Magazine advert analysis - Miss Miller

Magazine advert

A magazine album advert has many different purposes, for example, it could be used as a marketing technique to advertise the album and to promote the artist, which helps to make an audience aware that the album is soon to be sold, therefore encouraging sales. Another purpose of a magazine advert could be to promote the new album to a wider target audience, as there may be some people who are avid readers of the magazine but might not have heard of the album or artist before, therefore reading about the artist could interest a newer audience into searching songs that the artist has already brought out, and if they like what they hear they will be more inclined to buy the new album. Also, a magazine advert helps to creates a 'buzz' around the new album because it acts as a constant reminder of the upcoming album and has the potential to create anticipation within the target audience for the release of the album. Furthermore, a magazine album could link in with other forms of advertisements for the album in order to create more marketing, for example, billboards, this therefore increases the albums exposure and makes a wider audience aware of its release. As well as being beneficial for the artist by promoting the new album, a magazine advert could potentially benefit the magazine also because in return for the exposure the artist could participate in an interview for the magazine which will draw fans of the artist into reading the magazine, which could boost sales of the magazine because people are more likely to read the magazine if they feel as though they will be learning new information about the artist. Therefore, the magazine advert also benefits the target audience who, through an interview will be able to find out more about an artist, due to the fact that personal questions are usually asked in order to entice them. The use of a magazine advert may also help the music industry to get support from these other companies that have their own target audience and avid readers which could potentially have the power of pushing sales further by encouraging their readers to buy the album.

The first magazine advert that I have chosen to analyse is 'English rain' by Gabrielle Aplin which was her debut album. We decided on this magazine advert due to the fact that she is the artist that we have chosen to base our final media project on, therefore we will want to find out more about her individual style so that we can create a music video and magazine advert that incorporates some of her own individual style that an audience will be able to associate with her and the indie genre. Another magazine advert that I have chosen to analyse is '+' by Ed Sheeran due to the fact that he is another example of a successful indie artist. We want to be able to compare Gabrielle Aplin with another indie artist in order to see what she does differently to Ed Sheeran, but also to see what they do the same which may be conventional to the indie genre that I should consider including in my own magazine advert.

The magazine advert represents Gabrielle Aplin as being carefree, due to the fact that the visuals of an umbrella suggests that it is raining, however, the small, white dress that she is wearing is not the outfit you would expect someone to wear in that weather. Gabrielle Aplin is also represented as being fragile due to the fact that her body positioning, which shows her as tightly gripping onto the umbrella, and one of her feet being off the group, makes it look as though she is being blown away. The idea of Aplin being small and vulnerable could represent the fact that 'English rain' is her debut album, therefore she is being introduced into a large music industry, and she does not know for sure whether her album will be successful or if she will become a product of the music industry, therefore she is taking a risk and putting herself on the line. Furthermore, the digipak also represents Gabrielle Aplin as being conventional to the indie genre due to the use of simple and emotional colours, including black and white, which could suggests that her songs are more personal and have a deeper meaning to them, which is conventional to the indie genre as the audience will be able to get to know more about her through her music, which is often based on real life experiences. The magazine advert could also represent Gabrielle Aplin as wanting to be the centre of attention, due to the fact that she is holding onto an umbrella which is the only colourful image on the cover, therefore the audience are drawn into looking at her. This could be due to the fact that she is trying to promote and create exposure for herself in order to better her chances of being successful in the music industry. Also, by not looking forward on the cover, Gabrielle Aplin could be represented as mysterious because the audience do not know much about her but she is not showing them a clear image of her face which they will be able to associate her music with. Gabrielle Aplin conforms to Goodwin's theory in the sense that she is represented as being talented due to the idea that she has to ability to write her own songs as well as perform them.

The album being called 'English rain' could suggest that the songs are personal to the artist due to the fact that she is from England, which therefore implies that she is singing about what she knows. This could also suggest that her songs, including 'Please don't say you love me' and 'Home' are based on real life experiences, which may interest the audience into buying the album because they will feel as though they are getting to know more about Gabrielle Aplin, which is important considering this was her debut album which means not many people would have known who she was, therefore she would have needed to build up a following in order to sell her music. The use of the colours black and white could suggest that her songs are also black and white in the sense that they are pretty self expiatory and that she does not have anything to hide, which could suggest that she is telling the audience that her songs are personal and do not sugar coat her life to make it seem better than it is, which is conventional to the indie genre because indie songs are often based on real life experiences.

The top half of the album cover is a light blue, white colour, which could represent the sky which helps to create an emotional feel to the atmosphere of the album, which is arguably conventional to the indie genre because indie songs are often based on real life experiences, therefore they are often more emotional and personal to the artist. Furthermore, the colour blue could represent the idea that the indie genre is often associated with artists who create emotional, and deep and meaningful songs that are often based on real life experiences, which could links in with the term 'feeling blue' and suggests that the audience can expect to hear sad songs on her album. The use of the colours black, white and grey for the majority of the magazine advert could suggest that Gabrielle Aplin's songs are pretty self explanatory and that they will allow an audience to get to know more about her, which is beneficial to both her and the audience because she is new to the industry and has yet to build up a fan base to target her music to. The bottom half of the advert is a black and grey colour, which helps the white writing on the advert to stand out, which is beneficial to Gabrielle Aplin because the white writing is the key information that the audience need to know about the album, for example, the release date and song names. Also, some of the songs from the album will have been released before the album itself, therefore, if the audience have listened to these songs and like them, they will be more inclined to buy the album. The lack of colours also helps Gabrielle Aplin to stand out, which implies that she is one of the most important aspects on the advert due to the fact that she is promoting her first album, therefore the audience need to know who she is. Gabrielle Aplin looks miniature on the advert cover wearing a white, light yellow coloured dress, colours that could be used to represent her innocence, due to the fact that 'English rain' was her debut album, meaning she is still new to the industry and has not become a product of the music industry yet, therefore her music is still her own and has not been adapted to appeal to a specific group of people. The multi-coloured umbrella that she is holding is the only actual colour used on the cover, which could suggest that she wants to be the centre of attention due to the fact that the audience are drawn to looking at her. These choice of colours are beneficial to Aplin because 'English rain' was her debut album, therefore she needs to promote and expose herself and her music as part of the large and diverse music industry.

