Ancillary researchAmirah Yasar – A2 Media

Digi pak Dimensions

I plan to create my digi pak following this template which takes up 5 images and a slot for the CD. Creating a digi pak will help me in increasing sales and marketing value as it will entertain the audience.

Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid M.a.a.d City

Good kid M.a.a.d city is Kendrick Lamar's second studio album. It is based on Kendrick's story on how he made it out of his city Compton, which is considered to be one of the most dangerous cities on earth due to its crime. Kendrick narrates his childhood life and experiences sue to escaping the “maad” city. Hence the title of the album – Kendrick was the innocent and golden child as he tried his best to stay away from crime even though it was all around him. There are two covers to the album. The standard edition (top) and the deluxe edition (bottom). The standard edition comes from an old family photograph of Kendrick when he was a baby – along with his two uncles on the left and his grandfather on the right. Kendrick has used this because both of his uncles have died in shootings. He also looked up to his grandfather for advice on growing up around violence. The deluxe version is an image of Kendrick's mothers van which is in front of his house in Compton. Kendrick used to secretly take out his mothers van to go see his friends or just to get out the house. On both of the covers a same torn polaroid effect is used, This is to create the vibe of an old image. This links back to the narrative of the album which is Kendrick's upbringing and past.

All of the photos included in this digi pak for Kendrick Lamar give off a similar vintage or ‘old skool’ effect because of the polaroid shots which have been edited to look ripped and old. This could show the audience that he has kept memories of his childhood (which is what most of his album is about)

The images are polaroid style and are layed out to look like they are in a old family photo album. Kendrick has included personal photographs of him and his family in his younger days to show that this album is very personal to him. The images consist of events such as his birthday, his parents, his fathers old car (which he mentions in one of his songs), and his friends (which he also talks about the death of in his songs). Most of the images link to the album narrative which is about growing up in the city of Compton which consists of danger and voice. Kendrick was seen to be the good kid who was never involved I gang violence and this has been demonstrated through his selection of images.

On separate pages, Kendrick has included more polaroid's of his childhood. There is one of his parents who look quite young at the time and one of Kendrick who looks like he is at the age of one or two with his mother. Putting these images on separate pages and more enlarged could show that these moments were important to him or it could show that his parents mean a lot to him and have really helped him get to where he needs to be and not be involved in gang violence.

Nas - Illmatic

Illmatic is the very first album released by the rapper “Nasir Jones” or known as Nas. Nas has released the album when he was 20 years of age and still today people consider it t be one of the greatest albums ever made. The album cover features Nas when he was a toddler around the ages of 5 years. The main fosuc is on young Nas but the image has been dimmed down slightly so we can see the background. The background is the area where Nas grew up in, Queens Bridge, New York. Throughout this album, Nas talks passionately his experiences growing up in the area of Queens Bridge, the environment and the culture to show he really appreciates and loves where he comes from. He also had help from producers that live in the same area as him to help with the making of the album. This adds more a the New York flavor into the albums creation From the typography and resolution on the cover, we can tell that it is quite old yet still a classic.

There are only two or three images included on the digi pak of this album because the layout is like a booklet style that you can unfold. The inside of the digi pak consist of black and white/ sepia effect images which gives off an ‘old skool’ effect. The first image consists of Nas and possible his friends or the people he grew up with. This gives the audience more to look and learn from as they can see photographs of the characters mentioned in his songs. They all look like they are “ride and die” type which shows that they have all stuck together since childhood days. In the background of the group we can see the area Queens Bridge which is where Nas and his friends grew and and experienced things together. In the second image there is Nas standing in the more ghetto area of queens bridge as we can tell from the background. A sepia effect has been added to the photo to show the audience that the area may still be like this to this day.

This image continues from the previous one. As mentioned before, the digi pak is a booklet type so there are only 2 or 3 images included. As you open the or digi pak you can see the other images appearing. On the left we can see half a bicycle to along with credits for the album. As you unfold this, at the bottom we can see that there is an image of two police officers next to the image of Nas and his friends. This could show a stereotype that young black males tend to get into trouble and are involved around danger a lot so police need to be around them to keep an eye on them. The images are in black and white to show the album is quite old yet classic as the black and white effect can make images look very clean.

Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly

“To pimp a butterfly” is Kendrick Lamar's second studio album. The album is mainly focused on racism and slavery. The word ‘pimp’ in the title is an extended metaphor describing how successful black artists are “pimped” by the entertainment industry. Kendrick illustrates and contrast the lowest and highest levels of society, providing a feeling of empowerment. Furthermore, the sentiment illustrates Kendrick’s personal growth from being in the hood, to the present day as a major voice in hip hop. The album cover features black African American characters standing outside the white house. The previous president who seems to be George bush looks as if he is laying dead on the floor as his eyes have been crossed out. Some of the characters that are mentioned in the album have been featured on the cover too such as Kunta Kinte (right side) and Malcolm X at the far back. By looking at the cover, we can already tell what the narrative of this album will be based on. The album cover is in black and white to emphasis and contrast the meaning of this album.

Because this album is mainly about black empowerment, Kendrick has made the blacks look more superior as they are always portrayed as negative in the media.

The first image that comes in the digi pak is of one of the characters mentioned in Kendrick's first song to the album “Wesley's theory”. George bush is seen laying dead on the floor whilst everyone surrounding him seems to be celebrating. This could show a sign of freedom. The character who plays the role in “Wesley's Theory” is on the floor next to him pointing and laughing along with a little boy next to him who has his fingers up but they have been blurred out as they look pixilated to make it look obvious to the audience that they have been censored. This is a close up of what is going on in the crowd of the album cover. The image is black and white to contrast between black people and white. The image goes across on a double page so that the

audience can have a better view on what is going on

On the next two pages of the digi pak, Kendrick is featured in both of the images. They are both in black and white to match the theme of the album. Similar to his last album “good kid, m.a.a.d city”, Kendrick has created sort of a polaroid effect but more clean and crisp. This could show that all of his albums have a similar narrative and he is trying to get a similar message across through his music and image. The first image consists of Kendrick and a few characters from the album cover including Kunta Kinte who was a African slave. The rest of the young African males could also be slaves. The props they are holding consist of dollar notes and a bottle of liquor which is what Kendrick is holding. The dollar notes represent freedom and wealth as African American slaves had no money but now Kendrick is showing empowerment. The second image consists of just Kendrick surrounded by dollar notes scattered across the floor. This could be portraying the same message as the previous image about black empowerment

Magazine Adverts

In the next few slides I have selected magazine adverts that consist of conventions that I might consider using when it comes to creating my magazine advert. This includes features such as text, font, positioning of elements, images and colors.

Kanye west - Yeezus

“Yeezus” is the sixth studio album released by rapper Kanye west. The magazine advert poster consists of large and bold text with the image of the album cover in the center. The top consists of the album title and artists name. The bottom has the release date and whether to purchase or pre order. The name of the album and release date are the largest pieces of text on the cover. These must be the most important things on the magazine poster as they stand out more to the viewer. The simplicity of this poster is what stood out to me the most as a minimal color pallet was used and it does not go over the top. The font and image both compliment each other

Jay Z – The Blueprint 3

The Blueprint 3 is the eleventh studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released September 8, 2009, on Roc Nation, through distribution from Atlantic Records. This is a magazine poster by the rapper Jay-Z. The layout is simple yet effective. He has gone with a 3 pallet color scheme which is red, white and black. In the middle of the poster he has added 3 rectangles that are red which could be possibly part of the album cover. This draws the audiences attention to the center of the page and then the focus is placed around the main abstract image. The text compliments the main image as Jay Z has used his logo on the poster and similar fonts to make the poster as a whole look complete. The release date is at the bottom of the poster along with singles that have already been released so that the audience knows what is to be expected in the album as they have had a taste of it by hearing the singles beforehand.

Rihanna – Rated R

Rated R is the fourth studio album by singer Rihanna. It was released on November 20, 2009 by Def Jam Recordings. Just like the previous cover of Jay-Z’s poster, Rihanna has used a minimal color pallet for her poster. It features a photo of her album cover along with her logo on the right hand side of the page. Towards the bottom of the poster where the typography is place it mentions that it is Rihanna’s new album and below this in red it has the names of the singles that have already dropped and are going to be featured on this album. The image and typography both compliment each other which is what makes this poster stand out along with the contrasts made in the editing of the main image.