Band Website Analysis

1. The Blackout - Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/theblackout



The main colours used on the layout are green, black and orange. Which are the colours linking with their latest release. Black is also commonly associated with the genre that they are a part of. The album cover is at the top of the page so that it is the first thing you see. ECU at the side display each band member and their role in the band.

They also display all of their current tour dates and all of their promo videos released so far. The main one that they display at the top of their page is the video for their new single, 'Save Our Selves (The Warning). This is because they are currently promoting it and want to people to hear the song and then use the links below it to purchase the track or album that it is on.



As per usual on every band's Myspace page their are contact and label details along with a vast list of friends including bands they are currently on tour with and their record company. Linked with their label, Epitaph, there are also adverts to do with other bands on the label who are either touring at the moment or have had a recent release.



2. Alexisonfire - Official - http://theonlybandever.com/



When going onto Alexisonfire's official website the vibrant pink that confronts oneself is unsuspected unless you own a copy of their latest album, Old Crows/Young Cardinals. This is because the album cover is pink in nature and has a delectable image of a red cardinal bird on it. This is a move away from the more darker tones more commonly associated with the Post-Hardcore genre. On their homepage they also have a bird's feather which relates to the album and the same font used on the cover. From their homepage you can view the latest news about the band and also some of their upcoming tour dates along with their latest video. From here their are also many lins across the top of the page to different sections of the site.



These range from 'media' which displays pictures of the band to the ievitable 'store' section where you can buy products ranging from cds to shirts. A feature that may be different from other bands is that their section about themselves titled 'about' is actually written by the band themselves to give over a more personal feeling about it. They also have a 'community' page where fans send in their own content that could be videos of the band live or drawings of the members. These are all available to view and once again adds to the personal nature of the site.

3. The Devil Wears Prada - Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/tdwp


At the top of The Devil Wears Prada's Myspace page is their name in massive bold typing to let you know that you are in the right place. Behind it is a nicely drawn picture of a tree which is their latest album cover and relates to the title of it, 'With Roots Above And Branches Below'. The colours used are also dark like ' The Blackout''s page and the colours also link once again to their latest release.
There seems to be an endless amount of adverts and promotional material on their Myspace. These include their discography, merchandise and even downloadable ringtones. This seems a much less personal experience than Alexisonfire's website as it feels much more of an industry driven website and almost as if they have not had a part in creating it. It is also annoying that half of the videos don't seem to play as they are an American band and MTV don't allow English people to watch them due to stupid copyright issues. There are numerous images of the band in the stereotypical genre image with tattoos and fringes. This makes it more accessible for fans to copy their look.

Album Cover Deconstruction: Every Time I Die - 'New Junk Aesthetic'

I have chosen to deconstruct the cover of Every Time I Die's 5th and Latest album, 'New Junk Aesthetic'. The genre that this album falls into is a mix of Southern Rock and Hardcore. The album was released on the 14th September 2009 and is not only one of my favourite album covers, but also has some very interesting artwork. I own the deluxe edition which includes two discs and comes in the form of a digipak case. I am unable to find any pictures of the sleeve or back cover online, but I shall definately bring it into the lesson.

The image on the front cover portrays a mythical god covering his eyes, but somehow seeing through them. This could suggest that there are things he does not wish to see, but has no choice except to. The graphically drawn artwork continues in the album booklet as every song on the album has its own illustration to go with it and are all drawn by the band's guitar player, Jordan Buckley. The same colours are also used throughout which are the mundane creams, whites and greys, but always with the striking pink standing out to highlight areas.

The text used for the bands name uses the same font as has been used on all of their albums with their iconically curly 'I', which in this case matches the image by being coloured pink. This front cover purely has the objective of grabbing the attention of people as opposed to the back cover and sleeve which give you song information including lyrics. There are no images of the band members in the digipak as this is their 5th album and if you were a fan of them you would probably know what they looked like. This is also consistent with the genre as many heavier bands don't rely on their looks or style as much as other genres such as pop and indie. We can tell form the highly detailed illustration on the cover that the band take their time and consider music a creative artform.

