Deadlines/Brief

Music videos are so 80s/90s, right? They belong with the era when MTV screened wall-to-wall vids instead of 'reality' TV? Try telling that to the millions who bought Gangnam Style; were they really simply loving the music? 1.6bn (and still climbing) have viewed the video on YT, not to mention the many re-makes (school eg, eg2), viral ads + celeb link-ups (even political protest in Seoul) - and it doesn't matter how legit it is, this nightmare for daydream Beliebers is making a lot of money, even from the parodies + dislikes. All this for a simple dance track that wouldn't have sounded out of place in 1990 ... but had a fun vid. This meme itself was soon displaced by the Harlem Shake. Music vids even cause diseases it seems!
This blog explores every aspect of this most postmodern of media formats, including other print-based promo tools used by the industry, its fast-changing nature, + how fans/audiences create/interact. Posts are primarily written with Media students/educators in mind. Please acknowledge the blog author if using any resources from this blog - Mr Dave Burrowes

Monday 21 November 2011

DIGIPAKS: all the previous posts gathered together

I'VE GATHERED TOGETHER VARIOUS PREVIOUS POSTS ON DIGIPAKS BELOW:
2012
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2012/02/photoshop-andy-warhol-effect.html
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2012/02/digipakmag-ad-layering-is-key.html
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2012/01/digipaks-further-pointers-on.html 
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2012/01/digipak-vinyl-style-cds.html 
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/11/digipaks-scanned-examples.html 
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/03/digipaks-many-missing-small-details.html 
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2012/01/marketing-use-dates-to-create-special.html
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2010/12/contacting-labels-etc.html


2011
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/03/eg-of-re-digipackaging-old-albums-tour.html
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/10/cdmag-ad-editionalising.html
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/10/digipak-concept-judas-priest-eg.html
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/01/digipak-templates.html
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/01/digipak-examples.html  - containing link to: http://getaheadocrmedia.blogspot.com/2010/10/what-does-digipack-look-like.html and http://getaheadocrmedia.blogspot.com/2010/09/clarification-6-digipak.html
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/11/audience-posthumous-releases.html
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/11/digipaks-scanned-examples.html
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/11/audience-posthumous-releases.html 
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-mediaaud-queen-remix-comp.html - Eg of band using own website to promote album but also involve fans in it; have you thought about a poll (set a swift deadline so you get final results in time), eg on which of 3 tracks to include as closing track on CD? (you can think of other ideas I'm sure, eg which of the 2 versions do you prefer [having linked to drafts])

http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/10/we-looked-at-how-joydiv-group-used.html - QR code linking strands of package? HINT: easy + v useful for Q3/Q4 marks! 

http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/03/album-as-bonus-with-gig-ticket.html 
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/04/covergence-albums-via-magazine-papers.html 
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/03/gorillaz-download-album-to-get-physical.html  
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/03/mp3-killed-album.html 



See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digipak
http://stbedes.durham.sch.uk/blogs/04watsonc/files/2011/02/digipack-madonna.jpg
http://www.thethingswemake.co.uk/graphics_hyper.htm
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/200068349/printed_CD_digipack_with_cd_tray/showimage.html
http://www.discpack.co.uk/creative_disc_packaging.shtml
http://digipack.eu/templates/
http://digipack.eu/featured/cd-digipack-with-booklet/ (LP-style 'tunnel' panel, which allows for a booklet)
http://www.coverdude.com/cd-covers/6981-moonstone-project-hidden-in-time-2008-digipak.html

Past blogs are also a rich seam of useful material, and should help you see what you need to be doing, eg:
(from Jonny Hughes' 2011 Joy Division blog) What is a Digipak CD?; Deconstruction of a Digipak CD; Ancillary Draft: Digipak; Ancillary Draft: Digipak 2; Vodcast: More on the Digipak; Original Photographs for Digipak; Final Digipak Template; Evaluation Q2 - Combination of Products; Final Digipak
(from Beth Cooper's Gorillaz blog) Digipak Design; Gorillaz Album Art; DigiPak; WeWow on the Music Industry & DigiPaks)
(from Megan Claydon's Backstreet Boys blog) Digipak; Q2) How effective is the combination of your main ...; Digipak- Second draft of images; Gaining audience feedback on Digipak; (EB & MC) Our photo draft for the front and back o...; Photographs for Digipak and Advert; Possible photos for our Digipak; Our idea for the Digi-pak; Digi-paks)

Eg of re-[digi]packaging old albums + tour: SUEDE

90s Britpoppers Suede provide a useful eg of bands reissuing repackaged versions of their albums, with bonus DVDs; this is part of the article from pitchfork.com; the full article gives complete CD/DVD listing. Suede are touring to support this release, playing a classic album each night, which links into your digipak ads in most cases...

