Logo Analysis - Wayfarers
View more presentations from Courtney Heary.
Monday, 18 October 2010
BLOG UPDATE - 18/10/10 - Logo Designs Evaluation
I designed 5 different logos, one of which was a development of another, and i feel that the one i have chosen to go ahead with is fit for purpose and matches with the genre iconography and research of other bands within the genre that my group and i have chosen. My group and I decided on the name 'Manic Productions' and found that this was a suitable name, and connotes that this genre of music isnt generic, and is unpredictable; also maybe connoting that the possiblities for this genre of music are endless. The design i have chosen to go with is a pair of cartooned black, wayfarer sunglasses, and i chose this as the main image for the logo as Wayfarer sunglasses are generally associated with 'indie fashion'; also, wayfarers can be associated with festivals, and festivals are generally linked to indie music, meaning that one way or another the image is linked to indie music somehow. I have also decided to put the actual name of the production company in the corner of the sunglasses, as if it was the brand of the sunglasses, similar to how 'Ray-Ban' place their logo in the corner of the sunglasses. Even though this takes the focus away from the actual name of the production company, its emphasises the actual logo itself, and establishes a recogisable brand identity, in which can be easily identified. For my logo, i wont be making the size of the writing on the logo tiny, i will be making the sunglasses larger in order to make the size of the font a reasonable size; ideally so that people can actually read it and see it. I wanted to really focus on establishing an actual image logo, that is easily identified by an audience, just like channel 4 have the '4', McDonalds with the 'M' and Virgin with the 'V'. I wanted to construct a clear and simple logo, that will clearly denote the genre of music, and also a logo that isn't too over the top and 'fancy'. When actually designing my logo in further detail, i would like to make sure that the font is a sufficient enough size, and is clearly readable and of a style of font that people that won't make the text unreadable at a first glance. I want my logo to be presented as clean, simple, and definitive; a logo that clearly denotes my chosen genre of music.
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Another Idea...
Another idea is also an extension of our 'Dancing tramp' idea, but focusses more on the tramp himself. I thought that maybe we could play around with the idea of how differently people percieve themselves under the influence of alcohol. So, for instance, we could show how every other person see's this guy as a tramp, yet this guy only see's himself as this smartly dressed, attractive man-because the alcohol is leading him to believe he is something he is not. We could engage the audience by showing this tramp walking about as if he is proud and how he would carry himself if in a smart suit, yet he is dressed in rags and clearly smells and doesnt wash. Then, maybe for the last shot, we could use a mirror, and show the tramp looking at himself and seeing a clean, smartly dressed guy-but then the camera turns around, and he is really just a tramp looking into the mirror; a twist in the story that will interest and catch the audience by surprise. We could also have the tramp turning up at a formal event thinking he belongs there; and thinking that he is being well-mannered and 'posh', when infact, he is actually stumbling all about the place, falling into things and causing a scene. My group and I would have to really develop this idea, and create a strong narrative in order to make sure it would be able to interest and hold an audicences attention for the duration of the video.
Another Idea...
Expanding on our idea of having a 'dancing tramp' in our video, where we filmed peoples reactions and used this as the basis for our video, i thought about maybe instead of completely ruling out performing in a public place because of the need to obtain the public's consent-we could use our school for the tramp to perform. This is because most parents of the children at our school have already agreed to allow their children to be filmed, so we would only be able to not film a few students. Also, we could get the tramp to dance when the kids are coming out of school, so we dont have to wait around for a few people to walk past every now and again; if we film at this time we will attract large groups of people and much more attention, which ultimately is beneficial for the range of reactions we will be able to film. We also wouldn't have to worry about the permission to be able to film there being turned down straight away, if at all.
Another adaption to our idea that I had, was that maybe we could have a group of 'dancing tramps' as appose to just one tramp trying to hold a large crowd's attention. We could try and get in a street dance troop, have them dress up as tramps (very convincingly) and then get them to perform a routine. Maybe we could use the original idea, and start off with one tramp dancing alone, but then one-by-one, the other tramps join, and they begin to perform a routine. I think that this may have more of a visual impact, and the fact that more people will come to join the one dancer from nowhere will really hold the audiences attention; and the routine will hopefully captivate them. The key to making this successful is making sure the reactions we film are completely genuine, that the kids dont recognise the person who instigates the dancing, and also that the outfits and make up really do make the dancers look like totally believeable tramps; almost making the children a bit anxious and nervy to begin with, when they see this tramp outside of their school, not moving and making noise.
