Research: article about indie subculture

Article on indie subculture 

link to article fro hub pages  this article dicusses how the indie subculture can be seen to have evolved from 1960s indie rock (mod rock) with bands such as the who and the clash, but many see the start of the indie scene as the 1980s with bands such as the smiths and joy division. From this reseach i can see that including an intertextual reference to one of these bands in my music video would be appropriate as my audience will ahve a knowledege of these bands.

Planning : storyboard/ flat plans for music video

These are some basic sketches and notes on the types of shot, the duration of the shot, shot number and lyrics that will accompany the shots. This will help guide me when I start editing my footage. It has helped me work out the basic structure of my music video.

Planning: shot list

link to google docs shot list 

Planning: Initial footage and location

I took my initial footage at four separate locations over the summer. The bulk of the cutaways and narrative are taken in my friends pool in Cambridge. At this location I did many underwater mid shots, slow-mos and some high angle shots.

The other main location is Dullingham forest, this is where I filmed the rest of the cutaways and narrative and some of the band performing the song. I filmed a variety of shots here including mid shots, close ups, low angle and wide shots.

The next location was a dump outside my friends farm, here I filmed the rest of the performance and some close ups of the smoke grenade. At this location I filmed shots such as close ups, high angle shots and mid shots.

 Finally I filmed some ariel shots of some water in St. Maarten.

Research: Veins music video

The images above are screen shots from the music video to Veins by Palace. I am looking at these because I really like the way that the video focuses on the instruments that the band are using rather than the band themselves even though the band are present through out the video. This is done effectively by including many close up panning shots of the instruments and not very many close ups of the bands faces. The video still adheres to the convention of having the artists lip-syncing though by cutting the shot of the singers face just below the eyes. This means that there is no direct mode of address through out the video and challenges the conventions. I really like the effect that this has, it creates a moody atmosphere focuses on the bands talent rather than creating a strong brand based off of their looks. I would like to apply this element to my own work however I realise that for the purpose of this music video it may not be appropriate as I do need to adhere to some conventions. Instead I plan to compromise by including shots of the bands faces but not using direct mode of address in order to help create a melancholy mood.

Research: Full brand identity analysis: ALT-J

Alt J

Alt J are a four piece indie band from Leeds who signed with Infectious records in 2011. They have released 3 albums, An Awesome Wave  (2012), This is all yours (2014) and Relaxer (2017). The band have become increasingly successful in the last few years and have had a heavy touring schedule and this has lead to the departure of bassist Gwil Sainsbury. The remaining members are lead singer and guitarist Joe Newman, drummer Thom Green and guitarist Gus Unger-Hamilton. They have won awards such as the Mercury Prize (for an awesome wave) and they have had three Brit Award nominations.


Institution 

Infectious records was established in 1993 by Korda Marshall and is located in London. The parent company of Infectious records is BMG Rights Management, an international music company specialising in music distribution and publishing. BMG rights management was established in 2008. Since 2009, infectious records have signed many emerging indie bands such as Alt J, Superfood, Drenge, the Sherlocks and Vance Joy.


Relaxer Digi Pack

The digital pack for Alt j's new album Relaxer is where the bands strong 90s video game-esque aesthetic begins. The art work that works on many different media platforms is a refrence to the cult 90s playstation one game LSD: dream emulator. The 90s/00s gamer style and aesthetic is currently very popular with many art students, street wear enthusiasts named "hype beasts" and skaters in London and is becoming increasingly fashionable. This mean that the aesthetic will be very attractive and will appeal to the target audience as they are likely to be one of the youth sub cultures mentioned above.
The pixelated murdered man and dark colour scheme used in the art work help to illustrate the darker themes of this album. The unconventional choice of art reflects the slight shift in style and more unconventional themes explored in the lyrics of this album.
 The band are known for their strange but oddly visually pleasing album art work and usually the band themselves only appear on the inner sleeve of their albums. This is something that I would like to do my self in the creation of my own digi pack. I find the three uniform shots of the band on the black background particular striking and I would like to try something similar. They have used their signature rounded lower case font for the band name, which will be recognisable to many of the target audience.
The front cover of the CD case has the track listing and the name of the band and the album name on it.


Tour Poster 


The tour poster uses the album art as the background. The same signature font is used for the band name. As well as this a thin white boarder is used to enclose the text. This style is also seen on the front and back of the digital pack. I really like the look of this simplistic white line on the dark background and I think that it is a look that I would like to use on my own cover.  All of these elements combined help to create a very strong sense of brand identity.
The poster includes a number of world wide dates as the band are now a global brand. However most of the venues that the band are playing at are majority seating. This is unusual for a band in this genre but this is due to the fact that alt j represent themselves as a band that consider their music as something to be appreciated rather than used as a backing track for dancing and moshing.



Website 



The website also helps to reinforce the strong sense of brand identity by incorporating a immersive modified and navigable version of the 90s video game which eventually leads to the album artwork. This would appeal to the primary target audience who either old enough to remember paying the game when it came out or the secondary target audience who are enjoying the resurgence of the 90s and 00s culture. The home screen of the website strays slightly from the theme of the album art work but the font is the same as that on the front of the album. The track 3WW is also playing when you enter the website and this accompanied by the button "stream or buy" which targets the digitally native young target audience who are more likely to stream their music or buy it online rather than buy a physical copy. This digitally native audience is also addressed through the social media links at the bottom of  the page.