Suede Reissue Details Revealed

Suede Reissue Details Revealed
As previously reported, reunited Britpop leading lights Suede will release expanded editions of their five studio albums in May and June, via Demon Records. Each of the records has been remastered and expanded to include B-sides, demos, and previously unreleased songs, as well booklets and bonus DVDs featuring recent interviews with the band members and more. The entire band, including once-estranged original guitarist Bernard Butler, worked on the reissue project.
The expanded edition of the band's 1993 self-titled debut is due May 30, with 1994's Dog Man Star following June 6, 1996's Coming Up out June 13, 1999's Head Music arriving June 20, and 2002's A New Morning due June 22. On Record Store Day, April 16, Suede will release a limited edition single featuring demo versions of their first single, 1992's "The Drowne
rs" b/w "To the Birds". In addition, The Best of Suede, which came out last year in the UK, will be released digitally in the U.S. on March 22.
Over the next few months, the band will also play shows in Europe, North America, and Asia, including a set at Coachella and a couple of three-night stands where they'll play a classic album in full each night. Below, we've got the tracklists for each of the reissues, as well as the band's tour dates and their video for "The Drowners".

With thanks once more to WeWow.com and Laurie O'Connor in particular, I've embedded a couple of digipak templates below:
4 Panel Paperfoam With Booklet Space
4 Panel Paperfoam With Booklet Space
CD 4 Panel Digipak
CD 4 Panel Digipak

DIGIPAKS: the small details

Most of the examples I've seen have failed to include the small print that features in most - track writer, copyright etc (often 'with thanks to' list). You really do need to be sat with actual examples to guide you - it would also be an idea to have a copy of one of the band's albums too!!!
I don't have a scan to hand, so here's an eg of the type (and scale) of small print material that might be included (its long, so click 'read more' to see it all).


re-release of "I Do Not Want.." special edition PDF Print
There will be a re-release of "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got" including a few special tracks that are hard to find or unreleased.
Here are the details I got from EMI Music:

Sinéad O’Connor
‘I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got’
(special edition)



CD ICPN:
DD ICPN:

Original album

1.  Feels So Different
2.  I Am Stretched On Your Grave
3.  Three Babies
4.  The Emperor’s New Clothes
5.  Black Boys On Mopeds
6.  Nothing Comares 2 U
7.  Jump In The River
8.  You Cause As Much Sorrow
9.  Last Day Of Our Aquaintance
10.  I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got

Bonus disc

1.  Night Nurse
Produced by Daniel Lanois. Previously unreleased.

2.  My Special Child
Released as a single in May 1991.

3.  Damn Your Eyes
B-side to ‘Three Babies’.

4.  Silent Night (long version)
Released as a single in December 1991. This version from ‘The Ghosts of Oxford Street’ soundtrack.

5.  You Do Something To Me
From the Cole Porter tribute album ‘Red Hot & Blue’.

6.  Mind Games
Produced by Daniel Lanois. Previously unreleased.

7.  What Do You Want
B-side to ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’.

8.  I Am Stretched On Your Grave (Apple Brightness Mix)
B-side to ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’.

9.  Troy (live in London)
B-side to ‘Three Babies’.

10.  I Want Your Hands On Me (live at Hammersmith Odeon)
BBC In Concert 25/5/90.


DISC ONE:

1.  Feel So Different
(Sinéad O’Connor)
Strings arranged + directed by Nick Ingman

2.  I Am Stretched On Your Grave
(F. O’Connor / vocal melody by Phillip King)
Arranged by Sinéad, Chris and John
Fiddle - Steve Wickham

3.  Three Babies
(Sinéad O’Connor)
Acoustic guitar, keyboards + percussion - Sinéad
Strings arranged by Sinéad + directed by Nick Ingman

