Planning: Photoshoot results

 

Planning: Photoshoot inspo

As I’m creating an indie band i want these photos to reflect that. As i can’t bring Hayden, my lead singer, into school, i had the idea of photographing my friends Ollie and Marnie, and having them pose as siblings who are a part of the ‘Losboys’ band. I hope to take some pictures that could be used for merchandising, and some that promote the pair as artists within the band, and would use the images for an about the band page, plugging their own music to promote the ‘indie ethos’ of supporting more underground artists. Artists like Harry Styles do this, as he has a large band with very talented musicians that he has support his shows, so that they can grow their platforms and the audience can expand their genres of listening. 

Here is some of the inspiration i found for my photoshoot 

Generic Research: Charity Organisation

 Charity Research 

After researching different websites of indie record labels/ artists, I found that they often include some sort of collaboration or link to a charity that they have been involved with in some way, in order to raise awareness and make clear their values and ideologies. In the case of XL recordings, they worked with a charity specialising in climate activism, whereas Colony House worked along side a charity tackling child hunger and poverty. 

I found a charity called Arthouse Unlimited which is an organisation that represents “a collective of artists with complex neurodiverse and physical support needs”. Their artists create unique designs that are turned into designer products, that are then sold and 100% of the profits go back into the charity towards supporting the cause and their artists. They have worked with many brands including Urban Outfitters, to create clothing that’s extremely unique and fits the style of their target demographic. Urban Outfitters is extremely trendy amongst my demographic and fits the grunge, street style look that Gen Z aspire to have. Therefore if they have collaborated with this charity, my demographic will ultimately enjoy it too. This charity also worked with Lush Cosmetics, a brand that prides itself on advocating against animal testing and ethical means of production.  

Partnering with this charity would be a great way of aligning the band’s values and ideologies with a good cause, and meeting the views of the 16-25 year old target demographic, who care about social change. My proposal would be to collaborate with the charity to make exclusive merchandise with all sales revenue going back into the charity itself. This cool graphic design style is fitting with the baggy t-shirt baggy jeans trend amongst young people today, and works with the idea of a skateboarding/hip/cool indie artist.

These are some images i found on Pinterest when looking up baggy t-shirt street style. 

Planning: website flatplans

 

Generic Research: Website case study

 Website Analysis

 

Colony House is the band that sings the song I am using and will therefore have a website conventional of the indie rock genre. 

The home page of their website is very simplistic so that the tabs and band name are clear and coherent. They immediately have their new album “The Cannonballers” plugged in the middle of the page, with a long shot of the band during a photoshoot from the filming of their new music video. Their casual clothing and stances make them look down to earth and relatable which I will like to reflect in my own website. I think I will use a candid shot from the filming of the video for this, and have some sort of link straight to the video, allowing immediate access for the audience. They have each tab plugged in a bold, sans serif, all caps font to really push the audience to interacting with their website. 

At the bottom of this first home page it says “Catch us on tour in a city near you”, promoting themselves as live artists and using commercial imperative to emphasise this. They also have this checkered flag motif that is consistent all across their website that links to their new album. 

Their tour dates are listed immediately with links to TICKETS and RSVP, making it quick and easy for the audience to see the band.

Straight below this is a page for the band’s merchandise with T-shirts, caps, tote bags and may variations of their new album on vinyl. They have a few special edition vinyls that I think will be useful to have in order to promote a cult fandom and avid fans. 

In addition to their merch, they have a brand of wine, which is unconventional of most bands. I think this will be inappropriate to do for my audience as it consists of under 18s. I think it would be worth coming up with some sort of niche brand to feature in the video that will be relevant to my demographic, and provide some cross platform convergence. 

One of the tabs links to a page called “EXIST FOR GOOD” which is a collaboration with a charity that tackles child hunger. It would be effective linking to a brand that does charity work especially as one of the Beggars Group labels has done the same. 

They also have a BIO section that has a slideshow of band photos and a long description of who the band are and what they stand for. This allows the audience to connect with their favourite artists and feel some closeness to them

Generic Research: Conventions of music videos

Richard Dyer

Dyer believes that in music videos, artists are presented as commodities, showcasing their ‘start persona” to make money. These artists star in music videos that represent them in ways that will appeal to their target audience, and therefore build their fan base. To adhere to Dyer within my music video, I will make the artist likeable and relatable to encourage the audience to interact with my brand further. 

Andrew Goodwin

There are 5 areas of music videos that are common conventions and used within the genre regularly. Within my NEA, i will make sure to include as many of these as possible, as these aid in creating a cohesive and conventional music video. 

-       Visuals of a music video should match up with the music and the beat

-       Intertextuality is common to gain value transference from other texts 

-       Visuals of the band singing and playing instruments to build their star persona

-       Visuals of a music video should match up with the music

-       Notions of looking (like through cameras or telescopes)

-       Narrative based

Planning: Storyboard