NME Cover 


Alt j were featured in NME just after the release of their new album in late June of 2017. This is an example of synergy being used in order to market the new album. The cover of the magazine is very minimal only using an artily shot image of the band themselves and a simplistic white font displaying the band name across the page. There is also a very small byline that says "blurring the lines" this is referring to the bands risqué lyrics that are covered up by the bands confusing use of language and John Newmans nasal voice. This minimalistic look is very fashionable and takes no attention away from the band or the visually pleasing photography. This photography helps to present the band as artistic and creative.










This product and brand works very well on multiple media platforms. This is due to the very strong aesthetic of the brand that helps to create a strong sense of brand identity.


Merch



Music video for deadcrush 

Although alt-j has a very strong brand identity an house style throughout their marketing campaign for the album relaxer their music videos are almost completely different in all ways to the aesthetic and house style. The videos only have brief links to the album artwork and concept that only a dedicated fan would pick up on, for example, there is a dancing lady on the game on the website in the 90s-style graphics. This is a distant link to the dancing Anne Boleyn in the Deadcrush music video. Apart from this, the music video is otherwise totally separate in terms of themes and aesthetics. 

link to deadcrush video 


What I will take away from this research 

1. An artistic cover for my digi pack that focuses on a piece of artwork or photography rather than the band themselves.
2. The use of a triad of images of my band on the inside cover of the digi pack.
3. A very strong sense of brand identity that is created by using the album artwork and album font on posters and the website. I will also make sure that my aesthetic is clearly planned out and used across all media platforms in order to create a marketing campaign that is successful.

Research: Audience Profile

Planning: Planning the day of filming

These are some of the messages that were sent back and forth in order to plan the day of filming. I needed to organise the equipment that I would be using on the day as I was borrowing it from a friend. I also needed to tell the band members what to wear to the shoot and find dates that worked for everyone. I also had to send the link of song to the lead singer in order for him to learn the lyrics.




These are the outfits that I have planned out for the main narrative actress and the lead singer in my band. The outfit for the girl has to be very simple as I want the focus to be on her face and red hair. The outfit for my lead singer also has to be dark to add to the moody atmosphere. I want him to wear a dark plaid shirt and desert boots as this is a very popular indie look that won't draw too much attention away from his face and his singing. I also included a joy division shirt which is an intertextual reference to a band that palace may be seen to be influenced by or like.



Location 

I have chosen three locations for the filming during the day. The main two locations are the pool and the forest. The third location is the dump. I am planning to film the scenes in the forest first and then walk over to the dump and film there. Finally, I will film the scenes shot in and around the pool as the actress will need to get in the pool and so will get wet doing these.

The pool and dump are located on my friends land in Dullingham, Newmarket. Here is an image of the location from google maps.

The other location is Dullingham forest which is a short walk from my friends land. Here is an image of this from google maps

Planning: time plan for day of filming

Time Plan for day of filming

·      10am- arrive in Dillingham and unpack equipment and props. Meet actors and brief them on the plan for the day

·      10:30am- load mule with equipment and drive down to the forest.

·      11:00am- set up props and begin filming shots of band in the forest. Then film girl shots in the forest. (no smoke)

·      12:30pm-  actors break. Test smoke grenades, do safety checks.

·      1:00pm- begin filming shots of band with smoke. Then film shots of girl with smoke.

·      2:00pm- load mule and drive down to dump. Set up equipment at dump.

·      2:30pm- start filming with smoke grenades. Take pictures

·      3:00pm- load mule drive to pool. Break for actors

·      3:30pm- begin filming in the pool. Make sure all equipment is handled properly and waterproof cases are on.

·      4:30pm- end filming for the day, review footage.

Research: Break the Silence Textual Analysis

research: star theory

Richard Dyer star theory

Stars as constructions

Dyer proposes that: 

“A star is an image not a real person that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials (eg advertising, magazines etc as well as films [music]).”

This means that a star is an artificial image representing a ‘real person’ and ‘real emotions’. They are constructed and manufactured by institutions by using a range of different materials, such as advertising, magazines etc. it helps if the star has a usp or recognisable image that can be copied or parodied such as Bowies lightning strike make up or Elvis’s hair.

Paradoxes

There are two paradoxes in dyers theory:

1)“ a star is both ordinary and extraordinary.”

Dyer says that a star must be represented as normal just like us (ordinary). However, at the same time they need to have something that we don’t have, something that makes them talented and special (extraordinary) which separates them from us.

2)“a star is both present and absent.”

Dyer also suggested that the star is always present in our lives in conversations, styles or even habits. Nonetheless, they are also absent as they are something we think to be too good and out of reach. 

How the theory will inform my practice 
I will present my star as both ordinary and extraordinary. Ordinary in the sense that they are in casual clothing and they are just a couple of friends that have made it big due to their talent. Extraordinary in the sense that they are very talented and they have mastered their instruments and this separates us from them.