The layout of the advert cover looks similar to that of a book, like the ones that celebrities and artists often write about themselves in order to tell their personal stories to an audience, which could therefore suggest to the audience that the album is personal to Aplin and that the songs are based on real life experiences, which is arguably beneficial to Gabrielle Aplin due to the fact that 'English rain' was her debut album, therefore the audience will want to get to know more about her, in order for her to establish who she is going to be aiming and selling her future music to. The design and layout of the magazine advert is pretty plain and simple due to the fact that there are not too many details which could potentially draw the audiences focus away from the artist and her music. This could also help the artist to stand out and suggests that she and her music are the most important aspects of the magazine advert. The lack of details is conventional to the indie genre because indie artists are usually solely focused on selling their music, and therefore do not want to take away from this.

The magazine advert shows the audience a small image of Gabrielle Aplin standing in a field, holding a multi-coloured umbrella which looks as though she is being blown away. These visuals of the umbrella links in with the album title 'English rain', which could suggest that there is a theme to the advert and album which is quite emotional, due to the fact that rain often connotes the idea of sadness and being miserable. The use of a long shot image is arguably unconventional to the indie genre, due to the fact that indie artists often use close ups to show the audience how they are feeling, and to help the audience understand that their music is more emotional. Also, the umbrella is the only multi-coloured image on the cover, which could therefore suggest that Aplin wants to be the centre of attention, due to the fact that the audience are drawn into looking at the artist. Even though the audience can see the artist, the image is only small which arguably creates a sense of mystery about her and interests the audience into wanting to find out more about her. However, the choice of image is arguably conventional to the indie genre because indie artists are often perceived as being more interested in selling their music than selling themselves, which tells the audience that although she is important, she cares more about sharing her music. Furthermore, the image on the magazine advert is the same image that can be seen on the album, which means that the audience are more likely to recognise the album when they are looking for it in the shops. Also, the use of an isolated looking location for the backdrop of the magazine advert is conventional to the indie genre because indie artists often want to do their own thing and not what everybody else is doing, which arguably helps them to stand out as an individual in a diverse and large industry.

To begin with her name is a lot larger than all of the other words written on the magazine cover, which therefore suggests that she is one of the most important aspects of the advert, due to the fact that she is new to the music industry, therefore she will need to promote herself in order to establish an audience that she is going to direct her music towards. The words 'English rain' are written in dainty, feminine writing which suggests that it has been handwritten, similar to that of a signature, which helps to give the album more of a personal feel and could imply that the songs on the album have been written by the artist herself, which links into Goodwin's theory and the idea that an artist must be extraordinary, and is conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that indie songs are often based on real life experiences which helps the audience to build an emotional connection with the song. There are also some of the names of her songs, including 'Please Don't Say You Love Me', 'Panic Cord' and 'The Power Of Love' which featured on the John Lewis Christmas advert, which the audience will associate Gabrielle Aplin with due to the fact that they were released before the album itself, therefore if the audience will have listened to these songs and if they like them, they will be more likely to buy the album when it is released. Furthermore, these names suggest that the songs are going to be about love, which is conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that indie artists often based their songs on real life experiences, in particular, songs about relationships.

The date '13 May', which is the release date helps to make the audience aware of the release of the album, and therefore the audience may anticipate the release of the album and know when it will be available for them to buy. This is important, due to the fact that the album will not sell if the audience do not know when it is being sold. The advert also tells the audience that the album can be bought on both a CD and Vinyl, which is arguably quite a vintage way of listening to music due to the fact that not many people own vinyl's nowadays because of the development in technology, however, this is conventional to the indie genre which is often perceived as being old fashioned which may appeal to her TA who are more likely to own vinyl players compared to those who are avid listeners of the pop or rap genre, genres that are mainly played on the radio.


The magazine advert promotes the indie genre as being quite simple and relaxed, for example, the use of dull colours suggests the indie genre to be emotional and sad, and that the music may be based on real life experiences that can be told to the audience through the use of a narrative. Also, the use of small images of Gabrielle Aplin suggests that the indie artists do not want to be seen as taking away from the music, which is conventional because most indie artists aim to share their music with as many people as they can. The use of simple colours such as black and white may reflect Gabrielle Aplin as a person, for example, the colour suggest that she is an easy going, which suggests that she is someone that the audience will be able to relate to in the sense that most people within the music industry are perceived as being materialistic orientated. Also, the use of a small image that prevents the audience from being able to see her face helps to create a sense of mystery about her, which could be use to interest and draw the audience into wanting to know more about her, which they will be able to do by buying her album and listening to her music because her songs have such personal names, for example, 'home'. Through the use of small images of Gabrielle Aplin, a sense of mystery is created around her due to the fact that the audience cannot see what she looks like and are not given much information about her, which may entice them into buying the album because they will be curious to know more about her. Also, the representation of Gabrielle Aplin may help to attract an audience because she comes across as being someone who is down to earth that the audience will be able to relate to, which makes it easier for them to view as being similar to themselves because she does not have the typical artist image which suggests them to be rich, materialistic and concerned with setting and keeping up with current fashion trends.

