Guidance on Digipaks and ancillaries

Those of you doing a digipak - remember that the board specification says:

- a digipak for the album’s release

A lot of you are doing a video for a music single. Imagine the single being the lead promotional tool for a following album. Therefore, you should be aiming for a definite 'house style' and brand recognition between the album and the music video (and other ancillary).

There is a template that Mr Hudson provided for doing this task on publisher. I have also put a photoshop template into the student folder.

As a lot of you are proper digital then there's a bit of confusion as to what should/could go into a digipak (front cover and 3 page insert as a 4 page booklet) and a back cover. Below are some suggestions and in the post below some links to have a look at.

In any of the tasks - look at real examples for conventions/typical features.


Front cover: logo /name of the album /photo of band or picture/image related to either song or
Inside: could have song lyrics / related pictures / song credits - writer/producer/trumpet = .../triangle =....etc  / thank-yous! / extra content download/QR code, social media and website listings/details / (these don't have to be correct listings -you can make them up!)
Back Cover: Sometimes can be a continuation of the front cover, usually has a list of the

Remember - we can apply Goodwin's features of music videos here whereby there is usually a correlation between the images and the lyrics.

The main thing with all the ancillaries is to show an understanding of the conventions of the form (that it looks like a CD pack, website etc...) and to make sure there is a strong correlation (although not exact!) between the ancillary products and the main music video.

-A website home page for the band. Good example HERE – go for a good homepage and perhaps one working linked page. Definitely embed your music video when finished.

-A digipak for the single or album. Templates on the student drive in publisher and photoshop. Good example HERE and HERE – reflect changes in industry by having download codes for extra content

-A magazine advertisement for the digipak (NOTE: can be for album or single). Not so many good examples online but we have some old-ish music mags in the cupboard to look at. Try and keep the bleed, house style of a magazine (real or imagined), even do an online version with working links to the video…QR codes?

Useful Premier Pro music video editing tutorial

Here is an easy to follow youtube tutorial I've found online.

This one is quite good for sequencing images to the beat (perhaps a bit more difficult with rock tracks) and easy ways to get your lip sync in time to the music.



If you have any that you have found please post them in the comments below for others to use.

Key Dates - MUST READ!!

I am aware of some confusion around the deadlines for A2 coursework. Also, having spoken with a few students and looked at the year plan I have made a few changes to give you longer. These dates however are non-negotiable as we have already changed them to give you extra time.

1. Date for hand-in/completion of Main production task (Music Video/Short Film) and two ancillaries (two of mag advert, website homepage or digipak) = Fri 28th Feb 2014

2. Week ending 31st January - have a rough version of your film or the ancillary products to show your teacher so we can give you some feedback and suggestions for improvement(similar to the process with the research and planning). If humanly possible, a rough edit (and it can be really rough...) of the music video would be ideal as if our feedback is that you need to do some more shooting then you will have enough time.

3. You will not have lesson time after w/c 11th Feb to work on your films as we will start teaching of the evaluation.

4. Your hand in date for the evaluation (and any other research and planning) is Fri 21st March 2014.

5. EXAM: Tues 10th June (AM) Critical Perspectives

Any issues around meeting deadlines should be discussed well in advance with myself or Mr Hudson.

- Remember also that we have the use of the upstairs computer room during curriculum enhancement.

I- f you need to use facilities after school or lunchtime this is not a problem as long as you need to check with me in advance.

- Nearer the time I will be putting on specific exam revision classes for AS and A2 during the curriculum enhancement slots - look out for notices.

- Remember to keep adding to your research and planning (for example, getting friends to look at a rough cut of your video counts as planning as you are adapting to your audience's needs/desires).


Lastly, make sure you get organised, book your equipment and stick to the rules for using equipment outlined in last week's lessons.

Go forth and make earth-stoppingly good videos!!

Music video research and planning and Media in the online age

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jan/01/beyonce-redefined-release-album-adele

Really useful article looking at how Beyonce released her most recent album. If a pop star with her status is releasing an album only on the internet, without any pre-promo and making the music video the focus of her music - what does this say about how technology is changing the music industry and the importance of the music video as a promotional tool? A sign of things to come or just an industry gimmick? You decide. Useful as both a piece of research and planning into industry practices and also for Media in the Online Age.

Infographic Method of presentation

This is an interesting method of presentation used in The Guardian. You could use this same method for the following:

- key company/director presentations
- developing the brand of your artist (as part of the main and ancillary products)
- textual analysis
- as a visual representation of your idea for your music video

You can make your own inforgraphs using infogr.am (thanks to Danny for this!)

Industry Research: Piracy and the Music Industry

You may wish to add a post about how piracy is affecting the music industry, what role music videos play in promoting music/artists but also how record companies try and assert their copyright and control of 

These clips may also be useful for the theory side of your course. You may have seen them before in your theory lessons.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/24449861

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/24524873

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/24524871

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/24442475

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/24620271 

Make sure...

When you are downloading or uploading (if from a CD) just make sure you get a good quality audio recordiing for example you may wish to use 320mp3 or WAV/AIFF -I would view the audio quality (and this is the only audio consideration you have) as part of the editing/post-production process and it can affect the overall impact of your music video if an excellent video has some tinny sound.

ITunes downloaded formats are generally 256mp3s. This is the lowest compressed rate I would recommend. Anything else won't do your video justice!