Another adaption to our idea that I had, was that maybe we could have a group of 'dancing tramps' as appose to just one tramp trying to hold a large crowd's attention. We could try and get in a street dance troop, have them dress up as tramps (very convincingly) and then get them to perform a routine. Maybe we could use the original idea, and start off with one tramp dancing alone, but then one-by-one, the other tramps join, and they begin to perform a routine. I think that this may have more of a visual impact, and the fact that more people will come to join the one dancer from nowhere will really hold the audiences attention; and the routine will hopefully captivate them. The key to making this successful is making sure the reactions we film are completely genuine, that the kids dont recognise the person who instigates the dancing, and also that the outfits and make up really do make the dancers look like totally believeable tramps; almost making the children a bit anxious and nervy to begin with, when they see this tramp outside of their school, not moving and making noise.
Monday, 11 October 2010
BLOG UPDATE - 11/10/10
How did you use your iconography research and web page analysis' to inform your homepage design plans?
My research has definately helped when it comes to deciding what font to use, and the basic layout and outlook of the page. The moodboard research and completion helped me to get an idea for what font i wanted to use, and the font i felt was appropriate for the homepage. I have decided on a stencil like font, and this is because i feel that this font really stands out and creates a statement; something you want your logo/band name font to do when promoting the band. I was referring to 'The Macabees' homepage, 'The Pigeon Detectives' current homepage, 'The Killers' homepage, 'Jamie T's homepage, and 'Florence and the Machine's homepage. The moodboard really triggered my ideas for the colour scheme that i would like, as i found a lot of designs that were vibrantly coloured and cartoon-like. I also had many examples of varying fonts that were aesthetically pleasing, and considered different fonts before i finalised my decision on the stencil like font. I drew inspiration from my moodboard for the colours and designs i'd like to have on my web page-as i saw many bright colours and cartoon-like drawings, and i think that at the moment, after looking at the iconography of the band, this is something they havent really had in their designs. I think that my ideas for the new font, and brightly coloured designs is key to re-inventing the band, and i believe that this would entice the existing, and potential fans. After reviewing my design on the A3, i made some annotations, explaining how maybe i should make our video the central focus of the webpage-since this is the main thing we are trying to promote. I also made annotations referring to possible colour schemes, and my group and i decided we would really like to design a logo that we can all collectively use on each of our web pages; something recogniseable, and something people will understand. We discussed being quite literal with the band's name, and maybe having a cartooned design of a pigeon in a detective outfit, or possibly having the pigeon with a monocle, or magnifying glass. We then discussed maybe having the pigeon in a detective outfit, but with a musical instrument, or microphone. We are yet to come up with more designs, and i think we should try and look at their iconography in more detail and try and draw ideas for a logo from their current looks; maybe thinking about making the logo less obviously literal, and making it a bit more abstract or interesting.
My research has definately helped when it comes to deciding what font to use, and the basic layout and outlook of the page. The moodboard research and completion helped me to get an idea for what font i wanted to use, and the font i felt was appropriate for the homepage. I have decided on a stencil like font, and this is because i feel that this font really stands out and creates a statement; something you want your logo/band name font to do when promoting the band. I was referring to 'The Macabees' homepage, 'The Pigeon Detectives' current homepage, 'The Killers' homepage, 'Jamie T's homepage, and 'Florence and the Machine's homepage. The moodboard really triggered my ideas for the colour scheme that i would like, as i found a lot of designs that were vibrantly coloured and cartoon-like. I also had many examples of varying fonts that were aesthetically pleasing, and considered different fonts before i finalised my decision on the stencil like font. I drew inspiration from my moodboard for the colours and designs i'd like to have on my web page-as i saw many bright colours and cartoon-like drawings, and i think that at the moment, after looking at the iconography of the band, this is something they havent really had in their designs. I think that my ideas for the new font, and brightly coloured designs is key to re-inventing the band, and i believe that this would entice the existing, and potential fans. After reviewing my design on the A3, i made some annotations, explaining how maybe i should make our video the central focus of the webpage-since this is the main thing we are trying to promote. I also made annotations referring to possible colour schemes, and my group and i decided we would really like to design a logo that we can all collectively use on each of our web pages; something recogniseable, and something people will understand. We discussed being quite literal with the band's name, and maybe having a cartooned design of a pigeon in a detective outfit, or possibly having the pigeon with a monocle, or magnifying glass. We then discussed maybe having the pigeon in a detective outfit, but with a musical instrument, or microphone. We are yet to come up with more designs, and i think we should try and look at their iconography in more detail and try and draw ideas for a logo from their current looks; maybe thinking about making the logo less obviously literal, and making it a bit more abstract or interesting.
Sunday, 10 October 2010
More Ideas...
My group and I have discussed various other possibilities for our music video, considering different locations, costumes, narrative and also taking editing techniques into account, and various elements of final cut we want to capitalise on. It was a very useful exercise, and we ended up coming up with some good and quite strong alternative ideas to the ideas we already had.
The ideas for LOCATIONS;
Streets
London Underground
Alleyway
Clubs
House/Flat (Dingy/Rough)
Backstreets
Park
Pub
The ideas for COSTUME;
High End Fashion
'Indie/Rock' Style
Tramp
Tracksuits
Flares
No Clothing
Full Suit-Bow tie etc.
Formal Clothing
The ideas for NARRATIVE;
Fights (Drunken?)
Prostitution
Mugging
Drugs/Drug Dealing
Alcoholism
Drunken Nights
Relationship Troubles
Love-related Arguments
Unrequited Love
Chases
Crime
Poverty
The ideas for EDITING;
Blurry Effect, e.g A POV shot for a drunken man
Steady Cam
Jumpcuts
Time remapping - Rewind, Slow Motion, Fast Forward
'Bad Movie' Effect-Making some of the shots look like old, broken CCTV footage.
Use of Black and White
Shots where your walking back, but zooming in-and vice versa.
We were discussing the possibilities of introducing props, and thought about an iPod, and from this stemmed an idea of having a tramp, dancing whilst listening to his iPod. We discussed maybe covincingly dressing up someone who is a very able breakdancer as a tramp, taking them into London, and getting them to dance in amongst the surrounding public, and we then thought about the video consisting of the tramp dancing, but really focussing on the public's reactions to the tramp impressively dancing. We felt that this was quite an original and effective idea, because whilst doing out genre research we found out that not all music videos belonging to bands of this genre are all narrative, and some are just completely unrelated to the lyrics. We also felt that this could be a very entertaining video, and would hold a viewers attention throughout the entire video. We also then realised that as great as it would be to film in the middle of London, we would have to ask for permission that would probably not be approved, and also, we would have to get consent for all of the people that are being filmed-which really ruins the genuine reactions of people if they are aware of whats going to happen. We then thought about maybe filming somewhere where there would be less hassle when it comes to obtaining permisson-so we discussed the possibility of filming the dancing tramp near our school. We then thought about maybe not having the tramp as the central character, and maybe have him appearing in the background of the video at certain points. So, for example, we talked about maybe there being a point where the main guy is completely transifxed on the girl he is following infront of him, but the dancing tramp is dancing infront of and around him because he is trying to obviously get some money off of him, but the lead guy is so focussed on the girl he is after he doesnt even notice the tramp let alone acknowledge him. Whilst discussing this we also referred to, and drew some inspiration from the well known video by 'Fat Boy Slim' for the track 'Weapon of Choice'.
We then moved onto looking at the lyrics for the song in more detail, and from a more narrative perspective. We decided to focus on the lyric 'I only came here, 'cause I hinder you drinking, darling.' as it is the most repeated line in the song. From this line we took the idea that maybe a guy has an alcoholic girlfriend, who always drinks to much, and who he cant really control. We thought that maybe the guy could wake up, to find that his girlfriend has gone, then he frantically goes about his house seeing that all the alcohol as gone, and there are empty bottles everywhere. We then thought that to match the fast paced 'ba ba ba ba ba ba' in the song, the guy could begin to desperately try and find her. his running matching the music-going to various places where he thinks she may be. We then thought about putting the tramp into this idea where he thinks he has seen her and is 'power walking' towards her, and the tramp is getting in his way, pestering him for money, but him not acknowledging him. This idea is yet to be completely planned out from beginning to end-but incorporates both of our strong ideas.
