Monday 31 January 2011

Analysis of 3 CD covers:



Looking at Eva Cassidy "eva by heart" the genre of music can be immediately acknowledged through Cassidy holding a guitar. This object symbolises the acoustic genre and adds depth to the cover of the CD; through Eva looking outside and disengaging herself from the audience. This is due to not having eye contact with the camera. However the position in which she is sitting and facing is intriguing to the audience and displays a carefree attitude. It shows Cassidy’s view of conforming to the norm and shows how she might represent the opposite view to the superficial life and may represent world peace and individuality. The position is also a calm and natural position which matches the soft ambient colours of the background. The atmosphere which is created portrays the soft melodies by Eva. The texture looks like oil paint which adds an authentic edge to the CD cover and perhaps represents the 194Os folk lore in America (which of course was before Cassidy was alive) however the scenery and architecture in the picture conveys the picture to be up to date with Cassidy’s time period. However the style of painting could be due to the CD being made after her death thus the audience being perhaps younger or newer to Cassidy’s music. However it could also portray a classic theme through the oil painting- preserving her life and her music for her original audiences.



Similarly to Eva Cassidy, the picture on Jeff Buckley’s album “white boy” depicts the acoustic genre through the generic object- a guitar. This displays Buckley’s music as soft rock; through the position of Buckley which is stereotypical for rock stars. The pose could refer to the title of the cd, "mystery white boy"as there is more to him than meets the eye. Buckley's facial expression displays him to have his eyes closed facing upwards which make him seem deep in thought or emotionally wrapped in his music. The low angle shot makes him seem godly and an icon. The shot makes the audience feel like they are part of the crowd at the gig. The colours on the cover, immediately draws attention from the audience through the binary opposition of red, black and white. The colour white emphasises the title of the CD, “white boy” and the black background highlights Buckley and the sub headings which are both red. Through Buckley being red it displays the layout to be artistic. The layout is also quite simple which makes Buckley stand out and displays his calm attitude and the soft rock genre. The sub-heading “live 95/96” conveys the picture of Buckley to be of him live in performance. The font is quirky and stylised- as hand-written making it individual. The binary colours make the cover bold and powerful.




Like both album covers by Eva Cassidy and Jeff Buckley the generic colours of green and yellows in Damien Rice’s CD cover illustrates the acoustic folk genre which convey nature; demonstrating themes of peace and freedom. The earthy colours also express his beliefs, values and attitudes such as travelling around the world and busking. The cover is artistic through a painted picture of a field, which displays Rice’s possible character. Centre of the cover is a drawing of a head which is tilted forward. This unique drawing makes the cover distinctive to the specific audience and represents the folk genre. The handwritten font makes the cover authentic and through the picture not being perfectly symmetrical gives the impression that it was handmade not mass produced.

1 comment:

  1. "and adds depth to the cover of the CD; through Eva looking outside and disengaging herself from the audience" You need to explore this further. Link to your comments about "oil painting" look and her death. We are invited into her room, it is an intimate pose and mise-en-scene shows her other preoccupations but she looks through the window. Explore 1940s folk lore ... be more precise about what you are refering to and the influences on her music.

    Is the look oil painting or saturated - faded?

    In your Buckley analysis you identify the genre and compare with Eva Cassidy cover. Binary is two and there are three colours - discuss the red and black image and impact of white fonts on image.

    "the position of Buckley" and "layout" discuss this in terms of shot angle - what does the low angle shot connote? Is his pose relaxed? What does his facial expression connote? Also in terms of composition. Why so much black?

    Comment more precisely on font in these two analyses as you do in the Damien Rice analysis.

    Your own design ideas are very minimalist and it is important to look at small details of cover precisely.

    ReplyDelete