Final Evaluation

http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DvZKfyiew0

Overall i feel that our music video works well with our song choice and shows conventions of atypical music video by staring off with out a narrative and when we are shown the artist we begin to see the narrative and how they are involved in it.

45 seconds into the video we see the clear narrative of the guy cheating. The next shot is of me sitting on the gorund, i run my fingers through my hair and the next shot is of me doing the same but in a different position, this is subtle but works well in continiuty. Again, the edits are to the beat and they switch from different shots quickly, which makes you want to watch the music video agian to take it all in.

At 1:03 we see a shot of another artist singing and this shows that we are in the same position as each other. We have also experimented with shots as we see a mid shot of her singing and then a long shot of her looking into the distance which simply shows she is involved with the narrative. We put in another shot of the guy with the artist to show that the narrative is still continuing, it shows Lucy and Jacks relationship as well. The next shot is of me singing the next part of the song continuing on from Danielle, and the shot that follows this is of me and Jack which shows our relationship that we are all oblivious to what is going in the narrative but it's as if the artists are having flashbacks.

At 1:32 the chorus begins and the shots that follow are of the artists, there aren't any shots of them with the guy this shows the viewer that things are changing. The artists are singing to the camera which creates a connection withthem and their audience. Like they are telling them their story.

At 1:47 we see the band walk together showing unity, this is the first time we see them together even though we don't see their faces. At 1:52 we see Lucy spinning around a post which we have sped up to create a different effect, this is code for that things are changing in the narrative.

1:57 we see a series of short edits and it creates a good effect that is in-keeping with the iconic style of the video. Lucy and I look as if we are waiting for someone oblivious to the fact that it is the same guy we are waiting for. At 2:11 we see me sitting on Jacks lap singing to the camera whilst he is ignoring me and talking on the phone. The artist here is involved in the narrative and being the artist at exactly the same time, showing that she knows about his cheating.

We see an obvious shot at 2:21 when we are standing together facing the camera and the next shot is of Jack looking at the camera, this involves the audience as they are representing us on each shot.

At 2:23 we see Lucy and I talking, the audience may already know what is about to happen but we build up suspense as we show the progression of the conversation. At 2:28 we see a shot of the picture on the phone, now the narrative is in play again and we see my reactuion and how things are about to unfold.

A series of shots show the progression of the break ups, Lucy refuses to kiss him by turning her head away, Danielle and Jack loook unhappy in their shot and i take matters in to my own hands and confront him. We show this last shot in small frames to build up suspense and a small climax.

At 2:39 there is a shot of me singing to the camera with a slight smile showing that we have been triumphant. The following shots portray this too.

Our end shot is of the band walking together towards the camera and on the last music note opf the song we are seen wlaking out of the brightness together away from the camera showing our unity and that we are 'done' methaphorically and physically with the guy and in the music video.

Typed Evaluation

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our media product challenges the typical conventions of a music video as we have unusual edits, we mix fast edits then we proceed to watch longer edits. Carole Vernallis has her own theory on creating and editing music videos, she says it must be quick cuts and on the beat. We took this into consideration when editing and found that this worked very well. Other music videos usually have either not both. As the song we chose ‘Shark In The Water’ by the indie-pop artist V.V. Brown, the song is upbeat and has a clear rhythm to it. To incorporate the beats we edited our shots to them, the beginning of the video is without any lyrics so we focused on the beat and created edits on the beat. We then realised that this emphasised the rhythm of the song and as the clips are rapid the viewer is intrigued and has to pay attention to keep up.

I came across the artist ‘Example’s music video called ‘Kickstarts’, this is also an upbeat song but has more of a dominant beat to it than our chosen song. The edits are cut to the beat like ours and this makes the viewer aware that they are watching a text.

