Student analysis for digipaks and adverts

1. STUDENT ANALYSIS FOR
DIGIPAKS AND ADVERTS
By Jade Dowse

2. INTRODUCTION
• I will analyse and describe some digipaks and adverts that have
been designed by other students for their coursework piece. I will
see what they have done regarding meeting the conventions of
digipaks and adverts, as well as meeting the generic conventions
of digipaks and adverts for their particular genre.

3. FIRST ANALYSIS OF DIGIPAK AND
ADVERT
Advert CD
Outside Digipak
Inside Digipak

4. INTRODUCTION
• The first advert and digipak that I am going to analyse is Coldplay’s ‘Up in Flames’
by a group of students from De Aston in 2012/13. The genre that they have used is
rock. It is evident that it is made for the rock genre - as stereotypically rock digipaks
and adverts have low key lighting. There are some features that are commonly used
in rock digipaks and adverts, such as the colours of black – especially in clothing and
the use of signs and symbols in their artwork. These ancillary tasks promote the
artist as the choice of images are striking to look at. The artist’s name and album
name is boldly specified so promoting the artist.

5. MISE EN SCÈNE
• The Mise en Scene used in the advert and the digipak is very simple, as the visuals are shown in silhouettes or
casting shadows.
• Costume – The costume used isn’t obvious as it is in silhouette. The audience will only know who the artist is
by looking at the text rather than the visuals. The costume in the inside cover looks formal as the tie stands
out on the artist at the piano.
• Lighting – The lighting is low key and suits the title. The drum that is set up in a studio has controlled lighting
- as the drum is lit up and the colours can be changed. This meets the generic conventions of rock being
posed in a light controlled studio.
• Actors – The artist strikes a pose that connotes strength and power.
• Make up – There is no make-up seen in the digipak and advert as the lighting casts the person into shadow -
so no make-up is identifiable.
• Props – There is only musical instruments that are props used by the artist. This meets the conventions of rock
and the audience instantly recognise that they are musical artists who play instruments.
• Setting – There are two settings that are seen in the digipak and the advert. The advert and front cover of the
digipak have an external setting (taken from the video) for the fire and the silhouette. The drum and piano are
set in a studio, as a neutral background can be created and the lighting can be controlled.

6. CHOICE OF IMAGES
• The main image for this advert is of a piano that is set on fire; linking to the title of
the album and song. This is a shot that is in their music video and is a recurring
theme throughout it. The dark silhouette and the dark borders with the light
centralised is creative. It is creatively made with a black and white colour scheme.
This image is used for the front cover of their digipak and the audience can instantly
link the digipak to the advertisement. The back cover uses another image from their
music video of a drum where water is being sprayed everywhere. I think this is
creative as instead of just seeing the artist hit the drum, you can visually see a focal
point of the water frozen in action. The red colour scheme connotes the fire and
flame theme, just like the title of the album as they have photoshopped this colour
onto the image.

7. FONT AND COLOUR
• I think the fonts and colours used reflect the artist’ style as they have used a black
and white colour scheme with white font against a black background, which stands
out to the audience. Red is used on the back cover and inside cover of the digipak
and on the CD. For the advert there is one font colour – red – for the wording ‘Out
Now’ which connotes fire and danger which is the theme of the video. The black
background casts shadows and makes the digipak and advert enigmatic. For
example, the inside cover shows shadows cast on the artist at the piano. There is
only one font used and is used to its best advantage on the title. They used the
same font for the copyright information, and as the font looks professional it is
suitable. However, I feel the important copyright information should have a different
font style to the other written information, so it connotes its legality.

8. TARGET AUDIENCE APPEAL
• These ancillary tasks would be targeted at a predominantly male
audience as the lighting and concept would branch out to young -
thirtysomething males. The artist is young and male and so he
could be seen as a role model for the younger male thus making
them attracted to buying the album. This age group would also
be the target audience for music magazines so would access
music adverts.

