In relation to our genre we need to make sure we have the appropriate props to fit in to the scenes and make it seem as if it is the artist environment, these will consist of props with a vintage or retro feel. Additionally we need to incorporate the main props that can link into the lyrics and narrative of our Music Video, therefore putting an image to the words to make it clearer to the audience.
The props that we will need relating to our narrative...
+ A lounger or bed in which the Artist can lay on.. "So I'll Lie Here"
+ A pillow.. "With your eyes closed, and me as your Pillow"
+ Bed Sheets and accessories.. "I know i've found contentment in these sheets" Other props...
+ Acoustic Guitar... This is one of the main props that will appear more than once. This will feature as an important piece due to the guitar being a typical convention to indie acoustic genre, and will additionally help the narrator and artist be identified by the audience. This will act as the narrator's master shot which will include shots of him and the acoustic guitar in various different locations.
-Here is an image of Ben Howard with an acoustic guitar
+ Bench... We will need to use a bench near the end of the video to add a climax to the storyline; the artist will see his lover (the one he has been singing about) and see she has moved on. This bench and scene will symbolise the end of the relationship.
+ Bag... For the female scene's a handbag will be an obvious and reoccurring item in the music video, this is as it is an everyday item, and will show the age of the girl. This will represent her as an everyday female.
We also had an idea of the male carrying a male bag in some scenes as this will add to the male carrying his own 'weight' and troubles now he is no longer with her.
+ Sofa... In addition to the bed we needed a place in which the artist and his lover could be together, indoors to show the warmth and comfort of their old relationship. We will then contrast this to the male being alone.
To improve our images to make them seem more professional and artistic our group decided to experiment with overlaying the image for the front cover of the inlay booklet. This added depth to the images and I have found the technique added a unique and different feel to it.
Here I will show the process of how we did it-
We put our image we wanted to use as the base image onto Photoshop.
We then created a copy of this layer, which also enhanced the colour slightly.
We then selected the image we wanted to overlay onto the image and placed it on top of the original image and we selected the soft overlay option.
We put a blue filter onto it.
Then an additional creamy filter.
Then adjusted the brightness and contrast.
I am very impressed with how the overlay effect on the inlay booklet front cover worked out.
In this post I will talk about the Conventions we have decided to use in our Music Video, and similar Music Videos and Artists that have also used them. Most of the examples I will use are a good representation of the Indie Genre, although they all may have their individual sub-genre's.
Narrative within the Indie Genre
In many Indie Music Videos there are a combination of performance and narrative; the narrative is mostly filmed in a contrasting and dissimilar location the where the performance footage is based; an example of this is in One Night Only's 'Say you don't want it', where the narrative is in the city and is busy, and the performance is on the roof of the building, just outside the city, where it is free and empty.
To complete and apply this Convention of narrative theory to the music videos, I have found a narrative in the Indie Genre in which I can analyse and make sure we can attract the audience in the same way.
In Kate Nash's Music Video for 'Foundations' I found that the lyrics link to the action is the scene, such as when the lyrics ' and I know that I should let go, but I can't...' are sung the couple are holding hands until the words 'let go' are sung. This links to an aspect we were interested in applying as in our lyrics when the singer says 'go to sleep my love...' the female character of the relationship in the video will be laying on the bed and a close up of her eyes closing will be filmed. The narrative is represented as a casual, average day, in which our scene will be as firstly the average day of when they were together, and now when they are apart; the Artist 'Kate Nash' is singing to the camera, whilst getting on with her everyday life.
Editing Technique- Overlay
As we have decided to create an overlay of scene's in the middle of our Music Video to show the Artist
singing alone, and the overlay of a previous time when the characters spent their time together there happy.
Olly Murs song 'Dear Darlin' is a perfect example of when this is used, as he uses an identical location but overlays him and his ex-girlfriends past times and fun they have shared in that location whilst he is singing alone of the bed about losing her. From this video you can tell that this Music Video is effective as the similar narrative and love story can be represented by this technique and help the audience understand the emotions involved in the song, which links to the Artist himself. To complete this in the most professional way possible we would have to film twice in the same location, with the camera running throughout; after we would have to edit it on final cut pro, by cutting, overlaying and tweaking the opacity of the image to make it subtle and appear a memory.
