Album plan

Ideas for album cover    

live at leeds - The who 1970

As the cover is blank I could interpret it in any way and create creative fantastic images. There are many locations in Leeds which I could take my photographs in, such as the trinity center or the road that is located between the shops. For this photo-shoot I may use a person to add an interest and a link for the viewers. I may even use indoor locations to add a different lighting effect and showcase the inside of the trinity which is a popular location in Leeds. I plan to take to different type of photographs , one where the camera is pointed over the shoulder of my model and a couple where the person is in the centre and leeds is surrounding the person. I will defer between formats I use to achieve appealing images, the setting on my camera will be manual as this will allow me to fully control the image and the outcome. If I use a person in my images I don’t want the person to be the main focus, as I also want the surroundings to be what the viewers focus on as I want people to connect the person to the location. For this shoot I would like to create an establishing shot to advertise Leeds and create the illusion of a band touring and picking to play at leeds. I am not going to be trying to create a concert setting as I know it would be hard for me to do so I hopefully will create a kind of music video setting.  The original is not that effective as its very simple which means it's not eye catching  which is why I believe my interpretation will improve upon the original.This cover does not include any art or images which is why it doesn't represent the decade it's from, which is why when I create my own I will incorporate anything I can think of that comes from the decade of the 70’s.   

Take a photograph - Margo 1960

Again this is a simple and vague title and album cover, which allows me more creative freedom and the ability to create visually inspiring images. As there is no place mentioned in the title I again have more options, for this cover I may do all my other shoots and then at the end pick one of my photographs that I find appealing and use it for this cover. However I plan to do a separate photo-shoot so that I don’t have two similar covers. When on location for my other photo-shoots I will keep my eye open for anything that catches my eye and stands out to me. While photographing I will make sure to think of the end product which will be a 12 x 12 square and to make sure my images are successful I will make sure to capture and frame the photo in the best way I can. Using a manual focus will allow me to decide what's in focus and what's not, this will help me achieve what I think is a successful image. For this cover I will use bright and appealing colours that would attract viewers and make my cover prominent. Most album covers include a person(this is mainly the artist) and for this cover I will do the same to add human interest and continue the what most album covers do to be appealing and successfully.  I believe this album does slightly represent the decade as shown with the haircut on the person on the cover, there is nothing else on the cover that could showcase the style of the decade. This is an effective cover as it can make people think of the story behind the image and make people want to listen to the album. I think this photo was taken from the outside looking into the inside of a building, so to me it looks like a location shot. The lighting looks like natural day lighting and not artificial.

A hard day's night - the Beatles 1960

My plan for this album is to use sort of the same idea but use more than four people and place the people in different locations.  In my photos I will include lots of color and diversity to make each of my photos unique. I plan to include the pose used in the center on the top row as to create a link to the original album cover. Making two versions of this will allow me to see if either just showing the face is successful or showing the shoulders as well as the face makes the cover more successful.  As the original seems to have only two main colours showing I will include many different vibrant colours to attract the attention of the viewer. I plan to use the same number of people pictures used for this album, this will make people connect my work with the original piece. I want my album cover to have diversity and interesting images that make my final product more effective. Including diversity will also add a dash of modernisation which still keeps the theme of the decade but puts it in the today world. When photographing the people I will make sure to frame each person so that they fit into the square I will crop to place them on the cover.

Rolling stones - between the buttons 1960

This cover features a picture of the band which is why I could interpret it any way I wanted.  My idea is to either take a photograph between the buttons on someone's shirt and then take another photo to place in the centre to attract viewers. I could also take a photograph of an area between two objects and do the same same thing. I may use the same color scheme as on the original cover as to keep with the theme, however i may use a couple of vibrant colours to make my cover more interesting. As I don’t want to recreate the same cover as before I will not include people's faces or at least not close ups. I prefer the two objects idea as it will be easy to create and be more creative with. I may place something that is not meant to be there and I may place something that was originally there. Using the format landscape will allow me to showcase more of the area.  I will also use interesting objects in my photos to make the photos stand out. Most importantly I will make the image successful by making an appealing image for the cover I want to create. Again this was another photograph I believe to be taken outside and not in a studio, as most of the people are prominent in the cover I can not be certain of the type of location they are in, however I do believe it's some type of woods or forest type place. The two things that I think represent the decade are the clothes and the filter placed on the photo , which gives it a 60’s vibe. Even though the cover has a filter which some viewers may not like to me I thinks it’s still effective in many ways and would be attractive to viewers.  

