Print Product: Album's Front Cover (Final)

Print Product: Album's Front Cover (Draft Three)

After we created the first and second draft of our album front covers, we tried to experiment with the image and fonts so that we could find the right one which makes our album front cover look professional which follows the right conventions needed to make a CD cover successful. As a result we produced the following CD front covers.

Print Product: Album's Front Cover (Draft two)

Print Product: Album's Front Cover (Draft One)

Magazine advert analysis of Drake 'Take Care' Album

This is a magazine advert for Drake’s album ‘Take Care’. The centre image of the magazine advert is the same one used in the album front cover. This shows the audience what the album looks like and also advertises it. The font of the artist name ‘Drake’ is large and in the colour white which contrasts with the background which is black. As a result the title attracts the audiences’ attention as that’s the main source of information which tells the audience the artist’s name. The main colours used in the magazine advert are black, gold and white this is because it relates to the mood and feelings of the artist. For example the colour black symbolises sadness, anger, unhappiness which are Drakes emotions as he is no longer with his girlfriend. The colour white symbolises purity, innocence and happiness. This could be something that he no longer is or possibly taken away from him such as his happiness of being with his girlfriend. Lastly the colour gold symbolises power and strength which can be seen in the mise en scene of the centre image as Drake is wearing gold chains, has a gold candle holder on the table along with a gold cup.

The magazine advert only consists of the basic information that the audience would need such as the artists name and the name of the album. However, on the bottom of the advert the audience can see names of featured artists such as Rihanna, Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj. As a result this would target other audiences who listen to these featured artists and may purchase the album to listen to their featured song.  On the bottom of the page the advert has small images of the record labels Drake is signed to who have helped Drake produce and create the album which are Cash Money Record and Universal Republic.

After analysing this magazine advertisement some of the ideas I would use from this are the font of the artists name and the image used on the advertisement. This is because the name ‘Drake’ is in a large font which eye catchy and appeals to the audience telling them which artist the album belongs to. The image used on this advertisement is the same as the one used on Drakes album cover which would make the audience remember this image so that they know what the album looks like when they go in stores to purchase it.

Magazine advert analysis of Rihanna 'Rated R' Album

This is a magazine advert for Rihanna’s album ‘Rated R’. The magazine advertisement looks unique and a lot different compared to Drake’s ‘Take Care’. This is because the medium close up shot of Rihanna makes her look angry, aggressive and scary. This look is supported by the heavy eye makeup and rings worn in the album cover which is not common in an RnB album. However Rihanna is seen to be unique through the way she dresses showing the audience her personality and the kind of person she is. In the image the audience can see that Rihanna uses her right hand to cover her eye which indicates that she is possibly hiding something making the image look more mysterious. The ‘R’ in the top right corner which stands for the album’s name ‘Rated R’ looks as though it has been carved which suggests that the song is about pain which has left Rihanna with deep scars making her the way she looks in the image.

The advertisement mainly consists of three colours which are black, white and red. These colours are symbolic as the colour black symbolises fear, anger and pain. The colour white symbolises purity and innocence and the colour red symbolises love, danger and aggression. All three of these colours relate to the album as they represent Rihanna’s feelings and what she is going through. The magazine advertisement has a torn effect in the middle going across the page which is effective as it has blocked writing on it. This effect could be used to show the audience that she has been torn apart as her name is on the torn side and her image is on the opposite side. The name of the artist is also in blocked writing which attracts the audiences’ attention which is crucial for advertisement as it shows the audience who the album belongs to. In contrast, the writing under it is in small font which looks simple and balances the whole look of the advert.

In the magazine advertisement the name of Rihanna’s two songs are written in bold and red which stands out and attracts the audiences’ attention as it looks eye catchy. Also the colour red is a stereotypical colour of the RnB genre which connotes love, pain and hurt. The name of these two songs stand out as the font is large which means that the target audiences for these two songs are more likely to buy the album. The advert also uses the parental advisory symbol which is important as it indicates the type of content the album consists of so that they can take into account whether it’s suitable if they want to buy it for their children.

CD Digipak analysis of Drake 'Take Care'

Drake's 'Take Care'Album Cover 

This is the cover of Drake and Rihanna’s album called ‘Take Care’. The image used on the cover is a close up establishing shot showing Drake sitting alone on a table where he looks lonely, isolated and depressed. In the cover Drake is wearing gold chains and drinking out of a gold cup whist looking down showing us that he is miserable, depressed and upset. The audience can also see that Drake is wealthy from what he is wearing and the surroundings as he has a gold candle holder, gold cup and gold chains. However, it is clear that Drake is going through a break up which could be the reason why the album is called ‘Take Care’ as he says ‘bye’ to his girlfriend. As a result, from Drake's facial expressions and the surroundings the message that we receive is that money can buy you anything and everything apart from love, because it is priceless.

In the background we can see that there is a picture and gold figure of a bird which symbolises freedom. This connotes that he might have been trapped in a relationship as a result, himself and his girlfriend are now free to live their own lives how they want. The album ‘Take Care’ is about fighting for the person you love. In the cover we can see that Drake has lost the fight as he is sitting alone on a table. The fact that he has not shaved also suggests that he is going through severe depression. One of the main colours used in this cover is the colour gold in ‘Take Care’. The colour gold symbolises power and strength where we can see that Drake is rich and wealthy and has everything apart from his love who is Rihanna. Even though she is not in the album cover she is in the song hence he is telling her to take care of herself now that they have split up. Another colour used is black which symbolises sadness, unhappiness and wealth which is exactly what Drake is going through even though he is wealthy and capable enough to afford anything he wants.

From this album cover I would use a medium shot when creating the album cover of the music video myself and my group produce. This is because through a medium shot the audience can see what is inside the mise en scene as well as the artist’s facial expressions and emotions. I could also use the layout of this album cover as it breaks the convention of having the artists’ name on the front cover so that the audience know who the album belongs and who the artist is that sang the album.

Inside of cover of Drake's album

This is the inside cover of Drake’s album ‘Take Care’. This cover breaks the convention of having a person or artist as a centre image. The reason why there is a black printed background could be because it represents sadness, depression and power which is what the album is about. Also the inside cover is simple and consistent in comparison to the front album cover which makes the cover look successful.

The track listing in this cover is in the centre compared to Jay Sean’s ‘The Mistress’ whose is on the left. This makes it easier for the audience to read the track list as it is straightforward and simple. There is also the use of typography as the colour of the font is gold which is the same colour used on the album’s front cover hence symbolising power and strength which contrasts with the black. On the bottom of the inside cover case is a small paragraph of recognition from the artist to say who helped to create and produce the album which gives the audience the ideas who is part of it and have more information of the artist bringing them closer whilst knowing the artist is sincere. There is also the use of record labels which is shown on the bottom of the cover which allows the audience to see who helped to release the album and what record company the artist is signed to. In this case it is Cash Money Records and Universal Republic.

Some of the elements I would use from this inside cover is the use of colour and layout. This is because the inside cover does not have an image of the artist but is simple where the track list is listed in the middle which keeps it straightforward for the audience to read. The inside cover is also consistent as it uses the same colours which are on the album’s front cover. As a result I can use these ideas to make sure that the album covers me and my group members produce look professional and follow the conventions of a CD album.

Survey Monkey

After we produced our music video we used survey monkey to make a survey where we would gain feedback from people telling us if they liked our music video and whether the storyline was clear to understand. As a result this showed us if our music video was successful or not and who our target audience are. The link below is the survey we created.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WCLDJWN