PostersThis promotional item is popular with all music artists, they have strong links to

the CD covers which gives a good example of intertextuality. However, this PowerPoint focuses solely on Posters and what characteristics are unique to each

music artist despite which album they are promoting. This will give me deeper

knowledge in preparation from when I make one myself for my music video.

Eminem: The intertextuality between these Posters is clear, the typeface for ‘Eminem’ and ‘The Eminem Show’ are consistent throughout all the posters; yet they differ in colour allowing them to be unique to each poster and what connotations they aim to convey. Professional photography has been used, this allows Eminem to appear important and professional. He fits in with the rap stereotype by having tattoos, mise en scene items such as his cap and other baggy clothes. The background to some of the posters are not set designs but environments which have been used for his songs such as ‘Beautiful’ which is set in the derelict Detroit, this intertextuality reminds the target audience of music videos and CD covers also. His expression on all of the posters is serious giving the idea as though he is hiding a lot of anger and hate within him which interlinks to his lyrics which are considerably realistic speaking from personal experiences. The title Eminem is usually at the top of the poster and the ‘E’ in the name is turned around which is an irreplaceable aspect defining him more accurately as unordinary.

50 CENT: All four of these posters give a gloomy impression, this interlinks with 50 Cent’s infamous well publicised past, he takes advantage of his personal experiences and uses them to create unique lyrics and songs. But in his posters, he brings in aspects of crime and derelict areas with the background of one promotional poster being a deteriorating decayed building. Gun bullets and holding a gun to the camera facing the audience is intimating portraying that he is a strong person, this fits in with the stereotypes of rappers. His tattoos and jewellery are conventional, yet his head bands and caps which he wears are unusual yet are a unique selling point which people can recognise throughout. The set designs behind him are mainly deep dank colours, these link with his songs which he writes, also for one poster the black background emits a dark atmosphere and a level of tension around him. These accurate conventions allow people to immediately recognise that he is a rap music artist and 50 cent with his appearance and the font of his name.

Rihanna: In all of these posters, she appears feminine which is appropriate for the female target audience which she has. The middle poster, she is smiling and her body language conveys positive connotations, it gives the impression that her songs are upbeat where people can dance and feel more positive themselves. The poster on the left is a freeze shot from the song ‘Umbrella’, this is an intertextuality example between the music video and this promotional item, the use of technology allows the audience to be interested and the poster to catch attention. It is an unordinary aspect which is easily distinguishable. The font for her name is consistent throughout all her products, it is in block capital letters showing significance for her as a person. The right poster is the same design as her released album: ‘good girl done bad’. The black and white colour scheme is contemporary, her wearing a dress is stylish showing how she is fashionable, her fringe slightly over her face is mysterious much like the shadows within the poster itself creating some mystery about her.

The Pussycat Dolls: all the posters have all the band members in, the main singer is always in the middle to signify her importance to the band whilst the backing singers are either side of her. Because of their appearances which are well known and the body language they convey, it is clearly obvious that they are a music band and therefore their logo of the name is rarely seen on promotional products such as these other than their CD covers. They are well known for their dancing and therefore it shows their talent and experiences when there is a freeze shot of them in one poster which is fascinating and interesting. Their clothing always shows intertextuality between them with

the colour schemes, for example, the poster on the bottom left shows how they are all wearing black and grey clothing items yet the main singer is wearing a pink top to distinguish herself more from the others. The long shots show all their clothing, body language and the environment which is usually a studio designed place with a block background, this allows them to stand out more. Because of how each of them are individual and seen throughout all the other products, they are easily recognised.

Unlike most other music artists, the font for her name changes inconsistently throughout the promotional products, however the style is tribal and ethnic (hinting of her Columbian background) is consistent showing how she has a different voice fromthetypical English/ American style.

Shakira: The colour schemes used in all these posters are fairly dark, it allows her with her blonde hair to contrast but it differs from the stereotypes of a female singer due to the lack of technology and set designs. The mise en scene clothing which she wears is unique, mainly they are dark with metallic accessories creating a mystifying atmosphere much like the songs themselves which convey music more within the Latin America era. There are mainly medium close ups of her to allow audiences to visualise the mise en scene including her face which is becoming more famous due to newly released songs. Her name is also unique and individual which helps her to stand out more in the music industry.

Britney Spears: For her most recently released album ‘circus’, as a part of her comeback, she also released many promotional items. The main intertextuality examples revolve around the word circus and the connotations it gives, these two posters give the impression that her tours and music videos are all like a circus. The block colours are often found when advertising for circus’s because they are striking and for a younger audience.

One aspect is the stars, mainly in the colour yellow it is situated in all her promotional products, it is a simple method where the public can easily recognise her music. On one of the posters, there is an image of the album cover itself allowing people to remember it and recognise that and possibly buy it. The font used for the name Britney Spears is shocking with the red bold letters and the orange outline so it appears embossed. Britney is also photographed in a studio which has been designed to appear like somewhere a circus would be set. This gives the correct impression and atmosphere similar to when watching her music videos. Her dress is made up of silver stars, this is feminine as well as reinforcing the logo aspect of stars exaggerating the intertextuality.

Florence and the Machine: all of these posters are simply photographs enlarged to poster size, because of how eccentric they are, people do not need to read a title of the bands name. The mise en scene is the main dominating feature which allows the posters to be extremely effective with evidence of intertextuality.

Much like her other promotional products, she influences in the theme of nature with flowers and animals. Unlike most studio sets, the poster to the left is unique and peculiar as it is set in a toilet. This emits connotations of her bold, striking personality which also is clear through her appearance and music lyrics. Her appearance as analysed before in a post is not conventional, she plays with this allowing her to become more recognised and famous with her body language which again is not stereotypical. Her fashion style, which is extraordinary is depicted well in these posters especially with the block backgrounds which allows her to contrast against them and stand out. Her facial expressions are unordinary and very expressive drawing the audience in.

Kings of Leon: The Kings of Leon convey a mysterious atmosphere in all of their promotional products, especially in their music videos. The colour schemes are the main contributing factor to this as they tend to be gloomy and dark giving connotations of their lyrics and songs which are rock and roll. The poster to the left shows smoke frozen in time around the main singer, Caleb, this gives the idea of night time and fire, these are not all negative but as mentioned before, it gives a portrayal of their music style.

The right poster which is an enlargement of the CD cover is split into four for the band members, this allows people to understand that the are a band rather than a solo act. With the use of technology, they have been able to influence the animal of an owl into the photograph where the faces of the band members have emerged into the animal. This again gives a spooky impression because owls are nocturnal and come out at night, this is an intertextuality example as the title of the album is also called ‘only by the night’. This is a good idea to split the CD cover and the band members faces so they merge into one showing how they work together. This poster also is slightly blurred, this image effect is unique but could be metaphorical for how it is hard to see owls at night, much like the band members in the midst of fame.