CD Cover - Final Drafts.

My band's album cover.

This is my band's final cd cover draft. I based the front of this cd cover on the front cover of James Arthur's debut album cover. I used basic images with split lighting and i photographed Jordan and Tom who in which share a similar dress sense, which is also very much of a mod look so i thought that they would look good on this cd. I tried to make my background look like polaroid images and i thought that this would give it more of an old school feel.

CD Cover - Final Drafts.

My solo artist album cover.

 This is my final draft for my solo artist album cover. I tried to give it an indie/urban feel and based my draft on Jake Bugg's debut album cover as i liked the simple layout and photographs used on that album, and i also liked the vintage feel given to it by the use of sepia tones on the photographs.

Proposal for pre-production.

What my idea's are...

For my pre-production final drafts, i am going to create one CD cover for an urban solo artist, and another CD cover for a new style mod band. I want to create my solo artist cover based on Jake Bugg's debut album cover, and i am going to base my band's album cover on James Arthurs album cover, and i am also going to try to incorporate elements from older mod albums.

I will be creating all of my pre-production on photoshop. 


Taking my original photography.

I am taking my photographs of Jordan for my solo artist album cover, and then i will be taking photographs of Jordan and somebody else for my band's album cover.

I will be taking photographs of Jordan in the studio and in natural, outdoor urban setting, so that this reflects the style of music on the album. I will also be using the studio for my band's photographs and may use other outdoor settings. I will position my models in various different poses and experiment with different lighting and angles to see what looks most effective.

I will be using the studio for the majority of my photographs and will also be using outdoor settings for other photographs.

I will be taking my studio photographs mainly in lesson as i can then hire out the studio and a camera, and whatever photographs i do not manage to take in lessons, i can take in my free periods, or in my free time at weekends.

I am choosing to take photographs in the studio, as i think that i will be able to create a good use of lighting, and i also think that portraits look effective on the front of CD covers. Also, i am taking some outdoor photographs as i think that using natural and more urban settings will also reflect the urban feel of my album, as well as making it look more professional.  

I have asked my models in advance so that i know that they will be available for me to take photographs of. I will be shooting my photographs in the most convenient times for both me and them, and i also have to arrange my shoot around what time i can use the studio etc, and i also have to shoot my outdoor photographs on days with good weather conditions.

CD Cover Drafts.

This is my draft based upon Jake Bugg's debut album cover. I want to create a CD cover for a country artist in which is similar to Jake Bugg. I based this on his original cover for his debut album, as i liked the simplicity of it, and liked the fact that the images were in sepia tones. I created this draft on photoshop, and experimented with the different colours and fonts to see which worked best.This draft is going to influence my final draft because i want to create a debut CD for a new country artist, and i want to base my image on this one of Jake Bugg by trying to capture the same setting, and i think that the natural lighting and setting makes it look effective. It gives him a bit of a background city and almost shows everyone where he comes from and that he's a city boy.

This is another draft based upon an Oasis album cover. For my second final draft, i want to create a CD cover for a new British band/duo that dress and look like people did in the MOD era. I experimented in photoshop with different fonts/colours and layouts and finally decided on this as i thought that the font looked most like the fonts used on other albums by Oasis and i used a basic picture and colour scheme as i thought that this would fit well if i made it into a 'very best of' album, because it was basic but effective. I am going to use this draft as inspirations for my final draft, as i think using a simple image such as this, would work really well. I also like the font used as it is quite bold and is similar to the font used in most other Oasis CD's, and this could work for my final draft as i want to create a CD cover for a band similar to Oasis and that would have a similar look and sound.

This is my third draft, which is actually based upon 'the vaccines' album cover, but i decided to create it with a picture of the band 'Of monsters and men', as i thought that this image worked well in this layout. I experimented on photoshop with different layouts and fonts and finally decided on this one as i thought that it looked most effective, the images are clear and simple and the writing stands out. I thought that this would by an option for my CD cover based on my solo artist, as i think that it stands out and is an effective and basic layout. The images used on the front and back cover link well together, yet are different, and the image on the back cover uses leading lines, almost leading you into the tracks that are on the CD. I think the font fitted in well with the whole layout and colour scheme, and i thought the idea of having a border around the main image on the front cover made the image stand out more. 

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Coursework-Textual Analysis.

CD Covers.

