Codes and Conventions of an Album poster/Advert BY MILLIE IRON
What is a Album Poster/ Advertisement? Advertisements for albums and Digi- Pak’s are often found within magazines, in particular music genre based magazines such as NME, Billboard and Kerrang. Their purpose is to promote the artists new work to their specific target audience in order to increase sales. The image used for the front cover of the artists Digi-Pak/ Album is usually consistent with the poster in order to ensure that the audience can relate the advertisement to the physical source of music. Although album posters are not as widespread as they were in previous decades, mainly because the platform of social media offers more advantages, they are still a vital aspect of the promotion of the Album/ Digi-Pak and thus I plan to assess and evaluate their codes and conventions to ensure our own poster is effective.
Photography/ Artwork: The main image, that is usually the central focal point of the poster, is consistent with the image that appears on the artists album or Digi-Pak. This allows the audience to relate the poster to the album so that the album is easily identifiable in stores or online to download. It usually consists of a portrait style photograph of the band or artist themselves but can also be made up of artwork or other forms of graphic design, as emphasised by my presentation on inspirational Digi-Pak covers and the type of covers that are used by the industry. However because of the size and proportion difference between the album and poster, the photography/ artwork on the poster may contain sections of the photograph that were cut off in the construction of the DigiPak, making it look more elongated. This gives more depth to the image, appealing to the audience more so and consequently resulting in more sales. Overall the image will be reflective of the artists genre, tone and lyrics. Because we have chosen the Indie Rock genre, our poster will most likely be a portrait photograph which doesn’t seemed to be staged or un-natural as this is a common motif used throughout advertisements for Digi-Pak’s and albums of this genre.
Examples of Indie Rock Advertisement Artwork/ Photography?
Elements of an Album Poster/Advert •The artists/bands name will usually be positioned in the top central section of the Poster so that it’s the first thing that the audience are inclined to see. This is because instinctively we tend to read from the top to the bottom of the page, especially when reading a magazine which consists of the layout throughout. The artist name will also be the largest of text because it acts as a direct means of advertisement, expanding their own publicity amongst their audience. •Another important element of the poster is the album/ Digi-Pak’s name as it directly promotes the source that the artists are trying to sell. Although this is usually of smaller text than the artists name its still a necessity of the poster as it allows the audience to find the album in stores or online. Its common within the Indie Rock Genre for the album/ Digi-Pak name to share the name of one of the songs on the album, this is apparent within our own music video because the song we chose was ‘Open your eyes’ from the Snow Patrol Album Open your Eyes.
Elements of an Album Poster/ Advertisement: • The release date is another vital aspect of an album poster because it’s an indication for the audience when the album is available to pre- purchase or buy. Its usually located at the bottom of the poster. • The poster may also contain a list of popular singles on the album or references to what the track list features. This gives the audience a taster of what is included within the album or Digi-Pak. Artists tend to elaborate this feature if they have had a couple of chart topping songs that their audience may already be familiar with and thus this acts as a selling technique to entice and increase purchases.
• There may also be a star rating from popular journalists, newspapers, radio presenters or other magazines to furthermore secure sales.
Colour Scheme The colour scheme used on the Album poster is consistent with the colour scheme of the album/ Digi-Pak to create cohesion between the products. In terms of our chosen Genre, the colour scheme will be muted, usually consisting of a grayscale theme with added emphasis on contrast and depth rather than the use of vibrant colours. The background/ image of the poster will usually contrast heavily with the colouring of the font so that the text can stand out and attract the audience. We will ensure that we implement a similar technique so that the text appears bold and acts as a focal point within the poster. We also aim to relate the colours scheme of the poster not only to our Digi- Pak colouring, but to the filters used on our actual music vide, to create a recognisable familiarity between all of our products.
Typography/ Font The typography used on the poster is usually consistent with that of the DigiPak, but its not always the case. However it must reflect the genre of the music, for example bubbly or curly styled fonts would be used for the pop genre and more simplistic, everyday styled fonts for the Indie Rock genre. This reflects the realism of the genre and consequently allows the audience to relate to the music. Usually within our chosen genre, the font is capitalised to place emphasis on the name of the artist and album. Once again this is a tool for promotion as after all the purpose of a album poster within a magazine is to increase sales and purchases.
Comparison between the typography used in the pop genre compared to that on the right of the Indie Rock Genre.
Language The language used within Album posters usually consists of short, declarative sentences which outline the basic features of the album/ Digi-Pak. This creates a sense of urgency that encourages the audience to go out and quickly purchase the album before it sells out. This brevity also ensures the audience do not bore and grow tedious towards lengthy selling techniques, once again encouraging promotion. An example of short and snappy sentences used include ‘out now’ ‘debut’ ‘ new album’ or ‘available on iTunes’. In the construction of our own Album advertisement we will take this into consideration and perhaps use declarative phrasing in order to entice our audience.
The Technical Skills in the making of the Album Poster/ Magazine Advert: Those involved in the production of the Album poster usually share the same roles of those who create the Digi-Pak. Therefore the technical skills can be found in more depth on a separate presentation on my blog. • Producer= The source of organisation and decision making regarding the initial photoshoot or assisting the production of the poster itself.
• Executive Director= Carries out the research for what the poster should look like before briefing these ideas to the graphic design team. They then approve the designs before delivering them to the record label. • Photographer/ Graphic Designer= Either takes the photographs for the poster or designs the artwork that is vital for the advertisement. They work in co- ordination with other members of the graphic design team to ensure the poster looks aesthetically pleasing and appeals to the target audience.
The Technical Skills in the making of the Album Poster/ Magazine Advert: • Costume Designer- In charge of the costume, hair and makeup of the artists or models if the poster image consists of a portrait shot. • Technical Assistant- Responsible for any technical difficulties that any of the team may face in the construction of the poster. This is common as online editing software and mass production is used throughout the process and thus technological errors are likely to occur at some point.
• Editor- Once the images or artwork has been constructed for the poster/ advert, it’s the editors role to ensure they are up to high quality and alter the lighting and filters so that it resembles the genre. They also ensure that the design is correspondent to that of the Digi-Pak and the music video through editing features. • Financial Advisor- Manages the distribution of money across the departments in the production of the Album Poster/ Magazine Advert.
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