Pink floyd - the dark side of the moon 1970

I may either pick a track from this album and interpret that, or either use what's on the cover and do it by using people to represent the lines coming out of the triangle in the centre. I may even use graffiti to create this effect as this would be easier to photograph and help people connect to the original cover.  I would be able to use people however it would require. As on the original cover a rainbow is shown I will hopefully include many of these colours to attract viewers. I will use the portrait format to be able to frame the objects in a square to fit for my album cover. When photographing I will make sure to get inspiration from the decade by placing the people I use in clothes that represent the decade, I will do this with every shoot.  Another idea I have is to use an object and create a shadow on one side and capture this in the image , creating the sense of a dark side. This will have to be round so that people associate this object with the moon. For this photo-shoot I would use natural light and the location somewhere in Leeds or Bradford, I will maybe pick a place where I could place the object against an interesting background. The simplicity of this cover makes it more effective and better at being eye catching. This cover has also become a very popular and easy to recognise image which makes the effectiveness increase.  I believe this image conforms to the abstract art as it includes a simple shape with other colours and shape included which people can interpret in their own way.  Along with the who’s cover this is very simple and doesn't showcase anything from the decade which the album comes from.  

Blondie - Striped lines 1980

This is a simple shot of the band against a striped background, this creates a link to the title, this is something I plan to do when I create my own interpretation.  However I will not use a group of people to create a generic band photo, I will maybe use one or two people for my cover and dress them in estrentic clothes to stand out against the background. The clothes I will pick out will be inspired by the decade and this will make people , when they look at the cover , to think of the original cover and the decade it's from. I may not use a striped background as to differ away from the original cover as to make my completely different album cover. Landscape would be the best format to use and when I’m photographing I will frame the the image perfectly, so that when I crop the image into a square the most attractive objects are in the square. When editing the photo I will adjust contrast and change the colour levels to improve the photograph. I will do this to all of the images I edit. Each aspect of this cover represents the decade of the 80’s , starting from the clothes to the background. Clearly this is a studio taken image which I believe was the reason they have the 80’s vibe.  There are ways to improve this cover to make it more effective , which is what I will apply to my work. The way this image showcases the band is very effective as they are the main focus for the audience to look at.

Make it big - Wham 1980

For this album I could either photograph something massive such as a tree, or something small like a penny and then place the penny on a piece of paper , drawing illustrations to make the penny seem big. Another Idea I have is to either photograph someone  in a bed or photograph someone leaving a house.  These ideas are simple and easy to create which is why I could experiment with both ideas. both of these ideas would be taken inside and I have access to the items that I require for the photo shoots which allows me to take the right time to get the perfect shot. With the penny idea I could write the band's name on the paper which would mean I wouldn't have to apply the text in Photoshop. If I were to use the drawing idea I would add as much color as I could to make the cover more attractive and prominent. The cover only includes the band members which does successfully advertise the band which some people would think was effective , I believe this cover has some aspects that make it an effective cover however there are ways to improve it. Looking at the image it seems to be a studio created image as I can see the background is pure white and there is no element, to suggest this photo was taken outside. In all the album covers that successfully represent the decades seem to have things in common, these things are the clothes and hair , which is shown in this cover by the two people featured.  

Band on the run - Wings 1970

Using people I could have two people dressed as cops and two people holding instruments like they are weapons. This could allow me to achive a couple of different photos, such as one where one cop is chasing the band member. The photographer was Clive Arrow smith who shot and was taken in london. The original is very effective as it tells a story and is great at advertising the band, which makes the album eye catching. This photograph was created on location in a London park but I believe the lighting was created with studio lights set up around the subjects. As the people are in simple black outfits this doesn’t represent the decade and the setting has any other aspects.