Editing Technique- Filter/ Camera use
The effect we want to portray in our music video is that of a warm and comforting video, despise the narrative behind it. The hue we want to create it that alike the colours and hues in Ben Howard's video, 'Keep Your Head Up'.
The filter of this video creates a more exciting feel to the Music Video and draws the audience in to watch for the rest of the song.
Another convention of the music video we are using are the different Camera shots we will use, in which will make, what could be, a boring love story into something more eye-catching and emotional. This is used in the Music Video on the left when the character is sliding down the water slide, the worm view perspective, the handheld showing shots of the reaction shots whilst sliding down the hill, and the birds-eye view assist the video in having a more exciting aspect and captures the listeners attention.
Lip- Syncing
The use of lip-syncing was important for us as the narrative will be happening around the Artist through an overlay and the 'average day' happening around him; the song in which is being used diagetically.
The Artist Daughter uses this is their song 'Still' this was influential and a linking convention to our Music video as the use of the artists image being presented on the T.V and the narrative working around it reminded me of our Artist sitting and having the narrative around him. This is effective due to the creativity but the unhappy narrative explains and shows the audience the details.
Binary Opposition Urban and Nature
The use of the Binary Opposition will be used due to the contrast we will use of the Urban and natural setting. This convention is used in Ben Howard's 'Only Love' video.
We firstly see Howard riding his bike, at a low angle capturing the power and the sunlight through the tree's. A jump cut is then used to show an urban setting in which the cuts are in time to the beat of the song, this adds interest and the audience want to know where the character will end up, why and for what? This is a convention that we are going to use.
An idea that was brainstormed in our group was a split screen edit, in which throughout the video the audience will see a variety of perspectives on the scene. Through our research we found that this can be shots of the location that the narrative is based on, where the music video was filmed and a personal perspective of the characters in the scene; also if it is a band performance, the camera can identify the different instruments used by using the split screen to focus on the individual band members. The idea of a split screen can effect to the music video that provides the listener, or audience with a better insight of the narrative, band and music video.
This idea, I feel will be a good edition and aspect to our Music Video as the love narrative could be shown through the personal perspective of the male and female of relationship, which the narrative is based upon. The different emotions and feeling of the relationship, and the breakup will be expressed through this editing technique.
Here are some examples of other Artists, although not Indie, where the split screen has been used-
The Narrative of Daniel Powters' Bad Day, is similar to the music video in which we would like to create as it is based upon a break-up. The cross cutting shows the couple, now split, getting on with their lives after the break-up day in and day out; what effect it has had on them and how they feel emotionally. The questions asked by the audience, such as 'how' and 'why' are answered due to this technique also; initially you can see that the couple are not happy without each other. The singer is acting as the God Figure, as he is not the character involved in the relationship but is in some of the same locations of the character, although they cannot hear him, this is a convention of Omniscience.
Michael Jackson's song Billie Jean, again is not in the Indie Genre, and is not initially about a break-up but it is about lust and a girl. The screen split in this video is used by using props, in this case, a lamp post to separate the two different scenes in the narrative. This is a different way in which we can use the split screen idea, as we can shown the couple in the same location at different times, but have them on the same scene, and split them with an object, such as a tree, lamp post or a wall.
Along with a music video and a digi pack our group need to create a Magazine Advert to promote our Artist ( Mike Dignam) and his music. As a group we have started researching into similar genres and artists to our Artist, and their adverts, we will look into more depth at this when we start planning and designing our advert. We want it to portray the personality and music of the Artist, whilst giving the information that is needed to help promote Dignam.
John Mayer John Mayer is an American Singer/Songwriter, guitarist and producer; his genre is Folk Rock/ Indie which is similar to our Artists, Mike Dignam's, different songs. As Dignam John Mayer has a certain individuality and diversity in his music, but is still using the stereotypical convention of Indie, a Guitar; although he performs with a mixture of Electric and Acoustic. Like Josh Radin, John Mayer has been associated with Columbia Records, who are more 'mainstream' but have not always been signed by them as he also worked with Arista Records and Aware Records.
