A2 media ancially research

1. Ancillary
research
Amirah Yasar – A2 Media

2. Digi pak Dimensions
I plan to create my digi pak following this template which takes up 5 images and a slot for
the CD. Creating a digi pak will help me in increasing sales and marketing value as it will
entertain the audience.

3. Kendrick Lamar – Good
Kid M.a.a.d City
Good kid M.a.a.d city is Kendrick Lamar's second studio album. It is
based on Kendrick's story on how he made it out of his city Compton,
which is considered to be one of the most dangerous cities on earth due to
its crime. Kendrick narrates his childhood life and experiences sue to
escaping the “maad” city. Hence the title of the album – Kendrick was the
innocent and golden child as he tried his best to stay away from crime
even though it was all around him.
There are two covers to the album. The standard edition (top) and the
deluxe edition (bottom). The standard edition comes from an old family
photograph of Kendrick when he was a baby – along with his two uncles
on the left and his grandfather on the right. Kendrick has used this because
both of his uncles have died in shootings. He also looked up to his
grandfather for advice on growing up around violence. The deluxe
version is an image of Kendrick's mothers van which is in front of his
house in Compton. Kendrick used to secretly take out his mothers van to
go see his friends or just to get out the house. On both of the covers a
same torn polaroid effect is used, This is to create the vibe of an old
image. This links back to the narrative of the album which is Kendrick's
upbringing and past.

4. All of the photos included
in this digi pak for
Kendrick Lamar give off a
similar vintage or ‘old
skool’ effect because of the
polaroid shots which have
been edited to look ripped
and old. This could show
the audience that he has
kept memories of his
childhood (which is what
most of his album is about)
The images are polaroid style and are layed out to look like they are in a old family photo
album. Kendrick has included personal photographs of him and his family in his younger days
to show that this album is very personal to him. The images consist of events such as his
birthday, his parents, his fathers old car (which he mentions in one of his songs), and his friends
(which he also talks about the death of in his songs). Most of the images link to the album
narrative which is about growing up in the city of Compton which consists of danger and voice.
Kendrick was seen to be the good kid who was never involved I gang violence and this has
been demonstrated through his selection of images.

5. On separate pages, Kendrick has included more polaroid's
of his childhood. There is one of his parents who look
quite young at the time and one of Kendrick who looks
like he is at the age of one or two with his mother. Putting
these images on separate pages and more enlarged could
show that these moments were important to him or it
could show that his parents mean a lot to him and have
really helped him get to where he needs to be and not be
involved in gang violence.

6. Nas - Illmatic
Illmatic is the very first album released by the rapper
“Nasir Jones” or known as Nas. Nas has released the
album when he was 20 years of age and still today
people consider it t be one of the greatest albums ever
made. The album cover features Nas when he was a
toddler around the ages of 5 years. The main fosuc is on
young Nas but the image has been dimmed down
slightly so we can see the background. The background
is the area where Nas grew up in, Queens Bridge, New
York. Throughout this album, Nas talks passionately his
experiences growing up in the area of Queens Bridge,
the environment and the culture to show he really
appreciates and loves where he comes from. He also
had help from producers that live in the same area as
him to help with the making of the album. This adds
more a the New York flavor into the albums creation
From the typography and resolution on the cover, we
can tell that it is quite old yet still a classic.

7. There are only two or three images included
on the digi pak of this album because the
layout is like a booklet style that you can
unfold. The inside of the digi pak consist of
black and white/ sepia effect images which
gives off an ‘old skool’ effect.
The first image consists of Nas and possible
his friends or the people he grew up with.
This gives the audience more to look and
learn from as they can see photographs of the
characters mentioned in his songs. They all
look like they are “ride and die” type which
shows that they have all stuck together since
childhood days. In the background of the
group we can see the area Queens Bridge
which is where Nas and his friends grew and
and experienced things together.
In the second image there is Nas standing in
the more ghetto area of queens bridge as we
can tell from the background. A sepia effect
has been added to the photo to show the
audience that the area may still be like this to
this day.

8. This image continues from the previous one.
As mentioned before, the digi pak is a booklet
type so there are only 2 or 3 images included.
As you open the or digi pak you can see the
other images appearing. On the left we can see
half a bicycle to along with credits for the
album. As you unfold this, at the bottom we
can see that there is an image of two police
officers next to the image of Nas and his
friends. This could show a stereotype that
young black males tend to get into trouble and
are involved around danger a lot so police
need to be around them to keep an eye on
them. The images are in black and white to
show the album is quite old yet classic as the
black and white effect can make images look
very clean.

9. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp
A Butterfly
“To pimp a butterfly” is Kendrick Lamar's second studio
album. The album is mainly focused on racism and slavery.
The word ‘pimp’ in the title is an extended metaphor
describing how successful black artists are “pimped” by the
entertainment industry. Kendrick illustrates and contrast the
lowest and highest levels of society, providing a feeling of
empowerment. Furthermore, the sentiment illustrates
Kendrick’s personal growth from being in the hood, to the
present day as a major voice in hip hop. The album cover
features black African American characters standing outside
the white house. The previous president who seems to be
George bush looks as if he is laying dead on the floor as his
eyes have been crossed out. Some of the characters that are
mentioned in the album have been featured on the cover too
such as Kunta Kinte (right side) and Malcolm X at the far
back. By looking at the cover, we can already tell what the
narrative of this album will be based on. The album cover is in
black and white to emphasis and contrast the meaning of this
album.
Because this album is mainly
about black empowerment,
Kendrick has made the blacks
look more superior as they are
always portrayed as negative in
the media.

10. The first image that comes in the digi pak is of one of the characters mentioned in Kendrick's first
song to the album “Wesley's theory”. George bush is seen laying dead on the floor whilst
everyone surrounding him seems to be celebrating. This could show a sign of freedom. The
character who plays the role in “Wesley's Theory” is on the floor next to him pointing and
laughing along with a little boy next to him who has his fingers up but they have been blurred out
as they look pixilated to make it look obvious to the audience that they have been censored. This
is a close up of what is going on in the crowd of the album cover. The image is black and white to
contrast between black people and white. The image goes across on a double page so that the
audience can have a
better view on what
is going on

11. On the next two pages of the digi pak, Kendrick is featured
in both of the images. They are both in black and white to
match the theme of the album. Similar to his last album
“good kid, m.a.a.d city”, Kendrick has created sort of a
polaroid effect but more clean and crisp. This could show
that all of his albums have a similar narrative and he is trying
to get a similar message across through his music and image.
The first image consists of Kendrick and a few characters
from the album cover including Kunta Kinte who was a
African slave. The rest of the young African males could
also be slaves. The props they are holding consist of dollar
notes and a bottle of liquor which is what Kendrick is
holding. The dollar notes represent freedom and wealth as
African American slaves had no money but now Kendrick is
showing empowerment. The second image consists of just
Kendrick surrounded by dollar notes scattered across the
floor. This could be portraying the same message as the
previous image about black empowerment

12. Magazine Adverts
In the next few slides I have selected magazine adverts that
consist of conventions that I might consider using when it
comes to creating my magazine advert. This includes
features such as text, font, positioning of elements, images
and colors.

13. Kanye west - Yeezus
“Yeezus” is the sixth studio album released
by rapper Kanye west. The magazine advert
poster consists of large and bold text with
the image of the album cover in the center.
The top consists of the album title and
artists name. The bottom has the release
date and whether to purchase or pre order.
The name of the album and release date are
the largest pieces of text on the cover.
These must be the most important things on
the magazine poster as they stand out more
to the viewer. The simplicity of this poster
is what stood out to me the most as a
minimal color pallet was used and it does
not go over the top. The font and image
both compliment each other

14. Jay Z – The Blueprint 3
The Blueprint 3 is the eleventh studio album by
American rapper Jay-Z, released September 8, 2009,
on Roc Nation, through distribution from Atlantic
Records. This is a magazine poster by the rapper
Jay-Z. The layout is simple yet effective. He has
gone with a 3 pallet color scheme which is red,
white and black. In the middle of the poster he has
added 3 rectangles that are red which could be
possibly part of the album cover. This draws the
audiences attention to the center of the page and
then the focus is placed around the main abstract
image. The text compliments the main image as Jay
Z has used his logo on the poster and similar fonts to
make the poster as a whole look complete. The
release date is at the bottom of the poster along with
singles that have already been released so that the
audience knows what is to be expected in the album
as they have had a taste of it by hearing the singles
beforehand.

15. Rihanna – Rated R
Rated R is the fourth studio album by singer
Rihanna. It was released on November 20,
2009 by Def Jam Recordings. Just like the
previous cover of Jay-Z’s poster, Rihanna has
used a minimal color pallet for her poster. It
features a photo of her album cover along with
her logo on the right hand side of the page.
Towards the bottom of the poster where the
typography is place it mentions that it is
Rihanna’s new album and below this in red it
has the names of the singles that have already
dropped and are going to be featured on this
album. The image and typography both
compliment each other which is what makes
this poster stand out along with the contrasts
made in the editing of the main image.