Magazine Advert Analysis

Especially for Indie artists, it is important to have an eye catching and effective advert displaying an album. Even with the rise of the internet, magazines such as NME and Mojo are still extremely popular in advertising new Indie music. Here are some examples of these adverts.

This is an advert for a single rather than an album but it still shares some characteristics that we would use in our album advert. 

Layout- All the features are equally spread across the page and everything is framed appropriately adhering to the rules of thirds with Bugg  being displayed on the right. The layout along with the choice of sizes fro the fonts, lead your eyes down the page to be left with his website. 

Color- The color scheme is very "greyscale" with not much color. It is also very minimalistic which reflects his music. The black text is bold and stands out in front of the lighter background. This color scheme also adheres to the BBC radio 1 logo which is always black and white.

Font- the font is very simple and plain and all the text is written in capitals which shows a certain determination and boldness. It makes the artist seem strong and confident. 

Content- It is very simple with just one picture of the artist. He is also holding a cigarette which hints at the idea of rebellion and almost freedom which is what Indie artists often emulate. There is also very little text which means that the text that is there stands out. He is looking straight to camera which makes a connection with the audience but the profile stance adds an sense of mystery and is almost intimidating

Ed Sheeran has been a breakthrough Indie artist in 2011 and 2012 and has gained critical success. 

Layout- The layout of this advert again draws attention to the artist himself. And the way the text is set out draws your eyes down the page to the legal text and the text displaying other platforms to consume his music. 

Color- The colors follow the recurring theme of Ed Sheeran with the orange, black and white. This gives the artist a certain identity and makes the advert instantly recognisable. These colors also contrast well meaning that the text stands out on the page. The orange also reflects Ed's distinct ginger hair.

Font- the fonts is the same that is used across all of Ed Sheerans text and is instantly recognisable as his own. This again creates a sense of identity.

Content- The advert again is very minimalistic and simple, reflecting the simplistic nature of his music. It has a quote from a credited source which makes the album more desirable. Something that we would want to emulate in our advert. Sheeran is not looking into camera but the extreme close up of his face creates the connection with the audience and makes it more personal. 

This is the 2nd album from artist Jack Johnson after his very successful debut album "In Between Dreams" 

Layout- this is a slightly different layout to what we have previously seen with the page being split into two. The top half shows the cover of the album so that it could be easily found in a music store etc. The bottom half contains all of the technical details, text and legal text. 

Color- the colors are all quite cold except for the pop of orange in the top left hand corner of the page. This color scheme links with the album cover and generates an overall theme between the texts. 

Font- the fonts of artist is different to the rest of the text on the page. The "Jack Johnson" text is in a font that is used on all of the artists work and creates a sense of identity and makes it more recognisable. The font of the rest of the text is plainer and easier to read. It also makes the page less busy in comparison to what it may have looked like if the first font was used the whole way through. 

Content- there is more text on this advert compared to others that have been looked at. It includes the name of his new single and also the different means of buying his music including 9" which is a vinyl record. Something that is becoming increasingly popular amongst Indie artist and audiences. There are also logos of record labels and websites and social media sites where the audience can learn more about the artist.

Vampire Weekend are an Indie band who have earned a loyal fan base through their unique style of music. 

Layout- this is  avery simple layout which hardly any features. The large image catches your eye immediately and the writing is laid out down the page with the artists name at the top. 

Color- there are quite a lot of pastel colors with the yellow of her shirt and the pink background. The white writing stands out on top of this but is still in keeping with the overall softness of the advert in comparison to if the text was black for example. 

Font- the font is very plain and again is written in capitals suggesting a boldness.

Content- there is very little content on the advert. The image is the cover of their album and bears no link with the band itself. There is very little legal text apart from the small print at the bottom. I think that the simplicity and boldness of the advert catches the audiences eye and is very effective 

Video Narrative

Music videos often have a mix between the narrative and the performance. This narrative has to have some relation to the lyrics of the video.

