Digipak

A digipak is a form of media that usually includes 6 slides, the front and back cover, artwork, sometimes a note from the artist themselves or a lyric sheet and of course the CD itself, the main content the artist is providing. Digipaks are usually used as promotion for a new album from an artist. It can seem appealing with artwork or by including hit songs which will attract people to buy it, but also people argue that a digipak has a more personal feel than just a standard Jewel Case CD, as the artist has clearly gone a long way with a digipak and taken time to give his fans more material and things such as a personal note can make it heartfelt and give the artist a good reputation, showing that he cares about his fans.

To create our digipaks, we used a software called Photoshop CS6, I used it to edit photos that were taken of our artist (myself) around lakes, side streets and walls. Photoshop is a very efficient tool, it allowed me to do things such as remove unwanted background, add colour effects to photos such as saturation, increase image quality and also add text on them. It is a very effective and high quality editing app, which made my digipak images stand out very well and made my digipak appealing, if I used a lower quality editing software then the images would not have been as good and the digipak itself would have been low quality and unappealing, and if the digipak seemed poor quality to fans, then they would think the same about the music on the CD inside, meaning that potential customers would have been driven away and the artist wouldn't make much money from the digipak. A poor quality digipak may give the artist bad rep, it could show that they are lazy and aren't too bothered about the quality of the content they're giving their fans, showing that maybe the artist doesn't even care about his fans as they won't go the extra length for them.

The ideas for my digipak came from research on Indie artists and albums they have released. One in particular was Gabrielle Aplin, she had a well presented and appealing digipak that did see some chart success. I noted how she used a lot of rural background, which is something that inspired me as this was the main environment of my digipak images.

My digipak consisted of 6 pieces of content, a front cover, a back cover with song titles on, a personal note from the artist, the CD and some artwork.

The front cover shows the artist sitting beside a lake dressed in all black with his guitar in hand. The font used is also black and is placed on the lake to help it best stand out. I downloaded a special font from a website called "dafont" which I believe is really conventional and effective. The words are the album title, Rock Bottom and the artists name John Spencer. This is vital information I have to provide as it tells the fans specifically who made the album and what it is called, something they will need to know if they are interested in purchasing the actual digipak. I choose to colour the font black as it displays the general theme of the album, dark and quite emotional, I wanted to show that the artist was in troubled times and didn't want the font to be flashy and colourful. The design of the font is veritcally aranged, making it easy for fans to navigate, which is helpful as they would not want to buy the digipak if it was too confusing. The font in John Spencer was designed so that both words merge and share one "N", creating a different affect that was used because some people may find it interesting and because of the fact I was using black font which may seem boring, I wanted to add a twist.

I use natural colours from the image in this slide, with slight dark saturation to set the tone of a dark themed album, however the editing is not adverse and is pretty straight forward, natural colours from the rural setting with black font used for conventional purposes. The artist himself is wearing black, black is a colour many indie artists wear, mainly to show emotional pain and that they're going through a rough time. From our music video narrative we can see the struggles my artist goes through, he is wearing similar clothing to the video, still all black to show his pain and this is effective as it also links in with the black font on the cover.

The image itself is of the artist sat down gazing over a lake whilst playing his guitar. When people are seen looking over lakes, it is thought that they are reflecting on things, which is what my album would be about, the artist reflecting on old times and singing about them. It may also show the artist has literally hit "Rock Bottom" and he has fled to the lake, which many people find peaceful and he is with his one love, his guitar, he has nothing else. Here the artist can be away from his struggles and reflect by using his passion, music. We can see in the image the artist is also wearing dark colouring, which is conventional as indie artists are widely seen wearing this, such as Ed Sheeran. It is also purposely on my artist to show the audience his emotions,

In terms of language on the front cover, there is none used other than the vital information of album title and artist name. I wanted more focus to be on the actual image itself, as this sets the tone and is more informative than the language on the cover.

The main conventions featured in this slide are the rural background included, seen in many indie videos such as "Hozier- Take me to church" and "Ed Sheeran - A team". It gives a feel thats true to the artist and shows their fans where they come from and it gives the fans a piece of the artist. Also conventional is the black clothes I am wearing, seen across many indie music videos, sch as "Oasis- Wonderwall" and "Courteeners- Are you in love with a notion?". It is used to show the artists emotion and overall to convey the general tone of the album.

