Progress - 1st draft of music video added to website

Video Link

Music video embedded onto the home page of my website.

Digital convergence on website update - Instagram feature

  hidden feature - when you click on the heart button (similar to the like button on Instagram) leads onto another tab where the viewer can browse the instagram page themselves and interact with the pictures through commenting and liking etc. this is something the 16-25 socially conscious demographic would interact with as they are the type of demographic that have an active social media status.

 

1ST DRAFT

Website update

The early stages of creating my online website - using a consistent colour palette throughout to create a sense of branding and inserting artist image pictures to conform to conventions.

 

Website Link

 

https://alshort111.wixsite.com/mysite-2

Imovie production screenshots

 

 Screenshot of work as of 7/9/20

Website - First ideas/draft

 

I have initially started up my website using six although there is still a lot of work to be done surrounding links and extra pages etc. I have found a layout that i think fits the codes and conventions of a young, modern artist.

Album Cover Art Research (intertextuality)

For the working website, i will eventually need to create a cover art for my single and would like it to pay homage to artists that perhaps have incorporated this 'protest' theme into songs themselves as an intertextual reference.
After researching into album covers, i found a few famous artists who have payed homage to others through album cover art.

The Clash and Elvis Presley

The cover art for 'London Calling' by the clash became popular in the 1970's for making a direct intertextual reference to Elvis Presleys debut album cover from 1956.

The composition and lettering are both almost identical and a lot of people thought it was quite provocative of The Clash. This is because Elvis was considered the 'king of rock and roll' at the time whilst The Clash were just about to start a new revolution into rock and roll, but in a more hardcore way. They were also a lot less famous than Presley, who is considered an icon.

The photo of the bassist of The Clash mid smashing his guitar became a 'pop culture icon' and is symbolic of young rock and roll rebels. In Q magazine in 2002, an article suggested that the image is a perfect representation of this turning point and revolution in rock and roll as it portrays a total loss of control - in a sense of how the music was changing but also the personalities of these rock stars.

Interestingly, street artist Banksy also made his own take of this iconic photo, replaced the guitar with a desk chair. This can be interpreted in a number of ways. Perhaps how people are sucked into office jobs, sitting in front of a screen all day when they should be in a career doing something they love? Like playing bass in a band? It can be interpreted in a number of ways although, it's further evidence as to how the cover art has influenced many others.

The Rolling Stones, Arctic Monkeys and Andy Warhol 

The Rolling Stones album released an album called 'Sticky Fingers' in 1971. This album cover was only released in Spain as the original cover art was deemed as obscene. After it was changed to this cover, people still thought it was just as uncomfortable as the original.
The new sleeve (on the left) was designed by John Pasche who also designed the first iconic tongue logo for the band.

After seeing The Rolling Stones remade cover, it instantly made me think of this 2012 Arctic Monkeys cover art. I think of it as a modernised version of the first one as its very minimalistic but still effective and the placement of the logo makes it obvious the band have intertextually referenced The Rolling Stones. Perhaps as they were a British rock band as Arctic Monkeys are today, making it important to pay homage to them.

This particular brand of treacle Monkeys have used here (Lyles) is something deemed as a traditional British brand with their golden syrup being quite popular. The brand also symbolises a lion as part of their logo which is also a British symbol (three lions). Monkeys perhaps did this to pay further homage to Britain, not just to the Rolling Stones as an iconic British rock band but to the commercial side of Britain how how its grown since the 1970s.

This also reminded me of an Andy Warhol piece i saw in his book '365 takes' that we have at home. His work is something i would like to take inspiration from for my own cover as i think his prints have had a huge influence on pop culture. His work is extremely recognisable so making intertextual references will be noticed, even if someone does not have a high level of cultural competency. His aesthetic gains a lot of attention and the visual, controversial prints he made through his time are something i would want to pay homage to.

