Marketing Campaign

The band's website that I have chosen to analyse is JLS.

I am going to be looking at their website and their campaign for their previous album and their upcoming one.

Their website is : http://www.jlsofficial.com/gb/

JLS are part of Sony Music Entertainment UK LTD and also to Epic Records. These two institution names are on the website at the bottom for people to be able to see they are a signed band.

The main function of the website is to sell the band to audiences which is done mainly by the boys themselves by their looks and personalities.



The main image of the website is of the boys and it dominates the homepage. It stands out immediately as soon as you are on the page. The boy's are all posing with serious faces and have been styled in a model-like way to look as attractive as possible. The whole scene of them in the car in posh suits makes them look very handsome and definately appealing to the target audience of teenage girls.  

The website is very much desgined in suitable ways to appeal to their teenage girl audience.The band have a video blog on their homepage. This allows audiences to watch messages the band have left for their fans. This is an example of how the boys are using their personalities to entice their audience. The boy's fun and cheeky personalities are shown through the videos and will grab attention of their audiences. Also in some of the videos, the boys dress up and therefore are presenting themselves in a stylish way which wil also grab audiences attention. The video player also begina automatically therefore immediately grabbing the attention of anyone who visits the site.

There is also the opportunity to view the band's individual profiles. This is a common feature of a boy band website as it allows audiences to have a favourite and find out more about particular members.

Also, from the photo you can see there are links to Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and other pages all related to the band. This allows the audience to be interactive and have access to these other sites, further promoting the band and appealing to broader audiences.

There is also the opportunity for fans to become members of the site. By their slogan 'membes have more fun' there is more encouragement for people to join.

There is also a chance to get the JLS newsletter and sign up further encouraging audiences to become more involved with the band and their products.

All these options above are ways which have been used to market the band through the website.

The website also has a pop up player which allows people to listen to the bands music. This is promoting their songs and allowing audiences to listen to their album and singles online. 

There are also news and events links to keep the audience updated with appearances and tour dates.

There are many opportunities for the audience to be able to buy into the band.

They are promoting their debut single and have links to other companies such as Amazon and Itunes for the audience to buy it now.

There is also the opportunity to pre-order the upcoming album and the dvd. This is allowing the audience to be able to get it first.

  

Audiences can also buy into the band by purchasing tickets to their upcoming tours. There are lists of tour dates on the website and links to allow you to buy tickets now.

  

 Another way to buy into the band is by visiting their online store which offers merchandise surrounding the band. There are clothes, accessories and posters available to purchase.

Overall, the entire website is using the band's look and personalities in order to gain attention from audiences. They have a big focus on the band itself shown through the multiple galleries and videos but also on the music, shown through the promotion of the album and also the importance of winning awards for their music.

Final Group

Our final group was decided and i'm working with Patricia and Catharrin.

We had our first group meeting this evening and discussed potential track ideas.

I think the meeting went very well and we're working well as a group.

I'm excited to get on with the coursework and start working on our video.

Goodwin Theory

he video I have chosen to analyse for Andrew Goodwin’s theory is Hot n Cold by Katy Perry.

The genre of her music is pop and the characteristics of the genre that it possesses are:

Dance routine
Dance oriented beats/rhythm
Lyrics focus on simple themes, such as love and relationships
Beauty shots
Bright colours
Flashing lights, creative setting and backdrops
Modern, stylish clothing

What is the relationship between lyrics and visuals?

In this particular example, the lyrics are illustrated by the visuals and also amplified.

 The lyrics to the left tie in with the narrative about how her boyfriend is always blowing hot and cold and changing his mind about them getting married and therefore he runs away.

In the video, there seems to be multiple shots of the boyfriend running away, and escaping through doors, this illustrating even more the fact that one minute hes yes and then no.

The lyrics to the right  are illustrated through her sudden change of clothes and how she is mirroring his mood through her costume.

Another relationship between lyrics and visuals is the lyrics below.

Throughout the video, it seems to have followed this colour scheme for example, the clip below with all the girls dressed in white with the contrasting black car.

Also, the zebra ties in with this colour scheme. Here, the lyrics to the whole song are amplified as this zebra and the random rainbow suggests the man is actually dreaming the whole thing, which we learn to be true at the end of the song.

What is the relationship between music and visuals?

Throughout the song, the the video mainly cuts to the beat. Also, the visuals correspond to the beats in the music. For example, when the music is pulsing, the people in the video are moving their heads in time with the beat and in the same rhythm like in this scene below.

Also, there are bright flashing coloured lights which change colour with the music in time with the beat.

