R&B album covers

Stereotypes

• Black and white
• Posing
• Luxury
• Close up
• Dance
• Air Brushed
• Fashion Forward/ No Top 
• Parental Advisory 

 Classic Album cover styles

Preliminary Task-Planning

Bruno Mars-When I Was Your Man

Lyrics

Same bed but it feels just a little bit bigger now
Our song on the radio but it don't sound the same
When our friends talk about you, all it does is just tear me down
'Cause my heart breaks a little when I hear your name

It all just sounds like oooooh…
Mmm, too young, too dumb to realize
That I should have bought you flowers
And held your hand
Should have gave you all my hours
When I had the chance
Take you to every party
'Cause all you wanted to do was dance
Now my baby's dancing
But she's dancing with another man

My pride, my ego, my needs, and my selfish ways
Caused a good strong woman like you to walk out my life
Now I never, never get to clean up the mess I made, ohh…
And it haunts me every time I close my eyes

It all just sounds like oooooh…
Mmm, too young, too dumb to realize
That I should have bought you flowers
And held your hand
Should have gave you all my hours
When I had the chance
Take you to every party
'Cause all you wanted to do was dance
Now my baby's dancing
But she's dancing with another man

Although it hurts
I'll be the first to say that I was wrong
Oh, I know I'm probably much too late
To try and apologize for my mistakes
But I just want you to know

I hope he buys you flowers
I hope he holds your hand
Give you all his hours
When he has the chance
Take you to every party
'Cause I remember how much you loved to dance
Do all the things I should have done
When I was your man
Do all the things I should have done
When I was your man

Preliminary video-Planning

Bruno Mars- When I Was Your Man (remake)

The video that I have chosen to remake is 'when I was your man' by Bruno Mars. The reason i chose this video was that it allows us to attempt effects such as a fade between two shots and also have two shots playing over each other, something that I have never done before. Other things that will be new to me will be lip syncing and also timing the movement of my hands playing the piano to the track, both will be hard during the editing process of the remake.

The section of the video that I will be remaking is from 0:20-0:35 I have chose this section because this has all the effects and skills in it that I need to become good at when creating my own music video.

The setting of the video is him in a studio playing a piano with a dark backdrop. So my setting is in the school hall with all the lights off and curtains shut with a spotlight on the artist and piano. The clothes that Bruno Mars wears are normally very smart and he continues that in this music video with him wearing a suit with an open shirt and aviator sunglasses whilst his hair is styled into an afro. The video gets more of a relaxed vibe with the props of a glass on the piano with alcohol in.

R&B conventions

Male

Clothing worn by male R&B artists on digi packs is normally very fashionable (for example a tailored suit or shirt with a cap, to keep an urban image). Or in contrast the artist is topless to show their tattoos and muscles, this adds to the artists image by giving across a sex appeal to the audience. Their costume is normally added to by jewellery for example a single gold chain, watch and earring more of a subtle amount in comparison to hip hop artists. Still trying to convey the same message as a hip hop artist of showing that they are luxury and wealthy but being more subtle then a hip hop artist. The stereotypes they try to convey are that of a ladies man and they show this through being with attractive woman in videos and on digi packs.

Female

Clothing worn by female R&B artists on digi packs conveys their sexuality. The clothing they wear is very minimal normally showing a lot of flesh and drawing attention to their attributes. For example a short dress showing off their legs to the audience or a crop top putting on show their stomach. The reason for doing this is to add to the artists image of sex appeal. The artist normally has their hair styled in a stand out way to draw more attention to them. The artist is portrayed in this way to the audience to attract the opposite sex and make other woman want to be like them. In modern times many woman R&B stars have been trying to break out of the stereotype of males being the more powerful sex. They have been doing this by showing independence and showing they don't need a man in music videos and on digi packs. One key example for this is for the video 'Like a boy" by Ciara. Some of the first lyrics being 'Ladies i think its time to switch roles".

Album cover analysis

Rihanna-Rated R

The album artwork that I have chosen to analyse is "Rated R" the fourth studio album from the Pop/R&B artist Rihanna.

The colour scheme used is black and white this effect makes the artist come across as being very attractive adding to the artists sex appeal. This colour scheme has a huge contrast to Rihanna's previous album covers, the effect also makes the album seem much more dark and edgy then her previous album covers which made her look more of a pop princess.

The font in which the album name is written is simple but is written in white. This colour over the black and white background and being very small in size makes the text not very noticeable. It not being noticeable gives across the impression of something being hidden. Whilst the name of the album 'Rated R' shows that this album has something edgy and more explicit about it because 'Rated R' is the same as an 18 certificate movie in the UK. The artists name is not on the album front cover this gives across the impression to the audience that they should know who she is. Instead the artists symbol is on the front cover, the capital 'R' is written in a sharp jagged shape this shows a more edgy side as her name has never been written like this on previous albums.

This album cover shows exactly who the artist is and the type of album that it will be. This is shown by the artists eye line, the artist is looking directly at the camera this gives the impression of her aswell as the album being confrontational and rebellious, this is backed up by the thick black eye make-up worn by the artist and adds to the darkness of the album. The album cover has the artist covering half of her face this could symbolise  the artist as being mysterious, dark and not wanting to be exposed to the audience.