The 4 Ps

a) What band/artist related products can audiences buy?
Products range from the actual music that they produce which comes in many different formats, such as cds, downloads and dvds. Other products include the bands merchandise which fans buy to be associated with the artist. These are often mainly clothing and posters.

b) Where can audiences buy/listen to music/merchandise/hardware?
The internet has recently taken over from high street shops as online sites such as Amazon and Play have become more favourable compared to HMV and other retailers. Downloading is now popular, this applies to both paid for content and illegally downloaded music. Bands myspace pages also offer fans a chance to hear their music. All of their videos can also be freely viewed on sites such as Youtube.

c) Give 2 or 3 examples of paid-for/subscription based and free products.

• Record companys sometimes give out free sampler cds in places like magazines to give their artists greater exposure. Both Epitaph and Roadrunner records have done this in recent months.
• Mailing lists are also very popular among artists as they keep the fans up to date on breaking news.

d) List between 5 and 10 examples of creative music marketing strategies (including at least 3 internet based examples).

• If you preordered Enter Shikari's new single online you got the service charge on your gig ticket discounted for a show on their upcoming tour.
• Saosin gave fans the chance to be credited on their album booklet if they texted in their name to a given number. Example of subambulant marketing.
• Radiohead let fans decide on how much they wanted to pay for their new album. They were the first to do this and it has recently spread to other media platforms with the new 'Championship Manager' video game poised to do the same.
• Green Day released their single 'Know Your Enemy' without any warning or publicising. This started rumours that a new song was out and momentum eventually picked up and got people talking about them again.
• Slipknot posted a video on youtube and their myspace 'encouraging' fans to go to their shows on their 2008 US tour.

Referencing

I have decided to edit together some bits of other bands videos, such as shots I like that I feel would add to our music video. I realise that some may be impossible to pull off or very hard, but we could attempt to do some similar things to create the same effects.

Music Video Referencing from Simon Cardy on Vimeo.

Bit of marketing research

Here is one of the videos mentioned in today's lesson to exhibit different ways of bands marketing themselves. Here is a lovely little clip of Slipknot 'encouraging' fans to come to their US tour this year.

Change of Plan

Ok, I've had a change of heart and have decided to choose 'Start Something' as my first choice and pitch option. The track is from welsh band Lostprophets and I believe it would make a great video. It is fairly heavy, but mostly singing based. I also think that the frequent changes of pace will make for a great music video. The opening section could also inspire some clever editing to the beat to build up the song and look very interesting. I believe this track would be an almighty contender for our song choice and feel that it would be a really powerful video.

Below is the song and the accompanying lyrics:



Start today, now show us how you feel
Make your way, it's time to choose
Have my say, I know, I know what I see
Have my say, they think you'll lose
For all this to mean so much to me
For all this, you make a move
Pass you by, it's all in this life you have
Pass you by, goodbye to you

[Chorus:]
1, 2, 3, 4 Move
If you don't stop there, you'll make it through.
Stop dreaming, start something
When it's in your hand just start anew

It's ok to use your ability
You must know, it's hard to choose
Time will tell, it's hard that the way you feel
means you always seem to lose
Seize the day, the one that you left behind
It seems so strange that you don't move
Frozen still in front of your own lights
Win or lose, its time to choose

[Chorus]

Band Layouts

As far as I'm concerned there are only two band layouts that we should choose between for our music video. Either the band playing together in a circle or in seperate rooms within the same location. Both offer the vocalist a lot of freedom and space to move and I believe a lot depends on what location we end up shooting at. Both of these videos display the two different setups I am decribing. Cancer Bats opt for the circular method in 'Hail Destroyer' and Every Time I Die choose to be isolated from eachother in 'Wanderlust'. I really also like the idea of the vocalist walking down the dark corridor in this video and discovering his fellow band members.

Set Your Goals - Gaia Bleeds (Make Way For Man)

I have chosen this track as my pitch as I believe it offers a poppier alternative to our groups first choice of Architects. Set Your Goals are a Californian pop/hardcore band who specialise in being rather catchy but with a hint of heaviness remaining. The band has two vocalists, but that doesn't necessarily mean we would have to, but does provide the alternative. The song is about how we are destroying our planet which means we could have lots of lovely atmospheric scenery shots or we could create our own meaning. I still believe we need a similar interior location for the performance as we would have for 'We're All Alone'. Here is the song with the lyrics below. Enjoy!