9. CONVENTIONS MET OR
CHALLENGED – ADVERTS
• They have mostly met the conventions of adverts to a good
standard.
• The conventions of adverts they have met are the use of the main
image from the music video to attract the audience’s attention.
• They have featured the artist’s name and the album name, record
label, the release date which uses ‘Out Now’ and websites along
with the main image.
• There are additional things that could have been included like
reviews, but these would be optional things as the main features
are present within the advert.
Artist’s name and
Album name
Release Date
Main Image
Record Label
Websites
Where it can
be bought

10. CONVENTIONS MET OR
CHALLENGED – DIGIPAKS
• The digipak meets the conventions,
with the use of the album name,
artist’s name and main image for
the front cover.
• The back cover has the barcode,
record label, copyright information
and the track listing which are in the
correct placement.
• The visuals on the CD itself are
cleverly edited, as there is an image
of a fire and the CD has the main
conventions such as the record
label and the artist and album
name.
Artist’s name
and Album
name
Main Image
Track List
Back Image
Barcode
Copyright information
and record label
Title of album
and artist’s
name
Record Label
Simple Image

11. GENERIC CONVENTIONS
• For the generic conventions of rock adverts and digipaks they have met and
challenged these generic conventions, such as meeting the convention of
using low key lighting. The choice of clothing, however, does not meet the
usual conventions of rock.
• They have used usual settings such as the studio for the musical performance
and one shot of a natural setting (taken from the video) for the main image
of a fire. They have also used the stereotypical font and font placement.

12. BRAND IDENTITY
• The brand identity is evident in these ancillary tasks as the lighting and the props
used are the same throughout and are used in the music video. They have used the
same features for all of their ancillary tasks and for each of their covers - such as the
font, font colour and the kind of images that they use. There is a recurring theme of
fire, which is connoted by the colours of red as well as the visual of a flame so that it
links to the title of the album.

13. USE OF ICT
• Photoshop skills have creatively made two ancillary tasks that relate to each other
with brand identity. The placement of the features is what you would expect
stereotypically as the sizing of the text is right - and logos are expected to be small
and be at the bottom of the advert. The digipak also shows that they have taken
into consideration the conventions and placement of the features, as the advert has
the image as the main focus - followed by the text of the title and artist’s name.

14. CREATIVITY
• In my opinion, I think that the digipak and advert is creative, especially the back
cover which has the water spraying up into the air and changing in colour to red.
The lighting and the use of the fire matches the title of the song and album, which
uses brand identity throughout the ancillary tasks.

15. IN CONCLUSION
• In conclusion, I think that these ancillary tasks stand out well and should attract their
target audience. Compared to existing products for that artist, this digipak and
advert is different as the original artist just use a subject and rarely have an image of
the artist. In all, these ancillary tasks are eye-catching to the audience - which
should make them want to pick up the album to look at it.

16. SECOND ANALYSIS OF DIGIPAK AND
ADVERT
Advert
Digipak

17. INTRODUCTION
• The second advert and digipak that I am going to analyse is Taylor Swift’s song
‘Red’ that is by another group of De Aston students in 2014/15. Taylor Swift is a
mainstream pop artist and is memorable with her videos and CD covers so this
group of students had to make their digipak and advert to a high quality. I can tell
that it is a pop digipak and advert as most pop artists are stereotypically young and
the fonts used reflect her style. In my opinion, I think it is a good album cover and
advert that is memorable for an audience. The artist is prominent in the artwork
and should appeal to a young, female audience. This helps promote the artist as
the audience can visually see the artist. Also the name of the artist on the advert is
bold and eye catching.

