Print based advert.

As part of our media digipacks for our selected artists, we must design and complete a print based advert which would be seen in a magazine for example. Our blog must include the analysis of two current adverts which relate to the genre of our band/artist. It must also include three flat plans for our ads to show our different ideas. Then there must be our completed adverts with an analysis.

I have decided to use an ad from Laura Marling, her music genre is slightly different to Florence's , on Wikipedia it is described as "Alternative/Folk Rock". Although Florence's music is less folk like it is still seen as alternative and rock. I really like this advert as it reflects the creativity of the singer herself and it's a connotation of the alternative genre as it is an unusual picture. The script at the bottom of the page is the same used on the cover of her EPs and album. This enables her audience to recognise it immediately even if there is no photo of the singer herself. I think that I will definitely do the same. The background colour is a cream/ off white, this is slightly different to the usual white or black background. The image is also not black, it has a slight green tint, this (the difference to conventional colouring) all could signify the alternative theme to her music. The image is the same that is used on her album cover as is the font. All of the script is orange which makes it stand out and then the orange flower stands out too. It says that they "both contain brand new tracks" which will encourage the target audience to buy it as they are curious to what these tracks are.


This is one of Regina Spektor's print based adverts, promoting a new album. Her genre is similar to Florence and the machine's, it is described as pop/rock, anti-folk. the ad is far more simple than the first with less information on it. This one features a photograph of the singer, its main colours; black and white which add to the simplicity. The pitch black background is followed through with her black top too. This gives a theme to the photo, it also makes it look more professional. She wears red lipstick which she is usually seen in, connotation of this is that it is a classic look. Her black and white skirt covers most of the picture but because Regina herself is one of the only colours seen, it immediately draws the eye to her face. The camera is in a high angle shot looking down on her so that you can see the full width of her skirt. The script used at the top is in the same font but at the bottom it is in a different font. This is because the latter is iTune's trademark font, as if it was a label. "Regina Spector" is coloured yellow so that it will stand out among the other writing. Although it says she has a new album, it does not give the name. This could suggest that she is already so well established that she doesn't need to feature the album title, as people will already know what it is called. It says that it has bonus tracks, this will get people interested and want to find out what they are.



I have drawn 3 flat plans of what I would like my print based ad to look like:

This one is in A4 form, this would be good for a conventional magazine. I decided to make the band name pull focus and will use the same script as I have on the Digipack so that people immediately know who it is at a glance. I will use a photograph which connects to the music video and alter it for example by brightening the colours so that it stands out. I put "Swimming" as the same script for all three flatplans too also so that it is more recognisable. I have put the other writing in a more clear bold font so that it is seperated from the rest, doesn't follow the brand, but it still is eye-catching.







For my second, i have turned it round and have a close-up of her face, so that is more the focus. So people will recognise the singer and the title of the song rather than the band name as they are the two things that pull focus. The right side has a white background but the photograph's background is the natural environment she is in so I will blur the photo to white so that the writing can be clearly be seen.





With this one I have put a bordered photo on a white background, this is so that the picture is the first thing you see. It also keeps the writing very separate. I give a bit more information here giving the release date of the single and music video. the border also emphasises the picture which is like a still from the video itself. The title is displayed twice once on the book as well as written.












Here is a copy of my finished print based advert:

I took this photo which is similar to a scene in the video and altered it in Photoshop. I wanted the writing to be legible and clear so I made a duplicate layer and brightened it, then I cut two squares so that you could see the bottom, brighter layer. I changed the brightness and contrast to give the photo a dreamlike look. I also put a white blur in each corner to add to the eerie look. I then uploaded it into Adobe Indesign and wrote in the script, I used the same writing for the band name and the song title as I did for my digipack but to seperate the information on the bottom I used a different font called "imprint MT shadow" I put a pink background beneath it to make it stand out. this colour also ties in with the rest of the writing. I like the look of this advert as a whole I think that it reflects Florences style and will appeal to the target audience as feminine colours are used and alternative effects are put in. As it is similar to parts in the music video people will reconise it.


I learnt many skills by making this advert, the majority were self-taught on Photoshop as I have explained above and I also got help on it in Adobe Indesign. At first I did the bottom script without the box and in the same pink colour and style as "Swimming" it wasn't legible or clear so I asked my teacher for advice and she helped me put the pink box behind the writing so that it stands out. Without it I don't think it would look like a completed advert.

