Research of CD covers, 'Ministry of sound', 'The annual 2008'

'Ministry of sound' is a very well known label for dance music. This means that the font hasn't been made to stand out like it conventionly would on other dance CD covers as the logo is easily regognisable to those interested in the genre. This could be a profitable aspect for the label as audiences will trust what contents will be on the album or it could be unprofitable as new customers aren't drawn in by the title.

The images of the three young, attractive girls works well as this could appeal to men and women. The idea that the girls are all dancing, smiling and enjoying themselves could allow women to believe that this is what they could feel when they listen to the music and could also allow them to believe they are youthful for listening to it. It could attract men as they could be drawn to the CD because they are interested in looking at the attractive girls.
The colours used on the

Research of CD covers, 'Love to club'

The font used on this CD cover, like the others I have analysed is also square. The font is bold which allows it to stand out to it's target audience. The use of a square font makes it fit in with the typical conventions of a dance CD cover. It looks exciting and sends a loud message which is what dance music attempts to convey and makes the audience feel lively and ready to listen to upbeat, exciting music.
The colours used are very bright and, like the font, they send a lively feel to the CD and provoke a happy and lively audience that show an interest in the genre. The CD may appeal more to women as a lot of pink and purple is used which are stereotypically thought of to be 'girly' or feminine.
The lighting used connotes a night club atmosphere as they are coming from different angles like the lights used in a night club coming from disco lights. This links in with the genre and makes the audience more aware of the genre.
The title of the album also makes the audience aware of the genre as clubbing music can be categorised as dance music, which audiences who like the genre will be aware of.
The image of the heart-shaped disco ball links in well with the title as the heart connotes love and the idea of it being a disco ball connotes dance. This will stand out to the audience and be recognised for what it stands for as it is a clear connotation.
The format of the cover is used well as the title and the image are in placed in the middle which means they'll stand out to its target market and grasp more interest.

Research of CD covers, 'Cascada', 'Evacuate the dance floor'

The font used for the title of the artist on this album cover is large, square and thin. The square-like style of the font is a typical convention used on dance album covers. It allows the audience to recognise the genre and because it is large it stands out and creates an exciting tone, which links in the type of music. The thinness of the font gives it a more feminine feel, where as male artists who sing dance music tend to use a bolder font. This could suggest that the artist is appealing more to a female audience.
The use of colour in the background is a purple/pink. This colour is portrayed as a feminine colour which could also suggest the album is aimed more at women. The colour isn't that bright or lively which challenges the typical convention used on a lot of other dance CD covers, the colours used give off a more relaxed, feminine approach to the album.
The artist takes up most of the cover which allows audience to recognise the album as they are familiar with the artists face. A close up of her has been used to not only make her stand out but to exaggerate her facial expression. She looks as though she is screaming with excitement. This facial expression links in with the exciting, upbeat feel to dance music and allows the audience to get a feel of what the music on the CD will be like.
The lighting has been used effectively and also exaggerates the artists facial expression. A key light has been placed directly in front her, she has raised her hand as if she is blocking it as it is so bright.

Research of CD covers, 'Bass Hunter', 'Now your gone'

This CD cover gives off the feel off a dance genre. It uses conventions that are seen in many other CD covers.
For example, it uses a square, bold font. This font could be described as loud and exciting which can also be applied to dance music so people are quick to recognise it when they see it. By using the colour white the title of the artist stands out a lot to the dark background and is notifiable to the audience.
The title of the album is in a smaller font, this allows the audience to see the album and pay more attention to it by looking at the artists name as they are more likely to be familiar with the artist than the title of the album.
The colour scheme is very eye catching and the use of green and black is a good scheme to choose as these colours are used in many dance music videos and CD covers. They stand out as bright colours which links in with the whole lively theme of dance music. There are circle patterns in the colours, this makes it appear as if they are colours coming from disco lights which connotes dancing (which links in with the dance genre).
About 80% of the CD cover is taken by an image of the artist. This, much like the title, allows the audience to become familiar to the album cover and pay more attention to it. The artist is placed facing straight forward in a close up shot. He has no expression in his face and seems to be looking quite serious, considering all the other conventions used and what they connote, this challenges the conventions of the genre. Instead of the artist looking lively, a more serious approach intrigues the audience as they don't know what to expect.
The use of lighting coming from different directions with colour connotes a night club atmosphere which connotes the genre. The lighting hits of the artists jacket but not his face, this adds to the lack of emotion in the artist.
The format of the album is very simple although if audiences were to look at it they would more than likely be able to tell it was a dance album as it meets some of the key conventions used in aspects of the genre.

