD but with horizontal lines as well as spots. This keeps the picture crisp and clean yet upbeat, this reflects the fresh feel-good and optimistic feel of her music. Then the back cover contains a red/pink/yellow colour palette and gives a very warm feel, it reminds me of a sunset, in a way this also reflects her music as it is soothing much like a sunset. All so a sunset represents the end which I like as the back cover is literally the end of the digipak. The one thing I like most about this digipak though is the way the booklet is held. The front cover of the booklet is a picture of Heap riding a bike, once again the colour scheme is very warm, but I like the way it is slotted into the cover and together they make a bigger image revealing more of the bike.

This is another digipak, for the album ‘We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things’ by Jason Mraz. This digipak is quite different from the previous. Firstly the colour scheme is entirely black and white, there is no photography included at all. All images are hand drawings created by the artist himself. This puts a personal spin on the album that I think the consumers would appreciate as it makes them feel they have a personal insight into the artist’s life and mind. There is also a limited edition version of the album containing a bonus CD and DVD containing 10 of the albums songs unrefined when they were originally recorded for an EP including other songs that didn’t make the album, the DVD contains his full live concert, and these extras give the consumer an even deeper personal touch. The hand drawn cartoons and sketchy writing I think reflects Mraz’s music perfectly, it’s very quirky, cheeky and raw as is his music. The front cover is extremely simple which not many artists could pull off, but it works solely for the fact that his music has enough personality that the album doesn’t need a complex design to make up for any lack of. What this digipak tells me is that in order to make it successful it needs to show the artists personal style as closely as possible.

This is the digipak for the album ‘Hello…x’ by Tristan Prettyman. This artist I find most similar to my artist with a very similar voice and music style. The digipak for this album is very simple and straightforward, there are no quirky personal aspects like there is in the Mraz album, but nonetheless it works. I like how simple and neat the back cover is, a plain blue background with a very plain font used for the song titles which are placed neatly in the left third of the cover with a margin – much like a list as it would be seen typed out on a word processor. The front cover, even though it uses a cool blue for its background and black and blue fonts, it doesn’t give off a ‘cold’ feel as I would expect with this colour scheme. The warmth is given to the cover through the placement and expression of the artists face, a simple trick. She appears entirely at ease and natural which warms the cover. I like the way different colours are used for the artist name and album title while they are of the same font and size on the same line, it adds to the crisp, simple and uncomplicated feel of the digipak. I also like the way it is placed next to her mouth, as if she is literally saying ‘Hello’. Once again there is a margin on the left the same width as with the back reverse cover, this simply emphasises the neat organised theme. Again the simplicity is shown through the actual CD, pure black with ‘Hello…x’ written on it in the same font, size and colour as it is on the front cover. On the cover where the CD is pulled out from there is an image of the artist once again, her head is almost completely cut off, but her arm reaches up from the bottom right towards the top left corner of the cover, in this position it looks like her arm is reaching for the ‘Hello…x’ on the CD which is tucked behind but slightly visible where the CD peeks out of it’s slot. This once again attaches her person to the words being said, like with the front cover. I like the idea of the visual attachment between the artist and the words.

Labels

Evaluation, G325, Planning digipak cover, Planning magazine advertisement for digipak, Planning music video, Research into the music industry, Research into target audience