Evaluation Q4

Use of digital media and technology to create my final products. 

Evaluation Q2

Evaluation Q3

Evaluation Video, discussing question 3.

Ancilary products for viewing

Evaluation Q1

In what way does your media challenge use develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? 

Digipak

Whilst researching Digipaks from my chosen genre I noticed the lack of iconography within each pack. For example the Arctic monkeys digipak only included a single photo inside the cover with the band on. Being that the digipaks I researched were from very famous bands I thought this was due to their already established brand image and their lack of need to identify themselves due to having a large fan base. This is a convention I used when designing my digipak, using symbols for the album identity rather than the band its self. This would then allow a buyer to not get confused between albums due to a similar aesthetic. I used the symbol of the car for both the front cover and CD its self. I also used a similar layout design to the Arctic Monkeys digipak. All 3 digipaks I looked at steered away from iconography of the band for what I assumed was for this reason. 

In order to create distinction to my album I wanted to develop and challenge existing genre conventions. I felt less inclined however to challenge conventions for my digipak as it is important for the aesthetic of the album to fit the genre to prevent confusion. Often indie groups will use graphic design to develop their album cover and will not really use photos. I wanted to use photos in order to create a link between the video for the "star" song of the album and this would be the symbol for the whole campaign and would be something evident in all three elements of my marketing campaign. I also decided to place band photos on 3 of the 4 covers which is quite controversial within the Indie genre. I did this due to the bands lack of brand identity due to their niche audience at the moment. I felt in this case it was appropriate to place the identity of the band across the digipak as their audience will only know them from live performance due to the video I made for them being their first music video. I did not try link to Goodwin's theories with my ancillary products as the buyer potentially has not heard the music yet so a striking aesthetic, I felt would be more appropriate for the commercial nature of these products.

I didn't feel the need to challenge existing genre conventions for my digipak due to the bands lack of identity within the genre its self. I felt it would be too risky to implement a controversial design as it could be interpreted by the audience as confusing and would not be clear as to who made the album or what was inside. This uncertainty could have a negative impact on sales limiting the success of the album. 

Magazine Advert

Once again I didn't want to steer too far off track with challenging genre conventions for my magazine advert for the same reasons as my digipak. My main aim was to create continuity across all 3 products, the way I did this primarily was through colouring and the physical subjects within each piece. By using a gig photo as the primary image for my magazine advert I was creating a link between the band and their album, directly addressing the audience who will have most likely seen the band live. The fact the drum kit is abandoned suggests that the music has migrated from the live set and into the album which is conveniently placed centrally in the advert. This persuades viewers to purchase the album as they want to hear the sound that has potentially left the stage and been put into the album. It is also common within my genre for the magazine to take on a minimalist concept. To use this within my product I made sure to use minimal information about the album its self. This means the image has a greater impact on the audience causing them to be more taken in and interested in the advert which would then make them want to look further into the album its self helping market it. 

By not including any direct photos of the band I am slightly steering away from the genre conventions I researched as some of the magazine adverts researched included face shots of the artist or band. By not including an image of the band however I feel I am putting a greater focus on the album its self leaving the viewer the opportunity or hopefully the inclination to want to research the band for themselves. 

Digipak ideas.

For my Digipak I wanted to establish a connection between the album and the music video so my marketing campaign would focus equally on the narrative the video establishes helping iconise the car as a symbol of the album. This is controversial within most small indie groups as they often wish to focus more on iconography and establishing an image of the band. To help implement this element into my Digipak I would also use photos I have acquired of the band performing in order to create a balance between the iconography of the band and link to the music video. By creating a link between the Digipak and narrative element of the video I felt it would carry across the meaning of the song to the whole album giving it a more emotional connection which could mean people are more inclined to purchase the album. On the back of the album I used shots from the end of a gig (crowd surfing) to almost create a story through the Digipak. Being that you would chronologically look at the back as the final part of the Digipak it made sense to have this being created as like the end of the performance. I felt it also would give a greater emotional enhancement to the songs listed on the back cover. Inside the album I wanted to show mid performance as I thought with the case being open there would be a strong chance the CD would then be played so being able to reference the band mid performance whilst listening to the music. Creating a more direct link between the band and music its self. I may experiment with outlining some elements of the Digipak using a similar tracing method to that used in the actual video which would further create a link between the two, creating continuity across my marketing campaign. 

