The central social group represented in Get You music video, a music video consists of only two characters, is young adults, more specifically those who are deeply introspective and emotionally profound, who could resonate with complex, non-linear storytelling and love aesthetically pleasing things. As the music video focuses on the visuals aspects and performance, there is very little to talk about difficult topics, however it does mention difficulties that one might face being in a relationship—time. As time goes on, we never know how much time we have left on this earth, thus before everything comes down to just memories, we all want to love with all of our heart. However, things don’t always go as we wish, and in the music video, there is a slight mention of parting up because of death, but due to the indirect mention (only who carefully analyse the story behind will know), it is not a big issue and hence will not make the music video depressing.
Since the beginning of the pre-production stage, I’ve always wanted the main character being reenacted by a male actor. It is rare to see a male representation that emphasises sentimentality and vulnerability, since the stereotypes have always been that females are associated with being emotional. The female character in this music video, aside from being the guest singer, acts as a catalyst for the male character to further express his emotional and vulnerable side, hence inferring that Get You music video deconstructed gender stereotypes.
To be honest, it was quite easy to determine the overall theme for the digipak once I’ve figured that of the music video. However, it does break the conventions for typical R&B albums, especially recent ones that have been released in the last few years like SOS by SZA or Lucid by Raveena.
Lucid - Raveena
SOS - SZA
Looking at these album covers and other album covers of the same genre, we could see a pattern in their album design—portraits. Regardless of other factors, portraits is still the most prominent component of these album covers. I, on the other hand, broke that convention and went with something more symbolic, metaphoric and abstract. The overall theme is heavily influenced by the original song’s album NEVER ENOUGH by Daniel Caesar, in which the most prominent factor is no longer the portrait but the colour scheme.
The use of colour in this album cover is really smart, hence, without having to do too much, Daniel Caesar has fully conveyed the message that he wanted to tell through the album cover. Coincidentally, my music video’s main colour scheme also consists of blue, so I took that colour as the main component for my digipak.
By doing so, the complexity of the digipak design and the artistic construction of the music video can intertwine with each other, creating a connective and cohesive storyline, effectively encapsulating the overarching theme of the music video. Through the use of imageries, colours, and typefaces, I could establish a common branding for the entire promotional package, following the examples of R&B artists like Daniel Caesar’s NEVER ENOUGH or SZA’s SOS, while fusing with dreamy pop artists (my sub-genre) like The Marías’ Submarine or Men I Trust’s I Hope To Be Around.
The images used in the digipak design includes two photos that were taken during one of the production day, which could be treated like a photoshoot. Even though there are only two pictures, there was a lot of time and effort pour into the editing of these pictures before they could make it to the digipak design. I had these ideas for the photoshoot in mind during the production stage, when I was doing the brainstorm for my digipak. I knew I wanted something really symbolic and metaphoric so I looked on Pinterest to find some ideas. Now, I’m not saying that I copied the things I found on Pinterest, since I only took the inspirations and did everything by myself, from taking the pictures and editing them, though I’d like to give credits to the original creators who came up with the ideas.
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Noticeably, in the music video there is a similar scene where the two MCs’ hands place against each other, which is a direct resemblance of this image, creating a deep connection throughout the entire promotional package, making it more nuance and subtle.
The other picture which was meant to be put on the inside of the digipak was also inspired by a photo I saw on Pinterest, and it was also directly linked to another scene in the music video.
A 2010 study by Jougn Kim et al. found that individuals experiencing sadness showed a greater preference for blue shades, possibly because they reinforce feelings of quietness and introspection. Some artistic movements, like Picasso’s “Blue Period”, used blue tones to depict sadness and despair. In contrast to warm colours (like red or yellow), which are linked to energy and social connection, blue is often perceived as distant and contemplative.