4.  The Emperor’s New Clothes
(Sinéad O’Connor)
Drums - John Reynolds
Bass - Andy Rourke
Electric guitar - Marco Pirroni
Acoustic guitar - Sinéad

5.  Black Boys On Mopeds
(Sinéad O’Connor)
Arranged by Sinéad + Karl Wallinger
Acoustic guitar - Sinéad

6.  Nothing Compares 2 U *
(Prince)

7.  Jump In The River
(Sinéad O’Connor / Pirroni)
Drum programming, electric guitar, keyboards - Sinéad
Bass, acoustic guitar - Andy Rourke

8.  You Cause As Much Sorrow
(Sinéad O’Connor)
Acoustic guitar + piano - Dave Munday
Bass - Andy Rourke
Drums - John Reynolds

9.  The Last Day Of Our Aquaintance
(Sinéad O’Connor)
Acoustic guitar - Sinéad
Bass - Jah Wobble
Drums - John Reynolds

10.  I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got
(Sinéad O’Connor)


Published by EMI Music Publishing except
Track 2 - Mulligan Music / Virgin Music Pubs Ltd.
Track 6 - Warner / Chappell
Track 7 - Dizzy Heights Music Publishing Ltd. / Chrysalis Music Ltd. / EMI Music Publishing Ltd.
Track 8 - Dizzy Heights Music Publishing Ltd. / Chrysalis Music Ltd.

Produced by Sinéad except ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ produced by Sinéad + Nellee Hooper

Engineered by Chris Birkett
‘Three Babies’ engineered by Chris Birkett + Sean Devitt at S.T.S Dublin
Cover photo by Dominique Le Rigoleur
Black + white photography by David Hoffman (refers to Colin Roach picture in original booklet, check other credits)

Cover by John Maybury

Original recording made by Ensign Limited, a division of Chrysalis Records Limited, and released in 1990.

Digital remaster (P) 2009 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by Chrysalis Records Ltd.

Thanks to
The Roach Family
Elaine Schok, Karen Brown, Steve Wickham
All my family
Marco, Andy, Dave, Karl, Chris + Jan, Joseph
Pat Savage, Nikki Whelan, John Maybury,
Gerry Stafford, Alan McDonald, Baillie Walsh,
John Kennedy, Derry Film + Video, Fachtna,
Nigel + Chris, Doreen, Carol, Paul Conroy, B.P. Fallon,
Mike Bone, Steve Horse, Nellee Hooper, Gota
Ciara O’Flanagan, Kevin Moore, Christophe Magny,
Steve Fargnoli, M.C. Lyte, James Tod, Bill Coleman, Sean Devitt
The Stud Bros, Liam McCoy, Al Cattarnach, Agnes Garland,
Teena Piggott, the Johnson family, the first Priority Crew,
M.C. Duke, Michie Mee, Christy, Val, Juno, Andy, Padraic,
Ina Maibach, Winnie, Barbara Skydell, Frank Barcelona,
the Pogues, Dominique le Rigoleur, Eamonn McCann, Legs McNeil,
John Richmond, Dave Stewart, Robbie + Fee + Scarlett,
Shane Lanigan, NSO, Leroy + the dread broadcasting company.

Special thanks to Selina Marshall + Warren Kenton for showing me that all I’d need was inside me.

Extra special thanks to my Johnny and my Jakey.

This record is dedicated to my father, with love.

God’s place is the world but the world is not God’s place



BONUS DISC:

1.  Night Nurse
(Gregory Issacs / Sylvester Weise)  Charisma Music Publishing Co. Ltd. / EMI Copyright Holdings Ltd.
Mixed by John Reynolds
Produced by Daniel Lanois
(P) 2009 Chrysalis Records Ltd.
Previously unreleased

2.  My Special Child
(Sinéad O’Connor)  EMI Music Publishing Ltd.
Acoustic guitar - Marco Pirroni
Drums - John Reynolds
Uillean pipes and whistle - Liam Óg Ó’Floinn, arranged by Dónal Lunny
Strings - Irish Chamber Orchestra, arranged by Nick Ingman and Sinéad
Produced by Sinéad
Co-produced and engineered by Chris Birkett
Digital remaster (P) 2009 Chrysalis Records Ltd.
Released as a single in May 1991

3.  Damn Your Eyes
(B. Wyrick / S. Bogard)  Intersong Music Ltd. / Chappell Music Ltd.
Produced by Sinéad
Engineered by John Lemon
Mixed by John Williams
Digital remaster (P) 2009 Chrysalis Records Ltd.
B-side to ‘Three Babies’, released in October 1990

4.  Silent Night (long version)
(Traditional)
Produced by Sinead O’Connor and Peter Gabriel
Keyboards by Peter Gabriel
Recorded at Real World Studios
Digital remaster (P) 2009 Chrysalis Records Ltd.
Released as a single in December 1991. This long version is from ‘The Ghosts of Oxford Street’ soundtrack.