John Mayer's career started way back in 2000 where he started gaining major label and commercial success, throughout his rocky music career he has released many CD's, EP's and Singles. He has also won many Grammy and MTV Music Awards.
'Wildfire' is one of John Mayer's recent releases, so I have decided to look at the video on YouTube and see the views, responses, comments and likes that it has received; this will give be an insight into his Audience and Demographics.
Unsurprisingly due to his success, the video has already received over 1.2 Million views, over 9,000 Likes and 1,224 Comments. These comments are by Males and Females with the Ages being between 20-28.
Ben Howard is a British Singer/Songwriter, his genre is Indie Folk which is similar to our artist Mike Dignam, as he has a soulful voice and includes his guitar in most of his songs; additionally as you can see he is using it in his live performance. Howard is classed as an Indie Artist firstly of his music, image and overall look and because he is not signed by a 'mainstream; record label; his record company is Island Records.
Since 2008, Ben Howard has released several singles, EP's and has released an Album which has lead him to win two BRIT Awards and he was Nominated for a Mercury. He is only one of the few 25 year olds that have cracked the US and taken America by storm.
'Keep Your Head Up' and ' The Wolves' are popular singles that he has released, and all charted. Ben Howard may be the most famous British Folk Singer of his time, which makes him a similar Artist that Mike Dignam may aspire too. Demographics
I decided to look into the statistics of his song, Only Love which has over 5 Million views, and over 2,500 Comments. These comments seem to be more commonly from Females, but as Ben Howard is one of the biggest British Indie Artists he is very popular by Ben also; these females seem to be between 13-24 and then males are between 18-24. I believe the lyrics and meanings of his songs attract many different age ranges as they are about love, relationships and tough times, which is easily relate able.
I looked on Ben Howard's Facebook page and you can see his like page is very popular due to over 500,000 people Like this, and over 8,000 have talked about him. The most popular fans on his Facebook Page are ages between 18-24 again, which links to the Demographics from his Facebook Page.
Through this fans are able to keep up with his Tour Dates, upcoming new music and any personal updates. A lot of the younger generations use these social networking sites so it help to keep in touch.
I had a quick look at Ben Howard's Twitter and Twitter followers, which are more than 345,000, not as many as Facebook but are still a large about. A mixture of males and females are shown to be Following him, with a small collection of Indie Artists and Indie Radio Station DJ's, such as Fearne Cotton
Josh Radin
Josh Radin is an American Recording Artist/ Songwriter, his genre is Acoustic Indie, and he also uses a guitar in most of his performances and songs along with his whisper, silver bell voice. Radin's career started in 2004 as he was signed with Columbia Records ,which issued his Album 'We Were Here' in 2006, he was then signed by Mom + Pop Music, an independent record label based in New York.
Josh Radin decided in 2004 to take a stab at songwriting and played one of his earliest compositions 'Winter' to his friend Zach Braff. Braff to an immediate liking to the song and as an Actor /Director he eventually used it in his hit television show 'Scrubs'. After fan were requesting more music from him, which encouraged him to pursue his career in the Music Industry by making it his main job.
One of Josh Radin's marketing styles that he made was in 2006 when he exclusively released his Album ' We Were Here' to iTunes for a month, before attracting attention from Major Labels. From this Radin has received high reviews from magazines such as Rolling Stones. He has released several Ep's and 5 Albums, four by Mom + Pop Music; additionally his music has appeared in several T.V shows and Films.
Demographics
I decided to look into Josh Radin's song 'I'd Rather Be With You' and the demographics of the video. It has over 3.5 Million views and 1,500 Comments. These comments again seem to be slightly more female based but there is an obvious mix of Females and Males comments, indicating he is the 'Ben Howard' of America as he attracts a wider range of Genders and Age's. His YouTube Page initially helped these fans find his new and upcoming Music, these fans seem to be of a younger Age that would spend a lot of time on YouTube, these seem to be slightly older than Ben Howard, 18-27.
I looked on Josh Radin's Facebook Page and this page is not as popular as I would of imagined but I believe it is because the Audience are slightly older than Ben Howard. Over 330,000 Likes and nearly 4,000 People have talked about this, the comments again are from the age range we found on his YouTube.
