My Artist's Webpage

I have created a webpage for my artist to demonstrate how artists and the major record labels manipulate the media spectrum to increase their artist/band's popularity. Each artist is treated, in a way as a product, and by impelmenting use of social networking websites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter they become increasingly marketable product. This is due to the rise of viral marketing campaigns - the more fans an artist has on their social networking page or official website, the more hits on youtube they get, thus leading to more record downloads and sales.

As I allready have a Facebook page, I felt that Facebook would be the most suitable medium in which to create a webpage for my artist, as I could easily navigate it. Here I have print screened examples of the process in which I created the webpage. It is evident that viral marketing schemes and artist popularity on such websites has increased as Facebook now provides an option to create a specific webpage - tailored to the aritst's needs.

As my account allready exists I have created a page for my artist within my existing account.

Here I have edited the personal information section for my artists outlining her personality, interests, acheivements and thanks to her fans to sustain a strong and loyal fan base.

This is the main profile page that fans would see if they became "friends" with the artist on Facebook. Once they have become "friends" they are enabled to navigate the artists site, look at recent photographs, album artwork and various posts and status updates. Fans would also have access to the latest information such as tour dates, cd signings and appearances etc...

Once I added a series of photographs taken during the filming process of our music video, I creates an album named "Album Artwork" which would consist of official artwork.

This is an example of a status update where the artist has notified fans about the availabilty of her debut album "Oh No!" which maximises sales.

As I allready have a Facebook account, I have the option t navigate around the website with my own personal account, or with my artist's account.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Molly-and-The-Diamonds/154246021302891

Shooting So Far...

As our music video is not yet completed and has not been converted into a quick-time movie format, I decided to print screen various shots of film sequence from our original music video that is currently being edited in Final Cut Express.

I have chosen to use these images as I feel they embody the quintessential message that our base track, aesthetic and styling of the artist and location are trying to portray.

The above image is from the opening sequence of our music video. Here we have made use of fast paced editing and sharp cuts to create a sense of hyper-realism and distortion that is so prominent within th music video industry today, take for example Rihanna. Her music video for S&M comments on the sado-masochist movement, fetishism objectification through vanity and materialistic obsession in a paradoxic/post-modernistic fashion. Where bright colours and luxury items mirror the principal social constructs of todays modernised society.

Here the artist is surrounded by magazines in a mid shot, which coveys how the media spectrum, especially magazines have become increasingly important within the lives of the modern day woman; some may argue that fashion magazines today govern our lives, exemplifying what is perfect and right and shaming what is not perceived as perfect in todays consumer culture.

Here the artist wears clothing that connotes glamor and sophistication. The fur-coat and Christian Loboutin high-heels resemble the glamorous, fashion forward persona emulated by Cheryl Cole on her Messy Little Raindrops album cover. We have used traditional techniques such as red-lipstick, provocative clothing and dramatic eye-makeup to allude to the ideology of objectification through vanity and sexual empowerment. However, through the fast paced dancing and sarcastic approach we have consciously parodied the stereotypical elements of music videos today, linking back to our studies on post-modernism and parody.

Here three separate shots are used to create a montage of materialistic imagery for an audience of anti-authority rebels and admiration seekers. The range from closeup, to medium shot, to long shot creates substantial dramatic impact.

We have also ensured that we made use of many closeups to create interest in the artist's aesthetic but to also further the dramatic impact created. Here, by placing my hands around the sides of the camera and moving it in conjunction with the base track, have created the illusion that the audience is being immersed within the narrative - where the artist speaks directly to the audience and therefore engages them. This shot could also be a comment on the postmodernist technique of voyeurism - prominent in many music videos especially in artists such as George Michael.

Throughout the video we have created contrasting imagery to create a juxtaposition of two parallel words - one where fame, fortune, materialistic desire and obsession co-exist and become increasingly destructive.

My Album Artwork

My Album Art Flat Plans

My Album Art

To gain inspiration for the construction process of my own album cover, I have studied the album artwork used for the cover of "Oh No!" by Marina and The Diamonds. I particularly like the pop-art aesthetic of the cover, where the facial features of the artist are exaggerated. The fake, cartoon-like image alludes to a fake, materialistic feel; like the artist is submerged within a fantasy world.

I have also conducted research into the essential components of an album cover such as the bar code, record label logos, thanks to recording companies and executive producers, and for more explicit music, parental advisory warnings.

I have chosen to use the logos of Def-Jam Recordings and Interscope Records as some of the most popular, successful and controversial stars belong to these labels - artists such as Rihanna who just released her post-modernistic/sado-masochistic video S&M, and Lady Gaga, arguably one of the most controversial artists of the 21st Century. I want to portray my artist as a controversial yet glamorous artist, who reaches out to the public by questioning social constructs of the 21st century such as materialistic desire and obsession and objectification through vanity. 