'+' by Ed Sheeran

Through the use of facial expressions, the audience can see that Ed Sheeran is smiling, which could suggest that he is a happy person and that he is passionate about his music, which therefore implies that his songs will have a happy vibe to them that the audience will enjoy listening to. Also, the use of the colour orange will help the audience to associate the advert with Ed Sheeran due to the fact that he is well known for his ginger hair, therefore this could suggest that he is confident in who he is as a person and as an artist, and that he is using his diverse traits to help him stand out in a competitive and diverse industry, and to build an image that an audience can recognise him by. Furthermore, the magazine advert represents Ed Sheeran as being relatable due to the fact that he can be seen wearing affordable clothing and no expensive pieces of jewellery, which is relatable because the audience may not be able to afford designer brands that mainstream genres of music associate themselves with. This also suggests that he is more focused on promoting his music, rather than keeping up with current fashion trends or becoming a fashion icon in the eyes of his audience.

Due to the fact that the name of his album is ‘+’, a sense of mystery is created around Ed Sheeran and his music because the name does not give the audience a clear understanding of what his songs are going to be about and the audience do not know what ‘+’ means to Ed Sheeran. This could therefore suggest that his songs are going to have a deeper meaning to them which is conventional to the indie genre because indie artists often base their songs on real life experiences that allow the audience to get to know more about their life.

The use of the colour orange for the basis of the magazine colour may help the audience to associate the album and this specific magazine advert with Ed Sheeran due to the fact that he is well known for his ginger hair. This could suggest that he is confident in who he is as a person and as an artist, and that he is using his diverse traits to help him stand out in a competitive and diverse industry, and to build an image that an audience can recognise him by. Also, the use of colours that are easy on the eye, for example light orange and white, could compliment how laid back the indie genre is perceived as being and could also suggest that Ed Sheeran is an easy going person, and does not view himself as being better than everyone else because of how talented he is. Furthermore, the orange writing between the lines of white helps the words "no. 1 album" to stand out, and this change in colour arguably highlights how important this information is and implies that the artist wants this key information to be read by the audience, due to the fact that it suggests to the audience that his album is popular and that Ed Sheeran is a successful artist within the music industry. The use of black coloured clothing could suggest that Ed Sheeran has a very simple, laid back taste in fashion, and does not care to much about wearing branded clothing which some of the audience may not be able to afford, which therefore makes him appear more relatable.

The design and layout of the magazine cover looks similar to that of a book, like the autobiographies and biographies that celebrities often release to allow their fans to get to know more about them, which could therefore suggest that the music on the album that he is promoting in the magazine will include songs that are personal to Ed Sheeran and will allow his audience to get to know more about him, which may encourage them to buy the album due to the fact they will be interested to know more about his private life which may include things that they don’t already know about him. Also, the positioning of the writing helps the audience to know that the writing is going to be about Ed Sheeran and his new album, which therefore suggests the writing to be informative, and the audience may feel more inclined to read on due to the fact that they may feel like it is something they need to know. Furthermore, the writing is positioned down the page, which is the same way that the audiences eyes will move when they read the advert, this therefore ensures that the audience do not miss any of the information and that the advert is easy on the eye, making the audience more inclined to read it.

The magazine advert for ‘+’ consists of a large image of Ed Sheeran’s smiling face, which shows the audience how happy and passionate he is about promoting his music, as well as suggesting that he is the most important aspect of the magazine advert. This image of Ed Sheeran could also tell the audience that he is not in the music industry for the money, and that he is passionate about what he does and cares about what his fans think. This choice of image helps Ed Sheeran to represent himself as being relatable because the picture does not look as though it was taken for the purpose of a magazine, it looks as though someone else has taken a candid shot of him, which also suggests that he is a naturally happy person, which may make the audience feel as though his music will have happier vibes, as opposed to emotional songs that may sometimes be perceived as depressing. Also, in the image Ed Sheeran can be seen wearing just a plain black top and no expensive items of jewellery, the use of affordable clothing will help him to come across as being more relatable due to the fact that some of his fans may not be able to afford designer brands that some of the mainstream genres of music, for example, pop, associate themselves with. Furthermore, there is also a small image of his album cover in the corner of the magazine advert, which is beneficial to Ed Sheeran who is promoting his album as well as himself due to the fact that he wants the audience to buy his album, therefore this image shows them what to look out for in the shops.

The typography compliments the indie genre, especially the words on the magazine advert, for example, Ed Sheeran’s name, look as though they have been written on an old fashioned typewriter, which is conventional to the indie genre because indie artists are often perceived as having a vintage style and as not being in time with current trends, which includes the developments in technology, for example, computers and iPads. The use of this typography helps to represent Ed Sheeran as having his own individual style, which may appeal to his audience due to the fact that they enjoy the indie genre, therefore it is likely that they will not fit into the mainstream. Also, the style of language used on the magazine advert helps to promotes Ed Sheeran and his album, for example, the names of some of his songs "The A team" and "Lego House" may persuade the audience to buy his album due to the fact that they were released before the album itself, therefore the audience may have already listened to these songs, and if they liked them they will be more likely to want to buy his full album. Furthermore, there may be some people who have heard those songs before but did not know who sung them, therefore by including them on the magazine advert the audience are informed that Ed Sheeran is the artist and they may want to listen to more of his music. Also, at the bottom of the magazine advert there is a review of his new album which is beneficial to Ed Sheeran due to the fact that there may be some members of his audience who take into account what other people think, and this review will show the audience that his album is worth buying, due to the fact that it received high praises from someone within the music industry who is likely to know what they are talking about.

