CD Cover Deconstruction

Caspa and Rusko- Fabric 37

• As the artists are Dj's they do not have an image of themselves as they don't feature in the music as in singing, so they do not need to show themselves. They let the music talk for itself
• The cover has a strong colour theme running throughout where on the back it is also black with white writing.
• The image is of a bat with red dripping from its wings, which looks like the photo has been stained. This creates enigma and adds questions of what is that, what does it mean, what does it represent?
• Eye Catching
• 'Caspa and Rusko' much larger and dominate over 'fabric 37'
• Came in tin can with this as a sleeve to go over the top. This is just another way the artists are trying to sell themselves by creating unique packaging. It also adds to the audience pleasure of having a hard copy and something which is a lot more long lasting then plastic cd cover.

Cd Cover Analysis

Conventions:-

• Name of the artist bigger than album name
• One main shot
• Colour scheme between back and front
• Image can run over to the back
• Song names on back
• Record company info/corporate stuff
• Bar code
• On front info for special offers or the song titles involved i.e the big hits
• Packaging-Front, back and spine
• Artist name and album title on spine
• Debut albums are normally band images to create image where as after they can become more abstract.

Categories:-

• Genre
• Target audience
• Type of record label
• Era
• Band picture or abstract image
• Band or Solo
• Debut or not
• Album type i.e compilations

Purposes:-

• Sell artist
• Give info about album
• Show band identity
• Catch audience eye
• To show genre
• To give info into record label
• Debutscreate image, later albums push boundaries and add to audience info, compilations use imagery to show genre and greatest hits work on familiarity and nostalgia

DYM MYSPACE FEEDBACK

You have provided three good examples, Shaun, and demonstrate a good understanding of conventions and purpose, but your notes lack close semiotic analysis, which is a requirement of A2.

Group Split

Our group hasfinally split. We have had 3 group meetings discussing whether we working well enough as a group. NOw its Me and Jack as a group and Loren and Nisha as another. Me and Jack already have our song Stockholm Syndrome-Blink 182 and are well underway with creating a treatment on the group blog.

Band Website Analysis

http://www.thekooks.com/home
Black Background, white writing expecpt for blue writing to highlight improtant links. Main page has a video taking up most of the page. This take s u straight into the music of the band aswell as news. At the side it haslinks to new, sound and vision, on tour, biography, gallers, stuff, shop, forum, mailing list, street team. Under the sound and vision it has this very interessting way of playing music and showing videos. It gives the audience snippets of the music and videos as well in a unique way through an amp which connotes live music and rock which would interest the audience as it targets their unique 'indie' ways.
http://www.myspace.com/gymclassheroes
The website has a border round it which is stylized to the album 'the quilt' and creates the same feel as the album cover through use of colour, and font styles. It shows the album at the very top as well as having the video for their newest song. It then has links to pictures and videos below as well as a music player and tour dates. The album is shown as 'availble for$9.99 at Target' which shows how there trying to sell it straight away. It also has links to other artists under their record labels which acts as a way of the record label not only selling themselves but selling their bands.

http://www.myspace.com/blink182

This website has their picture at the top straight away showing the bands image. It has their logo but in a new shiny mettallic style which shows how their more mature now. It has a grey background with the logo on but it is hard to see. The colours used are are black, grey, blue and white creating a very proffessional and serious finish to the website. It doesn't contain much information about the band but it has a little interactive box which shows tours, news, twitter, a/v, and you can share it on your own myspace, blog, facebook, as a way fr fans to show their appreciatino and also give the band free advertising.