2. Music Videos
Music videos are primarily made for marketing and to promote the sale of a record or album. However, they also have other intended
purposes. A music video acts as a visual element to accompany a soundtrack made by a certain artist. As well as being entertainment for an
individual, the music video also helps to popularise the artists image, allowing them to become a face that can be remembered rather than just
a voice alone.
Promotion
Promotion of a single music video isn’t used in the music industry,
however, if the audio track accompanying the video is a single of an
album, than it is most likely that that track will be promoted through
the use of digital media, TV advertisement, radio and other forms of
promotion. Music from a particular artist is most likely to be
promoted presenting an album as a whole, rather than just the artist.
Promotion is a vital part of the music industry as it allows the bands
target audience to expand, reaching new ears, which in turn means
that their sales of music and similar merchandise will also increase.
When a band has an up coming album it is very common that music
television stations, such as MTV & 4Music, will show adverts
relating to the album and the stations will also play previous tracks
from the artists as well as new singles – if any – to popularise the
upcoming release. Over the past few years, internet and the digital
media has had a major impact on audiences as they may now view
and listen to their music online opposed to previously watching &
listening on their TV. This means advertisers have moved their
adverts to where their market is. For example, social networking
sites like Facebook, You Tube & MySpace feature a lot of
advertisements in the backgrounds even when viewing/listening to a
song/music video.

3. Representation
Music videos offer a wide variety of things when you look deeper into the visual content. As well as being able to see the artist or band
perform the song, representation is also used within the footage. Different types of representation are used to ensure that the themes in their
song are shown in an affective way and also to make the target market is reached, making their needs and wants satisfied. The different
types of representation are; age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, ability/disability and regional identity. Depending on the genre of the
musician and the theme of the song, it is most likely that at least one of the themes previously mentioned is used in a music video.
Representation in a music video is also important and it allows the viewer to form their own views and opinions around a subject that they
can strongly relate to.
A good example of representation is My Chemical Romances music video for
‘Teenagers’. The representation shown in the video and the lyrics are based around
the age, and the age that they have tried to form a perception on is younger youths
i.e. teenagers. Through out the lyrics hints are give to create a sense of negativity in
which the age has on people. For example ‘they’re gonna rip up your heads, your
aspirations to shreds. Another cog in the murder machine’. The extreme lyrics help to
exaggerate the stereotypical idea of teenagers running riot & causing chaos. Because
of this, when accompanied by a video, the representation becomes so much more
clearer because of the visual aid. The music video starts off by showing a specific
themed colour scheme of red and black – which have the typical connotation of evil
& anger – representing the lingering background of the age group. As the video
progresses we are shown a unity of teenagers physically break through a door –
which makes them appear as criminals - and then stay in a group which is first seen
as settled and calm. As the video further develops, we are shown cheerleaders
dancing on stage in gas masks, in front of a ‘mushroom cloud’ banner. The
cheerleader are used to make the video seem light hearted and could represent how
teenagers see the behaviour as just joking around. However, the use of the props and
mise-en-scene cleverly create the idea that teenagers create war, which we can
assume they can act horrible to any other age range as it is not specified. Finally, to
make sure the message of how teenagers can cause havoc gets across, the crowd are
shown to jump on stage and attack and steal from the band members, further
representing the age in a destructive light.

4. Links To Television And Film
Music videos can also have relation to television and film. Sometimes an artist may be asked or will decide to write a song which will be
used for the soundtrack for a feature film or TV programme. This allows an artist to reach more audiences as the movie may have a type of
audience that the musician may currently not have. If the audience watches the film and likes the soundtrack, they are more likely to look
up the band and further purchase their music and other pieces of merchandise. One example of a music video that links to film is 30
Seconds To Mars’ video for ‘The Kill’.
CD/DVD Sales
Buying the sale of a CD or DVD from a
musician is simply the result of the
promotion of the artist or its album. CD
sales allow the audience to not only
own the album but gives them the
ability to listen to the music when ever
they like. It also allows them the
chance to move the content of the CD
onto another portable device so it
makes mobility with the music
possible. If people prefer buying a
physical purchase instead of a digital
download, they can transfer the music
onto an application like iTunes, which
in turn can then be put onto something
like an iPod or iPhone. CD’s can be
purchased both online or in stores such
as HMV and small independent stores.
As well as the sale of CD’s; DVD’s of
musicians live work and behind the The music video, inspired by The Shining, involves the
scenes footage have also became more band members stay at a hotel and go through similar
popular in recent years. DVD’s give the experiences to those within the movie. The video
chance for audiences to experience
includes extremely similar mise-en-scene, themes and
their music live and also become more
familiar with the band members narratives which can be easily identified as inspiration
themselves. from The Shining.

