Digipak

A digipak is a style of packaging for DVDs and CDs that utilises a plastic onto card construction. Generally, they open in a book style, in that the cover is attached by the spine, but not any other conventional locking system. A digipak is actually specific to AGI Media, but is used collectively to describe any style casing which resembles the original 'Digipak'. Probably the main reason for using Digipaks over other storage methods is the cost, but you could also argue it's environmental effectiveness has a part to play, and now, 100% recyclable digipaks utilising PET have been made.

I have designed 3 digipaks for this project, one of which will be a final design which will be fully designed, with the representing images.

The top left panel represents the panel on which the plastic disk tray will be sitting. I have chosen to just place credits to audio engineers and those who have contributed to the album (using false names). The top right panel is the inside cover, opposite the disk tray, and have chosen to leave it blank, for aesthetic reasons. The bottom left panel shows a band playing through the screen of a recording studio, which has been tilted to give an effect of chaos. On the bottom right panel, I have emboldened fonts for the band name and single name to give emphasis.


Like the previous design, I have used the top left panel to display text pertaining to the creation of tracks (audio engineers and others). On the top right panel, I have decided to include a Close up of the Male lead character from the video, to give the buyer a 'connection' with the character. The bottom left panel shows the main character and his partner walking away from each other, in a similar style to that in the video for Who's The enemy. The front cover (bottom right panel) shows the main male character sitting upright in his bed illuminated from behind, creating a silhouette, to imply his feelings of non-conformity.

As with all of the other designs, I have used the space where the CD will be placed to display the names of those involved with production (fictional, obviously). The top right panel is to be left blank, as I could not decide on an image that worked with the other two. The bottom left panel shows a similar image to that of the cover of the previous design, however, I have decided to make it the full size of the panel instead, for dramatic effect. The Front cover I have redesigned many times, mainly moving the text around. The design above is not actually representative of what I had envisioned. I would move the Feeder logo above the Males head, and 'Who's the enemy' to below the Female, as a sort of rhetorical question.

Digipak Analysis

Here we can observe a simple layout, with the use of graphics (for example, the logos) with images (technically only one image). I like the use of strong, bold colour, but, I feel that it is a little too repetitive. The two main images on this digipak are essentially the same, minus the slight changes in appearance. Thus it seems very uncreative and therefore unoriginal., especially since it is a six sided digipak.

This is another 6 sided digipak, however, this one is from a band that shares a relatively similar genre. The 'Acoustic' label melds with the guitar on the front, to give you an idea of the content. The creative use of viewpoints in the images shown adds a sense of intrigue, and the simplicity of the design aids this. I think that I would aim to create a digipak more like this than of the Distorture digipak.

Music Video Comparison

Feeder are a band that have rapidly changed their music style throughout their career, diverging from Grungy Hard rock to their softer anthemic style as of late. This was triggered by the suicide of Jon Lee, one of the original members, and good friend to Grant Nicholas. A lot of the music the band produced after his suicide focuses on him. For example, Grant Nicholas wrote the song (and album to which it is named after) 'Quickfade' and dedicated it to Jon, while the album focused on issues such as depression, loss and positivity. Pushing the Senses is described by Grant as an extension to Comfort in Sound, and therefore has the same mix of slow and fast tracks.

Feeder - Feeling A Moment


This music video is one of the sources of inspiration for my music video. The music at the start is actually being played backwards, which is why Grant is seen walking backwards. Which helped me think about the storyline for my music video. I want to make the two characters seem seperated and leading similarly seperate lives. Therefore the introduction emphasises the main character's laziness, as the shot rapidly slows down when he makes his first appearance. I am led to believe that the video itself has been slowed down to around 70%-80% or it's original speed, to allow Grant to walk that slow but keep in fluid motion, as well as the other characters that appear and disappear. This slowness creates an atmosphere which accurately reflects the pace and style of the song.

Grant rarely looks at the camera, and this shows his passive side, two which the main character in my video will also show. It could also show his evasion of others, as well as a general lack of confidence.

I think that I may also use some similar shots, such as when grant walks down the road. But, a lot of the shots used are swooping shots or pans, and to achieve the same stability, I would need a crane or steadicam, and I have access to neither.

Another video which has inspired my thoughts is Keane's 'A Bad dream':


This video uses minimalistic backgrounds, such as continuous black and continuous white, suggesting that it was shot in a studio. I intend to do a similar shot, whereby the main character will be lip-syncing (and avoiding looking at the camera, as mentioned above) in front of a continuous white background, to show his loneliness and how he feels in his current evironment.

