CD Cover Analysis - Foals - Antidotes.

This CD cover by Foals is very effective. Although the image is very simplistic, it captures your eye because it is quite unusual and disjunctive. The basic outline of the image makes you focus more on the centre of it as this area has colour. The black and white effect works well on top of the plain, beige background as this once again draws you in to look at the unusual shapes in the mouth area. This could have a significant meaning to the album or a song. The simple sketch is very different to any other CD covers you would see in a different genre but this works well for the genre as it doesn't distract you from anything else on the cover and the cartoon aspect seems to be very consistent in the indie industry so this shows consistency and that it fits in well with other bands which are similar. The emotion in the face also captures your eye as it expresses certain emotions of the character. The image also becomes more detailed as it goes further into the centre and this could also symbolise something that they are trying to express to their target audience. The location of the image is centralised which shows that you can't avoid it and that this is the only image for the audience to focus on. The plain beige background signifies the basic outline of the person and the unusual shapes in his mouth could show that he is trying or wants to say something. The CD album title and band name is also centralised at the top of the cover which also stands out on top of the plain background. This organised layout is very appealing to the target audience as these simplistic conventions stand out immediately due to the use of colour and image. The colour scheme is very basic but this works well with the sketch and 'scruffy' font style. The colours are quite neutral as beige is the most significant colour used. Brighter colours are used in the shapes within the mouth which could be linked to what the image is trying to express or say. This is the most eye catching aspect of the whole cover. There are no actual camera shots used as it is not a realistic photograph although the drawing is a mid shot. The image is quite close up which helps express the emotion of the person. The sketch is very basic surrounding his face and body and gradually the attention to detail increases by the use of shading. This makes the image look more realistic. Editing is clearly used on this album cover. This is what makes it so appealing because it is quite different and unique to the artist. It could be categorised as disjunctive even though there could be some link to the artist or a song. The font used for the album name and artist is very eye catching. The use of black on the beige background stands out immediately and the font almost looks like it has been drawn so there is that link back to the sketch. The contrast in the black font of 'antidotes' and the non-filled text 'foals' works very well together. The overall design of the cover I think is very satisfying. It fits in well with the indie genre because the layout, font and image is so simple but still eye catching. I like the neutral colour scheme and how bright colours are used to draw attention to certain aspects of an image or area. The idea of drawing an image is also appealing as it makes it unique to the band and album itself. I may consider using a variety of drawings and photographs as I would like there to be a link to the band.

CD Cover Analysis

Ideas for digipak front cover.

For the CD cover of my digipak, I wish to have either an edited image or a drawing of a cat. this is relevant to our band as the cat is 'Pablo'. I think it would be more effective if I could draw a cat as it makes it more unique and appealing. I have found this image of a cat from the internet and decided to experiment with editing what I may want it to look like if I did decide to edit it instead of drawing it. I like the idea of having neutral colours and then maybe layering black and white text on top. I have also came up with the idea of having the band members as the cat's pupil's in it's eyes to make a further link to the band. The images will be silhouettes of the band members, not coloured images. This will then tie Pablo and The People together. I will start producing some sketches and ideas of images that may be used for the cover and scan them in which will then be edited on Photoshop.

Examples of CD Covers

Researching Band Websites.

Here I have researched a range of band websites that fit into the indie genre of our band Pablo And The People. This way we can get more ideas on how they advertise and release their singles and albums. Other information on gigs, galleries, videos, releases, forums, merchandise and blogs will also come in useful when designing digipacks and magazine adverts.
http://arcticmonkeys.com/ 

The Arctic Monkeys website is a great way of keeping up to date with the band's latest news and releases. I like how they include the large , bold band logo at the centre of the page and include one of their own videos to appeal to their target audience. The colour scheme is also very clear and consistent which makes the website more aesthetically pleasing and organised. The icons are laid out in a clear format which makes users able to find certain things quickly and easily.

http://www.thekooks.com/

The Kooks website is very similar in layout and once again I like the large image which instantly stands out. It is also a good quality image which makes the site more successful. The simplicity of the colour scheme works well as it emphasises the bluer colours in the photo. I like how some band members have eye contact with the camera in the photo and some don't which shows the realistic aspect of the photo. Another key element of this website is that they involve their target audience by having blogs, forums and news etc. This way they can gain feedback on gigs and releases and make improvements by what they say.

http://www.wearefriendlyfires.com/ 

The Friendly Fires website has a very eye catching colour scheme and this is the same as their album cover. The colours work very well together and instantly stand out. I like the simplicity of the font and how this emphasises the image. The website includes photos and videos which will appeal to their target audience and it also involves Facebook which will attract more people to make them want to find out more about them. The website also provides accurate information on when the album is being released to prepare their target audience.

 http://thedrums.com/ 

The Drums website theme is very similar to everything else that they produce. Their style is very vintage but still fashionable and their albums and music videos are always very basic and simple. This 'vintage' aspect can be seen on the website as the photo is very simple but still effective. The colour scheme is also quite basic but once again relates to other things that they have produced. I like how the website displays their most recent video which will appeal to their target audience and also additional information on shows and stores.

                                                     http://www.thevaccines.co.uk/gb/home/

I think the most successful element of The Vaccines website is the organisation of the layout. This is very effective as there is a row of photographs at the top of the page which instantly stand out because they are relevant to the band and album and below this a very significant title with the band name. The different pages are then listed so that the user can navigate through the website. The information they provide is very similar to those of other artists in the same music genre but I also like how they include a newsletter, information on their merchandise and updates on what they are up to which their target audience like to get involved in.  

Further research for CD covers.

Cd covers

View more presentations from s_jarram94.

For this section I have collected a series of images of current and older CD covers to generate ideas on what ours may look like. These CD covers fit into our indie genre and the consistent theme that can be seen in most is the use of animation and cartoons. They are quite simple which makes them so interesting and unique. They are significant to the artist as you can see a link although some are quite disjunctive and unusual. We would like our CD cover quite simple but still clear what the album will include and that it has a link to our song in the music video or the band themselves.

Actors/Actresses..

For this section we have chosen a few photos of all the actors or actresses of our music video. This is simply stating who they are and what their role is in the video. We will conduct a photo shoot in the coming weeks to show what they look like as a group. This may happen on the day of filming or before so that we can generate more ideas on styling although we do have some ideas of what each character will look like at this point.

Sara

This is Sara Zanjani. She will be involved in the story aspect of our video. She is the girl in the relationship with James.

 James

This is James Press. He is the lead singer and guitar player of the band and is also in the story aspect of the video. He is in a relationship with Sara in the video.

 Grace

This is Grace Wedgbury. She is one of two guitarists in our band. The other is James. She will only be involved in the band performance aspect of the video.

Steph

This is Steph Jarram. She is the drummer of the band and she will also only be involved in the band performance aspect of the video.