DVD/CD Digipak Promo Cover: Textual Analysis + Research

Green Day Live 8 Berlin


The title on the cover is very typical to Green Days’ style; it’s all very dull with a sudden splash of cover, a bright red amongst the black. This makes it stand out and when placed in a rack at the shop this would be the first thing you would notice, showing that their name is just as popular as their faces. The use of red is representative to the bands music – loud! The use of rips in the text is a link to the bands rebellious side, as rips are a way of destroying things and doing something you shouldn’t do, which is what Green Day is known for.

The photographs on the front and back of the DVD are both of the band members, showing it’s all about them and the want to be recognised for the name and the face. The front cover is of the entire band standing in front of a city, but the city is made to be tiny, which in turn makes the band look taller and much more important. One of the band members have his tattoos on show, this is a link again to the rebellion of the band and shows them as much more hardcore. The red tie links them into the title and again is iconic to the band as Billy Joel is often seen with the red tie, making sure he always stands out. The clothing is very conventional to indie bands also, the smart but dark clothing is very stereotypical and would not been seen in any other genres covers. Billy Joel is seen to be pointing straight at the audience and the other members are all staring straight at them also. This draws us in and builds a personal relationship to the band. The back has a picture of Billy Joel (the main member, so a recognisable face) playing live, this not only shows it’s all about the music but also shows the band have natural talent and enjoy what they do. The back lists all of the well known songs, so that the audience have something they already knew about so they want to see what else they have to offer on the DVD. They include the live 8 symbol so that audience recognise the charity event that the boys took part in; charity events are very typical to the indie scene. But also this makes the audience have sympathy for the band as they are doing something for the community- which also represents them as ‘do-gooders’, which is a weird mix with their rebellious side. Showing that even though they are meant to break rules, they can still do well for charity.

The copyright and censorship details at the bottom of the DVD are very small, showing that they need it there but they don’t want it to take over their image, showing again they want it to be all about the band and nothing else. The spine of the DVD includes the date of the event, so you know when it took part so even if you missed it you will know when it was or when you look back on it in the future you will be able to remember the event.

Unlike some CD/DVD Digpaks, this one did not include inside covers, only the front and back, I feel this is maybe just because it was the structure of a DVD, and these rarely include anything on the inside. On the other hand it could also be for simplicity, that Greenday only wanted to include the important information and they could do this just with a front and back.



Britney Spears In The Zone Inside Covers




As the other cover I analysed did not include any inside covers, I analysed a second to show that I knew what certain conventions show on the insides of the Didgpiak. Inside Brintneys digipak there was a leaflet that comes out from the inside. It is a large poster of her with information about the bonus CD, things included in it, who produced and helped in the making of it, and also includes photographs of her other CD's.

A few of her photos are natural colours with no effects, which shows the real her, instead of the other images of her which have the blue tint, so we have an insight to her before edits. Each of her photos show the male gaze, all very sexual and barely dressed. This is her way of showing herself as grown up and away from her old "pop princess" days. In one of the pictures she has messy hair which looks like she has been in the wind or just woken up, this shows her a bit less than perfect, before all the hair and make-up steps in and makes her look "done up" this could show her as a little less interested in how she looks and also natural beauty as she doesn't need her hair to be in place to look good. The main large poster which folds out, has a mix of the innocence and sexuality. She is dressed in a long flowing white dress, which links to innocence and purity, but the dress itself is low cut and revealing which shows off her body and the way she wants to look attractive to males.

The background of all the images are very feminie and pretty, with pinks, light blues and flowers. This almost links back to her younger fans as it looks almost like a "barbie" scene. But when you look closely at the flowers, they have a tattoo look to them which links her back to her rebellion and grown up stage, show she is trying to relate to both old and new fans, and the use of blue could all so be a link to both genders of fans, boys and girls of all ages.