My next slide is of a personal note from the artist written to the fans who bought the digipak. The language and typography is white font and it thanks fans for making the artist what he is, he shows true appreciation and also leaves a personal signature below, giving the fan a collectors piece and something personal. The audience will take great note of the words on the side and feel like they're connecting with the artist creating a relationship, which is conventional to the indie genre as indie artists are often seen as down to earth characters. The fan really feels appreciated by reading the note and will admire the artist for taking the time to reach out to his fans personally by wording the note himself.

The colours in here are natural like many of the digipaks slides. The background is natural and isnt edited, coloured or airbrushed, the picture is what it is and the artist wants to show he is who he is, not using any fake editing and just having himself there behind the note, naturally. The font used is white, not only because this was best to use as it stands out most, but white connotes innocence and it could show that deep down after all of his struggles, the artist is just a genuine nice guy. the colour white is also associated with purity, and the artist is being pure and true, speaking his mind about the fans and showing who he really is behind all the music. He is still wearing black clothing, but it is positioned so that the black is behind the white, which could connote that the bad times are behind him and he is only looking forward, just like he is in the picture.

The image is of the artist with his guitar staring at the camera showing a direct mode of address. This gives a personal feel, the artist is directing himself towards the audience and they can see him face to face for who he is. This again shows the artist is a down to earth character, he is calm and wants to connect with his audience and build a relationship with them, which is conventional to the indie genre as it's artist are usually relatable characters.With him is his guitar, which is conventional as indie artists are always seen playing mainly guitars in their music videos and on album covers. It tells the audience a lot about the artist, that this is his one true passion and he takes it everywhere he goes, again linking with the convention of connecting with the artist. The main purpose of the image is to support his message that it is genuine and try and connect with his fans, not only by the personal note, but also the direct mode of address.

The indie conventions present are the dark clothing, which shows the artists emotions and also the fact he is with his guitar, something that many indie artists are seen playing as it is the main instrument of the genre. The down to earth feel with the personal note and the actual image also supports indie conventions, as like many other artists, my artist is trying to reach out to his fans.

The slide is designed so that the font appears infront of the artist, the note is the most important thing and the main point of this slide, the artist wants to get across his feelings to the fan. The image is placed behind the text as it is less important and not the main purpose.

The next slide is of some digipak artwork, a guitar rested on a brick wall which has been saturated to a green colour.

The image itself is conventional, the guitar is the main instrument of the indie genre and is present here. The brick wall shows where the artist comes from, which is again conventional as indie artists like to show their fans what they're about and where they come from, as mine does here. 

The colour used is a dark green filter, although it may seem conventional, other Indie genre artists have done similar things, such as Ed Sheerans "X" album cover, similarly coloured to this slide. Green is not tied to a specific genre, a bright red or blue could be associated with dance, but green brings a since of misteriority, and makes fans wonder what the artists songs will be about. A plainly coloured picture may seem boring to some and that is used quite frequently throughout the digipak, and it's important that fans aren't bored and that they get entertained by the content, adding colour adds a new twist and it's an effect that they may find peculiar in a good way and enjoy. 

There is no typography or language to not in this slide, as usually artwork would not contain this, the image speaks for itself and is the main purpose of the slide and the main and also one and only feature to entertain the audience. 

This slide is conventional in a few ways, the guitar, the main instrument of the indie genre is present and shows fans what the album will mainly sound like. Also the artist is showing where he comes from and therefore connecting with his fans by giving a piece of him to them, which is conventional as indie artists are considered down to earth and usually relate to their fans. 

The next slide is another featured artwork, but this time it actually features the artist, and he is playing his guitar against a brick wall. 

The colours used in this slide are mainly a faded black on the actual image, it adds a diverse effect and is used for the purpose of showing the artists emotions, that he is fading away and can't take the pain he deals with any more. Although black may seem a boring colour, it adds a different effect to the slide which makes it more interesting, and it has a purpose, it shows the artists emotions. The artist is also wearing all black like he is in all images, this is used to portray his emotions to the audience, which links in with indie genre conventions.  

Again here there is no typography or language to note, mainly because this is an artwork slide and you wouldn't really expect any words in it. The image is the main focus and the artwork pages do not provide vital information. 

