poster analysis 3#, Damien Rice, 9

Damien Grice is another artist to use minimalistic techniques.

• This advertisement poster uses the font: Courier
• The basic information wondered by the typical audience is provided i.e. the date etc...
• The simplicity could be translated into evoking suspense (the artist hasn't over exaggerated the layout of his product but leaves his audience to buy and discover the true 'taste' of his music themselves)
• He goes against the conventions of the English Language - none of his words are capitalized
• He hasn't emphasized any specific letters through the use of varied fonts/styles
• It is a theme clearly, clean, fresh.

poster analysis 2#; Metallica

Metallica has managed to appeal to its audience through the use of dark tones. The title 'Master of Puppets' has been played around with as the band play play the role of the pupetteer and the graveyards play the roles of the puppet. This poster is also minimalistic and simple. The sunset breaks away from the darkness and adds more personality to the band itself.

Font

Metallica is bold, outstands and has been angled in such a way that the first thing the audience see is the name of the band. This is important, the recognition of the band name attracts the eye and persuades the audience to purchase/look into.

poster analysis 1#; Radiohead continued

This is another influential poster belonging to Radiohead. The choice of colour, use of slight animation and variations of font have all contributed to making it seem like a historical piece of propaganda when in fact it is a contemporary piece.

poster analysis 1#; Radiohead.

The minimalistic, yet eye catching poster produced by Radiohead highlighted to me the importance of considering font to attract my targeted audience. It is remarkable that without having any physical features of the band members, they have managed to convey all that is demanded for in the music sector.

My aim is also to use a minimalistic effect on my album cover to convey my message and to reach the expectations of my audience at the same time.

album cover analysis 7#; The Eraser, Thom Yorke

From the leadsinger of Radiohead, Thom Yorke has also produced a CD cover which is very effective.

• This poster has been sketched
• Radiohead are commonly known to use art for their CD covers and this is yet another prime example; it's abstract, may be interpreted to have many layers to many people
• The red font used clashes agains the black&white in order to engage the eye of the audience
• It's achieveable, realistic and not expensive to construct
• It's pretty modern
• Again, nor the label or the appearance of the band is exposed, instead a less self-centred cover has been created in order to attract its typical audience

album cover analysis 6#; Death Cab for Cutie, Translatlanticism.

This album cover has definately inspired me. The bird is burdened through the red strings, and its beak is shut. Death Cab for Cutie has managed to appeal to its indie audience through this original idea as it is out of the ordinary and managed to provoke many interpretations.

The font is Times New Roman, basic and straight to the point. The absense of the band can yet be seen again, showing the attiutude of the band itself towards their audience. It is possible to say that;

• There is a sense of mystery within this album
• This mystifying of the audience is waiting to be revealed
• It's tempting to purchase due to its suspicious tone
• Definately experimental, yet, follows the conventional concepts of Indie Rock and Rock as whole

album cover analysis 5#; Colplay, Viva la Vida.

It is interesting to see the similarities between Indie Rock and Alternative rock in regard to album-art. From my research so far i have discovered that Indie Rock tends to portray their genre as abstract and as it has it in its name 'indie'. Similarly, Coldplay have also adapted such an approach even though they go down under the genre of Alternative Rock.


The most outstanding thing of this cover is the font. It's eye-catching, contrasts with the dull colors in the background and manages to highlight the tone of the band through its messy/angry way of presentation. By looking rushed and handwritten, it exhibits the message of the painting - French Revolution - as well as foreshadowing to its experimental audience the song awaiting them - a rebellious melody.

album cover analysis 4#; We Are Scientists, With Love and Squalor

We are Scientists are yet another Indie Rock Band. Intriguingly however they have managed to use a conventional form of media and have adapted the 'rule of three'. Again, the identity of the band members have been covered up slightly with the use of cats however their fashion has been exposed. This is a technique used in order to distinguish the 'look' of the band as well as its audience but with a hint of mystery. Mystifying the typical person, they manage to add much more depth and attitude to the status of their band.

One criticsm of this cover may be the use of colour. Tones of red are common on the two characters towards the right where as the one on the left has decided to use darker tones. However, the use of cats takes the distraction away and therefore balances the flaw out.

album cover analysis 3#; Klaxons, Myths of The Near Future

The Klaxons have also produced album art inspired by montage style. Their Indie Rock genre is bridged from this abstract collage of art. This album cover rises many questions and opinions, for example;

• The items chosen - picked specifically and carry meaning
• Retro - appealing to the fashion senses of its audience
• The cut-outs may represent per song in the album(?)
• Choice of font - colourful; bold; full of persona

Through using some of the conventions stated above, it is possible to see how Klaxons appeal to their targeted audiences. It hints at a tone of surrealism as eyes are disproportioned and isolated locations of the world are exhibited. The absence of the band itself portrays their main concerns which clearly isn't about their own image but of the music itself; the audience itself. Though there is a lot going on in the cover itself it is also possible to classify this piece as a minimalistic one, merely because it doesn't include high-tech use of digital technology and can be achieved by anyone with imagination.