The ideas for LOCATIONS;
Streets
London Underground
Alleyway
Clubs
House/Flat (Dingy/Rough)
Backstreets
Park
Pub
The ideas for COSTUME;
High End Fashion
'Indie/Rock' Style
Tramp
Tracksuits
Flares
No Clothing
Full Suit-Bow tie etc.
Formal Clothing
The ideas for NARRATIVE;
Fights (Drunken?)
Prostitution
Mugging
Drugs/Drug Dealing
Alcoholism
Drunken Nights
Relationship Troubles
Love-related Arguments
Unrequited Love
Chases
Crime
Poverty
The ideas for EDITING;
Blurry Effect, e.g A POV shot for a drunken man
Steady Cam
Jumpcuts
Time remapping - Rewind, Slow Motion, Fast Forward
'Bad Movie' Effect-Making some of the shots look like old, broken CCTV footage.
Use of Black and White
Shots where your walking back, but zooming in-and vice versa.
We were discussing the possibilities of introducing props, and thought about an iPod, and from this stemmed an idea of having a tramp, dancing whilst listening to his iPod. We discussed maybe covincingly dressing up someone who is a very able breakdancer as a tramp, taking them into London, and getting them to dance in amongst the surrounding public, and we then thought about the video consisting of the tramp dancing, but really focussing on the public's reactions to the tramp impressively dancing. We felt that this was quite an original and effective idea, because whilst doing out genre research we found out that not all music videos belonging to bands of this genre are all narrative, and some are just completely unrelated to the lyrics. We also felt that this could be a very entertaining video, and would hold a viewers attention throughout the entire video. We also then realised that as great as it would be to film in the middle of London, we would have to ask for permission that would probably not be approved, and also, we would have to get consent for all of the people that are being filmed-which really ruins the genuine reactions of people if they are aware of whats going to happen. We then thought about maybe filming somewhere where there would be less hassle when it comes to obtaining permisson-so we discussed the possibility of filming the dancing tramp near our school. We then thought about maybe not having the tramp as the central character, and maybe have him appearing in the background of the video at certain points. So, for example, we talked about maybe there being a point where the main guy is completely transifxed on the girl he is following infront of him, but the dancing tramp is dancing infront of and around him because he is trying to obviously get some money off of him, but the lead guy is so focussed on the girl he is after he doesnt even notice the tramp let alone acknowledge him. Whilst discussing this we also referred to, and drew some inspiration from the well known video by 'Fat Boy Slim' for the track 'Weapon of Choice'.
We then moved onto looking at the lyrics for the song in more detail, and from a more narrative perspective. We decided to focus on the lyric 'I only came here, 'cause I hinder you drinking, darling.' as it is the most repeated line in the song. From this line we took the idea that maybe a guy has an alcoholic girlfriend, who always drinks to much, and who he cant really control. We thought that maybe the guy could wake up, to find that his girlfriend has gone, then he frantically goes about his house seeing that all the alcohol as gone, and there are empty bottles everywhere. We then thought that to match the fast paced 'ba ba ba ba ba ba' in the song, the guy could begin to desperately try and find her. his running matching the music-going to various places where he thinks she may be. We then thought about putting the tramp into this idea where he thinks he has seen her and is 'power walking' towards her, and the tramp is getting in his way, pestering him for money, but him not acknowledging him. This idea is yet to be completely planned out from beginning to end-but incorporates both of our strong ideas.
'The Pigeon Detectives' Homepage Analysis - How are webpage conventions used?
The homepage uses audio/sound, links, and logo mostly-as you have a youtube clip that the viewer can watch and listen to, a series of links to popular networking websites, and the bands logo branded across the top of the page. The youtube clip makes the homepage a bit more interactive, and interesting; instead of there just being, their logo, a picture and some links. Their use of links is what really helps to target their audience, as they have obviously tapped into what websites their fans spend most of their time using, and then catered for them by making their favourite websites easily accessible. The logo is simplistically used and put across the top of their page so it is clear who's website it is, and also so the logo is instantly recognisable to the viewers of the website. In comparison to 'The Macabees' homepage, which i believed was very innovative and extremely engaging, this website is seen to be very generic and it really doesnt set itself apart from the rest. They haven't creatively experimented or really thought about using conventions of a webpage in a more captivating way, whereas 'The Macabees' clearly have with their simple yet effective homepage. 'The Pigeon Detectives' page is quite boring, and just like any other band's homepage of the same genre, although they have interested their audience with the unseen, exclusive footage of the band, that seems to be the only remotely enthralling element of their homepage.