Indie videos in particular have a connection with the lyrics and often tell a relatable story that the audience can identify with. They often tell a love story or a story of desperation.

This is evident in Ed Sheeran's music video for The A Team.

This video tells the story of a young girl caught up in drugs and prostitution. The use of a handheld camera adds to the sense of poverty that the video emulates. It is shot much like a film and follows the day of the young girl. This is something that we want to take and use to follow our artist throughout the last day from the morning to the evening. Although the story of the video may not be one that audience members can directly relate to, it is an everyday problem and highlights sadness which is a common feature of indie music.

Illustrating and Amplifying Lyrics- Joshua Radin

Illustrating lyrics directly depicts the meaning of the lyrics in the video, whereas amplification shows the meaning but through symbolism and other meanings.

Joshua Radin's video for Rather Be With You does both of these.

The very first lyric of the song is illustrated as "sitting here on his lonely dock" and he is seen sitting on a dock by himself. The idea of illustrating lyrics gives a direct correlation between the video and the lyrics of the song.

Amplification is also used. For example the lyric "you waited on me for so long" doesn't actually show her waiting for him, but the reaction that they have when they see each other. Showing that they have been aart for a long time.

We also hope to use a mixture of amplification and illustration in our video to give meaning and links between the image and lyrics.

Jack Johnson Digipack analysis

In Between Dreams was the debut album from Jack Johnson. The cover is very simple using only 2 colors, the yellow and green. It creates a silhouette like image with the yellow being the light from the sun. Johnson is only seen very small compared to the tree and we cannot see his face making it more mysterious but also gives the impression that he is less about his image and more about his music. He can be seen with his guitar a prominent feature in his music and this gives him the credibility as a musician. The font is relatively small and simple again reflecting the simplicity of his music. The slight view of the sea in the background represents his home town of Hawaii but also adds a sense of tranquillity and relaxation. The image of his guitar emphasizes the genre of his music and is a running theme throughout all texts by Jack Johnson. 

The back cover again is yellow and black creating the silhouette effect and the font is simple. The composition of the texts mirrors the branch and creates a balanced layout.
The spine also follows the theme of the whole album. The small print offers the audience other platforms to find music and special features; something that we would ideally like to mimic.

This is a contrasting inlay compared to the one seen above. It shows a collage of photographs from the music making progress and it almost a "behind the scenes" look. It confirms Johnson as a credible artist and someone who is involved in all aspects of his music. It also has a "thankyou" section which helps connect with the audience.

John Mayer Digipack analysis

This is the cover and one of the inlays of John Mayer's album "Room for Squares". Compared to the last album of his tht i looked at you can see that this one has a much brighter color pallete using orange and yellow tones. On the front cover there is no eye contact with the camera which is not challenging to the audience. He is also dressed very casually making him seem very relaxed and laid back. Also Mayer is featured in the left third of the screen which again does not challenge the audience. He is sitting down which adds to the relaxed approach of the cover. His guitar is featuerd which imidietely links the artist to the Indie genre. The division of the cover into smaller squares links to the title of the album "Room for Sqaures" and creates an interesting way of dividing up the page. The black emboldened writing contrasts with the stark white backgroud that it has been placed upon but lso contrasts with the warmer yellow color scheme that is seen throughout the rest of the digipack.

The inlay includes thankyou sections which helps the artist connect with their audience and maybe even thank them for buying the record. The photos follow the color scheme and again the guitar is featured. The overlapping photos creates a square linking wit the title. However in the lower photo we see Mayer directly adress the camera but in a playful way with a slight smile so again this is not challenging the audience. The lighting in the photos seems natural and bright which is more suggestive of happiness.

