CD digipak analysis Darius

1. CD Digipak Analysis

2. Characters
On the front cover, Darius is posing with a pouted
expression on his face and he is staring into the
camera, directly addressing his audience. This is
stereotypical of the pop genre and reveals that the
album is personal as he is allowing his audience to
identify with him. The image also portrays Darius
leaning against a silver car. Wealth and the genre of
R&B is conveyed through the inclusion of this prop
on the front cover of the CD. His relaxed body
language as he leans against the car is supported by
his casual clothes. The jeans and loose shirt that he
is wearing depict that he is relaxed and happy.
Although he is casually dressed, his clothes look
expensive and we can see a large, silver belt buckle.
We are reminded of the genre of R&B and that he is
wealthy by this use of mise en scene. As well as
wealth his expensive looking clothes suggest that
he is trying to keep up with fashion and look stylish.
This relates back to the genre of pop music because
of the inclusion of the latest fashion.

3. Narrative events
Darius is wearing a black shirt on the front cover of
the CD. This denotes that he could be waiting to
meet someone to go out, he is also leaning against a
car which reinforces this idea. The inclusion of the car
on the front cover and the images of roads, a bus
ticket and motel signs create the idea that he is
travelling or making a journey. This creates a
narrative enigma because we question where he is
travelling to, who he is meeting, if anyone, and why is
he making the journey. The mood is displayed
through the high-key lighting and images of the
beach on the front and back covers of the CD and in
the insert. The bright lighting generates a happy,
relaxed atmosphere suggesting that his journey is a
positive one. The images of the beach produce an
image of romance and add to the happy mood. In
opposition to this, the last image on the back page on
the insert has a blue hue over it and Darius look sad
with a blank expression on his face and his head in
his hand. This insinuates that his trip didn’t end well
or that he didn’t find what, or who, he was looking
for.

4. Iconography
Iconic images and symbols of America are displayed throughout the insert. The images of
motels with neon signs, an American bus ticket, long roads and numbered road signs all
create the picture of an American road trip. The use of the car on the front cover of the CD
adds to this idea that Darius is making a long journey across the United States. The
iconography therefore suggests that the album will contain songs about his trip across
America and his reason for taking it. The image of the dog tags on the insert is iconic of
working class America and is a symbol that was also used by Elvis after he served in the
army. The image of the car is also iconic to the genre R&B music as it connotes wealth. In
this genre of music, the artists stereotypically show off about how much money they have
and what they own. This use of iconography could hint at the R&B genre of music being
portrayed through Darius’ album. However, the guitar featured on the back cover is iconic
of a more alternative style of music such as soft rock. The album could contain either genre
of music because of the iconography utilised on the CD cover.

5. Setting
The two main settings that we see on the CD
cover and insert are the beach and the road. The
beach as a setting generates thoughts of romance
and a happy, relaxed atmosphere, suggesting that
Darius is taking a break and writing songs about
love and when he has been happy. The road
setting connotes that he is travelling, possibly in
search of something or someone, creating a more
negative, serious mood. The images of motels on
the insert with bright neon signs produce a more
seedy image as they are stereotypically a cheap
place for travellers to stop in American films and
often negative events happen in this setting.
Additionally, the neon lights are similar to those
that you would expect to see in Las Vegas
therefore leading us to believe that Darius is
putting himself at risk of losing something or is
gambling something that is important to him. The
very different settings used and the moods that
they create, generate a narrative enigma as they
leave us as an audience wondering what Darius is
doing and what his album will therefore be about.

6. Technical and audio codes
On the one hand, the high-key lighting utilised throughout the insert and on the front
and back covers depicts a relaxed atmosphere and conveys that Darius is happy. On
the other hand, the blue hues edited over the last image on the insert displays sadness
and denotes that he is upset about the end of his journey or that he didn’t find what
he was looking for. This is supported by the close-up shot revealing Darius’ blank
expression and him holding his head in his hand as if he is angry or upset. A medium
long shot of Darius holding his hand above his eyes on the insert suggests that he has
lost something, or someone, and is looking for them, telling the audience that the
album could possibly be about his journey to find what it is that he is looking for or
finding something that he didn’t expect to on the way.