Album Cover Deconstruction

Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon: The End of Day

FRONT:

Main image is of the main artist, merged into a moon. It’s a striking image that really captures the audience’s attention – this is the function of the front cover, to get people to notice it and entice them into buying it. It's also used to be familiar to the audience and therefore instantly recognisable to the fans.
The image also relates to and anchors the title of the album – ‘Man on the Moon.’
It’s a close-up, profile of the main artist, and this dominates most of the album cover, along with the moon which covers the other half.
Key colours range from the orangey effect on the moon to the reds/purples/blues on Kid Cudi’s face.
Sense of dreaming, being somewhere beyond earth. Kid Cudi comments that “I’m always dreaming away, I’m always just in my own little realm and in my own little space, and that goes back to the man on the moon thing.”
Futuristic style font placed in the centre to stand out, along with the use of white to make it clear against the darker background. There is also a small space-like logo to fit in with the whole theme.
Has more of an arty feel compared to most albums that belong to the hip-hop genre. He’s been trying to create something new and that is reflected in the album cover. The genre of his music is described as Alternative Hip Hop, Trip-Hop (downtempo electronic music), with some alternative rock.
Concept album (unified by a theme) – space, sci-fi, movies
The album seems to appeal to a fairly mainstream audience; however the unique design of the cover which reflects his music in this album, may not appeal to all mainstream hip hop fans.
Parental Advisory - explicit content

BACK:

Movie-esque styled back cover. The tracks are sequenced into 5 Acts to give the listener a feeling of a story being told – implies that he’s going to take us on a journey with his music, rather than it being just a collection of songs. It will progress and therefore implies it’s a cohesive collection of songs, not just individual ones. Implies that the audiences should listen to the whole album right the way through just like a movie, in order to appreciate its creativity. – Kid Cudi commented, “We really made sure to give those people that vibe of a movie. I want people to feel like they’re in a movie theatre with their eyes closed.” “I wanted everything to be like a movie so the track listing I broke it down as if you were looking as the page of contents for my script. I made it so that you can follow along while you’re listening to the album. ‘Ok what’s coming up next,’ and then you can go to the booklet and read the lyrics and follow along.”
The summary at the top is like a synopsis of a movie – features film language such as ‘all star cast,’ ‘from the guys who brought…’ ‘the long awaited tale,’ etc.
Fonts – futuristic style which fits with the image on the back which is like an x-ray effect.
Colours of the font also stand out with the white font against the dark background and the colour orange to distinguish each ‘Act.’
First studio album
Universal Motown Records – his record label
Dream On/G.O.O.D Music production
Barcode
Website details - Kid Cudi’s official website, as well as his record labels.
Institutional information (pug) such as record label, producers etc. is small compared to the rest – doesn’t detract from the main focus.

INSIDE:

Poster, book of lyrics etc.

Album Cover Conventions

1. What are the typical features that an album cover has? Make a list of all the elements they have in common.
• Album title
• Artist name
• Cover art/clear striking image – distinct imagery (generally relates to artist iconography)
• Running colour scheme
• Track list on the back
• Pug – legal/institutional information
• Barcode
• Web address – for the Record Label, the Artist etc.
• Booklet with extras – song lyrics, photos, poster etc.

2. How would you categorise the covers in front of you? Are there any other ways of distinguishing between them other than generically?
• Genre
• Gender – male/female
• Group or solo artist
• Use of artwork?/artist image?/photography? Or a combination
• Target audience
• Different Record Labels
• Era

3. Album covers serve many different functions. What do you think these are (ie. what is their purpose?)
• Attract and catch the attention of the buyer and the target audience – stands out
• Creates a band image/identity that they are trying to sell - promotes them – it’s a marketing tool
• The style reflects the artist – recognisable to audience
• Displays the genre of music visually
• Gives a track listing with the track names, lengths etc.
• Informative eg. Legal stuff, institutional information - Record label etc.

BLK feedback

Super work on this blog Tanya, all up to date and lots of ideas and analysis - well done!

BLK feedback

Excellent posts so far Tanya, what a great start to your background work for this project! There's a few things missing though, see targets below.

We also need to get you using/applying advanced theory more explicitly when you analyse music videos, think Vernallis for now, although you will also need to get to grips with Goodwin in the new term. Loving the analytical stuff you have done so far though, that's really put you ahead of the game.

For now, your short term targets are:
1. Link your lip synch to your blog
2. Post your lip synch evaluation
3. Post the work you have done for Miss T on Vernallis. See her post on the main Music Video Blog for the specific details of what is needed here
4. Post your track research/ideas – we need to see what tracks you have in mind for your own video
5. We need a photo and some info about you please!

All instructions are on the main blog if you are not sure what you should have done. There will be a lot happening when term starts so the sooner this outstanding work is completed, the better.

Great effort so far, keep up the good work and see you soon!

Teenage Dirtbag Workshop

Here’s our final version of Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus:


And here’s our final version with the original in the corner:


1. What do you think you learnt from Friday's workshop? It could be specific things about making a music video OR general things about the production process.
The workshop really helped me with the directing and shooting aspects of making a music video. However it also showed me how important the pre-production stage is. Planning is vital as it allows the director, cast and crew to understand how long it will take and to organise certain shots. The director should also make key choices early on as time is a key issue and it is often inevitable that their will be some changes made on the day and a music video often takes longer to shoot than planned. Organisation is extremely important. Actors, props, locations and equipment must be prepared beforehand.

