The devil wears prada

Album Advertisement

Images - The triangle is the logo of the band which is also used on the CD cover it has a dark texture to it with foil like paper fluttering which gives a kind of eerie tone. The white lines convey the border of the album cover, hence there is no text on the CD cover so the brand must be known very well in order to not even have the bands name on the cover.

Colour - Black and white connoting death and purity.  The white text is used so that it text stands out against the black background.

Layout the artists name  "Devil wears Prada" is at the top and centre of the add but aligned in the left column of the page. the albums name 8:18  is aligned in the centre of the advert at the top of the information about the album. the record label is in the bottom right hand corner whereas the shop "HMV" is in the left hand corner this Juxtaposition creates symmetry through the advert which is appealing to the customers eye. Additionally the fact that the tour dates are put in a centred alignment  show that they have more importance than the record label and shop but not that important because of the font.

Font The albums title creates a contrast as "the devil" is outlined and the "wears Prada" is filled in which draws in audiences and interests their attention.  There are also dates for when the band is on tour in small font conveying that it is not as important as the bands or albums name and when its coming into stores "Now".

Language The "incredible new" album is so brilliant that everyone should buy it because its so incredible. also many people like to buy the new products because its fresh and coo and because they want to be seen as innovators. It is all quite brief and to the point which is what adverts need to be in order to engage the audience long enough for them to at least notice the article. This is because even though we do not consciously read media we still take it in.

Sound - Like most music videos this uses non diegetic music as they are lip syncing the words and acting as though they are playing then when it has been in fact pre recorded. However, I am not sure if I could tell if the music was on screen or been edited on later. I think the sound wouldn't be as clear if it was live. Hence this is the reason they edit it on in post production to make the music clearer for the audience to hear. Another reason is if they are playing instruments or doing physical activity such as dance at the same time it is easier to breath without multi tasking. In this case it is because they are playing instruments but if you ask me the lip syncing does not help the clarity of the words or notes. I think this may be due to some editing on the sound as they could make the screamo lower and louder in post production.

Editing - there is a large amount of cuts in this video due to the fast pace of the music it cuts from the narrative to the band a range of times. Unfortunately I do not understand what the song is saying as the screamo is really tricky to decipher. thus I looked up the meaning of the song to get to grips with the narrative. The lyrics apparently have a number of interpretations about idol-ism, learning from our mistakes and negativity about war. Apparently the band is all about religion which is very clear from the logo. see CD cover below.

Camera The extra close up of the lips kissing the metal creates a disorientation of mystery this is reinforced by the woman's hand which is repeatedly seen. This could lead to the negative representation of women as they are not important enough to show their features bodies or whole faces. This is the basis of most religions as women cannot be priests in the Catholic religion and cannot be seen in the Muslim faith as they have to wear Hijabs which are garments where only their eyes are seen. Also the camera angles of mid shots pan across silhouettes of the band which enhances the mystery of both the CD advert and CD cover as we do not actually know what the artists look like. There are also a large amount of close ups of blood and the singer to convey the detail. Lastly when they go to the narrative instead of pan shots with the band the camera zooms in to the logo and the fruit on the floor which is rotten to the core and could be interpret as the sacrificing of children is not acceptable in society.

Mise En scene:
Costumes the male protagonist the only one in white connoting purity and thus the protagonist as they are usually the hero. Also has his or her face covered the combination of a baby and the bands name the Devil Wears Prada creates the notion that the baby is a sacrifice just like Jesus but instead of for the people for the devil. The fact that all their faces are covered reinforces this idea as it is almost as though they are in a cult or the sacrificer does not want his identity on display like a villain.

The artists body language and facial expressions are quite passionate about the music but also quite aggressive about the lyrics and how people do not learn from their mistakes about death from war. This relates to religion because I reckon most war is about religion (either that or oil) e.g. the first and second world war were about the desire to have an Aryan master race, so systematically began by killing Jews

The props of the fruit symbolise the fruit that Adam and eve at in the old testament of both the catholic faith and also the Jewish faith. The dark red fluid dripping symbolises blood when its probably just ink or a prop. There are a lot of American dollars on the floor connoting two interpretations of a  negative and positive representation for ethnicity. This is because positively it denotes wealth but negatively the camera angle is a high to low shot of the prop which could infer that they are greedy as the audience is looking down on it in shame. Moreover, another prop uses was a noose which is a weapon so connotes power thus emphasises the stereotypical dominating male. Additionally, the noose makes the tone and mood even eerier. The last shot is of ashes this could be identical to fire which relates to hell. I do not know if I am letting my imagination fly with this one but the ashes are placed exactly where the money fruit and baby were put so these could have been burnt to create the ashes and be the sacrifices the religious people made to the devil.

CD cover

The logo is in the centre (conveys importance); a triangle with two short lines and one long line going through the top line of the triangle I think it is trying to symbolise Jesus' death as two other criminals were crucified with him but his cross was the biggest in paintings to emphasises his importance. The bands brand all they have - as there is no text reinforces mystery - who is the band? What is the album called?

black and white connotes death and purity Heaven from purity and Death from the black synergy as this is the same as the album advert.