2 x Plan for magazine advertisement

These are two designs I drew for our group's piece of magazine advertisement. Like with the digipacks, I chose to take two different approaches as a way of demonstrating how artists in the punk rock genre can be conveyed in several ways. The first advert, for example, is very simplistic, similar to the Kings of Leon advert I analysed previously, with this singular band member connoting solitude and loneliness. This would be very appropriate if the songs within the album in which the poster is advertising were based on such themes, establishing a target audience while also informing consumers as to what to expect from this particular product. In comparison, the second advert is structured more complexly, by displaying more information about the product, as well as presenting the band as more of a group, which has connotations of unity and friendship, contrasting from the previous design. With regards to colour, I would use quite dark shades for the background of the first design, to amplify that sense of solitude, while also making the artist the main focus of the poster. The pieces of text would therefore be white to create a strong contrast to the background, which could also suggest that the band are a symbol of hope within this darkness, presenting them as quite hopeful. For the second design, I would use a brick wall with graffiti on it to incorporate the idea of rebelling, and create an opportunity to use vibrant/passionate colours, such as red and green, to demonstrate the musical range the band has. This exercise has helped me to consider the different ways in which artists can be advertised, and also think about how the song that we've chosen to do fits in with these representations.  

Analysis of magazine advertisment from our chosen genre

This piece of advertisement is representing the punk rock band Green Day, showcasing their new song 'Wake me up when September ends,' which suggests it's a popular single and they're using that to help publicise their new album. As a way of getting the information across quickly and efficiently, the bottom half of the advert is displaying the band's newest songs on one side and the album which audiences can find them on the right hand side. This helps people to associate contemporary songs they like with a way of listening to them all in one convenient place, embedding the idea that if you like the song at the top and/or left hand side you should buy the product on the right. In terms of typography, this advertisement uses a wide variety of fonts as a way of grouping pieces of information together. For example, the two headlines at the bottom are identical due to the previously mentioned association of products. In comparison the name of the band uses a bigger and more distinctive font at the top of the page as a way of standing out amongst the other pieces of text. They way the picture of the singer is positioned could suggest that he is looking directly at the title, creating a connection between the artist and the iconography of the band itself. By contrast, the font of the new single 'Wake me up when September ends' is significantly less sophisticated and appears handwritten. This could suggest that the song has some sentimental value to the band, incorporating a more personal approach to music. The sharpness of the font also has connotations of aggression and violence, which are stereotypical themes that are associated with the punk rock genre and therefore implies that theses themes are elaborated on in the content that they are trying to publicise. 

This analysis has helped to give me some ideas, in terms of how our advert should be structured (such as the framing of shots and typography), so that it fits within the punk rock genre and audiences respond with that in mind.

2 x Plan for digipack

These are two designs I drew for what our digipack for our chosen artist could look like, taking elements from other examples in the punk rock genre, such as the jagged font from the My Chemical Romance album to connote aggression. The two designs contrast one another, in terms of the mood and tone they create. While the first one contains a naturalistic setting and a band member juxtaposing that with a melancholy expression, the second is set out like a piece of evidence, with the front cover containing a fingerprint, a knife and a cyanide pill, as a way of relating to the songs in which the album contains. In terms of colour, I would use very subtle tones like green and yellow for the first digipack, as a way of relating to the naturalistic atmosphere that had been established through the setting of a field. This has positive connotations and therefore presents the band in a more approachable manner, which could result in a wider target audience. By contrast, I would use a dark shade of grey as the dominant colour in the second digipack, as the way I've laid it out is a lot more clinical and detached than the previous design. This digipack also strongly relates to the element of crime, with there being various weapons on the front and a prison mugshot on the back. The combination of this design and colour results in more negative connotations, with the band now being conveyed as somewhat rebellious and daring. This exercise has helped to prepare us for what the next part of the course entails, as well as give us a chance to be creative, when it comes to how we think the artist could be presented and decide what is the best way to identify the genre of music.

Analysis of a digipack from the punk rock genre

This is a digipack for a CD album by the band 'My Chemical Romance.' Considering they are from the same genre as our chosen artist, it's interesting to see what stereotypical elements they've incorporated as a way of appealing to their target audience. For example, what's first noticeable about this is the distinct lack of colour, with the contrast of the white and black shading conveying a sense of detachment. This may be referring to the band having a lack of emotional attachment, becoming a stereotypical representation of the male gender being more masculine and less obviously open about their emotions. 

 

The band's name on the front of the digipack is the most eye-catching piece of text, with it being in the centre of the frame and also having the biggest font size. The font itself has connotations of aggression and violence, linking to themes that are usually associated with the punk rock genre, and implying that these same themes are covered in the songs within the album. By contrast, the name of the digipack album is significantly smaller and more subtle in its font type. This suggests that they want the band to be the main focus of this product because it is more likely to attract consumers, with a mainstream band or artist being able to sell a lot more copies if their name is physically attached to the product.



















