First draft of the magazine advert

This is our first draft of the magazine advert where we have the background layer and the photograph merged together, showing how we hope the advert will look in its final stage. Below is the first draft produced:

• We were generally happy how the poster has turned out and do not wish to change it all that much from now on. However we do hope to change a few aspects, for example, the writing that has been placed over the artist is black and is somewhat lost in her clothing. This will be distracting for viewers and may cause them not to fully take in the information being displayed.
• We also hope to have the album title 'broken pane' edited slightly, perhaps given more colour as it seems slightly lost in the other colours of the advert and at the moment false to make the album title, a very important piece of information, almost inconspicuous.

Initial ideas for digipak

As well as the advert and music video, the final task we were required to do was to produce a digipak case for the album, this involving designing each panel of a four panel digipak according to a template we were given. We used this design process to form the initial layout of the digipak. Below are our initial ideas, simple sketches of how we intend our digipak to look when completed:

Initial ideas for promotional poster

In addition to producing our music video we were required to produce an advertisement, advertising the album and the artist and over all promoting the work we had one in a different way. Below are our initial ideas that we sketched out on paper as a foundation to build upon:

• The figure in the centre of the poster is intended t be the artists, centered so as to show her importance to the track and to heighten her status.
• We feature all the key information in bold lettering, such as the release date of the album and band name, so as to catch the viewer and potential buyers eye and to completely sell and communicate when the album will be released.
• The theme of the advert links very well to our music video as it is carrying the theme of rural verses urban as we see the artist stood against a brick wall, with branches or vines coming across the wall and somewhat enveloping her, showing the two areas colliding and doing so around the artist, again highlighting her importance to the project in all areas.

Lyrics: The Joy Formidable - "Cradle"

The Joy Formidable Cradle lyrics

I can see he says what he means
I can't say what he means when he says that
I'll pretend a pretty pretend
When all I wanna see is the end of this

I can see he says what he means
We'll deal him sticks and stones and apologies
I wish
Oh, I wish it was through

Scrape the skies
Get up off your knees
Just lift the marks
And new-found releases
I'll pretend a pretty pretend
When all I wanna see is the end of this

I wish
I wish
I wish the cobwebs would cover me
Cover me
Cover me

My vicious tongue
Cradles just one
My vicious tongue
Cradles just one

Analysis of Adverts:The Verve

• The Band's name is situated in the middle of the image near the top of the page, showing the band's importance and enforcing the band's status and fame through the positioning of the text.


• Below the band name is the title of the album, "Forth". There is a lot of space around the text which somewhat isolates the band and the album. This could be a visual representation of the idea that The Verve, as well as their new album are in a league of their own, completely different from anything the audience has heard before.


• The background image is an aerial photograph of the sky, or clouds that seems to stretch on forever into the distance. This visual is a direct link to the album title as the word "forth" is represented in the image as the clouds literally go forth into the distance, arguably carrying the viewer with it. This image is entrancing and memorable so the viewer will have the album's cover in their minds and this may entice them to buy it.


• The text on the poster uses one of their biggest singles "Love is noise" as a hook to promote the album, planting the idea that the rest of the album is equally as good as that first single in the audiences mind. This may make them buy it out of curiosity as well as out of being a fan of The Verve.


• Included in the text is a small, bullet quote from NME magazine "immense...irresistible". These words are emotive and, again memorable, give the viewer a brief summary of the album as a whole. As NME is a very popular and widely read music magazine, a positive review is highly creditable and the viewer is likely to trust this and buy the album for themselves.


• There are many mediums of buying the album listed such as: CD, LTD edition CD, download etc. With the album being available in so many formats it allows for a wider audience as some may find it easier to download than buy the physical album and so on.


• Audiences also get the added bonus of extra material on some formats of the album, this being another hook for them to buy the album. For example the text states that the DVD includes an exclusive tour documentary and live footage from the Coachella festival. This is seen again as it states that the LP includes two brand new exclusive songs. The prospect of two completely new songs will excite the fans and make them buy the album to hear the new material.


• The sky in the image is a blend of brown, white and blues and the clouds seem to fade into a darker brown towards the bottom of the image. The fact that The Verve's name and album title are situated in the brighter part of the poster could be representative of the fact that their album is literally shedding light onto a new sound they have created with their new album.


• The position of the band's name and album title in the sun/ light part of the image combined with the clouds around them gives the advert an almost Godlike feel. This emphasises The Verve's fame and status as "Gods" of their genre. This concept is also reinforced by the language of the album title itself. The word "forth" means "forward" or "out" but it is the use of the word "forth" that again make it seem almost biblical or Godly.

Research and Planning for digipak

As well as our product of a music video, we must also produce the album packaging. In this case we have been asked to prepare a digipack as opposed to a standard jewel case which is used more often. We aim to produce a four paneled digipack, requiring us to design and produce images for the front cover itself, the inside right, left and back covers. as our genre is Indie, we decided to look at several examples of indie album art as well as some other genres. Below are some examples I have found.