The magazine advert promotes Ed Sheeran as being a relatable and happy person, especially through the use of facial expressions which show his smiling, and plain clothing that appears more affordable and less materialistic. Ed Sheeran is promoted as being someone whom the audience can look up to, due to the fact that he appears confident in who he is and passionate about his career. This representation of the artist may help the advert to attract an audience, due to the fact that he is perceived as being similar to the audience in the sense that he does not flaunt his wealth or look as though the picture of him has been staged, which may have made the audience feel as though he was being fake or only in the music industry for the money. Furthermore, the mentioning of the song names "the A team" and "Lego House" will entice an audience due to the fact that these songs were released as singles before the album itself, therefore the audience may have already heard these songs and if they like them they will be more inclined to buy the whole album. Also, there may be some people who have heard the songs but do not know who the artist is, therefore the audience will be attracted to the advert because it will allow them to find out more about Ed Sheeran.

In conclusion, by analysing these two magazine adverts we were able to see the differences and similarities that the magazine adverts have, and therefore find out what is conventional to the indie genre, for example, both of the artists are represented as being down to earth, especially Ed Sheeran who is a well know, successful musician, but still comes across as humble through his facial expressions and the way he dresses in affordable clothing. When I am creating my own magazine advert, the artist will be dressed in non branded clothing that will appear more relatable to the audience and will not suggest wealth or materialism. Furthermore, both artists appear to be passionate about their music because they do not take the attention away from the information on the advert, for example, the key information on Ed Sheeran's advert has been written in different colours, whereas the image of Gabrielle Aplin is only small, therefore the audience will not necessarily be drawn into looking at it. Also, the use of colours light, calming colours that have a dull feel to them compliments the idea that the indie genre is often perceived as being based on emotional experiences that allow an artist to express to their audience how they are feeling, therefore, I will use colours such as light blue, pink and purple when creating my own magazine advert.

Digipak analysis - Miss Miller

Digipak Analysis

A digipak consists of a gatefold style, which is a similar style that is used for books and usually has a paperboard or cardboard outer binding which makes up 6 sides in total, this provides an artist with the opportunity to include more for visual artwork of a higher quality, for example, an image of themselves, and information about themselves for their fans benefit, for example, a digipak will often contain a letter from the artist directly for the audience that helps to add a 'personal' feel to the album as the audience will feel as though they are the only ones that the artist have done this for and that they are directing the letter directly to them and not to hundreds of other people. Digipak's are often used for CD singles or special edition CD albums and are therefore seen more as a collectable and are arguably worth more to the audience due to the fact that there will be the idea that not everybody is going to have them and that they may also include bonus tracks that are not found on the CD. There is usually an unspoken competition between fans regarding who knows more about the artist, or who has met the artist the most amount of times, therefore the audience will want to own something related to the artist that feels more valuable than just a regular CD.

On the other hand, a Jewel CD case which is most commonly used CD case and the one you would expect to see protecting the CD's when they are sold in shops, has a plastic outer shell which helps to protect the paper and CD that can usually be found on the inside, therefore the CD is likely to last longer and may cause the artist to be viewed as more professional. Also, the album details, such as song and album names, are usually solely on the front and the back of the case which is often see-through, therefore this helps to grab the audiences attention because it allows them to see all the necessary information, and if they already know what the album cover looks like it will make it easier for them to spot the album in the shop. Furthermore, a jewel CD case usually contains a booklet made up of the lyrics of the songs from the album, which may appeal to the audience because it will allow them to learn the words to some of their favourite songs.

The digipak that I have chosen to analyse was created for 'English rain' by Gabrielle Aplin which was her debut album. The reason for choosing this album was due to the fact that Gabrielle Aplin is the artist we have chosen to base our final media project on because we are all avid listeners of her music, therefore I wanted to find out more about her individual style so that our group could make a digipak and music video that was more suited to her style, and that the audience who do know her will potentially be able to recognise and associate with her and the indie genre. This digipak represents Gabrielle Aplin as being conventional to the indie genre due to the use of simple, calming colours such as black and white, which can be used to create an emotional atmosphere, for example, the darkened looking sky on the back cover of the digipak, which is the same side as some of the names of her songs could suggest that her songs have a deeper and darker meaning to them that may be personal to her which will allow the audience to get to know more about her, which is conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that indie songs are often based on real life experiences, therefore the lyrics will relate to the artist themselves. The audience may appreciate how honest the artist is being through her music and the use of a deeper meaning could represent the artist as being committed and passionate about her music because she has taken the time to think about the story behind the song and what she wants to express to her audience. Furthermore, the lack of colours on the digipak and album could suggest that Gabrielle Aplin wants to be the centre of attention due to the fact that she is holding a multi-coloured umbrella, which is the only colourful image on the cover, therefore the audience are drawn into looking at her. 'English rain' was her debut album, therefore she needed to promote herself as an artist in order to attract an audience who were going to buy her music, due to the fact that, at the end of the day without an audience an artist will be unable to make any money or being recognised within the music industry, therefore the audience determine the success of an artist and their music. Gabrielle Aplin conforms to Dyer's theory in the sense that this digipak represents her as being talented due to the idea that she has to ability to write her own songs as well as perform them. The audience may feel envious of the skills that Gabrielle Aplin has, therefore she may influence them to develop their own musical talents, for example, by learning how to play a musical instrument or researching other roles within the music industry.

