DVD Cover Annotations

DVD Cover Annotations
Chemical Brothers
Singles 93 – 03

The front cover of this Chemical Brothers – Singles 93 – 03 DVD album catches my eye very well with the use of the electric pink and blue coloured ‘The Chemical Brothers’ logo, slap bang in the middle of the front cover. The main reason to ‘The Chemical Brothers’ logo standing out as well as it does is down to the black coloured background which makes the electric pink and blue colours stand out. Even though the cover is a very plain design unlike dance bands albums usually are, the bright colours used on top of the black background more than make up for it. This is due to it being really effective as in standing out really well and catching the eye of its target audience. The use of the text; ‘Singles 93 – 03’ underneath ‘The Chemical Brothers’ logo adds a little bit of more detail which just makes the cover look even more effective and professional than it already does. The white coloured DVD logo located at the bottom of the front cover establishes what genre of technology the album is on e.g. DVD, CD etc. The DVD logo doesn’t spoil the front cover design by over crowding it which is why I like this DVD album cover as it is quite plain but at the same time very effective and complex design.

The back cover of the Chemical Brothers – Singles 93 – 03 DVD album carries on the same electric pink and blue coloured design theme as the front cover. ‘The Chemical Brothers’ logo on the front cover of the DVD album is coloured in electric pink and blue which is carried in onto the back cover e.g. the fancy artwork design on the back cover is coloured in electric pink and blue the same as the logo on the front cover. This design shows consistency throughout the front and back cover as the text font used to write down the track listing and any necessary information about the cover, is the same as the text on the front cover and the same as the text on the middle separation bit of the album cover.

This could suggest that the creators of the album cover work have thought a lot about the design work to make the cover look consistent throughout, the same as Chemical Brothers produce consistent great dance music.

DVD Cover Annotations
Eminem
E

The front cover of the Eminem – E DVD album straight catches my eye the most with a giant E (but backwards) right in the centre of the front cover. Eminem usually isn’t associated with the giant E so people wouldn’t be familiar with it when they first see it, but Eminem is associated with parental advisory which indicates to the albums audience who the artist is of album. The giant white E design is situated on top of a black background which obviously makes the E stand out; white above black. But just having a white logo above a black background would be very boring and dull; so the creators of the album cover have put a lime green section in behind the E logo which fades out around the sides of the logo. This design just adds a little bit extra to the cover, making it stand out more and making it look more effective. The parental advisory logo on the bottom right hand side of the front cover establishes which music company the album is from and adds more detail to the front cover as it is quite bare; with there just being a logo in the middle of the cover.

The middle separation section of the DVD album cover carries on the same black coloured background theme from the front cover, and the same white E logo with a green coloured design behind the logo also from the front cover. There is no mention on the front cover of the album being an Eminem album even though there is big clues such as the giant E and the parental advisory logo. On the middle section there is ‘EMINEM’ slap bang in the middle next to the E logo design which establishes the artist of the DVD album.

The back cover of the Eminem DVD album is very different to other DVD albums such as Chemical brothers, Michael Jackson, and Faithless as they all have designs which link in with the front cover of the album. But Eminem on the other hand has twenty images of himself which don’t really link in with the front cover of the album. This design of having twenty images of Eminem makes the back cover stand out really well but at the same time doesn’t really look right and doesn’t go with the front cover. In between the middle images there is a slight shade of green coming behind the images but it doesn’t look very clear, so you can’t make out that the front cover is consistent to the back cover.

The track listing for the Eminem DVD album is in small font near the bottom of the back cover, which doesn’t look right as the images dominate the back cover even though the track listing should.