I have enjoyed analyzing this piece very much as the experimental approach taken to appeal to its audience inspires me to do the similiar when attempting my ancillary task. Therefore, it is important that my music video connotes this principle.

album cover analysis 2#: JAY-Z, The Blueprint 3.

Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint” is an important example of an abstract album cover. Taking music ‘back to the basics’, Jay-Z has exhibited the transformation of his style as well as underlining his personal tone on the subject of music. I have been influenced by the absence of the artist and the minimalistic look created. By having musical instruments as the central attention of his cover, it has remarked the importance of talent and the irrelevance of the artist.

This album cover is ‘faceless’ yet contains a very deep meaning. It can be interpreted that Jay-Z’s aim was to change the stereotypical perceptions of ‘hip-hop’ into a more respected one. Similarly, I would like to portray the genre of rock as a movement for opinions being exposed.

album cover analysis 1#: Built to Spill, Keep it Like a Secret.

The Indie rock band; Built to Spill have produced a very eye-catching collage styled album cover.

• Feels hand made and full of effort
• Low budget
• The contrasting colours are faint, adding to the style once again
• Manipulation of the photograph has obviously been made however the presentation of it is acceptable and persuasive
• The font is basic, however has character trough the "O" in "To", the spiral adds to the retro style of it

Conclusion to Music Video

Our Music Video has now been finished and we have successfully achieved an 'out of the ordinary' piece of Media that has taught me a lot at a personal level. Through my blog, the researched videos had inspired me and my group into using many techniques. However, when applying it into practice, I came to the realization that: LOW BUDGET music videos are not easy ones to construct and require: time, dedication, perfection ... However, I do believe that we as a group can be credited on the experimental approach taken during certain sections of the video. For example, using the new software, Final cut, we managed to blend in two shots and manipulate them into working together in an intriguing way. This I believe, added great character to our work and broke away from the use of monotonous editing techniques.

Attempt 2 Filming Footage Experiment

Firstly we uploaded our footage into iMovie and decided to do a testing editing scene to see how well the filming in London looked. Though the effects available to us on iMovie were rather useful, after the final cut tutorial we realised that there were many other effects on offer to make our music video much better.

For example, the footage that we had of Picaddily Circus seemed mundane, therefore we replaced one of the advertising screens with a persons face miming the song. We applied the same effect onto another frame this time with one sign being replaced by the footage of Picaddily Circus.

Attempt 2 to Filming in London

I went to film in London.

• I started my journey by taking the northern line to Waterloo and walking towards the Southbank to get frames of the street performers and London Eye
• Then, I visited the skatepark to get shots of urban life
• Crossed the bridge towards Trafalgar Square - done this shot to relate to the lyrics 'Tianamen Square'
• Leicester Square following on to Leicester
• Piccadilly Circus
• Westminster - Big Ben (and view towards London Eye)

There was a lot of room to film advertisements, people and set the scene of our video - London. A lot of locations allowed us to have choice whilst editing.

I adjusted myself when shooting and thought about my target audience. Already, the planning constructed included notions of political aspects and a dominant tone against consuermisim without care, therefore, aiming for footage in the chosen locations in London were ideal as they portrayed exactly this. Picadilly Circus includes major companies and business logos, Trafalgar Square and Westminster portray more political and historical content into the music video, Leicester Square balances this out due to the re-birth it gives to art.

Experimenting of the Footage Filmed: Did Television Make You Buy It?

This frame was taken by me. I think it's brilliant in the way it supports the lyrics.

"Television made you buy it"

McDonalds being a world wide company, greatly capitalist and who in some cases exploits its workers/consumers, was perfect to include in emphasising the message of our song. The bin man wearing such a rich companies logo and being in a low paid/status job advertising for more profit simply; rests my case.

Experimenting of the Footage Filmed

Today myself and Stacie looked over the footage we filmed on the Tuesday. I pointed out that the footage wasn't the exact way we wanted it. There were many problems with proportion and too much of the characters appearance was revealed. In order to fix this problem we've decided to have this section of filming constructed by myself. I believe that the unsuccessful Tuesday benefited us greatly as we managed to experiment.

example of shot is above ^^

Filming in London

• The filming in London wasn't as we had planned and hoped for. There was heavy rain - as usual - causing the lens of the Camera to block.
• There weren't as many people as we hoped for to be standing within Trafalgar Square - Everyone was trying to escape the rain!
• And due to the weather conditions it was really appropriate for us to walk around in t-shirts

BUT,

• We did however manage to get some very effective shots of scenery around central London
• The rain created a symmetrical effect where a lot of the objects focused on ended up being reflected on the ground due to the water

note: we aim to go and film next week Tuesday again, in the hope that the sun will smile at us.