18. MISE EN SCÈNE
• The mise en scene for these ancillary tasks is the most important detail in making them look professional and
realistic, as if something is wrong it would either not reflect the artist’s style or their particular genre.
• Costume - The costume used is casual and is used throughout the digipak and advert. In the digipak they have used
two locations and have used the same clothing. This helps show continuity.
• Lighting - Natural/high key lighting is used to portray a happy scene. The digipak and advert uses natural lighting
throughout so that it links to the music video as well as the genre of pop - as pop digipaks and adverts are
invariably cheerful and use either high key or natural lighting. The sunlight casts shadows of the leaves onto her
hands in the advert.
• Actors – The artist is calm and relaxed as she poses for the camera, reflecting the style of the artist and making the
shots appear natural.
• Make up – Subtle make up is used on the artist to make a positive representation of the artist. The artist looks
glamourous but the monotone image means you can identify make up is being worn but cannot see any colour
choices.
• Props – There are no additional props used, it is just the artist so that the audience’s attention is drawn to her.
• Setting – There are two different settings in the digipak - and the advert uses one of these settings. One is of the
artist by greenery and flowers; and the other is at a beach.

19. CHOICE OF IMAGES
• The choice of images for the front and inside cover are well suited to the artist, as it
gives a representation of the artist to the audience as natural and happy with the
flowers carefully framed around her. The shot of the beach, I feel, is a bit random as
in the music video there is no shot of a beach and this doesn’t suit the rest of the
theme of flowers and nature. The advert uses the same setting as the front and
inside cover of the digipak - with the same colour scheme so that the audience can
identify a link between the advert and digipak.
• The images used are close ups of the artist using the rule of thirds and a mid-shot.

20. FONT AND COLOURS
• Colours – As ‘Red’ is the title of the album - as well as the song, the font for the album name
is in red to connote the title. The black and white colour scheme relates to the artist’s past
work, but I feel there is a deeper connotation as in the music video she is looking back at
memories - and when you look at things in the past this often is represented in black and
white. Therefore, I think the colours are chosen well for the main image. The black writing
for the artist’s name, however, doesn’t stand out which I think should be in a brighter colour
or moved to a different position.
• Font – There are three different fonts used in the digipak. One is used for the album name
‘Red’ which is bold and striking so that the audience can read it and the colour matches the
word. The other font is used throughout the whole of the digipak for things such as the
artist’s name and the track list. It is formed like handwriting which may connote a personal
touch. The final font is used at the bottom rear of the digipak where it is detailing the legal
requirements. This is a small, ordinary style font. The information has to be included for
legal reasons but does not have an effect on the choice to buy the product. The advert uses
the first two fonts described for the digipak. This creates brand identity.

21. TARGET AUDIENCE APPEAL
• The target audience for the digipak and advert is young females
due to the choice of framing, the images with flowers and due to
the artist being a young female. This can also reach out to
secondary audiences but from the choice of shots and the mise en
scene, it is more targeted at a young, female audience who could
identify with the artist.

22. CONVENTIONS MET OR
CHALLENGED – DIGIPAK
• The digipak has met many conventions.
• With the front cover, they have met all the
conventions by using the album name and
artist’s name along with the main image. This
is the same for the spine as there is the use of
the record label.
• The back cover is what you would expect of a
CD cover, as there is the legal details at the
bottom in the usual font style, the barcode and
the record company. The track list is the main
focus of the back cover as this information is
important to the audience.
• The placement of the text and other images is
stereotypically usual. The inside cover includes
a note of thanks which can be optional for
some CDs, but in this CD I think it works well.
Main Image
Album name
Artist’s name
Track List
Barcode Copyright information and record
label
A note of
thanks
Back
Image

23. CONVENTIONS MET OR
CHALLENGED – ADVERT
• The advert meets many conventions
such as specifying the album and
artist’s name, including some single
titles, the record label, the website
and social media details. There is
also a release date, in this case ‘Out
Now’. They have met most of the
common conventions, as other
details such as including where it
could be purchased and reviews
about the album are not included –
although not necessary.
Main Image
Release Date
Artist’s name Album name
Websites
Record Label

24. GENERIC CONVENTIONS
• They have met many generic conventions of pop as they have
used high key lighting, casual clothing, common camera shots for
this genre by way of pose and expression. This can alert the
audience that this digipak and advert is for the genre of pop.

