My Digipack

Front Cover -

I began with the image on the left, below, I chose this image for my front cover because I like the composition - the positioning of the girl's face and the fact that there was room for text on the left-hand side, i also liked the girl's expression and the detail of her make-up - the tear and smudged eye make-up. I imported the image into Adobe Photoshop to edit it. I first cropped the image, so that it was the correct size for the digigpack and also to draw attention to the key elements of the image - e.g. the girl's eye and the streaming make-up, which conveyed the story behind our music video ( the break up of a relationship and the girl's resulting heartbreak). I then noticed the object in the bottom left-hand corner of the photo and set about removing it by using the cloning stamp and coloured over it with the existing background colour, also colouring over some of the hair which I thought might encroach on the text I would write. After doing this, I selected an effect to apply to the image called poster edges, which made the photo look almost like a painting and added texture to it. It also highlighted the square of light in the girl's eye and darken the tear on her cheek. But to darken it further and create a contrast agaisnt her albaster skin, I went to image adjustments and used the contrast tool to darken the make-up. I also used the clone stamp again to edit out some of her 'straying' eyebrow hairs which I thought may detract viewers from the main message of the image.



I chose the font - 'Dear Joe Four' from the website dafont.com, because I liked the way it looked like it had been handwritten and therefore fitted in the romantic, whimsical feelings portrayed in the image and in our music video. As I felt the font was quite difficult to read at first, I went to the font/text toolbar and selected from a small drop-down menu the word 'smooth' which darkened the text and made it bolder. I then highlighted the text and selected the colour white, as the text colour as it contrasted strongly with the background making it easier to read. Overall, I feel that the cover image - being the first image the viewer will encounter, is strong and striking yet simple, and the writing is enough to convey, at first glance, the artist's name and the track.

Back Cover -

I chose this image for my back cover purely because it was my favourite from the shoot, I think that it conveys so much emotion and the fine hairs that create a web of patterns over her face add lots of interest. Although after deliberating I realised that to use a similar technique to my front cover e.g. text on one side image on the other, would look boring and generic. Therefore I decided to rotate the image 90 degrees anti-clockwise, which created space for the text above, but also made the model look like she was sleeping which furthermore connects with the song's title (Dreaming With A Broken Heart). To add continuity and make sure the back cover linked with the front cover, I applied the same effect - Poster Edges, which emphasised the track of the girl's tear and made the fine hairs half-covering her face much bolder. Finally, to make it look more authentic I added a logo, barcode and website address to the bottom right-hand corner, which made it seem as close to a real digipack as possible.

Inside Covers -
I wanted to make my images in the inside of my digipack quite simple, so as not to detract from from the front and back outside covers and also follow the conventions I have noticed after carrying out my research - e.g. most inside covers were plain and simple compared to the outer panels. I took shots of some grass in the field that we filmed parts of our music video in, as I felt this linked with the woodland/nature themes running through our video and added to the idea of a sunset etc. Firstly, I went to image adjustments and adjusted the brightness/saturation levels to create an orangey hue remeniscent of a sunset/summer evening. Then I applied the same Poster Edges effect as both outside covers and using the paintbrush tool I coloured the sky a natural looking peacy colour because I wasnt satisfied with the former greyish colour. Finally, I utilised the text tool to copy the lyrics of the song on top of the grass image. The writing is difficult to read, I realise that, but it is deliberate as it is there only for decoration and to add another dimension to the image not to be read.
- Inside Front Cover

With the inside back cover, I kept it simple because essentially it is a backdrop behind the CD. I horizonally flipped it therefore it is a mirror-image of the inner front panel and allows a sense of continuity.

Inside Back Cover - INSERT IMAGE