CD Digipack

The History of Music Recording

• The first sound recording was made by Thomas Edison in 1877.
• Thomas Edison released the Phonograph in 1887. The initial recording of sound was produced on wax cylinders.
• The Gramophone was invented a short 2 months after the Phonograph was release in 1887. It played sound on disc rather than a cylinder.
• Gramophones had to be altered to each record to spin at the right speed; between 60 and 120 RPM (rotations per minute).
• In 1928, 78 RPM became the common record speed although records were very dense and thick.
• In 1930, the around of rotations reduced to 33 1/3 RPM for a standard LP (long playing).
• In 1949, a 45 RPM record was released and became a standard for a single song. This is the reason a stand alone song is called a single.
• In 1963, Dutch company Philips invented the cassette tape.
• The cassette tape had two miniature spools in which the tape was wound round.
• In 1979, Sony released the Sony Walkman.
• In 1981, Sony and Philips collaborated to create the CD which had a better sound quality than their record and cassette counterparts.
• In 1984, the CD Walkman was released to the public.
• In 1988, the Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) was established. This became the standard for audio and video compression.
• MPEG-1: used with video CD
• MPEG-2: used in DVDs
• MPEG-3 (MP3): audio compression codec of choice for music (1989)
• MPEG-4: standard for multimedia online 
• iPod released in 2001, iTunes in 2003
• YouTube launched in 2005, most popular music platform 
• Before YT, other ways to share music (such as Napster, a P2P platform; shut down because of copyright lawsuits) 
• Deezer: 2007, Spotify: 2008

Initial Research - Codes and Conventions of CD Covers

Our group's task was to analyse the codes and conventions of four existing CD covers and to find common things that appear on all 4. the CD digipacks we had to analyse were The Staple Singers' Somebody Saved Me, The Bible's eponymous album, Paolo Nutini's These Streets and Everything But the Girl's Eden.

There are 3 features that's usually appear on a standard album.

Inside Front/Inside Back:

• The colour scheme from the back of the album follows on to the inside.
• There are recurring themes from the back cover that appear on the inside on the album such as the track list and the legalese.
• Below the disc trey there are sometimes extra information or album art. This includes credits and copyright information.

Back Cover:

• The colour scheme of the back cover follows that of the front and inside of the digipack.
• The record label logo could appear.
• Usually at the bottom of the back cover  there is the legalese in small print.
• The barcode must be featured.
• The track list is an important part of the album as it informs the consumer what track is which.
• Sometimes you will get social media information appearing on the back of the album.

Front Cover:

• On the front cover the name of the artist and album will appear. The artists name will be bigger showing importance but it could vary depending on the album.
• The use of font is important too. Usually the font is big, bold and easy to read.
• Artwork representing the artist or their own photo is used to publicise their image. This will set the tone for the music inside the album.

CD Digipack Analysis

The task that we had been given as a group was to analyse a couple existing digipacks. We had to focus on existing codes and conventions within each album and the way the audience perceives this.

This research will prove useful as it will help me know the key components of a CD digipack and the ways colour, typography and layout play a key role in attracting a target audience.

Below is the analysis of the album I'll Keep Calling by J P Harris and The Tough Choices.

Below are the analysis of the albums of my choice which are Arctic Monkeys AM , Foo Fighters Best Hits and The Hoosiers' The Trick to Life.

Construction:

Once I finally had the idea for my digi pack I decided to start piecing it all together. First I had to get the template for my digi pack so the dimension were correct.

 This will help me make sure that all of my panels are in the correct order when I start editing. After I had secured the parameters for my digi pack I started to get to work on editing. I started off with the front panel first. For the front panel I used the same geometric technique I used on my MMA, turning and image geometric via a geometric filter but this time I only used an eye. This is symbolic as ology means an insight into a subject area there go the eye.

 I went through a process of which eye to use and they were very different geometrically but I decided on using the top right image as its pupal was less effected by light and did not contain any white blemishes

I got to work on editing the eye and erasing any unwanted image around the eye so it would like like it was breaking apart away from the centre of the eye. I also used a light filter on the centre of the eye to make the iris seem more 3D and round to intrigue my target audience.

 Once the eye was complete I needed to add the title and artist name to the album as that is a convention of every digi pack ever made. I decided to put the name at the album at the top and the name of the artist at the bottom and slightly bigger. Although the artists name holds more importance the album name is what will be recognised when it is shelved at stores.

 I then got to work on the back panel. This would include the same quote I used on the MMA, the song list, the barcode, record label and the copyright infringement text. All of these are staple conventions of digipacks.

 For the inside of the dig pack i wanted to keep it minimalistic as with the conventions of most indie/alternative artists most of the art is on the front so what I did is add a circular geometric image under the dick panel. This will be a surprise for the target audience as they will only see it once lifted. Artists sometimes like to do this as an extra treat for the audience and since it is an indie artist who only does contextual videos. This would be the only image you would see of the artist. The way I did this was by selecting a circular area on the image then clicked the inverse and erased the image around the circle.

 I then moved on to the opposite panel. This panel would also have a similar image but looking at the disk panel as to suggesting where the disk is. He will also be looking at the artist text which is what some artists leave there target audience in order to say thanks in supporting them through their journey as an artist.

 The way I did this was similar to the disk image. This time i used the line select tool to create sharp lines to make sure the edge was very slick and tight creating a very seamless blend into the background

After editing this all pulled together to create quite a decent digi pack that the target audience were overall pleased with.

Final Product: