Analysis of Digipaks
Mumford and Sons Digipak
The digipak for the British folk rock band Mumford and Sons is extremely minimalistic and simple. Mis-en-scene aspects of the images such as lighting, clothes and setting connote a laid-back, chilled vibe to the Digipak. The use of simplistic colours such as white, signifies a relaxed and neutral feeling. The minimalistic theme is continued through the Digipak creating a sense of continuity, and also ensuring that this feeling of 'coolness, relaxed, laid-back' is then relayed and associate with the band themselves. Due to this, this Digipak conforms to the conventions of the folk genre.
All three of the images are long shots. The band themselves are not featured on the front cover, however they are featured on the middle section of the Digipak. The fact that the band are not the main focus of the Digipak, connotes a sense of the indie/rock genre, focusing more so on the music itself. Some members are shown to be holding musical instruments - the use of props further enforces the theme of individualism and continuity for the band.
The font used is not necessarily bold, however the majority of the words on the Digipak (bands name, album name, titles of songs) are all capitalized, connoting that they are of importance and to ensure that they stand out, which they do against the minimalistic backgrounds.
Mumford and Sons have a target audience of young adults, both male and female. The quirky/different mis-en-scene and lighting aspects would appeal to them.
All the credits (e.g, copyright) are placed at the bottom under the song titles. They are extremely small so as to not distract from the white background.
The digipak has both a mix of redundant and entropic features, it is redundant in the usage of simplistic, minimalistic colours but entropic in the way it is not entirely focused on the band themselves, only showing a snapshot of the four piece.
Kate Nash
I have chosen to analyse a digipak by artist Kate Nash as she is part of the indie genre, which is also the same genre as my own music video. Similar to Mumford and Sons, the background colour used is white, which connotes freshness, whilst the bright blues and oranges contrast the white, enhancing them. The images themselves are almost presented as a collage, portrayed in a quirky way which reflects Kate Nash's overall style and also reflects the indie genre. This would appeal to the indie genre as it is different and unique, as indie music fans are typically striving for new and individual styles. The font which has been used throughout the digipak, creating continuity, connotes an informal feeling to the digipak, as the font looks as if it is handwritten - further emphasising the quirkiness of Kate Nash and reflecting her brand identity. The font, mis-en-scene and images used all conform to the generic conventions of the indie music genre, therefore this makes the digipak redundant.
Front cover - informal, 'hand-written' style of writing, perhaps causes audience to feel more connected to the artist.
Who are the target audience? What elements are likely to appeal to them?
The target audience for an artist and digipak such as this, would be teenagers young adults, likely to be more female orientated. Elements that would appeal to the target audience would be the quirky images, the unique layout of fonts/images and also perhaps the indication of 'parental advisory, explicit content' may appeal to the target audience, as they may view the content to be edgy and 'cool'.
Despite the increase in people downloading their music online, opposed to buying physical CDS and Digipaks, aspects such as Digipacks and Print Adverts are still needed as part of a marketing package as it creates a brand identity for the artist/band, generating a recognizable style which appeals to their target audience.
Gabrielle Aplin
Gabrielle Aplin is a British indie music artist. The front cover of the digipak shows Gabrielle Aplin holding a multicoloured umbrella against the black and white backdrop. The grey, dull background colours reflect the title of the album, "English Rain". The use of bright colours contrasting dark emphasises her as the artist, highlighting that she is the centre of attention. The bright colours used are also pastels, which connotes femininity. The theme of using colour against black and white is evident throughout, creating continuity for the digipak and also creates a brand identity for Gabrielle Aplin. The mis-en-scene overall is unique and different, but also at the same time conforms to the conventions of the indie genre, creating a redundant digipak for the genre. The album font for "English Rain" and also Gabrielle's signature is written in a swirly font, which connotes femininity and also reflects and appeals to her target audience, which would be teenagers and young adults, particularly females. The use of the signature also makes the digipak personalised, causing the audience to feel closer to the artist. The shot type used on the front cover, middle section and pull out booklet are all long shots, which show Gabrielle's full body. The positioning of the artist herself connotes freedom, fun and adventure.
