Lyric analysis and their importance

The song we will be making our video for, Trials of the Past by SBTRKT, contains lyrics which don't necessarily contain a narrative, but still conjour up a lot of imagery, most of which being about ghosts and the supernatural. By studying and analysing the lyrics for our song, I have decided that our video is most likely to be set in a haunted wood. I have embedded my analysis below.

Trials of the Past Lyric Analysis

Magazine Advert Analysis: The Smiths

The most immediately striking feature of this magazine advertisement is the close up picture of the band. This has been used because not only is it the cover of the album which is being advertised, but it also grabs the attention of a potential fan of the album because it is a close up shot. The positioning of each of the band members within this picture has to be considered as well, because as Morrissey is at the front, it is evident that he is the lead singer and is the main one who is being marketed - this is also shown through the expression which is on his face, as he is the only one who is smiling with his teeth out. If we were to use a picture of a band within the magazine advert which we will be creating, then we would have to consider a similar way of spacing the band out so that the lead singer is the focal point, as it is likely that the music video is going to revolve around him as well. 

Another important feature of this magazine advertisement is that the entire picture is in monochrome. Whilst this arguably makes the picture stand out less to the reader than if it were in colour, it helps to emphasise the text, which is just as important as the picture for an advertisement for an album. In addition to this, monochrome works well on this picture because each band member can still be seen clearly. This can be a problem when not including a wide range of colours within the image, as it can sometimes emphasise shadows which can obscure certain things within the picture. In addition to this the monochrome colour scheme has connotations of the lo-fi, DIY aesthetic which is associated with indie music, which could be a big reason as to why the artist chose to design the image in such a way. 

The choice of light blue for the name of the artist and album has been done for two reasons, as it not only stands out well against the monochrome background, but also has connotations of tranquility, which is a way in which the music of The Smiths can be described. In addition to this, the album title actually appears twice within the advert, once at the top in two different colours, and then below the middle of the page in just light blue - this is to emphasise the title of the album, as it was a greatest hits release so wouldn't have received as much promotion as a new studio album would have done. 

The poster lists all of the hit singles which feature on the album - it is important that we do this with the poster that we produce as casual fans may not be able to recognise the artist based on just their name, and will need to recognise the name of their single in order to know who they are and to fully appreciate the advert.

The release date is emphasised both through using capital letters and a larger font than the rest of the writing at the bottom of the advert. This is because it is arguably the most important piece of information in the advert apart from the title, because fans will want to know when they can purchase the album. By making it stand out by typesetting in this way, it is the first thing most people will notice when they glance away from the image, meaning that it is likely to leave a longer lasting impression on the person than the rest of the information on the poster. 

A closer up image in order to show the large amount of detail at the bottom of the advertisement.

The advert contains a website link, but doesn't contain any links to social networks. We would need to ensure that we include links to social networks in our magazine advert, as these are often the first port of call for a listener who wants to make a decision whether to purchase the album or not. 

Finally, the one part of the poster which breaks the monochrome/light blue colour scheme is the small logo for Rhino Entertainment in the bottom right hand corner, as it is red. This is important because the designer of the advert has intended for it to stand out, as it is incredibly important for the institution who released the album to have a large part within the advert poster, because it is arguably an advert for the record company as much as it is an advert for the album which it is advertising. 

Magazine Advert Analysis: The Drums

This magazine advert is a lot more simple than the one which I previously analysed, as it is made up of the album cover and a list of ratings from several reputable music magazines. However, it is arguably just as effective as the one for The Smiths album, because the visual designer has employed many of the same ideas and methods in order to make it as attention grabbing.

It is unsurprising that the largest and boldest font is the name of the band, but is also the title of the album - this is a good marketing technique as it means the reader has far less to remember when researching about the album/band later on. It also means that the title can be accompanied by the subheading "the album", which encourages the reader to think of the band as being one who have an album worth buying, and aren't basing their success off the back of one single.

