(Post Production) Existing Product Comparison.

The image shows the album 'Sigh No More' by Mumford and Sons and its comparison to the album cover I created. The main similarity between the cover by Mumford & Sons and my cover is that the band/artist are not the main focus point, but instead are quite small on the album with the location in which they are in taking priority. The Mumford & Sons cover shows a small shop/house with a large window in which the band are where manikins would normally be. The fact that they are in the window of a small shop in between two other shops which all look relatively empty all point to the convention of the folk genre being that it doesn't focus on the idea of 'celebrity'. This is because it doesn't really glamourise the band in a way that makes them stand out, but in fact the opposite as the small shop gives the idea of them being very regular, normal and a part of the crowd like anybody else.

This links to the naturalistic convention of the folk genre as the cover gives off a very natural, stripped back vibe with the plainly painted white building and bare pavement. Now comparing this to my cover, the same idea can be applied. This is because the location of my cover is much like the location of the Mumford & Sons cover in the sense that it is not at all glamorous. Also the fact that it is in black and white makes it seem even less glamourous, and having Simona in colour highlights her over it even though she is very small compared to the rest of the album. The same can be said for the Mumford & Sons cover, as within the bland and boring shop the band can be seen as dressed in quite bright colours, especially the man in the red shirt, which brings attention to them even though they are still quite small compared to the rest of the album.

Now looking at the image of a Carpenter's CD in comparison to mine, it is clear just from face value that there are many similarities between the two. Firstly, and probably the most noticeable aspect of both CD's, is the similarity in layout. Both the Carpenters CD and my CD have the name of the band/artist at the top, and small bits of writing towards the bottom. Also, the colouring is similar as a dark brown/goldish colour is used on the Carpenters CD and a light beige/goldish colour on mine both with black text, linking to a folk convention as folk CD's are usually quite plain with the use of one colour only.

Also both colours are not very bold compared to having a red or blue background, which links to the naturalism of the folk genre. One difference between the two is the type of font, as the Carpenters font is not very typical to the folk genre. However the Carpenters are also known for being in the easy listening and soft-rock genre, and also the conventions of the genre have changed a lot since the Carpenters were around, and even though bands have been using calligraphic fonts for many years, is a more recent development for folk bands to prominently use sans-serif fonts as part of their logo. Another difference is that my CD has many more logos for record companies, etc. than the Carpenters CD, which reflects the era in which the CD's were made more than anything as it is a more competitive place for record companies now then it was a few decades ago.

By Harry Luke Mulvany

Album Cover: iPad.

The image above shows what my album cover would look like if somebody was to be listening to it on an iPad. I did this as the iPad is a very popular product at the moment, so by associating the artist with this product it gains more popularity for the artist. Also it shows how not only have I created a digipak that will be physically sold in shops like HMV, but it will also be sold online through shops like iTunes or Amazon. Therefore this reflects the online presence of my digipak as well as it also being sold physically.

By Harry Luke Mulvany

Digipak (Final).

The image above shows the finished version of my digipak. I have made all of the minor corrections I intended to make to create my finished product, which are listed in the blog post of my second draft digipak. I have added a few more logos to my CD and back cover, including 'Merge Records', which I researched when looking into folk artists and the record companies they are signed to. I also formed a paragraph which is included on every digipak describing the album's copyright that I placed on the back cover, and wrote a small bit about copyright and other information on my CD, as that is also usually included on many CD's. Finally I added a barcode to the bottom-right corner of my back cover, making my digipak complete.

By Harry Luke Mulvany

Advert (Final).

The image above shows the finished version of my advert. By looking at my second draft, it is clear that the image in the centre of my advert has changed. I decided to change it as I think that the previous image gave off quite a sexual feel as the artist was pushing her chest forward, which is more of R&B convention rather than Folk. This image shows my artist as looking quite confident without it being very sexual, suiting more to the Folk genre. After choosing this image, I then left Simona in colour and made the background black and white as I described I would when I posted my second draft, therefore creating a strong link between my ancillary texts. I also decided not to smooth out Simona's skin as I did in my second draft as it is not a convention of the Folk genre to portray the artist as being 'perfect' which skin smoothing does.

By Harry Luke Mulvany

Digipak (Draft 2).

The image above shows the second draft of my digipak. After the process of editing my front cover image so that only the artist is in colour while the rest is in black and white, I have chosen to do this with the rest of the images that feature the artist on the digipak. I have also added an image behind the CD I created of the location in which my music video was filmed, and added a few details to the CD including text circling the CD and some logos below the album's name. I have yet to add more logos to my CD, and also to the back cover as well as a barcode and some text about copyright, etc. to make it seem more like a real product, and to add some text to the CD about the year it was created and the companies in which it was produced by. Once this is done, my digipak will then be finished.

By Harry Luke Mulvany

Advert (Draft 2).

The image above shows the second draft for my advert. It is clear that there is a significant difference between my first draft and my second. As I mentioned when I posted my first draft, I wasn't pleased with the layout I had created. Therefore I looked back at the adverts I had analysed and decided to change the layout to make it more conventional. Looking at the 'Devendra Banhart' advert I analysed, I have chosen a layout more similar to that, by using a  beige colour and having an image in the centre of the advert with the rest plain to add significance to the image. I have also added the majority of information about the album at the bottom of the advert including the logos of record labels and details about the album with websites affiliated with the artist. Another thing I did which is clear by looking at the advert is create a frame which I placed around my image to add to the significance of the image. This is a convention of folk adverts due to the frame being quite old-fashioned, linking to the naturalism of the genre as older times are viewed as being quite simplistic due to the lack of technology and skyscrapers that are existent today.

This all links together as the font is seen as quite old-fashioned too, creating a link to the simplistic lifestyle of people in the early 1900's and even some southern states of the USA today hence why folk music is popular in areas such as Texas. I have decided to follow the rule of thirds with the image on my advert by having the artist to the right instead of in the centre, thus creating a link to my music video as it signifies the loneliness she clearly felt at being trapped in a warehouse, as well as the fact that the images were taken at the same location as the music video was filmed. Taking into account that this is my second draft, I have only 1 thing left to change in order to create my final. I am going to edit the image that I have featured on my advert so that she is in colour as the rest is in black and white. This will therefore create a strong link between my ancillary texts as I will be using that same effect on the images used for my digipak, making the advert easily recognisable due to the associations that can be made between products.

By Harry Luke Mulvany