Magazine ad 2

Revising my previous magazine idea I decided to completely redesign my initial idea. Despite the main photo being taken directly from a shoot for the video I did not feel it suited the band identity as much as it could have done. Being that the band mainly posts photos on social media of their band gigs there is often coloured lighting throughout their existing identity so I thought it would be more effective to incorporate this aspect into my magazine advert as it was more likely to relate to their existing brand image. I chose not to focus on iconography of the band and instead focused on the iconography of the album its self. By using a central photo of the album cover this would draw the attention of the piece towards the album. This is another reason for using a background image that would not distract from the main cover. By using the same minimalist concept of my previous advert idea I was still able to achieve the striking appeal of the advert by using vibrant colours and minimal text and details of the advert which would lead to a greater enigma about the product. Encouraging people to research the album themselves and thus then create greater interest about the products. I also included appropriate logos to show where the music can be accessed online, including links to the bands main social media. Overall I feel this advert is better suited to the rest of the marketing campaign due to its aesthetic and focus, I feel it really suits the rest of the campaign, sustaining a similar brand image. 

Magazine ad- draft one

Large photo - Band performance. Central album cover text below. record label. band name above like this. Scrap logo. coloured lighting.

For this draft I wanted to use a typical digipak genre convention of the genre I was working on and base my magazine advert around symbolism of the album as oppose to iconography of the band. I used stills taken from video production for the base image. Establishing a link between the digipak and video. This created more continuity across each aspect of my marketing campaign, linking the three products together. I wanted to create interest for the band through creating identity enigma. By using the car as the symbol of the album giving no implementation as to who the album was by the audience would be more intrigued by the advert and therefore more driven to listen. This obviously has a flip side and it is something I did take into consideration, that having no band identity would potentially miss an audience interested in the band. To counter this however, I included the band logo over the main image to help promote the band identity and link the album back to the band its self.

This advert is based on a minimalist concept. I didn't want to add too much to my magazine advert as it may have become crowded and lose its professional sense. I felt that to help link to my theme creating enigma, less was definitely more. Using the same fonts from the Digipak I titled the ad. Editing the main photo I used a faded film filter which helped create contrast between the photo and digipak cover below. Making the cover stand out.  

The Tunnels- Digipak Final

Front

For my front cover I wanted to make a link to the video as oppose to it focusing on the artist. I felt this linked the genre of music i am working in as often you will see more "indie" albums including symbols as their front cover making no reference to the identity of the band. This is evident in my research of existing Digipaks. By using a reference to the video it would also help to market the album as the only visual reference an audience would have to the song would be the car and the band. Being that the car is the main subject of the narrative within my video I felt it made more sense to use this as the front cover and main symbol of the album. It would allow potential buyers to associate the video with the Digipak, making finding it a lot easier. I also made reference to the animations within the video by outlining the headlights using white circles in photoshop. I felt this accented the car bringing it out from the shadows which is essentially the story of the narrative. When choosing a font to represent the band I wanted something that looked almost handwritten or painted in order to suit the music genre I was working on. I wanted to create a retro styling similar to the Bruno Mars video 24k Magic. I really liked the aesthetic this video due to its retro colour grading and filmic look. On editing the photo I had in mind that I would use band photos from gigs throughout the rest of the Digipak so I would have to edit the front cover in order for it to appear seamless with the rest of the album. On grading all 4 photos I found there was a lot of lens flares and use of coloured lighting. To create a similar aesthetic in my front cover I decided to overlay a film burn overlay which simulated the lens flares and coloured lighting in the gig shots but gave a more realistic feel to the cover. Continuing with my use of retro fonts I used a blocky retro poster font in order to create the title of the album  I experimented a lot with font placement and style however felt these two fonts worked really well together to create the retro appeal I wanted to create throughout my video, Digipak and magazine advert.                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Back

