1. Digipak Analysis- McFly, Radio Active
The digipakforan albumcontains;the frontand back coverof the CD case,the insert,often
containinginformationaboutthe artistorsong lyrics,andthe CD itself.Iam goingto analyse the CD
digipakforMcFly’s RadioActive (2008) usingLacey’sRepertoire of elements.
The characters on the frontof the CD cover are the membersof the band.Theydonot directly
addresstheiraudience bylookingintothe camera;insteadtheyseemtolookateachother.This
denotesthattheyare friendsandare happyas a band. The cheerful,relaxedatmosphereis
continuedontothe insertwhichdisplaysimagesof the band
buildingacampfire andjokingandlaughingwitheachother,
suggestingthatthe albumwill be upbeatandpossiblyreflects
whathappenedona tripor holidaythattheywentontogether.
Anotherfeature of theircharacteristheirhairstyles.Theyeither
have long,floppyhairorspikeyhairina Mohawk style.These
stylesare stereotypicalof rockstars and the more alternative
rock musicstyle whichthe albumfollows.The backcoverdoes
not feature anyimagesatall whichindicatesthat theyare more
alternative andare breakingfree of the stereotypical pop/rock
genre.
The images helptocreate a narrative of the band andtheir
friendship.Onthe frontcoverthe band membersare looking
across at each otherand theirfaceslookrelaxedandhappy.
The greenhue on the image suggeststhe genre of science-
fiction,indicatingthattheyare sci- fi fans. The insertalso
denotesfriendshipbetweenthe bandmembersastheyare
seentobe campingandlaughingtogether.Thisalsoinsinuates
that the songson the albumwill tell the storyof theirtrip
togetherandtheirfriendship. The sketchydrawingsonthe
coverand the insertand the hand-writtennotesonthe lyric
bookletportrayyouthandfreedomwhichtellsthe audience thatthe bandisyoungandhappywith
whattheyare doing.Additionally,thisalternative stylecreatesasense thattheyare still
experimentingwiththeirmusicandthattheyare a new band ratherthan a more experiencedone.
The squareson the frontcover are similartothe square compositionsof
AndyWarhol’spopart work.This makesthe imageryandcomposition
utilisedonthe CDcovericonicof popularculture andtherefore signifies
the pop/rock genre of the music.Anotherfeature iconicof the genre of
musicisthe sansserif font.Itis sketchyandruns diagonallydownthe
back covercreatingan alternative,light-heartedmood.Additionallythe
greenhue onthe coverimagesisiconicof science fictionaddingtothe
alternative styleof the album.The longorspikeyhairstylesof the band
2. are iconicof early2000’s pop stars,again,revealingthe pop/rockgenre andthe alternative style of
the band andtheirmusic.
The relaxedsettingseeninthe insertportraysacampsite where the bandtooka trip together.They
are seentobe happy andtheirmusicis depictedaslight- heartedbecause of thisrelaxedsetting.
The plainstudio-like settingonthe frontcover,however,createsamore serioustone asit isthe
backgroundof a professional photoshootforthe album, makingthe bandseemlike theyare more
focusedontheircareerhere thantheywere on the campsite.Thisisjuxtaposedwiththe sketchy,
alternative illustrationsof the albumlogowhich,again,connotes asense of happinessandrelaxation
betweenthe bandmembers. Therefore the settingswhichfeature onthe digipakcreate a
contradictionbetweenthe seriousnessof rockand the light- heartednessof popmusic.
The way inwhich technical codeson the front andback covershave beenutilisedthrougheditingto
give a pale greenhue overthe images andtextproducesa
punk-likemood,suggestingthatthe bandmake punk/
alternative music.Thisissupportedbythe sketchyimages
of microphoneswithtonguesstickingoutof themas they
alsodepicta punk-like,alternative genre of music. The sans
serif style of fontutilisedcontinuestoportraythispunk
style asit issketchyand alternative. The high- key,natural
lightingof the imagesinthe insertare relaxedanddisplay
the friendshipandlight-heartednessof the bandandtheir
music,contradictingthe punk-likeimageryandeditingon
the front cover.The long-shotsutilisedinthe inserttoconveythe bandare alsolight-heartedasthey
are seenplayingguitars,sittingonthe groundarounda campfire andlaughing,again,depictingthe
popgenre of music. Additionally,popmusicispresentedthroughthe designof the layoutonthe
back cover.The thick,black boardersurroundingthe textcreatesatelevision-like image,suggesting
fame and thatthe band’smusicisfeaturedonpopularmusicchannelssuchas MTV which
stereotypicallybroadcastspopularmusic.
Overall,the characters,setting,technical codes,iconographyandnarrative create asense of the
rock/ popgenre and reveal the close- friendlyrelationshipbetweenthe bandmembers.