5. Hey There Delilah
‘Hey There Delilah’, by the Plain White T’s is an acoustic music video and the style of the music video is very calm and serene which reflects
the genre of music itself. Godwins theory of music videos is based upon 6 principles and one of them is that the music videos demonstrate genre
characteristics. The acoustic genre is a sub genre of rock and is always seen to be presented as calm in videos like ‘Hey There Delilah’ itself and
others such as Ed Sheeran ‘Small Bump’ and Paramores ‘The Only Exception’. The combined use of mise-en-scene and narrative and setting all
factor in on the genre characteristics and ‘Hey There Delilah’ does conform to this principle.
The music video features a variety of codes & conventions such as dress code, lip sync, and choreography.
The dress code of the band members and actors is quite similar to each other and although they do have there differences, the dress
code is also used to reflect other aspects of the video such as the narrative and the mise-en-scene (colours). The lead singer is seen to
be wearing a dark brown t-shirt with jeans and converses all throughout the video as is similar with the other band members as we
see them in causal wear, dressed in shirts, jeans, trainers and jackets. This use of costume has a significance as it has to match the rest
of the location, to fit in with the style and genre of the video. The calm and neutral colours that they are also used to show there is a
connection between the band members and possibly show the lead singers point of view as the narrative of the video progresses.

6. In the same way, the actress in the music video is also give a certain type of outfit to once again project a certain image and portray
where she is as well as her character. The video first presents certain parts of her clothing starting with her feet and legs followed by the
top half of her body. This is done mainly because of the format of the split screen. The young woman is wearing silver boots, socks,
tights, a jean skirt, a silver handbag, and a hooded black coat. Like the band members were dressed similar to their surroundings, she is
also dressed to fit hers. The many layers of clothing project a cold atmosphere which is also shown from the blue colour scheme of the
city location. Compared to the lead singers clothing, they are completely contrasting and this may have been done to show how they
have opposite feelings within the narrative.
As well as costume, the woman is also given make up which adds to her character profile and also adds more femininity to her
character. She is seen to be wearing lip gloss and eye make-up but also adds to her make-up later on in the music video.
Although this is used to show more of her character, it is also visually appealing to the target audience and conforms to Laura
Mulvey’s ‘Male Gaze Theory’ in which she is made visually appealing towards the male gender but it could also be argued that
she is made attractive to also appeal to women, to look at her for aspiration in some way, or in fact to empathise with her
situation. This affect is used cleverly because it makes the audience feel more involved in what they are watching.

7. Another convention of Additionally to the
music videos is the use of conventions mentioned,
lip sync throughout choreography is also a
filming. As the song is major part of creating a
sung by the lead singer music video. There is no
and there are no dance within the video,
accompanied harmonies however, the actors and
by the rest of the band, band members would
the lead singer is shown have had to have planned
on his own in a room and rehearsed where and
playing the guitar whilst when to move to. As the
singing. While recording lead singer is in the one
the music video, the audio room throughout the
track would have been video, he does not have
played so the singer can much choreography to
sing to the correct parts of conform to but the actress
the song but it would has the most within the
then have to be edited in entire video. Throughout
with the official track in the video we are seen to
the editing process. After follow her through a city
watching the video and she provides a
numerous times I would realistic portrayal of an
say that the lip sync has ordinary citizen. Within
been managed her choreography
professionally and is of a planned, she would have
high quality as it looks had to practice to walk in
like he is singing as well certain set places and
as playing the guitar there know how long to wait
and then. there for.