'The Pigeon Detectives' Homepage Analysis - Who is the target audience? How are they targeted?
I would say this band's audience ranges between the ages of 16-30 ideally; but i would say i don't think they have really thought about trying to engage this specific age range, and this is because the website is quite simple, and doesn't seem as if it is trying to specifically target any age group. They have reached their target audience by having easy links to popular networking sites that people of that age range will most likely use on a regular basis, so they have catered for that age range by taking note of what other websites they visit quite alot, and making them easily accessible on their website. The biggest improvement i think they could have made when it comes to really targeting their audience is just making the page a lot more interactive and engaging. Having some 'behind the scenes' footage is a good idea, and it makes the fans feel as if they're getting an extra insight into what the band are doing, but i believe that in order to engage the audience fully, they should have thought about a more creative way of making the fans feel like their getting something extra from the website-as appose to just sticking a youtube clip in the middle of the page, over the top of a picture.
'The Pigeon Detectives' Homepage Analysis - How successful is it at promoting the band?
The homepage is successful in the sense that it is clear who's homepage it is, as the bands logo and name is clearly and largely stated on the homepage. It is also very simplistic, and simply has the bands name a logo, a youtube clip of unseen footage of them in New York, and then along the bottom links to their shop, and also links to myspace, facebook and twitter. In my opinion I think that it could potentially be a bit more interesting, and less generic; maybe a bit more interactive. In comparison to 'The Macabees' homepage, which opens up to a full screen live performance, this homepage seems a bit 'dead', as the youtube clip stuck in the middle of the page kind of makes it look a little messy, and not as aesthetically pleasing. Another element of the homepage that makes it look messy, is that it seems as if they have placed the youtube video over a picture, which, once again, doesn't really make the page seem ordered. It promotes the band in a very basic way, by simply having the band's name/logo and one video of them. I believe that they could make the homepage a lot more engaging in some way; maybe when you open up the homepage a video instantly plays of maybe the band giving a message to their fans-just something more engaging than having a boring, very basic and generic layout.
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
'Dance to the Radio' - Permission Email
Here is a copy of the email we sent to 'Dance To The Radio', who are the current record label and current copyright holders of the song by 'The Pigeon Detectives'
''Dear Copyright Holder,
I am an A-Level student and I am writing to you to ask permission to use one track by The Pigeon Detectives called 'I'm a Liar'
With your permission this track would be used in my current A-Level Media coursework project that will involve creating a music video for a popular music track as well as promoting a dvd cover and a web page for the artist.
I look forward to hearing from you
Many Regards"
We are are currently awaiting a reply back from the company and if we do not hear back we will still carry on with the productions of our music video. If they do reply saying that we are not permitted to use their song, my group and I will have to use another one of our song choices and use one of those.
''Dear Copyright Holder,
I am an A-Level student and I am writing to you to ask permission to use one track by The Pigeon Detectives called 'I'm a Liar'
With your permission this track would be used in my current A-Level Media coursework project that will involve creating a music video for a popular music track as well as promoting a dvd cover and a web page for the artist.
I look forward to hearing from you
Many Regards"
We are are currently awaiting a reply back from the company and if we do not hear back we will still carry on with the productions of our music video. If they do reply saying that we are not permitted to use their song, my group and I will have to use another one of our song choices and use one of those.
