This screen grab represents the initial thematic element of the pop promo as it shows how the band is ‘ordinary’ as they are living in a fairly plain and inexpensive ‘flat’. Our band represents the organic ideology of creativity, which suggests that the record company has discovered the band and their talents have been nurtured and developed, this idea derives from the work of Keith Negus. The aim was to show a bare living space to represent an area which appeared to have just been moved in to and that would create juxtaposition with later shots in the promo, which show a messy environment to show how time passes. It also symbolises something inexpensive, which makes the band appear to be relatable for the target audience, and also shows how they are not yet successful. The drumsticks and guitar in the corner represent how the focal point of the band is their music as it is the first object to be placed in the room and also stresses the fact that it is a music video. The emphasis on the band’s music and talent rather than their appearance for example is typical of this genre and similar themes would be seen in for example an Arctic Monkey’s video.
This screen grab represents the initial performance element of the band. It is stylised to cater to the image that we wished to create for the band, which was the idea that they are focused on their music, and are young and carefree with ‘indie’ and ‘alternative’ aspects to them. The lead singer is lying on the floor which helps to enforce the band’s image but also provides intertextuality as it is a tribute to an Oasis video, Oasis have a similar image to our band and would perhaps be an inspiration for their music. This image enforces the thematic element that this is where the band started out and the idea that they live together as to focus on their music. This too is a convention of music videos of this genre as although there is strong performance element there is also often a thematic element. For example within The Vaccines’ promo for the song ‘Post Break Up Sex’ there are continuous images of different people crying this is to symbolise mixed cultures and the that the emotions people experience during ‘post break up sex’ is universal however alongside this there is also a performance element to the music video where similar to ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ the band are depicted in a living area.
This image represents how time has passed and reinforces the thematic element to the promo as well as giving a further performance element to the sequence. This screen grab also emphasises the band’s star image. The posters represent the band’s influences and inspirations and the type of star image they hope to achieve. This perhaps challenges the conventions of music videos as it is rare to see blatant images of a band’s inspirations within their music videos however it has become common now to use synergy and advertise other products within a video such as laptops or speakers, this is not present in our pop promo as it would not be correct of the indie genre however Lady Gaga often does this within her videos and conforms to the conventions of pop music. The girls featured in the promo suggest how girls will ‘come and go’ for the band as time passes and they are just aspects of their lifestyle, this conforms to the conventions of music videos as videos across all genres often feature females often as dancers and sex symbols however this was not our aim. The build up of mess within the room continues the theme of the promo as it represents how time has passed and the living space is more lived in. It shows how the band is trying to ‘make it’ and what they aspire too. The room’s state also highlights how the band is just a group of young boys and our therefore relatable to the target audience, as they appear ordinary. Often in music videos of the indie genre the bands are presented as ordinary to make them appear relatable to the target audience for example within The Kooks’ promo for ‘Shine On’ the band are depicted in an ordinary house, similar to our promo however other genres often use mansions or expensive clubs or hotels to portray wealth and fame as this is what attracts their target audience. The idea that the band is playing their music in the living space provides a performance aspect. The band and girls were dressed in a specific way to be a similar style to the target audience and also have a ‘indie’ and ‘alternative’ aspect to the band to fit in to the genre and to highlight their star image. This is another convention of music videos, as bands are often dressed in a certain way to target their audience and to conform to their genre.
This follows the thematic element to the promo. The ‘Marshall’ poster represents the band’s aspirations and how they hope to become successful and reach ‘stardom’ alongside a ‘rock star’ lifestyle. Use Dyer’s definition of stardom to demonstrate that they have become ‘stars’ rather than performers. This uses the conventions of music videos for this genre as this sort of lifestyle is present within the Arctic Monkey’s promo for ‘Fake Tales of San Francisco’ where the band are depicted having an ordinary but ‘rock and roll’ lifestyle which is also obviously extremely music and performance based. It also justifies how they are ordinary people who have dreams, which are further relatable for the target audience. It also links to later on in the promo where they have real ‘Marshall’ amps to show how far they have come as a band and how they have become successful by the end of the promo. In the ‘Fake Tales of San Francisco’ promo the Arctic Monkeys are seen performing on stage to a large crowd showing how they too are successful, therefore suggesting that our promo uses the conventions of music videos. The lead singer is also dressed smarter by the end of the video to show how the band has matured and how they are to be taken more seriously as a band which challenges the conventions of music videos of the genre as there are rarely costume changes.
This image reinforces the performance and thematic elements to the promo. The globe represents the band’s aspirations and how one day they wish to ‘make it big’ and become global. The beer bottle emphasises the ‘rock and roll’ but also youthful ‘student’ lifestyle of the band, empty alchohol bottles are often seen in music videos of this genre as they reinforce the ‘rock and roll’ lifestyle, Oasis and the Libertines often depict this image therefore our promo conforms to the conventions through this aspect. DVDs, newspapers and magazines suggest how time has passed as they are building up and also further enforces youth and also how the band is living in a messy environment as playing their music is more important. The guitar being played links the performance and thematic elements to one another and symbolises how music is the band’s life to an extent.
The final set shows how far the band has come, they are now earning and are successful as they are playing in a studio with proper amplifiers, lights and microphones. This image enforces the performance element to the video and further highlights how the band are ‘all about’ their music. The emphasis on the performance element of the video uses music video conventions as it is rare to find music videos of any genre that have no performance element as it reinforces the bands talents. They appear to have grown up which further represents how time has passed yet they still seem youthful and will still attract their target audience however it is clear that they have now reached what they wished to achieve, this is not a common theme to music videos and therefore challenges the conventions however the use of narrative is a convention for most promos. Their clothing still makes them easy to relate to for the target audience as it still ties in with the ‘indie’ style but also shows a sense of maturity and success.
This panel of our digipak is the front cover. It has the band name ‘The Factory’ which uses a convention of album covers as the band name is always depicted as a marketing technique. The same font is continually used throughout the digipak and poster to give a common thread and make their albums/posters continuously and clearly recognizable to their audience. This uses conventions of marketing, as the font often makes a band unique, the Arctic Monkeys use a continuous font throughout their digipaks to make their albums recognizable to their fans. The theme of mess is integrated using a pile up of shoes, which also features in our music video, and therefore emphasizing the image created for the band, this conforms to other digipaks as an artist’s image is usually consistently portrayed through the marketing. The doc martin boots are particularly interesting as they link to the working class, factory boys footwear and link the band’s name. The cover challenges the conventions as often bands or artists are depicted on the digipak covers, we chose to challenge this to make the band appear more individual.
This back cover of our digipak has the song names, which are conventional for a back cover of an album so that the audience can clearly see which track they are listening to. It has a picture of beer on it which is perhaps a working class drink and continues the image promoted of the band as being relatable through the digipak, ultimately using conventions as often digipaks have a continuous theme. The idea of beer links to the stop motion in our music video where there are often cans and bottles on the sides building up or disappearing, this highlights the ‘rock and roll’ and relatable image of the band and follows the conventions of digipaks of the genre. For example The Libertines digipak cover differs from ours as it depicts the band however they are standing outside a bus stop which makes them appear ordinary and therefore relatable giving a similar image to The Factory.
This poster links to all panels of the digipak and to the music video as the working class theme is continued therefore it promotes the image of the band, conforming to similar marketing techniques of other bands where a certain image is consistently promoted.
There is a tea stain present on every panel of the album digipak as well as on the poster. This is conventional to do this as it is promoting the product through the use of continuity and further presents a continuous image for the band. We also use the same font in the poster to the one used on the digipak to link the font specifically to the band and make their products easily recognizable.
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