The main conventions in this slide are the artists guitar, as many indie artists are seen playing their guitars in music videos or on album covers and also the fact that the guitar is the main instrument of the indie genre. It is argued that the effect use may go against indie conventions, however the colour black is conventional to the indie genre and it is used to show emotion, like many other indie artists like to show emotion to their fans, it's a way of connecting with them, which my artist attempts here, therefore making it conventional. The artist wears black clothes to show his fans that he is unhappy and going through dark times and that the colour black sums up his emotions, dark. This again shows the artist connecting with his fans, which is conventional as indie artists are always seen in their songs telling stories that fans can relate to, or pouring their hearts out to them. 

 The next slide is the back cover of the digipak, which contains all of the tracks on the album. This is vital information and is needed to provide to the audience, as they would not want to buy the album if they had no idea what is actually featured on it.

The image on the back cover is of the artist's guitar rested on a black bench, with the artist seen in the background walking off. This has many connotations, first off being conventional to the indie genre, as once again the main instrument, a guitar is present and the artist is still in his all black clothing. The presence of the guitar could show the fans that this is what the songs will mainly contain, so that they can briefly imagine in their head what they would sound like. In the image, the artist is seen walking away from the camera, leaving his instrument behind. This is to show that he is walking away from his troubles and giving the fans his music, maybe even quitting music for a while. This subverts conventions as indie artists are expected to be upfront with their fans and relate to them instead of just walk away, but the main purpose of this was to support a background narrative rather than the conventions.

The language shows the titles of the songs, such as "Rock Bottom" and "Broken". This gives a general idea to a fan reading this about how dark themed the songs will be, it is clearly emotional and a song called Rock Bottom will not exactly be upbeat and cheerful. This is conventnional to the indie genre as many songs of the genre tell a sad story. Further on, a vital element of the language present is that it shows to contain clear forms of a digipak, which are the two bonus songs, an acoustic song and a live version at wembley. This is considered bonus content and would not be provided in a standard Jewel Case, showing the added value that fans who purchase the digipak can recieve.

This slide is designed so that the tracks appear above the image, as it would be confusing if they were hardly visible and would be overall poor quality, something a fan would not want to invest in. The tracks are laid out in horizontal order and cross the page, it is easy to understand and navigate, it looks professional and it is also made clear to the fan which songs are the bonus tracks from the original ones. A fan may respect that it has been well presented and organised, which shows them the artist took time on it and cared about the work he gave his fans, not wanting it to be messy.

The next slide of the digipak is of the actual CD and the main content of the digipak itself. The image is another direct mode of address view of the artist and also holding his guitar again, but with grass an trees in the background instead of a brick wall. The main 3 elements of the image, rural background, the artist and also his music connote what the album will be about, singing about himself and his love for music and also where he comes from, staying true to himself, which is conventional as indie artists are usually seen in rural backgrounds in their videos and like to sing about where they come from, for example "Stone Roses- Daybreak".

Again, not many colours are used in this slide, the colour is natural and has not been edited, it is the normal photo just shaped to a CD. This could show that the artist is not hiding behind a fake persona by using uneeded special effects, this is also further supported by the direct mode of address he shows. This is conventional as indie artists are always seen as being down to earth and relatable characters and the artist shows this himself by being up front and personal. The artist is seen wearing black, which is conventional as this is used to show his emotions and indie artists are considered emotional characters who sing about their own experiences, my artist is showing that his experiences have been bad.

The main conventions of this slide is that like many other indie artists, my artist gets down to the audiences level and appears relatable. Also the fact that he is wearing black to show his emotion is conventional as many indie artists sing about their emotional experiences.

There are no words to note on this slide which means there is no real presence of typography or language. It is unusual for a CD to have writing over it, usually only a picture is needed as all information that is important is already provided across other parts of the digipak.

Using photoshop to edit and create my digipak had many ups, but also some downs and faults too. First of all, I did find photoshop to be a very efficient tool as a whole.

Overall, I feel that this digipak conforms the indie genre conventions in a number of ways. The artist is shown as a relatable character through the use of a rural background, showing his emotions and also showing a direct mode of address in two slides. Also, we can see he carries his guitar a lot and indie artists are always seen with their guitar in either videos or on album covers, one in  particular, Jake Bugg in his album magazine advert, an artist we took great inspiration from when creating our work. Through the constant showing of black clothing on the artist, it shows that he is dull and going through depressing times, which helps support the convention of indie artists telling emotional and personal stories, it's a way of connecting with their fans, what many indie artists do as well as mine seen in this digipak.

