Group Digipak-Miss Miller

Group Digipak
X/X/MMXIV

Vasil Nikolov

What is a digipak?

Well, a digipak is a CD that is presented in the style of a paper book made of paperboard/cardboard outer binding including a plastic tray for the CD. The digipak became popular back in the 2000s. It is now used for special edition albums more than previously. On the other hand, the jewel CD case was the original disc case that consisted of three pieces of plastic and includes a plastic tray for the CD. 

The packaging for Lana Del Rey's "Born To Die" is a gatefold paperboard digipak, containing a disc and lyrics booklet. As clearly seen, the artwork of the album takes a minimalist direction with the slightly-not white colour scheme. The picture from the front, features a mid-shot of Lana with her name and the album title. The back cover is once again very minimal, featuring the album track list, label logos and some interesting legal statements. The disc design uses a hard white paint with 3 roses on the edge of the disc which is fitting with the romantic theme in the album.

What is a digipak?

Well, a digipak is a CD that is presented in the style of a paper book made of paperboard/cardboard outer binding including a plastic tray for the CD. The digipak became popular back in the 2000s. It is now used for special edition albums more than previously. On the other hand, the jewel CD case was the original disc case that consisted of three pieces of plastic and includes a plastic tray for the CD.

Digipaks provide the fans with extra information. The use of a personal fan message enhances the growth of the bond between the fan and the artist. This provides a positive factor for the distribution of digipaks as more and more fans would want to have the limited number of copies that are produced and sold. This is why record labels like to release such Digipaks.

While the jewel CD case is more traditional and durable, it is more boring and simplistic, leading to the casing protecting the booklet. An addition would be that this type of casing is a good choice for a new fan to listen to the music. This leads to me explaining which digipak, I have chosen to analyse. The digipak I have chosen to analyse is Lana Del Rey's 'Born To Die'.

The name of the artist's is seen large and bold at the top of the cover in white. This suggest to the audience, that Lana is represented as a new artist and that her name is showing importance. This overall highlights The artist's name and album title are all capitalised, in order to highlight their importance for the new market. Meanwhile, 'Born to die' is written in the same bold font, however, in a blue colour that matches the sky at the top. It is positioned on Lana's white shirt in order to both reflect the importance of the name for the album and to show that even though the artist looks normal, she does contain a slightly promiscuous personality. This can be seen by the red bra underneath the pure white garment.

The design and layout used by Lana for the album show the use of simple background, and the use of the sky cause Lana to be the main focus even more. These simple and naturalistic features relate to to the indie genre as there are no distractions for the audience. Furthermore, from the simple shot of her looking towards her audience, the ideas of promiscuity are gone, making Lana appear as the neighbouring girl to many of the fans.

The main artist is in the mid of the shot. The camera is low angled making the audience to looking up to her, further increasing her importance and strength as being a role model. The main focus is on Lana through this element, the audience can see that she is holding a confident posture with which she conforms to the indie genre. This is because she isn't wearing any exaggerated clothes (a point that other genres for example pop do not have). This shows her nature, resulting in the artist to become more relatable for the audience.

Lana is represented as an independent woman which appeals to her target audience. This links to the title, as her facial expression is calm. This shows that many people would idolise her as she doesn't fear the usual aspects.
The colours used within the digipak connote simple themes that are represented by both the artist and the genre. The colour blue that is used within the song connotates the theme of calmness. This links to Lana`s relaxed voice when she sings. For example the use of the colour white links with the theme of purity and cleanliness. This means that the artist is sending to the audience, the idea of innocence. It can also be interpreted as her being new in the music industry. Another colour that is used is the red. both Lana's lips and the petals of the roses are red give the connotation of passion, which means that Lana is a passionate person, which might also imply that she is serious when it comes to performing. Overall, the artist is just trying to tell us in an enigmatic way that although she looks extraordinary, she is quite down to earth.

In Conclusion, from this analysis, one  will be able to plan his digipak with similarly effective themes and be able to represent the artist with the correct genre connotations. One has also released the importance of the artist tot be able to build a relationship with their current or new fan base.