This Oasis album cover uses a simple picture with natural lighting. The image is just a simple one of two men walking past each other down a street, yet this is symbolic of the of the two men that make up the band Oasis. They have also used a slow shutter speed which allows us to see the movement of the two men walking. The fact that we don't know who these people are of where they are etc, may link to the title of the album (what's the story) morning glory? and this could show that we don't know what the story is behind these two people, but the songs on this album explain their story. The font used in the bands name is lower case but the white writing on the black-boxed background makes it stand out, and the fact that it is framed makes it seem like it is trying to make a statement. 

This Jake Bugg album cover is very simple but effective. It is a simple picture of the artist himself. It is close up using a low aperture setting to create a shallow depth of field in which means that the buildings behind him are out of focus, making him stand out more in contrast to them. He isn't looking directly at the camera, but his expression and the direction he is looking, leads you into the picture and leaves a feeling of mystery surrounding him. He has his coat zipped up to show not only his style of clothing, but also how he might shield himself from others. The font is in black and bold capitals in which almost makes a statement about who he is. It is also underlined to emphasise it. The sepia filter used on this album makes it look a bit more antique and older, and this reflects the older type of country music that he sings. 

This James Morrison album cover is effective but basic. He, like Jake Bugg, is also not looking directly at the camera and his expression and eyes are leading us into the picture. This cover also uses a low aperture setting to create a shallow depth of field, meaning that the artist stands out a lot more. His clothing is quite modern and the fact that he is sitting by himself on the side of the street almost makes us think that he is watching the world go by, an he is thinking about all of the things that are happening to him. This also fits in which the album title 'songs for you, truths for me' in which shows us that these songs are how he has expressed himself and how that this album is a release of his thoughts and feelings, and the fact that the image is of him sitting on the sidewalk may show how he is thinking about all of these things. The font used on his name is in capitals but is in a softer font than the Jake Bugg album title, this means it stands out but isn't as harsh or in your face as Jake Bugg's. 

This Arctic Monkeys album cover uses a simple image and colours in an effective way. The image is of  single man smoking a cigarette, using a black and white filter.This image may show how this album is about not caring and being free. The man is smoking yet looks like he is slightly smiling, which may show how he is enjoying life and smoking makes his feel better, and smoking is usually used to calm people down and to make them feel chilled, and this may reflect how this bands music makes it's listeners feel.  The fact that he is wearing a plain white t-shirt also makes him stand out from the black background. The artist/album title is in an angle box that is white, and this contrasts and stand out from the background. The font of the artists name is in lower case and in quite a funky and cool font, which may reflect the band's style and music, as their music might be laid back and chilled, but quite fun listening too.

Male orientated magazine cover.

Car.

The masthead is in a large and bold font, also coloured grey with shows that this magazine is aimed towards a male audience.  The masthead is in lower case font which is quite bland and basic because it is obvious that this is the magazine you would buy if you wanted to look at cars, so they don't need it to stand out as much. We can also tell straight away that the magazine is about cars because it is called 'car'. We can also see a tagline which tells us that this magazine is the uk's best designed magazine. 

The main image is of a very flashy car and this makes the whole of the front cover feel more sophisticated. It appeals to the target audience of men around the ages of 18-40 and due to the sophistication, men of a higher socio-economic status would be drawn into it. These are also the people that would be more likely to afford the cars shown in this magazine. 

The cover lines use a capital, and very bold font all in very masculine colours which appeal to the target audience. They do not include a lot of writing, and there is not many of them, and this is used so that it doesn't distract from the main image. The main cover line is in capitals and is in a very masculine colour, and uses the same colour as the masthead, with contrasts with the bright red colour of the car to make it stand out even more. There is also a cover line at the bottom of the page, informing the reader of other cars that are featured in the magazine. 

In comparison to Cosmopolitan, this magazine is very different, yet targets it's audience in the same way. For example, Cosmopolitan uses very feminine colours  such as pink's and purple's on it's masthead and cover lines, whereas, Cars uses masculine colours such as grey's and red's. Cars also doesn't have as many cover lines as Cosmopolitan, but both relate to topics that their target audience would be interested in. Cosmopolitan also uses a main image of a pop star, who in which is looking directly at the camera to draw in the audience, whereas, Cars is using an object to draw in their audience. In contrast to the male orientated magazine Cars, Cosmopolitan is a lot more of a gossip based magazine, whereas Cars is actually more facts based.