8. The song meaning to ‘Hey There Delilah’ is quite a simple concept and idea to follow. This in turn makes it easier for audiences to relate
to as well fully understanding and acknowledging the narrative. The song is almost like a letter to a mans girlfriend, Delilah, and is a
way of putting a positive light on the struggles of a long distance relationship. The song as well as being reassuring to the girlfriend is
also a way of saying that there is still hope but it may take time for things to happen. Both characters in the video are originally from
New York but the girl is still there and he is ‘a thousand miles away’ meaning that he is travelling for some reason. Throughout the song
it is suggested that the couple still have intentions of being together as heard when he sings ‘we’ll have it good. We'll have the life we
knew we would’. The song, based around a struggling relationship, deals with issues like home sickness, missing one another, money
struggles and ‘times getting hard’ when you read deeper into the lyrics. Overall the couple are geographically challenged and their lives
are heading in two different directions but there is still always hope. If people were to look at the lyrics they could also come to the
conclusion that the song is like a letter but because there is no definitive ending, the audience can imagine their own ending to the song.
There are a few connotations in the
video which can be looked at more
in depth and are also matched by
similar actions within the music
video. In the opening of the video ‘A thousand miles seems
‘You be good and don’t you pretty far but they’ve got
the line ‘tonight you look so pretty’
miss me’ is almost like planes and trains and cars, I’d
is mentioned and it makes it seem
reassurance and as these walk to you if I had no other
as if the lead singer is actually
vocals are sung the video way’. This line points out the
seeing her when in fact he is not.
shows two slots of where the obvious fact that the couple
As he is far away, he could be
man is singing, and in the are geographically challenged
recalling a memory and still
middle lies a shot of Delilah. but also shows the devotion
complimenting her on the way she
This is like a code for saying the man has for the woman as
is. An audience could also see this
that he will always be around he is willing to take any
compliment and still come up with
her and that there is no need to means of travel no matter
the consumption that they are still
miss him as they will be how long it will take to get to
seeing each other as he is claiming
together again. her.
to see her.

9. The line ‘don’t you worry Nearer to the middle of the music
about the distance’ also links video the lead vocalist sings ‘hey
visually well with the video as there Delilah I know times are
it shows him in a separate getting hard’ whilst having dark
section but next to her. This is scenery and mise-en-scene where
then followed by the line ‘I’m the girl is. The colour black has the
right there if you get lonely’ stereotypical connotation of
and is an looks an affective negativity and this is put to clever
connotation as although they use in the video as all of the
are far apart, we are seeing problems that the couple are going
them the closest they can be through, are upsetting and hard to
put together. deal with.
This song is similar to me and my partners choice of ‘Fix You’ by Secondhand Serenade because they are both from the same genre of
Acoustic Rock and they also feature similar themes as to one another.
The narrative to ‘Hey There Delilah’ is all about a couples struggling relationship but also incorporates other life problems such as money,
school/college and life plans. Similar to this, the song ‘Fix You’ also features the same themes as well as others. The themes in ‘Fix You’ are
more broader as they song is not specific to a certain narrative like in ‘Hey There Delilah’. Because of this, many people can link their own
life circumstances with either songs but ‘Fix You’ offers a wider variety of themes.
Both songs are of course fully fictional and are not based on real people; although the song meaning and video are very convincing which
makes it appear more realistic, allowing people to relate to the two songs.
The video to ‘Hey There Delilah’ is shown in a linear format and also has parallel story lines but we cannot compare this to the song ‘Fix
You’ as it does not yet have a music video by Secondhand Serenade.
‘Hey There Delilah’ attracts its audience in many different ways. For example, the video alone shows the representation of typical teenagers
and young adults, in love but cannot be together for a certain reason. The video represents both the male and female gender, however, the
males point of view is more dominant as the song is sung from the mans point of view. Therefore this video also incorporates the ‘Male
Gaze theory’ by Laura Mulvey; meaning that male and female viewers could look to either the male or female roles and find them attractive
or aspirational I some way. As the video is representing young adults and teenagers, I would conclude that the target audience is focused
around this age range. With this age range I would also say that the romance theme of the narrative fits in well as younger couples do tend to
have more difficulties as they still have their whole lives ahead of them and they may end up having to go their separate ways like in the
video itself.

