Magzine Advert Analysis - Florence and the Machine

Florence and the Machine - Lungs



 Font - This magazine advert brings to the audience attention two initial parts of the advert with regards to the font, first is the name of the artist, which is seen at the very top of the page, this is where most people will look first when looking at an advert, so they can initially build up an idea of what the product will be like before they purchase it by knowing who it is created by. You are then shown the title of the new album, which will add to what the audience expectation of the album will be. There is also a release date, which is obviously an important part of an advert as it informs the audience as to when the product is available.

 

Colour - This advert uses colour to it advantage, everything on the advert is black and white except the picture of the artist, which also draws the attention of the audience as they may recognise who is in the picture, also adding to their expectation of the album. The font is made to stand out a lot more by the use of black and white, as they are colours which best go together. The overall usage of colour in this magazine advert is very natural and calm, this could suggest to readers that the artist is like this as well, suggesting they are very genuine and produce natural music, as opposed to an artist who uses bright colours in their adverts, suggesting they create over the top music.

 

Images - There is only one image used in this advert as it is of the artist. This helps a lot when making an effective advert, especially when it is for a well established artist as people are likely to see the advert and recognise the artist. The advert shows the artist looks to the right with her eyes closed, creating an air of mystery, also the picture is linked to the title of the album as the artist can be seen with iron like lungs on her chest. The pictures and the font in the advert are all well proportioned meaning that the attention to each component in this advert is relatively equal.

 

 This analysis has given me an in-depth look into how Magazine Adverts are constructed and the different parts which make them up. Doing this analysis will help me when it comes to planning and making mine as I now have a greater knowledge of Magazine Adverts, how they use their components to grab the readers attention but also how they are constructed.  

Digipak Analysis - Katy Perry

Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

 

 

 Font -  The font which is used for the track listing on the back of the Digipak is different to the font which is used on the information pack on the inside of the Digipak, however the most interesting thing about the font and writing used on this Digipak is the fact that there isn't any writing on the front of it, this is done because the picture of the artist Katy Perry, is very striking and some would argue it doesn't need a title as it is recognisable and draws enough attention without the use of a title. Also the colouring of the font on the outside of the Digipak is red which means it stands out against the light blue and pink which is pictured on the outside.

 

Colour - This Digipak is very colourful, which link in to the theme of the artists current album cycle, the outside of the album has the running theme of what seems to be cloud of candy floss, these gives the album a girly theme. There are also two pictures of the artist shown on the outside of the album, which have a lot more contrast than the background image, meaning they stand out more. The disks which are seen on the inside are also very colourful and continue the theme that the artist is using of sweets.

 

Key Images - There are many key images and also themes running throughout not only this Digipack by Katy Perry, but also her entire album cycle. She has the on going theme of sweets and feminine colours, this continuity with the theme will stick in peoples minds and enable them to recognise her work in other sections of the media. For example, the exact framing of her album cover is featured in her video for 'California Gurls'. Also the on going theme of sweets is seen on the outside of the album with the background picture being of Candy Floss and also on the inside of the album as her CD's look like sweets as well.  

 

Packaging - There are 2 CD's in this Digipak, both of which contain the same theme, the only difference is the pictures on them. Both the CD's slide into the case, rather than being held in with plastic, this saves the record label money when. The packaging contains two pictures of the artist on the outside with the continuous candy floss theme, there is also an information pack on the inside which shows another picture of the artist, also continuing the theme of sweets. 

 

This analysis has given me an in-depth look into how digipack's are constructed and the different parts which make them up. Doing this analysis will help me when it comes to planning and making mine as I now have a greater knowledge of digipack's and how they are constructed.  

Digipak Analysis - Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster

 

Font -  The font used inside this Digipak by the artist Lady Gaga if the same throughout, this gives the casing consistency and makes it look more professional, also the font which is used is the font which is present on everything to do with advertising and selling this artists new album, this point will help when trying to get people to buy the alum as they may have seen the font before and recognise it.

 

Colour - This Digipak is completely black and white, some people would be hesitant to do this especially an artist who is so famous, however the contrast between the black and white makes the album stand out a lot more, even the pictures are black and white, like the use of the consistent font, the black and white throughout the casing makes the album look more professional.