DVD Cover Annotations –
Forever Faithless
The Greatest Hits

The front cover of the Forever Faithless – Greatest Hits DVD album straight away catches my eye with the use of the slick but very stylish design. The use of the black background on the front page makes the image of Maxi Jazz; the black ethnic lead singer from the band: stand out really well with quite bright lighting used to light up his chest and dark lighting to give a bit of a shadow to his face which makes him blend in really well with the background but also makes him stand out at the same time. The lightning effect gives of the impression that Maxi Jazz and the band are emerging into the lime light with the use of the mysterious shadow on his face.
The use of the yellow font above the image makes the image stand out even more because of the colour contrast of bright yellow font above black background and the image. The actual layout of the front cover design is very simple but at the same time very effective.
This could relate back to the actual band Faithless, as they are a world famous band which means that they are very effective in the spotlight but at the same time fame doesn’t get to their head so they are never in the limelight apart from when they release new songs or go on tour which could mean that they are very simple but at the same time very effective when they need to be.

The back cover of the DVD album has an image of Maxi Jazz hugging Sister Bliss; a fellow member of the band Faithless. Maxi Jazz has the word Bliss tattooed on his back which alerts the target audience that the woman in the image is called Bliss. The image used on the back cover of the album is very simple which relates back to the front cover as that is also very simple but very effective. The background colour and the image used gives off a very calm atmosphere and impression.

The layout of the song text is located on the right hand side of the back cover, which fills in the gap next to Maxi Jazz’s face. The text is in perfect line with Maxi’s head which gives of a very effective design.

The design for both the front and back cover of the Forever Faithless – the Greatest Hits album, doesn’t really tie in with the usual artwork for a dance music band. The stereotypical design for a dance music related band would usually be bright colours, arty design and more a less stands out really well. But this design, even though it stands out really well, it has a very simple but at the same time a very effective design which represents Faithless as they aren’t any usual dance music band, they are a ‘one of’ dance music band.
The layout of the barcode, relevant information concerning the album and any necessary logo’s, is a very simple design which again tie’s in with the whole design for the album. The plain black background colour tie’s in with the plain black background cover of the front cover which makes the whole design of the album look really effective.

DVD Cover Annotations
Michael Jackson
Video Greatest Hits
History

The front cover of the Michael Jackson – Video Greatest Hits DVD album straight away catches my eye because of the simple looking but at the same time very complex design. The white coloured background gives of the impression of the cover looking very simple but in fact the design is very complex, with the use of the logo behind the title of the album, the red and orange coloured image of Michael Jackson, the DVD logo tucked in at the bottom of the cover, and the Michael Jackson signature in scripted on the left hand side of the cover. All of these details may look very simple above the white coloured background but they are very complex details which make the front cover design look really effective. The use of the layout of the red and orange coloured image of Michael Jackson gives of the impression of looks good on the eye, due to the image being located right on the bottom of the cover. This minor detail makes it look like Michael Jackson is dancing on the cover which again makes the cover look really effective.

The middle parting section of the album cover tie’s in really well with the front cover design. This is because it involves some of the same features which give extra detail to the album cover. The middle parting section has the same logo as the front cover, the same styled text as the front cover, the same DVD logo at the bottom of the cover, and the signature of Michael Jackson crosses onto the middle parting section which makes the cover look even more effective than it already does by adding a little extra detail.

The back cover of the Michael Jackson DVD album stands out really well the same as the front cover. This is because of the white coloured background which makes the cover look quite plain but it has a really complex and effective design including: two faded images of Michael Jackson dancing, an image of a pair of eyes at the top of the cover, four paragraphs of text which all have different boldness and fonts to make the cover stand out even more and make it unique, and the barcode is in a different place to where it usually is on a DVD album which gives the cover an extra piece of detail.

