H.C. Deconstructing print texts

Genre:

• The genre of this track is expressed through the visual elements used in the album cover. The artist Calvin Harris is positioned in the foreground of the shot, which establishes genre as the dance/house style is dominated by solo acts like the DJ Harris. Furthermore, the shoot appears to be located in an American style suburb, which is a typical setting for hi fi dance track videos and so provides a direct link to the genre.

Media Language:

• The artist Harris is positioned in the bottom of the right hand third of the frame on the main album cover. This draws the attention of the consumer, promoting Harris as the main focus of the image. The photo has been manipulated to enhance the slightly warmer colours such as the orange of the brickwork as well as casting a more yellow light on the concrete behind. This is typical of the genre, making the style iconic and accessible to the target audience. Extra props are absent from the image, reinforcing Harris as the most important focus in this photo.
• The positioning of the artist Harris in the bottom third of the page leaves him at the end point of the reading path around the page. Furthermore, Harris adheres to the rule of the fourth wall, making no direct address to the camera capturing the still. This creates the paradox of presence and absence as recognised by Dyer. However, the positioning of the artist alone, whilst singling him out as the main focus, also connotes a sense of lonliness and isolation with the use of the fourth wall. This is exaggerated through body language, placing Harris low in the shot. The warmer colours enhanced by colour grading in the image are iconic of the dance genre, as previously mentioned, promoting a positive attitude as apposed to blues which would create a neative light.
• This digipak does not incorporate any emotive language or quotations from the artist or other sources, only the artist's name and the title of the album. The title '18 MONTHS' has several connotations and is very thought provoking. Becasue there is no obvious link between the visuals and the title, it is left to the consumer to construct their own meaning of the title - could it mean the length it took to make the record? How long it has been since a previous relationship? This uncertainty leads to an incomplete star image, which fans of the artist will seek to try and complete by purchasing the record, therefore creating repeatability (Dyer). 
• There is no obvious example of intertextuality in this particular album cover design. Postmodernism may have been demonstrated by the fact that there is no complete link between the visuals and the title of the album, in essence breaking the rules of conventional representation. 

Representation:

• Calvin Harris has a very ordinary appearance in the cover for this album. His costume is made up of relatively lo fi pieces, a t-shirt, jeans and trainers, the kind of outfit that anybody could wear. This ordinariness is also affirmed by the location of the shot. Even though it appears to be abroad to the U.K. the setting of a suburban street is again a concept that everyday consumers are able to relate to. These techniques lead to creating Dyer's second paradox of simultanous ordinariness and extra-ordinariness, making Harris a star of the people.

Institution and Audience: 

• The print text could be consumed in a whole variety of ways, as Harris' album is produced by Sony Music, which owns vast subsidiaries within the music industry. The primary purpose of this text is to provide a platform for the audience to access the artist, which also makes it a prime advertisement. Hard copies can be placed and distributed to Sony stores globally, with the digital image capable of being printed continuously for as many units as is necessary. In terms of viral marketing, this text could be placed on music download sites and services as a form for the target audience to recognise and consume, thanks to the presence of Calvin Harris in the image.