For the back of my Digipak I wanted to use the band to create a sense of iconography to link to the front cover being a symbol of the music video. By using an image of one of the band members for the back cover I was able to split the focus of my Digipak so it focused on both the narrative of my video and and iconography of the band. To create the back of the Digipak I firstly chose a photo from a band gig I had previously photographed earlier in the year. I thought this shot worked really well as it was out of focus meaning there would be more attention placed on the song titles and details on the back of the album. This is due to the bokeh of the photo contrasting with the definite lines of the text. I chose to edit the photo to match the front cover so it created a seamless transition between the two. I first increased the brightness and contrast within photoshop in order to create depth to the photo, giving less detail to distract from the text. I next adjusted colour balance to suit the front cover giving a more orange tint to the frame to contrast with its darker blues in the shadows. This gave a more rustic and distressed look to the photo which linked to the style of car the narrative focused around. I further increased the clarity of the RAW photo in Photoshop giving a more washed out and defined look to the final edit. I then adjusted the blacks to give a slightly washed out look to the shot which is in fashion with the indie scene at the moment due to film and polaroid photos becoming increasingly on trend. I then used the same font to title the back with the band name, this font further enhanced the distressed and home made style look I was aiming for across my media products. I used a thinner font which I increased the kerning of the text which created a sense of contrast giving an equal emphasis on the brand logo and song titles within the album. To finish the back I added the production company logo in the bottom corner within Illustrator and then placed a barcode in the opposite corner where it is normally placed. Overall I am very happy with the back of the album as I think it is understated in contrast to the front meaning the buyer is drawn to the front of the album before flipping it to look at the back so the album is then read chronologically which is what I intended. 

Inside Left

For the inside left cover of my Digipak I wanted to take a minimalist approach. I did this by using a still taken from the bands performance and not including any extra information. I felt that the purchaser would only come into contact with this area of the Digipak after purchasing it so there would be no need to further sell the music by including further information. I thought it be more important to put the focus on the CD and the music its self as oppose from distracting from the listening. The music created by Tunnels primarily focuses on a more positive environment so on opening the viewer would be greeted by a smile from the lead singer Becca Clarke instantly evoking a positive feel good tone to the music to follow. Indie bands are also known for being very heavy on live performances so by referencing this it creates a connection with the live performances the Tunnels will often do, giving the music increased energy when listening to it. To edit this photo I followed the same process as the back cover in order to replicate the same look I wanted to have throughout. I feel this inside cover really helps to compliment the disc its self and the rest of the album and does not distract too much from the disk which is the main subject in the inside of the Digipak. 

Disc and Inside Right

For the inside right cover I wanted to continue with the performance photos using photos from the same gig meaning the lighting and photo style were similar so I was able to edit each shot so the inside cover appeared to be a single photo. The inside right cover photo is of one of the lead guitarists. This photo needed to be subtle as it would be obscured mainly by the disk when not in use. I did not want it to distract from the disk its self.