This is the back cover of the album. Again we see the black writing on the plain white background which makes the song titles easy to read. The squares that can be seen make up the shape of the periodic table which links to science. This I think implies that there is a science to art and music but also includes the sqaures that are mentioned in the title of the album. Even the colors match those of the color scheme. The legal small print on the album is inbetween the two sections of the table where there would normally be writing on a scientific version of the table.This creates an almost accurate representation of the table. However the squares are empty which creates a simpler and more basic pattern and almost reflects the pattern on the cover of the album. The barcode is situated in an unuasual place (we would expect to find it at the bottom of the cover somewhere). This may be so it does not interfere with the table of sqaures that we see.  

This is the CD artwork and again shows the periodic table but this time in its entirity with all the elements being labelled in the boxes. Also although the orange keeps the color scheme it is brighter and less soft and against the black background creates a greater contrast. The text is also in orange making it stand out against the black background. The black background itself creates contrast witht the rest of the album which contains very little black. Even though this is the case it does not create sadness as one may thinks. The website is displayed on the disc showing the other platforms that the music can be consumed on. There are also lables and small print round the bottom of the disc which confirm its credibility as a CD

Filming a guitar solo

This music video is contains a memorable guitar solo in which slash appears out of the sea and plays whilst standing on water.

There is strong emphasis on the guitar and at 8.18 a close up shot of the body and lower neck of the guitar gives focus to his fingers and the playing of the guitar. This could give the audience the idea of learning the solo from the video as well as displaying Slash as a credible artist.
The shots are constantly moving but does have a slower cutting rate. This almost mimics the playing of the guitar as it is constant and smooth.
The choice of color filter also matches the lacquer on the guitar and against the black costume of Slash again brings attention to the guitar which becomes the main focus of this particular sequence.

Our Artist

John Mayer- looking at integrating storylines

Steve Archer suggested that "often music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song. Sometimes the artist (especially the singer) will be park of the story, acting as a narrator and participant at the same time. But it is the lip synch close-up and the miming of playing instruments that remains at the heart of the music videos as if to assure us that the band really can kick it." This is why integrating the storyline well into the performance aspects of the video is crucial and is something that we will definitely be using in our own video.

• First of all, the video has a short introduction with diagetic sound to set the location and the tone of the video, containing several establishing shots of a city scene which then contrasts with the country and rural setting of the rest of the video. As a group we were considering including this again to help establish the story of the video and introduce the artist and the characters of the video to the audience. 
• The artist plays the only role in the video which is himself which almost helps the audience get to know him better as he can be himself when he is alone, but also contributes to the lyrics of the video and his "shadow days" of being alone. 
• There is a mid profile shot of Mayer in the car and him singing along to the radio which happens to be his own song which I think is a really original way of combining both performance and story in one shot. 
• Overall the story is shown through a montage of establishing shots of the scenery which creates a good and effective way of setting the story apart from the performance; however cross cutting between them and the performance helps keep the video fluid and creating a good blend between performance and story. I don't think however that we would use this sort of technique purely because we dont have the means to shoot lots of locations or have the really eyecatching surroundings to shoot in
• The story includes him as a musician buying and playing the guitar but not as a performer which could connect to the type of audience that he attracts as many of them may be guitarists. This also helps us connect with him, showing his passion for music and guitars and we almost see him at his most open and vulnerable, especially at 1.17 where the slightly low angled mid shot across the bed shows him playing the guitar alone in a motel room
• The overall story of the video shows him as a "regular" man, going into the rural depths of america and not having to worry about being spotted or noticed by fans like he would in the city. It is an escape to him and he enjoys getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city

David Grey- How to shoot a performer

 David Grey offers a very different approack to recording the performance aspect of his music video. The fact that the piano is suspended up in the air gives a more varied range of shots that can be used. This has been taken advantage of as we see numerous different shots being used. The shots used are static though, offering no examples of panning or tracking or movement of the camera.

