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Characters and Narrative events
On the front cover of Lana del Rey’s ‘Born to die’ album cover, there is only one character which is Lana
herself. She is directly addressing the camera and the effectively the audience, which gives off a powerful and stern vibe from Lana, which could represent Lana and the female gender as being strict and slightly demanding. Her simple yet effective image gives her a classy look due to the way her hair is style, makeup
and the piece of clothing we can see, this allows her ‘pop’ label of genre to be questioned as this cover suggests she’s an indie artist as much isn’t going on within the mise en scene whereas with a pop artist, their
front cover is usually technologically enhanced with a computerised feel to the image and the overall album. However, there is a slight element of hyper reality as her face has been airbrushed and this is clear due to her flawless and dewy looking skin. Additionally, the outline around her hair looks too pristine whether this
has been touched up in Photoshop in unclear or whether a lot of hairspray was used to avoid flyaways, the overall image of Lana looks hyper real but as is every artists front cover of an album. Her placid and innocent
expression could indicate a contradiction with the album title ‘Born to die’, as she could possibly be waiting for the moment of her death to become apparent. Narrative isn’t specifically applicable to this image as the image doesn’t necessarily tell a story about the artist, apart from the fact that she has a vintage vibe and
approach to the music itself. An element of vintage is present as she is wearing classy clothing and her makeup is classy due to the simple makeup yet including a red lipstick which adds a slight edge to the album
and eventually the music, as the way Lana sings and performs is rather 1960’s as it is very much spoken word. The vintage aspect is continued through the mise en scene as a vintage and retro car is placed just out of camera shot, but what is viable it suggest the car is dated. Due to the vintage look of the album cover, it
sets her out to be separate from other artists and follow the lead of more indie artists that cater to a niche audience, such as Florence Welsh.
Setting
The setting of the front album cover looks plain
which could be the reason why it has been chosen as
the main element that stands out is Lana, secondly looking at the background
and the vintage car which connotes to her genre. The
boldness of the blue sky allows the text to stand out against the blue sky and the
white cloud behind it; however the blue shade
could have been enhanced using the brightness and contrast to enable the text to
stand out. The colour of the sky has been used again as
the colour for the title album and is one of the main colours of the overall album.
The setting could connote a working class background due to the run down car in
the background due to the paint being chipped and the
fence being on par with Lana’s shoulders. Additionally, the ‘Born to Die’
titled paired with the working class background, could
suggest that the destiny of the working class is to struggle and die essentially.
Technical codes
The text is large and spread across the top of the front
cover, in bold capital letters and it stands out form the background, allowing it
protrude through the background and creating an
impact. The text is seen as informal as it is spaced out and taking up quite a bit of
area space on the album cover which grabs the
audience’s attention. However, the text for the album title is smaller and
has been made to fit where the area on Lana, where
the background is white, yet again allowing the text to stand out but also
reinforcing the use of the 3 main colours. The main colours of the album or
digipak are red, white and blue as seen on the front
cover and throughout the album, this could be to show her national identity
and be patriotic to her country, as the American
flag is also featured in one of her videos, called ‘Born to die’ as is the album.
There is high key lighting to highlight Lana’s features,
making her appear youthful.
Iconography
The most obvious iconography used on the front cover would be the vintage look
and this would appeal to consumers who enjoy this style of music yet with a more modern aspect to it, as she is also labelled
as a pop artist. Her overall appearance is rather vintage with her makeup done so
plainly, the way her hair is styled and her clothing, giving off a classy feel yet some of her songs can be risqué and rather pop
like considering the content, causing a binary opposition. Regarding the colour
scheme for the album, it is clear to see there is some iconography with the American flag as there is evidence of this
on the front cover, with the white text and top, blue sky and blue text and red lipstick.
Red could suggest love, lust and passion also.
Iconography
Iconography is present within the mise en scene of the ‘Born to die’
CD, as rose suggest love and passion and you usually give a rose to someone that means a lot
to you which could suggest that by having roses on the CD, it is an
indication of how she cares deeply for her fans and sees a CD as a present to them. The continuous
colour of red is also used again to show her passion towards her
country, being patriotic as two of the three main colours on the flag and her album are present on the
CD itself. The red roses represent love and lust which are also
presented through her lyrics of her songs.
Technical codes
On the CD, there is no text or any title showing that the plain appearance of the CD may not correspond with the
tracks one the CD. The fact red roses are apparent on the CD relates back to the title of the album as some people have roses at their funerals. Although minimal font on the
CD, the overall font layout is bold and eye catching to entice the audience as it takes up the spaces, which
suggests that the music titles and the music itself consumes most of her time and her life. The typical area that your eyes concentrate is first is the primary optical
area, however the first image is placed in the middle of the primary optical area and strong fallow are with a large
image placed in the strong fallow area. Another rose is placed in the weak fallow area which keeps the eyes focused and busy, this CD design doesn’t follow the
principle precisely but follows the ideas in some sense.
Iconography
Iconography is displayed again with reference to the American flag with the blue and white.
Linking in with the American flag, a few songs reference to her patriotic sense of her overall album, such as ‘National Anthem’ and ‘Million
Dollar Man’. On her other album ‘The Paradise Edition’, similar to the ‘Born to die’
apart from having 2 disks and an alternative CD appearance, the back cover is more contrasting in colours suggesting a more x
rated version of her album and songs due to the songs featured especially ‘Cola’ in which
she expresses some sensitive issues, whilst this album is more pure and innocent.
Technical codes
The text is the same font and colour as the text on the front cover, making
it iconic to the album and Lana del Rey. The text is the same proximity of the text on the front cover, again
suggesting an informal approach to the appearance of the album and to
her attitude to music. Her title of the album is also the first song featured on the album, and with the text being
blue it indicates how when you die you arrive in heaven which is
supposedly situated in the sky. An element of simplicity airs within the back cover of the album, keeping
everything to the bare minimum with no images within just the track list
visible as well as the institutional information at the bottom.