This page again can help him keep in contact on all media platforms.
I also looked at Josh Radin's Twitter Page and unsurprisingly found that he has again not as many Followers, but less generations use Twitter as their social Networking site. He has nearly 73,000 Followers, who again are a mixture of Males and Females. Radin also has a celebrity follower, Ellen DeGeneres, which looks good for his Audience.
After looking into some music videos from similar Artists in the Indie Acoustic Genre, I decided to create a post which sums up the common conventions and aspects I have found in relation to the genre. This will help when we start planning our own Music Video we can use some of these to attract the Audience we want and keep the video in the style of the Indie Genre.
Camera
Indie Music Videos are designed to look as if they are made by an amateur, a home video, or by a handheld camera. Film Cameras may also be used to create a vintage look and authenticity. Shots
Close up's, long shots and extreme close ups are essential within the Indie Acoustic Genre. Editing
The Editing seems to fit in with the pace and beat of the song, longer shots are used when it is slower and quick changes when the pace gets faster. Lighting
The outdoor shots in Indie Music videos are effect due to the advantage and use of the natural lighting, which links to the popular convention of nature in the setting. The indoor shots seems to be of a darker and more subtle lighting. Colour
The colour of the Indie Genre is key to the Music Video as the right feel to the footage creates a vintage feel to the video, which is extremely popular in this genre. The hues and tones of the video are edited greatly to create this effect, additionally a lot of music videos are in Black & White. Props
The simplicity of this Genre results in very little props, usually the stereotypical ones you will see are a Guitar (acoustic normally) , an old film camera, or a bicycle. Clothing
Male Artists of Indie Acoustic are usually dressed with their own individual style but again is very simple. Many of the outfits seem to be influenced by vintage and retro styles and fashion opposed to the mainstream high street brands and fashion. The casual feel to the Artists clothes give the impression to the Audience that they are very down to earth, 'normal', and more in touch with the music than fame, this helps the fans relate to the artist and music more. Common brand used in Indie are Fred Perry, Ray Ban or Vintage pieces from shops on Brick Lane or Carnaby Street; the music and image of Indie Artists Mirror each other. Locations
The music videos I have come across in the Indie Acoustic Genre have mostly be outdoors, in a natural setting, a popular style is in a field with the sun peaking through trees. An urban area is also popular.
Sound
Artists that have influenced the sound of Indie Artists are, The Beatles, The Kooks and Oasis, so many of the older generation of this Audience may have influenced the generation listening to Indie now. Characteristics
The characteristics of these Male Artists seem to be down to earth, natural, relaxed and very casual. This can attract an Audience that is just interested in the music and sound. Instruments
Acoustic Guitars are very popular in Indie Acoustic, these are shown in bands such as Mumford & Sons, and an Artist such as Ben Howard.
As our song is inspired by Indie, I have decided to look into the Genre as a whole, and in particular the motifs, styles and conventions of Indie.
What is Indie Music?
Indie Music, originally known as Independent Music, is not a distinctive style of Music but is a recognisable Style as a lot of the time Indie Bands are influenced by each other, resulting in a alike sound. They are 'Independent' as their record label may not be mainstream. Overall the sound of Indie is harmonious and melodic, and the instruments that accompany the sound are well balanced, effortless and effective. The Instruments usually consist of a guitar riff, with an overlay of an additional guitar riff, which complements the sound well; a minimal drum beat, a bass guitar, and soft remarkable, unique voice. The Lyrics usually contain powerful emotions, usually deep in thought but not obvious, tasteless or weak.
How popular is Indie?
As a 'Scene' the Indie audience mostly have a love for the music alone, not the stage setting, lights and 'fans'; the scene is kept quite small as the 'big' fuss is not what the Audience really want. They feel as if the music is what matters and they do not want it to be commercialised, it is all about the music. Overall the Indie Audience is quite big, but the following is not as big as Pop, as they just appreciate the music.
The Most Common Conventions of Indie And Indie Music Video's-
+ Instruments- Typical to Rock Indie
+ Assorted Shot Types - Montage
+ Flash Transitions
+ Cross Cutting between Artist and Place
+ Close up/ Long Shot
+ Cutting rate to the beat of the music, this creates synchronisation between sound and visuals.