For example, in the two clips above, you can see the colour change from pink to red. These changes happen throught the whole of this scene in time with the music.

The visuals also illustrate when there is instrumentals in the music. In the clip below, the male is being lifted up and bounced along by the crowd. At this point, there is no singing, just music and he is being moved in sync.

Throughout the song, the music pace is constant along with the video and editing. The editing is made up of quick cuts which all stay in time to the beat which helps emphasise it.

Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?

Throughout the video, there are close ups of the artist in the different scenes.

She has been made to look glamorous and attractive. The first image is an extreme close up and the focus is on her eyes. This draws in attention and is made to captivate the audience as if they are looking directly at her. This would attract the male audience who who find her very attractve. In the second image, her eyes are covered drawing the attention to her whole face. Her haircut, outfit and accessories all give her that popstar look and would appeal to young girls who can aspire towards her. The record company is using the artist to sell the song by using Katy Perry's looks in order to target the audiences.

This video is similar and different to her other videos. It's has a similar style with the narrative which ties in with a few of her other videos, but it is also similar as most of her other videos also use her looks to sell the track.

For example the videos below

Is there reference to the notion of looking?

In this particular video, the artist isn't as much on sexual display as she has been in previous videos however there are still signs. In one particular scene, where the girls are dressed in wedding dresses, there are cuts to just their legs which gives the sense that the artist and other people in the video are on display and are being used to sell the video and appeal to the male audience.

Also, throughout the video, the artist is wearing skimpy clothes or short shorts which also puts her on display. However, these shots are not major and are edited in pretty discretely which shows that being on display was not the main attraction of this video.

There is also the reference of looking with a screen within a screen shot.

 Other references include when there is an audience in the video and they are looking at the artist.

Are there intertextual references?

In this video, there are no noticeable references to tv programmes or films however there are slight references to the artist's other videos such as 'Waking Up in Vegas' due to the fact that in this video, she is also portrayed as fun and lively and there are similar scenes such as a wedding.

Is this music video performance-based, narrative-based or concept-based?

The music video is majority narrative based. At the beginning, there is talking and also at the end, to start and end the story which takes place throughout the video. There is also a little element of performance during the second verse where she is singing on stage.

Vernallis Theory

The music video i have chosen to analyse is 'Love the way you lie' by Eminem feat. Rihanna.



Vernallis' theory centres around 4 key concepts. These are:

1)narrative
2)editing
3)camera movement and framing
4)diegesis

Narrative:

The music video is a visual response to the song. There is a story behind the music video to explain lyrics and put a visual interpretation on the song. This narrative is not always complete with some scenes missing to allow audiences to add their own interpretation and thoughts into what they think is happening in the video. At the end of the video, viewers are unsure of the ending, eliminating closure from the narrative and therefore posing questions to the audience and leaving them wondering.
In this particular video, it's a mixture between narrative and shots of the artists performing to the camera that drive the video forward.

Editing:

The editing of the video generally matches the beat of the music and the cuts are on beat. However the general pace throughout is not even and there are hardly any smooth transitions but more jump cuts between shots. There is also a lot of cutting within the lyrics when it would be expected to stay on the same shot.
Overall the editing is foregrounded and i think very obvious rather than discrete within the video.

Camera Movement and Framing:

Throughout the video, there are lots of extremes of shot types to extreme close ups of the artists but also extreme long shots. There is a similar style of framing throughout the whole video. The video continues to go back to the master shot and close ups of the artists throughout.

Diegesis:

The diegesis is revealed fairly slowly however it ties in with the lyrics of the music and so becomes more apparent as the song develops. The actions are not always completed and are sometimes disrupted and cut. Gaps in the audience's understanding of the music video are common.
Throughout, there are repetitions of imagery used, especially of the artists and also musical phrases and the beat is constant.

Genre Analysis

The video i have chosen to analyse is Lady Gaga - Just Dance

The genre of this music is pop and i can tel from the video due to the characteristics of the genre that it possesses which are:

Dance routine
Dance oriented beats/rhythm
Beauty shots
Bright colours
Flashing lights, creative setting and backdrops
Modern, stylish clothing

Album Cover Analysis

The one cover i have chosen to deconstruct out of the ones i looked at is Backstreet Boys and their album Millenium.




Front Cover:

The cover is dominated by an image of the band and the title of the album 'Millenium'. The band members are all dressed coordinated in white suits. They are not looking forward and directly addressing the audience but have been positioned in a posed way.

Behind them is a white glow effect which extends outwards. There are then rays extending out from this. The whole colour scheme is white with hints of very light blue and purple. The way the cover has been designed with the band in the centre and the rays portrays them as heavenly which also ties in with the colour scheme used. Everything is light and glowing with the focus on them.