The use of the album cover in the background is mainly subliminal marketing, as it means the readers brain with subliminally notice the album cover and remember the advert next time they see it, for example on Amazon, iTunes or in a shop such as HMV. This is likely to encourage them to purchase, as whilst they may have not heard any music from it, they will have an urge to purchase or consider purchasing the album.

Finally, the use of ratings from magazines and newspapers as the main 'body' of text within the advert is the most persuasive part of the advert when it comes to attracting the reader into purchasing the album. This is because the ratings are all four stars, and are all from publications which the reader would have heard of - this allows them to make the connection that the album is widely critically acclaimed, which makes them more likely to sustain an interest in the album. 



Magazine Advert Analysis: The Defamation of Strickland Banks

 

Like many of the other magazine advertisements which I have analysed, the largest text, and thus the focal point of the advertisement, is the name of the artist. This appears at the top of the advert, connoting that he is more important than the music himself, and that people are more likely to respond to his name than they are the name of the album. This is an interesting move, especially as the album isn't self titled, as it would be assumed that the poster would be more promotion for the album, and the music video would be more promotional for the artist.

The other text on the advertisement is the name of the album it is promoting, and interestingly a piece of text declaring it "the multi-platinum album of the year". This is hugely effective in building promotion for the album, as it shows that not only is it commercially acclaimed ("multi-platinum"), but by declaring it the "album of the year" then it must also be critically acclaimed. This, when coupled with a number of positive ratings from magazines such as Q and Mojo, proves to the reader that the album is popular and is worth researching further.
 

In terms of colours, a monochrome colour scheme is used, with a splash of red in order to break it up and make it stand out more to the potential fan of the album. The black and white colour scheme shows that there is likely to be a dark subject matter on the album, which will help it to appeal to those who enjoy listening to music of this nature. These match the colours on the album cover, which is included on the poster in the bottom left hand corner.

 

The use of images is completely different to the other posters which I have analysed, as the main image is the artist himself rather than the album cover, against suggesting that the artist is more important than the album he has released. This is because by placing the album cover as the foreground image, the reader will subliminally pick up on it and is more likely to recognise it upon seeing it on iTunes or in a record store. However, it is still effective, as the reader of the magazine is probably more likely to recognise Plan B from his music videos than they are too recognise his album cover. Additionally, this poster was released months after the album, by which time Plan B was held in a much higher regard within the public eye, so it shows that he is aware of his self evolution.

Finally, the bottom right hand corner of the poster contains a link to his website, which gives the reader a first port of call in order to find out more about the artist and album, rather than leaving them in the blue and having to research it themselves. This means that overall, the poster is hugely effective in terms of creating a new fan base, as it plays excellently on the theme of the album cover and describes the albums success in order to take its audience even further.

Analysis of 2 digipacks

Gorillaz - Demon Days

The digipak for this album is very unique in the way it has been constructed, as it is presented in a folded up piece of cardboard rather than in a conventional CD sleeve. This is likely to be of further interest to CD collectors who weren't previously fans of the band, as they will look to collect this unique album sleeve.

In terms of the graphic design, each of the sides of the digipak shows a different "member" of the virtual band. This is commonly used on the interior of digipaks in order to promote more of a star image for each of the band members, especially if the record label believes they are a band who's attractiveness will help them to promote the record. In addition to this, each of the four unfoldable parts of the digipak represent a quarter of the album cover, as these are the pictures which they are made up from. This also keeps the design of the digipak very uncomplicated, as there is no writing or other imagery, allowing the person looking at it to focus more on the album cover itself.

By using white as the predominant background colour of the inside of the digipak, the album sleeve has connotations of openness. This relates well to the music of the album, as it takes influences from all sorts of genres including hip-hop, indie and dance. The dark blue colour background colour of the album sleeve connotes power and seriousness, so has perhaps been used ironically considering the band is actually a project made up of cartoons.

Rihanna - Talk That Talk

The most immediately striking thing about this digipak is the use of an almost completely black and white colour scheme, with only a tiny bit of red text being used in order to make it stand out amongst the monochrome of the rest of the album. The use of black and white doesn't particularly make the album stand out to potential purchasers, meaning that the record company will have to rely on other promotion such as music videos and magazine adverts in order to promote the album.