Music videos are usually based on concept, narrative or performance, ours is mainly narrative based as we felt that this would portray the meaning of the lyrics best as well as keeping the audiences attention. The music video ‘Kickstarts’ also like ours develops a narrative, this is a typical convention of a music video as the lyrics in songs usually have meaning to them so for the artist/band to show this, a narrative is developed and created in the music video.
Our music video switches from the narrative to the artist, however, we do show the artist involved in the narrative. I researched Goodwin’s theory that the video should convey a relationship between lyrics and visuals. I believe that this applies to our music video as the song written as if it’s telling a story and our narrative did stem from analysing the lyrics of ‘Shark In The Water’.

Another convention of Vernallis is not having a resolution at the end of the music video, we have gone against this convention and our resolution to the boy cheating on the three girls is that they all find out and that they leave him and all walk off together which is our end shot. We decided to be playful in our camera shots and try to incorporate many angles as possible as we didn’t want the video to look dull. We kept the conventions of extreme shots such as extreme long shot and extreme close-up. Which I think worked well as this gave the viewer a variety to remember and to look at so they would want to watch it again to take it all in.

We didn’t want to base our image our video on certain artists as we felt that this would influence us too much and would take away our own creative ideas. V.V. Brown is an artist that is iconic in style and therefore not wanting to be based on other artists. I feel that even though it is a girl band singing in the music video I believe that it appeals to male and females as people of both sexes may be able to relate to the narrative.

The song may not appeal to older males but maybe the fact that it is a girl band singing and appearing they may like even though we don’t appear to be prerogative whether that’s in clothing or positioning. We dressed differently as a band but we still looked like a band as we all wore a unique fashion forward item like our chosen artist, V.V. Brown, after some research on her style I decided to wear a fur grey hat like she has been photographed in, another band member would wear an eye-catching coat or a scarf. These items would attract the viewers attention but they were still understated that it wouldn’t detract your attention from the video. The style was also in keeping with the bohemian location of London. 2.

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

I have decided to market my band in the typical way in the sense of creating album artwork and using the internet to promote them. I based my album artwork around the chosen genre of the song which is indie-pop, I decided to use a black and white effect but not make it has harsh, I did this as I was using a bright yellow for the colour of my text. By doing so, this made the text dominant on the cover and is a code for that the bands success is about to increase due to this album. I also included the album name but whilst the font colour of this is the same as the band name it doesn’t take away from the main image.

The image I have used in the background is of the band but you are unable to see their faces, this challenges the conventions of a typical album cover as if the artist or band appear on the front cover, they usually are looking at the camera. The album cover followed the typical conventions with the band name being on the cover and the album name, so I decided to make a change somewhere as I wanted the cover to be different. So I chose a picture of the band facing away and there positions vary, instead of the lead singer being at the front she looks to be at the back lower down but this shows that she is showing them the direction. The other two singers are also important so they are standing up. The girl sitting down is code for that even though the band is becoming more successful she and the band will stay grounded and true to their roots, ironically and specifically the image is photographed next to a tree.

I have marketed the band CANUTE by creating a Facebook page specifically for them. As a user of many sites such as this I knew how to easily create one. I added images of the band and a little paragraph talking about the band which made the site more personal. I then posted release dates of the song and album in stores and online. This shows that I have understood the current market of downloading whether it being illegal or not. I wrote on the wall that their video will be out soon so therefore even if they have downloaded the song illegally they may like CANUTE and want to go and see them play live, I have also posted dates of gigs and concerts as well as competitions.

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

From the feedback I have been able to see the video from a different perspective which is helpful as the music video is our own hard work it was hard to critique it I have learnt that they liked the edits to the beat and that there should be more throughout, making this iconic to the music video and therefore iconic to CANUTE. The footage we had to show was short but from that we knew what we had to film. We found that we needed more variety of shots, such as a long shot and close-ups. As well as moving ones to break up the video a bit. We also found out that our lip-sync was off at times or our mouths didn’t look as if we were singing the song.