 

Packaging - There are 2 CD's in this Digipak, both of which are almost identical, the only difference is the numbers on the CD's, they are both held in place in transparent plastic casing, which means you can see through to the design underneath. The remaining inside panel and one outside panel has pictures of the artist on them, then the two remaining front ones have the album cover and the track list on the back.

 

This analysis has given me an in-depth look into how digipack's are constructed and the different parts which make them up. Doing this analysis will help me when it comes to planning and making mine as I now have a greater knowledge of digipack's and how they are constructed.  

 

What is a Digipack and Magazine Advertisment?

What is a Digipack?

A Digipack is a style of CD, DVD or Disk packaging, which is usually made up of 6-8 panels that contain pictures and plastic trays, which are able to hold the disks. Digipack packaging tends to be used for special edition CD’s or DVD’s as it is more expensive than using a normal Jewel Case for holding the CD, plus it looks more modern than the Jewel Case, however because there is usually no laminate over the designs on the case, it is less resistant to abrasion, meaning it shows wear and fading more.

An example of a 6 panel Digipack

 Digipack's are also an effective way of the company who are distributing it for the artist making more money. For big fans of an artist, they will want to get their hands on as much merchandise and memorabilia as they can, by making a Digipack as well as a normal type of CD casing, they will make more money by selling the Digipack as a 'special edition'. Doing this will not only help them make more money, but it will also help the chart position of the artist or album as some people will be purchasing two copies of the album in the form of a normal CD and a Digipack.



What is a magazine advertisement?

A magazine advertisement is usually a whole page or a small section on a page that is a trying to attract a certain demographic of people to purchase the product. Usually the type of product that is being advertised is taken into consideration when choosing which magazine it is being placed in as certain types of people buy certain types of magazines, for example an advert for a new children’s film wouldn’t be seen in a men’s magazine, however an advert for a new album would be seen in NME magazine as it would appeal to the type of people buying the magazine.

An example of a Magazine advert in NME magazine.

Both Digipack’s and Magazine advert are important, Digipack’s are important as they give the buyer an idea of what the bands style and design is like, if a band has a badly designed or made Digipack the buyer will think the band are unprofessional and this may make the buyer think less of the band. Also having an eye catching and well-designed magazine advert will attract more potential buyers and fans for the band that will increase the bands album sales and popularity.

Cultural Effects Model & How It Applies To Music Video

The Cultural Effects Model states that if the same media messages are repeated often enough they will be accepted as fact but audience members can resist these messages. It also suggests that the audience are active and can 'decode' messages in media texts in a number of ways.

There can be different types of readings in The Cultural Effects Model : Dominant, negotiated and oppositional.
Dominant is when the viewer will view the music video and completely understand and absorb the message that the institution has placed in the video.
Negotiated is when the viewer watches the music video and understands the message of the video that the institution has places but might not agree with the message.
Oppositional is when the viewer watched the music video but decides not to view or absorb the message that the institution has put in the video.
We need to make our music video memorable all the while making it so that no one forgets the name of the song and the artist.

When we come to make our music video we will use The Cultural Effects Model to help us make the message of our music video good, we are going to make the message of our music video about how people can feel alone even when they are surrounded by lots of people who are having a good time, in our case at a party.

We Can't Stop - Miley Cyrus

Above is the music video for We Can't Stop by Miley Cyrus, in this video Miley is seen to be partying and dressed in very little clothing. Due to the fact Miley Cyrus is a child star with a large following of primarily under 18s, this video is seen to be very controversial as she is doing things and behaving in a way which would be seen to be inappropriate for an under 18. The audience watching this video, no matter how young will see the video and immediately think that what Miley is doing is unacceptable because she is seen to be a role model by most of her fans.

 

People who have a Dominant view of this video will look at the video and understand that the video is about her and all of her friends having a party and probably won't be able to see any issue with the video.

People who have a Negotiated view of the video will watch the video and be able to see the intended message which has been put in place by the institution but they will also be able to see how other people could find issues and things that are inappropriate with the video.