25. BRAND IDENTITY
• The brand identity of the digipak, advert and video is obvious as
they have used the same colour scheme and fonts – so that the
audience can easily recognise that the particular style belongs to
that artist.

26. USE OF ICT
• Their Photoshop skills are good as they have added a variety of effects to their
images such as the monochrome effect and the coloured flowers used in the CD
image which provides the only colour to the digipak.
• The advert also uses the same editing techniques. However, from analysing the
advert with the rest of my class we came to the conclusion that the group have
edited more flowers at the bottom to subtlety suit the theme. However we thought
it should be one long image. I would have copied the patterns of the flowers so
that it would appear longer or have retaken the shot.

27. CREATIVITY
• The creativity of the ancillary tasks is very
imaginative and promotes the artist effectively.
The use of monochrome is the same as what the
actual artist uses in ‘Red’ and makes the audience
remember the style and want to buy that CD.
Some things could be improved that I have
already specified, but in all the album and digipak
are creatively put together. This reflects the
theme of the music video, as when the actor
reminisces about the past she is in the countryside
horse-riding through fields, so the flowers used in
the ancillary tasks reflect the natural theme.

28. IN CONCLUSION
• In conclusion, I think that the digipak and advert promotes the artist sufficiently.
They have edited the ancillary tasks well which links to the music video. The group
have thought about the conventions of digipaks and adverts and the generic
conventions of pop and acted on them. The brand identity is evident throughout
and they have tried to relate to the artist’s style.

29. THIRD ANALYSIS OF DIGIPAK AND
ADVERT
Advert Digipak

30. INTRODUCTION
• My third and final analysis is of a digipak and advert. I will be
analysing Madness’s ‘Our House’ by a group of De Aston
students in 2013/2014, which is of the genre Ska and Pop. Ska
originated in Jamaica and combines the elements of Caribbean
mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues.
• After looking at Ska album covers online, this group’s ancillary
tasks have met many of the conventions of Ska. They have
carefully considered all aspects of their digipak and advert. They
have taken into account costume, stereotypical colours for the
genre and composition. All these factors taken into
consideration allow the promotion of the artist to fans through
the ease of recognition of the product through the meeting of
recognised conventions.

31. MISE EN SCÈNE
• The Mise en Scene of the digipak and advert is cleverly edited and thought about when taking the main
images and when thinking of the setting.
• Costume – The costume is the same costume that is used within the music video and the rest of the cast
behind the artist are in similar clothing. The artist is wearing the stereotypical clothing that would be worn
for this genre such as the ‘porkpie’ hat so it is evident to the audience that this album is for that particular
genre.
• Lighting – As the background is set in a studio it is plain white, and studio lit to suit the situation.
• Actors – The artist stands at the front of the group and is a young man with relaxed body language – hands
in pockets. He is supported by people of a similar age who stand behind him thus playing a subsidiary role.
They present a fun, young image which suits the song.
• Make up – There is no makeup evident within these ancillary tasks.
• Props – There are no props used within these ancillary tasks
• Setting – There is no external settings, apart from a brick wall shown on the inside cover of the CD, which
brings about connotations of streets and alleyways - and thus a working class feel.

32. CHOICE OF IMAGES
• The main images within these ancillary tasks are just of the artist and some of the
cast that are within the music video. The artist is the only one in colour and this
image is used on both the digipak and the advert. The inside cover follows on with
this theme by showing more images of the artist within a white background. The
only image without a white background is on the inside cover of the wall.