Planing the magazine advert-Miss Miller

Magazine Advert

24/10/2014

Vasil

Magazine adverts are a very common and at the same time important tool with which the artist/record label can promote the product (album/tour or a concert) with which the audience could be intrigued. The use of a magazine advert aids the record company in gaining more synergetic options that they could use. Therefore I had been given the task to create a magazine advert for the album we are promoting (each member of my group also made one). The album advert will be made on Photoshop, however the drafts for the advert will be handcrafted as this way improvements can be made quicker and a general plan for the advert can be initiated. Below is my idea of what our magazine advert can be. I believe, that at our next meeting my group will like this proposal as it uses a simple layout with friendly readable font and gives the most important information.

(This is my proposition for the Magazine advert.)

For my group magazine Advertisement, I had decided that to hide half of the artist in order to both keep her as an enigma and use the background to attract more of my target audience. This is a very bold and unconventional for the indie genre choice  as the artist is usually displayed in the centre of the picture in order to intrigue the audience in his/her looks and create an emotional bond between one another. However, this way, the artist would be more memorable to the audience as too many indie artist have their-selves on their magazine adverts. Meanwhile, my  one will have a bigger background with which I could intrigue my audience in looking at the magazine advertisement.

The colours that I intend to use would be warm as the advertisement would be more cheerful and be slightly rebellious towards the overall indie style. Warm colours are conventional for the house genre and this way the audience would be more impressed as the advertisement would look more diverse compared to other artists advertisements. 

The artist`s album would be in the colour black as it would stand out on the white yellow sand, while her name would be white and would be outlined  in a thin black line in order to be more visible in the sky that contains clouds. The reason for the text being bold is in order to make the layout of the page more noteworthy. The colour black subverts the indie genre as it is usually connected to metal genres, however, by using the colour black, the artist`s album becomes more interesting for the niche audience that we had found in our target audience research. Furthermore, by using the colour white for the artist`s name, the audience would recieve the hidden message that the artist is pure and also innocent at making songs that mixed both genres. Thus we can see that by using similar conventions that partially subvert to the indie genre, the artist (Lana) would become more appealing to the main audience.

My poster used a close up of half of Lana`s face. this should make the audience maintain their concentration on her as they would wish to memorise her for future references. It should be said that this way, the advert would remind the audience of the ones during the 50`s movie design or 60`s movie ads involving Audrey Hepburn. This would cause the artist to become relatable with slightly older audiences that can remember these figures. Furthermore, as the fashion of the time, made the women further attractive, the modern male would still admire such fashion, leading to our artist increasing her fan base from the opposite sex. Also it would make the artist more memorable as she would be wearing different clothing from today.

As it can be seen, the layout that is used is simple, yet attractive. This conforms to the indie genre as the advert shows the artist placed on a simple and cheap background. This would attract more of the audience as they would wish to know which place is it being used. The shot highlights the importance of the artist as it shows her  and shows her power and confidence in herself and her music, which causes her to be admirable.

The language chosen to use is short and as the style is colloquial, the audience can understand it in an easier way, with which we can gain more audience due to the fact that more will understand her. While I have not added a hit song which the audience could use to remmeber, I have made the album name both big and surrounded by golden sand. This would give an intent to the audience that the new album is very famous as it is both big and at the same time surrounded by golden sands. That sand would imply that the album has brought in a lot of revenue for both the artist and the record labels.
The writing is similar to a neat female; handwritten font which is conventional for the indie genre as the artist would try and make the add more personal for their fans and enhance the bond between one another and appear more relatable.

I believe that I have made a good design which follows the basic outline of the factors we had agreed to add in our meeting. The meeting we had for planning this advertisement was very helpful as it was useful to know what the style for the advertisement would be. The use of Photoshop will make the advertisement far more proffessional as I am not the best at using colours to my sketches. Meanwhile, with photoshop the editing and improvement would be quicker and easier. Also from plans such as this, we will know what type of pictures to take of our artist as they are already planned which overall, makes the process more efficient.

Magazine Advert Analysis-MIss Miller (Updated)

Magazine Advert Analysis
14/10/2014
Vasil

Magazine adverts are important for the artist as they promote him and their music to the audience. The audience are given this way a hint of the genre of music that the artist mainly performing. This way the audience could make a decision on whether they wish to purchase the disk/go to the concert or whether the artist attracts them in the first place. Thus a magazine advert gives the audience the information regarding the artist, their music and they perform. Also a magazine advert would possibly allow the audience to understand the hidden meanings about the artist and/or their music. 

