The cover is very high tech, the images are very technological. The images symmetry and that the cover is not too busy and using only three colours makes sure that the cover appeals to the audience. Black and red would usually connote danger however in this instance it draws your attention.
This cover, in contrast to the Lady Gaga cover that I analysed uses the word ‘Dance’ for a different effect. Here is does not hint at the genre of music, it is not clear to the audience that the genre of music for this cover is dance. The image is unusual however links to the title of the song and the music video for this single which uses animation.
The copy, positioned central to the cover immediately grabs the audience attention and tells the audience all that you need to know about the artist and music. The copy also stands out against the background and draws the audiences attention to the title and band name immediately. Again the copy is in capitals, a convention of all the covers that I have analysed.
Again there is a sense of speed, the mid shot of the two characters running towards each other emphasises this, this would link to the pace of the music. In a way it links to the genre yet in another unless you know the band or know the style of this then you probably wouldn’t know that this is from the genre of dance.
Although aimed at both genders, the image would predominantly appeal to males as the images are almost aggressive looking. The use of these strong, aggressive images suggests that the music will be that with a strong, heavy beat. These elements communicate the genre of dance however looking just at the cover this isn’t clear.
The images poses enigmas for the audience and encourages them to find out more as they know no information about characters, plot, narrative or about the band. This is common with the specific genre.
Also with the positioning of the characters, we can note that one is slightly different to the other. The character on the right is the master, the one on the left; The Prodidgy, he is not quite there yet and suggesting that these characters are not on equal levels.
BACK COVER:
Currently, I am unable to find the back cover for The Prodigy Warrior's Dance on the Internet so am going to look at this over the weekend and keep the key points in mind.
The image on this cover makes the artist look as if she is tired from dancing and exhilarated on the high of the music. She is also central to the frame showing her importance to the music. The mid shot hides the rest of the surroundings and only allows us to see part of the artist and of the surroundings leaving the audience questioning.
The lines on the copy give the impression of speed suggesting that the music is also very fast and pacy. The effect on the copy of ‘dance’ looks like that on a disco ball and combined with the word ‘dance’ connotes the genre of music easily and clearly to the audience. Also that it’s white and blue makes it stand out against the dark background. The copy on ‘Lady Gaga’ is also the style of writing used in 1920’s Jazz, this links to the artists Jazz background. These elements communicate the genre to the audience.
The target is clearly young adults and older teenagers once again, this being the genre of dance and the target audience of the artist. The audience can see that the music is up to date and fast which immediately appeals and persuades them.
Again there is no extra information about the character, plot or the narrative presenting an enigma for the audience.
The back cover for Lady Gaga, Just Dance is exactly the same as the front cover, the mise en scene is the same as is the colour scheme. The audience finds out no further information about the artist or the song from looking at the back of the cover. We get no further information about the narrative to the song. The audience is kept in total suspense persuading them to buy the single.
FRONT COVER:
La Roux's music is predominantly dance and electro pop, this is reflected in the cover.
The image challenges the gender stereotype of a woman, she is positioned central to the cover and holds an authoritative pose. Also that she is at the forefront of the frame showing her importance and status. The city night life is behind her suggesting an audience of older teenagers and young adults who this city night life would appeal to. The city in the ‘mise en scene’ also suggests a fast, upbeat, pacy style of music which anchors the genre. The’ mise en scene’ also suggests an up to date style of music fitting in with the surroundings which is reinforced by the stylish car and smoke in front of the car and around the artist herself. Even the sophisticated clothing that she is wearing suggests that the target audience is that of younger adults and older teenagers. Also her long white coat is a stark contrast against the dark background showing that she is confident connoting that she has a strong individual style of music.
The poise that she holds is important, her right leg is positioned in the car, whereas her left arm is positioned on the car door, this is psychologically showing a barrier and that you have to get through this barrier to discover the real artist.