We took this constructive criticism on board and revisited London for some more filming and when we came back to edit we saw a massive improvement in style and lip-syncing. We were glad that the audience understood the narrative without us having to explain to them, which was our main concern. However the feedback reported that we had done this really well and that the edits complimented the narrative. We wasn’t able to take all of the feedback on board due to the time we had left to finish, if I were to begin my music video again I would start filming earlier on.

However, this year this was a problem due to the weather and unexpected amount of snow. Also due to all of us being at school we found it hard to find a time that all of us could meet at as well as it getting dark earlier in the evenings. Even though these factors hindered our progress I believe we have achieved a detailed video which is made up of many successful components. 4.

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

The technology of the imac computers helped tremendously throughout as we were able to blog our ideas and concepts as well our comments. This was helpful to my fellow group members as well as my teachers as they were able to see our progress and if they wanted to make a comment whether it be a positive encouragement or a helpful idea. I also frequently used networking sites such as Facebook as we were able to have private quick discussions as a group, whether it is on Facebook chat or an inbox. Unsurprisingly we all had Facebook and therefore were able to communicate effectively.

We were able to research other videos on Youtube and sent each other the links, this allowed us to create our own bullet points discussing the key ideologies, concept, codes and conventions, therefore we all had our own opinions and could merge them together to benefit our music video.

By using Final Cut Express we were able to see our music video come alive. It took a while for us to get to grips with all of the functions such as ‘rendering’ and cutting but we were soon away experimenting with our edits.

What I Have Learnt About Lip-Syncing

Lip-syncing was a fairly new concept for us, i thought it would be easy as we sing along to songs regularly. However, when you see yourself back on footage you realise that you are out of time and what you are mouthing is hard to understand. I found that in lip-syncing, bigger mouth movements make it clearer. I would sing along to the music as well which helped it to be in time with the song. Our practice attempts helped us see what wee needed to improve on and what we need to keep the same in order for a clear lip-sync.

Reflective summary of working in a group, filming and editing

I feel we worked well in a group together as we were able to listen to each other and we were all able to advise each other and give a different perspective. However, as we marketed ourselves as a band we found it more time consuming to film as we had to rely on each other and discuss what day we could all film on. We had illnesses and bad weather so it was hard for us to film in one go. Filming the music video in London was great as it suited the song very well and looked great when we started editing. However, as London was quite far on the train and we had to take costume and equipment with us we had to be organised and if one person wasn't present we forced ourselves to still go ahead and film but this did delay the process of editing the music video as we had to then go to London again and film with that person.

We wasn't able to film much in January or February as the lighting and weather was bad. If we went to travel into London after school it would already be dark and this effects the lighting and the quality. The weather was also an issue as the first time we filmed the sky was overcast and the weather quite cold and windy. The other days we filmed it was quite sunny. We thought that this would be a problem in continuity in the edits, however we re-arranged the shots and edits and mixed the different shots up, surprisingly this worked well and made it look like the narrative wasn't happening over a few days but for quite a while.

We all filmed each other which made it fair as everyone got a go at the camera, this was a good thing as there was less arguments but some people were better at filming than others and when we got back in class and watched over our footage we realised that some bits were too shaky or filmed the wrong way, this was fustrating but there was nithing we could do about it so we just left that footage out.

We edited as group, this was stressful as we had to share the editing station with another group so we had limited access. I picked the editing up quite quickly and we all helped eachother. Whilst one person was on the editing station there was someone next to them giving advice and the others were working on the blogs and then we would swap over.

We chose a song that we felt suited quick edits and we then made this 'iconic' to our music video and we continued it throughout the video.

Overall i feel we worked well and helped each other whether it being getting to the station or learning the lyrics we were all supportive of one another and have ended up with a great music video which is a product of how hard we worked.

The Showcase

We had a showcase in class, where each group had to show their music video, most of them including ours were not finished but we decided to show them what we had as we wanted feedback before we carried on.