Miss Del Rey is a very modern indie music artist that likes to look very serious and at the same time normal (In order to fulfill Mr. Dyer`s theory). This is why we can see her in very plain clothing, however, she is looking down on us in order to remind us that she is no ordinary female, but a star. This way she strengthens one of the concepts behind Dyer`s theory. The audience can also spot that she has an emotionless face in the advert which represents her as being serious (links to how serious she is with her music). Lana is portrayed conservatively as she is dressed in plain clothing that is buttoned up. This shows that she is preserving herself from any ideas of being promiscuous. Nevertheless, there is a slight hint of her acting as a vixen due to the red bra that is slightly revealing beneath the white blouse. The red colour hints danger which could suggest to us that there is a sense of  enigma in her music. Finally, the curls and earrings complete her well known image of being a 60`s gal. This way she is representing that era and her style of music through the costume and make-up.

Lana`s name is in a large and bold font at the top of the ad in a white colour. The idea is that this way, the audience can see the name more clearly and make the name stick with the crowd. The font is bold can be easily read via the use of the so sophisticated but simplistc writing. This tells us that Lana is a very intelligent woman within the music industry. As the writing is easy to read, the audience would be able to easily identify the artist due to the style she has used. The main title is in the matching colours of the sky, which contrasts to Lana`s shirt, making it more easy to read and show her as being professional. Furthermore, the most popular songs are advertised as they are displayed at the bottom of the album. They are in smaller italic in order to catch the eye and to promote the individual songs as well as the whole album. The release date is also in large writing to promote when the album will be released to both new and existing fans of the artist who intend to buy the album and making it clear to them of when to purchase what is being advertised.

The camera shot used is a close-up within Lana being in the centre an looking slightly down on the audience. This shows that she is the main focus of the music album  and stresses the fact that she is the one that is being promoted along with her album. Inmterestingly, Lana's body language is seen to be very conserved which shows that she is using her simplicity and secrecy in order to intrigue the audience to view more of her music and try and understand her feelings. The white shirt that she is wearing shows up the writing more clearly to make it appear more professional but it also might suggest thatthe new album is pure gold. As we can see she uses very basic colours and the connotations connected to them show the importance of her personality in the creation of the lyrics for the songs. The colour might also represent innocence of the artist which could present her as being authentic. The use of red colouring could connote love or danger and could make the audience perceive the artist to have a dangerous enigma within that lovely personality that she is portraying to us with the colours. Lana's posture and body language connote the standard female as she is not trying to be provocative. This shows that she is giving us the idea the that women do not have to come across as a sexual object in order to promote their songs.

colour co-ordination can be seen in the sense that there is a match between the typography and scenery. While the backdrop scenery is the blue sky, the blue font that overlapps the white shirt matches the sky. The use of these colours in the co-ordination is to show the professionalism of Lana and her taste towards marketing such music.

On the bottom left of the poster, there is the logo of Amazon. This suggests that she supports synergy and wishes to make the album more accessible but also helps to further construct her identity brand by providing another platform through which the audience can access Lana’s material.

The second music advert I will analyse is the album "Lungs" by Florence and the Machine. The Artist (Florence Welch) is an indie genre artist and I enjoy it even more than Lana, it will give me a greater pleasure to analyse the components of this magazine advert.

Firstly, this advert provides the audience with an insight to the artist (Florence Welch) and her band Florence and the Machine. As clearly seen, Florence does not provide us (the Audience) with eye contact and therefore does not allow us to establish a connection with us. This might also suggest to us that Florence is reserved. Interestingly, Florences' lungs are not so reserved as they can be seen on the outside of her body, which in turn might hint to us that we would have to listen to her with our heart rather than ears in order to understand her feelings. The image seen is from her album cover, which allows us to determine that the music she will be singing will be from her album, therefore promoting her new music. Florences' overall appearance illustrates that of elegance, this is due to the positioning of her body and also her surroundings. Her surroundings involve that of nature and therefore presents Florence as a down to earth, caring individual. It allows the audience to interpret that she is not overcome by fame and therefore may have a connection with nature through her music. It also presents Florence as a natural individual and in turn is true to herself through her music.