33. FONTS AND COLOURS
• The font colours follow the black and white colour scheme with a white background
with black font to make them stand out. The font is of the stereotypical genre for
Ska which is bold and in block capital letters. The title for the artist and the album
name is in a different font with lines going across the words that are bold and large,
which makes the text stand out. The font for the copyright information is different
and is small as this information is not so important to the buyer, but a legal
requirement. The only thing that is in colour is the artist himself as the rest of the
cast is in washed out tones, to show to the audience that he is the more dominant
character and is the main focus. The advert uses the same colours and fonts as the
digipak to keep the brand identity. The checker border is stereotypically used in this
genre, so the audience will instantly recognise the product as Ska.

34. TARGET AUDIENCE APPEAL
• The target audience, in my opinion, is young males, as the
costume, colour scheme and composition would appeal to young
males. The artist is also a young male so he could be seen as a
role model to the target audience.

35. CONVENTIONS MET OR
CHALLENGED – DIGIPAK
• This digipak has met many of the
conventions as well as the generic
conventions of Ska.
• The conventions of digipaks have been
met such as the front cover having the
main image, the title of the album and
artist. The spine includes these features as
well as the record label.
• The back cover includes the copyright
information, barcode, record label, website
and the track list. The inside cover has an
image and the lyrics of the song.
Artist’s Name
Album Name
Lyrics
Track List
Main Image
Barcode Copyright Information and
Record Label

36. CONVENTIONS MET OR
CHALLENGED – ADVERT
• The advert meets these conventions
such as the title of the album and the
artist, the release date, rating, record
label, website information and the
main image that is the same image
as the digipak.
• Both of these ancillary tasks have
met most of the conventions of
digipaks and adverts and more,
proving to be a creative yet
professional advert and digipak.
Artist’s name
Album name
Main Image
Websites
Release Date
Ratings
Record Label
Checkerboard
border

37. GENERIC CONVENTIONS
• The generic conventions are clearly shown through the Mise en Scene as the
costumes are what you would see on a Ska digipak and advert. On the back of the
digipak, the costume is a suit and a pork pie hat which is stereotypical for this genre.
The setting of the white background is what you would conventionally see for Ska.
• The layout of the digipak and advert is conventional to the genre as the text of the
artist’s and album name is bold and eye catching in black, block capital letters.
• The checkerboard border is associated with Ska music digipaks and adverts, so is
familiar to fans of this type of music.

38. BRAND IDENTITY
• Brand identity is used throughout such as the colour scheme and
the fonts, so that the audience will instantly know who the artist is
and the genre of the ancillary tasks. The image for the digipak
front cover and the advert are the same - a long shot of the artist
and some of the cast.

39. USE OF ICT
• Their use of ICT is creative as they have edited the piece well, taking into
consideration the conventions of both digipaks and adverts and the generic
conventions of Ska. The use of Photoshop has been used to cleverly edit the shots
to make them stand out. They have portrayed only the artist in colour and the rest
of the actors in washed out tones to make the artist stand out. The placement of all
the features has been thought about and the colour scheme links to the generic
style.
• However, as they have copied and edited the picture onto the background, the
edges - I think - when you look close can be seen. I would have blended the edges
to the background so that they didn’t stand out.

40. CREATIVITY
• The creativity of the piece is good as I think the front cover of the
digipak and the advert is cleverly edited, with the main image
being the main focus. The titles are also bold and eye catching.

41. IN CONCLUSION
• In conclusion, these ancillary tasks are strong and well
researched. They link to the generic style with the colour
scheme and the choice of main image.

42. OVERALL…
• In conclusion, these students’ ancillary tasks which I have studied have helped me
realise what features should be included and how to present them. I especially
noticed that some of the artwork used was creative and cleverly edited.
• I analysed different genres to my own genre - and noticed the devices which they
used to target their audiences. Analysing different genres allowed me to find
common themes for all digipaks and adverts and noticeable differences. Analysing
my particular genre allowed me to recognise the key features I should include.
• Finally I will take into consideration what I have learnt when doing my own tasks.