Having the showcase was very helpful as we all gave constructive criticsm and were able to see where we were going wrong or what our bests bits were. Our main concern was the class understanding what our narrative was and if they understood it. In our feedback everyone said they were able to understand the narrative and that they wanted to see more which we thought was very positive. They liked out edits to the beat as their attention was kept by this and that the edits complimented the narrative well.

A criticsm was that our lip syncing was out in parts and that we didn't have enough footage of one section of the song. With this, we returned to London and re-filmed and when we started editing agian we found that we had a lot more to work with and this benefitted our music video.

We wasn't able to take on all the feedback due to the short time we had left to finish. If i were to begin the music video again i would start filming and making decisions earlier on in the year so we would have enough time to fit everything in. However, due to the fact that we are all students we coukdn't get time off of school and when went to go to London after school it was already dark which would effect our filming.

Prelim Music Video

With our prelim i learnt how to use final cut express and this therefore helped us with our real music video. As we hadn't created a music video before and didn't know how to use the cameras we watched other music videos and based our filming around that. We then chose Sclub 7 as we all knew the lyrics and the dance, as we thought that the dance would add something to the shots and would help filming and editing.

We picked up the editing quite quickly but we soon realised that the lip syncing was out, so we then had to re-film and make sure we were better at lip-syncing. We also realised that our shots were pretty basic and wouldn't keep the audiences attention.

I learnt that we have to film more in the same shots and then cut it up to what we needed it to look like

Chosen album covers

These are my chosen album covers as i feel that these suit the indie pop genre and style of the band. It looks professional and shows fluidity and the band is dominant in image and text.

The position of the band on the front cover shows is united, the singer crouching down is code for her leading the band into their future success. The band name CANUTE is in capitals to make a statement and the bright colour is to attract the customers attention. They are in natural settings which goes well with the indie style of the band. The album name is not in its conventional position of it being in the middle and straight, by it being slanted it portrays some of the bands character as it s quirky and not boring.

I have included 11 songs on the back cover, i felt that these would provide the customer with enough selection but not too many to overwhelm them. I have carried through the theme of Yellow writing as again it stands out against the background tone. I have also added a slight shadow to the text so it doesn't look flat, also the typical convention of a barcode i have put on there. I haven't added any extras as i wanted the album cover to be simple in style but still effective in attracting attention.

I feel that this album cover wouldn't look out of place in a music store but yet still stands on its own and without unecessary text or images.

back of album covers

These are my ideas for the back of my album covers i used the same font for both, this is the same font i have used for my album covers. I have made up song titles suiting to the feel and style of the band and of course have included the featured song 'Shark In The Water'.

I ahve also used the same yellow colour that i used on the front of the covers, which creates fluidity and a professional look.

I decided to add the bands name on the top album cover as i felt it lacked something as due to there being no central image.

Album Covers and Explanation

We went out on a photo shoot in a park as we liked the natural settings and it was a bright day. The setting also fitted in with the indie style of the band but not following typical conventions of location. The band isn't looking at the camera in any of the album covers, i wanted it to be this way as i thought it would be more striking and appealing to the customer. It is breaking away from typical conventions of the usual album cover, the ones i created with pictures from the web were like this in style as both of them were not looking at the camera and i feel that this worked well and added a mysterious element to the band.

I thought it was important that the band appeared on the album cover even though it is a typical convention of album covers because the customer is able to see that we are a band but they can't see our faces in the picture and this is unusual and maybe intrigues them to view the video and they are able to create their own opinion and view about the band without being forced into one.

In the first album cover i experimented with the levels of the positions the band was in, when other album covers do this they usually have a meaning to it, like the lead singer would be first and so on. However i designed it as the person sitting down is more dominant as it looks like they are leading the rest of the band.

I chose to design the second album cover without having an image and having a bright colour replacing it, as this seemed quite modern and the bright colour makes it quite striking. If i was in a music store and i walked past this album cover i would pick it up and look at it as it is unusual and breaks the typical conventions. The other album covers i have created have followed the conventions by having the band name and album name. However, this album cover has just the bands name in bold letters therefore makes it iconic and if the band were to bring out more albums, i would change the colours used but keep the same style in terms of text and font.