DVD Cover Annotations
The Prodigy
Their Law
The Singles 1990 – 2005

The Prodigy – Their Law DVD album front cover straight away catches my eye due to the gyanourmous ‘Prodigy’ album logo in the middle of the front cover. The actual logo on the cover looks like a police badge which could state that it’s the Prodigy’s law to listen to their music i.e. their law (the name of the album). In the middle of the badge logo is an image of a spider or a scorpion which is on all of ‘The Prodigy’s’ merchandise including CD’s, and DVD’s, due to the image being renowned to the Prodigy. The dark grey and black background on the front cover allows the badge logo in the centre of the cover to stand out even more even though all the colours on the front cover are dark colours e.g. purple, grey, black, and a shade of white (which isn’t dark). There is also a certificate 18 logo on the bottom right hand side of the cover which stands out really well due to the logo being bright red, and the rest of the colours on the front cover being dark colours. ‘The Prodigy’ are known as a gothic drum and bass band which is why the majority of the colours on the front cover being dark colours. As Prodigy are a gothic themed band their target audience are people who are interested in gothic clothes, music and drum and bass music. ‘The Prodigy’s target audience are targeted through the use of a police badge being on the front cover saying ‘Their Law’, the use of dark colours linking in with the gothic theme, and a certificate 18 logo on the bottom right hand side of the cover which makes ‘The Prodigy’ look like ‘nut case’ drum and bass band (which they are).

The design of the back cover of the DVD album looks like all of the information including track listing is written on and stuck on by tabs and celotape. The information isn’t in straight lines either which could suggest that ‘The Prodigy’s’ set their own law on how to do things e.g. the album name – Their Law. Again the dark coloured background is used on the back cover the same as the front cover, but the track listing and relevant information is brightly coloured to suggest that ‘The Prodigy’ have a brighter side than just the gothic side.

Music Video Annotations

Music Video Annotations
Chemical Brothers
Hey Boy Hey Girl



After viewing the Chemical Brothers music video for their smash hit ‘Hey boy Hey girl’ track, I think the video itself is very effective as it is very creative.

The structure of the video is very different to other music videos relating to the genre: dance music, as the only real performance based shot is when the woman is in the club and the DJ is in the background getting the crowd going on the decks. That specific shot though isn’t really counted as performance based due to the fact that it is part of the mise en scene within the shot e.g. in the nightclub. Most of the video is narrative as it is telling a sort of story e.g. girl goes on a trip with school, then brakes her arm, then years on appears in a nightclub where she sees humans as skeletons.

I personally really like this music video as it is very creative and this type of music video hasn’t been used on this type of music genre. The only really similar music video which has the same music genre is the Basement Jaxx’s track ‘Where’s your head at’, which involves monkeys with human faces jumping around; which is sort of similar to humans turning into skeletons. I think the success of the video comes from the creativity of the music video as it hasn’t been seen before with that type of music genre or any music genre in particular. The shots used to illustrate the girls story in the video shows the really creativity of the creation of the video and the storyline of the video.

‘Hey boy Hey girl’ so far is the Chemical Brothers best and most successful track to date. Even though they have produced many decent and successful tracks which have very interesting and creative music videos to go with the track, they haven’t produced one track so good as ‘Hey boy Hey girl’. Existing successful songs from the Chemical Bothers include: ‘Do it again’, ‘The salmon dance’, ‘Galvanize’, ‘Block rocking beats’, ‘Believe’, ‘Out of control’, and ‘Star guitar’. Chemical Brothers are now beginning to focus on DJ sets more instead of creating music, which is a sign of a new era. They haven’t really released a new single for a while now, and have started to do more and more DJ sets including a very famous DJ set at ‘We love Sundays’ at Space nightclub in Ibiza this past summer 2009.

The target audience of the Chemical Brothers track ‘Hey boy Hey girl’ is possibly a young age group maybe 17 years of age to 25 years of age (people who go clubbing), listen to dance music and either sex; male and female. They are targeted by the use of the creative music video which is very different so it attracts more and more attention, and by Chemical Brothers releasing a new track which will also attract more and more attention to Chemical Brothers fans.

Music Video Annotations
Eminem
Stan

After viewing the Eminem music video for his smash hit ‘Stan’ track, I think the video itself is very effective because it is very unique and the storyline of the video is very touching which makes you really understand the video when watching it.

The structure of the music video ‘Stan’ is very different to other rap and R’n’B track videos due to the fact that it has a real touching storyline which makes the lyrics of the track link in really well with the actual storyline of the video. The majority of the video is both performance and narrative based due to the fact that the storyline tells the story itself, and the performance throughout the video also tells the story really clearly.

