G324 – A2 GROUP COURSEWORK- EXAMPLES OF LEVEL 4 RESEARCH & PLANNING

The following slides demonstrate a clear attempt by each candidate to support individual claims with specific

references to key moments/examples taken from a range of similar media products.

Also clear attempts are made to link findings back to production and generic codes and conventions, audience

appeal and the marketing of artist

TARGET AUDIENCEWho typically buys this genre?

How do you know?Arfa Shah Candidate Number: 4739

BACKGROUND INFORMATION• The Dykeenies are signed under an

independent music label called "Lavolta Records" therefore, naturally, indie rock bands go back to basics and rely on touring, gigs, word-of-mouth and radio promotion. The band have a laid-back, playful almost childish image which suggests that they tend to attract a younger more developing audience such as young adults aged from 15-24 due to the indie rock genre being a genre that strays from mainstream culture meaning that it is free to explore sounds, emotions and factors of social concern that allow them to appeal to their target audience.

TARGET AGE GROUP

• An example of the target audience is on a group page called "The Dykeenies" on social networking site, Facebook. The print screens show that most of the fan base consists of teenagers and young adults aged at least 15-24. Furthermore, the fact that "The Dykeenies" promote themselves on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace proves that they appeal to a younger audience as these networking sites have become more popular amongst audiences aged 13-29, a relatively young audience as the next slide shows.

EVIDENCE OF TARGET AGE GROUP• A survey by "Clickymedia" found that over 7

million users, both males and females, on facebook in the UK are aged between 13-29, a perfect avenue for indie rock bands such as "The Dykeenies" to aim their music to. "Clickymedia" also compared their findings to other age groups and found that "13-19" year olds and "20-29" year olds were the dominant age group. The fact the most dominant aged groups are aged "13-19" and "20-29" tells us that we should be appealing to those age groups in order to pull in a more modern and young audience that can relate to "The Dykeenies" image and music.XFM is a radio station that plays host to bands who hail from alternative, rock, indie and brit-pop backgrounds. An XFM Ofcom report in the Manchester area found that 15-34 year olds favour bands that are "credible, youthful and committed to challenging the aesthetics of mainstream pop music".

SUMMARY

• To conclude, young adults both males and females aged 15-34 are more likely to buy this genre as it is youthful, goes against mainstream culture and the band's image appeals to this target audience as it is youthful, fresh, original and relaxed.

Hannah Ram - 4730

THE ENEMY MAGAZINE ADVERTThis poster emulates a train station timetable, which ultimately emphasizes the name of the album ‘We’ll live and die in these towns’, as it is linked to the idea of leaving a town or city. This idea is reinforced by the text at the bottom of the advert as it says ‘arriving’, which again has connotations of a train timetable board. This idea, like Indie music itself, is quite anti-mainstream and would therefore, appeal to The Enemy’s target audience.

In this advert the band members are not shown, despite the fact that it an advertisement for their debut album. This could be perhaps because they want to be taken seriously as musicians and want people to focus on the music rather than their image, or it could have been done to reflect that anti-mainstream ideology that characterises the Indie genre.

The font used for the name of the band is quite simple, but it stands out because it is in yellow. This suggests that The Enemy are quite a simple band in the sense that they focus simply on their music rather than mainstream gimmicks. The yellow font used could perhaps signify that as a band they stand out from the all of the other Indie bands on the market. Moreover, the use of yellow and white font on a black background makes the advert quite eye-catching.

The font style, colours and background used in this magazine advert is replicated on the album cover, billboard posters and the tour date posters, which helps to create a brand identity for the band.

There is also a connection between the album cover, magazine advert and the music video for their song ‘We’ll Live and Die in These Towns’ as in all thee the backgrounds are quite dark (on the album cover and magazine advert the background is black and the music video is set at night so there is dark lighting). Also in the music video includes lots of shots of road signs, which links to the train timetable format of the advert and album cover as they both refer to travelling to a different town or city. Ultimately, both the music video and the album cover and advert are all quite simple, which creates an image that they are normal people that their target audience can therefore, relate to.

The text at the bottom also says ‘featuring the hit singles...’, which is likely to make audiences want to buy the album as it suggests that they are quite a well known and popular band.

KAISER CHIEFS MAGAZINE ADVERT

There is an obvious connection between the album cover and the magazine advertisement as the advert contains a pack-shot of the album cover. This could have been done so that when their target audience goes into a music shop it will be easy for them to identify the album and buy it. Also, much like The Enemy’s album cover and advert, the Kaiser Chiefs use a bright colour like yellow on a dark background to make their product stand out.

The same typography is used for the word ‘Employment’ on both the album cover and the magazine advert in order to help their target audience make the connection between the advert and their album.

The Kaiser Chiefs do not appear in this advert for their album. This could possibly be because by the time that this album was released the band was already well known and established, so they didn’t necessarily need to appear in the advertisement as their target audience already knew who the band members were.