My third album cover is of the band but again without being able to see their faces, i like this idea as it is quite unique and hasn't been done recently. The position of the band are the same as each other with the legs crossed in the same directions and the hands in the same position.

The bands costume are different from each other but still are linked in some way as two people are wearing blue jeans and leggings and two people are wearing black shoes. The costume works well as though they are different they still are united in style.

I have decided to use the same striking font on all of the album covers, i experimented with the colours on the other album covers and i like how the colour looked and that it was an unconventional colour to use on an album cover. It worked well with the black and white background. With the third album cover i tampered with the colour of the background i didn't want it to be black and white, i wanted it to retain some colour but it not being too bright as this would clash with the colour of the font.

The band and album name - CANUTE

King Canute was the Danish King of England he is mostly known for his futile attempt to stop the tide from coming in. We chose him to be the band name as we felt that the word Canute is dominant and a strong word that we thought would be easier for people to remember and is different from other bands names such as 'The Wanted' and 'Girls Aloud'.

"Canute is famous for the tale of the incoming tide. According to legend, Canute’s courtiers flattered him into believing that his word was so powerful that even the tide would recede at his command. Canute is said to have taken this compliment literally and had his throne placed by the shore and vainly attempted to command the waves to recede until he almost drowned. An alternative version states that Canute was extremely wise and put on this practical demonstration to show his courtiers that he was not taken in by their flattery. The event is commemorated by a plaque at Bosham." (Ward's Book of Days)

Using this idea we were then able to come up with the album name, 'Playing With Tides' this works well with the band name as this is their first album we wanted to link the name and band together which shows that it is personal to them and that they have given it a lot of thought.

Marketing strategies used for V.V. Brown

Even though V.V. Brown isn't in the current charts and haven't been in them for a while now she is still dominant in Britain and in America. She is still writing songs and is in America working on this. However V.V. Brown has been signed to M&S and has appeared on the adverts therefore is great publicity for her and her music.

Star Image

It is clear from this collage that V.V. Brown isn't afraid to experiment with fashion and her poses in her photo's are dominant but playful.

My Costume

I tried to keep my costume quite plain but having a few key items that were quite bold or bright, i dodn't want my costume to distract the viewer, i wanted my costume to add to the feel and style of the song and having a resembalance of V.V. Browns style.

My costume changed throughout due to the weather but i also wanted to change my outfits throughout the music video to keep the interest and make it look professional. I also changed my outfits to help the narrative of the story look realistic as i wanted it to look like it had happened over time not just a few days.

I feel my costume works well with the indie-pop genre and the location we set our video in. We looked like normal people in a music video which will appeal to a wider audience.

V.V. Browns style

V.V. Browns image is iconic with her hair style and outfits. We want to incorporate her style but still adding our own element. She is fashion forward and usually wears iconic pieces such as above (the hat) and bright clothing. I wanted to incorporate her style so i decided to wear a hat like the one above, it isn't my usual style but as we have based everything around her i thought i should. I also wear a bright scarf which is noticeable to the viewer as it is not the convention of music video but it was suiting to her style and the feel and genre of the music video.

Target Audience

For our music video we are aiming at an audience of 15 years old and above, as my sister is 15 and so are her friends and i showed he video to them and they said they would watch it. However, it would be hard for it to compete over the latest craze of Justin Bieber. But the upbeat style and edits of the music video attract a young audience as well as being mature enough for an older audience. As the video follows a narrative it can attract and keep the focus of a varied audience.

The music video attracts both male and female viewers as it involves a narrative about a typical subject, but the fact that it is a girl band it may deter the viewer from buying it. It could attract materialists and followers as they may want to copy the style of the girl band. We have tried to keep the targeted audience neutral and open as this aids publicity.