I personally really like this music video as it is incredibly powerful in the meaning it has, and very unique as I haven’t seen such a powerful music video as ‘Stan’. This music video is probably my favourite rap and R’n’B music video due to the fact that it has a real meaning to it, when you listen to the lyrics you understand the storyline and the pain Stan is feeling during the song storyline.

‘Stan’ so far is Eminem’s best and most successful music video die to the fact that the type of video hasn’t been done before which makes ‘Stan’ very unique. Even though Eminem has produced lots of quality music tracks, none of them have a better video version than ‘Stan’. Existing brilliant Eminem songs include: ‘When the music stops’, ‘Superman’, ‘Cleaning out my closet’, ‘Loose yourself’, ‘White America’, ‘Square dance’, and Eminem’s most famous song ‘Real Slim Shady’. Eminem has been producing very creative rap songs since 1998 with six independent albums under his belt; The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show, Encore, Musical Hiatus, and Relapse and Relapse 2. These facts show that Eminem is a dark horse of the music industry; he has a dodgy background which makes him himself but he still bring out quality songs which doesn’t stop him from being a brilliant music producer.

The target audience of the Eminem track ‘Stan’ is possibly an age group ranging from fourteen years of age to twenty five years of age, listen to rap music, people who listen to rap music, and either sex; male and female. The target audience is targeted by the use of the creative and unusual music video which is very different so it attracts a lot of attention, and Eminem is a worldwide rap artist so that will also attract a lot of global attention.

Music Video Annotations
Faithless
We Come One



After viewing the Faithless music video for their smash hit ‘We come one’ track, I think the video itself is very effective as it is such a creative video which links in with the track itself being such a creative music track.

The structure of this music video is very stereotypical as it has a lot of performance based features init such as Maxi Jazz singing throughout the track, but the storyline of there being riots but in the end we come one; is very different and hasn’t been used in any music genre music videos.

I personally really like this music video due to the fact of the camera angels and shots used and the use of the creativity throughout the video e.g. mise en scene and storyline. I think the success of the music video comes down to Faithless being such a big band so they need a really brilliant video to go with their brilliant music, and to set a stepping stone for up and coming dance music artists. This is because Faithless are the heart and sole of Dance music; they were there when it all began so it is important for Faithless to bring out incredible tracks with incredible videos e.g. ‘We come one’. I also think that the success of the video comes down to the camera shots used e.g. the over the shoulder shot used to show Maxi Jazz singing the words at the start of the video, which then goes into a close up of him singing really gives a feel to the song.

‘We come one’ so far is Faithless best and most successful music video to date as it is such a famous music video with the use of the police riot van falling over. Even though Faithless have produced so many successful and amazing tracks, ‘We come one’ has the best video due to the fact that the rest of the videos aren’t that good. Existing successful Faithless songs include: ‘God is a DJ’, ‘Mass destruction’, ‘I want more’, ‘Tarantula’, ‘One step too far’, ‘Music matters’, and Faithless’s most famous song ‘Insomia’. The last song Faithless produced was the successful ‘Music matters’ track which was produced back in 2006, but since then haven’t produced any other tracks. The future for Faithless doesn’t really look very promising as various band members are doing their own thing including; Sister Bliss who is starting to do DJ sets, Maxi Jazz who has begun a new project with fellow Faithless member Jamie Catto, and Rollo who has set up his own music record label.

The target audience of the Faithless track ‘We come one’ is possibly a young age group maybe 16 years of age to 24 years of age (people who go clubbing), listen to dance music, listen to electronica music, and either sex; male and female. They are targeted by the use of the creative music video which is very different in ways; with the use of the camera angles and shots used, the mise en scene, and the storyline behind the single. They are also targeted by the use of attention Faithless will receive when bringing out new tracks, because it is such a big band that when something new happens, they attract a lot of attention.