The whole advert has a late 1970s and early 1980s feel to it, as the font and layout is arguably quite dated because it is reminiscent of the style of old advertisements. Furthermore, the pack-shot in the centre of the advert has connotations of old vinyl records, which is reinforced by the worn looking edges of the album cover. This is then therefore, a way for the Kaiser Chiefs to subtly incorporate a reference to their musical influences that were famous in the early 1980s; by doing this they create an image of themselves as being an authentic, anti-mainstream, Indie group that is aware of how and when Indie music developed. This image would appeal to their target audience as it highlights that they are aware of their roots and take their music seriously, which would appeal to their target audience as it shows that they aren’t just another manufactured band.

KAISER CHIEFS MAGAZINE ADVERT CONT.

This tag line gives the album a mass appeal by suggesting that there is something for everyone in the album. By including this text on their album cover and poster it highlights that the Kaiser Chiefs are aware that Indie music is now becoming much more mainstream and it therefore, allows them to appeal to the widest audience possible.

The phrase ‘Does exactly what is says on the box’ is an intertextual reference to the phrase ‘It does exactly what is says on the tin’, which is a popular phrase in the UK that originated from advertisements for woodstain in the early ‘90s. This adds a slight bit of comedy to the advert, which according to XFM’s audience research is a ‘key interest’ to the Kaiser Chief’s potential target audience.

Album Cover

The music videos for ‘Every Day I Love You Less and Less’ and ‘Oh My God’ also include retro mise-en-scene (e.g. wallpaper in the former and costume in the latter), which reinforces the image of the Kaiser Chiefs being an authentic Indie band that has musical influences from the past. Thus, there is a connection between the album cover, magazine advert and some of the music videos for songs contained in this album.

STEREOPHONICS MAGAZINE ADVERT

The band are shown in this magazine advert in order to establish their image and brand identity. The mise-en-scene used in this advert highlights that they are an Indie band, as their attire is reflection of the conventional Indie style of clothes (leather jackets and blazers) therefore, their target audience will able to relate to them, as they will wear similar clothing themselves. Thus, this then creates the image that the Stereophonics are a cool and relatable group. Also, the majority of the band members are looking away from the camera in this shot, which suggest that they are a laid-back band that are not overly confident or arrogant - this idea is reinforced by the fact that they do not dominate the shot.

The album name ‘KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON’ is an intertextual reference and historical allusion to the WWII poster used by the British government. Since 2000 the phrase has somewhat come back into mainstream use and by using it as their album name they are reflecting the new mainstream popularity that Indie music is attracting. This will therefore, appeal to their target audience as it reflects their mainstream desires and attitudes. Furthermore, the font style that the album name is written in emulates the font style of the WWII poster, which reinforces the intertextual reference to the poster.

The typography used for the band’s name is quite clear and simple which reflects the idea of the album title of being ‘calm’, as the font is clear and easy to read. Also the use of the bold font and underline grabs the audience’s attention straight away. Similarly, the fact that all the text is written in capital letters also helps them to get their target audience’s attention.

Like the other magazine adverts that I have analysed this advertisement contains all the relevant details on how to obtain their album in a clear and concise way, in order to get the message to their audience in the quickest way possible.

Furthermore, the background image of this advert would immediately grab their target audience’s attention as it is quite comical and unusual and would thus, stand out from the other adverts in the magazine.

The paralanguage created through the use of this image suggests that the Stereophonics are an interesting band that like to stand out from the crowd. This would therefore, help them to reinforce their band’s image.

STEREOPHONICS MAGAZINE ADVERT

War poster issued by the British Government during the beginning of WWII to raise the morale of the British public in the case of invasion.

ALBUM COVER

There is a very strong connection between the album cover and the magazine advertisement as the same picture is used as a background in both of the media products. The font style and colour used on the album cover is also replicated in the magazine advert, which helps establish a brand identity for the band as audience’s will be able to recognise this picture as being to do with the Stereophonics.

STEREOPHONICS MAGAZINE ADVERT

SCREENSHOTS TAKEN FROM THE STEREOPHONICS MUSIC VIDEO FOR ‘INNOCENT’After watching the music video for the song ‘Innocent’ by the Stereophonics it became clear that there was a strong connection between the album cover and the music video, as within the music video there are historical allusions to the ‘KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON’ World War One poster (as shown by the screen grab on the left) that gives the Stereophonics album its name; this therefore, creates an immediate link between the two media products.

Furthermore, the band is shown performing in the middle of a street that is holding a massive street party. The clothing that they are wearing during this performance is quite similar to the clothing that they are wearing in the magazine advert and album cover (e.g. dark jeans, leather jackets and blazers), which again creates a connection between the music video and the advert.