Arctic Monkeys - "Who the f**k are Arctic Monkeys?'

• The digipak is very simplistic with minimal design, seeing the album art made up of two photographs, one on the front and one on the back panel. This simplistic artwork is completely compliant with the indie genre as it is more about the music on the album than the face of the album or artwork.
  The photograph on the front of the digipak is again, simplistic and seemingly rough as though literally taken by the band themselves. This is very typical of indie band album art.


• The photograph is essentially of a mirror that is cracked and scratched. This perhaps alludes to the nature of Arctic Monkeys music, being very homegrown and not entirely perfect. This is also reinforced by the surroundings of the image.


• The album title is written, or scrawled, on the mirror. This sees the band showing irony to the buyer as, as the album title is "who the f**k are arctic monkeys?" and is written on a mirror, an object that reinforces identity.
  
• By using a mirror to contrast the idea of not knowing who they are Arctic Monkeys are also presenting themselves as a new band on the music scene and are almost mocking the way people may receive them.
  
• The inside left and right of the digipak are both plain white, again showing the simplicity of the band and their music, showing they do not need to rely on artistic design to promote themselves.


• The track listing is repeated twice throughout the digipak, once on the back cover where it is conventionally placed, and once on the inside left. By repeating the track list twice the buyer will become familiar with the content, some of which they may have heard before.


• The physical CD itself is the only thing in the inside panels that is decorated, and again it is with a simple photograph of a man with his arms folded. His position or body language could also be related to the title of the album as it is a question and it appears he is waiting for the answer, there being a certain irony that the answer lies on the CD on which he is featured.


• The CD also sees the mention of Arctic Monkeys record label "Domino" conforming to the conventions of information featured on albums and promoting the label to which they are signed.


• On the back cover is another photograph, below which is the track list again. This photograph is of the band in the studio, actively showing the band during the albums production. This is emphasised by the fact that the viewer sees the front man Alex Turner in the forefront of the shot adjusting the equipment.


• The fact that this photograph is featured on the back of the digipak and is of the band producing the album almost acts as a visual answer to the album's title and the question featured on the front cover. This order of the images combined with the fact that the two oppose or answer each other is very appropriate as the buyer usually looks at the front cover and flips to the back to see the track list, enforcing the idea of question and answer presented through the photographs.

Finished Product

After our second say of filming we edited our new footage and edited that into the footage we had filmed on the sunday. Below is the finished video uploaded to youtube.

Analysis of Advert: The Killers

• The bands name, The Killers, is written in large, bright letters against a dark background at the top of the frame, showing their status and fame in the music industry.
• By using short, bullet words such as "greatest" and "hits" the poster is subtly giving the viewer a review of the album and a positive review provokes people into buying it.
• The font is unique to The Killers and relates to their physical album art, so the viewer will already be familiar with the album cover when they purchase it.
• It is their trade mark font, seeing the word created with small circles that provide the image of the band's name in lights. This font style and the imagery it invokes hightens the band's status as it suggests they are famous enough to have their name illuminated.
• The colour purple is carried through the entire poster, starting dark at the top of the advert, around the bands name, and continuing through the image of the Royal Albert Hall and to the bottom of the frame. Purple is associated with royalty and so by having this as the dominating colour in the advert, the band's status and fame is again being emphasised as it suggests they are worthy of such a suggestive title as royalty.
• The poster features the band biggest singles such as "Mr Brightside", "Read my mind" and "Somebody told me", which it is likely fan's or even those who are not would have heard. By featuring some of their most famous hits the viewer becomes curious as to what the rest of the album will be like and so may be enticed to purchase it.
• The easily recognisable Royal Albert Hall, a classic image, is shown to be situated in the desert, surrounded by cacti and sand. This almost uncomfortable combination of classic imagery and outlandish setting emphasises the unique quality of The Killer's music, showing the viewer that they are challenging the conventions of music and are literally like nothing they have seen before.
• The cacti and desert setting also link to many of their music videos they have released, such as "Human" and "Reasons unknown", again creating a link in the fan's mind between their music and the visuals of the poster.
• There is one image in the advert, standing solitary in the centre of the frame. This single image combined with the isolating composition may be symbolic of The Killer's music and general style, enforcing their status as individual artists.
• The image is of the Royal Albert Hall situated in a desert. This image is simplistic and minimalist and the bulk of the design is made up with the circles. This simplicity could be a metaphorical representation of the band's music and the band themselves, stating that what you see or hear is quite literally what you get.
• The image is not a photograph but a combination of mixed media which ties in with the conventions of indie-genre promotional posters as they often present images that are primarily art based.
• The fact that the artists themselves are not being used as a selling point allows the viewer to focus on the information presented to them, such as the release date. Instead of the visual aid of The Killer's it shows the Royal Albert Hall, which relates directly to the text and reinforces what the poster is actually promoting, a live album/ DVD from the Royal Albert Hall.