Artic Monkey - Whatever people say I am that's what I’m not.

Character- The cover of the CD digipak is a monochrome photo of a man wearing a white formal

shirt with a cigarette in his mouth. From his facial expression, it is indicated that he is inhaling from the cigarette and not exhaling because the cigarette is still on his lips. The front cover conveys a direct mode of address. This attracts the direct mode of address as it is like he is looking directly at the audience. The white shirt is a contrast to the dominant black background white gives the person a serious appearance. However, most white shirts with collars are typically paired with a tie for sophistication. Even though the man covers most of his collar with his arm, it is still evident that his bot button is undone and there is no visible tie around his neck. This could suggest that he is could be after work where he had to be sophisticated. This creates a more natural appearance and suggests that he is normal and regular like everyone else. The fact that he is wiping away tears, challenges the stereotype of “men being masculine and not feminine”; it is depicted in society that men have to be tough and have little emotions that can hurt them. However, the fact that he is wiping his tears makes him appear more feminine therefore propels the audience to empathise him for being hurt to an extent to cry.

Narrative events-There isn’t much narrative towards these covers as they are both simple but they are still impacting through the pros used. The man in the cover seemed to be more distraught in the back cover in comparison to the front cover. This is depicted through the fact that he uses his hand to cover his eyes as an action of wiping away his tears. This indicates that he is emotionally hurt and can also be emphasised by his cigarettes in his hand.

When people become addicted to smoking cigarettes they become reliant and dependence on them as a tool for relief; people who are addictive to smoking always have the urge to smoke more

because without it, they become more agitated and when they do smoke they get a feeling of relief. The use of the cigarette can be a tool to be relief from the pain emotionally.

Setting- As this cover was shot in a black room or with a black background; there isn’t much indication to where the location of the setting is at. However, there is a theme of black as the background and the colour of the CD is both black. The clothing’s could suggests that he had just came from work as he is dressed in a sophisticated manner, but some of his clothing’s are slightly taken off or are show to be more casual

Iconography- This character portrays an average man but also gives a sense of despair. This could be the lack of colours in the photo as it is all black and white, or it could be from the negative connotations of the cigarette. The prop use of the cigarette shows that it is something of importance as he is holding it in both of the covers and it is what the man is focused on in the photos. Cigarettes are rolled up tobacco in paper which is smoked. However, ingredients in cigarettes can kill the person inhaling by slowly killing your insides and giving you cancer. This suggests that from the front cover than he is slowly killing himself. However, the photo for the back cover suggests that he is emotionally in pain. This is depicted as he still has the cigarette in his hand but he is using the same hands on his eye which suggests that he is wiping away tears. This could be suggesting that he is smoking for a sense of release emotionally as he appears to be in: distraught, despair, and depressed.

Technical and audio –The cover and the back cover uses the same Guttenberg principle of the primary optical area. This is where the audience first looks at and gravitates towards. In the front cover this is used to put the logo and the name of the band which is the “artic monkeys”. This same logo and design is also put onto the actual CD which helps the audience recognise the CD and the design of the CD and make it more memorable. The back cover of the digipak also uses the primary optical area as it has the list of tracks on the CD. For both of the photos they are both close ups towards the face and are both central in the photo. The design of the CD resembles a before and after approach as the front cover is the first design that the audience is exposed to, which is of a man with a cigarette. The back resembles an after shot prior to the front cover which is a before, where the man is wiping away tears in his eyes. This can be also indicated as the back cover of the Cd is what the audience is exposed to next after the cover shot.

Adele 21

Character-the front cover of the CD digipack is the artist of the album, which is Adele. She wears some heavy makeup on her face as it is evident that she is wearing false eyelashes. The fact that she has her eyes closed, it is apparent that she is wearing false eyelashes which give the character a synthetic appearance rather than her natural appearance. She uses non direct mode of address which could be also is indicated through her facial expression as she appears to be sad or depressed. Her hand is viable which suggests that she is putting her hand on her head or scratching her head. Either of these suggested motions suggests that she is in turmoil or in a bad emotion sate. This contributes to the music she makes as she is known for her heart-breaking lyrics and soul genre. The back cover of her album is of a direct mode of address but she looks into the camera from the corner of her eye. This makes the photo more intriguing as the lighting only reveals a part of her face.

