Nicki Minaj 'Pink Friday' album cover

This is the album cover for rap artist Nicki Minaj', 'Pink Friday'. The language on the cover consists of the name of the artist and the title of the album. The colour scheme of the cover is light pink, white and silver which interlinks with the title as it is called 'Pink Friday'. Her name is in silver, very bold font, it appears to be simple but effective. The word 'pink' is in pink and a more handwritten font which emphasises the iconic connotations of the colour; femininity and girliness. The title of the actual album 'Pink Friday' suggests that the artist is very feminine, and the use of the word friday could possibly indicate, that as it is the last day of the working week, the artist could like going out or partying. The medium shot of Nicki Minaj appears to be very staged, its almost like a ballet pose which is reinforced in the costume. Her shimmer tights and pink boots suggest a ballet theme but a more trendy and tough version of a ballet dancer because of her big heels. Her dress is very revealing but also has a balletic and icy feel to it because of the chiffon material, however, its slightly more dramatic and over the top. Her hair is a silvery pink wig which suggests that she is slightly angelic but the blunt fringe has a 60's style feel to it, she looks almost doll like. It also matches the colour scheme of pink, silver and white. The white mountain in the background supports the colour scheme aswell but also it suggests that this album cover is set in an icy, mountainous place. The floor is also bright white which supports this idea. Due to Nicki Minaj's image on this cover, she could be taking on an 'ice queen' role which is a fairytale character often associated with icy places in films such as, 'The chronicles of Narnia', but she is more fashionable and portrays an edgy attitude. The lines at the top of the cover have an ideology of 60's televisions as they used to have the lines at the bottom of them, this reinforces a 60's theme from her wig. Her genre is hip-hop/pop which would predominantly attract a young adult or a teenage audience. The audience would also be a bit funky and quirky as her lyrics and her attitude in her songs come across as very individual and different to most other artists on the market. The parental guidance logo placed at the bottom right of the cover tells us that this album is not advised for kids or children, but teenagers and young adults would probably be targeted.

The songs on this album consist of:
01. I’m The Best
02. Roman’s Revenge (Feat. Eminem)
03. Did It On’em
04. Right Thru Me
05. Fly (Feat. Rihanna)
06. Save Me
07. Moment 4 Life (Feat. Drake)
08. Check It Out (Feat. will.i.am)
09. Blazin’ (Feat. Kanye West)
10. Here I Am
11. Dear Old Nicki
12. Your Love
13. Last Chance (Feat. Natasha Bedingfield)
14. Super Bass
15. Blow Ya Mind
16. Muny
17. Girls Fall Like Dominoes
The songs featured on the album also contain popular rap and r'n'b artists which would again refuel the teenage and young adult audience.

Katy Perry 'One of the Boys' album cover

This is the album cover for Katy Perry's first album 'One of the Boys'. It consists of just her name and the title of the album. The font used for her name is a bubble gum pink with a thick white outer line and it's larger than the album title which immediately stands out to the audience by introducing her name. Pink is also a feminine colour which shows us as an audience that she is very girly and appearance is important. However, as her album is named 'One of the boys' this suggests that she also has a fun nature and her personality fits in with the boys which introduces her persona to the audience. The font of the title is also in blue which is an iconic colour that represents boys. The fact that she has used a reference to girls and boys invites a target audience of both genders, more likely to be teenagers. However, her music is more likely to be aimed at girls as it is pop but the boys would be attracted to her image rather than her music. Teenagers from more stable backgrounds are more likely to buy Katy Perrys album as they can relate to her more, but also teenagers from less stable backgrounds would be inspired by her talent and her image which is portrayed on this album cover. Katy Perry would also attract 'the gay scene' as she is very over the top as seen in this picture and most of her videos. Also, due to the fact that she is showing off her figure in skimpy clothing; this screams male attention. The mise en scene in this picture gives off an ideology of the 50's with the use of the old record player, her blue 50's style straw hat, the white picket fence, and the old style garden lounger with the blanket. The record player is an iconic item of the 50's but the fact that it is pink gives us a modern but retro feel. Her clothing also portrays a vintage style from Katy, Her pink crop top with blue high waisted shorts, red wedges and blue sunhat are all retro fashion but it has been modernised in order to fit in with todays modern society. The colour scheme on this front cover is very bright and over the top and it appears very staged for the camera. The shot is a medium shot and her pose is very seductive and very set up to look dramatic. There is no viewing of the institution on the front cover.

The back of the album cover portrays the same theme as the front cover, although the colours in the sky are slightly darker suggesting it's night time. The ideology of the 50's still runs throughout the digipak as the white picket fence still remains in the shot and Katy is wearing high waisted shorts and a pink crop top reinforcing retro fashion. She is also holding a red love heart lolly and there is a small pool with two rubber ducks inside which gives off a 'funfair in the 50's' theme as 'hook-a-duck' was a popular game at funfairs at this time. Her bright red lipstick shows her feminity. The back has a list of the song titles, it has a very girly handwritten font and there are two love hearts, one seperating the main songs from the remixes; this adds to the theme of girliness.

The songs consist of:

01. One Of The Boys

02. I Kissed A Girl

03. Waking Up In Vegas

04. Thinking Of You

05. Mannequin

06. Ur So Gay

07. Hot N Cold

08. If You Can Afford Me

09. Lost

10. Self Inflicted

11. I'm Still Breathing

12. Fingerprints

To the bottom right of the album there is a bar code and it tells us all the legal information like who the producers are. To the bottom left it shows us the record company/institute where the album was produced. When I carry on my research, I can see that these could be conventions of album covers and it will help me to create my own digipak.

Test Shots

Location: Hessle foreshore/Humber Bridge

We took some test shots before we actually filmed our music video to see how it went and to experiment with the camera.

This video was the first shot we took. Seen as we have had no previous experience with cameras, I believe that this shot was okay and could actually be used in my music video. The mediumn shot portrays the feelings of romanticism and happiness, which is what I was trying to create. I may use this shot in my final music video.

This is the second test shot that we took. I believe that the actual shot is well positioned and at a good angle, however, the actors needed to look like they were laughing and talking more in order to create a blissful atmosphere, instead the shot looks awkward. To improve this shot the actors need to get into character more, but I could however use it as a still image.

This is the third shot we took at Hessle Foreshore. We tried to create a handheld camera vision but as they are walking it cuts their heads off a number off times. Although, this shot could be used for montage editing if I decide to use it, therefore I will keep all of my shots just incase.

This is the fourth shot we tested before shooting the actual video. I tried to create a pan from side to side to include the River and the Humber Bridge. When I watched it back I realised that the camera was wobbly and uneven and the shot just looked rushed and messy. However, I will still keep this shot as it could be used for a still image or montage editing as the setting is very peaceful and romantic.