Final Choice: The Pigeon Detectives - 'I'm a Liar'
I can't help thinking of you
Since you came into view
But I've tryed
Other boys do the same
Girl you drive them insame
With desire
Just like a bird in my hand
It will all go to plan
I'm a liar
I can't help thinking of you
Since you came into view
But I've tryed
Ba ba ba badaba ba ba ba badaba
I only came here 'cause i hear that you drink here darlin'
Ba ba ba badaba ba ba ba badaba
I only came here 'cause i hear that you drink here darlin'
Although I don't know your name
I could love you just the same
For tonight
And like a flash in your panel
I will take what I can
If that's alright
I still don't know how I feel
The words I use are words I steal
I'm a liar
I can't help thinking of you
Since you came into view
But I've tryed
Ba ba ba badaba ba ba ba badaba
I only came here 'cause i hear that you drink here darlin'
Ba ba ba badaba ba ba ba badaba
I only came here 'cause i hear that you drink here darlin'
Ba ba ba badaba ba ba ba badaba
I only came here 'cause i hear that you drink here darlin'
Ba ba ba badaba ba ba ba badaba
I only came here 'cause i hear that you drink here darlin'
Ba ba ba badaba ba ba ba badaba
I only came here 'cause i hear that you drink here darlin'
Ba ba ba badaba ba ba ba badaba
I only came here 'cause i hear that you drink here darlin'
IDEAS;
-Opening instrumental; considering band in background, also starting off with a guy waking up, and getting ready (getting out of bed, going into the bathroom, looking in the mirror, sticking on clothes he wore last night-that maybe trigger memories of the night before?) maybe showing him to be quite a mess; quite a few jumpcuts and mostly handheld camera work-to connote that the guy isn't very organised, a bit 'all over the place' and he's a bit of a 'jack the lad', quite confident/cheeky; also maybe shots of his room, showing the state of it. Maybe static shots showing his room, then his alarm clock, and various other parts of his room, really getting across to the audience that this is a young guy, who isn't really bothered about material things-quite 'carefree'.
-Also, to match the guitar strumming at the beginning of the instrumental, we could have the shots of his room, then being cut into with snippets of a guitar being strummed/played; so the music can be incorporated into the action.
-Maybe, instead of having a whole band being shown at points throughout the music video, we could have one person playing a guitar/drums, in which we take CU's and ECU's of, and use to cut into various other shots; matching the beats of the music.
-Fast paced 'ba ba ba ba ba ba'-could intergrate various shots of the main character running; i.e shots of his feet, his eyes, his face as he's running, him looking over his shoulder, his body etc (CU/ECU) and also whilst there are shots of the guy running, there are ECU's of fast strumming being slotted inbetween the running action.
-Lyrics; maybe tell the story backwards, following the lyrics; maybe including a bar/club; CU's of crumpled beer cans, a trashed house-he doesnt remember it. Maybe shaky POV shots-put effects during the editing stages, making the POV shot very blurry and unsteady; Maybe the girl he's chasing keeps on appearing and dissappearing; connoting this girl is always moving, and he cant seem to keep control of her.
-2nd verse of 'ba ba ba ba ba' maybe the guy could be frantically trying to clean up-once again with ECU's of strumming, and drumming; building pace and intentsity. Loads of jumpcuts once again-picking up cans in one shot, taking out the bins in the next shot etc, etc.
-During the slower verse's, the guy could be 'stealthily' trying to follow the girl; trying to act a sleuth, and be smooth, but maybe falls over, gets seen by various people-trys to act casual. Also, we could maybe intergrate random, frantic shots from the night before, him jumping about maybe, enjoying himself, drinking, being with girls etc.
-We want to focus on jumpcuts and a lot of handheld shots; to connote that the guy is a mess, and also to get across matching the beat of the music to the fast paced action. We also want to incorporate static, abstract-esque shots, and have also discussed zooming in whilst walking backwards with the camera, and we want to experiment with shots that are aeshtetically pleasing.
These are some initial ideas we have discussed and put down, and this will probably serve as a basis for the story of our music video-but we are yet to expand and develop the idea with more creative flare.
Monday, 4 October 2010
INDIE Iconography Questions
What did you research/learn?
My group and I chose the music genre ‘Indie’ for music video, and our 3 band choices have ended up being ‘The Kooks’ ‘The Macabees’ and ‘The Pigeon Detectives’; we also had influences from ‘Kings of Leon’, who we also considered and did a bit of research into. We learned that not many Indie bands all look the same, and seem to try and be as independent as possible. They all seem to use the same sort of colouring, normally either using basic colouring; using black, white, red etc, or go for more tonal and earthy colours. The majority of Indie bands, however, seem to have the same style and fashion, so look the same in that sense. We found out through research that not many Indie bands appear to have distinctive logos, and that their logos tend to be their band names in a font that the fans and audience would associate with them. It became apparent that most Indie bands kind of blend in with the rest, and there are only a few that really stand out within the genre.
