Final Ancillary Tasks

Creation Of Our Magazine Advert

We used Adobe Photoshop to produce our magazine advert. We decided on which image we were going to use almost immediately, as we all had a clear image of what we wanted on the magazine advert, we wanted a large image that displayed the artists, but also had space to put the magazine advert information.

I really wanted to make the artists stand out on the magazine advert, so I used the black/white colour effect, in the image adjustments panel. To make the artists stand out I used the history brush tool to revert the artists back to colour whilst leaving the rest of the image in black/white.

We used a font called praetorian, this font really stood out from the rest of the magazine advert and was very eye-catching when combined with a bold yellowish colour. The font contrasted greatly with the black and white background, therefore audiences will straight away notice either the brightly coloured artists, or the brightly coloured band name.

Also to add authenticity to our magazine advert, we included some conventions of real magazine adverts, for example the record label, album review and the itunes logo. This made the magazine advert look more professional.

Finished Magazine Advert

This is our final magazine advert, we choose to use this because it really accentuates the artists, due to the colour contrast of the black and white against the RGB colour. It contains the common conventions of magazine adverts such as the band website, the band name, record label, release date and a review from a renowned company. The font style and colour we chose to use for the band name was one that we felt stood out and contrasted from the black and white background.

Analysis Of Magazine Adverts From Our Genre

This poster seems to just be an up scaled version of Jay Z's album Kingdom Come. All urban adverts seem to have an empowering image of the artist, utilising a convention that shows off the genre for example with Jay Z he is wearing a baseball cap, this is a stereotypical item of clothing that somebody who likes hip-hop music might wear.

The face of jay-z is very clear and noticeable which gives him an iconic status of importance for the audience to recognise. This is a vital aspect of advertisement especially within the industry of RnB because the majority of artists are soloists and compete for the most recognisable face.

We can see the use of dark red, black and white colours. The colours from this advert are simplistic yet effectively as it creates a persona for what the music from the album is like. As they are much muted colours it could signify quite deep and emotional music but not hugely upbeat.

The layout from this advert is very detail with information provided for the upcoming album. The Again this is a key convention

I decided to compare my magazine advert with the 'The Black Eyed Peas' album magazine advert because it gave me a better insight into not just what the RnB/Hip-Hop genre would use, but what the actual band we are imitating use towards a magazine advert.

We met with the convention of using a similar or the same picture as to the digipak. We edited it however so that the background is dull yet the artist stand out with colour.We did this so this image which is used for the magazine advert can promote the artists more than the song because we wanted the audience to know what the band looks like to make them more recognisable.
The colours in this image are plain and bland using mostly white and grey white which symbolises purity and innocence and also they reason white may have been used is because it works well with any colour.

The magazine advert does not provide a lot of information for the audience. The main information that they have included is the title and album name. The font has been made very bold as this is very important information for the audience however there is no additional information about the album such as; release date, availability, website etc.

With regards to the font, it is fairly futuristic and modern which can be interpreted by the audience with things such as a modern band which uses technological devices to help influence and combine with their music.
The last four letters of the word Billboard has been filled in with different colours which symbolises a unique style that the band has and that they are trying to set out being different by how their medium looks.

There is a website which gives some leading information to the audience if they wanted to know more about the album or the band as a whole and gives the image a more professional finish. Also the pose in which the band members are standing promotes a powerful and important feel and that they are a serious band. The girl is situated in the middle to promote her glamour and also her importance to the band and that she is just as important as the male band members.

Overall, I think the general layout and appearance of the advertisement works effectively due to the choice of image and colours used. The bright colours help to catch the eye and maintain focus which creates further focus on the other information on the advertisement i.e. the release date, new album etc.

Magazine Advert Designs and Ideas

With regards to the creation of our digipak, some of the ideas we originally thought of didn’t get used for the finalised digipak. This however made the idea process of creating a magazine advert much easier as we already had some creative ideas. At first, we decided that the idea of the band as a whole standing in a line with the lead member standing forward to emphasise his importance. we also would have them stand on a train track which creates an authentic urban background. However when we observed this picture in greater detail, concerns was raised as to where we would be able to fit all of the information and advertisement reviews. This led us to discard the image as a whole and perhaps base our image on a similar version to one of the digiapk images.

We decided to choose the inside cover of our digipak, except add some creative effects to set the two images apart so that the audience can gain a clear insight into which advertisement is which. We wanted to leave a lot of room on the magazine advert to be able to fit information about the album on. Also leaving space would help to draw focus to the artists.

