RD: Print Analysis

Calvin Harris 18 Months

Front Pane

• We can see on the front of this digipak is a photo of Calvin Harris (the artist), sitting in a plain unexciting location.
• This digipak uses Dyer's theory of 'stars' and his key paradox that stars need to be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary.
• Calvin Harris abides to this paradox as in this front pane he is seemingly ordinary as he looks like just another man sitting in an ordinary location.
• However, he is clearly extraordinary as he is famous.
• We can see the location as very ordinary maybe a slightly poorer area, with the large brick wall and housing behind him.  
• He is also dressed in a modest t-shirt, jeans and trainers.
• The front cover uses bright colours and high key lighting. the predominant use of light sky-blue reflects the sense that the image was taken in summer, which is solidified by the inclusion of Calvin Harris' shadow across the ground. These colours are also typical of the dance genre, as dance music is stereotypically linked to the summer and clubbing holiday destinations.
• This cover connotes that he is waiting for something, from the way he is sitting and the positions of his hands.
• The basicness and plainness of the location connotes that this is where he started, he wasn't rich or famous but and ordinary person to emphasise his journey.
• Our notion of looking goes first to the title of the album and his name in big white letters and then to him and then onto the background, this is used for him to show the music is the most important thing rather than it being all about him as a person.
• The way he is sitting is a signifier for waiting as is the album name, 18 months, its telling a story about his change over time.
• The location is a sign for a normal place, but signifies plainness.
• Through the plainness of this album cover a myth is created about the artists, that he is and wants to be a 'normal' man. 



Back Pane

• The back cover of this album is a similar photo but from further away so we see more of the image, more of a long shot.
•  Consequently, more of the location is revealed, to give a greater sense of where they are to the audience.
• Calvin Harris is shown again sitting on the edge of the pavement as if he is till waiting for whatever it was on the front cover.
• However, this time his direct gaze connects him to the audience, by breaking down the fourth wall.
• The back cover includes simple but important aspects such as; bar code, record labels and the track listing, which are consistently written in the same white plain typography.
• The consistency of using the same text through out ties the whole of the digipak together.
• This back pane again enforces the message that Harris wants to be a regular man and wants to connect to his audience as he is just like them this helps to create a positive metanarrative for him.
• As with the front cover the album art is an iconic sign for a plain urban location, but is an indexical sign for working class, regular people. This connotes the growth of the artist, that he started from nothing but has become so much.

Disc

• The disc is very plain and to the point, with just a black background with large white typography.
• This disc uses the same typography as the rest of the album again tying it all together.
• The fact that it is so plain, emphasizes that Harris doesn't need flashy pictures or colours it it just about the music that he wants his audience to hear, and he wants his audience to know his isn't fake or flashy his is just a normal man.
• How he is still extraordinary in the way he includes the 'all rights reserved' on the disc because it shows that it is professional.
• This disc, like the rest of the album, signifies plainness but at the same time looks quite bold. 
• The juxtaposition of these signs connotes that the artist wants the album to be purely about the music and not about him as a 'star'. 

Magazine Advert

As I can see this the advert shows crucial information for the viewer such as, band name, production company, feedback and reviews, and any other information that is required to sell the product. 

It grabs the eye immediately and while the artists picture is not on it there is a sketch of him in yellow which is quite abstract and weird but fans would recognize this as Calvin Harris.

It uses the concept of emphasizing the dance/electro genre with bright colours and varied range of fonts and pictures that attract a consumer. 

My chosen artist  also shares this genre and I like the idea of bright and exciting colours and would be interested in using this in my work. 

The yellow photo like face is an iconic sign for the artist, and the bright colours and interesting text is a connotation of what the music is like- loud and in your face.