•  A mid shot, face onto the camera gives the opportunity for Grey to directly address the audience by looking straight down the camera lens. This is something that we want to replicate in our video. Addressing the audience is something vitally important in all genres of music: because our song is about love and lost love we want to create a sense or desire and adoration towards our artist so having him sing down the camera would be a good way of achieving this.
• There a frequent low angle shots of him and the piano which offer a unique perspective of what the people walking in the streets of the video would see (as the piano is in the air above him), helping to cleverly integrate the performance in with the story happening below. This would be a difficult concept for us to copy but we would still consider looking at using low angle shots to provide an interesting angle on the instruments and him as a performer. 
• A birds eye shot of Grey at the piano gives a great overview of him as a performer and shows the location of the video really well. This might be something that we want to emulate in our video as a way or showing our performer as a whole and will also show off the location that we will choose to use. It may also be a way for us to link the story to the performance side of the video. We will hoever have to find a safe and efficient way of filming this as a birds eye view shot can be difficult with the equipment that we will be provided.
• There a several shots such as another birds eye view shot focusing on his hands playing the piano which gives him credibility as an artist as he is playing his own instrument showing him as a true musician. This is something that we definitely want to use, but we will have to focus on a guitar rather than a piano. This again will show our artist as a credible musician but also lives up to the expectations of the Indie genre

Coldplay

This video displays perfectly the idea of binary opposition, contrasting the solitude and isolation we see at the beginning of the video, to the large arena performance in the second half of the video. This video is primarily a performance video and does not display the storyline which we see in a lot of music video. The apart of the video is made up of a long shot using a constantly moving camera following Chris Martin (will be abbreviated to CM from now on). It changes from a long and wide shot to a close up of him from the shoulders upwards. There is an affect of the video almost being in slow motion as the lip syncing isnt quite in time to the music. Having the location outside exaggerates the fact that he is alone and the low lighting created gives a more solemn atmosphere. At 0.58 the camera slowly zooms out showing CM's full surroundings as a building site, quite industrial and dirty. This makes the audience wonder what he is doing there and in what circumstances, this adheres to the enigma code that is sometimes used in music videos. There are connections between the lyrics and the composition of the video. The line "lights will guide you home" is shown as CM is walking down the street with a line of street lights in the left third of the screen as if he were following them to get to where he belongs. From 1.32 there is a montage sequence showing his current surroundings and it allows the audience to take in his location. He is alone in all of these shots, emphasising his loneliness. It is uncommon for a band to have such focus on just one band member. In contrast to this the performance sequence shows the full band. It is also implied that the lights have guided him to the stage which could be the "home" that he refers to in the song, meaning that he finds being on stage is like being at home and the line "and ignite your bones" refers to the excitement that he feels when he is performing on the stage. The camera switches from showing performance shots of the band to reaction shots of the audience in the arena. This gives the audience watching at home the impression that they are watching the band live like those in the video- this again creates that relationship that has been previously referred to.

Coldplay are a british rock band who have found success through their heartfelt memorable lyrics and amazing stage presence during their live shows. They attract a large and loyal fan base because of this. Early
Coldplay portrays the men as "normal guys" as they do not dress like rock stars or have the rock star persona that the press like to exploit.

Here you can see an example of how Coldplay look like "regular men". They are not flash or flamboyant and this is what so many people like about this band. This is a promo shoot for when "A rush of blood to the head" was released. The black and white filter adds a simplistic approach much like their music did on this album. The hands crossed and hands in pockets along with the challenge to the camera (looking straight into the camera) gives the men power and makes them seem more in control. Also the slight low angle of the camera makes them seem bigger and more powerful. In spite of all this, the band do not look menacing as you would expect. The direct address to the camera connects the audience to the band and begins that important relationship that an artist needs to have with their audience. The warehouse gives an industrial look to the shoot and with low lighting gives a sense of melancholy. Also the focus isnt as sharp as you would expect from a promotional shoot and their faces aren't entirely clear adding mystery to the photo.

Later on in the bands career they begin to develop a new and individual image, using fluorescent paints and bright colors. The extended from their music videos, to their live performances.