For the disk I wanted to create something that had a memorable texture and look to it so the buyer would remember the disk. It is based primarily off the same photo as the album cover however I decided to edit the photo using a tri-colour split. This was achieved in photoshop by duplicating the layer and then adjusting the colour balance drastically before overlaying each shot in a lower opacity and slightly offsetting each layer to give a glitchy and animated effect. By creating an abstract styling to the disk cover it would hopefully mean the image would not be lost within the viewers mind and the disk would stand out as often a buyer will have a collection of disks. This means the music would be remembered in greater depth as the disk would carry a poignancy to it making it more enticing to play. To finalise the disk design I brought it into Illustrator where I used a clipping mask in order to

Rough Cut Three- animations added

From analysing my previous rough cut I felt that I needed to create a greater sense of personality from the narrative and find a way to tie in the Indie genre and music and the grunge narrative together. The way I wanted to do this was by hand drawing animations over the frames of the video in both the narrative and performance elements of the video. This style of animation helps to enhance the presence of the overall video and is currently on trend with hyper edited videos as it helps enhance the visual elements of each shot the animation is implemented in, essentially bringing it to life. I first became aware of this animation style through watching travel videos created by a YouTube content creator JR ALLI. Below I have linked one of his pieces where he implements this to show how I was inspired. 

To achieve these animations I used Adobe After Effects where I used the brush tool to draw over the video frame by frame, creating an overlaid animation which I felt helped to bring the visuals and performance to life. I did not want to inundate my piece with these animations as i felt it would distract from the visuals as the audience would become detached from the story in anticipation for how the next animation would influence the shot. I used animations in 4 instances in order to create a burst of vibrancy within the shot. Firstly I wanted to enhance how the performance and song its self were connected. This was done by animating a short explosion from the bass guitar as it was plucked. I felt this subtle animation really tightened the connection between the soundtrack and the performance as it almost directly linked them as, as an audience you would be able to gauge how the track is being created and how each instrument has its own impact and significance within the track.

My second animation was to create an aesthetic enhancement to the subjects of the narrative being Oliver and his car. This animation outlined Oliver, who is the main protagonist, and the car, separating them from the cluttered background. I felt this drew the audience attention towards the two subjects provoking a greater interest and viewer connection with the narrative. The audience is instantly made aware of the importance of these two aspects of the narrative and thus their attention is drawn towards these aspects focusing their mind and attention towards the meaning of the story. I also thought by crafting these animations within both the performance and narrative sections of the video it bridged the gap between the two making the overall product more cohesive. Giving the overall video a better flow.

The final instance where I implemented this animation style onto the video was creating an emotion for the car. Initially this had been the only animation I planned to do however after experimenting a bit with the impact it had on the video clips I then create more examples within the video to give an enhanced atmosphere and emotion to specific moments within the song and video. When planning my idea using an animatic I had always planned to shoot a ext close-up of the car appearing sad. When the final version of this shot was placed within the video I didn't think the expression sadness came across as predominantly as I had hoped so I therefore thought of the possibility of animating a subtle expression over the top of the video. By animating in this style you get a lot of variation with the look of each frame which gives a sort of unstable, hand draw appeal (which quite frankly was exactly what the animation is) however I wanted to avoid the animation looking like it was made to look realistic. By drawing over the top of each frame the audience is made aware of the emotion i'm trying to convey without finding a superimposed failed animation humorous which would then distract from the overall video. Overall i'm very pleased with how overlaying animations have affected the final product as I think it helps further link my video to the indie genre I am working in

Rough cut two

For this cut I focused mainly on colour and correcting shots I did not feel worked as seamlessly or carried as much impact within the video its self. I wanted to create a more coherent flow within the piece which I felt could be achieved through colour grading. I wanted the transition between narrative and performance to be a lot less harsh so by colour grading each sequence to portray a similar look which meant the shots would fit together a lot more smoothly reducing its potential to disconnect the audience from the video. By having footage that looks similar colour wise means the audience does not get distracted by harsh colour changes. The idea of a music video is to promote the sound track its self so the video does need to maintain a focus on the soundtrack, something harsh colour transitions could distract from. 