I believe that this digipak does appeal to our target audience, the artist himself is their age, so it makes it easier for the target audience to relate to him and also younger people are considered to have more hectic lives and may have been through some of the things my artist has, e.g homelessness, as shown in my music video.

Creating a digipak secures a relationship between the artist and their fans in a number of ways. Fans see an artist creating a digipak as giving them extra content, which they will admire the artist for going extra lengths. Digipaks are also something that the fan can hold on to that have a personal feel, as notes from the artist are usually included, which is something a fan would greatly appreciate. It shows that the artist is going the distance to connect with their fans, which will gain them respect as it shows that they care about them and want to give back and if more people knew that the artist was giving and cared about their fans, they'd be more tempted to buy their content, meaning the artist could make more money. It also gives the fan a piece of the artist other than music, it provides a unique experience, notes, artwork and other interesting features rather than keeping it bland by just providing music, like a Jewel Case. Note- BETTER IMAGES WILL BE PROVIDED, DIDNT SCREENSHOT BEFORE WE BROKE UP AND WASN'T IN SCHOOL THE MONDAY WE GOT BACK

Photo Shoot

Photo Shoot – Miss Miller

Pictures were taken in the making of our music videos for a number of reasons. It is essential for planning our digipak, a 6 sided piece which features a CD, Artwork, track list and a personal note from the artist. Many images will be used throughout and it is essential to use the highest quality and best fitting images we can get, which meant we had to take a lot of photos in different places to find the right fit. Photos were also needed because of our magazine advert, which is what attracts a potential customer to an album and signifys the album, it is usually also the front cover of the album. An album without photos will be pretty dull and lifeless and the audience would not be very attracted to it, hence why it is essential to go out and take these photos.

The Pictures that we took mainly consisted of me (the artist) with my guitar and it included me playing it leaning up against brick walls or looking over playing into a lake or sitting down by it. We felt this is necessary as this truly shows the rural environment, artists in the indie genre are proud of where they come from and don't need to show off by showing their viewers that they are in an extravagant location, instead this is plain and simple and also relatable, as the artist is in a place, a forest and a brick wall that you probably see or are at every day. The artist is always seen with his guitar, or if not, there is a shot of the guitar on its own. The guitar is the main instrument of the indie genre and having it in many photos shows that we have included conventions and also artists of the indie genre are always seen either carrying or playing their guitar in music videos or album covers, for example Ed Sheeran, Noel Gallagher and Liam Fray. Doing this also shows the audience what type of sounds you can expect to hear before buying the album. 

On some occasions, weather was a factor and we couldn't take any pictures in the rain, as this would worsen photo quality and also may cause damage to our camera or even ourselves, as mentioned in our risk assessments. Aside from that, we had relative ease taking these photos as the locations weren't hard to get to at all and the photos themselves did not take much effort, they were simple, but effective and conventional.

It shows the artist as a person who is troubled, he wears all black clothing and would always rather be alone and that him sitting by a lake looking over shows he could be reflecting about his past. He also is shown as someone who has a passion for music, he is seen in various locations with his guitar and always travels with it and it shows that this is his most valuable item and also his life.

As a group, we will use our taken photos to create our own individual magazine adverts and digipaks for our artist, to make it the most appealing and realistic as we can. We can compare ideas with each other and help with ideas as to what works best and also make sure that our images not only support indie conventions, but more important sell our artist to the audience as who he really is. The purpose of taking these photos in urban locations was because it is conventional to the indie genre, artists of this genre like to show the fans where they come from as it gives the fans a piece of them. It is also used to show emotions, for example a person looking across a lake is considered to be reflecting on the past, which is exactly what my artist is doing. The more conventions we can include from the indie genre, the more popular it will be as we are sticking with things that sell well and what a high majority of indie fans are familiar with, which betters our chances of having increased popularity.

Planning Digipak

Planning our digipaks are important for various reasons. They are created by artists to support an upcoming album and add a way to provide more content for their audience and also the person purchasing the album. It isn't exactly considered necessary to create one, however artists like to do this to show that they have gone the extra mile and care about their fans and want to give them as much as possible. It differs from a standard jewel case CD as it is usually made of paper and contains elements that a Jewel case does not, such as a bonus disc, added artwork and a personal note from the artist themselves. As you can see below, I have created my very own digipak to promote an upcoming album from my own artist. It is a mock up drawing and obviously things will change and not look like the real creation, however it is helpful to plan to give ourselves an idea first of what we will create and how we will market the digipak and make it appealing.