Here is an image of the magazine advert background image and possible band name font.

Coventions Of A Magazine Advert

• Release Date
• Image of the artist
• Name of the artist
• Name of the album
• Record label logo
• Website
• Brief information, e.g. including the single...
• Needs to be eye-catching

Our magazine advert will definitely feature a picture of the artists, it will also show the band name and album name. We intend to make it look as professional as possible, but we do not want to clutter the magazine advert with lots of information, as we want it to stand out.

Brand Identity

Brand identity is when all of the promotional packages (CD/DVD, poster, etc) have similar features that make them recognisable to the audience as a promotion for a certain product, for example the image, font, colour scheme, etc, this is done so that the audience can identify what the poster is trying to promote/sell, whether it's the artist or the song/album

In all of the promotional items for the Black Eyed Peas - The E.N.D, the same font and style of text has been used. This is very recognisable to the audiences, as the font is very unique and takes up a large proportion of the promotional item.

We are going to ensure that our products share a brand identity.

Brief - Create A Magazine Advert For Our Music Video.

Final Digipak

Front Cover

Back Cover




























Front Inside Cover

Back Inside Cover

Digipak Creation

We downloaded Photoshop templates that would be a suitable size for the CD case we were going to use. To create our front cover we took a long time deciding on which image to use, we thought that the front cover was the most important part of the digipak, as it is what the audience will first see and give them a positive or negative first impression. We chose the image below, as it shows the four artists, and I feel it looks professional and attracts attention. The font we chose were quite simplistic, but effective as they add to the run-down look of the image.

To create the back cover we chose the image that we preferred out of all our ideas. We then began to add track-listing and other common conventions of didipak back covers. Also I experimented with the brightness and contrast, and found that increasing the contrast slightly made the image look more defined, and increasing the brightness made the image stand out more.

The inside covers of the digipak were fairly simple to create as we had already decided on which picture to use, as it was a widescreen landscape shot that we wanted to position across the two inside panels. We increased the saturation of the image to make the artists stand out more. And also added the band name along the edge of the right panel, so it could be seen on the front of the digipak through the plastic window.

Front Cover Ideas

Back Cover Ideas

Inside CD Cover Ideas

Analysis of Digipaks From My Genre

Lil Wayne - Rebirth

The main icon in this image is the young, laid back artist the artist takes up a large percentage of the frame connoting importance and power. The wide shot creates a calm and laid back atmosphere as does the lack of icons surrounding him. From his pose it suggests that he is casual, confident and fashionable
The main colours used on this digipak are quite dark colours, mostly brown which creates a very calm laid back atmosphere. Despite being quite dull colours it still manages to grab the audience’s attention due to the contrast in the colours of the album title and artist name.

The font is bold with bright colours of red and white which contrast well with the background. The large 'Lil Wayne' font has confident and bold connotations. The font of the artists name is the same as the font on the magazine advert for this digipak; this creates a clear brand identity and allows audiences to recognise this digipak as a product of Lil Wayne’s.

The large bright whites and red of the font overlapping the other elements of the image are the first thing that the audience would notice, therefore they can immediately recognise the artists name, which is helpful if they are fans of that particular artists. The positioning of the text is in the centre giving it more power and importance. The artists name is in much bigger font which shows his power.

The artist is illustrated as the key element. He looks very laid back which draws the attention of the audience, the open bodied pose has cool and confident connotations.

50 Cent - Before I Self Destruct

The main icon in this image is a young muscular artist which is connoting importance and power. The mid shot creates perhaps a sense of fear as the artist comes across as tough and a very masculine male. The way in which he is sat suggests that he is a fairly laid back male and very confident.

Bold, dark colours of black suggests the artist is very mysterious, the artist is also wearing black which grabs the audiences attention. The dark colours display a calm, easy going atmosphere which is emphasised by the shady looking artist in the image.

The font used is very bold and relatively big which connotes confident, masculine qualities. The writing 'Before I self Destruct' gives the image a more personal element and relates to the artist as perhaps being high tempered.

The positioning of the text is on the right side and the actor is on the other, which provides the artist with the positive and new associations that the right side can carry and also makes the artist stand out more. The artists name is in a high position which gives it importance and power.

The artist is illustrated as the key element. The calm open bodied laid back pose exudes confident and calm connotations. The text placed at a slight angle provides the artist with power and assurance. The distancing is fairly close, providing more intense and personal qualities.