Music Video Annotations
Michael Jackson
The way you make me feel




After viewing the Michael Jackson music video for his award winning smash hit ‘The way you make me feel’ track, I think the video itself is very effective as Michael himself was a very creative and talented singer and performer.

The structure of the music video for ‘The way you make me feel’ is in-between both narrative and performance based because even though the video has a huge storyline of the way it makes Michael feel, it also includes a lot of Michael Jackson performing both as a singer and a dancer.

I personally really like this music video due to the fact of the mise en scene being a really old ghetto area of America which gives a really good feeling to the video and adds that little but extra. I’m a fan of Michael Jackson so I listen to all of the lyrics to his songs and get the best out of them, understanding them and most of all appreciating them; because he is no longer here we have to appreciate the musical genesis he was and the music he produced as a singer. I think the success of the video came from the background of Michael Jackson himself because he will attract a huge crowd which ever song he produces and sings.

‘The way you make me feel’ is one of the most famous tracks from the self proclaimed ‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson who has produced seventeen number one singles, thirteen Grammy awards, and estimated sales of 350 million – 750 million records worldwide. Michael Jackson has produced an unbelievable amount of hits over the years including: ‘Man in the mirror’, ‘Black or white’, ‘Smooth criminal’, ‘Thriller’, ‘Bad’, ‘ABC’, and Michael Jackson’s most famous song of all time: ‘Billy Jean’. Michael Jackson died on 25.06.2009 but was due to perform a worldwide return tour including performing at Wembley.

The target audience of Michael Jackson’s track ‘The way you make me feel’ is most likely an age group ranging from 16 years of age to 60 years of age, this is die to Michael being around for so many years producing great tracks. The target audience will also be people who listen to 70’s, 80’s and 90’s pop music, and either sex; male and female. The target audience is targeted by the use of the creative music video which will gain lots of attention, and Michael Jackson being out a new track which will gain loads of attention due to him being a global musical icon.

Music Video Annotations
The Prodigy
Voodoo People




After viewing The Prodigy’s music video for their smash hit ‘Voodoo people’ track, I think the video itself is very effective as it is unbelievably unique as it hasn’t been done before.

The structure of the music video for ‘Voodoo people’ is very different compare to other dance music videos and drum and bass videos as they are mostly focused on performance, but this video has no performance included in it what so ever. This means that it is usual but very unique just like the bands are; as they are such a unique band. The storyline of the video doesn’t really exist because it is completely focused on about fifteen people running from one side of the city to another which may link in with the title of the song; Voodoo people.

I personally think that this music video is unbelievable and is probably my favourite music video of all times even coming before Fatboy Slim – ‘Push the tempo’. Even though it is a very simple design of a music video as it doesn’t include any special effects, it is extremely effective as it hasn’t been seen before on a music video which makes it very unique and special as it is the first music video of its kind. I think the success of the video comes down to the creativity of the storyline as The Prodigy are known as a very crazy drum and bass band which sort of links in with the design of the video as it is also very crazy and out of this world, which means that it is very unique just like the band itself.

‘Voodoo people’ so far isn’t The Prodigy’s most famous music track or music video by any means but is one of the best music videos around due to the fact that even though it has no special effects and it is a very simple idea; it is such a effective and creative music video. Over the past 19 years The Prodigy have been around they have produced amazing and immense tracks such as: ‘Breathe’, ‘Smack my bitch up’, ‘No good’, ‘ Out of space’, ‘Everybody in the place’, and The Prodigy’s most famous track ‘Firestarter’. Everyone thought that after all of these amazing tracks The Prodigy were done with creating music but they came back with a brilliant album called ‘Invaders must die’ which had a world tour brought out for it which was sold out at every arena The Prodigy performed in.

The target audience of The Prodigy’s track ‘Voodoo people’ is possibly an age group ranging from 16 years of age to people in their early 40’s. It is such a wide age range due to the fact that The Prodigy have been around for so many years producing great tracks which everyone loves. The target audience may also include people who listen to electonica, people who listen to drum and bass, and either sex; male and female. The target audience is targeted through the use of the creative music video which is very different so it attracts more and more attention, and by The Prodigy releasing a new track which will also attract a lot of attention to The Prodigy’s fans and music fans in general as The Prodigy are such a global band.

