Development - Album Annotation

Although I have completed my sketches for my album cover, I have decided to complete some more research to make sure I get all the common conventions, and possible styles right.

The front of the CD cover is very simple and plain, however from these images I do get a jungle/gorilla feel from the character that have been designed. 
The title of the album and the band are in a simple font, in a plain colour white, it works though as it contrasts well off the blue background. 
As I have said before the characters that have been designed have got that gorilla sense about then if you look at the noses and jaws, this is ironic as the band is called the "Gorillaz"
From looking at the characters you can see that they are all a different colour purposely,this is to show the audience that everyone is equal to each other, each member has the exact same space in on the CD cover. This shows that they are all equal to each other even though they have different features.

Here you are able to see the full length of the characters, seeing how they are individuality, from this image I can see that the guitarist is the main member in the band as he is at the front of eh CD cover, his character has also been drawn bigger than the rest of the characters and is also more noticeable. 
You can see the Gorillaz logo near the bottom of the CD cover on the left hand side, below the logo is also links to there websites, Facebook and more, as well as the record company and distribution company.
The background is plain white therefore any colour will contrast off of the background. The font of all the songs is the same as the font on the front of the CD cover just a different colour. 

This album CD cover is a simple design as well, an extreme close up of the artists face, when facing away from the camera. 
Having lights behind the artist light up the whole image so it doesn't look as dull, the lights behind the artist relate to the name of the album which is called "Lights". Some of the lights have been placed in the artist hair, in my opinion this is to slightly boarder the artist face so we look straight at her face then down to the title. 
The title of the album and the name of the artist have the same font and colour, however the artist name is much bigger, as that is what the needs to catch the audience attention first then know what he album is called afterwards. 

Here a plain simple back cover, simply a black background, with the songs on the album going down the middle, in the same font and colour as the title on the front cover. 
The only information on the back cover is the distribution company, record company etc. The font for the rest of the information is in the same font but the colour is white to show that there are two different information parts on this CD back cover.

Clear white background, you are unable to see the band members faces, all the band members are facing away from the camera, there body have also be basically blacked out so you just see the outline of their figures. Your also unable to see anything in the distance its just white mist, this to me says that the album is going to be very mysterious. 
The title of the band is in a clear, bold, thick font clearly standing out from the background, just above is the name of the album, the font is the same except it is of a smaller font, all of the letters have been made skinnier but still stands out clearly to the audience. 

This is the back cover the main image has the same feature as the front image with the band members bodies being blacked out. Again looking out to the sea shows to me mystery with in the album. The title of each song has the same font as the front cover title for the album.
Both the images on the front and back of the CD cover show real mystery in the album as the band member characters are always looking away from the camera so we are unable to see any emotion in their faces. 

From this album annotation I now know that I don't have to use the band member or artist as my main image I can use a drawn character or symbol that represents the band or artist. I also now know that if the main image is of the band members or artist I don't have to have them facing the camera, I can have them looking away as it is just effective. 

If I want text I should keep the same font for all text, possibly slightly changing it by making the letters thicker or skinnier etc. 

Important information such as the record company, links for websites etc always goes down the bottom of the CD cover along with any other logos and the bar code.

Development - Annotation Poster Advertisement

Even though I have already completed my sketches for my poster I felt that I needed to research more to make sure I get all the common conventions of an advertising poster. 

Here I am going to annotate three different poster, these poster are all advertising their own albums, from this annotation I am going to be able to know what the common conventions are on advertising poster.

Dark black background this means that any colour that will be used will contrast well with the background and stand out to the viewers. 
Extreme close up of the artists face, this is to show emotions and facial expressions. Although the artist is looking away from the camera the photograph is still very effective. 
With the artists signature feature which is golden glitter, with every advertisement or photograph this artist will have golden glitter in the photograph somewhere. This helps the view relate to the poster as if they are a real fan they will know that golden glitter is the artists relate-able feature.
The artists name is in gold and in capitals. The effect relates to the name of the album which is named "lights" the name of the artist looks like it has been lit up by lights, standing out well to the viewer.
Real quote from news papers such as the times, complimentary quotes with the amount of stars next to the quote of what the public have rated the album as.  
The important information that I have to put on my poster is the record and distribution company, the logo of the artist, websites or Facebook and Twitter links. 

A dark background again, therefore any colour that is used will contrast well off the background. 
the first thing I notice is the artists signature logo which is the ""Graffiti R", this helps the viewer relate the "R" to Rihanna.
The second feature that I noticed was the photograph of Rihanna, she is looking straight at the camera, breaking down the fourth wall,however you can see an edgy side to the artist, this is from the edgy "out there" make up, and the covering of the one eye. The artist has been made in the grayscale, this can make the artist look very dark and mysterious.
Name of the artist again in capital, in a simple font on a black rectangle, text in the colour white/grey to stand out clearly to the audience. 
The advertisement of the new album in the same effect and design as the title of the name of the artist. 
When albums come out some songs have already been shown to the audience, in this poster, two very popular songs have been placed on the on the poster, this is to attract for customers to buy the album as they know that two hit singles will be in the album. The font is the same as the title however just made bolder and the colour of the text is red, this is to stand out clearly to the audience, as the rest of the poster is of colours such as grey, white and black. 

Border has been placed on this poster, this in my opinion gives the poster a very clear look to it nothing is squashed together or hard to see. Black background, with the main photograph being of the artist, this is a mid shot of the artist, although she isn't looking at the camera the artist is passionate about her music by that way she has positioned herself. 
The name of the album is called lungs, therefore the artist has placed lungs on the front cover, in this photograph the lungs are like a necklace however the lungs are meant to be her lungs but on the outside of her body.
Name of the album in capitals, plain, simple text, with font contrasting well with the black background. Placing a thin line underneath the title, splits it up and gives the poster space.
The rest of the text is all so in white and keeps the same font however just a smaller size.
The date the album is underneath the title of the album, clearly visible and one of the first features you look at when you see this album. 

From annotating these advertising poster I now know the common convention with what goes on a poster that advertises a new album coming out. The title of the artist, name of the album and date in which the album comes out has to be on the poster, from annotating the posters the font and font colour stays the same the only thing that changes is the size of the font. 

There doesn't always need to be a photograph of the artist/band themselves, there could be a certain sign that the viewers can relate to. 

Relevant information that has to be on the poster even if it is just at the bottom in a small text is the record and distributions company and the logos. Any website links, Facebook or Twitter links to find out more about the artist would be good to place on the poster to help promotion. 

A feature I have noticed that entices the the viewers is when the poster has before hits on the poster that will be in the album. Realistic quotes from magazines  newspapers or other band companies is always good for promotion  this shows that audience that the album has a high standard to reach before its even been released.  

Development - Next Step

At the moment I have designed my first sketches fir my ancillary task ( poster advertising the new album and possible tour dates for the band, and an album cover ), as a group we have also started making our music video, as we have designed the story board for the entire music video, we carry our story boards around with us when we are filming so we know we are always on the right track. 

So now that we have started creating our music video I have decided this is the right time to start createng my ancillary tasks, as a group we have also had a photoshoot with all the band members. Therefore I feel that now is the right time for me to start the ancillary tasks, as this will give me enough time to get reviews on what I can improve with my work. 

My next step will be to annotate posters and album covers to make sure I keep to all the common conventions.