Oh!
Stand down
Manifesting a destiny of unavoidable doom
Black wolves are gnashing at our heels
Fangs of accountability all unforeseen or intentionally neglected?

Oh!
The degradation of a home
Humanity sits on its throne
Cover your eyes and ears and know
We can't escape the consequence

And now the rising of septic tides as refuse litters the Pacific Gyre
We continue to drown the ocean in its own waters
Stand down, stand down
Time's out now
Kill like we know how
Killing like we're allowed

Oh!
The degradation of a home
Humanity is so lost
Cover your eyes and ears and know (without remorse)
We can't escape the consequence
And everything's ending

Make way
A failed culture makes its mark existing only to destroy what came first
With no regard for creation
Men play God
Drop unstoppable bombs
All institutions are wrong, but none of them will ever stop

Make way for man (x4)
Bombs away (x3)
No escape

Now turn the other cheek and pretend
Full speed to hatred forcing life against its will
Full speed 'til we're dead
We can�t escape the consequence

Oh! (Bombs away)
The degradation of a home (Bombs away)
Humanity sits on its throne (Bombs away)
Cover your eyes and ears and know (Bombs away)
We can't escape the consequence
No escape

Carol Vernallis

Carol Vernallis says the camera in music video seems to mimic the way we view sonic space... do you agree? Do you think we are conditioned by music video to read sonic space in particular ways?

This term 'Sonic Space' has confuzzled me as I have no idea what it means. This has unfortunately led me to have an incomplete answer for this particular section. I profusely apologise.


She suggests that the jumping camera focus is like the camera in place of our eyes, doing what we do when we listen. However, this is predefined for us by the Director - we have even less choice to look away/outside of the Director's choice than we do in film - do you agree?

I agree to an extent as there are so many cuts in music videos that it is hard to focus one image unless it is repeated many times. Music videos are much more based on the directors vision as he only has a few minutes to pack all he wants in so we are forced to look solely at the directors choices of shots.


She says music video is more like listening than viewing - do you agree?

Not really, because if you wanted to listen you would just listen to the song rather than watch the video. The video generally anchors the lyrics and helps to promote the artist as we can look at them and we are able to easily recognise them.

"We compensate imaginatively for what we do not see in the frame" - Agreed?

Yes it is natural for the human mind to link the things they see and jump to conclusion. This is useful in music videos as there is only a limited amount of time available so you can cut corners by suggesting things rather showing events in detail.

The constant motion in a music video and the variances it shows mean that a strong CU is a stable point. The music video "brings us towards these peaks, holds us against them, and then releases us" - do you agree?

I agree with this statement as it is crucial to see the artist's face as they are the focus of the video. Also the words of the song would be escaping from their vocal chords located inside their mouth.


Is the viewer "sutured (stitched) into the diegesis of the film world through the editing"?

Yes, the viewer is brought into the world of the music video. This is partly due to the gaps in narrative having to be filled by the audience and that there are many CU shots which make the viewer feel more involved.

Music video is freer in terms of viewer identification and perspective - agreed?

It is freer to an extent as not all people would watch some music videos due to the genre of the music and whether they like the song. The director can be freer, however, as he can take his own perspective on the track and the images that go with it.

Carol Vernallis believes the image alone cannot tell the story - do you agree?

I belive she is correct because if you watch a music video on mute it doesn't feel like a complete viewing experience. In my view this would also be pointless as the song is the whole reason the video exists so without it the shots would be rendered pointless.

Spooky...

I knew we were on the right track as I just discovered the location in the video I just posted was one on our shortlist. We can't use it, however, as it is sadly way above our budget. Oh well, would have been nice...

Location Inpiration

In an ideal world the disused setting for this music video for 'This Years Most Open Heartbreak' by Funeral For a Friend would be perfect. I can't see us obtaining this, however, but we will look hard for something similar if at all possible.

Silverstein - I Am The Arsonist

Here is another suggestion for our music video. Silverstein's 'I Am The Arsonist' is a more poppy song and has a few changes in pace. There is also a lot of singing which creates a catchier mood. This could be used if the others are proved to be too heavy for our purposes.