The title of the album, 'Millenium' extends across the whole width of the cover. This is also in white but has a blue glow effect around it which makes it stand out more and also tying in with the entire front cover colour scheme. The title is right in the centre of the cover making it stand out even more to grab attention.

The way everything has been designed portrays the band to be the typical boy band who sing love songs but they also have a striking image by the way they stand out which represents them as being different to other typical boy bands.

Back Cover:

The back cover once again shows the band but this time the back of them. The photo used shows them walking away. They are still in their suits however they are more in shadow and are heading towards the light and rays, the same effect used on the front.

The darkness allows the text of the song names to stand out more. They have been written in purple (once again tying in with the same colour scheme) and against a white background which contrasts with the now dark suits.

The text has been positioned right in the centre of the back cover and has been centralised in order to be the thing that stands out most so people will read and see what's on the album.

Autobiography Reflections

How/When/Wherho with do we listen to music?

We can listen to music in a number of different ways. These include hearing it live at a gig or concert, on a tape or cd, on the computer through programs such as Itunes and Spotify and on the radio and television on music channels.
We can listen to music at any point of the day and with everyone.

What are the pleasures associated with music?
I think relaxation is one of the main pleasures associated with music. As well as music being entertaining, it can help you to relax. Its also enjoyable.

Do we have different music needs at different times of the day?

I personally can listen to anything at any part of the day. The thing that most affects my music needs is not the time of day but my mood. However some people can only listen to certain types of music at certain points in the day.

Was there a pattern between our choices of songs?
The songs we picked for our autobiography could all be linked to eachother. There was a big crossover between our hobbies and interests and many of us picked songs that had some reference to the hobbies we enjoyed. School and holidays were other themes that kept appearing among our choices and many of us picked songs that reminded us of memories from these times.
What was the relevance to our project?

Intertextual Reference

The song i have chosen to write about and analyse for intertextual references is 'Man i feel like a Woman' by Shania Twain

This video has a reference to fashion photography with its use of mannequins. This video also copies the exact style used in Robert Palmer's, 'Addicted to Love'.

Album Cover Analysis

Here is a photo of the selection of album covers i chose to look at for this task:


1. What are the typical features that an album cover has? Make a list of all the elements they have in common.
colour scheme
simple design
few or no characters
use of different fonts/colours
title
name of band/album
song titles list
barcode
record company name
year

2. How would you categorise the covers in front of you? Are there any other ways of distinguishing between them other than generically?
Amongst the album covers, there are many different genres such as pop, rock and r'n'b. This would be one way to categorise them but i could also categorise them into different types of artists for example boy bands and then rock bands. The boy bands all have all the members of the group on the cover whereas the rock bands have an abstract cover with either a design or animation and no image of the band itself.

The covers could also be categorised by audience and their appeal. The Evanescence and My Chemical Romance albums are similar in terms of imagery and i think clearly target people that like the rock genre. Whereas covers such as the boy bands target more their female fans.

3. Album covers serve many different functions. What do you think these are (ie what is their purpose?)

A cover serves three main purposes:

1.To advertise and identify the contents of the music product.
2.To convey the artistic aspirations of the original artists
3.To serve as a primary image in the promotional efforts surrounding the product, as an identifiable image associated with it.

Track Ideas

These tracks below are all from the band Innerpartysystem. I really enjoy their music and think some of their songs would be good for our project.

Innerpartysystem - Obsession



Innerpartysystem - What we will never know

Track Ideas

Rise Against - Roadside



Frou Frou - Must Be Dreaming

Music Video

Another music video i have chosen to add to my blog is the video by Jason Derulo to his song 'What If'

I fell in love with the song when i first heard it and when i watched the video i thought it was really good.



I like the whole idea of time being the theme of the video and i like how the narrative fits in with the song and the whole question of 'What If?'

I like how the video tells a story at the beginning and then goes back in time before repeating itself but with a different outcome so theres a twist at the end.
Overall i really enjoyed this viedo and thought it was very effective.

What Music Means to Me

What Music Means to Me - Childhood




This song always reminds me of when i was younger because i remember having to perform it on stage for my drama school.

What Music Means to Me - Early Teens




This song always brings back memories whenever i hear it. I remember it being played at the school discos in year 7, 8 and 9 and it always makes me think back to my early teens.


What Music Means to Me - Now




At the moment, this song has got to be the song that is most stuck in my head. This song was played throughout my whole summer holiday in Italy at least 5 times a day and it brings back all my holiday memories and reminds me a lot of summer.