Our director Jake Wynne showed us that the director must know exactly what they want and have a clear vision of how they want the music video to look. The director must get involved in the process of making the music video, and this was demonstrated by things such as having clear communication with your camera crew. They must also communicate to the actors exactly what they want, and this was done by actually demonstrating it to them and informing them of what they’re doing right/wrong. Our director was always busy, constantly checking what is being filmed, and the actors, location and just that the overall look that they are achieving is correct.

The workshop also taught me things about the technical side of shooting a music video. It helped show me how a real music video shoot would take place. The tracks and the camera were the key pieces of filming equipment and it showed just how important it is to get varied shots and lots of movement. Lighting was also important and often had to be controlled. Tracing paper was used to filter some of the light and then artificial lights were used to highlight certain areas.

I also learnt important issues about actors and their performance. Confidence is key with acting and performance, as well as the lip synching which must be accurate. They must also be reliable and it is therefore preferred if someone from your own group is involved in the performance side, as well as the fact that they will understand the groups vision clearly and will therefore know what to do.

2. For you, what was the best bit?
I enjoyed the whole workshop but I think the best bit for me was being in the shot behind the band and dancing and jumping around in the background. Although it did get really hot we still had fun. I also liked watching the actual filming as it gave us a bit of an idea of how a real music video shoot works.

3. How do you think the work we have done will impact on your group project?
It’s showed me just how vital planning is. We must know exactly what shots we are going to shoot and in what order. Discipline on the shoot is also essential. People must follow instructions and listen, ensuring that we don’t overrun or take too long on specific shots, as well as having fun at the same time.

I also think I’ll approach the performance and acting differently for our group project as I now think it will be much easier for the people in our group to act in the video as we will be willing to give up the time and we will know exactly what we want the final look to be.

Also the fact that camera movement is extremely important in a music video and after seeing the filming for the workshop, has made me more willing to try more complicated shot types and be more experimental with the camera.

Let's Dance to Joy Division

Joy Division:
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester.

Despite the band's growing success, lead vocalist Ian Curtis had depression and personal difficulties, including a dissolving marriage and his diagnosis with epilepsy. In May 1980, on the eve of the band's first American tour, Curtis, overwhelmed with depression, committed suicide. Joy Division then released their second album, Closer (1980), and the single “Love Will Tear Us Apart” which became the band's highest charting releases.
The lyrics are perceived to reflect the problems in Ian Curtis' marriage to Deborah Curtis, as well as his general frame of mind in the time leading up to his suicide in May 1980.



The Wombats:
The Wombats are an indie band from Liverpool, UK. The band consists of Matthew Murphy, Dan Haggis and Tord Øverland-Knudsen.
‘Let Dance to Joy Division’ is based on a drunken night when lead singer Matthew Murphy danced on a table with his girlfriend to ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ by Joy Division.

My Interpretation:
When I first listened to ‘Let’s Dance to Joy Division,’ my initial thoughts were that it was an upbeat song that gave the message that we should dance, be happy and enjoy ourselves. However after some research into the band ‘Joy Division,’ I discovered that the references to them actually represented quite a sad undertone to the song. With Ian Curtis’ suicide and references to Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart,’ which reflected Curtis’ marriage breakdown, all implies that although the song has quite an upbeat tone, they are still acknowledging the bad things in life. I think the message that The Wombats are trying to portray is that we should ‘dance’ and ‘be happy’ even when we are depressed, and to ‘celebrate the irony’ that although all these terrible things have happened and are still taking place, we must still ‘dance’ and ‘celebrate.’ They place lots of emphasis on being ‘so happy,’ and encourage you to ‘go ask for Joy Division,’ ‘if you're ever feeling down,’ and ‘celebrate the irony,’ that even though ‘everything is going wrong,’ they’re still ‘so happy’ and can ‘dance to Joy Division.’

Treatment for the Music Video:
For the music video, I wanted to capture the band’s image and the idea that they’re trying to portray of being ‘so happy,’ whilst also reflecting the depressing side of Joy Division, as well as anything else bad that happens in life.

I therefore decided to use cross-cutting between the band performing and shots of depressed people or bad things happening. The shots of the band performing will begin quite slowly with dim lighting, in an empty room with not a particularly happy atmosphere. As the song begins to build up, the lights will gradually get brighter and their performance will become more energetic. We will start to see they’re image clearly which will reflect that of a typical indie band with colourful jeans and cardigans and the colours also immediately signify happiness. Gradually throughout the song as the camera continuously returns to their performance, more people will start to appear in the shot as they dance to the song, and the video will end on a high note with the successful band’s performance and a packed room full of happy, dancing people.

The cross-cuts will involve shots in black and white to contrast the shots of the band and will consist of shots that are quite depressing or not necessarily joyful. These will happen with the lyrics such as:
So if you're ever feeling down,
Grab your purse and take a taxi,
To the darker side of town,

And the repetition of:
Let it tear us apart,

let the love tear us apart,

Let it tear us apart, Let it tear us apart, Let it tear us apart.
Examples of shots could be couples arguing, someone looking depressed, lonely etc.

OR continuing from our group idea in class where we based the video in a house party, we could use the point of view shots to enter different rooms in the house where it's quite depressing (eg. shots of couples arguing, people vomiting, crying etc.), but along with that, it cuts constantly to the performance of the band in a room where they remain upbeat and lively (reflected in their performance, the bright room and their colourful clothes), despite everything going on around them. Gradually, throughout the video, people will enter the room and start to enjoy themselves, listening to the message of the song.