The costume that the artist is wearing is black and leather. this dress code is normally associated with more the Rock genre then that of Pop/R&B that Rihannas audience are use too. This could show that this album is changing genre from what she has previously done and that she is heading towards a more edgy and dark form of her music. The jewellery that she has on her hand also add to the dark and mysterious side of her because she is covered by the arm jewllery. The jewellery also shows the artist as being wealthy and of luxury, this is emphasised even more because she has more then one ring on each finger.

The costume worn by the artist on the back of the album is a lingerie costume with high heels, this adds to the artists sex appeal by being an archetype. The prop of a fur coat, by covering her top half emphasises the length of her legs and her behind also adding to her sex appeal. The fur coat also gives across the impression of the artist being anamalistic, whilst fur as a prop gives across the impression of wealth and class.

The whole theme of the album is dark and uses dark colours this shows the edge and darkness of the album. This is shown on the back of the album with the dark them but it is then contrasted by the artist being filtered in colour and being in a spotlight maybe symbolising the album as being all about the artist.

Video Analysis

The Streets-Fit But You Know It

This video is a narrative video in which two story lines are going on. Skinner walks into the shop to pay for his holiday photos that have been developed. Once he has opened the photos, the photos become the key point of the video. The video shows a comparison between the negative and dull life he leads in england in comparison to what he did on holiday. This effect is shown in a voyeristic way that shows the picture coming to life

The costume they wear in this video is all very casual nothing flashy, just something the everyday person would wear. This costume choice really goes along with the image that the band have of just being very normal people.

The video very much fits the genre due to the streets not fitting into a genre they have there own section of hip hop where they are very much spoken lyricists, with a comedic side to their lyrics 

Video Analysis 2

Miguel- Adorn

This music video is a narrative video with a mix of an artist performance. The artist is shown in the music video singing to a woman, the song is a love song so he is getting very close to her when singing to show the chemistry between him and the girl. 

But there are also shots of many other attractive woman these are shown as being temptations towards the artist and are shown as halucinations and the artist in one shot is shown as running away down a corridor from a woman. The song is all about showing how much he adores the woman and one of the lyrics is "Don't you let no one tell you different baby"

The video very much goes along with the conventions of the genre of RnB with the male artist being a confident ladies man shown to be trying to win over an attractive woman dressed seductively. These conventions are shown by the costume of the woman she is wearing lingerie to boost her sex appeal in the video and he is shown as being a confident man by his posture and body language being very close and forward with the opposite sex this is shown by close up shots. He is also shown as being wealthy but not showing it off and being very fashion forward in  medium close up shots when standing and leaning on his old fashioned car.

The artist shows love as not being all easy as it looks and makes love seem as a struggle in a close up shot of him singing the lyrics whilst drowning. This gives the effect that even for him the emotion is hard to deal with. This effect is added to at the start of the song when the title of the song is superimposed over a shot of Miguel with a red filter on the shot. The colour red normally is used to symbolise a hazard or danger but its is also use to symbolise love and effection, so it has a double effect in this picture.

Album Cover Analysis

Drake-Take Care                                                                                         

The album artwork that i have chosen to analyse is "Take Care" the second studio album of the Canadian hip-hop/r&b artist Drake.

The costume in which he is wearing a luxury black shirt which has the top few buttons undone. This could symbolise him as being very relaxed and that the music on the album is also relaxed. The unbuttoned shirt also shows the amount of gold chains he has on, putting on show the luxury lifestyle in which he leads. This luxury is also shown by how the costume's cuffs are slightly pushed back to show the amount of gold bracelets and a gold watch that he is wearing.

The setting of the photo emphasises the effect of success and luxury. The room in which he sits has marble walls with very large and heritage pieces of art on them, this gives the effect that he can afford to be in places of this class and status. It gives across the effect of a stereotypical rapper by being wealthy and having money, but then contrasts this by being away from the stereotypical image of the "ghetto".

Each of the props all have key meanings and symbolisation to Drake as an artist, especially that of the gold statue of an owl. All of the props are made of gold to represent him as being wealthy and having money. They all, also go along with the whole gold theme of the album artwork. Due to the location being dark the props stand out which emphasises his wealth even more. The statue of an owl has an alternate meaning, the owl is the symbol of Drake main following and crew the "OVO" which stands for "octobers very own". It shows that this album is especially for his die hard fans.

But Drake as an artist, his posture is very relaxed and he looks very much in thought, this shows that this album isn't manafactured and that it has come from his thoughts and feelings with many of the songs on the album being about love and where he's from. Drake also in the artwork has no eye-contact with the camera, this could symbolise as Drake being shy or not liking the spot-light and being all about music.

The font on the album cover is in a font that looks hand written. This gives across the effect of the album being very personal and coming from Drake personally. Also it looks very relaxed handwriting showing the relaxed motive of the album.

Digi Packs

Digi Packs

Artist

• Costume
• Props
• Make -up
• Mood
• Eye Lines
• Location

Editing

• Filters
• Cutting
• Photoshop

Icon

• Motifs
• Props
• Name
• Logos

Colour

• Scheme
• Theme
• Hues

Words

• Choice
• Sizing
• Colour
• Positioning
• Fonts

Camera

• Angles
• Shots
• Multiples

Welcome

Welcome Bloggers 

Hello bloggers welcome to my A2 media studies blog. On the blog I will be posting analysis of digi packs and music videos.

Thanks for the visit 

Danny ;)