In terms of design, the interior of the album and the CD are both designed to reflect the look of a newspaper - this is probably a reference to the name of the album being "Talk That Talk". The "talk" in question could be rumours about the artist which have been published in newspapers, so this design is probably trying to reflect that. It is also well matched, as the CD is the only part which is explicitly clear as being designed like a newspaper than the rest of the digipak, which makes it stand out from the rest.

There are 4 separate images of the artist within the digipak, which shows that a lot of the albums marketing is being based around the 'attractiveness' of Rihanna, as in all four of the parts of the digipak, there is no image other than that of Rihanna herself. This is probably due to the fact that she is young and female, which means that her music is likely to sell a lot better if it is marketed around her face.

By studying these two vastly different digipaks, I have found that it is best to stick to one theme throughout the entire digipak, in the interest of creating continuity throughout it. This continuity will then extend to the magazine advert and music video, in order to create a promotional package which looks like everything has been designed by the same team with the same resources.

What are a digipak and magazine advert, and why are they important?

Digipak

 

An example of a digipak which continues the theme established
by the album artwork.

A digipak is a gatefold style CD/DVD packaging, which were first introduced around the year 2000. By packaging a CD within a digipak, a lot more visual content is able to be included around it than would be available in the usual booklet which is provided with CDs when they are purchased. The content included on a digipak is usually made up of song lyrics, exclusive pictures/graphics which correspond to the album cover, and a space for one or multiple CDs to be stored. While they are slightly dated now, with the majority of music now being purchased online, they are still an important product within the realms of physically released music, as they are often now sold for a higher price than the standard release CD as a special or deluxe edition. It is important to properly research how the best digipaks look before designing the one we will be producing for our coursework, as otherwise we will not have a target to stride towards.

 

Magazine advertisement

 

Magazine advertisements are still incredibly important within the world of music, as they are one of the most prominent non-digital ways of promoting an upcoming tour or album by a band, who are either well established or relatively unknown. Whilst many bands promote largely online, this can only really be targeted to those who are already aware of the band, whereas a magazine advert can open a band up to a whole new audience. If the advert is for an upcoming album, then it will usually contain many of the same features as any other advertisment. These include a picture of the album, its title, the bands name, the release date, the name of one or two successful singles which have already been released from the album, reviews and ratings about the album from well known music publications and newspapers, and information about how the band can be followed on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. In addition to this, the advertisement will almost always follow the same graphical scheme as the album cover and, if relevant, its digipak. Below are some examples of posters advertising albums, and it is clear that they all contain similar features.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cultural Effects Model

The Cultural Effects Model argues that an audience member's ideology is gradually built up over a longer time period from seeing various different media texts. This is why it is often nicknamed the "drip" effect. An example of how it is employed in the mass media is with perceptions of women, as representations of 'beautiful' women are shown to the audience as having similar traits across various media texts, which allegedly builds up an idea within the audience member's minds about what defines a woman as being beautiful. It also suggests that if multiple forms of mass media carry the same message, then the majority of the audience will accept this message as being true, for example the impression given that the working class shouldn't be entitled to the same amount of social security, as expressed through newspapers such as the Daily Mail and Channel 4.  

 

This relates to music videos very prominently, as there are many similar traits across music videos which are employed in order to use this theory. An example of this is the idea that "sex sells" in terms of music videos, which sees stars (usually female) donning as few clothes as possible in a video in order to attract an audience. The audience will soon grow to expect and demand this from music videos, as the cultural effects model will argue that their tolerance will grow from seeing similar images across different media texts. An oft-used example of this is Miley Cyrus' video for "We Can't Stop", in which she is scantily clad throughout the majority of the video. The audience take this message from this video, and then relate it to other videos which also show women who are wearing little, for example Anaconda by Nicki Minaj and Gold by Chet Faker. This embeds the view further in the minds of the audience that women are happy to degrade themselves, as the trend for them to dress like this in videos is likely to keep on going further.