The blue and black colour choice give a stylist, modern effect alongside the surroundings. The cover would immediately appeal to older teenagers and young adults. Also often appealing to females as they may feel that they can identify with the artist herself. I think that the CD cover makes the target audience clear. Although it isn’t a direct mode of address you still get the impression that the artist is looking at you, engaging the audience by the mid-shot used. The copy is harsh with sharp angles, reflecting the genre reinforced with the lightening effect in the copy 'La Roux'.
The copy is minimalistic, all we know is the artists name and the title of the single however this is all we need to know. Also as it is white it stands out against the dark background immediately attracting the audience to the titles.
Also many people would not know what ‘La Roux’ means so perhaps there is a hidden meaning, this interests the audience as they would want to find out more about the music. There’s also a hint of French by the artists name which may appeal to the target audience. Its important to notice that the copy is also in capital lettering, the name is important as is the title, this is the information that needs to grab the audience right away and stay on their minds.
From the cover there is no clear information about the character, plot or narrative, the audience is left guessing and in suspense. This creates an enigma for the audience and encourages them to want to buy the single. The word ‘kill’ almost has an imperative tone and poses great suspense for the audience, they are left wondering which persuades them to buy the single or to find out more.
BACK COVER:
Currently, I can't find the back cover for La Roux on the Internet so i'm going to look at the back cover for it in a shop over the weekend and keep key points in mind.
DIZZEE RASCAL- BONKERS
The artist Dizzee Rascal is well known for his usual genre of R'n'B/Rap music. Those not usually familiar with Dizzee Rascals music would not know the type of music that he usually produces. The cover represents a stereotype of a 'black man' as dominating the R'n'B/rap/dance music genre.
The direct mode of address immediately engages the audience. The close up on the artists face immediately grabs the audiences attention, the style is altogether very different from other dance albums, there is no hint at the genre whatsoever. The artists ethnicity is also usually linked with rap music or R ‘n’ B rather than dance.
The title of the CD is reinforced by the image as the picture is obscure with the extreme closeup. I think that it’s important that the cover features only the face of the artist himself ,who, if the audience does not recognise then the copy anchors who he is. The fact that he is central to the frame immediately tells the audience that he is the artist and important.
The three simple colours of red, black and white give the cover a simplistic style, these are the only three colours used so the audience is easily drawn to what they are intended to see first. The two contrasting colours, red and white means that the consumer when browsing the shelf would immediately recognise this amongst others. Also if this was made smaller as a thumbnail for example on an IPod the cover would be easily recognisable.
The copy immediately tells us the artist and the title of the song, which is all the information that we need to know on the front cover. This seems to be a stereotypical convention of the CD covers that I have analysed so far. The copy and placing of the text mimics the connotations of the actual title.
The copy is in the style of ‘bubble writing’, its almost childlike, has a friendly tone and is very easy to read. It fits in with the simplistic view of the rest of the cover. The fact that the letters are not placed in a straight line reinforces the connotations of the title, 'Bonkers' suggesting insanity. The elements challenge the genre as it does not hint at the genre of dance at all. If the audience didn’t know the genre of music then they would have to guess.
Similarily, the eyes of the artist on the cover have been placed specifically so that they look unusal, this is only a slight change to reinforce the title, they have the potential to look very strange again reinforcing the title 'Bonkers'. The one eye seems to be looking ‘at’ you whereas the other seems to be looking ‘through’ you, there’s a difference in the expression, he seems to be split between doing two different things.
With the genre of dance, the audience is young adults and older teenagers, this isn’t clear by the cover and we probably would relate the target audience to the age range of the artist or the artists’ ethnicity.
From the cover we get no information about the character, the plot or the narrative and an enigma is presented for the audience to encourage them to buy the single attracting the intended audience. The cover presents the artist as fun and young hinting that the music is the same which doesn’t lead the audience into discovering the genre of music.
We can also consider the colours of red and black, they almost connote a low level cheapness, we know these are the type of colours if we want something for not a lot of money, surely this is a negative connotation however may have been chosen as someone who is ‘bonkers’ is seen as a low level human being.
