Music Dvd Covers Analysis

ABBA
The main image shows where abba are from and gives a sense of unity and purity which reflects the two marriages between the group. It shows a close relationship between the band as they are all genuinely smiling, it is almost like a family holiday photograph. This image has been carefully put together with the two females in the centre and the two males on the outside, because the females are in the inside this reveals the decade of their musical career as men where always seen as looking after females and females were seen as more venerable. It also means we wont get confused who the two couples are. The symmetrical title links in with the even amount of males to females in the band. I feel through the scenery and dress sense that this dvd cover doesn’t help promote there music and doesn’t send any signals suggesting the genre so if the audience wasn’t aware of the music they play it may be hard to pick up upon. Abba are well known for their chart topping pop hits yet looking at this dvd cover you may think they are more a country type of band. The colour theme has a very cold feel about it with it being blue and white this matches the photography.

Britney Spears

The overall appearance of this dvd cover echo’s her young age, the image shows her innocence; its as if she is looking down onto the camera. Her sitting down pose shows her attitude is still mature towards her career. Her facial expression is over the top its just a natural quite serious look showing that even though she is young she takes her career seriously. The image has been highly edited with a sepia tone over the top then photo shopped on top of a blue background. She has a pink glow behind her showing her feminism and provides something that helps the image of her stand out. This adds that pop type to this dvd cover as there is a lot of blue used in the cover which isn’t usually stereotypically used for young female artists such as Britney. The blue is used throughout and continued onto the back of the dvd cover, this could be used to also attract a male audience as well as a female audience. Britney’s name is in yellow which really stands out on the blue background also yellow and blue are primary colours which allow links with her age. Other images include video parts taken from the actual dvd gives the target audience a taster of what they should be expecting. The back of the dvd cover consists of a lot of text however the text is easy to read due to the contrast of the light font being on a dark background.

Jackson 5

The front cover image is of all the brothers/band members standing in an orderly fashion slightly overlapping one another which indicates their close relationship, there image is portrayed to be very similar and with it being in black and white this makes it even harder to distinguish who is who out of the brothers. They are all very similar almost uniformed there is nothing about there image that distinguishes them as individuals. Also the closeness and overlapping shows they as a tight family unit which they were, their facial expressions are happy and smiley showing that they take pride in their music as well as working together, also shows that they enjoy working as a family. This image immediately grabs and focuses our attention on them as a group and gets us thinking who is who. The black and white images are continued throughout the back of the dvd cover to not only does this reflect the decade of their music career but it also keeps the image of them all looking very alike into the audiences head. The image on the back is of the brothers on bikes in the street showing they still lived a normal child hood life yet had this amazing singing career along side them. The fonts used for the ‘Jackson5’ and the ‘Jacksons’ are two very different fonts yet they collide together to tell us something, The font used for the ‘Jackson5’ is very fun and childlike, Yet the bold capitals used for the ‘Jacksons’ is very stern and gives a more grown up approach linking back to the image of them living a child like life doing activities such as playing out on their bikes while having a strong music career like an adult musician would have who had many years of experience. The music genre of the Jacksons was Motown, it is a very ‘jazzy’ upbeat type of music which is full of energy therefore the use of green and pink seems to work well behind the black and white image, Green and pink aren’t colours that tend to go together but the contrast of them gives a funky approach as well as reflecting the age of the band to. I would say this music dvd cover would attract a target group of young people like themselves who have a strong music taste of Motown as well as females who will be attracted to the artists. The Jackson 5 portrayed a very professional working image attitude throughout their music career therefore this may attract adults to listen to their music as they are very interested in the younger generation, maybe if they have children similar age range to.

Madonna

This is an important way of constructing the artist as a person as well as their music genre, visually this dvd music cover is very dull and lacks colour yet at the same time effective due to the Coloured glowing title. Since the shot on the front cover is a close-up we are able to see her expression very easily this helps contribute to the way she is portrayed in the music industry. The close-up also exaggerates her expression and conveys a strong feeling of emotions across , her expression isn’t the typical ‘pouty’ pose that we would expect to see from a pop artist but its serious the way she is looking into the camera, it also has connotations of a sexual nature the way her is open slightly, this indicates her maturity that she has, also it signifies her as an independent strong solo artist. The lack of detail in the mise-en-scene really allows us to focus on her expression this tightly frames her as a person and solo artist. The shadowy appearance gives of a feeling of mystery making us as the audience wonder if its like any other dvd she has had out, and could mean its something they may not be expecting. The other feature which grabs our attention is the title, this is another prominent element to the dvd cover as it is the only coloured detail throughout. The main colour of this is pink which connotes feminism, passion and it could also symbolize her sexuality. It could also connote fun, energy and love amongst a female generation, Pop music is normally linked with fun which is her main genre of her music. Pink isn’t a primary or a secondary it actually comes from the shade red, this could also suggest her music isn’t original it comes from someone else with her own twist which is suggest from the mixture of purple and blues to which has connotations of something fresh. The disco ball is used instead of an ‘O’, this adds more detail and gives a bit more character to the front cover. At the same time is it embracing to the audience that her music genre is quite ‘disco’ which reflects pop. I think her main target audience is females due to the overall pop feeling it is portraying also she isn’t trying to look ‘sexy’ to attract the opposite sex, however the parental symbol in the right hand corner tells us that’s its quite a mature female audience that is being targeted at this could be because of x-rated lyrics or footage that wouldn’t be suitable for someone of a younger age to be listening or watching.