MANIC STREET PREACHERS MAGAZINE ADVERTThe typography used throughout this advert is reminiscent of the type of writing you get when using a stencil; there are two possible reasons for this:

• Firstly, this stencil-like font has connotations of, retro, 1980s England, which would ultimately appeal to the Manic Street Preachers’ target audience because it gives the band an air of authenticity by showing that they are aware of when Indie/Alternative music started.

•Secondly, the disjointed and broken lettering could be a reference to the fact that since their band member Richey Edwards vanished the band are no longer a complete group, despite the fact that they are still together.

This magazine advert contains three reviews from magazines and newspapers. Both ‘Q’ and ‘NME’ are magazines that Indie/ Alternative music fans would either read or know of, so they would therefore, trust their review of the album. Moreover, ‘The Times’ is likely to appeal to their slightly older target audience who may have been fans of the band since their formation in 1986. Thus, by including these reviews the Manic Street Preachers are instantly attracting their target audience by highlighting their popularity and success in the music industry.

The mise-en-scene used in this magazine advert has connotations of the 1970s and 1980s. For example, the Polaroid camera and the rocker hairstyle (slicked back quiff) all have retro connotations. Furthermore, the advert is in black and white, rather than colour, which again has connotations of old-fashioned and retro photography. (Also by making the magazine advert black and white it is more likely to grab the reader’s attention, as it will immediately contrast with the full colour spreads found in magazines). Thus, the mise-en-scene used will meet the Manic Street Preachers’ target audience’s needs and desires by creating the image that the band is an authentic, anti-mainstream group, that is aware of the roots of Indie/Alternative music.

This advert also contains the band’s website details and the record label's logo.

MANIC STREET PREACHERS MAGAZINE ADVERT

ALBUM COVER

As with the Stereophonics, there is clearly a connection between the magazine advert and the album cover, as the same picture and font is used in both. However, there is one obvious difference between the two and that is the layout of the picture, as in one the man is on the right hand side and in the other he is in the centre.

Unlike all of the other adverts that I have analysed so far, this is the first advert that explicitly refers to downloading song through iTunes. This reflects the changing methods of media consumption and is more likely to appeal to their target audience than details of what format you can purchase the song in, as teenagers and young adults are now choosing to download music rather than buy a physical copy of it.

The band do not appear in this magazine advert for their album ‘Postcards From A Young Man’; this could possibly be because they are a really well known band so their target audience will already know who they are and what they stand for, therefore, they do not need to appear in the advert in order to establish their image.

Analysis of DigipaksHannah Lenane

Biffy Clyro -PuzzleThis is the front and back cover to the Biffy Clyro, Puzzle digipak. Immediately we can notice the

Layout- unusually the front cover has no text on it and instead the album name and artist name are

on the back cover. This is unusual as artists usually include this information on the front cover in

order to attract audiences to the product and allow them to recognise immediately who it is. It is

possible that as Biffy Clyro are already a well known band who do not need to establish themselves

or their image they were able to put this information out of sight and focus instead more so on the

album cover artwork. The band members are not included in any of the images on the front and

back covers of the digipak, this is again unusual but possible for a well known band such as Biffy Clyro. The images are ambiguous and there is a repeated motif of the puzzle piece. It is possible that the artists wanted their audiences to be thoughtful about what message they are trying to portray and to take their work seriously.

Here are the inside pages of the

Digipak. We can see again that

The band are not the focal point

For any of the images and have

Instead chosen to display artistic,

Meaningful, ambiguous photos

Instead. The structure of the

Inside pages is simple. On the

Left hand panel there are lyrics to a song from the album typed up in full for audience members and on

the right hand panel is a photograph. Although there is no direct link between what is written in the

lyrics and the photograph accompanying it, both are passionate and meaningful and will cause

audiences to think about the messages being delivered to them and the band’s purpose. The font used

is bold white lettering. By using such a simplistic font the band do not take away from the album art

work or the message being portrayed in the lyrics. They have used a bold font so that all lyrics can be

read easily and are not disrupted by complicated and intricate fonts. The colours used here are dark

and dull, there are only a few bright colours highlighted such as the flames from the man on fire. These

dark colours coincide with the serious and professional theme/feel of the digipak.

Kate Nash- Made of BricksThere are noticeable differences

Between this digipak and the last

Analysed which arguably are a

Result of the artist’s gender. Firstly

Take for example the font, here the

Font is feminine, handwritten and

Delicate when compared with the

Simplistic bold font seen previously.

This perhaps has strong connotations

Of gender expectations –women are

More likely to focus on personal touches (such as hand writing their text and are expected to be very

pretty , delicate and feminine instead of bold and strong. Linking to this is the image on the front

Cover- we can see the artist in a red dress, the colour drawing attention to her and the colour perhaps

Connotating her as passionate, lustful and feminine. We can also see behind her a homely house and

neat garden. This again suggests the idea of typical femininity –focused on a neat, pretty home. The

colours both on the front and back page are bright yellows, reds, blues and greens and white. This

again contrasts to the darker, more imposing colours seen in the male artist digipak seen prior to this.