Examples of Indie Artists and Bands-
+ Arctic Monkeys
+ Arcade Fire
+ Bloc Party
+ Mumford & Sons
+ The Strokes
+ The Decemberists
+ Death Cab for Cuties
+ Bon Iver
+ Ben Howard
+ Josh Rodin
+ John Major
+ Nick Camillo
The process of Research & Understanding initially consists of finding a song in which we can portray the Genre, Artist and Music in the way it wants to be presented through it's Music Video.
I created a Slide show to show the ways in which you could do this.
As our Audience fits into the Indie Acoustic Genre, our typical audience member will be a female aged 18, as from looking at Mike Dignam's and other Indie Artists demographics, this is the most common gender for a male Acoustic Indie Genre, which stereotypically fits into the profile. The fan would have previous knowledge of what the conventions are regarding Indie Acoustic Genre; with the emotional and personal lyrics and the solo instrument which is usually a Guitar, which is attractive to the Female if the Artist can play an instrument. The female fan will be able to relate to the lyrics in some form; usually in a relationship situation; additionally the female will not be far off the Artists age and will be able to relate and create a connection to his music.
Adele is a British Soul Singer and Musician who started of big by winning a Brit Awards, and in 2008 released her debut Album '19' who from that gained critical and commercial success, this is because it cerified four time platinum in the UK and double platinum in the US. She then won Grammy Awards and went on to release a second Album called '21' which gained her entry for various reasons in the Guiness World Records; finally to top off her ongoing career she wrote and sung the song Skyfall; the newest James Bond movie.
Album Covers-
This Camera in this Album cover focuses mostly the top half of the face, facing down, with the light solely on one side of the face. This seems to me as a very dramatic and sad image, due to the lighting and Adele's eyes facing down giving the impression that she is crying. The darkness behind her shows she may be unhappy in some way and the light on one side maybe indicating she wants to hide emotions and not show to much. The music shows her emotions though. With the name Adele so dominant it gives the impression she is trying to say, this is me and this is my emotions I am letting out in my lyrics to you.
This is the next Album that Adele released, and already this feels less depressing emotional and more mature in a way. The camera is faced forwards onto Adele, which is in contrast to the previous one as it revealing more of her face, although she is still holding something back with the colour scheme being black and white. Her head in her hand shows she may be emotionally tired and feel like she needs to let out her emotions again; and alike previously we see her eyes nearly closed or looking down, maybe hiding?
The lack of props and and set indicated that her emotions and lyrics are the main focus of these Albums and the meaning behind the Albums themselves.
Music Video-
The set of this music video seems to be a big empty Stately home type building, with clips happening in various rooms, such as a man in feather in one, Adele in another, the drummer in the hall and the upstairs hallway also. The empty stately home may indicate her loneliness or a story of her and her lover nearly living in a house and moving on with their life together. This could be later linked to the props used.
The camera used seems to be on a track and a tri-pod so we keep getting closer and further away to Adele, maybe indicating we are getting closer to her emotions.
The props used are various amount of crockery and old chairs which belong in the home, covered in plastic. The crockery in then getting smashed, which could link to her heart getting smashed, or the fact that the domestic life she was going to have with Him is over. The old chairs covered over could mean that she is hiding and putting away her future.
The dancer adds to the effect of the music and grand house, this grandness is enhanced by Adele's costume being a smart, quite stately home feel outfit, which again goes with the theme of the Music Video. Adele is represented as Soulful, emotional and truthful.
Concert Set-
Adele's concert set here is that of The Royal Albert Hall, a grand venue, which can allow her to project her soulful voice to the audience, again displaying her emotions for them. The large scale of the venue reflects her voice.
Jack Johnson is an Acoustic Folk Rock Artist and Musician who achieved success after his debut Album release in 2001, Brushfire Fairytales. Johnson's feel is supported by him playing various instruments such as guitar, ukulele, piano and drums, representing him as a 'one man band' and a talent all by himself.
Since Jack Johnson's debut Album, he has released five more, and a number of EP's.