Beyonce

This dvd cover is particularly aimed at a female generation of teenagers and young adults, the image on the front cover takes up a majority of the space which makes our attention immediately drawn towards her. This close up shot magnifies her as a person and gives quite a personal approach between her and the viewer, this also suggests she quite a strong solo artist. Also her airbrushed appearance, styled hair and glam outfit connotes beauty which is what could bring in a wider target audience of males liking her and her music. The image on the back of the dvd cover follows from the front cover image as she is wearing the same outfit but this time it’s a long shot, her dress has a slit up her leg by revealing her body this tells us she’s a confident person and confident in the way she looks which has possibly helped her become the big star she is today. Her oufit is very glitzy and looks expensive which also indicates she’s a wealthy person and shows she’s a modern singer as it’s quite fashionable also. The disco ball helps indicate the genre of her music; for example it is likely to be played at disco’s and nightclubs, also suggests songs which people will enjoy a good old dance to. The bright appearance shows her music is quite fresh but at the same time up to date and funky. The artists name is in a bold curly font this adds a feminine style to it showing that’s she’s quite a feminine person, it is very over the top with all the squiggles around it which helps focus attention onto her name but also this could suggest her personality and music is over the top and stands out from other artists similar to herself. The sub title ‘The Beyonce experience’ suggests this is an experience your likely not to of had before therefore it’s worth taking the time in watching it. The rest of the text is quite small and in straight lines showing that the main focus of the cover is the artist herself.

Michael Jackson
When you first look at this DVD cover you would think it lacks colour, detail and life yet at the same time I think the basic layout and lack of colours works well and it very effective. The plain white background only emphasises what is on it and in contrast with the black and red it really makes them jump out. The colour theme has been carefully selected and continued throughout showing professionalism and reflects that he is a neat perfected performer and takes pride in his music. The main image is centered towards to top of the dvd cover, it’s a long shot of Michael Jackson up on his tip toes showing that he doesn’t just take his pride in his music but also his performances and dancing to. He is well known for wearing his black loafers, white socks with short legged trousers; this is also reflected and helps people associate and remember him by these as in the image of him he is also wearing these. His sequences blazer seems a little mix matched with his other clothing, all the black clothing suggests rock music yet the glitziness of the blazer interprets pop into his genre which is what most of his music is, so from his appearance and costume this is picked up upon in a unique unobvious way. Capitals are used throughout, this is big bold and eye-catching. The dvd cover isn’t overloaded with text it just has the basic information needed; the name on the artist, a title to illustrate the dvd and a list of songs that are included on the back, I think this works well with an audience because it is not giving them to much to take in at once and if they want to find out more they can just watch the dvd for themselves and find out that way. ‘Ones’ appears to even bigger than the other writing to show importance that these have had to him, and suggests if it wasn’t for all these number ones he wouldn’t of been as big as he was. This word also stands out due to lack of colour used on the front which makes it really eye catching and could possibly make the reader automatically be interest in wanted to know more and turn to the back of the dvd cover to see his number one songs.

Def Leppard

Just from looking at the cover you can tell they are a British rock band, The United kingdom flag and dark edgy colours give it away. The image on the front of the cover is of the band members all together wearing all the same colour, this shows co-ordination and shows them as a tight close band. The image appears to be slightly angled as a lower shot, this increases the height of the band members which focuses our main attention on them, because the figures dominate the images we focus less on the mise-en-scene due to lack of detail. Through their stand and facial expresses doesn’t connote attractiveness but it shows a serious approach making us as the reader think they put everything into their music and take it seriously as a passion and career. The image used on the back of the cover is a performance shot which is of one of the band member singing, properly the main singer, this image illustrates that the dvd is of a live concert, the wide shot includes props such as musical instruments and crowds of people watching the performance. The dull lighting of these images adds an element of mystery which suggests that their music strongly follows conventional rock music conventions. The name of the band is what I think is most eye catching on this dvd cover the orange contrast on top of the black background really stands out as its in a sharp pointed font. The other fonts seem a little edgy also which all links into the theme of rock. The fonts are slanted and not on straight lines which also emphasises the band are different and don’t have intentions on perfection just do what they want, the way they want to. Overall I think their main target group is males over 20 who have a strong interest in the genre of rock music, this group is targeted through images and colours.