Music Video Annotations

Chase & Status featuring Plan B

End Credits

After viewing Chase & Status’s music video for their most well known track ‘End credits’, I think the video itself is extremely effective and exciting because it includes great shots and has a really good storyline.

The structure of the music video for ‘End credits’ is very different to other music videos which I have annotated before because the song is featured within a film called; Harry Brown. This is why the video involves a high amount of footage from the film. The music video itself doesn’t involve any real performance apart from the singer Plan B singing the song; this is because Chase & Status are DJ’s so they can’t really carry out any performance shots. As the music video doesn’t involve any performance apart from Plan B singing; this shows that the video involves a high amount of narrative which is from the film, Harry Brown. The storyline within the music video is based on the storyline within the film, Harry Brown; this is because the video consists only footage from the film. Plan B who has collaborated with Chase & Status in order to create the track, is also the main character within the film, Harry Brown. Every shot which Plan B consists of within the music video is located on the same film set as the film, Harry Brown. This effect shows the creativity of the video as nearly all of the shots which are from the film include Plan B singing within the shot e.g. there is a shot from within a pedestrian subway which includes footage from the film, the shot includes the main character who is also Plan B kissing a girl but then Plan B is singing in the background; this means that there is two of the same person but in different clothing in the same shot which shows how creative this music video is. This effect gives the impression that Plan B is actually singing in the video even though the main character within the film is also Plan B.

Straight from the start of the music video there is a great shot which is used. This shot consists of Plan B falling from the sky into the middle of a road in slow motion. The slow motion is then combined with an extreme close up of Plan B’s head to show the impact of Plan B hitting the floor. The start of the song is rather slow which means that the slowness of the song fits really well with the slow motion of the first shot within the video. The start of the video links in really well with the end of the as at the end of the video, Plan B’s body is floating in mid air then Chase & Status run around the corner and find Plan B on the floor. So at the start of the video Plan B is hitting the floor in slow motion then at the end of the video Plan B is in mid air then on the floor.

I personally really like this Chase & Status music video because the effect of the actual footage from the film Harry Brown, being used within the music video even with the main singer singing in the background and always within the shot makes the music video look unbelievably effective. Even though the music video has a really simple design because it features an extremely high amount of footage from a really famous film, the singer who is Plan B is also the main character within the film which gives the video a really creative design to it. I think the success of this music video is mainly down to the singer within the song being the main character within the film which gives the music video a real creative effect to it. From the knowledge which I have, this has never occurred before within a music video which is why even though the video is simple, it is also unique and stands out really well.

‘End credits’ so far is Chase & Status’s most famous track because the music video itself is incredibly effective, the linking in with the film ‘Harry Brown’ gains a lot of popularity, and the band duo are currently at their best because they are gaining spots within the UK music charts. Over the past seven years Chase & Status have been producing great and exciting tracks such as ‘Wise up’, ‘Disco’, ‘Druids’, and of course ‘End credits’. In 2008 Chase & Status produced an amazing album called ‘More than alot’ which achieved the best drum and bass album award held in Birmingham. When Chase & Status produced their most well known track; ‘End credits’, they achieved ninth spot within the UK top40 which is a massive popularity boost and promotion of the band duo.

The target audience of Chase & Status’s track ‘End Credits’ is possibly an age group ranging from 15 years of age to people in their late twenty’s. The target age range is so large because the band duo; Chase & Status, have been around since 2002 creating great drum and bass tracks which everyone loves. The target audience may also include people who listen to electronic such as Rusko, people who listen to drum and bass such as The Prodigy, and either sex; male or female. The target audience is targeted through the use of the creativity of the music video, because the video itself is very eye catching and effective. As Chase & Status are a very popular drum and bass band, every time they release a new track they gain an awful lot of attention from drum and bass fans because they are incredibly well known within the underground drum and bass scenery.