1. Laura slater CD coveranalysis- Beyoncé
Characters- there is only one character throughout
the whole of the CD digi pack. This is stereotypical of
the genre on R’n’B as he is the main starand he is
showing that through the cover of his CD digi pack.
Drake is seen on the front cover and also inside on
the pull out. On the front cover it shows him wearing
all black surrounded by gold items. Such as jewellery,
candle sticks and a gold owl, which is the sign Drake
uses to promote his music. The colour gold gives of
connotations of wealth and success. This is clearly
what Drake is trying to represent through this image
on the cover page.
Narrative events- Drake is seen to be holding a gold
cup which gives conations of wealth and success.
Drake is doing this to show that he is now successful
and an established artist, who has made a lot of
money from his music. In the cover page Drake is
seen to be lighting/smoking a cigar. This can also give
connotations of wealth and success as he can afford
to smoke big cigars instead of the usual cigarette.
This could also be used to show that he is different
from any normal person. The genre of R’n’B not a lot
of people can relate to it as they lead very
extravagant lifestyles, and I think that drake is trying
to show this through the images he has chosen to
use in this Digi pak. As well as this the symbol of an
owl is used quite a lot through the digi pak. This is
used as this is the symbol Drake uses to promote his
music.
Technical/ audio codes- The
background is black which contrasts
nicely with the gold font they have used
throughout the Digi pak. The gold
writing also has connotations of wealth
and luxury. This fits in with the style of
the Digi pak. The font used is a sanserif
which also makes it look professional
and neat, which fits in well with the rest
of Digi pak.
Iconography- Wealth is iconic of this genre of
music and Drake has represented wealth
throughout the whole of the Digi pak. For
example the gold throughout, expensive
paintings and also the cigarhe is smoking.
Drake is also iconic on the genre of R’n’B as
he has only featured himself on the digi pak.
Mise en scene- In the mise en scene of the
first cover you can see Drake surrounded by
gold items, for example he is wearing gold
jewellery and holding a gold cup. This has
connotations of wealth and luxury. As well as
this Drake is dressed in all black which is
stereotypical of the genre of R’n’B. also in the
mise en scene there is a gold statue of an owl,
which is a symbol which Drake uses to
promote his music. As well as this in the
background there are paintings on the wall
which are held in gold frames. This also gives
off conations of wealth and luxury. In the
pull out there are images of these paintings
zoomed in. The paintings have no relation to
Drake or his music. They could be used to
show that he now lives a lavish lifestyle. The
only painting that has some connection
towards Drake is the painting of the owl.
2. Laura slater CD coveranalysis- Beyoncé
Characters- There is only one character on the CD
cover which is Rihanna. This is quite stereotypical of
a female artist in this genre of music, as they like to
show themselves off with their music as a way of
promoting it and selling more Cd’s. in all of the
images throughout the digi pack Rihanna seems to
be wearing red lip stick in each shot, this could give
the audience an idea about what this album is about.
Red is normally used as a symbol of love. In one of
the images Rihanna has her eyes closed and her lips
pouted. This is stereotypical of a female artist in this
genre of music as the image could be seen as quite
sexual.
Narrative events- The pictures of Rihanna are
enigmatic. The images makes the audience want to
find out more about the story behind it and why she
is posing like that. It makes the audience question,
who it is for? If it is for a loving relationship or to get
other people’s attention. For example in one of the
pictures Rihanna is lying down in a bed of red roses
in a dress that seems to be like a traditional wedding
dress. Her expression on her face looks quite sad and
this image makes you want to find out more about
why she is there and what has happened. In contrast
to that on the back page we can see Rihanna in a pair
of denim shorts and a crop top. This is more
stereotypical of the genre of music. On the back
image she looks as though she is on a stage ready to
perform. This is a lot more relatable to the audience
than any of the other images.
Technical/ audio codes- The
font throughout the digi pack
is quite small and light. This
gives the impression that
Rihanna has tried to make it
look as feminine as possible.
The font is also in a light pink
colour which contrast nicely
with the red used widely
throughout it.
Iconography- One prop that is used that stands out is
the wedding dress that Rihanna is wearing in one of
the images. This makes the audience associate the
album with love and happiness but then in contrast
to that Rihanna is lay down looking sad. Therefore
the album could be about the sadness from loss of
love. Another prop that is used on the back image is
a stool. This looks at though this is on a stage, where
she is about to perform. This is iconic as most singers
through a live performance may have a stool to sit
on when singing throughout their concert.
Mise en scene- In the mise en scene the main
thing you can see if the use of the colour red. In
relation to Rihanna this could have
connotations of love. The red roses in the
background of one of the images could also be
seen as a sign of love. Another thing that uses
the colour red is Rihanna’s heavily made up lip
stick. This is bright red which might give the
connotations of lust. This is stereotypical of a
female artist in this type of genre of music as
they all wear a lot of make up and are seen as
sexual figures to the audience. In one of the
images where Rihanna is sitting on a stool there
are gold curtains draped behind her. This looks
as though she is on a stage ready to perform.
Also the use of the colour gold is stereotypical
of this genre as money is closely associated
with it. Also in this image Rihanna is sat on a
stool with her hands between her legs. This
could be seen as representative of the genre of
R’n’B as this may be seen to have sexual
connotations.
3. Laura slater CD coveranalysis- Beyoncé
Characters- Themain cover has no
characters. Beyoncéis shown on inside
frontcover. You do not see her face justher
body. This is stereotypical of the genre of
R’n’B as a lot of female artist show their
bodies and show a lot of sexuality. The
behaviour is stereotypicalas Beyoncé is
seen as a sexual figure. Itis also
stereotypical for the genreof R’n’B to have
the main star on the cd cover. She is
holding her back which could be seen as
sexual. This is also stereotypicalof a female
R’n’B artist.
Narrative events- The picture of Beyoncé is
enigmatic. The image makes the audience
want to find out more about the story behind
it and why she is posing like that. It makes the
audience question, who it is for? If it is for a
loving relationship or to get other people’s
attention, which also has connotations of the
sex industry. In contrast to this the cover over
the picture is very different. The whole black
cover with light pink writing is a contrast
between good and bad. The cover is also made
to look classy and elegant, which is used to
cover a very sexual image. This shows that the
cover has been used to hide this image.
Beyoncé may have done this so that the only
people that see this image of her are the
people that buy her album, her ‘true fans’.
Iconography- Theonly props that are used on
this cd cover are chains that are wrapped
around Beyoncé’s body. This is
stereotypical of the genre R’n’B as money is
heavily associated with this genre of music
and I think this is what Beyoncé is trying to
representand this also fits in well with her
style of music. The main icon is Beyoncé
and this is made clear by justhaving an
image of her on the cd cover. This is
stereotypical of this genre.
Setting- In themise en scene of the image
all you can see is the back of Beyoncé’s
back. This is making a statement as that is
all that she wants to be seen. In the mise
en scene we can also see chains which is
iconic of the genre of R’n’B. As well as this
the provocativeimage is iconic of females
in this genre of music
Mise enscene- Thecamera shotused is a
close up of Beyoncé. A close up has been
used to show the detail of the chains
around Beyoncé’s back. They have done
this to highlight that she is not wearing
many clothes but she is wearing jewellery
which may have been done to highlight her
wealth.
Technical/audio codes- As the Cd digi pak has a cover over it shows that the inside image
is deliberately provocative. Thenudity is hidden inside of the cover. This is so that many
more Cd’s may be sold due to being able to see Beyoncé semi naked. This is a promotional
stunt.