Website 30 Second Video Clip

For my video clip, i have come up with the idea to create a mask that will feature in my video. My idea is inspired by a music video by the Kaiser Chiefs where interestingly, there is a scene where a group of 'kids' are all wearing theatre looking masks exploring inner citer youth crime. The video pays homage to the film The Warriors, which tells a fast paced tale about many self sales gangs chasing each other acrosss their different territories in New York. I would like to directly make an intertextual reference to the masks in my video as this has inspired me.

This is something that is on the rise and the video depicts the worries that adults and parents have, believing there is a posibility their children are going to become influenced by these violent acts and gangs that are so frequent.

• In London 2016/17 there were over 102,000 people proceeded against by the Metropolitan Police Service
• Of these, approximately 36,000 were under 25
• This means that approximately one in three arrestees that received an outcome were youths

There have previously been protests in London for knife crime and petitions that float around the internet trying to put a stop to it. This is something i strongly believe in and youth crime is usually influenced through computer games, movies and what kids so openly can see online. So perhaps we can switch this around, and influence generations to come with peace?

This links in with the theme of the song i have chosen for my music video that is based around anti-war and ideas of peace. This is not something the younger generation is not taught enough and is portrayed through the lyrics in the song.

First idea:

This is what id like to create. This are the main symbols/images i want to include on the mask, taking it a step further from the Kaiser Chiefs inspiration to represent symbols of peace. This could link to Barthes theory of semiotics meaning people with a level of cultural competency will recognise them symbols and interpret them as a sign of peace/britishness.
The reason i want to include the mask in my video could also have a deeper meaning to it, perhaps how people who feel oppressed or not at peace mask up these feelings when in fact their voices need to be heard and to do that, they need to take off that mask.

The 30 second clip will be how i make and design this and paint on the symbols. I want to include a British themed colour palette including the flag etc. It means i can heavily focus on the meaning behind it and why i want to include it in the video whilst intertextually referencing other music videos like the Kaiser Chiefs one.

Storyboard Animatic

The blank white screen at the start of the video is part of the song i will not include to fulfil
the 3 minute video as part of the brief.

Warner Bros Research

https://prezi.com/6_3dco1x51mz/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Storyboard & Shotlist - First Ideas

Here are some shots i have roughly drawn out that i know i want to include. I will be adding

to these as i continue this process whilst getting ideas not just from the research i have

already done but through doing more on shot types for music videos in particular.

Wix Site link and first image/edit

https://alshort111.wixsite.com/mysite

Imovie Practice

During half term i thought it would be useful to get a feel of how iMovie works so i am familiar with the software when i come to use it to edit my NEA video. I found it quite easy as i only created a montage of my favourite clips over a song i like. I have learnt for next time that i will definitely need to save the video in a higher quality (even if it takes more time) as it does not look great!

First Look At Wix

Wix is the website creator i will be using to create my artist page for the website so i had a look at some templates and features the website offers.
 I searched up a music artist website template to see if there were any that follow the typical conventions. There were many to choose from but i found one that was quite simple yet effective.

I would want to change the colours and fonts around to create my own house style and obviously add my own pictures eventually but i thought it looked very appealing an enticing at a first glance.

I found it really easy to navigate round and there were a lot of different options to make your website as unique as possible which is a goal i want to achieve. There were options to add easter eggs and embed your own music, videos and a store which is also something i would want to do following music artist website conventions.

Statement Of Intent: Draft

Statement of intent draft 

Product 1:

For my music video, i intend to create one with a performance and narrative style combined to the song British Bombs by Declan Mckenna. This is because the narrative part will keep the ‘socially conscious’ demographic informed and entertained and the performance part will keep the ‘16-25’ audience active and engaged. This will hopefully be entertaining for this ‘upmarket’ demographic and something they would find aesthetically pleasing. I also hope it will reflect the industrial context desired by Warner Music Group which is to create a video to a protest song. I will do all this through the use of media language, one being intertextuality. I want to reference other music videos during parts of my video such as Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues where he uses flash cards for lyrics. Referencing this will also link to Goodwins theory of putting lyrics to visuals. Other media texts I want to reference include scenes of the talent reading the Daily Mail as this is mentioned in the song and will also be relevant to the socially conscious demographic. I want to incorporate a ‘British’ theme into my video, so referencing iconic Britpop music will be something I want to achieve, perhaps through shots of old vinyl records throughout the video. The video will follow typical conventions of music videos with the mix of styles and different locations providing a range of mise en scenes to keep the audience engaged throughout. The narrative will hopefully follow a girl going up to London to a strike whilst doing typical British sightseeing along the way whilst incorporating performance shots of the band/artist lip syncing to the song. The strike is an important part of the video as it is something the demographic take part in themselves (especially in recent years - climate strikes etc) to make their voices heard and it has had a significant cultural impact on the way this audience view current affairs and politics and the way they show this freedom of speech. The song is quite upbeat so i would like to use a bright, pastel colour palette throughout the narrative as i believe the song and what it’s about will really contrast with the fast pace and seemingly angelic mise en scene. The lyrics are quite deep and dark creating that contrast which i think will be really effective by having that dark underlying theme to it in a sense that perhaps everything is not as perfect and pretty as it seems and that there are lots of issues in our postmodern world.

Product 2:

For the working website of my artist, i intend to hold interactivity at its core. Audience to artist connectivity is one of the most important parts of being an artist with an active audience. Audiences creating a fanbase is something that happens all the time, playing into the new age of ‘participatory culture’ as suggested by Jenkins. I intend to create a sense of house style across the artist website with a contrasting colour palette to reflect the theme of an underlying darkness of the world we live in sort of as a mantra for what the artist would stand for. I would like to bring into some sort of campaign into the website taking inspiration from other Warner signed artists and to create the ‘protest’ link between the music video and website, perhaps about climate/war. This can be done through hidden easter eggs embedded in the website where perhaps the ‘upmarket’ demographic can donate to a certain charity. I want there to be artist features and exclusive content from the artist including videos etc and merchandise for the audience to buy to follow typical artist website conventions. The merch will maintain the brand identity that has been created as well as all other features of the website.

How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the digitally convergent nature of your media production?

I will intend to link my products through taking inspiration from modern artists who use a multitude of promotion techniques, including digital media, to increase a following and fanbase. When artists use digitally convergent methods to promote themselves, they are likely to engage a younger demographic such as one the brief suggests (ages 16-25) making it increasingly important to do so. To be able to get maximum audience reach I intend to use synergy to create a unique audience experience whilst maintaining the ‘British’ theme and house style throughout linked to my video. The campaign for anti war/climate mixed in with the strike themes in the video will encourage audiences to think about current affairs and the impact this is having on the world. The audience will be able to engage with the artist in a number of ways through social media, buying merch or subscribing to the artists newsletter further reinforcing the digitally convergent nature of the website.

Planning: First Ideas

I decided to create a mind map with a rough sketch of ideas i want to include in the video, through inspiration from my research but also ideas that link to the brief and target the right demographic.

Generic research: language and digital convergence

How do media producers use language to communicate meaning?

  Media producers use a number of different language techniques to make music videos and their accompanying website unique to their persona and brand identity.
  One language technique used frequently is intertextuality. Both in videos and websites media producers pay homage to other media texts for a number of reasons. The references are made to influence the audience and add layers of depth to a text. Although, these references can only be noticed if the audience has a certain level of cultural capital or knowledge.
  From my own research, i have found that in music videos, these intertextual references can be very effective in bringing a sense of nostalgia to the viewer and bringing in that 'retro' feel that older audiences will gratify from as well as the younger demographic.

Here are the examples of intertextuality i found from my previous generic research:

A reference to old Microsoft PC software as the layout for an artist website.

Reference to 80s movies through use of camera shots.

Referencing other iconic music videos - lyrics to visuals using flash cards.
Link to Andrew Goodwins theory.