10. The cinematography is quite unique for the music video and
also the style that it is shown in is completely different to most
all other music videos. The filming used is mostly tracking
which follows the character Delilah around. This makes it
look like the audience is following the character around which
therefore means we can understand her character better and
allows us to empathise with her situation.
There are also a variety of other camera movements which
adds to the atmosphere of the video as well as the style. As
said tracking is the main type of movement but other
movements such as a tilt, pan, a dolly and a stedicam
movement. For the lead singer, most of his shots are close ups
of his facial expressions and used to be able to see the vocals
he is singing. As well as this, his shots are particularly steady
compared to when we follow Delilah with shaky shots, which
could reflect how he may be in a slightly better situation than
she is.
The colour effects of the split screen format also is very
unique. The calm and neutral colours of the background of the
singer could be showing that he has more hope where as the
woman may have doubts as seen by the blues and cold tones
in the video.

11. Like We Used To
 ‘Like We Used To’, by A Rocket To The Moon is an Acoustic Rock music video and the style of the video is quite cheerful, although at
times it gives a real life feel that everything cannot go as you want it to. As mentioned for the video to ‘Hey There Delilah’, the same
principal of Godwins theory applies to this video. The video features some genre characteristics throughout the entire video. In the
beginning of the video, the video shows the singer which has the typical laidback, tattooed appearance with the acoustic sound of the
piano in the background. Throughout the mid section of the video the music develops featuring more guitars and drums and nearer to the
end of the video, we see the dark suited clothing with a stage and lights which is the stereotypical image of an acoustic rock band.
The music video features a variety of As the music video progresses the
codes & conventions such as dress singer is wearing the same casual
code, lip sync, and choreography. clothing but with an added blue denim
The dress code of the band and actors jacket and a red top instead of white.
within the video are fairly similar as This implies that the character is sad
they are all dressed laid back an and currently in an upsetting dilemma.
casual, however, colour is also used to The red also infers that he may be
present different connotations of the frustrated as well as still in love with the
characters. For example, the singer is female character. Just before this
shown in the beginning wearing casual segment in the video, a quick cut away
jeans and a white T-shirt. The white is used showing the silhouette of a band
shirt signifies his characters innocence member with cold colour tones and an
and also makes him appear to be the outside location which also introduces
protagonist of the video. Like in ‘Hey the fact that the song is moving on to a
There Delilah’, the costumes are also delicate as sad moment. Finally at the
used to reflect the characters end of the music video, the singer is
surroundings. In the beginning the seen in a dark suite playing with the
couple are both situated in a bedroom band portraying the typical rock band
and the white and blue clothing of the image. Although a suite may not be
male singer match the rooms bright, typical to the rock genre, they are all
natural lighting and blue and cream un-cut and not pristine which also links
decor. This use of natural lighting and with the narrative at this point in the
neutral colours signifies that the song as they couple are no longer
narrative may be about a positive time together. The black clothing has
however, the blues in the room multiple meanings as it shows the bad
foreshadow that something may be situation as well as conforming to a
about to go wrong. ‘rock’ style.

12. In the same way, the actress who plays the girlfriend in the video, is also given an outfit to wear so that it creates a certain affect around the
narrative and the song. The beginning of the video shows her in different ways. With a non-linear storyline, we see her laying in bed as well as
close up shots of her face which show her character in more detail. She Is presented with natural make-up which shows her femininity and she is
also the stereotypical blonde which may make her more appealing to viewers, according to the ‘Male Gaze theory’. She is dressed in a white top
which shows her innocence the same as the clothing does for the male character. This could also mean that both characters in the relationship
have not done anything wrong, but because the woman is wrapped in the blue bed sheets; this could signify that she may cause something wrong
or is used to signify a break up in the relationship.
Towards the middle of the video, the narrative develops and the couple seen in the beginning are no longer together and the woman is seen with
another man. At this point she is dressed in a purple shirt and a pink skirt which once again creates more of a personality that the audience get to
know. One thing all through out in the video is that she is seen wearing a heart shaped necklace. This could be a deeper meaning for the two
characters in the beginning but also signifies the main theme of the song, which is a relationship struggle. When we see her at this point in the
music video, the man she is with is in specific items of clothing to make him look both innocent as well as the antagonist. The man is wearing a
grey t-shirt which shows that he is not completely innocent as he is going out with the woman, but he is not actually meaning to cause any harm
to the lead singers character. However, as the lead singer sees him as a threat, he is wearing a black leather jacket to represent that he brings a
negative impact on the couples old relationship.