The use of the colours black and white could suggest that her songs are also going to be black and white in the sense that she does not use her music to sugar coat her life, or that as an artist she does not have anything to hide, which could therefore suggest that she uses her music to tell the audience personal stories about herself which will allow them to get to know her better, which is conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that indie songs are often write their own music based on real life experiences about love and relationships. The audience will feel appreciative of her honesty and will be keen to get to know more about her, especially due to the fact that she is knew to the music industry, therefore not many people will know who she is or what her story is. By finding information out about her the audience may also be able to see if they are in any way similar to her, for example, the song name "home" could imply that she is very family orientated, therefore she will also be viewed as more relatable and not just part of this money making industry. Furthermore, all of the images of Gabrielle Aplin throughout the digipak are small and long shot which could imply that she wants to keep her music the main focus, rather than herself. This could make the audience feel as though she cares about her music and therefore what the audience think about her music, due to the fact that they are the ones who she is aiming her music at and who will determine her success within the music industry, therefore Aplin recognises their importance in regards to her career. Having said that, the audience can see that Gabrielle Aplin is holding a multi-coloured umbrella, which is the only real colour used on the cover, which could therefore suggest that in some sense she does wants to be the centre of attention due to the fact that the audience are drawn into looking at her. This is arguably beneficial to both her and the audience due to the fact that she is new to the music industry, therefore not many people will know that much about her or what she looks like. Also, the use of colour allows the audience to recognise that she is the artist and shows them what to look out for if they are thinking about buying her album from the shop. Furthermore, there are constant visuals of the umbrella throughout the entire digipak, for example, she can be seen holding the umbrella on the album cover and on the front of the CD itself which therefore suggests that there will be a theme throughout the album or in her music.

The CD itself is brightly coloured, which resembles the multi-coloured umbrella which Gabrielle Aplin can be seen holding on the album cover, which therefore suggests there to be a theme throughout the digipak and shows the audience that the album name compliments the images. The album is called 'English rain', and England is know for how often it rains, and the audience will know that umbrellas are used to protect people from the rain, also, the idea of rain implies sadness and a bad mood, which could foreshadow what the audience can expect to hear within her music, especially her songs such as 'please don't say you love me' and 'home' which suggests her music to be emotional and personal. This is conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that indie artists are known for writing their own music based on real life experiences which allow the audience to get to know more about them. This is beneficial to the audience due to the fact that Gabrielle Aplin is new to the music industry, therefore they will not know that much about her already. Also, allowing the audience to know personal information about her may make them feel as though she views them as a friend and as someone they can trust, therefore her music feels more directed and personal to listen to. Also, Gabrielle Aplin is from England, which therefore suggests that she is writing about what she knows and cares about and about subjects that are important and close to her which further helps to give the album and digipak more of a personal feel due to the fact that her music will relate to her life. This is beneficial to Gabrielle Aplin due to the fact that she is new to the music industry therefore the audience will want to get to know more about her in order to form an emotional connection with her and her music, which could also help her to build up a fan base of people who will want to buy any of the music that she produces in the future, thus having the potential to increase her exposure within the music industry and help her to achieve a better reputation amongst other artists. This could also ensure her a longer career as there will be a loyal group of people who will buy her music no matter how old she is when she produces it. Moreover, all of the colours used are easy on the eye which compliment each other, and the lighter, peaceful looking colours, such as the blue and purple compliment how laid back the indie genre is perceived as being. Indie artists are often perceived as being solely focused on their music rather than worrying about what other people think about them, which is arguably why they do not fit into the mainstream and do not seek to keep up with or set current fashion trends and are often perceived as always being on the road in order to share their music with new audiences. This helps indie artists to be viewed as more relatable within their audience due to the fact that the mainstream is often expensive, therefore there may be people who cannot afford to buy designer clothes or want to develop their appearance in order to fit into nowadays society.

The use of the colours black and white could suggest that Gabrielle Aplin wants to be the centre of attention as she is seen holding onto the multi-coloured umbrella which is the only stand out colour seen on the entire album cover, therefore the audience are drawn into looking at her. The use of these average colours could also help Aplin to come across as being more relatable because she is perceived as being simple and as not living a lavish lifestyle that the media makes the audience believe artists do, this is emphasised by the fact that her outfit does not look overly expensive, due to the fact that she is not showing off branded clothing. Her light yellow coloured dress could be used to imply her innocence, due to the fact that she is new to the music industry and does not know whether her album is going to be a success or not. Furthermore, due to the fact that she started out on YouTube and knows how hard she had to work in order to get to where she is, it could be suggested that Gabrielle Aplin does not want to be seen as viewing herself as bigger and better than everyone else, and she therefore does not want to create a digipak that alienates the fans who started out by watching her YouTube covers and aided her exposure and current success.

The design and layout of the digipak is pretty plain and simple due to the fact that there are no major details on any of the slides that could potentially draw the audiences focus away from the artist and her music which is what she is trying to promote, due to the fact that she will want to audience to buy her album when it is realised and she will want them to like her as an artist because this will make the audience more likely to want to help her become successful in the music industry. When an audience like a particular artist they will want to continue to buy the future albums that they release, therefore ensuring their longevity in the industry. This could also help the artist to stand out because the audience are drawn to looking at her due to the fact that she is the most prominent feature, which could suggest that Aplin and her music are the most important aspects of the digipak, which is conventional because the indie genre is so diverse and difficult to break into, therefore an indie artist will want to expose their music to as many people as possible and will want to sell more albums compared to their competitors as this will further increase their exposure and will improve their reputation within the industry. The lack of details is also conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that indie artists are usually solely focused on producing and selling their music and do not want to take away from their music. The indie genre is known for not fitting into the mainstream in all senses, especially when compared to the pop genre, for example, who's artists are known for setting fashion trends and influencing the younger generation. This could therefore help the artist to be represented as more relatable due to the fact that the mainstream is often very expensive as artists are often paid a lot of money for what they do, however, not everyone will be able to afford that expensive lifestyle, therefore they will be more likely to have a similar style to that of an indie artist.