This is a photo taken from their performance on their Mylo Xyloto tour. As you can see brightly colored painted balloons have been released into the audience. Not only does this give the performance an interesting and unique visual along with the staging and lighting but also allows the audience to participate with the show as they are able to bounce the balloons around the arena. Also in this particular photograph the balloons look like planets and gives the impression that their music could speak to anyone in the universe and still mean something to someone.

This is a screen shot from the video "Every teardrop is a waterfall" and shows the fluorescent paints that Coldplay are now known for. Against the dark brick wall, these bright UV paints stand out immensely and create large collages of drawings and patterns, creating unique visual effects for the audience. The UV paints also cover their costumes and instruments giving the song and album an overall concept that the audience can recreate. Their instruments are covered in lyrics from previous songs reminding the audience of their previous songs but also creates sentiment for loyal fans that have loved the band since their first formed in 1996.

After marrying Gwenyth Paltrow, lead singer Chris Martin became more known in the media but they still have a clean image with know scandal forming in the media; unlike many rock bands that we know. They have managed to keep their personal lives fairly private and are much more about the meaning of the music. The lyrics written by Chris Martin do however give some insight into his private life but also help build that all important relationship with the audience and give the audience something to relate to.

Ndubz

Ndubz are a lodnon based RnB group consisting of 2 male members and a female memeber.

They are known for coming from a disadvantaged background to making it big in the music industry. Theyre fusion of rap and strong voal performances opens up their denmographic audience to a wider group of people. Im going to first look at Ndubz as a group and then at the individual members as they have developed their own image and audience. Looking at the previous image of their first album cover for "uncle B" firstly the typography of the text immedietely shows the genre of music. The graffiti style writing emulates "the hood" and the london surburbs where they all were raised. Purple however is seen as a very luxurious color and this could then represent the wealth that they now have and their succes.

Both Fazer and Dappy have been exploited in the media after they both have been charged on separate occasions for assault. Tulisa also has a reputation as having a very strong opinion and a short temper. This displays the "bad boy" image that most Rap and urban artists like to embody. They also embody the urban image in terms of their choice of clothing. Both male members are mostly seen in hoodies and tracksuits or baggy low rise jeans and trainers. Dappy's trademark wooley hat gives him an identity as an individual and gives the fans something to replicate. Tulisa has a different style often seen wearing body con dresses and heals; however she is seen portrayed as quite "chavvy" because of her large hoop earrings and peroxide blonde hair.



In the opening of the video, the tone of the video is immediately set, with the footage of the helicopter, car and motorbike. This emphasizes the fact that they have reached the dream life coming from nothing. However their clothes still show their urban identity with Tulisa wearing a sports bomber jacket and Dappy wearing his trademark wooley hat. The excessive amount of jewellery that each of them are wearing show both wealth and link the band back to urban and rap lifestyle. The club location and the booth look luxurious and expensive and the fact that all the women are attractive makes the band look more desirable. Young fans especially girls, aspire to be the women in the video and the boys want to be the men surrounded by beautiful women and nice cars. It follows the conventional commercial music video; cutting between performance shots and a stroyline. The shot of the mobile phone and the reference to facebook immediately show their target audience and helps the band to connect with them. At 1.18 we see Tulisa in a black dress and red lipstick making her seem desirable and sexy (she was recently voting FHM sexiest women 2012) but it also makes her seem less chavvy and more expensive. There are frequent references to the name of the band on the side of the helicopter so that the video has an identity. Fazer being seen in sunglasses inside the club adheres to the RnB image but also hiding his eyes creates a sense of mystery.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga is a very creative artist and likes pushing the boundaries in terms of her image and persona. She is very elaborate and this is emulated through her clothing, music videos and set whilst performing on stage.

