Poster Analysis

A poster is a large printed picture which is used for decoration or to advertise something.

In this poster of Beyoncé, there are typical codes and conventions of a decorative poster. These are the artists name in bold lettering and a simple but effective image of the model.

This image is a long shot which may have been done to place her on the same level as the audience which engages the audience because they feel just as worthy as Beyoncé. 

The image is captured in black and white with a monochrome theme running throughout. This could have been done to make the poster look vintage. This links to the high shoulder pads in her blazer that she is wearing because in an old show called "Dallas and Dynasty" a woman's power could be measured by the height of her shoulder pads. This links to people knowing Beyoncé as Queen Bey because the Queen has a lot of power which suggests that Beyoncé is seen as a Queen because of her high padded shoulders which give her power.

There is a lot of leather clothing on her legs and sleeves which display her sexyness because leather is typically seen as a clothing material for being seductive.  

Beyonce's blazer is a peplum which has been in fashion throughout the 1900s as well as the 2010s. This suggests that she is vintage yet modern.(I have researched into the use of Peplum clothing in the 1900s to see that sophistacated woman such as royals or business ladies wore the peplum style).



This poster of pop artist Justin Bieber has the typical codes and conventions of a digipak poster as it has a main image, artist name and the album name on the poster. The purpose of it is for the consumer of the digipak to have a decorative poster. Justin Bieber is captured in a medium shot angle to make the audience feel as if they're close to him and are on his level. This is helped by the eye contact of Bieber's as he is staring directly into the camera which makes the audience feel like they are being personally stared at. The arm gesture is Justin holding his hair back, this allows his arms to be open which gives a positive vibe. He is wearing a checkered shirt which is unbuttoned to show his promiscuous side however his skin is blocked by the white top which hides his body from the audience which suggests that he is naughty but nice.

The album name is 'believe', the meaning of believe is to have an opinion on something without any evidence of it being real but is also the act of having faith in something. The word believe is written in the colour gold  that has transparent letters. The denotation of the colour gold is that he is as powerful as the colour gold and is used on rich jewellery and the royal family wear a lot of gold in their clothing such as accessories such as crowns. The idea of having transparent letters is so that the message 'believe' should be for the audience in theirselves inside and out because you can see right through. The word ''believe'' is written in capital letters to create an emphasis on it and draw immediate attention to the name of the album which will also engage the audience to belive in themselves.

The photo is taken with high key lighting to show the positivity of Justin Bieber which links back to the title as you should believe positively in yourself.

Digipak Analysis

A digipak is a often used for a special edition CD packaging. They are typically in a style of a book. Majority of the time, a digipak will be a paperback CD. A digipak is beneficial for a indie artists because it is cheaper to produce.

  

From my analysis of this digipak I have identified the typical codes and conventions such as a bar code, parental advisory sticker and a promotional sticker in the top right hand corner.

In Katy Perry's digipak there are close up, high angle medium shot and a long shot. The close up portrays Katy to appear seductive to the audience as she is wrapped up in candy floss whilst naked and is wearing red lipstick which is seen to be a passionate loving colour. In the high angle medium shot it makes Katy look less powerful but this is contrasted by her resting on the props which are cakes, this suggests she is more powerful than she looks because she has the capability of using the cakes to hoist her up. The long shot has Katy Perry on the same level as the audience, this emphasises her normality to her fans as she believes she can be on the same level as them, this may be because of her childhood as she lived a normal life with strict Christian parents which may make her feel like she can relate to her fans.

She has two CDs in this digipak, one which is pictured to be a donut and the other one to be a spiral of candy canes. This links in with the candy floss flowing throughout the packaging. This emphasises the sweetness of Katy Perry. However, this is juxtaposed by the parental advisory in the corner as this outlines that her music is explicit and Katy isn't as sweet as she makes out to be.

From my analysis of Rihanna's digipak I have recognised typical codes and conventions which are the main image, album name and the artists name. In this digipak, Rihanna is looking down in the extreme close up which could suggest that she is in a dream or emphasises that her music has a powerful meaning behind it. In the high angle panoramic shot it displays how Rihanna is spread across a bed of roses which highlights her power as roses are flowers which are covered in spikes but she seems fearless of the fact that they may be able to hurt her. The roses are seen as delicate and fragile which can show that Rhianna isn't as strong as she makes herself out to be. 

Rihanna is wearing a white dress which illustrates that she is pure and angel-like. The artists name 'Rihanna' is at the top of her album to show her importune because it was portrayed in a heir achy, she would be the most powerful.

The album is called 'LOUD' which suggests that she has outgoing music that everybody can join in with. If 'LOUD' was also put into a hierarchy it would be at the bottom which is the element that everybody should have in their life which suggests that Rihanna believes everybody should have her album 'LOUD'

The main colours used are pink red and white. The denotation of the colours pink and red both suggest she is feminine and passionate. The denotation of the colour white represents purity and honest. The colour red is used continuously over the digipak. For example her hair, lips and roses are all red. This could highlight that Rihanna is aiming to be seductive to the audience as red is seen as a seductive colour.

This digipak is of Avril Lavigne's album. Throughout the digipak I instantly realise typical codes and conventions of a digipak. For example, the use of a structured colour scheme, the folding covers like a book and mini images which promote something else within the digipak. She uses the colours black and pink through out. These are both very bold, outstanding colours. The denotation of black is danger and fierceness whereas this contrasts with the denotation of pink as it is a very girly, loving colour. This could suggest that she is an easy person to love as well as loving her music but you don't want to cross her bad side. This links to the use of a skull and cross bones within a heart which highlights the elements of love and danger. The skull and cross bones are used throughout the digipak which could suggest that she is trying to get the message across that she loves being dangerous.

In the first section of the digipak, Avril is looking down and it is taken from a low angle which expresses her power over the audience. Her hands are positioned on the top of her head to show that she is positive as her arms are open which emphasises her loving side. In the right image, Avril has her arm spread up to her head again which illustrates the positivity being carried through the digipak and her music. It is a close up angle which is taken at a high angle to show that she is trying to be seductive to the audience. The CD is designed to resemble a record which highlights that she is into dated music and not recent music. 

Statement Of Intent

My name is Laura Sell and I am currently studying A2 Media. My task for this year is to produce a blog making sure I include all my research and planning on digipaks, posters and a music video. I will be analysing this in detail covering the mise en scene elements and write an evaluation on what was successful. I also need to research into different target audiences and choose the specific target audience for my music video. 

Last year in AS I created a blog based on music magazines. I researched into different genres of music magazines where I analysed these with great detail. I had to analyse the codes and conventions and mise en scene elements and cover  what typical music magazines should include.  I then planned my own music magazine which was in the genre of pop. My time management and organisation was good, however as I am working as a team this year I will make my time management and organisation skills better so that I get all my tasks in on time to their best standard. For example we will create schedules to keep us on task.  

At the end of this year, I am hoping to make a professional product and promotional package. I would like to develop my creativity skills and my technical skills. I will develop my technical skills when I create the poster and digipak via photoshop and will learn new skills when creating the music video with final cut. Also I am hoping to achieve a professional looking music video with all the conventions that is typical of a music video.

Story Board For The Music Video

For our preliminary task music video, we put together a storyboard to help us with the timings and which camera angles to use. I feel like using a storyboard helped us to get the lip syncing in the correct timing with the song that was being played. It also helped us to show the model in the video what she had to do.