Typically, the back of the digipack contains a barcode in the corner and a list of the album's songs. What's striking about this is that the layout of the songs resembles that of a historical Texan wanted poster. This choice in font therefore connotes quite a rebellious nature, relating back to the stereotypically masculine representation of the band as well as suggesting that they live by their own rules and therefore possibly defy the conventions of the punk rock genre, thus making their music more original.

 

 

The picture on the front of the album is quite abstract, however it seems that it's an establishing shot of a crowd looking at a stage in an ecstatic manner. This is another way in which the product is implicating that the band is somewhat mainstream in the music industry and conveys them as having a large fan base. Below the bands name is drops of some kind of liquid and, because the digipack lacks colour, we can deduce that they could be blood drops, creating links to the Gothic lifestyle as well as establishing a darker, more adult tone, and therefore narrowing down their target audience. Similarly, in the corner there is a bold piece of text which states 'parental advisement explicit content.' This is evidence of their more grown up target audience, while also relating back to the concept of rebelling.



















 

 

Looking at this digipack has helped us to think about the kind of mood and tone we want to establish with our digipack and how that will link into our target audience. It has also made us consider how we make our digipack distinctive and stand out amongst others trying to accomplish the same task: selling their product.

Pitch idea based on lyrics

Each member of our group was given a printed copy of the lyrics to the song 'Cyanide' by The Fake Imposters, in which we will be basing our music video around. We chose this song because it's one of the band's original songs and we thought the lyrics created a good opportunity for a narrative-based music video. Individually, we annotated the lyrics constructing possible concepts that we could incorporate into our video to make it appear more professional and artistic. This exercise helped us to map out ideas and compare what each other had come up with to see if there were any similarities that we were certain would fit into the criteria of our genre and artist. Below is my annotations to the lyrics and what I thought would work in regards to our video:

Lyric analysis and their importance

This is an analysis of the lyrics to the Evanescence song 'My Immortal,' and my interpretation of how I think it could be conveyed in a music video, disregarding my previous knowledge of the artist and basing it purely on the lyrical content. Andrew Goodwin's theory can be applied in this instance, with myself addressing the connection between the lyrics and the possible visuals of the video while also paying particular attention to the structure of the lyrics and how they portray a sense of narrative through their connotations. For example, in the first verse it states 'suppressed by all my childish fears.' I thought this could be visually represented in the video by having a high-angle midshot of a child hiding, as a result of the negative language within the lyrics and therefore addressing the correlation of the lyrics and visuals within Goodwin's theory. This exercise has helped me to apply Goodwin's theory to real world texts, consider the connotations of lyrics and how they could impact music videos.

2 x Magazine advertisement analysis

This is a an advert publicising the artist Lana Del Rey and her new album 'Born To Die.' The soft focus of the camera relates to a more retro tone, which suggests her music is similarly less contemporary and more reflective of an earlier time period. In correlation, her clothing and hair are typical of the 1920s fashion style, thus having connotations of sophistication and a subtle rebellious nature. Blue is a dominant colour in this picture, contrasted by the white of the font and the artist's shirt. This contrast could have links to the variety of songs within the album, implicating that each  deals with different themes, as blue connotes coolness, while white has links with purity and innocence. The direct mode of address from the artist makes the advert seem as though she is looking right at you and therefore conveys the advert as more personal. In terms of text, the most striking is the name of the artist at the top, as the size of it is large and the font is very easy to read. This suggests that this is the information that people should pay the most attention to, and therefore indicating that this artist is well known in the music industry - otherwise the public would just disregard the advert. The fact that the name of the album is placed directly on top of the artist's chest could imply that this album is closed to her heart and as a result is something she's very passionate about.


In comparison, this advert for the band Friendly Fires uses different construction techniques, which suggests they're part of a different genre to Lana Del Rey. While the top advert shows the artist using direct mode of address, this band are all looking away from the camera. The fact that they're all looking in different directions could suggest that the songs in the album are similarly diverse. The colours are also more vibrant, with the palm trees and beach setting implying that the music is quite peaceful and conveys an upbeat mood and tone. By using the header 'the band of the summer,' Friendly Fires are presenting themselves as very much mainstream. Based on the age of the band members and having a cocktail drink as a prop, the advert is indicating that the band's target audience is young adults, most likely females considering that is a stereotypical association with boy bands. 

This analysis has helped put into perspective as to how different music genres are represented in advertisements and that the colour and typography play a big part in the indication of what audiences can expect from the album, in regards to the mood and tone.