Analysing digipaks1

ANALYSING MUSIC PROMOTIONAL

MATERIAL By Ava and Caitlin

Digipak- Sam Smith

On the front cover his body language is very closed. It also reflects the name of the album as he is on his own and

looks lonely. This could be seen as a iconic sign because you can instantly see by his positioning, body language and facial expression what he is feeling is obvious that it reflects the title of the album. The preferred reading for this is that the audience immediately get a feel for the

album and understand what it is about just from the image. The oppositional reading could be that it isn’t very creative and hasn't’t been thought through and could be seen as just like a last minute resort as there isn’t much

time or effort that is needed for this.

Throughout the whole digipak the colour scheme is the same as it is all dark colours including blacks and dark greys with then white writing so that it is seen against the blacks. These dark colours are very plain but also can be effective and show a lot of meaning. As it is a running theme it means that the whole album can be associated with these colours and will be

recognisable to the target audience. This could be seen as an indexical sign because the colours black have negative connotations of death, misery and upset and I think that these words represent the songs that are included in the album. The preferred reading is that these colours will instantly tell the audience what the album is about and what it will include and the vibe of the album itself. The oppositional reading is that these colours are very plain and not much thought has

gone into the album cover making it look boring and not stand out to the audience.

The artists name is in capitals and using the same style throughout the whole of the digipak. On each part it is the main focus meaning that it is obvious to the audience who’s album it is. This is an iconic sign because it is used for an obvious reason just to make it reconisable for the audience to see who’s album it

is. The preferred reading for this is that the want it to be iconic for Sam smith and they the audience to recognise this straight

away and that it is straight to the point and nobody is confused. Also that Sam smith just wants to focus n his songs and content

rather than the style of his album and wants to attract them from the music he makes rather than the style of his name. The

oppositional reading could be that the audience find it boring and that there is no need for the emphasis to be on the name of the

artist as it is obvious from the image that it is Sam Smith.

The font style used in the digipak is the same. They have used a sans serif which is a very informal font which will attract his target audience which is typically young audience. It is simple just like the rest of the album cover which means it fits in with the style. This is an

iconic sign because it just means what it is and has no hidden meaning. The preferred reading for this is that they tried to attract the target audience by making it simple and easy it read with no unnecassry fonts. The oppositional reading could be that they find it too plain and could have been more creative with the font because the rest of the album is very plain.

The image for the front cover has used lighting and which contrasts with the colour’s in the rest of the cover. The lighting around the image is lighter and looks like a glow around the artist. Then this fades out so that at the edges of the album

it is dark grey almost black. This could be a indexical sign because although it could be used just to add effect to the image and the back ground so it isn’t plain, it could also be representing the contrast in the music because the songs are deep

and thoughtful but doesn’t necessarily mean thy are depressing. The preferred reading could be that they want the audience to see a contrast in the background which emphases the image. The oppositional reading could be that it is still a very plain background and the colours just blend in with the rest of the album so could

have used a different to use this effect.

The track listing for the songs on the back cover are

in the Sam format and consistent throughout. They are set out in a stereotypical format making it easy for the

audience to read and understand. This also

reflects the fact that the rest of the album has the same

simple style.

Tour Poster This is the poster that was used for Sam Smiths tour for the album ‘In the lonely hour’. This poster uses the same style of what the digipak has used, like the same colour’s, font style, layout, image and background. The image in this is slightly different to the one shown on the front cover of the album but it has the similar feel and intention. They have used shadows in this to enhance the emotion as well and the photo this time is in black and white where as it was in colour on the front cover. He is looking out into the distance with a longing look which represents sadness and loneliness which is the same representation we got from the image on the front cover. The font style is exactly the same as it is a sans serif and all written in block capitals. Again the artists name is the main focus of the poster just like the album as it is in a larger font than the other words meaning it’s the first thing you read of the poster. The back ground is just plain black. This is the same as the back cover and the CD for the digipak as they both had a plain black back ground. So as well the colour’s are exactly the same and are all black, dark greys and then white for the font so that it stands out and is easy to read against the blacks. They also use the same layout as the back cover of the album with the tour dates being listed in the same way the songs are on the album back cover. The preferred reading for all of these could be that they have used all these so that this poster is recognisable for the audience and it has a complete relation to the album creating a consistency throughout. The oppositional reading could be that it is too similar and might have been a better idea to change a few bit to make it more interesting and making it look a bot different from the album rather than exactly the same. They might feel like there is no need to have as much of a connection to the album but should reflect the tour and the artist more.