MD Print Media Analysis

POSTER

ALBUM COVER

Genre

The genre of the artist is evident within the album cover, mainly through lighting effects. The album cover shows a dark and dingy set of houses but there seems to be life within one of them. Brightly coloured patterns on the walls inside the house, lit up to full potential certainly represent more than interesting personality of the album cover designer. An album cover's colour scheme makes a noticeable difference when determining the genre of an album, in this case the dark colour with a hint of life and excitement sets the indie rock genre up with perfection. Another noticeable effect is the use of font within the top right hand corner of the album cover, the abstract font used on both the band's name and the album name have strong elements of the indie genre. The colour used for the font is that of a dark yellow, keeping with the general colour scheme of darkness surrounding individuality and character.

Although similar to the animated effects of the album cover, the promotional poster tends to give off an almost opposite sensation. The use of what at first glance seems to be a dancer with a lions head and tail represent the genre as having a glamorous front, but in reality there is more to find out. This effect also plays it's part for advertisement well as it entices the target audience to listen to the Arctic Monkey's music, simply in order to find out just what that element of reality is really all about.

Media Language

The album cover uses visual techniques throughout to create effect. The rule of thirds is used to position the title and photograph, this straightforward but efficient technique makes it simple for the audience to follow the animation down and across the page. Texture and colour also play an important part within the design, not only do they help to represent the genre they aim to attract potential buyers of the album. Having an attractive creation is important to the record label as well as the band as this advertising technique can make even more money. The general tone of the piece also plays its part within advertisement and style. To a fan of the band, the tone of the album cover will be seen as artistic flare. In this case the tone seems to do just this. Keeping consistency throughout an animation is very important to both the band and audience. Being able to show an expert and composed attitude towards the music business is admirable to an audience, and simple things for example the tone of the album cover can prove these elements of professionalism. Mise-en-scene within the album cover is also very effective for emphasising the genre of the album along with pleasing a dedicated audience. If an album jumps from genre characteristic to genre characteristic the focused audience could become less committed.

The poster uses similar effects involving visual techniques revolving around texture, colour, tone and mise-en-scene. The rule of thirds is also used once again making the poster flow well, so that at first glance the audience can understand the new album and also be entertained by the artistic animation. The abstract font used for the poster is exactly the same as the album cover, but in this case set out slightly differently. The used of continuity within print media is vital for a focused audience. The colour scheme, tone and texture within the poster also shows signs of continuity with ideas taken from the album cover or visa versa.

Intertextual references are shown throughout many pieces of artwork created for the Arctic Monkeys, but in this case none are shown. The originality of both pieces put the band in their own league and enables the audience to respect and admire the bands wants and needs for inventive success. In that sense the pieces could be considered post-modern, an attractive and smart image for a band to share.

Representation

The album cover represents the band in a way that could seem appealing to a focused and attentive audience. Fans of the Arctic Monkeys will know that their success came about through honest hard work and persistence. The album cover uses a picture of what seems to be a relatively poor housing estate, showing that the band still have that sense of reality and have not been tempted by money and fame.

Both the poster and the album cover do not seem to be particularly high budget art works either, this once again shows that sense of the band being in touch with normality. Not spending thousands of pounds on scenes for a photo shoot is recognised by most fans and help the band to communicate with the everyday people that they grew up with as youngsters.

Institution & Audience

The developed poster is a rectangular shape, this intricate construction shows an audience that it could quite easily be a page in a magazine. The outstanding image on the poster of a dancer with a lions head and tale immediately catches the eye. The way in which the page is set out also helps the audience to take in information about the new album by reading the band’s name and album title in a font that is instantly recognized by certain focused members of the audience. The poster would also almost certainly be put up on walls and even bus stops, the simple design is attractive and recognisable, passer-bys are able to acknowledge the fact that a new album is being released without having to read into detail, this shows just how affective posters can be for album sales.

The album cover on the other hand would be distributed in a slightly different fashion. When the CD is bought it would play its part along with the internet on socially popular sights such as You Tube and BBC Radio 1. This is the image that is a step up from the poster, an image that persistent fixed fans would see as iconic in their lives, where as ambient viewers would acknowledge the poster more as they would see a lot more of it around public places and in magazines that they simply flick through.