First of all, all digipaks most include a CD, as it is the main content the customer is purchasing and is after, As you can see, most of my CD is blank and the black lines are meant to represent the case. I didn't focus on making the CD very artistic, as indie genre designs and album covers aren't known for bright colours or flashy, extravegent images, and including this on the CD would go against genre conventions and could possibly lose me fans, which would be bad as the artist would lose sales, as well as the record company.

One chosen image for the digipak is of the artists guitar. Images and artwork are included across digipaks and are considered bonus content and something you would not get in a jewel case. The use of an image of a guitar is effective in a number of ways. It is a massive convention of the indie genre, the main instrument people would associate with the genre when speaking about it and also many artists of the genre see it as valuable to them, as they are often seeing carrying or playing it in their videos, such as Ed Sheeran, Liam Fray and Passenger. Another meaning can also be that it means a lot to the artist, and just a simple image of the guitar can show that it is his life and what he cares about. This is effective as the audience may grow respect for the artist as the can appreciate he cares and takes time into a hobby he loves doing and if the artist is seen in a good light, the general opinion of him will be good, meaning more people will think better of him and will likely be more tempted to buy his music, meaning more sales for the artist and record label. No typography is sed in this image and the image is pretty blank itself, the picture tells a story rather than being in your face and flashy and has a story to it.

The next image in the top left corner is of the front cover, essential to all digipaks and also Jewel cases. It is what the potential customer will see first and what will attract them to the product. There isn't much imagery and colours to me front cover, as it's typically known that artists of the indie genre give a more down to earth feel on their front covers rather than bright images or effects. Mine can be compared to an indie album cover such as "+" by Ed Sheeran, which just like mine, doesn't have much imagery on offer and shows a profile, direct mode of address shot of the artist. This is sed to show that the artist is a relatable character, a convention of the indie genre, as he is looking right at them and connecting with them and shows his face just as neutral expression, which could show he is reflecting, or that unlike a genre such as rap, he is showing you himself naturally and not putting on any fake personas, and is coming out clean to the viewers of the cover. The title is in big bold font and placed at the top to stand out as this is the most important typography on the cover. There is an affect on the N which connects John and Spencer together, the artists name, I added this as a little effect as I didn't want the cover to seem too boring. My idea in general with the cover is that the artist does not need flashy and bright images to stand out and promote himself, nor does he need to be a fake person and not who he really is, he will give himself for who he really is and many can relate to him and he wants to show that he can be just like you.

The next image is of artwork, a feature of a digipak that differentiates it from a normal Jewel case CD. It shows the artist on his own stood against a tree playing his instrument whilst rain clouds are in the background. This connotes a few things, it shows the artist has been through dark days, hence the rain clouds and rain pouring down, which connotes the past, but he is able to stay true to his one love which is music and that he can forget bad times just through doing what he loves. Performing is what takes away the pain from him and escaping to the woods to play shows he is escaping from the stressful urban life into the rural woods, where he is at peace and in his own harmony, blocking out his demons. No typography is used here, as the image speaks for itself and you wouldn't expect typography to be included on the artwork in digipaks.

The next image is of a personal note from the artist himself, something you won't find in a Jewel case, but not something you'd find in every digipak. It is respected by many if an artist includes this as it is seen as they're going the extra mile to reach out to their fans and give them something personal from themselves. As you can see, the typography I chose was to sign it off with a signiture, as this is something the fan can hold on to and may find valuable. In the note, i wrote how the artist is thankful the those who buy his music and take time to listen to him and that it means a lot to him, which shows the artist is pouring his heart out to his fans and establishing a relationship with them, which is conventional to the indie genre as it's artists are often seen as relatable, down to earth people who can form a connection with their fans.

The final image on the digipak is the song tracklist of the album, which is essential whether it is included on a Jewel Case or Digipak, as it is information the customer will need to know, otherwise they will have no idea what song they are listening to and what order the songs are in, which will create confusion and likely make many think of the artist in a bad way. The images I have included around the track list are pictures of rocks, which is relevant and relates back to the album title, which is "Rock Bottom". It is has been clearly organised and laid out well in a list type form, which simultaneously shows not only the songs on the album, but the order they play in. The title "Rock Bottom" is above and separate from the track list to show that it is the album title and to not confuse people that "Rock Bottom" is a track on the album, when it isn't.