Research of Music Videos

Music videos for the dance genre all share a lot of the same conventions. They are very typically made under the genre and its very easy for audiences to tell if they're watching a music video for a dance/clubbing song. The videos I analysed were Eric Prydz-Call on me, Fedde Le Grande-Put you're hands up for Detroit, Usher-OMG, Joey Negro-Make a move on me and Sash-Raindrops.

One of the main aspects noticed when watching the music videos is the use of females. There are a lot of very attractive women dressed in barely anything. In every video the women don't necessarily have leading parts in the videos they are just seen most the time and are always seen dancing. This could suggest that the genre is more aimed at males, although one could argue that the women in the videos tend to dominate the men therefore the genre could also appeal to women.
A lot of dance music is played in gyms and other places of fitness. The genre is seen to motivate people when in he situation of doing exercise. This is shown in the video for 'call on me'. The video is about a group of attractive girls who go in to a gym for a work out in their gym clothes (that are sexually appealing) and they're joined by an unattractive male who is taken back by the girls and can't stop staring at them. This idea for a video is clever as it is almost a connotation of the genre.

Research of CD covers.

I have done five different anaylsis bullet pointing the key coventions used. Each show similar conventions and they all seem to fit the typical ideas of what a CD cover under the chosen genre should look like.
The CDs I analysed were 'Basshunter'-'Now You're Gone', 'Cascada'-'Evacuate the Dancefloor', 'Love2Club', 'Ministry of Sound'-'Electro House Sessions' and finally 'Ministy of Sound'-'The Annual 2008'.
All the fonts used on the CD covers are bold and have an almost 'techno' feel to them. This re-enforces the CDs genre as this type of techno, square font used is what people regognise and would most likely link to the genre.
Another convention the CD covers share is the use of bright colours. This is also a way audiences can regognise the genre as it is something used not only on many CD covers but on advertisements made for dance music and in dance music videos. This could be seen as a way of bringing the genre to life. The use of bright colours could possibly make the audience feel happy and lively, which could create a mood in which they would want to listen to the music and follow what the genre means.
Artists such as Basshunter and Cascada who specify in dance music have slightly different CD covers. As they are the only artists featuring on the CD they have more of a role on the CD cover. The artists both take up more than 70% of the CD cover which makes them stand out more as an artist, their faces are regognised and well known so audiences will pay more attention to the CD so it has a better chance of becoming more profitable. A close up is used of their faces and they are both attractive artists which also means audiences may pay more attention to them.
The 'Love2Club' CD cover uses the most bright colours and it also uses images to connote the genre. There is a picture of a heart shaped disco ball placed behind the CD title. This is used to express the genre and grab audiences attention.
The reason being for my choices to use two different CD covers from the same label, 'Ministry of Sound', is that both covers share some of the same conventions although 'The Annual 2008' CD uses more images that are also a regognisable convention known to be part of the dance genre. The cover uses images of 3 young, attractive girls. The girls are wearing clothes that would appeal to males, which again grabs the audiences attention. The use of attractive young girls dressed perogitively is also a convetion used in the dance music industry and has become a regognisable factor when it comes to the genre.
Over all I believe my research on the 5 different covers has enabled me to gain a good and thorough understanding of what is expected to be seen on a Dance CD cover and will come in excellent use when it comes to the designing of our CD cover.

Genre

There are four people in our media group, these people are Amy Link, Joshua Brazier, Jennifer Cullotty and I. We have decided that we want to create a music video to the music under the genre of 'dance'. This means we are able to create an up-beat video which is something we would like to do. The group are all now focusing on doing lots of research about the genre. This includes researching five different CD covers, music videos and advertisements all under the chosen genre. We will also need to do research on our target audience and the different institutions such as the music industry, music channels and music magazines.

After carrying out this research we will be able to begin planning our music video to fit the correct codes and conventions of typical dance music videos, on the other hand we could challenge the codes and conventions and create something different.