A close up would be conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that it allows the audience to see how the artist is feeling and indie artists are known for writing their own music based on real life experiences, therefore their songs will be more personal and allow the audience to understand their emotions and who they are more, therefore, the use of a long shot for the front cover is arguably unconventional due to the fact that the image creates a sense of mystery about her because the audience cannot see clearly what she looks like or how she is feeling, however, this arguably compliments the idea that 'English rain' was her debut album and that she was new to the music industry, therefore the audience will not know too much about her, and this mystery may interest and entice the audience into buying the album in order to find out more about her, due to the fact that indie artists often based their music on real life experiences. This is further emphasised by the fact that she is standing in a secluded, old fashioned appearing area which is conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that the genre is not very popular, therefore indie artists will not make a lot of money and may not be able to afford to hire out studios or travel to fancy locations in order to take part in photo-shoots. Furthermore, Gabrielle Aplin is represented as being someone who likes to do her own thing, similar to the indie genre which is often perceived as being vintage and quirky and as not fitting into the mainstream.

The words 'English rain' look as though they have been handwritten by the artist, similar to that of a signature, which therefore gives the album more of a personal feel because the audience may feel as though Gabrielle Aplin wrote the words herself, which is conventional to the indie genre because indie songs are often written by the artist themselves and are therefore based on real life experiences, which makes them more personal to the artist and allows the audience to get to know more about them, which will help them to view the artist as being actual human beings with feelings and not just a product of the music industry. The audience may appreciate how honest an artist is being through their music, and may also make them feel as though the artist views them more as friends, due to how comfortable she feels sharing personal information with people whom she has never met before. Also, the artist name on the cover looks as though it has ben typed on an old fashioned type writer which is conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that indie is often perceived as being old fashioned, and the use of a typewriter compared to the use of a computer which shows the development of technology suggest that Gabrielle Aplin has a vintage taste which does not fit into the mainstream. This may appeal to the audience members who do not seek or can afford to fit into the mainstream and have their own individual styles.

On the back of the album cover, the name of the songs featured on the album look as though they have been handwritten, which relates to the idea that she has written her songs herself, which is conventional to the indie genre because it suggests that the artist has written the songs herself and that by listening to her music the audience is going to be able to find out personal information about herself, which arguably links to Dyer's theory and the idea that an artist must be extraordinary in order to keep an audience interested, this includes having other talents such as the ability to play a musical instrument which may cause the audience to feel envious of them. Artists within the music industry are often known for the ways in which they influence the younger generation of impressionable children and teenagers, for example, artists from within the pop genre usually dictate the mainstream in regards to the way people dress. Some music listeners may also look up to the lifestyle that people in music have, due to the fact that the industry is very popular and will therefore make a lot of money. However, indie is not one of the most popular genres of music and will therefore not make the most money, which is arguably why they are known for having vintage, more affordable lifestyles. This also helps to give the album and her music more personal, for example, the songs 'please don't say you love me' and 'home' sound very personal and the idea of home is a place that everybody will be able to relate to, and will make the audience feel as though she is allowing them to get to know more about her personal life. This will be beneficial to Gabrielle Aplin, due to the fact that this was her debut album and the beginning of her career within the music industry, therefore not many people will know much about her. Furthermore, some of the songs from the album, such as 'panic cord' will have been released as singles before the album itself, therefore if the audience have listened to and like these songs they will feel more inclined to want to buy the whole album when its released. The pre-release of songs allows an artist to establish a better idea of how successful the release of the entire album is going to be, which is beneficial because it can be an expensive process, therefore an artist and their record label run the risk of losing a lot of money from promotion if the sales of the album are unsuccessful.

The style of language on the digipak is very informative, for example, the name Gabrielle Aplin tells the audience who the artist is, 'English rain' tells the audience what the name of her upcoming album is, and on the back of the album cover the audience can see a list of the songs that feature on the album, which is beneficial to both the artist and the audience because they may have already heard of or listened to some of the songs from the album already, for example, 'please don't say you love me' which was released before the album itself, therefore the audience will be more inclined to buy the album if they know they are going to like the music, therefore this style of writing will usually try to persuade an audience to buy the album. Indie artists are known for writing their own music based on real life experiences, therefore the audience are likely to feel as though by listening to her music they are going to get to know more about her, which is beneficial to Gabrielle Aplin due to the fact that she is new to the music industry, therefore not many people will know that much about her already. The sales of her album will help to increase her exposure worldwide as more people will be talking about her and her music, which could also help to make her more desirable for other artists to work with and therefore increase her exposure in new and unfamiliar audiences which she may not have been able to break into on her own. Furthermore, the use of small images compared to the quantity of writing helps to create a sense of mystery about the artist due to the fact that they are not given a clear visual of her facial expressions or what she looks like, which may interest and draw the audience into wanting to know more about her which they will be able to do by listening to her music due to the fact that indie artists often write their own music based on real life experiences, however, this also means that the audience focus more on the information rather than the artist herself, therefore allowing them to take in all of the necessary and key information. A long shot image is arguably unconventional of the indie genre due to the fact that indie artists often use close ups of their face to show their audience how they are feeling through the use of facial expressions, however, indie artists are also know for being more concerned with their music, rather than what the audience think about them, which helps them to be seen as more relatable because they do not seek to keep up with current fashion trends which are often expensive, and they therefore do not fit into the mainstream and appreciate the idea of having an individual style, which may influence the audience to dress the way that they want to and do what they want to do.