Chosen Music Genre

Indie Pop is more of a mellow genre of music more than the rock style. It has recently become a fashionable and popular genre of music but it came around in the 80's. It appeals to a wide range of audience. It originated in the US but had a big impact in the UK in the mid eighties. It was a much more melodic and organised than traditional indie music. It's main features were smooth guitar with memorable chord progressions intertwined with soft innocent lyrics taking influence from sixties pop. It has actually come under much criticism in the UK recently due to its underachievement and ability to grow. Some of the biggest names in this industry are: The Pastels, The Shop Assistants and Primal Scream. They also started to develop a look as shown below. ... Smart, casual and all in uniform. They didn't however adapt the casual laid back image of indie music, they wanted to actually sell themselves through their looks. This look is now seen throughout many bands in modern indie and pop music such as Razorlight and Snow Patrol. It is clear to see that their influences have not only had an impact on their music but their image as well. It is a much toned version of the pop artists at the time but yet a more jazzed up version of raw indie rock bands.

V.V. Brown

V.V. Browns 'Shark In The Water' is being used in the trailer for the new film a Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures. This is great timing as V.V. Browns song is quite old in relation to the songs in today's charts and this is great publicity for her as well as our band.

"The title, “Shark in the Water” refers to anxiety. Brown explained to Digital Spy: “I guess I’m trying to create a new phrase. When something’s not quite right or there’s some kind of a problem, you might say, ‘Maybe there’s a shark in the water.’” (last.fm)

This is her third release of her debut album 'Traveling Like The Light'. The indie-pop artist has created an upbeat, quirky song which is catchy. V.V. Brown has appeared on many American tv shows such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show talking about her debut album. This is great publicity for breaking America as she is already known in Britain.

Music Video Choice and Idea

The element i would like to incorporate from the music video is the style of the artist switching from being in the narrative and still being the artist. I like that the narrative doesn't develop until a few seconds into the song therefore giving the viewer some time to listen to the song and establish who the artist is.

After analysing many music videos we have decided on an artist and a song. VV Brown is our chosen artist as her style is unique from her appearance to the style of music. After much deliberation we chose 'Shark In The Water' for our song as our record company is based around the indie style. VV Brown is an indie pop singer and the song suits our record label as it has a laid back style but is upbeat.

We have decided to film a narrative with our music video as it links in with the lyrics and also I feel it makes the video more appealing. We will construct this through camerawork, lighting and mise-en-scene. The lyrics also play a big role in constructing a music video narrative as they introduce the general feeling or mood, only key phrases or lines can be associated with the narrative of the video.

The singer will be the story teller and therefore uses first person mode of address which helps the music video stand out.

We plan to film our music video in London, Bond Street. We decided on this as VV Brown is a British artist and relies on this factor to promote herself in some of her videos.

This clip is from one of her music videos 'Game Over'. VV Brown is now well known in America and her unique style keeps her in the public eye and breaking boundaries, not only with her music but with her fashion. VV Brown and her eye-catching outfits have generated a new fashion and trend for others such as Lady Gaga to follow.

Following her British theme we have decide to use some ideas from her other music videos such as 'Game Over' to portray the artists style in some way in our music video. As we have decided to set the music video in London we want to film some shots of us outside Buckingham Palace to incorporate her British influence.

VV Brown's 'Shark In The Water' music video follows a narrative as well as having unrelated shots. We liked the idea of her walking down the street singing as if she was in her own thoughts. However we have decided to change it a bit by having one lead singer and 2 other female singers as they are a band but they would still be included in the narrative. To achieve this we will use a range of close-ups from different angles but also a long shot to establish the setting.

Our idea of a narrative has stemmed from the strong meaning we have interpreted from the lyrics and with her music video portraying a story as well. We are keeping with the theme of the male being the 'cheat' and the singer knowing about it. Long distance and point of view shots will be important for filming this as these certain shots will help us achieve the effect that the viewer feels involved and that they are seeing something that shouldn't be happening.