Moving on to the inside pages of the digipak we can see that the feminine motif’s focused on, on

the front page are continued through the inside- the colours are again bright, light and colourful.

Many shades of pink, red, yellow, blue and purple can be seen here making the page visually

stimulating for audiences. Again the artist is included in the image in a scenario that is very typically

A feminine stereotype –she is in a bathroom where clothes have been hung up to dry and she is

doing her makeup in the mirror. These factors all emphasize her femininity to audiences making her

appealing to both men- who are attracted to her and women who want to be like her. The structure

of the inside pages of the digipak are the same as the digipak of Biffy Clyro. On the right hand panel

there is an image (here of the artist instead of an aristic photograph) and on the left hand side panel

is a typed copy of the lryics to one (or two here) of the song(s) on the album.

MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS OF “AMERICA”O BY

Razorlight…Razorlight is an English-Swedish indie rock band that formed in 2002. Their song “America” is the second single to be released from their self titled album “Razorlight”. It was written by the band members of Razorlight. The performance music video is about a lazy couch potato’s feeling of alienation and boredom by American culture when compared to coverage on America.(Source: Wikipedia)

Genre CharacteristicsThe key characteristic of the Indie genre is a performance element in the music video. In “America” by Razorlight, the first few shots of the music video immediately introduce a performance element where a member is playing the guitar. The medium shot of the band member playing the guitar introduces the audience to the settings, members and instruments. Another characteristic of the genre is it’s independent from mainstream culture. For example the location of the music video seems to in a isolation venue, possibly underground which further highlights their rejection of mainstream culture. Popular underground music venues emerged in America and elsewhere in the 1980s and 1990s. Another characteristic of the Indie genre is the “Do-it- yourself” ethic whereby band members play their own instruments on their own terms and in their own location. All these characteristics are demonstrated in the music video.

Relationship between lyrics and visuals.

There is a very strong relationship between the lyrics and visuals in the music video. For example the whole song is based on America therefore various images of America’s bridges and motorways are shown. Furthermore, when the lead singer sings “I light a cigarette”, an over the shoulder shot is used to show the cigarette and its fumes on the screen. Since the whole song is based on a couch potato’s alienation from American culture, a medium shot is used to show a man sitting on the couch with in front of him an empty pizza box and a cigarette. Furthermore, to further highlight America’s use in the music video, images of places in America are continuously played on a screen behind the lead singer.

Relationship between music and visuals

There is a constant relationship between the music and visuals in the music video. For example, when the lead singer is singing a medium close up is used to demonstrate this. Also, when the lead singer is also playing the guitar, a slight high angle long shot is used to highlight this. Furthermore, when the drum intro kicks in at 0:47, a medium shot of the drummer is used to introduce him and his role in the band. Also, when the music becomes more upbeat we can see in the music video that the lead singer begins to move more to the music and begins to bounce on the spot.

Demands of the record label…Goodwin’s theory highlights the fact that in order to meet the demands of the record label close up shots need to be used in order to introduce the band to the audience. For example a medium close up shot of the lead singer is used to introduce him as the lead singer. A medium shot is used to introduce the drummer of the band and a medium shot is also used to introduce the band’s keyboardist in the music video. The record label also demands that the band have their own image therefore most of the band members have adored a typically indie style- floppy hair with side fringes, casual laid-back clothes. The exception to this style is the member who is playing the keyboard in the video.

Notion of looking and voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

There is no voyeuristic treatment of the female body present in the video. As highlighted before, the inclusion of this element would prove disastrous for the band as it may alienate their female fan base. There is a notion of looking present in the music video. For example a screen within the screen is used to portray the various images of America and when the lead singer asks “How does it feel?” the screen is used again but this time with the band members directly in front who are holding signs which demonstrate how they feel.

Intertextual references

There are no intertextual references in the music video. This could mainly be due to the fact that the band may want the audience to completely focus on their song, music video and image and not something else.

Intertextual reference Intertextual reference We also looked at “Love The Way You Lie” by Eminem feat. Rihanna as it was another music video based on relationship abuse. We were inspired by Megan Fox’s eye contact with the camera in the music video therefore the female lead in our music video, Veena, looked straight at the camera in order to establish an emotional connection with the audience. We chose to go against convention because my group and I wanted to include more than just a performance element in our music video. We wanted to include a narrative that made subtle references to other media products in order to make our music video more captivating, memorable and emotional.

“Love The Way You Lie” music video

Veena looking straight at the camera in our A2 media production in

reference to Megan Fox’s character in “Love The Way You Lie” music

video by Eminem feat. Rihanna