To grade the footage I used a cinematic style grade in the sense I tinted the shadows to a more teal colour and the highlights to an orange tone. This created a nice cinematic feel to my overall video which linked to the style of video I was trying to create being very filmic and heavily visually focused. To enhance the depth of the video I then increased the contrast across the shots as being that I shot primarily in low light conditions it was very important that I did not have too much contrast within frame or I would start to lose detail within the shot which could give an under exposed appearance. Being that the genre of music the band works in is indie rock I wanted to give a slightly retro look to the shots within the video. I did this by adding a slight faded film look to my shots, achieved through the faded film filter in Premiere Pro. In some cases I found this feature to cause some irregularity with he blacks within the shadows which meant I had to reduce the amount of fade I implied within the each shot. Because the song aspires happiness and hope I wanted to give a warm feel to the image so made sure each shot had a slightly warmer feel to it than it was initially shot with. This meant the exterior shots of the car driving appeared less hostile and more welcoming and warm. Overall I am very pleased with the aesthetic of my video and feel by grading each shot individually it has lead to a more convincing and professional looking product.

I have changed some shots within the video towards the end. This is because I do not think their aesthetic matched the rest of the video. Being that a shot some footage on a GoPro I found that it was a lot less capable of dealing with low light conditions so on reviewing the footage it almost has a different picture style to the overall look I wanted the video to have. 

Overall I am very pleased with how this video is coming out to look after a few adjustments. As mentioned previously in research and my pitching ideas I would like to implement some aspect of overlay within the final product so my next steps are to experiment with animate overlays to help bring the storyline to life and bring a greater focus to the soundtrack meaning. 

Music Video rough cut one - no grade

This is my first rough cut for my music video. Overall I have quite happy with how it has turned out. I feel that I have done a good job of bringing my storyboard to life and I think this video represents what I had in mind for the video to look and feel like. I really like the structure and progression of both the narrative and performance elements of the video and feel they build really nicely, giving the video a really nice rhythm and dynamic in relation to the music. This cut was only to establish the story of the piece and get a rough idea of where I wanted shots to be fit in and to get a sense of the overall feel of the music video. Overall I'm happy with how the video looks visually however there are some things that need fixing, for example there are moments within the video where the lip syncing is out of sync. These will need amending before moving onto colour grading. To colour grade these clips i want to create a sense of night to all the shots so this will mean colour grading will be quite a large task in order to make this convincing. Another aspect I am unhappy with is some of the Gopro footage as I don't think it is sharp enough however this may jus be down to lack of contrast so I may be able to correct this in post. I want to create a continuity between the performance and narrative colour grades also so the video flows a lot smoother. I am contemplating a title for the first shot as I have seen in in some of the music videos I had researched prior to shooting. I have altered the beginning of the video as the long tracking shot I had planned and shot was just too dark and unusable however I do feel this intro works just as well and could be enhanced by putting a title over the first shot. My next step would be to produce the final video including shot corrections and fixing lip syncing.

Ed Sheeran magazine ad analysis

This is an example of an advert which does not follow the same form as the previous ones I have analysed. It consists of a large photo of the artist which helps links to the iconography of Ed Sheehan, being the face of his own brand. The advert however still focuses on a minimalistic form using a large photo as the primary focus followed by text which provide further information about the album and where it can be purchased. The main photo has a slight orange tint which relates to the colour of the actual album which is positioned within the advert in the lower right corner. To link to Ed's style of music being very down to earth and linking to his "everyday guy" brand style a more vintage, typewriter style font is used which creates almost like a home made style to the advert and this links to the music within him album being very humble and addressing real life scenarios his audience could be facing. His line of view is facing the album cover it self which draws the eye to the album and text surrounding it. Overall I really like the layout of this design as I feel it focuses more on the iconography of the artist over the album its self which could help create a sustained brand image which would help continue the buyers appeal to future albums linking to the same style branding. 