  Another language technique that communicated meaning was the mise en scene of the music videos and of the photos used on band wesbites. From research, there is typically more than one location used in the video to change the scenery and create a theme. The different shots used of different locales was presented in a way that matched the beat of the song - a typical convention for a music video. This links to Goodwins theory as he said that 'seeing the sound' through beats of the song allows the video to flow.
  The mise en scene was also pulled together through the costume and prop use. The costumes varied according to the artists star persona and the theme they were representing throughout the video. It was sometimes used to also put a message across to audiences, such as graphic tees with text on it to make the video memorable and to highlight certain aspects.

How costumes created the bands brand identity as one that is quite vintage and retro.

How mise en scene of photo location gave a 'fun' and modern feel in contrast to their style.









How do media producers use digital convergence to link their products?

  There are a number of ways digital convergence is used but for artists it is primarily through their website as a way to distribute their content from other media platforms. From research, I found an artist that creates podcasts weekly that can be accessed through apple music or spotify. This is also another commercial imperative on top of merchandise and music buys as the streams from the podcast will create revenue. It may also enable to artist to gain new fans and gives them a way to promote their actual music.

Digital convergence is also shown through the use of the promotion of other social media accounts. For artists, they are linked in the Youtube description of their music videos and are also linked on their websites through icons which are easily recognisable by the demographic. This promotes an active audience (as suggested by Jenkins) who are able to respond to texts through the use of commenting and sharing on social media.

Generic Research: Artist Website 3

Glass Animals

Homepage

This artists webpage is conventional for an artist in the sense that it - in general - has sections for music, tour, shop etc although, the layout is extremely unique and fun to create that particular brand identity for the band. The house style that they have created is consistent and maintained throughout. It is also an intertextual reference to an old PC screen a pixilated and retro feel to it compared to modern PC home screens. The colour palette is bright and enticing to promote the album that is about to drop. The bright pastel colours give a sense of modernity which contrast with the actual retro feel of the layout. The pastel colours would also stereotypically seem quite feminine for an all male band to they are subverting masculine stereotypes here adding to their unique persona.
The band are signed to 'Republic' owned by major conglomerate Universal Music Group.

Conventionally, an artists persona is clearly established online through photos of the star(s). This is still present in the website through the use of video promotion for their latest release but a main image is not obviously promoted as other artists typically would to make their faces recognisable to the fans. To find photos of the band, they have to be downloaded through numerous clickthroughs further emphasising the bands values and beliefs. They do not present themselves as one that wants to promote their identity as physical but rather as one that is more low-key, and more interested in the music than the appearance. This is unconventional of many popular artists which promotes their brand identity as one that's quirky and mysterious which could also link to how their website is laid out - differently to most.

Digital convergence is used through the use of music videos. On the homepage there is a clickthrough labelled 'watch' which opens up another tap sending the user directly to their youtube channel filled with all their music videos. Audiences can interact in the comment section sharing thoughts which is conventional for artists to have. There's a similar clickthrough labelled 'listen' seeing the user to a tab again giving more links to stream the artist on numerous sites. Here they can purchase the music or just stream it increasing the potential for audience contact and commercial success.

Social media sites are all linked at the bottom left hand corner of the site such as twitter, Instagram and Facebook. This gives the audience an oppertunity to interact and follow artists and engage with new updates more than they would with the actual website perhaps. This symbiotic relationship between fans and artists are important for brand loyalty, to promote the artists and maybe gain new listeners. A sense of community is also created with the fans who have similar interests and will gain satisfaction from talking to people who share the same experiences and likings as them.

A commercial imperative is created through the store click through. Merchandise and music is able to be brought including exclusive signed items and limited edition pieces. As you go through to the store there is a pop up exclaiming that fans who buy off the website can get early access to any upcoming show. This is a good way to promote the merchandise as it will encourage audiences to do so to feel exclusive and get that priority access. The store is conventional of an artist website as it is official and fans may feel a sense of personal belonging through wearing/buying off of the website - whilst also supporting their favourite artists

There are a lot of added features to the websites to allow further audience interaction and to create a fun sense to add to the brand identity of the artist:

There's an interactive retro game maze the viewers can play - another intertextual reference to old computer games.