Print Products Proposal

Mock-ups

Below are my mock-ups for my album cover and advert. I really like the idea of matching a font colour to the female protagonist's coloured hair, and will definitely be incorporating this on my actual album cover.

Case Studies - Advert

This advert has used black and white as its colour scheme to keep to the simplicity and elegance that comes with the jazz genre. The photograph of Bennett and Gaga takes up just over half of the poster, with all the writing in the bottom section. This means that the first thing that the audience digests is the photo of the artists, which would process in their mind quicker than reading all the text would. Medium close up framing has been used to allow the audience to clearly see the artists' faces, as well as still being able to see their pose. Their pose implies a close friendship, especially the holding of hands. This represents them as a friendly, warm pair which appeals to audiences. The lighting has quite a warm tone to it to make the consumer feel more connected to the artists.

This advert has placed a mid shot of Sinatra as the background, with all the text and a picture of the album cover on the foreground. Adding a picture of the album cover creates synergy between the two which is a good promotional method. In both photos of the artist, he is facing the same direction and wearing similar outfits - matching them up keeps the advert looking tidy and well pulled together. In both facial expressions he is looking into the distance, implying deep thought and humbleness. The background image of Sinatra has very low saturation, while the album image is very vibrant - this draws attention to the album cover as well as creating an artistic effect. The artist's name has also been coloured in yellow to match the album cover, again pulling the poster together.

Adding in Winehouse's list of Grammy awards was a great promotional method, as it adds high standards to the artist and makes the audience feel like they are paying for excellent quality music. The shot of her is quite out of focus, yet this only emphasises her eye contact with the camera, making her photo more striking. The image is a mid shot to fit the space on the poster the best, while keeping it close enough to allow the audience to still connect with the artist. The fonts are all in white, as this is probably the most easy to read colour against the dark background. Unlike the first two, the adjective 'extraordinary' has been placed just before the artist's name to give it more sparkle.

My Ideas

I like the synergy that placing a picture of the album on the advert creates, so I will most likely incorporate this into my own work. The framing shouldn't be further than a mid shot to allow the audience to connect with the artist.The artists' name should be the first piece of text that the audience reads. I also like the idea of including a quote as it adds authenticity and high expectations to the album.

Case Studies - Album

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga - Cheek to Cheek

This album cover uses a mid-shot, with the entire frame placed at a canted angle. This, along with the title placed above similar to a headline, is to amplify the effect of it looking like a newspapers story. Both Bennett and Gaga are represented to have a close friendship by holding quite an intimate pose and therefore reigning in realism and emotion as artists. They have both been styled quite retro, with Gaga's hair representing a time like the 80s. This is to relate to the retro aspect of the genre. Gaga looks like her skin has been airbrushed to show the contrast between her and Bennett's age - a duet between two artists with such a large age/time difference is unique to a point that it becomes a USP.





This album back also uses a mid-shot, this time without the canted angle. The shot of the two looks quite spontaneous, as if it was snapped while they were backstage just before/after a show. This is due to Bennett's facial expression frozen during movement - he isn't posing or looking at the camera. The in-action style shot also adds a sense of realism and immerses the audience into feeling like they are also backstage. The mise-en-scene of the shot shows some old-fashioned wallpaper and an old-fashioned exit sign, further adding to the vintage feel to match the vintage genre.

























This inside of this CD package included a letter of authenticity as a promotional method to allow a deeper connection between the consumer and the artists. It would make the consumer feel valued and like the artists made an effort, making the consumer's time and money worthwhile. The photos inside the CD were all signed too, further adding to this effect.

The insert of this CD package includes an action shot of Bennett and Gaga singing with big smiles on their face, exuding positivity and joy. If they can transfer these emotions to their consumer, the consumer's admiration for the artists and their work will only grow bigger. The actual CD was left blank to keep a level of sophistication and simplicity, juxtaposing with Gaga's unusual hairstyle and the action in the photo.

The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album

This album cover uses a medium long shot, capturing both artists and their piano. Evans is in the midst of writing some music, implying their musical knowledge and originality as artists. Both men have facial expressions of full concentration, representing their focus on their music. They are also both costumed in quite old-fashioned suits, adding to the vintage feel which comes with the genre.

This back contrasts with the front, as it is fairly bright. This makes it more eye-catching and makes it seem less dull. A simple colour scheme of red and white have been used on the design, as simplicity and elegance is an aspect of the jazz genre. A medium long shot of the two has been used - this allows enough space in the frame to show the piano and what's going on without deviating attention away from the two artists.

The Lady is a Tramp

The mise-en-scene is everything in this cover. The lace and intricacy of Gaga's costume represents elegance and wealth, adding a classy vibe to the shot. Yet her unique blue hair contrasts with the dress, giving it her own spin - originality and being yourself can be used as a promotional method to make artists more relatable to an audience. The artists' names have been written in large white font a bit below the centre of the image. This means it will be the first thing the consumer sees, so the white colouring is crucial to make it quick and easy to read. The title of the song has been placed just below the artists' names, this time in blue to match Gaga's hair. The matching of the colours ties together the picture so that it looks neat and aesthetic.

This cover uses a medium close up to allow the portrayal of the microphones while still allowing the audience to clearly see the two artists' faces. This is an action shot, where they are in the middle of singing. Gaga is looking down as if she is reading music while Bennett looks at her with admiration in his smile. This makes the shot appear that they both have quite a strong bond that contains a lot of respect for each other. This is important because if their fans see that the duo respect and admire each other, the fans will follow suit and feel more inclined to buy the album.

My ideas

From looking at these case studies, I now know that the conventional framing for album covers is between a close up and a mid shot, and tends to not be any further unless the artists are wearing extravagant costume that they want to show off. Eye contact with the camera isn't crucial, as the shot could be taken during a performance. The standard costume for a male in the jazz genre is just a suit, and for females it is a dress, however Gaga has added her own twist to this by having blue hair.