An over the shoulder shot helps the story evolve and develop as the viewer is able to see all what is happening. And unknowingly the reader sides with the singer in the narrative.

I like this idea of the guy being behind railings as it looks like he is in prison which is a code for that he is in the wrong. It is also a close-up so we are able to clearly see his face and we are thinking of using this shot and idea in our music video as we are doing a narrative so it would tie in nicely.

There are many shots of musical instruments in VV Brown's music videos and in her 'Shark In The Water' we are shown a man playing the guitar and another musician with his drum sticks This is a code and a typical convention in music videos for the artist showing their love and passion for music.

This side shot of VV Brown singing is effective as the viewer is able to see the artist and the setting. She isn't looking at the camera which i think helps as its different from the other shots of her.

V.V. Brown Analysis

Shark in the Water

VV Brown | Myspace Video

The opening shot of the video is of the artist so the audience can already establish that she is going to be the main focus. The next shot is of the man playing the guitar this makes the viewer aware that they are watching a music video and the sound of the guitar in the song becomes more apparent.

The shots are edited to the beat and switch from different locations of V.V. Brown in the cafe and outside. She tends to look away from the camera then faces it, she does this frequently throughout the video.

The narrative then begins and we see a shot of a man with a girl, as a viewer we seem to begin to know that she is singing about the two people as it switches to a shot of her from the shot of the two people sitting together. This is a typical convention of editing as to show the narrative in a music video.

The man looks over his shoulder indicating to viewer that he is doing something secretive. The artist switches in between the narrative.

It seems in the narrative that the artist has somewhat defeated the 'cheat' as she pins the evidence on his door. He comes out of his house and appears behind his railings which can be code for that he is in the wrong and has been found out, therefore maybe now being punished for his actions and she is the one better off.

CANUTE

Through my research i have decided to create the bands webpage on Facebook as it is the most popular networking site over Myspace.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canute/196767997023008?sk=wall

By creating a webpage fans and people who accidently come across it are able to find out who they are and the dates of their song and album releases as well as tours/gigs. This is great publicity as 'Facebookers' are most likely to research them by searching them on Youtube. Youtube alslo helps in publicity as it is free and viewers are able to listen and watch artists/bands videos which will entice the viewer to download their song or want to watch them play.

Marketing in relation to the internet

I have created a web page for my band on the social networking site Facebook. Facebook was created by a sophomore at Harvard University, Mark Zuckerberg, in 2004. His initial plans were to create a way of him and his fellow Harvard students to communicate and get to know each other over the internet.

The name for Facebook came from the booklet the colleges hand out at the beginning year it's a kind of an 'About Me' for studets to get to know each other and make knew friends.

Soon Mark Zuckerbergs site took off and became popular in a matter of months, so the use was extended to other colleges and then onto high schools with users being atleast old to sign up. A year after that, the site was then made accessible by the public.

'Facebook has investors including PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, Accel Partners, and Greylock Partners. In 2007 Microsoft jumped in and invested $246 million for a 1.6% share in Facebook. The next month Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing made a large investment too. Yahoo! and Google both offered to buy Facebook, but Mark Zuckerberg says that Facebook's not for sale.' (About.com)

However, Facebook is able to remain free for its users by generating its money through advertisements that appear on the site.

Facebook continues to grow and is now seemingly the leading social working site. It has took over from the once very popular Myspace and has now become a fashionable and iconic site. Myspace was known for its easy access to uploading and watching music videos but now Facebook can also do this, not in the dedicated way Myspace does but feeds our purpose of being able to see the latest videos.

Facebook also updates it site regulalry with a new layout and easier ways such as uploading photo's and being able to communicate with others. Facebook keeps the layout simple but yet still easy to use.

It has become very successful and you are even able to download the site as an app on your phone or ipod. Phones advertise themselves to customers now using the fact they have acquired the latest technology for you to have easy access to facebook.

