DIGIPAK ANALYSIS PVRIS, ‘White Noise’, 2016
PVRIS, WHITE NOISE: COVER Album title: The title of the album is written on its cover, following a clear convention of form. The positioning of this title is secondary to the image, and the white space on the cover is clearly a nod towards the title itself. White Noise is a term used to describe a sound that is loud, continuous, seemingly ever present, and with no pitch or rhythm, this seems to be an interesting choice for an album title, but is explained further by Track 7 on the album- titled White Noise, where the phrase features in a lyric describing emotional turmoil in a relationship. Cover image: The main image on the front cover of this album is the motif used across all products of this album, including music videos that feature the mirror as a physical prop, and the original CD packaging of the album, in which the mirror is white, on a black background. This repeated imagery will build association of the icon with the band, and amongst fans, with this particular album.
Artist Name: Following conventions, the name of the artist is also featured on the cover of the album, in their classic PVRIS logo font and style. Much like the album title, this is also placed secondary to the image. The bands name is pronounced ‘Paris’, but spelt with a V in place of an A, this intentional misspelling is a generic convention within alternative music.
Minimalist Style: The minimalist look of this album cover makes a bold and uncompromising statement. Fans of the band who would buy this special edition of the album will recognize the PVRIS mirror motif instantly, and know that this is a PVRIS product. The album cover relies on this link strongly. Other alternative bands who are lesser known may feel more obliged to include a picture of themselves on the cover, so as to develop that association in the minds of their audience, but PVRIS have chosen to instead follow a more generic convention and include more abstract imagery on the cover of their album. Monochrome: The monochromatic colour scheme of the cover is a direct reference to the black and white theme of all of the band’s visuals. All of their music videos, promotional photos, and further imagery are all in black and white. This presents a clear house style and a consistent link across their visual media channels.
PVRIS, WHITE NOISE: BACK COVER Music Videos: As this Digipak is the special edition release of the album, a second disc is included, which features all of the music videos the band produced to accompany the tracks. This extra addition of special features is fairly typical of a Digipak, as they are often described as promotional tools aimed at the most dedicated of fans as a kind of ‘thank you’. This particular example shows a clear emphasis on the audio-visual elements of the album, which is highlighted further by the fact that almost all songs on the album have a music video. This very clearly reveals something of the fan-base of PVRIS, and emphasizes how Digipaks can be designed and composed to do just that. Age rating: As a result of the second disc containing the music videos that accompany the songs on the album, it is a compulsory requirement that an age rating is given to the DVD disc. Once again, the least invasive placement for this is on the back of the album. A PG warning indicates that a Parent Guardian should be present around young children when watching these music videos. This is a key consideration that should be made of any visual content I may include within my Digipak.
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Barcode: A necessary element on any media product up for commercial release is a barcode. The neatest and least invasive place to position this is on the back cover, and this has become conventional.
Track Names: The albums track names are listed against their track number on the back of the Digipak. This is highly conventional of album covers, and is a fairly regimented placement for a track list. Interestingly, the formatting of this track list in particular replicates the form of the image on the front of the album- centering the text shows a clear reference to the central image of the mirror on the cover of the album. DVD Logo: As a further indicator of video content, the DVD disc logo has been included on the back cover of this Digipak. This is both conventional and required. Typically, the CD ROM logo is also included on the back of an album- to indicate the CD content, on this album, it is not. This is not conventional.
Record Label rights: Copyright information as well as record label accreditation must be given on the back of all CDs. On White Noise, this is done both visually- with the small logo of the record label, as well as through the legally recognized ‘copyright’ and ‘rights reserved’ symbols, and an anti-piracy warning. The web address of the record label is also listed here, as this will supply further information on the legal rights of the label.
Credits: Four lines of credits are listed on the back of this album. these give credit to the albums producer and sound engineer, mixer, and master, and as this is an audio-visual Digipak, the director of the music videos. This is a recognized convention across all media products- credits are given to those responsible for the product, in this case, the album and its accompanying music videos.
ST
PVRIS, WHITE NOISE: 1
CD Pocket: Interestingly, this Digipak uses pockets to present its discs to the consumer, and this panel is one of the two pockets included for this purpose. A cardboard sleeve is formed that in this case holds Disc 1, or the CD disc. The disc itself also follows the monochrome and minimalist theme- it is black, and its only content is the bands logo, and the logo of the record label: Rise Records. This shows a clear consideration for the overall appearance of each of the products included in this Digipak, which is a feature I would love to replicate in my Digipak.
PANEL
Artist Name: This panel of the Digipak is perhaps the most minimal of all. In a very transparent grey style, the band’s logo is the only content on this panel. This has the most impact when viewed in context with the panels that follow it, like the credits on the panel that mirrors it- this placement of the artist name seems to underline exactly who PVRIS are.
ND
PVRIS, WHITE NOISE: 2
PANEL
Credits: This panel of the Digipak has been used to present a more in-depth and complete list of credits, including credits to musicians, vocalists, writers and sound editors that feature on the album. As said, it is highlighted very effectively that these are the people responsible for the album by the bands logo presented in the way it is on the overleaf.
PVRIS, WHITE NOISE: MAIN SPREAD
Album Title: The album title is printed across this spread, which I feel is a highly effective use of two adjacent panels. The style of this text mimics that of static signals, which of course relates to the phrase ‘White Noise’, and makes for an impactful visual style.
Booklet Insert/ Poster: As is conventional with promotional Digipaks, this product also includes bonus content in the form of an insert that sits inside of this left hand panel’s pocket. This insert is the typical lyrics booklet included in many CD products, as well as where a list of thanks are given by the band members to those who they feel have contributed to the album or to themselves as people. But additionally, this insert is an exclusive poster of the band when unfolded. This type of bonus content is so typical of a Digipak- a promotional form that almost gives thanks to fans of the artist for being so committed.
DVD Pocket: This right hand panel is the second of two disc pockets in this Digipak, and this disc pocket contains the DVD disc that this product includes. Much like the CD disc, the DVD is very minimal in terms of content, a plain white fills the disc, and just like the CD, the record label and artist logos are included, this time with the additional information of the content age rating, as well as the DVD disc logo- as is conventional for a DVD disc.