Album Covers-
The Artist, from this Album is represented as quite artsy and minimalistic in the way that it is a silhouette of a male, probably representing Jack Johnson with his guitar, by a lonely tree on a cliff. As it is a silhouette I can only comment on the colours used as being bright and eye-catching to enhance the black areas that want to be shown. The title of the Album is In Between Dreams which is represented with the tree having a whole in between the branches. Lastly the guitar represents the music and genre of Jack Johnson himself, and tells the audience it is all about the music represented.
In contrast to the tree and area looking quite high, the Album To The Sea is lower down and darker than In Between Dreams. The camera is far away on this Album making it look nearly like a silhouette, but you make out that it is Artistic photography, which links to the Indie/Folk Genre and the clever use of lighting in the photography that has made it look that way. The props used is wood in the shape of a wave, which links to the title To The Sea; the blue colours used in the sky also looks hazy like waves also. This overall represents the artist as imaginative, creative and a big believer in simplicity and focusing on the music.
Music Video-
The Music video itself is a lot like Call On Me by Blondie. The set is a mixture of 'home videos', filming of his photo shoots and his concerts . The main video which we hear him singing live is the main clip, again focusing on the music of the artist, and there we see him with his guitar again.
The editing is strong throughout as firstly we see a group of clips in one shot, we then see less and then it goes to a clip with him by himself; we also see a mixture of effects and black & white throughout. Again emphasising on his folk, back to basic, but artistic feel that he represents.
The costume worn by the artist is very plain, plain shirts and trousers as his image to him is not as important as his music, which is supported by the fact he didn't feature himself on the covers of his Albums. The props are all 'natural' from the shots that his was filmed in, such as with his guitar etc...
Concert Set-
I could not get a shot of his set, which makes me think that his set was not filled with props, it was just him and his guitar which I got an image of.
I used the Article by Rolling Stones to gain a better insight into the band, Blondie.
Blondie is 'one of the most commercially successful and adventurous' bands/ survivors of the New York punk scene, who have released three platinum albums; Parallel Lines, Eat to the Beat and Auto American.
The band consisted of, the bleach-blonde and only female Deborah Harry who became an international icon and boyfriend Chris Stein, who developed the melodic side of the punk genre; Gary Valentine, Clem Burke, Chris Stein and Jimmy Destri were also members of the band.
A few months after their hit single, Blondie made their British Concert Debut, Gary Valentine then left the band and created his own which then broke up Spring 1980.
Album Covers-
The Band here are represented as being quite a united strong band, with Harry especially being the dominant one in the group due to her stance being strong with her hands on her hips and not smiling unlike the rest of the band. They seem to be putting on a front as being strong but up for having fun and unique which is appealing to the audience, this also comes across in some of their music videos.
In this Album cover the Camera angle is straight on, which does not make the band seem less dominant as the camera is far away to fit in the whole band making it seem like you are taking on all 6 of them, which in a way makes them seem daunting but powerful.
The set of the Album is an image of the band on a striped background, this is in contrast with their costumes which is smart but slightly edgy as all the males are in black and white suites with skinny black ties, and Harry is wearing an all white dress and shoes, I believe this is to show the dominance and strength of her in the band. The stripes switch as it passes them making it seem as if they changed it up and differed the design of it due to their rebelling and punk feel. Blondie's logo is bold and in red to stand out to the customers, but I believe the swirly writing is a juxtaposition to the type of music that is produced by them.
This Album Cover has a different feel to it completely as it only shows Deborah Harry singing. I believe this is because she became and icon and along with her boyfriend became the main face of the band, Blondie. This album will be easily identified as Blondie just for Harry's presence alone. The writing/logo is the same as used in the previous Album cover which shows that it is part of the bands identity, the font is now in pink, but the Album name is in capitals underneath just like previously in capitals on top. Harry's hair here is not as slicked and well done, she has 'punk' hair which shows the genre off more, the setting seems to be, or seem to be mid concert; this gives the band the identity of being about the music and mostly the singing as she is with a microphone. Harry has nothing but spotlights focusing on her, and she is wearing a yellow shirt of dress, again not focusing on that as this Album seems to be about the music alone.