13. Lip sync is another As well as the codes
convention used in the and conventions
music video. As already mentioned,
mentioned in the choreography also
analysis for ‘Hey plays a part in the
There Delilah’, lip music video. As well
sync is one of the as in ‘Hey There
stages of filming and Delilah’ there is no
editing. From dancing. However in
watching the video a the video for ‘Like We
couple of times and Used To’, the
looking closely at the characters movements
lead singers vocals, I when walking through
can say that the lip the crowd, specific
sync has been done body language and
perfectly and it looks also other characters
like he is singing in reactions would have
real-time to the music. had to have been
Because the lip sync timed to the music to
has been done so well, make sense when
it makes the music edited together. The
video as a whole more lead male singer
effective for the would have practiced
audience. For also practiced working
example, if the with the camera;
synchronisation was making sure he looks
off time then people at the right time and
would be distracted keeps within the
from the music and framing. One other
the video itself and effective attribute to
would only the choreography is
concentrate on the how the background
error. actors look like they
are all in real
relationships

14. The meaning of the song ‘Like We Used To’ is about a person – the main male actor – looking back on a past relationship and asking
himself if breaking up with the girl was the right thing to do. As well as recalling good memories with his partner, the song also asks
direct questions to the previous girlfriend, but instead of the ex-boyfriend sounding intrusive in the new relationship, it’s almost as if he
is asking the questions to the woman to make sure she is as happy as she was and he cares for her the way he did. Overall the song is
almost like justifying that the couple broke up for the right reasons and checking that they are both okay so they can move on with their
lives.
Just after the opening the line There are a few connotations in the Again, footage is actually
sang ‘If only I could be in that video which can be looked at more matched with the lyrics when
bed again, if only it were me in depth and are also matched by the lead sings ‘ It should’ve
instead of him’ is accompanied similar actions within the music been me inside that car’ .
by footage of the singer and video. In the opening of the video When the line is heard, we see
the woman about to lay down, the line ‘I can feel her breath as the lead singer jump onto the
but as they are shown lying she’s sleeping next to me, sharing side of a car whilst looking at
down, another man is in the pillows and cold feet’ is sung while his ex flirting with another
bed instead of the original the lead singer is shown sitting on a man.
boyfriend. bed with the woman asleep.
Other parts of the mise- Other connotations are
en-scene in the living shown in the video by
room also hint some the use of props . The
parts of the narrative to bedroom in the
the music video, The beginning of the video
bed sheets and camera shows various house
feature blue colouring hold objects such as
which stereotypically empty frames, empty
represent a sad emotion vases, missing parts of
or show how something objects and an old
in the relationship is fashioned camera. These
about to go wrong. props are used to signify
Although these hints are that he is talking about
subtle, they create a an old memory and the
great overall affect. props show that the
memory is fading bit by
bit.