All the writing about the bonus CD, things included in it, who produced and helped in the making of it is all down the sides, which shows that her photos are most important and they don't want the writing to take over it, but know they need to be included to thank people who helped Britney throughout.


Meatloaf – Bat Out of Hell 2 – Back Into Hell

The image on the front of Bat out of Hell 2 promotional album and DVD Digipak has an animated image on the front, this links with a lot of Meatloaf’s work such as music videos and album artwork which are also animated. This particular version of Bat out of Hell is a still image from his most famous song Bat out of Hell’s video, which will catch the buyers eyes as we know that song will be on the album. The still is of a giant bat clinging on to the top of a grand building that looks like it is on fire, along with the other buildings in the background. There is a long haired man on a motorbike which appears to be flying at the bat, both are ready to attack eachother. The camera angle is a low angle which looks up at the action, viewing from on lookers’ point of view which makes the audience an immediate part of the scene. The tranquil blue/grey colour of the clouds contrasts with the fiery, dangerous red of the bat, buildings and fire. The clouds could be seen as a fantasy heaven with grand buildings and neutral colours, and with the title telling us ‘Bat out of Hell’ gives us the story of a bat coming out of hell and breaking loose and destroying the grand buildings and this fantasy heaven which also contrasts and can show a rebellion against religion where heaven and hell are mixed.

Another thing that represents rebellion is the man on the motorbike. Motorbikes are usually seen as rebellious and dangerous, and stereotypically are seen with a long-haired rocker on them which is what this one has and the man on the bike has long hair and is wearing tight black leathers with boots which is also a stereotype of a rocker. Yet his leathers have a blue glow from the sky could again represent heaven and hell. There is a golden angel sitting on the top of the tower, being protected by the bat, the blue glow of the biker could show purity and his good side but the fact that the underside of the bike has a glow of red from the fire shows his 'hardcore' and dangerous side.

There is an intertextual reference at the bottom which shows ‘Songs by Jim Steinman’ who is a successful American record producer, composer and lyricist. He worked with Meatloaf on Bat out of Hell and Bat out of Hell 2 Back into Hell. As this is the only piece of writing besides the artist and album name, this could be that the band wants to be associated with him and him with them, which helps each others publicity.

On the back cover the background is the blue fantasy clouds – the heaven image, which is what side they want us to be supporting. We are given a list of CD1, CD2 and DVD and the contents of each in a black font, this shows us we get a lot more extras and more for our money which is what the audience want to see when buying a product like this. At the bottom it shows in a white font the copyright, institutional information, websites, duration, language, and gives a reference to Abbey Road Interactive.

The spine simply tells us the artist and album title and institutional logos, this could represent that all they want you to know about is the music.

The inside of the Digipak for meatloaf is pretty simple, which is in complete contrast to the front which has a lot going on and has a cartoon/mythical feel to it.

The right side of the cover is a blue, and blue is known as a calming colour, which could show his music is calm or that Meatloaf himself is a calm person, as he is an older artist. The red and black font is to link the cover and the inside as they all include these, this makes a continuous flowing pattern of colour.

The left side is a photograph of him, showing he wants to establish himself by his face as this can't be seen on the front. He is posing but almost looks as though he is doing it in a funny mick-taking way, which shows even though he is famous he is still a laid back, fun man. He is dressed quite smartly in what looks like a suit, this links to his profession and could also show his wealth. He appears to be sat on stage, with rows of seats behind him which immediately audience will recognise as a theatre or place of performance, this again showing his fame and that he is able to perform easily in front of a large audience. His suit is again red and black, following the pattern set. With the chairs in the background being red also, he seems to blend in, which could show him as complete comfortable on stage, almost as though he and the stage are one. The way he is sat shows comfortability and relaxation which shows how as he has been performing for so many years that he is completely at ease. The image as a whole is quite brightly lit, which could reflect the spot light being on Meatloaf. Most things included in this inside are showing a link to fame for Meatloaf, which is kind of his way of showing off his obvious talent.

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