Mise-en-scene

Our Music video takes place in a veriety of locations. The first will be a house. The house we have chosen is an attached Victorian 4 storey house. This is ideal as there is a lot of space to work with, and we can use it without causing interruption. The kitchen and a bedroom will be used in the video, as these will be the best places to show the relationship between the couple.

The third location will be London. Since London is a busy place, we can use the crowds of people to show how he feels alienated and different, perhaps also emphasise feelings of claustrophobia or agoraphobia. However, one problem with shooting London is the requirement of permits. Upon doing some research, If you plan to shoot in different parts of London, you will need a permit for each part you intend to shoot in. Since we are filming in one location, this should not be a problem. Also, Small crews/teams of 5 people or less that do not use artificial light or a tripod do not need to apply for a permit, but, if you are told to move on or to stop filming, and do not have a permit, you are legally obliged to do so. But, we do not think that there will be such a problem.

The costumes will be simple and subtle, and casual. However, we may have to use a studio shot, and therefore he will be wearing darker colours, to reflect the sombre side of his personality, and to mimic the sound of the song. Make-up will be kept to a minimum, with the Main characters partner most likely being the only character to receive any amount of make-up.

The use of very vibrant, light colours will be kept to a minimum (at least for scenes with the Main character in). Much like the costume, this is to reflect the atmosphere of the song, as well as the Main characters personality. Though, we may use lighter colours at the start of the video, as the woman is working in the kitchen.

Props will be used sparingly during the video. The main usage of them will be during the kitchen scene, and during the dining room scene. For instance, we can use the brand of cereal to give emphasis to a character's personality, such as weetabix for the main character to emphasise routine and blandness

Introduction

This year, our coursework piece is to create a music video, and some relative materials, such as a DVD cover and a Poster to accompany the music video.

The song that we have chosen to create a music video of is 'Who's the enemy' by Feeder. The song is a departure from Feeder's older roots, and is a slow anthemic song with deeper meaning. The older feeder songs are typically Hard rock, such as 'Choke' and 'bug', whereas the newer Feeder songs are Alternative, more melodic and anthemic. This could be attributed to Jon Lee's suicide, which was a major turning point for the band.

The lyrics are as follows:

'We're running away
Further away 'cause
We won't take this
Losing my way
Knocked to the ground
I lie beside her

You know they're telling us
Nothing's ever gonna change
You know they're telling us
Nothing's ever gonna change

We're running away
Further away so
We might make it

Let's forget
Don't think about it
Let's forget
Let's forget
Don't think about it
We're fighting with ourselves but
Who's The Enemy?

Tear in the sky
Choking the world
That cries before us
It's time to decide
We can't here all
Sit alone in silence

You know they're telling us
Nothing's ever gonna change
You know they're telling us
Nothing's ever gonna change

We're running away
Further away so
We might make it

Let's forget
Don't think about it
Let's forget
Let's forget
Don't think about it

We're fighting with ourselves but
Who's The Enemy?
(Who's The Enemy? (x9))

We're running away
Further away 'cause
We won't take this
Losing our way
Knocked to the ground
But we might make it

Let's forget
Don't think about it
Let's forget
Let's forget
Don't think about it

We're fighting with ourselves but
Who's The Enemy?

Let's forget'


A lot of Feeder's music videos are creative and different in their style compared to other music videos. For instance, Feeder's video for 'Tracing Lines' makes use of multiple cameras and camera angles which have been seamlessly edited together to produce the interesting camera rotations and the appearance of flat, overlapping band members. 'We are the people' takes a different approach. It is a slow song, like 'Who's the enemy', and the video shows the song's deeper meaning. The black and white film style effect gives it depth and isnt just a tacked on effect which has been used just for the sake of it. Shatter isn't as creative. It is based off of the movie 'Nightwatch', and was used as the main song for the movie's trailer in the UK, as well as the song's ending credits. The song most inspiring for me is 'We are the people', as it purveys a deeper meaning, rather than the 'Tracing lines' and 'Shatter', which take a more pop culture approach.

The song starts with a 13 second introduction, which could be used to establish location, or to get some fast cuts of the couple doing things together (walking, talking, watching something etc). Then, as the introduction turns into the first verse, we cut to the couple in bed, at night time, which the man lying up, 'singing' the lyrics. When it cuts to the chorus, we use a sped up clip (the man standing still in one spot, with the crowd moving around him) to contrast with the slowness of the first verse.