As more people are using Facebook now it makes sense for a band or artist to advertise themselves on there, you may not be able to customise the site like Myspace but you would certainly be able to become known.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canute/196767997023008

Marketing an artist

Marketing an artist - Reuben J

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CANUTE album cover relating to V.V. Brown

For my album cover ideas i would like to incorporate our chosen artist, V.V. Brown. Her album cover that i have recently analysed is quite iconic thus achieving in its purpose of attracting customers. Her use of the dark colour, Black mixed with a bright Yellow works well. It is a modern way of showing her style and that the artist is wanting to make a statement.

As we have chosen her song of 'Shark In The Water' i wanted to incorporate some of her style as well as implementing something different as it is representing a new band. Therefore it has to be iconic and known to my band.

V.V. Brown Album Cover

This album cover captures V.V. Browns style as she is known for her use and love for bright eye-catching colours.

The album cover stands out whilst still following the typical conventions of an album. The artists name is shown but is not too large therefore not distracting from the image, the albums name is also in the same style thus creating fluidity. Whereas if the font style was different it wouldn't fit in and wouldn't look like a finished product. The album cover follows the typical conventions of an album cover, as they haven't created a controversial piece of art, but cleverly has still made it like it's meant to be a piece of art. Her image is striking as the background is plain and she has a tint of yellow which fits in with the colour of the text. The album cover looks like a piece of pop art, which is code for her success as famous people, mainly, Marilyn Monroe have been featured in pop art.

Her pose is quite dominant as she is looking at the camera but is looking down, code for her growing success in Britain and America.

The use of the colour black could be a code for her dominance and her 'edgy' style, the yellow shows a softer side but quite forward as she isn't afraid making a statement.

Postmodern Album Covers - The Clash

The Clash have copied Elvis Presleys album cover exactly the same therefore this is not a parody and shows that they have took this seriously, not Presley. It is a homage to his album celebrating Elvis's originality.

The album covers do follow typical conventions of album covers as they the artists/bands name, however Elvis Presley doesn't include his album name. Another convention is that they have included images of the artists. The Clash have interpreted the positioning of Elvis Presley as his image is an action shot. The image of him about to smash his guitar which is code for his youthful fustration. His positioning and stance is quite strong indicating their Rock attitude, giving them a sense of energy and rebelliousness.

The black and white tone gives the cover an edgy style and the seriousness gives it a sense of sincerity and conviction. It other colours were used other than the band name it would make the cover look too 'happy'. The juxtaposition of the colourful writing and font compared to the seriousness of the image, these factors together holds your focus on this album cover.

Creating album ideas

These are my album cover ideas. I have experimented with the images in the sense of choosing different poses, however unintentionally i chose female models but i feel that this goes really well with the 'femininity' of the band and song. However with practising the style of album covers i feel as we are a group called Canute that maybe we should have an image of all the group. However the simplicity of having one person not necessarily having to be the band could work better. As it would be breaking the typical conventions of band album covers.

I decided to use a grey scale colour to wash over the background image as i thought that if i used a brighter colour for the text it would have more of an effect and be more striking.

I like how the album cover at the top is quite eye-catching, the bands name stands out which i feel is an important feature. The image of the girl takes up the whole cover and i have reflected her image in the lenses of her glasses which i think adds an artistic and a different slant to the album cover, i have not seen a recent album cover done in this style which i think would benefit the artists.

For the second one, i decided to keep the tones soft as it works well with the image, adds an element of fluidity to the image. I decided to centre the bands name as it works with the image as her head is only half in the picture so it doesn't add or take away from anything else.

I kept the font type the same throughout so that there aren't to many distractions on the cover. Whilst creating these album covers i had to keep in mind the music genre of the band so it didn't deter from the indie-pop style. I did this by keeping the soft tones and the images are quite laid back but the text colours used are striking so obviously adds colour and an edgy feel.