A01 - Analyse a Digipak

This digipak is Michael Jackson's 'This is It.' It is a 4 panel digipak, that has a book style integrated into it. The CD is contained by having a pouch which it fits into, there is also another pouch which holds the second CD. The colours in this digipak are silver, red and black. These are colours that were stereotypically used for Michael Jackson throughout his whole life. They have connotations to something that is priceless, and almost regal. You don't need audience foreknowledge to know what this digipak is about, as there is a silhouette of Michael Jackson as the cover, with a collage of images from the tour rehearsals inside the silhouette. The whole digipak is represented photographically, with images throughout of the 'This Is It' tour rehearsals. There was no images of the actual tour in the digipak, as Jackson passed away a week before his tour was due to begin. The typography on the front and back of the digipak is very clean and simple. It is serif, and a plain text which ties in beautifully with the remainder of the digipak, making it a great tribute to the King of Pop. There is only one part of italic text, which shows that the album is dedicated to his children. The rest of it is left in it's normal state to show off the title and the songs. The songs are in a smaller font than the title itself. There is additional information on the back of the cover, showing the names and logos of the production team, his record label, copyright information and everyone that was involved in the making of the album. There is a lot of white space on the front of the digipak, but it doesn't make the digipak look dull, as the main focus is on the silhouette of Michael Jackson. The back of the cover is also filled up with the additional information and the names of the tracks. There is also another image of a silhouette of Michael Jackson in one of his iconic dance moves. This has also been filled in with images from the rehearsals. The messages within the digipak are visual, as there is no writing inside or out, except the names of the songs and the additional information. There is a wide target audience for this digipak, as Michael Jackson had fans of all ages, ranging from small children to elderly people. Therefore I think the design of this digipal has been cleverly done to make sure its suitable for all ages. The digipak tells us that the album is going to be a very clean polished piece, as thats the impression that the case is giving off. The information on the digipak has been placed in a hierarchy of importance. The names of the songs on the back have come before the names of the copyright, production companies and record labels. The digipak was vital to the sales of the 'This Is It,' documentary film. The album was the official soundtrack to the worldwide film, giving people how had seen the film to relive the moments. Therefore because of this, the soundtrack gained a very big profit. Personally I like this digipak, it is different to others because it has a hardback case, with a book style inside it. I also like the way that the disc casing is incorporated into the images, so you can keep the images the size you want. I think that it communicates effectively with the audience as Michael Jackson fans would understand that this album has been created out of respect, and that the cover and information inside reflects that. The digipak isn't offensive in any way, just like Jackson's previous album covers. He wouldn't put anything out that would offend others. And there are no alternative readings to the cover.