People who have an Oppositional view of this video will watch it and most likely miss-read the intended message of the institutions and see negative things with the video.   

When making our video, because we are doing along the route of throwing a party, we don't want our video to come out like this one, Miley's video could be seen as tacky, and focusing more on the behaviour in the video as opposed to the actual music and the song.

 

Lip Syncing & Its Importance

What is it?

Lip syncing is moving the lips in synchronisation with a recorded speech or song to give the illusion of a live performance. It is usually put in in the post production phase of a music video by combining the recorded piece of footage with the pre-recorded track. It is done by playing the song on set and have the artist or appropriate band member mime along to the section of words.

What is its importance?

Lip syncing is important in Music Videos as it is the main link between the video and the song, it very unusual that a video doesn't have any lip syncing in it as it is seen to be the main convention of a music video. Lip Syncing helps the audience understand what band member plays what role in the song and who the lead sing or singers are, it also makes the audience feel more included as they are essentially being sung at by the artist in the video. Also another main convention of music videos is performance, which usually can't be achieved without the use of lip syncing.

 The video above accompanies Lily Allen's song called 'Air Balloon', the video featured a great deal of lip syncing. It is obvious that she isn't singing live as she is in the middle of a field and isn't singing into a microphone, however on the set of the video the song would be playing out loud and she would be moving her lips along to the song to give the illusion that she is singing live.

Indepth Analysis of Video From Chosen Genre - Lana Del Rey

Young and Beautiful - Lana Del Rey

I have chosen to analysis this song as Lana Del Rey is an alternative artist, like the artist I have chosen to make a video for, and also because the video is similar to what we want to make and something we take inspiration from.

 

In terms of Goodwins Theory's on music videos, Young and Beautiful presents a lot of characteristics and really displays Goodwins Theory well.

 

Firstly, this video displays stereotypical genre characteristics of both the genre but also the artist, Del Rey is an alternative artist, and videos for this genre of music tend to be very mysterious and often very emotional and full of feeling as this is typically what music in this genre sounds like. The fact Del Rey has two tear drops on her face shows the emotion in the song, and also the use of an orchestra is not typical in any music video, this is done because Del Rey's video is alternative.

 

Secondly Del Rey is presenting a vague link between the lyrics and the visuals of her video, this is present when there is a shot of Del Rey in a long black dress with curly hair, some people viewing the video could say that she looks older than her age and is dressed slightly old fashioned, this shot has links to the lyrics 'When I'm no longer young and beautiful'. Links to this lyrics are also present when there are close ups of Del Rey as she looks youthful and young.

 

Like the link between lyrics and visuals there is a vague link between the visuals and the music, this can be seen when the orchestra are in shot. As the music lifts and build, so does the conductors body language and the rest of the people with instruments, although this is obviously going to happen as they are playing the music, it still aids in building the song and giving the audience more enjoyment by linking the music and visuals.

 

One of Goodwin's Theory points with regards to music videos is having multiple close ups of the artist in their video, this is very obvious and achieved in this video as for a long period of time at the start and also throughout the video, close up's of Del Rey lip syncing can be seen, this adds a performance aspect to the video which audiences and record labels alike also require or expect.

 

In this video there is no obvious attraction to the notion of how people look or dress, or any voyeuristic attitudes towards women. Due to the fact Del Rey is the only obvious female in the video, she gets the audience full attention, this is already going against what most music videos do where men are the central attraction. To even further the turn away from how women are typically represented in music videos, Del Rey is full clothed, not dancing or doing anything provocative, this will gain some of the audiences attention as this is something they might not expect to see when watching a female singer.

 

The song is featured in the film The Great Gatsby, although there are no clips of the film featured in this video, there are still underlying themes of the film present. Because the film is based in the 1920's the whole theme of the video and the people in it are dressed to suit a 1920's theme.

 

Class is represented slightly in the video as it is quite obvious the Del Rey is of an upper class as she is presented to the audience as someone with wealth and power by the fact she is wearing a large amount of diamond and nice dresses but also because she has an orchestra performing behind her and is centre stage despite being a female.