I think that my media product both challenges and follows forms of conventions of the real media products in my chosen genre. Firstly many adds chose to have a photograph of their singer on them for obvious reasons as people will immediately know who they are and they will always recognise them. However the photo I chose is quite busy and covers the whole A4 page and features a various array of colours. But I think that this suits our video as we made it colourful, also our target audience will wear colourful clothes. Having the band's title at the top of the page/ in the main focus is quite conventional for an ad as Laura Marling did.

I got some audience feedback for my advert from a friend who fits my target audience criteria: From this I have learned that it is a good idea and important to have a similar theme throughout the main product and ancillary texts which I feel I have done quite well as i explained in my video analysis. But there are other things between the digipack and advert which are similar to each other. For example the effects I used, to give each picture the same look I used a similar changer of brightness and contrast. Also the creativity of the piece although it could be classed as conventional in some ways it is unconventional and not a very obvious idea for an advert. Especially the use of my prop which I wrote swimming on, a subtle inobvious way to include the title.
I am most proud of this piece as ways to appeal to my target audience are key to making this good advert product and I feel I have done this here with the creativity of it. I have kept to the same themes throughout the digipack too so that people will recognize each product e.g. the title and the script of the bands name are kept the same.

construction of the digipack. And finished product.

During our first filming session I managed to get some photographs for the front panel of the CD cover, the photos above are my favourite of them all. I think I will use the bottom one as she is looking directly at the camera which engages with the viewer more. The main focus is on her face which I decided to have on my first flatplan. In Adobe Indesign I placed my picture and writing, making the black script have a bright pink outline so that it stand out off the busy background:
But I think that this looked far too plain on its own. So I used photoshop to make the photo appear more modern and interesting, like the Florence and the machine album cover I analysed, it looks more colourful and grainy than just a plain photograph.

So next I placed the photo (without the writing) in photoshop. Here I selected the film grain tool and adjusted it to give a slightly old, grainy look.

I then adjusted the brightness and contrast untill I was happy with the photo.

I put this photo back into Indesign, keeping the writing the same. But it still looked quite bare, I looked at my researched digipacks and saw that Feist's had a white boarder so I put a triple line black boarder around mine, to make it stand out I selected the luminosity to give it a shadow. Although on the left side you can't see it as clearly because of the dark colours, I think it still looks better like this as it gives it an outline and makes it look more interesting.

Here is my finished front panel, I really like the way it looks as it features bright colours so it will stand out. It is not a normal photo, it looks much more unconventional with the change in brightness and contrast and it also looks as if it is a still from the video which will make people want to watch it. The creative look about it will appeal to my chosen target audience as it is a typical trait for my genre. I think that the fact she is looking at the camera really engages the audience.

I have had to use a different person for the rest of the photos as she dropped out and I did not know her. But they do look similar and I have used the same girl who is in our finished video for the rest.

For my middle panels, I constructed them both in Photoshop. For my middle left panel I decided to put the lyrics so that the buyer knows what she says and can sing along to the song. I had taken a photograph of a beach view, I then changed it in Photoshop to make it brighter, more blue so it stands out. For the script, I used exactly the same as the title of the song " Swimming" I got this idea from Florence's digipack I analysed earlier on as it gives it a theme throughout. I then wanted a simple photograph of our singer, as I think that the consumer will be interested in her. Because of the narrow depth of field she and the book are the main focus. This could be a still from the video, so people will see it and recognise her from the video or vise versa.

The back panel is also like it could be a still from the film and I out a dream-like effect on it by lightening up the top as if she is currently dreaming. I again carried on the same script as the title but put on a broken effect to go with the dreamy qualities. I was able to photoshop out the writing on her hand which unfortunately we could not do in the video.

It follows and challenges normal conventions for a digipack music video. It would not look completely out of place in a music shop but it does separate itself by the creative effects I have added. Also the busy on set backgrounds I have used, many of these photographs would conventionally be more simple or taken in a studio. But I like that they are taken on location as it keeps a dominant theme throughout all my media products and ties them together.

As I have stated above and in my final evaluation I have used and learned many different things on media technologies in the construction all within photoshop and Adobe Indesign. I have learned how to download text from dafont.com and save it.

Here is some audience feedback for my digipack:
Again as I have with the other feedback I have learned that it very important to have a relevant theme throughout, in this case she likes how the script is all the same. Also to get ideas from Florence's style and put it in my own work seems to be important because it has to be valid to our chosen singer. The casting is key as it enables our audience to be able to relate to our chosen actress. It is good to either have people want to be like her or can see themselves like her which I have done here.