Narrative- Due to the fact that she is well known for her heart-breaking songs, the narrative of the photos could suggest her pain and sadness inside as both of her facial expressions show a deep and unhappy expression as well as the fact that she is not smiling in either of them. The monochrome colour could depict her mood of gloom as well as sophistication as it takes away the colour of the photo. Therefore force the audience to only focusing on the facial expression and her face rather than the colour that may appear if it was in colour...

Iconography- There are little to no props in the two photos of this album. However, the CD is green with white text of ‘21’ on it with a texture of a crayon or marker .The same colour of green on the CD is the same colour that appears on the front cover where it is “21”. However, the colours are reversed as “21” on the cover is in green and “Adele” is white. While on the CD “21” is white and the background is green.

Setting-similar to the previous digipack (artic monkeys), the photos were taken in a studio. However, there is a very obvious light source from the left of the photo. This suggests that the photo was taken in a dark studio with a bright light source on the left. This casts various neat shadows around her face making it more mischievous.

Technical and audio coding-On the back cover of the digipack, you see the artist in a composition called the rule of thirds. This is because her face and body dominates two, thirds of the photo. The back cover also uses the Guttenberg principle, where the primary optical area is used to put the song list to attract the audience to look at the names of the songs. The negative space around the back cover is used for the list of songs so it doesn’t cover the face of the artist.

Rihanna (LOUD) - Pop/R&B

Characters- Rihanna’s character is portrayed to be provocative and seductive on the back cover. This is indicated by the use of less clothing to appear more revealing and sexy. However, this is a stereotype of what sexy and seductive is towards woman. Woman wear less clothing’s to appear more seductive, but the male gender doesn’t necessarily have to wear less clothing’s to appeal towards the audience. This is

enforces the stereotype of the typical female portrayal in public and on this digipack. The interior of the CD digipack reveals Rihanna to be lying on a bed of roses with a painful expression. This could be a sign that she is hurt from the thorns of the roses. However in a metaphorical sense, she may be hurt by love as roses a typically known and symbolised as love. The theme of heartbreak in love is common towards pop music. For example, Girls Aloud music of “call the shots” is about heartbreak as well. This is an example of Neal’s mental machinery as heart-breaking music is popular therefore they produce more of it to make more revenue. The colour scheme of this art pack is predominantly red and pink. The colours are very alerting and seductive colours. Red implies towards the audience

that it is: love, lust passion but also danger as it is alerting. This could indicate that he is dangerous to love or she could be passionate about love as her hair and the roses are the same colour.

Narrative Events-The back cover of the digipak I more empowering than the inside of the digipack. This is because she is seen as seductive and provocative due to the lack of clothing’s. However, the patterns on her clothing resemble business pattern clothing’s which is empowering the female gender in reinforcing the stereotype, but also breaking it.

Iconography-There is a variety of iconography in the design. For example, there is a theme of red like her hair, but also it is the colour of the rose in the inside of the digipak. (Roses are a well-known symbol for love and romance)The colour red symbolises: danger, love, passionate. This could suggest that her love is dangerous and passionate at the same time, which is a common theme in the romance genre.

Setting-The back cover is of the artist sitting on a tool, on a stage with an American flag. This creates a patriotic appearance and theme towards the design. This creates a sense that she is preforming on stage. However, her clothing’s are revealing and her back is arched, making her appearance improper and seductive. This is unusual as a stage is normally for theatre and costume, but the artist is sat in a non-theatrical way.

Technical and audio codes-The lighting on the front cover is bight and in her face, creating slight shadows on her face. The bight lighting makes the shadows darker therefore giving the photo more of a 3D effect. In addition, the strong lighting makes the shadow on her chin more dark and obvious therefore highlighting her sharp jaw feature.