Music Video-
The set of this video is a mixture of what seems like 'home videos' of Harry in the sea, her in the city and Blondie performing on stage.
The Camera used in this music video seems to be handheld, like it is a friend that is filming her and when it is the concert scene, a fan in the audience. In the urban city scene it seems like handheld also but from a distance that makes it seem like she is not meant to be being filmed.
Clips in the video also seem to consist of bloopers of them making the video showing a fun side to Blondie.
Te editing of the video seems to be mismatched and rebellious like Harry and Blondie come across, which helps the genre tie in better and represents the band to the audience as being a punk rock fun band.
The costume and props are not 'set up' they are all representing who the band is, by the set on the stage to the urban, edgy outfits the Deborah Harry is wearing.
Concert Set-
The concert set is linking with the Album Cover at the top of this post. The stripes again show that link but the mismatched striped revealing the word Blondie shows that they have changed it up again, like what was said about the Album Cover. Other than that no props are used, which seems to me that they are trying to represent to the audience and public that they are all about the music they create.
Newspaper Articles-
Article in Classic Rocks news, recently released in August 2013, proving that although they are from the 1970's Blondie and their music is still talked about and loved.
The genre R&B has quite a distinctive look that is very familiar in the music industry. This look is represented on the Album Covers. Here are an example of the R&B covers that I have found, from Artists such as Usher, Jay-Z and Shontelle.
The look of an R&B artist usually consists of an urban feel with the males dressed usually in a simple shirt and a leather jacket and blazer with a cap. The outfit is very simple but this is usually because the music video consists of dancing, which the audience will focus on more. This is then portrayed on the Album cover with a still of a dance move. A lot of the male artists also show wealth and their origins of the music by wearing a gold chain or some type of jewellery.
The females seem to be usually dressed slightly sexy, with less clothes worn without revealing too much as the R&B females seem to express a lot of dominance, independence and thrive on being strong, which I feel they express in their outfits, by attracting the males, but not letting them see more. This sexy feel is represented on their Album Covers also.
By researching into the Indie Acoustic theme our group created a mood board which we felt best represents the theme overall. Examples of the Artists we found who use the Indie theme are Lucy Rose, Kodaline, Haim and Angus & Julia Stone.
As you can see the images that feature on the Album cover are extremely artistic and photography seems to play a big role in the Indie Acoustic genre.
The majority of the Albums have a bright but soft colour palette which gives the Albums a feel of calm, light and vintage feel which seems to be a familiar convention of a Indie Acoustic cover or image. The sun seems to play an important role in a lot of these covers also, which gives the covers a natural and organic feel without boarding onto Folk and Country music.
Although two of the covers as shown are in Black and White giving the intention that it has a 'back to basics' feel and that the music is all that matters, but the Artists are still very dominant on the cover showing that it is their voice and their music. Lastly the middle image is has a completely different feel to it, as the background image of the Artist is in black and white, but his name is multi-coloured in paint running down the wall.
I feel I have touched upon some of the Conventions of an Indie Acoustic cover but here are some more -
+ Unique
+ Artistic
+ Western
+ Country
+ 1 or 2 People, unless it is the Artist
Folk Rock is the musical combination of the two genres Folk and Rock music; the genre arose in The US and the UK around the mid 1960's. The genre's background began with the American Folk music revival, the beat of the music of The Beatles, and other British Invasion bands. The Genre was established by the Los Angeles band, The Byrds, who began playing traditional folk music, with Bob Dylan constructed material of rock instrumentation.
Musically, the genre was identified with having clear vocal harmonies and a relevantly "clean" approach to electric instruments, as embodied by the 12-string guitar of The Byrds. The jangly guitar sound derived from the music of The Searchers and from George Harrison's use of Rickenbacker's 12-strings of The Beatles recordings during 1964-65.
The most famous Artists of the Folk Rock genre are-
+ The Byrds
+ Bob Dylan
+ George Harrison
+ The Searchers
Influences from-
+ The Beatles
+ Gerry & the Peacemakers
+ Bag... For the female scene's a handbag will be an obvious and reoccurring item in the music video, this is as it is an everyday item, and will show the age of the girl. This will represent her as an everyday female.
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