Media - CD digipack analysis

Analysis of a CD digipack cover CONVENTIONS

CODES

Album’s Title written in capitals and bold, to make it noticeable.

Artist’s name in the capitals and bold, to make it stand out. Also in darker colour than the background.

The man could be portrayed as the artist, but in the image he is most likely to be a truck driver.

The man is calling someone on the payphone which illustrates the album’s title “I’ll Keep Calling”. The message given in this cover is quite literal, that he will not stop calling.

The coding through Mise En Scene is used to bring out the genre of the music, which is country. The clothing plays a huge part of the visual cover, as the man is wearing stereotypical country/ western clothes. In this case it is a baseball cap and a checked shirt.

The man’s expression suggests that he might have been calling for a long time and nobody is picking up, as he looks upset. This however, suggests the theme that the songs most likely are in. Which in this case would about heartbreaks and disappointment relationships.

The colours used in the cover image are all dull and soft, there are no bright colours. This also, helps to create the country style background, as it is stereotypical to see sand and dull colours in a country setting.

The artist’s name and the title of the album is located at the top of the cover. This is stereotypical in designs of CD covers, as it is easier to see the artist and the title when flicking though loads of CDs’.

The whole cover image has been created in an illustrated and cartoony style, which makes it look more appealing and interesting. Also it clearly shows that the time period that the cover was created is probably in 20’s and upwards, as the technology wasn’t that advance in the 19’s.

The track list. All the characters are in bold, which makes them noticeable straight away. Also, the font used is the biggest one on this back cover, which makes it the most important information on this cover. In the brackets it also tells how long is each of the songs.

The hanging phone links to the image on the front cover, as the man was on the payphone. It is like the story continues when you turn the CD digipack to the back cover, the hanging phone suggests that the conversation has ended. Perhaps, the person who he was calling didn't’t pick up a phone or they might had an argument and that’s why he left the phone hanging. The size of the phone is quite relevant, as it is taking up at least one third of the whole back cover.

The barcode is a common feature on the back covers, as it is needed for scanning the CD when purchased. It is usually placed in on of the corners of the cover.

The record label’s address and website along with the logo is mentioned too. However, in much smaller font.

Other than the hanging phone, there are no other images used. However, the whole back cover is covered in sand/ aged paper colour. This colour is used for a reason, as it symbolizes country style and it also links to the front cover. There are different shades, such as darker at top and lighter at the bottom, this creates the effect of the cover being old, as it looks aged.

The same sand/ aged colour has been used for this whole cover, just like for the back cover. This links all the separate covers and relates all of them to the country genre.

The record label’s name, address and website is mentioned the second time. However, on this inside cover there is also an email and phone number added. All of this is written in the same fonts as on the previous cover.

The artist’s name, address, an email and website are on the top of this inside cover. The font is small and it does not attract any attention.

At the bottom of the cover there are a mid shot of three trucks from the front cover image. The trucks link this cover to all the other ones. However, these trucks are not colourful, they are coloured in different shades of the rusty colour, that is used for the background. This creates the effect of this cover as not as important as the first two, because it is simple and quite plain.

People who have been involved in the music production are listed at the top of the cover. Their names are in bold, so that is it easier for people to see who else has helped to create the music.

In the middle of the cover page, the artist is thanking all the people that helped him make this album possible. This is written in small font, suggesting it is not essential but the artist still wants to thank those people.

Production credits are listed right below the artist’s thank you’s. These are also written in a small font.

Just like on the previous cover, there is a mid shot of the trucks from the front cover. When the CD digipack is opened, these two inside covers make one picture. As the tracks fit together at the sides. This makes the two covers into one. The same colour has been used to match it with the other covers.