BACK COVER:
The colour scheme of the back cover follows on from the front cover. The red writing stands out on the white background and the bubbly, childlike copy is also carried on,yet again reinforcing the title 'Bonkers'
The consumer is able to gain more information from this by the blurb/inlay on the back of the CD cover with key legal information. Really, the consumer doesn't get a lot more information about the artist or music, this is more for legal purposes and for issues such as copyright symbols and so forth.
The consumer knows what else is on the CD and any extra music that they will get for their money which encourages them and persuades them to buy the CD.
KID CUDI VS CROOKERS- DAY 'N' NITE
FRONT COVER:
When analysing I asked someone if they knew what the image was on the front, no one that I asked did. It’s not at all clear what the image is of and it could have many interpretations, this creates an enigma for the audience as they want to find out more.
The image on this cover doesn’t immediately tell the audience what the song is about or anything about the artists or whether there is a narrative, also it doesn’t give you any idea of the genre of the music. The cover creates enigmas for the audience, they want to find out more. Also it is important to remember that this is a remix, not the original song which affects its codes and conventions.
The fluorescent green and purple give a supernatural effect, almost out of this world which is reinforced by the image, which is central to the frame and could be interpreted as out of this world.
The copy stands out against the background and is also all in capital lettering. The word ‘kid’ makes the music seem up to date targeting a modern audience. Also that ‘n’ is used and ‘nite’ is spelt wrong adds to this, it makes the music seem ‘cool’ persuading its intended audience.
The colloquial language and images communicate the genre, we understand this to be of a dance genre. The elements such as the images and copy communicate the genre effectively.
The target audience is young adults, once again, this is communicated clearly by the very modern, technical image. There is also few colours used once again ensuring that the audience is not distracted from the elements which they need to focus on.There’s no representation of class, gender or of ethnicity, the audience would more than likely not even know what the image was of. Once again we know no information about the character, plot, the narrative or information about the artist. The cover of this is extremely interesting as it poses so many questions for the audience.
BACK COVER:
This back cover is key to the audience understanding the front cover, after seeing the front cover the consumer is left puzzled and not understanding the image, the back cover provides them with more information and the puzzling front image makes them turn over the CD cover and read or see further information.
There's the copyright information then there's what is on the CD, the audience knows what they are buying and are happy and secure with this.
Again, the colour scheme is carried on, there's no stark contrast with the front cover. Although we understand more about the image from the front cover, we know no more about the artist or the music, the image still keeps us in suspense.
BASS HUNTER- NOW YOU'RE GONE
FRONT COVER:
The positioning of the characters draws the audience into the scene and makes you feel as though you are there. The fact that they are at the forefront of the frame makes it seem like all the other people don’t matter. I think it’s also important to notice that it’s not the band themselves that feature on the cover.
The copy is in capital letting and easy to understand, we get all the information we need to know and we even get extra information featured on the front cover, making us feel as though we’re getting more by buying this single. I think that the elements of this effectively communicates the genre.
The blue and purple colours which bright white contrast gives the night club effect connoting the genre of dance. The target audience is clearly communicated by the two people featured on the front of the cover, young adults who can relate to these two characters. This makes it quite clear who the target audience are including the mise en scene featuring the night club scene behind.
There is no mode of address however the audience is immediately drawn into the scene. The audience isn’t spoken to by this cover directly, all they know is the small amount of copy featured however this makes them want to find out more.
There seems to be a message of ‘listen to this music and you could be this couple’ immediately grabbing the audiences attention and making them want to listen to the music. The image represents a stereotypical couple on a night out listening to the music by this band persuading the audience.
The image presented about the artist is that they are up to date, young and modern. The music is fast, upbeat and played on a night out which attracts the intended audience.These ingredients are common within the specific genre, the audience knows immediately the genre of music, the name of the band and the name of the song which is all the information that they are likely to want to know immediately.
The lines draw the audiences attention to the white spot ‘nothingness’ however on the back cover we are drawn to the title ‘Now You’re Gone’ as these characters literally are ‘gone’.
BACK COVER:
Again the colour scheme is carried on from the front of the cover, we have a similar copy in the same font and colour, standing out against the background. This seems extremely common with the genre.
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