How have you achieved your design?
I took into account how important it is for a band to have a logo that is striking, and aesthetically pleasing to their fans and audience. So, I decided that for my ‘The Macabees’ design, I wanted a colour that not many bands may use, but was still bold enough to stand out. I felt that the font used for that particular design was also very eye catching, and infact was my favourite of all the fonts. It was the same with my choice of colour and font for ‘The Kooks’. I believe that with that design the font would stand out whether it was in a bright colour or not. I felt that the choice to make it green still meant it would stand out, but wasn’t too conventional-as the band generally use black, white, and red.
What do you need to do next?
My group and I, most importantly, need to decide on a song, as we have around 3 different ones at the moment, and are waiting to hear back from the record companies. Also, it would maybe help some of my other group members, who don’t really know much about the genre, to do some more research into the genre, so they understand the overall look of the bands that produce that sort of music-and the look we are aiming for. We will then need to begin to think of a few ideas for each of our choices, and then maybe that could determine which song we use, if we have a strong idea with one song that we really want to produce.
My group and I chose the music genre ‘Indie’ for music video, and our 3 band choices have ended up being ‘The Kooks’ ‘The Macabees’ and ‘The Pigeon Detectives’; we also had influences from ‘Kings of Leon’, who we also considered and did a bit of research into. We learned that not many Indie bands all look the same, and seem to try and be as independent as possible. They all seem to use the same sort of colouring, normally either using basic colouring; using black, white, red etc, or go for more tonal and earthy colours. The majority of Indie bands, however, seem to have the same style and fashion, so look the same in that sense. We found out through research that not many Indie bands appear to have distinctive logos, and that their logos tend to be their band names in a font that the fans and audience would associate with them. It became apparent that most Indie bands kind of blend in with the rest, and there are only a few that really stand out within the genre.
How have you achieved your design?
I took into account how important it is for a band to have a logo that is striking, and aesthetically pleasing to their fans and audience. So, I decided that for my ‘The Macabees’ design, I wanted a colour that not many bands may use, but was still bold enough to stand out. I felt that the font used for that particular design was also very eye catching, and infact was my favourite of all the fonts. It was the same with my choice of colour and font for ‘The Kooks’. I believe that with that design the font would stand out whether it was in a bright colour or not. I felt that the choice to make it green still meant it would stand out, but wasn’t too conventional-as the band generally use black, white, and red.
What do you need to do next?
My group and I, most importantly, need to decide on a song, as we have around 3 different ones at the moment, and are waiting to hear back from the record companies. Also, it would maybe help some of my other group members, who don’t really know much about the genre, to do some more research into the genre, so they understand the overall look of the bands that produce that sort of music-and the look we are aiming for. We will then need to begin to think of a few ideas for each of our choices, and then maybe that could determine which song we use, if we have a strong idea with one song that we really want to produce.
Benefits and Risks of Using The Internet As a Promotional Tool
Benefits;
-Its world wide; reaches a very, very broad audience.
-Easily accessible.
-Store a lot of information; large promotions can be carried out.
-Its very popular; loads of people use the internet all the time.
-Its a fan base; and fans help to promote the band.
-Viral marketing agent.
-Much more interactive.
-Increased publicity for the band.
-You can cater specifically to your fans needs/wants.
Risks;
-Not 100% reliable; can be temperamental.
-Promotion can be ridiculed; abused.
-Any one can post.
-Lies can be posted and spread; leading people to believe things that aren't true.
-Website could get hacked.
-Its world wide; reaches a very, very broad audience.
-Easily accessible.
-Store a lot of information; large promotions can be carried out.
-Its very popular; loads of people use the internet all the time.
-Its a fan base; and fans help to promote the band.
-Viral marketing agent.
-Much more interactive.
-Increased publicity for the band.
-You can cater specifically to your fans needs/wants.
Risks;
-Not 100% reliable; can be temperamental.
-Promotion can be ridiculed; abused.
-Any one can post.
-Lies can be posted and spread; leading people to believe things that aren't true.
-Website could get hacked.
Glossary
Conventions of a Webpage;
-Text/Copy; used to inform the audience, and keep them updated.
-Logo; used to make the website instantly recognisable to the audience.
