CD cover analysis

textual analysis CD covers


death- guns, rams head, black
yellow- warning sign, desert

this cover relies mostly on symbolism and connotation to draw attention to the cover, the symbolism involved in this cover depicts a rams skull created form a mirrored image of a pistol and bullets of different calibre; this is a clear representation of death and/or evil as a rams skull can also be associated with evil, both the image and the elements creating the image fit the title of 'devils gun' perfectly. the colours used also fit the title and image as the yellow gives the effects of a dry desert environment while also combining with the black to match the colours of a caution sign this fits the theme of death and guns, the edges of the cover also darkened to draw attention to the centre focus (guns skull). finally the effect of blood spatter is used to enforce the theme of death and caution. because of the connotations and colours used as well as the title it is safe to assume that this CD is aimed at the male audience as men have more of an affinity for guns and skulls than women. like most CD covers the band name and album/song title are located at the top of the cover, this is so the album title can stand out even in a rack filled with other CDs, the title is written in a thin, angular black font to draw attention of the male target audience as angular lines are more associated with men than women while CDs that aimed at women often use swirling writing to draw their attention.



purple and blue, mellow colours
isolated, dominant character
bold font



this is also a relatively simple CD cover that uses its simplify to draw its audience by using digital tools to create the effects of the cover. to begin the main focus is on the boy in the centre, he is viewed from a very far shot, emphasising the unnatural pentagonal columns that gradually rise as they reach the centre, this gives an almost heavenly effect in terms of the columns that rise to the heavens without any land in sight, another thing to notice is that the lighting is high key and the boy is facing it enforcing the heavenly, dream like impression. as the angle of the camera is level with the boy he does not show any dominance in terms of angle, also as the boy is paying no attention to the viewer, however this does show that the viewer is merely a spectator of the events before them making them the least dominant in that sense, the columns are another confirmation of the dominance of the boy as the highest column is the one the boy is stood on. the colours of the surroundings and clothing all fall into the blue/purple colours, even the stone columns are a grey/purple colour, using colours that are similar is not uncommon in art and media as they work well together while allowing things that are not part of the colour scheme to stand out E.G: the title and shirt of the boy, purple and blue are also quite mysterious colours with connotations to magic and illusion that enforce the album name of night visions that are closely related. the white title stands out form the rest of the cover but also has a wide and strong semi-angular font that makes the image feel more masculine suggesting the genre is aimed toward a mostly male audience.

 

 

chaotic
eyes along rule of thirds
haunted house ride
pathway leading to other world.
king and queen figure
use of symmetry

unlike the above this album cover uses a chaotic and colourful image to draw the audience, the image consists of many other images with different connotations for each image included, because of the chaotic nature of the cover the artist eyes are set along the top horizontal third and stretches across the middle vertical third of the cover to ensure they are noticed, the outline around the gap that allow the eyes to be viewed also draws attention due to the upward curving of the fair light and the white background that differs from the pale blue below, this gives a mask like appearance suggesting that Michael is either behind the scene displayed beyond the gates in the centre or is hiding something else. furthermore because of the bright and colourful nature of the cover it would be reasonable to assume that is somewhat representing a fair/circus/zoo that appears fun and appealing until what is inside the gate is viewed, the inside appears to be a gloomy steampunk city that does not seem like a good place to be; this together can be summed up by the saying 'all that glitters is not gold', meaning that often things are not a good as they seem. to begin the list of connotations the 'king and queen' figures are represented by an afghan hound and a humming bird, the afghan hound is an aloof and proud breed of dog that is also a sight hound (used for chasing down prey while hunting because of excellent speed and sight) that combined with the age of the breed make it a suitable king figure of a dog, but it is still a dog and will obey its master making it unsuitable as a king and leader, he represents people who only lead when given instructions from a superior so a false leader, the humming bird however is a resilient wild bird despite its delicate look and affinity for sweet nectar, however she is no more that a machine hat supports the life of humans, this could possibly have links to gender inequality showing that her purpose is to care for the humans trapped inside.

analyse two magazines

• who are the audience

1. age 
2. gender
3. socio economic group 

• what elements suggest this is the audience?

Horse and hound is a high class magazine aimed at mainly the owners of horses more than the owners of dogs, but does feature articles regarding canine care and sports. this magazine is aimed mainly at people in the socio economic grouping of B-C2 based on that people below that range would not be able to afford a horse or care much for the olympics and equestrian sport from the articles mentioning dressage and an image of the olympic rings. though this magazine is considered higher class it appears to be aimed at people who may have recently bought a horse or may be inexperienced in caring for a horse from the sub article 'can you prove you own your horse' providing a rhetorical question and enigma code that may be important to new horse owners to entice them to buy the magazine and find out; it also provides another enigma code as a news exclusive of 'how this wired winter has been affecting horses' making the audience curiuos weather or not it is important of just trivial entertainment. in regards to gender i believe that this is a unisex magazine that may have been initially intended to male audiences based mainly of the tile 'Horse and hound' suggesting that it has links to hunting sports that are primarily male dominated, the reason it appears more unisex is the use of a female model dressed in appropriate riding apparel and also the bottom article of 'the fence made of cupcakes' which would clearly have mostly female interest.    

15-40
mostly male
c1 downwards

Imagine FX is an art magazine featuring artists from around the world and techniques regarding digital, mixed and traditional media though is mainly digital. the gender group of this magazine is mainly unisex but does often appeal more to a male audience due to the sexualisation of female characters and si-fi themes, though mainly appealing ti males this Imagine FX  volume does also appeal to female audiences mainly due to the purple text that often has connotations to magic  and the swirling text that supports this.though the fact that s magazine is both a fantasy/si-fi and a primarily digital art magazine does mean the socio economic grouping might not go above C1.

analyse two film posters

• who are the audience

1. age 
2. gender
3. socio economic group 
4. what elements suggest this is the audience?

• what is the narrative/genre of the film? why do you think this is

Van Helsing 

Van Helsing is a film aimed at people who are around the age of 15-30, this is suggested form many of the aspects of the poster, the most obvious hint is the sexualised female character standing next to but also behind Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman), she is wearing heels and corset, which is very impractical if she intends to fight but vey appealing to the male audience, the way she stands and  her possession of a sword suggest that she is a strong female character and more likely to be a love interest and finally being in the second vertical line of thirds also draws attention to her. Van Helsing himself also   gives an understanding of the age range mainly due to the weapons he is carrying and his dark clothing suggesting that he would kill anyone/anything his way which is mainly popular among the younger audiences, he is also aligned with the first vertical line, while he's face aligns with the first horizontal and weapons with the second horizontal. the thing giving away the age range is the genre itself that displays itself via the background which displays a werewolf, frankenstine's monster and vampires, but also shows an old castle clearly showing this is a medieval based fantasy movie appealing to male audiences of C and below socio-economic viewing.

as visible from the dark colours illuminated by burning buildings Godzilla is a disaster movie featuring giant monsters that can crumble cities with ease, movies like these usually appeal to people between the age of 18-35 that still love to see things that get destroyed and blown up. this film is also a classic remake so may appeal to people outside of the target audience such as people over 35 who may have been fans of the older movies. for the same reasons stated above, Godzilla mainly appeals to a male audience because of the dark colours and fire, though the colour of the title and the fires also suggest that the audience is male because of the connotations of the red title and the fires suggests death and destruction. Despite Godzilla being a classic it is a mainstream film meaning that it would not go above a C audience in terms of social economic viewing.