5.  You Do Something To Me
(Cole Porter)  Chappell Music Ltd.
(P) 1990 King Cole Inc.
From the Cole Porter tribute album ‘Red Hot & Blue’, released in October 1990

6.  Mind Games
(John Lennon)  Lenono Music
Mixed by John Reynolds
Produced by Daniel Lanois
(P) 2009 Chrysalis Records Ltd.
Previously unreleased

7.  What Do You Want
(Sinéad O’Connor)  EMI Music Publishing
Digital remaster (P) 2009 Chrysalis Records Ltd.
B-side to ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’, released in July 1990

8.  I Am Stretched On Your Grave (Apple Brightness Mix)
(F. O’Connor / vocal melody by Phillip King)  Mulligan Music / Virgin Music Pubs Ltd.
Remix by Bill Coleman for Peace Biscuit Productionc
Digital remaster (P) 2009 Chrysalis Records Ltd.
B-side to ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’, released in July 1990

9.  Troy (recorded ‘live’ in London)
(Sinéad O’Connor)  Dizzy Heights Music Pub. Ltd. / Chrysalis Music Ltd.
Digital remaster (P) 2009 Chrysalis Records Ltd.
B-side to ‘Three Babies’, released in October 1990

10.  I Want Your Hands On Me (live at Hammersmith Odeon)
(Sinéad O’Connor / John Reynolds / Rob Dean / Mike Clowes / Richard Holifield)  Zomba Music Publishers Ltd. / Freddy Bienstock Music Ltd./Carlin / Chrysalis Music Ltd. / Dizzy Heights Music Publishing Ltd.
(P) 2009 BBC
NEED BBC LAB CO
BBC In Concert 25/5/90, previously unreleased


------------------

(P) 2009 The copyright in this compilation is owned by Chrysalis Records Ltd.
© 2009 Chrysalis Records Ltd.
This label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.
© 2009 Chrysalis Records Ltd.


Reissue credits:

Bonus disc compilation and sleeve notes by John Reynolds
Remastering by Adam Nunn at Abbey Road Studios, London
Design by …
Photo credits …
Co-ordination for EMI by Libby Jones and Jo Brooks
Thanks to Steve Davis and Nigel Reeve at EMI

Special thanks to Sinéad O’Connor, John Reynolds and Fachtna O’Ceallaigh


CD/MAG AD: Editionalising

Just as we saw with DVDs last year (initial vanilla releases followed by special/collector's/ultimate editions; unrated version; director's cut), albums - especially best ofs - are increasingly sold in mutltiple versions. There's an example below, starting with a digipak and working up to a CD+DVDs set.
This is something you can be thinking of as you begin to think about the digipak + mag ad. The JoyDiv team from last year won plaudits from the exam board for adding a limited edition vinyl edition; you could consider this, or a 'bonus live DVD', without taking too much more time.
Other than researching examples of both digipaks and mag ads, the key to these is thinking of imagery early that you could then be photographing while out on your filming shoots (or even practice run-throughs), though you might also opt for a more abstract look. Just remember, your Eval has a Q about the links between your 3 texts.