-Colour Scheme; generally colours that the band use in their advertisement, and publicity campaigns (also maybe used for their logo)
-Audio/Sound; the band/website creator may put live performances, or music videos for the audience to watch.
-Podcasts; makes the website more 'interactive'-connecting the audience more with the band.
-Banner; normally the first thing the viewer of the website sees, advertising the band-maybe using their logo.
-Layout; how the page is set out-consists of the menu, banner, and links-enabling you to easily navigate around the website.
A WEBPAGE is one single page of information.
A WEBSITE is made up of a number of different webpages connected by links.
-Text/Copy; used to inform the audience, and keep them updated.
-Logo; used to make the website instantly recognisable to the audience.
-Colour Scheme; generally colours that the band use in their advertisement, and publicity campaigns (also maybe used for their logo)
-Audio/Sound; the band/website creator may put live performances, or music videos for the audience to watch.
-Podcasts; makes the website more 'interactive'-connecting the audience more with the band.
-Banner; normally the first thing the viewer of the website sees, advertising the band-maybe using their logo.
-Layout; how the page is set out-consists of the menu, banner, and links-enabling you to easily navigate around the website.
A WEBPAGE is one single page of information.
A WEBSITE is made up of a number of different webpages connected by links.
Sunday, 3 October 2010
'The Macabees' Homepage - How successful is it at promoting the artist?
In my opinion, i believe that this homepage is very successful in promoting the band, as the first thing you see is the band, straight away, and really, they couldn't promote the band in a better way. As a viewer of the website the first thing you see is the band, and the first thing you hear is the band, so straight away the band are being seen and heard by the viewer of the website. It would also be very common for the first time each fan/viewer goes on the link, they will sit and watch the whole performance the whole way through. What could work is if they updated the performance and changed it every so often, because if you use the same song performance for a long time, then the fans/regular viewers will begin to become irritated by repeating the same song, which in the long run could mean people avoid the website for that reason. The homepage performance is a very simple and also clever way of promoting the band, and publicising them to potential regular visitors of the website-because people who are undecided on their opinion of the band, can listen to the song, watch the performance, and most importantly to a potential fan, judge how well they can sing and perform live, which will instantly help the viewer to make up their mind on their thoughts about the band.
'The Macabees' Homepage - Who is the target audience? How are they targeted?
The target audience for this homepage will appear to be fans of the band, or genre of music-probably between the ages of 15-30. They are targeted through the innovative way of using a live performance to interest the audience when they first go onto the site. Fans of the band probably go onto youtube and watch live performances, or recorded tracks, but by making them instantly accessible to the fans as soon as they view the bands website, this means more hits for 'The Macabees', and less hits for youtube. By making the live performance clearly accessible to anyone, they are also appealing to people who maybe aren't sure whether they are keen on the band or not, so not only is this clever way of using performance engaging their current audience, but it is also encouraging other people to make a decision as to whether they like the band or not. Also, fans love free things, and by making the live performance, instantly viewable (and free), they don't have to search for too long, or too much to try and find a live performance of 'The Macabees'-nor do they have to traipse through the website trying to find live, high quality footage; including CU's of the band mid-performance; something a fan wouldn't really be able to get.
'The Macabees' Homepage - How are web page conventions used?
Audio and image are used well on this homepage as as soon as you click on the link, or enter their website, the first thing you see is a live performance spanning across the whole of your page-so instantly the audience are engaged, and their attention i immediately grabbed as the audience are made to feel as if they are part of a live performance, and are viewing it from a fan's POV. It would only then be if the person clicked on a seperate link that the performance would stop, and disappear. Not only can you see the live performance, but you can also hear the sound, and song they are playing. This is key to identifying which band, and what genre of music this website is advertising, and publicising. It also interests the audience a lot more when they can both aurally and visually engage with the bands performance, meaning they will watch the website for longer, and maybe tell friends about the free performance you get to view; which all adds up to hits on the websites, and ultimately-an increase in fan numbers, and the scale of the bands popularity. These are 2 conventions that are really well used on the home page, and also, 2 conventions that have been used in a simple, yet innovative way. The footage is simply a performance of one song, which isn't hard for the website designer to get a hold of, yet it proves to be an interesting way of keeping the fans interested in viewing the website.
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