15. This music video & song is similar to ‘Fix You’ by Secondhand Serenade as they are the same genre and also feature themes about a
struggling relationship which can be linked to our choice of ‘Fix You’.
The narrative to ‘Like We Used To’ is all about a reflection of a relationship but although ‘Fix You’ does not specify exactly the themes of the
song, relationships can be linked to the lyrics.
Both songs are fictional and the video to ‘Like We Used To’ creates a realistic impression of a real relationship struggle which makes it
more watchable for audiences.
‘Like We Used To’ attracts its audience in a variety of ways. For example, the video represents the age of young adults going through a
struggling relationship, which means that people around the same age group and going through a similar situation may be more likely to
watch the video and empathise with the situation. The video like ‘Hey There Delilah’ represents both males and females and again the other
music video, it is seen more from the males prospective as the male vocalist is narrating the video for us. As the video is focused around
young adults, I would say that the target market for the video is for both genders and focused around the age of late teens to young adults.
With the theme of relationship struggles I would say that it fits in well with the age range as many people of that age are not usually in a
long committed relationship, and they may indeed face struggles like in the video.
The cinematography for the music video is pretty basic and repeats simple uses
of camera movements and camera shots to achieve simple but overall effective
filming. Most of the footage looks as if it has been filmed by a hand held camera
which makes it seem more personal and like we are actually listening to the
person telling his story. Through out the rest of the video, a significant amount of
tracking is used to follow individual characters around and the use of close ups
on each main character helps define the emotions being portrayed as well as the
relationship between the characters. The simple style in the cinematography is
effective because the audience can sit back and just relate to the narrative and
some of the characters instead of being overwhelmed with complicated
cinematography.
Finally there a some affects which are added to the music video which make the
narrative of explaining the memory seen like an actual memory. This is used in
the beginning of the video when the man is recalling the past relationship and the
affect includes flickers of lights and vertical lines which look like old filming.

16. Digi-Packs
A digipak is a style of a CD’s packaging and is created and used for various reasons. They feature the albums content and album art work
which represent an advertise the musician. Digipaks consist of a book styled, card/board binding which enclosed is the CD itself. An album
cover can vary from genre to genre and artist to artist as they all have their own separate ways of portraying their work; and when
deconstructed, can show a variety of things about it, like any other media text.
&
Are the two artists that I am going to analyse their album covers and digipaks. I have chosen these artists
because they both belong to the rock genre and both have experience with creating acoustic music as well.
As these artists are similar to Secondhand Serenade, it allows me to get a deeper idea into what things I
might look out for when creating a digipak with my work partner. I also believe that by analysing existing
album covers and digipaks will allow me to gain knowledge and understanding of the stages take to create a
digipak and where thoughts and ideas of the covers come from.

17. The album cover of the digipak is shown to the left of the page
You Me At Six has been used to attract certain target audience. The cover
features a woman holding what looks like a prison sign before
being charged. As a woman is on the front, it suggests that the
Sinners Never Sleep target market for the album is of the female gender however it
could be argued males are the target audience according to
Laura Mulvey’s ‘Male Gaze Theory’. However, as the picture
cuts off the head of the woman, it allows an audience to
imagine they are the person holding the sign, immediately
making them feel involved with the music before listening. The
monotone colour scheme accompanied by the prison sign
suggests that the album may be quite dark themed and suggests
that trouble may be behind some of the meanings in the songs.
Because the person looks as if they are being charged, it can be
said that the target audience is between teenagers and young
adults because these age groups are stereotypically seen as
mischievous and ill-behaved. Additionally, the dark colours
represent the stereotypical colours associated with the rock
genre. These factors with the writing of ‘Sinners Never Sleep’
suggest that people who have caused trouble somehow, will
make more of a connection with the songs and the themes of
them. As mentioned before, the head of the woman is not
featured on the cover and it could be used to show how the
problem may not be one persons particular fault, but a group
have caused trouble individually. The album name of ‘Sinners
Never Sleep’ is written in a simple font to make it
understandable and the title again suggests to us that some of
the themes of the songs may be more personal to the writers,
including content that they may reminisce as being negative.