Here are some images of staging that lady gaga has used for various live performances

 

Very often she plays upon the idea of death and and here she can be seen appearing out of a coffin. This shows the darker side of her music and creates a very theatrical almost operatic style show which tells a story to the audience. The red velvet inside the coffin gives a medieval impression linking the idea of dracula, vampires and danger; something very popular with the youth of today because of phenomenons such as twilight and the vampire diaries. You can also she that her costume is made of a PVC plastic which is very reveling and creates a more sexual image especially bondage type clothing. This gives her a sense of power much like a dominatrix would. The dancers that accompany her on stage also where this leather/PVC bondage type clothing which carries the theme through. The use of dark colors on the set and clothing enhances the mystery that she is trying to create but also gives in to the idea of the "dark ages" and the medieval theme that she is portraying.

 Here you can see a much brighter stage set up compared to the previous image however it still gives off a sense of danger because of the fire and tall pillar around the circumference of the stage. The overall theme of the stage is a circus which at first glance would seem like a fun and innocent themes however the use of the flames and the pale face of the ring master gives an eerie atmosphere. Also the large image of the ringmaster is intimidating and some may find it scary like how some find clown scary. The Ferris wheel looks old and unkept which again adds to the danger of the whole show. The large runway at the front of the stage gives her room to connect with the audience and create a rapport with them that would otherwise be lost in such a large arena.

This is her performance at the MTV music awards in 2011. This is a more conventional stage set up for Lady Gaga. The cages at either sides of the stage give the idea of being imprisoned but is also an interesting prop for her dance crew to use in there choreography. The idea of being in prison again adds to this themes of danger and criminality and creates a sense of "grungyness". she also almost always uses exclusively male dancers which in this kind of staging works well as they can portray the stereotypical criminal. There is a runway to a larger performance area coming out of the main stage which again gives her the opportunity to be closer to her fans and connect with them which i think is an important part of her image as she values her fans as the people that keep her successful. The lighting for this show is more elaborate than has been previously seen and this may be becuase her staging is slightly more simple. This interesting lighting keeps her stage looking alive and dramatic as that is what she is know for but without lots of pieces of set.

Lady Gaga is known for being creatively in charge of everything she does. She has her "Haus of Gaga" which is her creative team which help create individual clothing, set and also choreograph and direct her music videos. She has so much input into how she is represented. This helps her connect with her audience more as she is basically reflecting who she is as a person  through her clothing and themes in her videos and live performances.
She does however create a lot of controversy in doing so.

The dress seen here is made of 100% meat and sparked numerous insults amongst animal cruelty protesters as well as the "fashion police" who marked it as a fatal mistake. However costume choice such as this keeps Gaga in the spotlight and the media giving her more exposure to the public. Made by her creative team "Haus of Gaga", it shows her ever growing individuality and that she is not sared of breaking boundarie and being herself; something that her fans admire her for and aspire to be like.

This outfit was workn on the UK Xfactor lice show for her track "marry the night" The black costume links to the theme of nightime displayed in the song and shows a dark and mysterious side to Gaga. It present a more gothic imge much like the medieval set seen previously. However it is the severed head effect that caused the contraversy amognst viewers considering that the Xfactor is a family show. I think that this adds to the theatrical nature that we associate with her. Her artist image is not just about music but about creativity and individuality and making an impact.

This is the egg which she "hatched" out of at her Grammy performance in 2011. It said that she was "incubated" for 3 hours in the egg getting into character for her Born This Way performance. This sparked many many health and safety complaints as she was carried in on the red carpet and confined in such a small space. The idea of the egg however links to the theme of her track Born This Way as it displays her being brought into the world exactly as she is now and nothing has changed about her. She is an embassador for self esteem amongst her fans claiming that they shouldnt change for anyone and should always be themselves and therefore attracts a large loyal following of "outcasts" or people who feel they dont belong.


Judas was another controversial video for Gaga as she blends religion with sexual themes. The video includes a prelude which shows her riding on the back of a Harley Davison motorbike. The establishing shot pans across the