Poster Analysis (Preliminary)

I have decided to analyse a album advertisement in the form of a poster, to help me understand the conventions and hwo they can be applied in my own piece. The particullar poster I have chosen looks appealing from the 'get go' and I think is effective, upon analysis I will review its effectiveness in three key areas: Genre imagery (mise-en-scene), envoking and stimulation and colour scheme.

Elton John - Breaking Hearts

My first impressions of the poster show that the relatively low range of colours throughout, keeps a themed colour scheme, matching that of Elton John's English Rock style of music, and his portrayed character. The outfitt, and centred image of Elton himself, shows him looking looking mysteriously saddened, working perfectly and purposely with the message of the album and therefore the poster itself. The quotations "Sad Songs" reinforce this and the correlation between the two parts of the piece cohede excellently in this instance. Additionally the yellow 'decaying' tint on the whitespace of the image provides connotations of both the previous and the shining of light, doubled with  the cracking effect applied the distortion to the image does not disrupt the main focus, Elton John, and in fact provides two sides to the poster, light and dark providing obvious connotations of good and bad/heaven and hell, referencing once more the lyrical meanings of his songs, and the album in general.  His attire fits his perceived personality at this time, and fans can see him with similiar clothes in other scenarios, the hat being an almost trademark touch to his work as a musician.

In his four-decade career John has sold more than 250 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His single "Candle in the Wind 1997" has sold over 33 million copies worldwide, and is the best selling single in Billboard history. He has more than 50 Top 40 hits, including seven consecutive No. 1 US albums, 56 Top 40 singles, 16 Top 10, four No. 2 hits, and nine No. 1 hits. He has won six Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Tony Award. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him Number 49 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time.

This poster, displaying his earlier career, and at the time providing excellent imagery and connotations for the portrayal of the album. The colours, cohesion and envoking of emotions all come together, providing a surface stimulus aswell as a deeper meaning to the images.