Overall, this is useful as it creates an idea of what my real digipak will be like before creating it and also gives me an idea of what sort of pictures I will need to take and where I will need to go to take them when thinking of adding them to the digipak. Photoshop will not be needed much for me as special effects and abstract editing won't really be present in my digipak, however it can help change the colour filter to make the pictures look better. I feel I am now more aware of where I need to go to take images for my digipak, for example, the forest, due to properly planning it and also clearly setting ideas that I want to pursue in the creation of this digipak.

From receiving feedback from my target audience, I realised changes had to be made from my plan in order for it to be successful. The fan note has stayed mainly the same, with even the signature still included, except a direct mode of address photograph has been added to make the thank you note more personal. The graphics on the CD became an actual brick wall, which was used because it is seen many times throughout my digipak and my artist also performs against a brick wall in my music video. The front cover stayed mainly the same, apart from a guitar was included, as this supports conventions as it is the main instrument of the genre and gives fans a sneak peak into what the songs they will hear might sound like, heavily influenced by an acoustic guitar. The planned artwork of me under a tree changed to me against a brick wall playing with dark postalised editing effects. This was used to show my dark emotions to the audience to connect with them and add a diverse effect to keep them interested. The artwork of a guitar stayed basically the same, except that it was placed on a brick wall with a song lyric from the album on the page. The track list was also edited around a picture of the artist with a guitar, it looks more interesting and organised than before.

Planning Magazine Advert

Magazine adverts are vital in helping advertise a music album from an artist for numerous reasons. It's main purpose is to provide as a reminder for an upcoming album from the artist and to attract a large audience in order to make sales and also gain the artist more fans. They can attract the audience in a number of ways, by using colourful and bright images that stand out to the viewer, interesting surroundings or location or the artist themselves on the advert. It will need to feature the album name, release date, artist name, some form of imagery, a preview of what songs will feature on the album and also some reviews, which is used a marketing tool as more people will be tempted to buy an album if it has good views. Also they may be tempted if well known artists make guest appearances on the album, which is another method of promotion as if a big artist associates themselves with an album, then that may mean they believe in it and think it's good too, which is why they took part, which can further convince a potential customer that their money will be well spent if they buy the album, as it will be of good quality. Below is a screenshot of a mock magazine advert that I have created for my groups artist "John Spencer". It will be used to a advertise a debut album which is upcoming from my artist. It features all the key elements featured above, which is essential in order to make it successful. When creating this mock magazine advert, planning was very important, as I needed to set out how I would use effective marketing within my advert to make my advert appealing to an audience. Planning also helps us know what we have to include and what magazine adverts for albums typically contain, planning ensures we do not forget or miss out any possibly ideas or marketing tools we can add to our magazine adverts.

Looking at my mock advert, the typography used is a very important part, not only is it used to promote the album, but is also used to give vital information to the viewer. It is featured everywhere across the magazine advert. Some of the vital information it provides is the album name, artist name, release date, featured songs, record label name and also other featured artists. This is very helpful to the audience, as they want to know as much as they can about the album without listening to it, so they get a real insight into what it could be like without spending their money yet. The typography included mentions some specific songs that will be on the album. This is a method of marketing, as if someone viewing the advert sees not only a popular song, but a song they may like is included in this album, it may tempt them to purchase it knowing a good track features on it. Magazine adverts for albums will always technically feature a mention of the artists best song of the album being on there, as this is the main selling point and what will attract potential customers to the album the most, the actual sound and if it is a well known, good quality sound that they will be hearing, they will be tempted to buy the album, meaning the artist and label can make more sales and more money. There are reviews below the image from professionals which show the opinion they gave of the album. Their opinions are respected and they are considered good critics and are high up in the industry and have listened to more than enough albums to be a good judge of the quality of them, so good reviews from reputable sources will only further tempt people to buy the album if it is being raved about, especially by well known critics. On my mock magazine advert, we can see that four reviews have been included, which all rate the album five stars, the maximum amount of stars a critic can give. We can see also they are from well known sources, which are NME, AllMusic, Rolling Stone and The Daily Mail. As you can see looking at the advert, there is no much imagery himself, just an ordinary shot of the artist playing a guitar, which is common and conventional in the indie genre. This shows that the advert uses reviews to let it speak for it rather than colourful images or many images, examples of positive reviews from well known reputable sources will boost an albums popularity and also general opinion of it and if the reviews are powerful enough, then that could be possibly all the album needs to use to create sales.

