The document analyzes and summarizes the cover art, layout, and symbolism of the Bastille album "Bad Blood". Some key points:
- The front cover features the lead singer running away at night, suggesting he is trying to avoid fame or the mainstream music industry.
- Iconic elements on the cover include the lead singer's distinctive hair and the use of a triangle symbol in place of the letter "A", which represents both the band and indie music genre.
- The nighttime setting on an empty road could indicate the unknown direction of the band's career or that they focus on their music over visuals.
- Technical elements like fonts, lighting effects, and color contrasts are used
Hierarchy of management that covers different levels of management
CD cover narrative and iconography
1. Characters & Narrative events
The character featured on the main cd cover is the lead singer of the
band running away from the camera; this could suggest he is running
away from the lime light indicated by the head lights illuminating the
night and the lead singer. By running away, it could signal that the
band are trying to stay out of mainstream music but were apparent in
the charts for their single ‘Pompeii’ but are now doing covers of songs
such as ‘Scrubs’ my TLC which don’t feature on this album. This
creates a sense of suspense and threat which creates a narrative
enigma as the audience is unsure of the reasons for the lead artist
running away and this allows them to create their own assumptions
which may have been done purposely. The fact the image isn’t still,
the picture was taken as the lead singer was running away and this is
apparent by the blurring of his shoes which happens when movement
has occurred which could symbolise how the band isn’t as clean cut as
other bands that are more famous, also they could be trying to be
different.
Iconography
Iconic elements feature in the front cover as I
was able to connect the character with the lead
singer as he is well known for his volumised
and distinguished hair. The road of which the
lead singer is running on looks like a British
country road which indicates they are a British
band. However, this road could be any road in
any country; it’s just an assumption that it’s a
British road due to the band being British.
Additionally, the triangle which is in place of an
‘A’, this is iconic as the shape of a triangle is
usually used by indie people, making the
shape with your hand and it usually all over
Tumblr which is fully of indie context. The use
of the triangle is iconic to the band and the
indie genre of music they produce. The
headlights could suggest that the band feel
targeted to be more mainstream and could be
one of the reasons he is running away. The
dark connotations suggest that bad things
happen at night which refers back to the title of
the album.
Setting
The setting of the picture
looks what is like a country
road with the grass being just
shy of the headlights of the
car behind the camera. The
road looks quite bland, plain
and could suggest the music
and how the band focuses on
the music rather than
decorative music videos. The
picture was taken at night and
with the lead singer running
away from the camera and
into the night, this could
suggest they don’t know
where their music career
could take them, possibly into
darkness or the unknown.
Technical codes
A contrast of colours is evident between the background
colour of black and the textual colour of white, allowing
the text to stand out and protrude through the darkness
of the image in the background. The font is very block
like making the CD cover look informal, also the size of
the main text of the cover is very enticing to an audience
as it is the first thing you look at. Additionally to add to
the informality of the text, there is a triangle in place of a
letter, adding a playful element to the CD and indicates
such things about the band and the music they produce.
The lighting is high key as it brightens up the mise en
scene however it is slightly low key as the image looks
like it has been edited as the light isn’t as bright and
harsh as it would’ve been if it hadn’t been edited. The
lighting is meant to look like it is coming from the car
displayed on the back cover as the light is rounded and
fading at the edges like headlights would do. It looks like
an effect that was meant to cause a vintage fade on the
picture. Alternatively, it could be the original lighting of
the headlights as by looking at the back cover, the car
looks aged and vintage itself which could cause the
lightning to look so dulled down.
2. Technical codes
The style of writing is continuous
throughout the digipak, it is the same
font, same size and with the triangle
character taking place of the ‘A’.
Additionally, the CD is a matte black
colour whilst the text has like a patent
black look, however the colour of the
text isn’t the same as the text is white
against black background on the front
and back cover whilst the CD text is a
different material of black with a
shinier surface. The text is a lot
harder to see due to the materialistic
look of patent, this could suggest how
the audience may have to focus more
on the music than the video or band
member. It could also indicate that the
band go further than anticipated
musically, as they have used black
and then the patent black but you
don’t expect that patent black look to
feature on any CD.
Iconography
The single element of iconography displayed on the
Bastille ‘Bad Blood’ CD would include the text as the
triangle replacing the ‘A’ is featured on every CD, poster
and anything regarding Bastille, making the text
emphasising the triangle character iconic to the band.
The triangle character is iconic to the genre of indie, not
just indie music but the general genre of indie as the
triangle shape is used by and used to represent indie
people. Using the triangle in place of the ‘A’, this
suggests male power, and masculine energies. With
Bastille being an indie rock/pop band, they have chosen
this to represent their genre without having to establish
it publicly.
3. Setting
The setting looks similar to that
of the front cover with the road,
creating the illusion that the car
was behind the camera when the
CD cover was photographed,
this is also indicated in the front
cover. Yet again, the picture was
taken at night, with the
headlights of an unknown car
showing, unaware of anything
around the car which could also
indicate the band’s shock for
their success.
Iconography
The iconic element of the back cover of
Bastille’s album would have to be and has
continuously been the triangle character
that has been featured to replace the ‘A’ in
all text. Also, their most famous song
‘Pompeii’, and the first song of theirs to
feature in the chart is first listed on the
track list, this is iconic as it was their first
song that solidified their career in the
music business as before, they were
under the radio and catered for a niche
audience. Also alongside the sides, there
is display of the band and their album title
which is also iconic due to the text.
Technical codes
The text is informal as it has been
throughout the elements of the digipak
by being spaced out, this could
represent the informal, relaxed
approach the band takes to their music.
The triangle character is continuous
throughout the textual element of the
digipak, meaning it iconic to the band
as it is also features on their singles
and deluxe album. The lighting is low
key yet brighter to be able to illuminate
more than what is just ahead of the car.
Due to the lights, some texts which is
placed on top of the lights is difficult to
see, but isn’t too challenging. A
corresponding effect has been placed
on the back cover as the front cover;
however it looks slightly darker maybe
to promote the wording making it easier
to see.
Narrative events
The narrative events of this
back cover could include the
car demonstrated on the back
cover is chasing the lead
singer on the front cover,
suggesting that the car is the
band’s/lead singers career or
dreams and is changing them
into the unknown. Additionally,
it could be seen as if the band
don’t maintain their level of
music that they could be
crushed and damaged, as you
would if you were ran over by a
car.