Here are the lyrics:

Throwing up at the thought of you two.
How could you do this? My best friend with my bride,
Now you tell me you are leaving.

They'll see the fire in the dark night sky,
I hope you're home when I arrive.
And if theirs a pyre in the afterlife,
I'll be there again to light the match.

Burn! Gasoline, fire, it's the perfect combination.
Light it up. Burn it down. Breathe in my addiction.

They'll see the fire in the dark night sky,
I hope you're home when I arrive.
And if theirs a pyre in the afterlife,
I'll be there again to light the match.

"I am the light that warms up your body, that sets free the demons inside.
I am the one that that never ignores you, that never will let you down."

They'll suspect but they'll never prove that I was there.
In my veins, I feel the rush of adrenaline.
It's so hard to run away when I want to stay,
To watch it burn, watch it turn into dust.

Goodwin Deconstruction: Slipknot - 'Dead Memories'

This is the video for Iowan band Slipknot's 'Dead Memories'. It was filmed in their hometown of Des Moines by director Paul R Brown who specialises in heavy rock videos. The genre of the music is evidently metal and videos of this genre are largely performance based and have darker colours involved.

The bands constume and mise-en-scene at the start of the video links with the cover of the album that this is from, 'All Hope Is Gone'.


Along with every band member appearing in different locations, the lead vocalist walks through and almost narrates his journey. The lyrics could be seen to be amplified by the video as the theme of the song is dead memories and things that have happened in the past. The events being shown in each room could therefore have links to things in the protagonist's past.

A Fault Line, A Fault Of Mine

One song proposal is a catchy number from Florida noise merchants, Underoath. I am fond of the dual vocals that they have going on which range from the screaming of lead vocalist, Spencer Chamberlain to the clean singing of drummer, Aaron Gillespie.

I believe that this would provide a nice alternative from our first choice as it is slightly less heavy and has an actual verse-chorus structure. It also has several, obvious changes of pace and is a perfect length song at 3.22. Downsides to this choice would be that only me and Nick are familiar with the song so may not suit everybody.

Here are the lyrics that the video could possibly be based around:

I'm not scared, but this is happening,
I'm not afraid but this is real, this is real.
It all comes at once, from every single direction.
This time I'm not, I'm not sleeping at all.
Could this be real? I've failed you, I've failed you.

I was lying when i said, i was looking north.
I was too scared to show, what i am.
Bare with me bare with me, this is all i have left.
This might be more, than a simple conversation, conversation.

It's been dancing around in my head.
For quite some time.
Just the thought of cleaning up myself.

I was lying when i said i was looking north.
I was too scared to show, what i am.
Bare with me, bare with me, this is all i have left.
This might be more, than a simple conversation.

I'm not sleeping.
I'm not sleeping at all
I stare at the wall, watching my time float away.
It's all been a blur, and nothing will change.
I stare at the wall, watching my time float away.
it's all been a blur, and nothing will change.
I was lying. (I was lying, i was lying) (I was lying)
This is defeat.

Lip Syncing Evaluation

As part research and part filling spare time in an enjoyable manner me and Nicholas attempted to lip sync to The Blackout's 'Its High Tide Baby'. The general consensus seemed to be that we did a good job as well. The common opinion seemed to be that although Nick looks much more the part and is more expressive in the role, that my actual lip syncing was more convincing. This may be due to the fact that I actually sung the song and let myself go while Nick mimed along and was not as familiar with the song. This means that if I can give Nick some vocal coaching and if he becomes really familiar with the song we choose for our project then we will have the perfect frontman for our needs.

Contrast in Genres

In contrast to the heavier sounds of Architects, the video for Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up' is a much more mellow affair. Here I will highlight the general differences between Metal and Pop videos.

• The pace of the song is slower so naturally so is the editing.
• There are no instruments so instead we focus on the singer in different locations and a random woman.
• The shot lengths are much longer which distances us from the action.
• It is more like he is performing for us rather than us partaking in the action.
• No instruments are shown due to the vocal driven nature of the track, so instead most of the time the camera shows Rick and his infamous dance moves.