Some conventions of the indie genre are present on my magazine advert. One being that the artist is seen holding a guitar. This is the main instrument of the indie genre, it is the main instrument fans associate with a song of this genre and also many indie artists are seen playing a guitar in their music video, Ed Sheeran being one for instance. Noticing that this is popular amongst indie artists, I decided to include it in my own advert as it would support genre conventions and possibly boost popularity. Another convention of the indie genre featured on my advert is of a natural rural background, as my artist is shown leant back on a tree playing his guitar. Indie music videos will very rarely ever tend to have an extravagant or luxurious location as the setting, many indie music videos have been filmed in rural atmosphere such as forests, campfires and lakes, Hoziers "take me to church" being an example. It also shows relatability, as showing that it is happening in an every day environment, viewers can relate as they likely visit or see these locations every day. 

The image I have used is of the artist playing his instrument backed up against a tree, wearing ordinary clothes. It shows the artist as just being no different than anyone else, with ordinary affordable clothing and just a passion for music, something he enjoys doing, which is shown on my advert as he is seen solo performing. This allows the audience to connect with my artist, as he comes across as a relatable character, another convention of the indie genre. He shows that not only he is a down to earth character with his costume and the ordinary location he is in, he has a passion for something he loves, which is relatable as many enjoy doing something they love and take care for it, and can respect my artist for pursuing his passion and also his dreams. The costume the artist wears will be all black, another thing my audience can relate to, as this connotes his sad emotions and people who are sad listening to his songs may find they have similar troubles and can connect with the artist, therefore gaining more fans and in turn, more sales.

As mentioned previously, the magazine adverts main marketting tool is making the reviews that it has received stand out. They feature powerful adjectives such as "stunning" and "breathtaking" which will stand out to the reader and make them believe that this is a good album if it has been talked about in such a good way, possibly tempting them to spend their money on it. Another instance of language I have also chosen to include in this advert is in the section where featured songs are mentioned. I refer to the songs as "smash" hits, to show their popularity and use this as a marketting tool, as if potential buyers see that well known songs are on the album, they will be tempted to buy it and also they may not have thought my artist created those songs, but they now know, which could further tempt them to purchase the album. I specifically used the word "smash" as it is an example of colloquial writing and an example of informal language. It relates with a young audience, and I purposely did this as our specific target audience is males and females 15-25, who have words like this more frequent in their vocabulary than older people. It may help push my music out further into a younger audience and therefore potentially increase sales, which benefits the label and the artist.

The layout of the advert is organised and easy to navigate. The album name, release date and artist name are all clearly labelled in large font at the top, as this is the most important information and what stands out to the reader. Then in their own space are the songs featured and on the other side, the record company w

ho produced the album. It is designed this way so that the contents aren't messy and sprawl across the page, instead, the viewer can read things easily and gather information they need in each section of the advert as I have made it easy to navigate. The reviews are placed specifically together to emphasise the amount of stars the album has been given and also stand out to the reader, to show them the good reviews of the album and that it is highly rated. It is positioned specifically in the middle as this is the main body of the advert, there is no point pushing something to the side which is being used for marketing purposes, something such as the record label name is not, which is why I positioned that on the side. Lastly, on the bottom I have stated what well known artists feature on the album. Although I have mentioned big names, it is more of a sneak peak, and I have not advertised this much, as I would rather people buy the album first to see which songs the famous artists feature on instead of give it away and tell them. This will create further sales, as potential customers will be eager to see what songs these big name artists feature on, which will tempt them to buy the album, hence increasing popularity of the album and sales overall, meaning profit for the artist and also the record label.

In conclusion, I am now more aware of the sort of pictures I need to take prior to creating my real magazine advert. I will need to wear the correct intended outfit and also go into the forest to take pictures, as looking at my mock magazine advert, this would be the best suited location to capture some shots. I also need to bring my guitar, as this is in my mock magazine advert and is also a vital convention and links in with artist potrayal. Prior to using photoshop, I now know I need to possibly edit out blocking sunlight and also other objects in the forest that may block the view of me, however, since not many colours or abstract effects are featured, it is unlikely that I will need to use photoshop too often when creating my real magazine advert.

As we can see, from my original plan the magazine advert has changed. The background is instead a brick wall rather than a tree and it has been laid out in a different way which makes it look more organised and not so crammed together. Conventions are followed using a guitar and a brick wall.