The first cover that I have chosen to analyse is Shakira - Oral Fixation. I have chosen to analyse this as the song I have chosen to create a music video for is by the artist Shakira and therefore analysing her album cover will give me a useful guideline as to what sort of image would go with a Shakira song and will also be attractive to the target audience. The image consists of the image of Shakira holding an apple wearing little make-up, little clothing but some leaves. This image is a well known image that is portrayed in the biblical story of Adam and Eve. In this context Shakira is being represented as Eve. There is also an image of a baby sat in the tree reaching towards her, looking as if he/she is fixated by her. This links with the title of the album. Shakira is to the centre of the frame which suggests she is dominant, which is true as she is the artist. She looks beautiful in the image although her hair and make-up seem natural, reflecting that she is a 'natural beauty' - like Eve in the story of Adam and Eve, although the outfit she is wearing adds a sexual feel. In the background the sky is cloudy with a little sunlight reflected on the cloud at the top left of the frame, behind the text that says Shakira and the album name. The font used is an old Gothic type font which goes with the ideology of Adam and Eve that is used. It is red in colour which matches the apple Shakira is holding therefore creating a vague colour scheme of reds, browns and greens. The overall style of the image is painting like and slightly 'dull' in lighting therefore reflecting the time of Adam and Eve which the image is obviously based around.
I have chosen to analyse The Fame - Lady Gaga as Lady Gaga is a contemporary artist who has released music that my target audience would probably consume. The cover consists of Lady Gaga's face as a close-up with a serious expression, airbrushed, wearing sunglasses and make-up. Lighting is used to create a shadow on the left side of her face which gives the impression of something mysterious and unusual. The shadow adds more meaning than a basic full front image of her with no shadows. The black colours used and shadows - plus the dark sunglasses create a sinister look. However, the black and shadows are mixed with the images of diamonds that cover the left half of her sunglasses which creates an image that reflects wealth and glamour. The artist's name, Lady Gaga, is printed underneath the image of her face over the black in a simple font. The name of the album, The Fame, is printed on her glasses in a slightly more fancy font but still simple.
I decided to analyse the cover of Madonna - celebration as Madonna is extremely well known and is a possible choice of artist that my target audience could like. The cover consists of an image of Madonna's face close-up in the style of Andy Warhol's famous Maryln Monroe image. The colours are bright and therefore stand out and also create a fun, punky feel to the image which possibly suggests what the music is going to be like. Above the image of Madonna's face the text is placed that states the name of the artist and album name. The font is 'punky' and also in bright colours which stand out. The 'paint like' splodges that are placed near to the text also create a punky feel, as if the text has just been thrown on carelessly. Overall, the album cover is simple and does not appear to have a meaning but it stands out because of the bright colours - which also suggest what kind of music will be on the album. The fact that a hugely famous image has been used for the foundation of creating this image for the album cover also helps it to stand out as the public will recognise this iconic image. The fact that such an image has been used also suggests to the audience that Madonna is iconic, as is Maryln Monroe who featured in the 'original' painting.http://www.artquotes.net/masters/warhol_andy/turquoise-marilyn-62.jpg -> Andy Warhol's image of Maryln Monroe that the image of Madonna is clearly based on.
Finally I have decided to analyse an Evanescence cover. Although They do not fit within my target audience of people who like dance music the cover is Gothic and the particular song I am creating the video for is about 'She-wolves' which can be seen as Gothic and slightly creepy. Also, the main singer is female as is Shakira.
The cover consists of an image of a door opening with clouds visable behind the door with sunlight pouring through. The door frame itself is elaborate and Gothic and the door visually looks heavy, like a church / cathedral door which also adds to the Gothic feel. The fact a door is used links with the album title which is 'Open Door.' The text is in a cream colour and to the right of the frame, over black which is the wall - so the text stands out. The logo of the band 'Evanescence' is the larger text and the album name is smaller. The text is in an elaborate Gothic font, which is the font always used for the band logo. Both text are surrounded by elaborate swirls and spirals, which are also seen to look Gothic. The artist in the image is shown as very pale with black hair, which is always associated stereotypically with goths. She is wearing a beautiful old fashioned looking white dress which also reflects the 'Gothic feel.' She is facing the door with the dress trailing behind her as if she is walking out the door, however she is looking downwards over her shoulder, which enables us, as an audience, to see her face clearly and her expression which is serious, calm and possibly slightly upset.
Conventions and my own work
From analysing the album covers I have learned that conventions consist of: the name of the artist and album are clearly visible, the artist is featured on the cover and the lighting and images used on the covers are carefully chosen to represent the genre of music which the album contains. Obviously, conventions are sometimes broken but generally these stand.
In my own work I can use my knowledge of the conventions in creating the cover image. I will try to ensure that the image I use reflects the genre and 'feel' of the music it contains. I will also definitely use an image of the artist as this is a popular convention. In portraying the character I can either go for the 'sex appeal' look, as the Shakira album I studied does or go for an alternative look, or even both. The genre of the music is dance but the lyrics of the song suggest a 'horror' even 'Gothic' type feel. My main aim is to create an image that is pretty, classy and 'girly', sexy and with a Gothic feel as this takes into consideration the 'feel' of the song and both genders of the target audience: Pretty, girly and classy will appeal to the female audience and sexy will appeal to males.
I also need to design the inside to the cover as it will open out to fit inside the case. In doing this I should consider the chosen colour scheme and style of the cover image.
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