Source for following article: http://loudwire.com/rammstein-made-in-germany-retrospective/

Rammstein ‘Made in Germany 1995 – 2011′ Retrospective Drops December 6

Rammstein
Rammstein are Germany’s most famous purveyors of subversive, industrial aggro and they are about to make fans incredibly happy, thanks to a career retrospective, dubbed ‘Made in Germany 1995-2011.’ The release is set to drop on Dec. 6 via Vagrant Records.
The retrospective will be made available in three different configurations, so you can choose according to your level of fandom for this enigmatic band, known for playing with fire and engaging in simulated homoerotic activity on stage.
The standard edition will feature the ‘Best Of’ album as a CD digipak, while the special edition will add the ‘Best Of’ remix album to the standard edition. If that doesn’t satisfy your hankering for noisy Teutonic rock, then you’ll want to seek out the super deluxe edition, which include the ‘Best Of’ album and the ‘Best Of’ remixes, along with three DVDs.
The DVDs will be comprised of the band’s full video catalog and all previously available “Making Of” videos, along with eight previously unreleased “Making Of” videos. The super deluxe edition will be encased in -what else?- a steel box and will come with a 240-page booklet. It’s an exclusive piece, as only 1200 copies will be made available in the US. Hello, collector’s item!
As if all of this wasn’t enough, all the songs and videos have been specifically remastered for this particular release.
The retrospective isn’t all that’s going on in the Rammstein camp right now. Rammstein’s new single ‘Mein Land’ is set to drop on Nov. 11. It will be available as a four-track set via iTunes, and will include an unreleased track, ‘Vergiss Uns Nicht,’ as well as remixes from BossHoss and Mogwai. It will also be accompanied by the Jonas Akerlund-directed video for the single. The video premieres on the band’s website on Nov. 11. So mark your calendars, stat!


DIGIPAK CONCEPT: Judas Priest eg

Your digipak is for an album.
That means you have to create a tracklisting and briefly justify it.
Singles and best ofs are common, but with some bands with extensive back catalogues other 'themes' are used - the ballads, heaviest of, etc. Here's an interesting take from a UK metal band thats been going for around 40 years (and are bigger in the US than they are here, which is typical for successful UK metal bands), and recently featured on the final of American Idol, demonstrating their mainstream pull.
Judas Priest asked members of a wide range of bands to pick their favourite Priest tracks and used their selections to create a Chosen Few compilation, as detailed below.
You need to start thinking about the digipak and mag ad early - you must take separate photographs and not rely on screengrabs!!!
German metal band The Scorpions are another useful example: they've released a comp of their ballads, their rockier material, and a compilation of both!











 Here's UK sleaze metal outfit Dogs D'Amour striving to avoid the 'best of' label, and working with the fact that they didn't have many 'hits'!


Finally, US funk-matallers Faith No More, reformed to play Download in 2011, with an alternative to their Is This It? The Best Of album.















The following is quoted from http://loudwire.com/judas-priest-rob-halford-ian-hill-interview-chosen-few-upcoming-album/
One interesting aspect about your new compilation ‘The Chosen Few’ is that artists from completely different backgrounds picked some of the same tracks. David Coverdale from Whitesnake and Randy Blythe from Lamb of God both picked ‘The Green Manalishi.’ Klaus Meine from Scorpions and Corey Taylor from Slipknot both picked “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’.” Were you surprised by the unlikely pairings?

Halford: Yeah, absolutely surprised. We had no idea what anyone was going to pick, did we Ian?

Hill: No, it was totally up to them. It’s our only compilation album where we had absolutely no control whatsoever of what’s going on it.

Halford: It’s great that you should marry the guys together though. That Klaus from Scorpions and Corey from Slipknot should both like that particular track and say what they’ve said about particular songs that they enjoy from Priest. It really shows you the way that metal has this amazing generational crossover to two totally different worlds.

Members of Black Sabbath and Metallica were among the acts that chose the tracks for ‘The Chosen Few.’ What songs would you choose from those three acts if you were helping to put together a similar compilation for them?

Halford: For Black Sabbath, I’d probably pick ‘Black Sabbath,’ because that’s like the most evil song ever written. For Metallica, I’d probably pick ‘Blackened.’ I’m into old school Metallica personally and old school Sabbath.

Hill: It’s funny; I’d have to go listen to the albums again. There’s always a hidden gem somewhere. You always pick out, “Oh yeah, I used to love listening to that,” and then you tend to discard the rest of the album as time goes on. We’ve been doing albums now for 30 or 40 years and even with our songs I forget what the hell we’ve done on our albums, so I’d have to look back and listen to them all again and see if there are any hidden gems in there before I just blurt out what I’ve been listening to for the last 30 years.

Both 2011 compilations ‘Single Cuts’ and ‘The Chosen Few’ only cover your work until the early ‘90s; do you feel like this represents your career in the right way or do you feel that some of your later material should have been included?