The digipak promotes the indie genre as containing songs that are based on emotional experiences, for example, the use of a background of clouds and a darkened sky connotes the idea of sadness, which compliments the perception that indie artists often sing about emotional experiences that the audience may be able to relate to. The indie genre is a more personal genre of music as the narratives within the songs allow the audience to get to know more about the artist. Through the use of a long shot image of the artist, Gabrielle Aplin is perceived as being mysterious which is arguably due to the fact that 'English rain' was her debut album and she was new to the music industry, therefore people will not know too much about her and in that sense she is a mystery. Also, Aplin can be seen holding onto an umbrella, which is the only colourful piece of iconography on the cover, which could therefore suggest that she wants to be the centre of attention due to the fact that the audience are drawn into looking at her. This could also imply that she is the most important aspect of the album because she is promoting herself as an artist and her music, which would have been necessary due to the fact that 'English rain' was her debut album therefore she would have needed to identify an audience to target her music towards. After researching into digipak's, I have decided to use duller colours for my own digipak due to the fact that this will help me to express the emotion of the indie genre and to show the audience how the artist is feeling. I also plan on using a close up image of the artist in order to provide the audience with a clear image of what the artist looks like and what her facial expressions are, which will make it clearer to the audience how she is feeling and the style that her music will have.

Planning the editing - Miss Georgiou

Planning the editing

A variety of editing styles are essential within a music video, most importantly because they help with the transition between shots, for example, we plan on using a jump cut in the video between the sections of performance and narrative in order to help the video flow from scene to scene. Also, the pace of the music video can be used to dictate how the artist is feeling, for example, a fast pace may suggest panic and fear, whereas a slower pace suggests calmness, all of which will add to the overall emotion and mood of the song. Editing ensures that the music video will flow from beginning to end which will help our group when telling our narrative with the audience, and will allow us to jump between the past and present and between narrative and performance.




The first example of an editing style that we plan on using in our video is a time lapse, which will be seen towards the beginning of the video and will consist of visuals of the artist and the male character to show the audience their developing relationship, for example, the audience will see them out on their first date and exploring London together, which the audience will recognise through the use of visuals of landmarks including Big Ben and the London Eye. This time lapse will be accompanied by the use of slow motion, which will be used during the instrumental sections of the song that can be heard between most of the verses. This editing style will be used to show the audience how the artist is feeling, for example, by slowing the footage down the audience will be given a clearer view of the artist’s facial expressions and will give them more time to understand what she is doing and who she is with. The use of slow motion is conventional to the indie genre because indie songs are often based on real life experiences, for example, about love and relationships that often tell emotional stories, therefore the use of slow motion will help our group to add to and emphasise the emotion of the song because it will give the audience more time to take in what is happening in the video. The use of a time lapse represents Gabrielle Aplin as having a busy lifestyle due to the fast pace at which the footage appears in the video which is conventional to the indie genre as indie artist are often perceived as always being on the road and performing their music in different places.

 

Another editing style that we plan on using in our video is a jump cut, which will be seen, for example, towards the beginning of the video following the lyrics 'bring me back around again'. The use of a jump cut arguably compliments the lyrics and allows the artist to change their video from a narrative to a performance style, both of which are conventional to the indie genre because it makes the video more interesting to watch, due to the fact that the use of performance allows an artist to show off their talents while the narrative gives the audience to focus on and helps them to understand the lyrics better. The use of a jump cut is conventional to the indie genre because it can be used to show the audience how quickly an artist’s life can change, due to the fact that the music industry is very unpredictable in the sense that an artist cannot foresee whether their music is going to be successful or not. The use of a jump cut could also be used to show the audience how fast pace an artist’s life is, due to the fact that indie artists are often perceived as always being on the road and as always performing their music in different locations and venues, which emphasises how passionate they are about their music. The use of a jump cut represents the artist as being creative, due to the fact that the use of performance in music videos helps an artist to show off their talents, for example, being able to play the piano, which usually causes the audience to feel envious of them which links into Goodwin's theory and the idea that an artist must be extraordinary, in a talented and skilful sense in order to keep the audience interested in them. Also, the use of a jump cut could represent the fast lifestyle that an indie artist has, due to the fact that they are often perceived as always being on the road, performing their music in different countries for different audience, which therefore may make the audience feel as though they are being given an insight into how the artist lives.

Another editing style that our group plans on using in the music video is slow pace editing, which will be seen during the last chorus of the video while the audience is singing the lyrics 'my salvation, my, my' as our groups feels that the slow pace of the video will emphasise the sadness of the death of the male character because it allows us to drag out lyrics and the visuals of him dying, which gives the audience more time to understand what is happening. The use of slow pace editing is conventional to the indie genre because indie songs are often based on real life, emotional experiences about love and relationships that allow the audience to make an emotional connection with the song and the artist because they may feel as though they are getting to know more about an artist’s personal life, which is something you would expect them to share with their friends. Slow pace editing represents the artist as being more relatable due to the fact that the audience may often perceive an artist as having the perfect life because of how rich they are, however, the idea of death and sadness in the video disagrees with this perception and suggests that the artist has been through situations that the audience may also find themselves in.

Furthermore, our group has planned to use special effects, in particular, orange and brown colour tints, saturation and filters throughout the majority of the video in order to make the footage look older. These special effects are conventional to the indie genre which does not fit into the mainstream because the genre is often perceived as being old fashioned, and these effects will give the video more of a vintage feel due to the fact that the footage will appear more like a memory, rather than having been produced just for the purpose of the music video, which therefore creates more of a personal feel to the video. The audience may feel as though the artist is allowing them to get to know more about her personal life, which is often what the audience are interested in, they want to be able to compare their own lives to the artist. These special effects can be used to create more of an emotional atmosphere, which arguably shows the audience how the artist is feeling without having to use vocals which could disrupt the rhythm of the song. The use of colour tints and saturations will help us to represent the artist as having more of an individual style and as being conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that the video will not fit into the mainstream, therefore the audience will be able to recognise the music video with the indie genre. These effects may also represent our artist as being more natural and relatable because she is not using over the top special effects, such as flashing lights or a green screen which she can use to transport herself to exotic locations that may be unrealistic to the narrative and audience.