Production Log 2

2/2 shoots complete for the narrative section of the video. For this part of the overall music video I wanted to lift the oppressive tone I had crafted within the narrative for the build up to the chorus. I wanted to create an overall sense of success and prosperity as the protagonist finally started his car along with his friends help and they finally get to drive it through the lovely country roads surrounding his house. I wanted to set this section at dusk to allow us to get a sense of mystery within the area which is then burnt away by the warmth of the cars headlights. I felt this would really help tie in with the visuals I will also aim to create with the band in the studio shoot. With the band working within the indie genre you will often hear the music primarily played at night or within the winter months and I felt shooting at night really suited the tone and rhythm the song had. I feel this shoot was a success as I was lucky enough to be shooting on a day with really dramatic and cold weather which contrasts to the mood within the car, giving the overall message that friendship and hard work can face and beat any problem which gives a nice overall message to the song its self.

Initially I had planned to spend a lot more time shooting this section of the narrative however instead of working shot by shot from the storyboard I decided to go more with my gut when shooting this part of the video taking key shots from the storyboard and making sure they were shot before collecting additional shots I could place within the video should they be needed. I wanted to shoot in better light conditions so I could make the shots seem more into the night than they were and this would allow me to retain more detail within the frame. My next step is to create a rough cut along with the footage I will obtain from shooting the band which will be done tomorrow 6/02/17.

I decided to take more photos on this shoot but only for social media purposes so I could promote the progress of the video giving people a sense that it is soon to be released. This will create an interest leading to the release of the product which will hopefully be the end of the week. I aim to use existing band photos I have taken along side the front shot of the car in the garage door in order to create the digipak and magazine ad as I feel this would suit the aesthetic of the band and overall tone to their music more.

Kings of Leon, Only by the Night - Magazine ad Analysis

This advert takes a different form to the Killers advertisement. It consists of an early rendition of the album cover which was later changed for the actual album. There is no evidence of blending between the album cover and the additional details which market the advert. A military style font is used which links to the brand identity of The Kings of Leon, meaning instantly people will recognise who the album is by and this also creates continuity across the brand as a whole. Kings of Leon are a more abstract band, leading towards the more rocky side of the genre they play in. The artwork of the album consists of a graphical combination of the bands faces and an owl, this links to the title of the album and creates a unique appeal to the advert. In addition the whole cover takes on a stingy green colour which is carried through by the additional text. This creates a grungy feel to the album, linking to the music style and also creates a visual poignancy to the aesthetics of the album, making it stand out from pages in the magazine due to its unique colouring. Additional details we are given includes: a link to the bands website, popular songs and the record label. This allows the reader to access the album and find out more info about purchasing the album. This magazine ad was published pre release of the album before the revised styling of the album cover so a release date is also published at the bottom of the page, giving viewers more information increasing their interest towards the album.

The Killers, Day and Age- Magazine ad analysis

This album advert is an example of a very simplistic design. The advert consists of the album cover which has been blown up to fit the page. The album cover also consists of a simplistic design which reflects on the album its self. mosaic texture has been used across the cover which creates an interesting aesthetic. The graphics themselves relate to the title of the album being based off day and age. The fonts used are san serif and very bold which relates to the artist style of music being very bold and loud. The Killers are a world renowned band. Complimentary, vibrant colours are used which create a very striking aesthetic to the piece and create a very entrancing appeal to the look of the album which reflects the songs being very easy to listen too. Being that the album cover is designed to fit a CD case it is in a square form. The use of a fade to black at the bottom of the page allows additional text to be added below the album cover. The white text on black makes the additional text stand out. A similar font is also used to the text on the album cover which creates continuity throughout. On the advert its self we are provided with additional details such as the record company the band produced the song with and the website of the band its self, where people can go to find out further details or purchase the album.  

In addition to this there is details of big hit songs that will be included within the album, this helps create attention to the album giving readers a guarantee of the level of quality that will be within the album and that they are not just buying in hope. There is no evidence of social media advertising within this advert however this is purely contextual as Instagram had not been released until 2010 and Facebook was still only a personal social media and had not evolved into the marketing tool it is today.