Halford: I think it’s just a fun retrospective. You can’t do it all in one go, it’s impossible. I think you just have to look at the moment that you’re working with. Maybe there’ll be a ‘Chosen Few 2’ or ‘Chosen Few 3.’

Hill: The other thing is that there was a gap there where Rob wasn’t with us and the two albums we’ve done since Rob’s return are still very, very familiar and very fresh. In a lot of cases they haven’t sunk in yet – the great songs off the last two albums. They haven’t gotten established yet, so that’s maybe one of the reasons.

It seems like when you’re around for such a long time it’s hard for the new stuff to really sink in with the fans.

Halford: That’s the way it goes, yeah.

Hill: Of course, as far as singles are concerned, we haven’t had any singles off the last two albums. [Laughs]

Halford: We’ve never been a singles band. We love our label to death, Sony. That’s why we thought why do you want to do this? They said, “Well we did release single tracks to promote the records, particularly in America, some of which did really well, some of which just filtered through to introduce the new release.” We had no idea that our label had done so much. It was just the idea that we were going to do the ‘Single Cuts.’

When you’ve been together for 40 years, that’s what bands do now. It’s time to reminisce about your life in music and to put together these box sets that you may or may not choose to add to your collection. Some fans just want to go from studio album to studio album and don’t want the box sets, but pretty much all of the Priest fans are like, “Give me it all, I want everything! I want the lot. I want to put my ‘Singles Cuts’ next to my ‘Metalogy,’ I want to put that next to my remasters.”

Hill: It’s a good concept though; you’ve now got the singles out. I’d be great if they then go for the Judas Priest production pieces and then the heavier songs or the faster songs. You can pick out any little area of heavy metal, which is immense really and we’ve done a lot of all of it over the years.

What does a digipack look like?



Examples of student digipack and magazine advert from the summer. level 4 work. A digipack should be four or six frames and a magazine advert should follow conventions in terms of promotion of the product. these are very good examples.


Clarification 6: Digipak

If you look up digipak on wikipedia, you'll see it contains four or six frames. There are loads of examples on play.com and several linked to this blog via candidate blogs. This one contains a digipak which is very well constructed and comprises six panes. Scroll down to find it.

"When making the music video as a group, is one digipak per group enough or is each member of the group meant to do their own digipak? I know that individual presentations are required but not sure about digipaks"


One set of products per group is fine, but it can be quite good to see each member of the group making their own ancilleries so the group has more to discuss in the evaluation about how to reach the audience. Evaluations likewise can be done as a group, but as always, teachers need to be clear on individual contributions in their marking.

From Kirsty Lowdon: "I just wanted to feed back my own experience of this artefact based on our own coursework component last year. Apologies if it is a long response, but I thought that it might be worthwhile information. There seems to be quite a lot of confusion about it, but I actually think that the students are the ones who get this right, even without trying that hard. My A2 students excelled in their coursework and were very successful with the digipack aspect, many of whom received 10/10 for their attempt.

We felt that it was really important for students to actually get out there and look for concrete examples of digipacks as part of their research and planning. They needed to handle the product and consume it in order to work out what it was. They actually went together to HMV (having asked the store manager) and analysed the digipacks available within the store. They soon worked out the difference between a digipack and a regular CD cover. Essentially that a digipack offers the audience a lot more in terms of content than a regular CD cover.

From this they then produced convincing digipacks which included some or all of the following aspects (depending on the group choice):

Front
Spine
Back
Membership postcard/flier
Lyric section
Disk impression
Band info section/booklet
Free image/poster

My students didn't produce the actual CD that went inside it, and this was not commented on by the moderator. However, some students included an impression of the disk on paper and just placed it inside for the effect. I think it really does depend on what the students feel makes the product look convincing.

By doing this, they were able to construct convincing artefacts which met the criteria. At the end of the day, it is a digipack and not a CD cover that they were making.

I think that it would be prohibitive as a teacher to stipulate completely what is required as this restricts student creativity (something that they might be expected to comment on in their exam and certainly something that the specification promotes).However, I think that it is safe to say that something more is expected than just the front, spine and back in order to actually meet the definition of a digipack.

This approach worked for me this year and I genuinely feel it was because students were made to discover for themselves the various forms the artefact can take"

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