 

The use of different editing styles will allow our group to produce a music video that flows from the beginning to the end, which helps us create a narrative that flows and provides the audience with a mini cinematic experience, that may help them to understand the lyrics and deeper meaning of the song better. The audience will be able to build a relationship with the audience through the use of editing styles because the story will give the audience a bigger insight into the private life of the artist, as is being told to them as if they were friends with the artist, which may therefore cause them to feel more inclined to watch any future music videos that the artist may produce.

Planning colour and lighting - Miss Georgiou

Lighting and colour

A variety of lighting styles and colours are essential within a music video because they can be used to highlight the most important aspects of the video and to make a video more realistic, especially natural lighting, due to the fact that the video will look like what the audience would expect to see if they were there, which may make them feel more involved in the video. Also, the lighting and colour will change depending on the setting, for example, if the scene is outdoors the lighting is more likely to be natural, which helps to give a more realistic feel to the video. Furthermore, the use of a variety of lighting styles and colours may make the video more interesting to watch because it will help us to change the mood of the video, for example, the darker the lighting will suggest a more emotional, sadder mood, which may make the video feel more personal as the audience are being shown how the artist is feeling. The lighting styles and colours will change depending on the narrative, which could be used to foreshadow events that happen towards the end of the video, for example, the use of low key lighting in the goodbye scene may foreshadow the death of the male character.

We have planned to use low key lighting in our music video towards the end of our music video when the artist receives a phone call telling her that the male character has died. The use of low key lighting is conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that the lyrics of indie songs are often emotional as they have a deeper meaning to them, which could be down to the songs often being based on real life experiences that an artist wants to share with their fans. The use of low key lighting will help an artist to create a sad looking atmosphere, therefore it could be suggested that the use of lighting could represent the emotions of the song and to show the audience how the artist is feeling without them having to use words which may disrupt the rhythm of the song. The use of low key lighting may help an artist to be represented as more realistic due to the fact that artists are often perceived as being wealthy and as having perfect lives because they make so much money and are loved by thousands of people, which sets a high lifestyle standard that most people cannot live up to and will not be able to relate to. The use of low key lighting may also help the song to feel more personal because the audience may feel as though they are getting to know more about the artist who is sharing a personal story with them as if they were fiends, which is conventional to the genre as indie songs are often based on real life experiences. This will help us to represent the artist as being more relatable because it destroys the idea that she has the perfect life and that nothing sad ever happens to her, therefore she comes across as being more of a human being and not just a product of the music industry.

We plan on using natural lighting throughout the majority of our music video, for example, natural lighting will be seen at the beginning of the video when the two characters meet for the first time at the park, and during the performance element where the audience will see the artist walking through a 'cornfield'. The use of natural lighting is conventional to the indie genre because indie does not fit into the mainstream, therefore it is likely that indie music will only appeal to a niche target audience which means an indie artist will not make the biggest of profits through selling there music and will therefore have a lower budget to spend on creating a music video. Furthermore, indie artists are often perceived as being more focused on sharing their music as opposed to creating fancy, expensive music videos, therefore it will be easier for the artist to be associated with the indie genre. The use of natural lighting when filming in everyday, easily accessible locations, for example, in a park or at a train station, may help an artist to appear more relatable due to the fact that they are seen in places that the audience may go to, therefore they can be viewed more as an everyday person, rather than just a famous artist.

We have planned to use special effects, specifically saturation and orange and brown colour tints to add onto the footage that we collect, which will be seen in our video during the performance sections and throughout most of the flashback section. The use of saturation and orange and brown colour tints on the footage will help our group to make the video appear older, which is conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that the genre is often perceived as being old fashioned, and therefore the special effects will give the video more of a vintage feel. The use of these special effects may cause the audience to feel as though the footage is more of a memory that the artist is having, rather than something that has been filmed just for the purpose of the music video, which therefore makes the video feel more personal as if the artist is sharing a private story with them as if they were close friends. This arguably links in with Goodwin's theory and the idea that an artist must be absent due to the fact that not knowing everything there is to know about an artist helps to keep the audience interested because they will feel as though there are still things to learn about the artist. The use of these special effects helps us to represent the artist as being more suited to the indie genre and we hope will help the audience to associate and recognise the artist and video as being part of the indie genre, which is typically seen as more old fashioned and different, which means the video does not fit into the mainstream like the pop and rap genres do.

Another lighting technique that we potentially plan on using in the video is high key lighting, for example, towards the beginning of the video during the montage section when the two characters are watching television together. We are going to use the lighting that we have available to us, which is arguably conventional to the indie genre due to the fact that the genre does not fit into the mainstream, therefore indie artists will have a cheaper budget to spend on music videos and will have to work with what they have available to them. The use of high key lighting represents the artist as being the most important aspect of the scene due to the fact that the lighting will cause the audience to focus on her character and what she is doing, which is unconventional to the indie genre in the sense that indie artists often want their music to be viewed as the most important thing, rather than themselves. However, there is the possibility that we are not going to use high key lighting due to the fact that we may not include the television scene in the montage if it does not compliment the other scenes within the video.

In conclusion, we have decided to use these specific colours and lighting styles in order to make the artist appear more relatable, especially through the use of natural lighting because the audience will be able to see that the video has not been staged, which means what they can see is how the audience could expect to see it if they were there, which could make them feel more involved in the video. The use of low key lighting will help us to add to the emotion of the song which is conventional because the indie genre is often perceived as being sad and emotional, due to the songs being based on real life experiences about love and relationships. Also, due to the fact that colours and lighting are often used to show the audience how an artist is feeling, the video may feel more personal because the audience may feel as though they are getting to know more about the artist, which could also make them feel as though the artist views their fans more as friends. The audience may forget that there are potentially thousands of other people watching the same video as them and will feel as though it is just them and the artist, which also helps to make the music video feel more personal.