In conclusion we are far more likely to tak influence from Architects and will not be including any of the dancing involved in 'Never Gonna Give You Up'.

Confined Spaces

I am personally a fan of music videos that cram the bands into small spaces which gives over the sense of claustrophobia and feels more personal with the audience. It also provides great opportunities for close ans interesting shots. A perfect example of this is the video for 'Writing on the Walls' by Underoath which also contains an intriguing narrative. All in all a splendid spread.

Analysing Performance

Here is the video for the single 'Always' by Architects. As this video is largely performance based I thought that we could gain some inspiration towards what our video will look like. I will pinpoint specific moments and also general techniques used.

• The majority of the shots are tight in on the instruments and range from CU to ECU.
• Another obvious point is that the band is putting in a lot of energy and effort to make it look convincing. The measures of this can be shown by the fact that the vocalist went through six red shirts on the shot due to excessive perspiration.
• There is much more focus on the instruments than the band members, apart from the vocalist as he is obviously using his mouth.
• When a specific instrument is prominent in the song it is often shown visually, this can be seen at 0:46 when the guitar is shown.
• Although the general editing pace of the video is fast, there are shots that break the speed such as the aformentioned one which shows a slow motion strum to match the drop in the track.
• During the breakdown the commences at 0:52 we see the band headbang in unison. This is a technique that we are likely to utilise at some point and is common to the genre.
• There are no absolutely still preformance shots in the video except for the long shot of the band. This has, however, been edited in post-production to give the impression that the room is shaking.
• The drums are the only instrument which has more than one angle taken of it. This may be due to the size of it and that there are many different elements including the main drums along with the pedals.
• An interesting moment in the video is the still frame of black that appears during a slight pause in the track. This occurs at 1:54.
• We could also attempt some microphone stunts in our video as in slow motion they look fairly epic. Examples of this are at 3:17 and the climax of the video at 4:03.

I believe that we can learn a lot from this video and that the types of shot we use will be very similar to the ones used here. We can also learn that if we put a lot of energy into the performance we can make it look genuine.

Alexisonfire

An alternative to Architects could be Alexisonfire (pronounced as "Alexis On Fire") who hail from Canada. Here is a brief overview if the band.



History

They describe their music as "the sound of two Catholic high-school girls in mid-knife-fight" (a reference to their song "A Dagger through the Heart of St. Angeles", also the inspiration for their debut album cover art). When the band came out of the underground like an "utterly captivating car-accident-in-progress" in late 2001, it was enough to impress critics and attain a gold certification for their self-titled debut album.

The band has released three more very successful studio albums: Watch Out! in 2004, Crisis in 2006, both which have achieved platinum certification in Canada and Old Crows/Young Cardinals in 2009.

Discography

2002 - Alexisonfire

2004 - Watch Out!

2006 - Crisis

2009 - Old Crows/Young Cardinals

Line-Up

George Pettit - Vocals

Dallas Green - Guitar/Vocals

Wade MacNeil - Guitar/Vocals

Chris Steele - Bass

Jordan "Ratbeard" Hastings - Drums

Architects

It seems that our group are almost certainly going to be making a video for a song by the Brighton based band, Architects. So I thought that I would do some background research on the quintet.

History

They are currently signed to Century Media Records worldwide and Distort Entertainment in Canada. The band have toured the UK and Europe with the likes of Bring Me the Horizon, SikTh and The Chariot. They have played at a number of independent UK festivals, as well as the prestigious Download Festival in 2007 and 2009. The band have completed a European tour and a Canadian tour, receiving great receptions from crowds in different countries and gradually spreading their fan base. They released their second album Ruin on June 26, 2007, and released a split EP with UK band Dead Swans in 2008, following the release with a double headed tour of the UK.

The band has recently recorded their third album, 'Hollow Crown', which was released in the UK and Australia on January 26, 2009.

Current Line-up

Sam Carter - Vocals
Tom Searle - Guitar
Dan Searle - Drums
Alex Dean ( Ali Dino) - Bass
Tim Hillier-Brook - Guitar

Discography

2006 - Nightmares
2007 - Ruin
2008 - Split E.P with Dead Swans
2009 - Hollow Crown