Digipak Analysis

Digipak

A digipak is a type of packaging for CD's or DVD's, typically made from cardboard with an internal plastic holder for one or more discs. 

My group and I's song 'gangsta' by kehlani is part of the R&B/soul genre. It coheres to typical R&B characteristics due to its seductive female lead role and it's lyrics focus heavily on the themes of relationships. Kehlani's digipak cover for her album focuses on a cartoon character of herself with pink lipstick to express her femininity. The vibrant colours also give the impression of a 'party' which is a typical convention of most R&B music videos and their digipak colours. On other Kehlani digipaks her face is the main image on the front so that the audience know who is singing the songs, this is the artists way of introducing herself to the listener. Unlike other R&B digipaks, Kehlani's seem to be much more luminous and colourful. Other digipaks usually tend to consist of dark colours to express the dark themes, R&B artists are also usually male, meaning Kehlani breaks the typical conventions. My group would like to consider doing this too as breaking the stereotypes means our digipak will be unique and interesting to the buyers. We also like the idea of putting our lip syncers face on the front of the cover, whether it be a close-up or mid-shot, as we feel this builds a relationship with the consumers. Kehlani's name is written on the front of the album, however we are considering using a different font to what the artist has used as we think this particular one looks quite tacky and isn't the image we are aiming to achieve. We still want to include a sharp edgy font to match the music, however we want it to look serious and mature. Due to our artists Hispanic, Native American, White and Black  ethnicity, it means she coheres to the typical R&B conventions, this is as a result of R&B being of a black origin. Our lip syncer, Mikah, would also cohere to the R&B genre due to her black ethnicity, meaning she fits the role of Kehlani on our digipak.

Rihanna

Rihanna's digipak covers seem to possess the same qualities that of which Kehlani has. The popular female R&B artist coheres to the typical R&B digipak conventions due to its vibrant colours and close-up shot of her face. This is a typical convention of R&B as they are trying to make her look seductive. In regards to the mise-en-scene, Rihanna's makeup is red and flawless which brings attention to her lips and is once again appealing to a male or female audience. Firstly, this appeals to males as they would want to be with her and secondly, it would appeal to females as they want to be just like her. This brings in a larger consumer audience as it makes the genre of the song clear  due to the sexualisation of the female artist. This is also due to the editing of the artists face through tools such as airbrushing, this makes her a figure of aspiration, inevitably aiding the audience to listen to her songs due to her perfect features and voice. Another aspect of the mise-en-scene is Rihanna's costume, she is wearing a dress that reveals the top portion of her body, this is complimented by her seductive red lipstick that makes her appealing to the audience. Me and my group would like to incorporate this use of typical conventions of R&B women through the mise-en-scene, as it would attract the right kind of audience who would appeal to this. The inside contents of the digipak seem to consist of the same colour scheme, therefore keeping the audience interested.

Beyoncé

The female pop vocalist Beyoncé Knowles, coheres to typical conventions of the R&B genre through her digipak of greatest hits. The artists costume on the back of the digipak is tight latex that accentuates the silluette of her body. This is a common convention of the R&B genre as it is common for women to be seen as an object of seduction. However, as similar to Kehlani and Rihanna, Beyoncé goes against the R&B genre by making herself, as a woman, the main focus of the digipak. Typically, men are the most likely to star in an R&B video. The R&B artist adopts costume and makeup ideas through mise-en-scene. For instance, Beyoncé has glossy lips and heavy eye makeup to bring attention to her flawless face. This technique is used to make women want to be her and men want to be with her. Ultimately, the artist attracts a wider audience by appealing to every age and genders needs. Another factor that coheres to the R&B genre is Beyoncé's ethnicity, due to R&B being of a black origin. One criticism of Beyoncé's CD within the album is the colours chosen. Brown and Grey are quite dull colours which don't bring much attention to the artist. This also doesn't create a 'party' theme like other digipaks, such as Rihanna's and Kehlani's, do. My group and I will avoid using dull colours, as we feel it doesn't represent the genre the way we want it to.

Drake

The R&B rapper, songwriter and record producer, Drake, is well known for best representing his genre with songs relating to the typical R&B themes. When analysing the artists digipaks, I found that he has a bland colour scheme that doesn't particularly interest the audience. To pair with the masculine colours, Drake employs a close-up of his face to show him lighting a cigar, this was presumably used to exemplify his masculinity, as this is typically a manly thing to do. As well as this, the artist is male which coheres to the typical gender that an R&B artist usually is. For example, Jay-Z and R.Kelly. The artist is also African American, which coheres to the R&B genre due to its black origin. These factors are all quite similar to the other digipaks that I have analysed as it accentuates gender differences and it incorporates the same dull colour scheme that is similar to Beyonce's digipak. Another characteristic of the digipak I noticed was the font, Drake's and the albums name are both different. Drake's name is clear and memorable, whereas the album's name is quite hard to read, making it less intriguing to the reader. One aspect of this digipak that I would like to incorporate is the colour consistency throughout all of it, this ensures the theme is prominent. However, my group and I will not employ the artists colour scheme as we feel this would not attract the audiences attention.