The main colour seen on the magazine is black. The black background adds an element of darkness and mystery to the advert. This could be suggestive of the meaning behind the songs on her album and also the type of artist she is becoming. The colour black is also representative of authority and power and may therefore connote the idea that Florence seeks to gain power within the music industry. The image of Florence seen on the advert provides the visuals of her lungs being on the outside of her body. This could be a connotation for the fact the music she sings on her 'lungs' album may truly reflect the feelings she holds inside, and has therefore let them out into the world. The red colour of the lungs may be extremely significant to the advert and the representation of Florence as an artist. The colour red is the most emotionally intense colour and could be a connotation of the idea of love. Further providing the audience with an insight into the meanings of her songs, and the fact that she may be singing about her true feelings. 

The advert presents Florence as the main focus as the image of her takes up over half of the advert. This is so that the first thing that the audience notice is the image which they can link to that of her 'Lungs' album. Surrounding the image is a black border which further keeps the focus on Florence as it is dark and somewhat bland. However the black background could be significant of the type of music on her Lungs album. In addition to this the text is placed to the top and bottom of the image. Above the image is the name of the band and support act as this is the most important piece of textual information on the advert. This information will determine whether the audience will continue to read the rest of the advert, therefore its place is extremely vital on the advert. Below the image is the important information regarding her performance which will appeal to her fans who decide to read the whole advert.

The image on the advert is that of Florence and the Machines' Lungs album cover. This informs the audience that the songs she will be singing at her performance will be from that album. This also may inform the audience that the performance she is doing is to promote her album to her fans and also any potential future fans. The image included on the advert also provides the audience with an array of connotations which may relate to the songs that are on her album. This means that they can understand the deeper meaning behind her songs and in turn enjoy her music at a higher level. In addition to this the image used on the advert means the audience become aware of the idea that she is a reserved individual and only presents her feelings through her music. 

The font used for the band name has a cursive appearance and therefore the letters flow into each other. This links in with the idea that Florence has a somewhat elegant appearance. The band name is the most eye catching form of typography as it is significant to the artist and enticing the audience to listen to her music or to go see her show. The other text seen on the advert is in bold letters which differentiates them from the band name. The use of this means the band name is the main textual focus, but allows the audience to understand and read the other information with ease. In addition to this the informative text is also eye catching for the audience but does not deter their attention from the bands name. The bands support acts name is somewhat eye catching besides Florence and the Machines name, this allows the audience to familiarise themselves with the support act which may assist with enticing them to go and watch the performance.

The main style of language included on the advert is informative. This is due to the language being that of information regarding her performance. The writing provides the audience with the information of where the show is, how to purchase the tickets to the show and the costs. This gives the audience the relevant information straight away which is likely to entice them to purchase tickets to the show early on. The lack of any other form of language is due to the main focus being kept on the image central to the advert.

The advert promotes the music genre of Florence and the Machine mainly through the image included and the colours of the advert. The image, which is that of her 'Lungs' album cover will appeal to the fans of the band who have listened to the album. This is because they will be familiar with her music and will therefore be notified of its genre immediately. The main colours on the advert are dark, including the black and red. This could evoke the idea that the band is of an indie genre as these colours are highly generic to the genre.

Florence and the Machine is promoted through the advert as the audience receive an insight into the band and their music. The image of the advert is highly significant in allowing the audience to understand more surrounding Florence herself, which is due to the fact she is not seen giving eye contact to the audience. This adds an element of secrecy to her music which is further determined by the background she is seen standing in front. It evokes that her music may somewhat deter the indie genre in some way, and in addition may contain vital information regarding her true feelings behind the music.

The advert attracts the target audience mainly due to the image being the main focus of the advert. It provides the audience with something to relate to and to determine who the artist is. In addition to this the contrast between the image and the black border may entice an audience as it allows the image to stand out and become more eye catching. The connotations of the advert may also be extremely appealing to the target audience as they understand that there may be hidden meaning behind her music.

In Conclusion, from the research of these two magazine adverts, I have found out more about how to plan and create my own advert for the indie genre. I have gained a deeper insight into certain conventions and as a result the research has given me ideas that I can incorporate into my magazine advert. An example would be the extreme connotations from Florence and the Machines advert and to use a more simple background in order to keep the focus of the audience upon Lana. By all means, her advertisement is good, however, it is also slightly boring and when someone thinks of indie, he thinks of different. Thus we will rebel on Miss Del Rey`s choice of over-simplicity with a dash of enigma.  This way the indie genre and Lana will become more appealing to my target audience.