18. Although the cover the digipak is the main thing that is shown, the inside is also
decorated with pages marked with different pieces of paper, featuring the bands name
and fingerprints. Showing the all male band to the left of the digipk widens the target
audience because the cover only shows a woman, where as now a male target audience
is introduced due to the written documents and the image the left. Also featured within
the digipak are separate images of the band members holding the prison sign as seen on
the cover. This could have the deeper meaning, in that the songs are based around
mistakes that they have all made. Although these mistakes may not have been as big as a
criminal sentence, they have used the prison theme because it exaggerates the
individuals mistakes.
The back of the digipak is has a matching colour scheme and font style to the rest of the
digipak making the style consistent, therefore more visually appealing towards buyers.
As the front cover does not have a picture of the band, the back of the digipak does
which allows fans to see them in their newest style, but also allows new audiences to
become familiar with the faces and when listening to the vocals or the music, they can
think of the faces as they are enjoying the music. The picture on the left shows the
band, highlighting the lead vocalist in the front centre and shows the musicians in the
background. The photograph is in black and white which matches the rest of the digipak
and the composition & framing of the image, allows there body language to be shown,
in which they are stood confident but look quite mysterious like they are hiding
something. The font on the right hand side of the picture shows the list of songs featured
on the album and although clear, the small print is in the style of a typewriter which
makes the style appear quite dodgy.
Finally, in a slot of one of the sides, features a booklet with the lyrics of each of the
songs. The format of the writing is almost exact to how the inside of the digipak looked
like, with the various sheets of paper. The layout is very simple and because the rest of
the digipak has got many images and illustrations, it makes the booklet easier on the eye
and also allows the concentration of the reader, to bee fully focused on the lyrics.

19. Like the cover to ‘Sinners Never Sleep’ ‘Under My Skin’ also
Avril Lavigne has been designed to appeal to a certain target market, as well
as new audiences. The cover features a simple portrait of the
Under My Skin singer Avril Lavigne dressed in her typical punk rock fashion.
As well as her portrait, she is standing in front of a back drop
which has been given a smudged effect which looks as if
something has been spilt over the cover itself. This distorted
effect almost matches the title of the album as it looks as if we
are peeling a layer of the cover away. With the focus of the
cover being her, allows fans to clearly identify her and also
allows unfamiliar audiences to see who the artist is, and
possibly makes them decide to buy the album because she gives
of a goo ‘rock chick’ appearance which may further be
interpreted as to her creating good music. Similar to ‘Sinners
Never Sleep’ the colour scheme is also black and white, but the
cover uses selective colour on the title of the album and part of
her clothing. The black again stereotypically represents the rock
genre. It also suggests along with the red that the album may
include dark and/or sensitive themes. The cross on her arm
could implicate that she is a target or may in fact just be a
symbol to match the title, which means the cross is showing
that the songs featured are delving deeper into her mind and
life. This could also be appealing towards others as they may
appreciate the artists sharing her own experiences which allows
fans to empathise with the situations if possible.

20. Apart from the cover, the inside of the digipak also features key points and to how the
style of the artist is represented. The inside – like ‘Sinners Never Sleep’ - features the
lyrics on each page but contrasting the previous digipak, there are also images of the
musician herself. The pictures use a range of composition and framing to get her image
across to audiences and also help define her style and personality, making the audience
feel like they know her. The photographs could be looked at for visual pleasure or
simply to admire her talent. The images are fairly simple, but the effect that they have
given when they were edited are quite a laid back and rugged effect which may in fact
represent a section of her target market. The lyrics on each page are quite small but only
to make sure the lyrics fit onto the page. However, the font is almost like a typewriter
and is not placed on the page straight on, showing that the meaning of the songs are not
straight forward.
As seen in the image to the left, the colour scheme is still kept the same as she is
wearing black and red clothing, like in the front cover. Avril Lavigne is well known for
‘grungy’ style and throughout the cover and the rest of the digipak, the style is kept
consistent as seen when flicking through the booklet. Each page features the lyrics of
each song on the album and also includes a picture of the singer herself in a different
outfit. The clothes she wears range from simple t-shirts & jeans to bright tutus. This
gives an insight to what Avril Lavigne is like herself and also reflects the genre once
more. The background of the leaflet as said before almost looks as if it is worn away and
with the fonts placed on slightly out of line, we can say that this housestyle is used to
show that not everything has to be completely perfect or flawless, which may attract
more people into buying the album.
Finally, the actual CD is black with the ‘X’ as seen on her costume on the front cover.
This like every other part of the digipak, shows emotions behind the song and reflects
the style and genre of the artist. By basing the digipak around one specific housestyle
helps to keep things fairly similar also keeps the audience focused on all areas of the
digipak, instead of one part contrasting the rest which would distract the viewer.