I really like this advert as it is very simple yet poignant and would surely captivate the viewers interest within the magazine due to its vibrant and iconic design.

Location Scouting

Storyboard

Tunnels Music Video - Storyboard

Digipak Analysis 3- Saint Model

This is an example of a more abstract digipak. There is very little detail being given within the pack and it focuses more on the graphical and aesthetic elements. This digipak also has a more uplifting and playful feel to it which reflects the mood the music within inspires. A sky photo is consistent throughout the piece creating a nice flow throughout. The blue sky has connotations with summer which invokes a very positive time. On the front cover is the band logo followed underneath by the name of the album. The logo of the band is very bold and outstanding, being a san serif font, it clearly stands out from the rest of the cover. The album title is more understated and is a serif font which differs to the previous digipaks I have looked at. The font is almost handwritten which gives a more vintage appeal to the album making it more personal and looking less professional/ commercial. I think this inspires a more humble feel to the album which the intended audience would appreciate. 

Inside the pack the photo continues seamlessly which continues the theme. In addition further characters and graphics are inserted over the top of the background photo. This further personalises the album and gives a more homemade feel, with abstract styling. Once again this would appeal to the audience being more interested in the unique style of the genre that is alternate to the general chart style music the majority of people would be interested in. Within the digipak there is no reference to the artist visually and in addition there is no text or further information regarding the band or album. This creates a more aesthetic focus towards the digipak making the buyer want to listen to the CD to reveal its contents. This Circa Waves digipak is designed to reflect on the music so ,due to the positive tone the music inspires, there is use of very vibrant colours associated commonly with happiness and summer. Retro characters are placed onto the background to help further enforce the retro feel to the bands sound, it also creates a positivity surrounding the album. 

The back of the digipak unsurprisingly is no different to the rest of the pack. It consists of the same vibrant photo of blue summer sky. The back is the only part of the digipak where we are made aware of information about the contents of the CD. The back consists of the same serif font as the front which provides continuity to the digipak. The back consists of a central list naming all the songs within the album. Overall I really like the look to this piece and think I will be able to take inspiration from it when creating my Digipak. 

Magazine Advert

Once again I did not want to steer too far away from existing conventions for my magazine advert however continued with the theme of a lack of iconography which is less common with my genre for the magazine adverts. 

Digipak Analysis 2- Arctic Monkeys

This Digipak is once again an example of a more minimalist Digipak. It consists of material all in black and white which provided continuity throughout the piece. The front cover consists of the album logo. This is the only graphic on the front cover. There is no indication of who the album is by or what genre could be contained within. This creates interest towards the product its-self which potentially would cause the potential buyer to pick it up and explore the pack. The indie rock genre is heavily music focused and often focuses on providing meaning behind each song. The graphic on the front cover is essentially a sound wave which gives the impression the album focuses heavily on sound and that the artists have put a lot of hard work into making the album its self. Inside the case is a photo of the band. This provides identity to the soundtrack and also gives a personality behind the songs. This photo is also in black and white which links to the very stylised theme to this cover. The photo consists of very harsh lighting which inflicts shadows giving a grunge look to the piece which reflects on the music within the album. The CD design is the same as the front cover which enforces further continuity throughout the piece and gives a nice flow throughout. On the back of the Digipak there is the band logo. This is essential in stamping the identity on the cover as when enticed by the cover the viewer may wish to pick it up and inspect the front and back. By providing the logo on the back it maintains that interest but also allows the viewer to instantly know who's album it is which could increase their potential to purchase the Digipak. On the back also is the songs within the album which once again provides more information for the viewer which could enhance their potential to make the purchase. The front is san-serif which allows greater ease when reading the text. The logo of the band is also san-serif so this presents a coherency between the logo and text. It also links to the minimalistic theme the Digipak maintains throughout to provide an intriguing and aesthetic product which links to the genre of music it is based in.