21. ‘Hold Me Down’
Magazine Advertisement
In addition to the music video & digipak analysis, me and my partner also
did a textual analysis on a magazine advertisement based around an
album. Firstly, we looked at You Me At Six’s advertisement for their
album ‘Hold Me Down’. Compared to their album ‘Sinners Never Sleep’
& Avril Lavignes ‘Under My Skin’, the album has been digitally created
opposed to any studio or standard photography of the band. Instead of
only showing the actual CD case on the advertisement, the layout has
been planned and created skilfully making sure no space is wasted.
Therefore the album cover being spread across the entire page is more
eye catching and more likely to gain someone's attention. Also when
looking at the layout, everything seems to be quite centred towards the
middle of the page, making the appearance seem more symmetrical and
easy in the eye. The colours of the album are varied and also quite vivid.
The yellows & whites could signify a balance between their target market
– gender wise – the blues & greens appealing towards boys and the pinks
and reds appealing for the girls. As there are more greens and blues I
would say that the album may be targeted more towards the male gender,
but the use of yellows and whites creates a balance between both genders.
The colours combined with the design are very creative and explosive
which could give an insight into what the music may be like. Again, all of
the advertisement, including the fonts, are the same on the actual album
cover which allows people to connect the promotion of the album with
the actual product. Finally, the largest font at the bottom of the page states
that the album is ‘out now’ which means that any existing fans are more
likely to go out and immediately buy the album and any new potential
buyers can straight away purchase the album without having to try and
remember the artist or album name for a lengthily time.

22. ‘Hold Me Down’
Magazine Advertisement
The actual image of the advertisement is quite unclear and ambiguous. It
can be argued that they have specifically designed it this way to make the
viewer try and figure out what images are included. However, we can
already see that there are flowers and leaves at the top as well as what
looks like something with wings. This juxtaposes the name of the album
as the wings signify flight but the title refers to being held down. Looking
back at the possible images, it looks as if there are a number of layers.
Firstly, the title, then what actually looks like a heavily edited version of
the Tristar company logo of the horse with wings – which may signify the
album is as good as many feature films or is the equivalent. Behind this
layer is what looks like another silhouette with wings, possibly a person
as we can see a shoe at the bottom of the title. Finally the last layer
features the plants & flowers. This combination of layers could purely be
just for the album cover & advertisement, however, the layers are actually
featured as separate parts of album artwork for the singles released from
the album.
Overall I think the advertisement is quite powerful and because not a lot
of other specific information is given in the advertisement, means that
people will be interested to find out more about the album themselves
buy purchasing it.

23. ‘Foo Fighters’
The next magazine advertisement me and my partner analysed was the Magazine Advertisement
Foo Fighters release of their ‘Greatest Hits’ album. Like the previous
advertisement, there are no people, models or props used on the
advertisement, but digital design is used. At the centre of the page, the
Foo Fighters logo is placed which means fans of the band can
immediately associate the logo with the band and additionally, new
audiences can refer to the bands name at the top of the add and further
link it to the logo. When you look at the advertisement, your eyes are first
drawn to the logo because of the red backing and this use of the colour red
can be associated with anger & violence or could signify the album
includes their most loved hits hence the name ‘Greatest Hits’. Behind the
logo, the background looks as if it is a metal material and the off white
colour helps to clash with the red and black in the logo. This metal affect
almost looks as if we are looking at something armoured which makes the
album seem more important which in turn, may subliminally influence the
viewer to buy the purchase. The layout of the advertisement is quite
simple and as the design is not that intricate, means the advert is easy on
the eye and has quite a laid back approach to a album with well known
songs. With the name of the band at the top of the page, anyone can
identify who the advertisement is about and just under the logo, features
the title of the album. The font of the band name and title is quite unique
as some letters feature what almost look like a lightning bolt, hinting the
album included powerful music. Additionally to the advertisement, a date
and extra information is given about the album. The date allows people to
know when they can purchase the album and just beneath the date we can
see what formats the album is released on. CD’s offer the typical physical
purchase and the CD/DVD allows an insight towards the band members
which fans especially may find particularly interesting. Finally at the
bottom of the page some of the most well known of their songs are
mentioned which would once again influence existing fans to purchase the
album.