To follow the pop-art theme, I began by taking one of my original images (photographed whilst filming), and opening it in Adobe Photoshop software. When it was finally opened in Photoshop I transferred the image onto a blank canvas. After researching the size and width of conventional album covers I decreased the length and width of the canvas to L:13 and W:13.5 cm.  I then used the artistic filter "Neon Glow". I used pink and red as they are from the same tonal variation therefore do not clash to much, but still create a saccharine/sugar-coated and playful aesthetic.

I wanted to use a playful font type that still alluded to a glamorous and stylish feel. So I visited a font downloading website and sampled many. Finally I decided to use a font called "Candy Inc". I particularly liked this font as it was striking, bold yet still delicate and feminine. 

Here you can see the similarities but also the contrasting aspects of my album cover and that of Marina and The Diamonds. In my image I have ensured that the bottle of champagne is a prominent aspect to encapsulate the message me and my fellow band members attempted to create during our video production.

There were some constraints experienced whilst using a free font as it wouldn't allow me to type an exclamation mark. Resultantly I had to find a similar font in order to create the exclamation mark.

Above is the finished album front cover

To create the back of my album cover, I looked at Rihanna's album "Loud". I took inspiration from the use of similar tonal variations and small font types to prevent the cover from looking cluttered. Below is the finished product...

Planning My Album Art

Original Album Art Images

I feel that these images are perfect in connoting the ideologies of which our group aspire to convey. The smudged makeup symbolises destruction and, in parallel, the dishevelled aesthetic and materialistic props present create strong and vivid imagery.

The Moet champagne suggests an air of wealth and appeals to a demographic of materialists and admiration seekers. Whereas the costume, makeup and mis-en-scene prevalent within the images alludes to the idea of a woman lost in the modern world dominated by the giants of consumerism, compulsive materialistic desire and postmodernism. 

Editing Our Footage

Last Monday myself and Yas filmed the newest shot sequences for our music video. The quality of the footage is substantially higher in terms of lighting, costume, angles, timing and general camera work, however due to the lack of tripods some shots are a bit shaky. Myself and harry have manged to order the footage to make a base for our video. I believe that we will definitely have a rough cut of our music video completed by half term.

Album Art Analysis

Cheryl Cole "Messy Little Raindrops"

The overall aesthetic of the album cover connotes materialistic and commercial ideologies along with glamorous imagery to create specific emphasis on the iconography of the artist, their personal ideals, beliefs/interests and ultimately indicates at the institutional context of the music label. 

The font style used illuminates on the commercially orientated imagery on the cover through its fluidity and delicate/elaborate style (it could be suggested that the font type used is purposely intends to mimic handwriting). The styling of the artist also communicates ideologies of wealth, possession and self adoration; the leopard print Christian Loboutin high-heeled shoes (notorious for their craftsmanship and high-price) represent glamour, but could also indicate at an animistic obsession or desire for an idealised life brimming with wealth, fame and prosperity. 

The pose of the artist reinforces the idea of self-adoration and could signify an appeal to an audience demographic of admiration seekers or materialists. The artist adopts a pose that showcases her body and also the structure of the clothing - iconography that shows that the artist is very commercially orientated. It is clear that the artist has knowledgeable insight into the world of fashion due to the exclusivity of her clothing, the way the dress is sculptured, to the way she purposely manipulates her pose in order to expose the dress' best elements. The pose is however considerably masculine, which portrays the artist's desire to be taken seriously - this goes against mainstream album cover conventions, and the 21st century portrayal of women as symbols of vanity and sexual desire. Despite this, the bright fuschia and orange colours of the dress show a hesitance to let go of her femininity and fun-loving nature. 

The glamorised image of the artist is blurred which could indicate at deeper and more complex issues surrounding the general perception of the artist and the stereotypical ideals she represents. We can learn from the title of the album cover that the artist aspires convey more depth to her persona; she wants people to see the real her - not only the professional and driven side, but the more sensitive side. "Messy little raindrops" alludes to a sense of ambiguity. The curtain could represent the recent turbulence in her life, and ultimately, a longing to see beyond the messy raindrops. It could be argued that the messy raindrops are a metaphor for the washing away of her past and the emotional baggage that comes with it, and ultimately the artist embarking towards a new beginning/a new chapter in her life. 

The Wanted

The aesthetic of this album cover follows a colour scheme of increasingly dark tonal variations. Black usually connotes mystery, sophistication and darkness, whereas grey being a mid tone suggests ambiguity and obscurity. 

The font type used is prominent and bold to ensure the name of the band stands out. The fact that the members of the band are each dressed in black ensures that the album cover is not visually distracting for consumer audiences; thus ensuring that all attention is focused on the faces of the band members, and on the title of the album. The fact that the band are dressed in the same colours could indicate at a sense of unity - a bond between them. This in turn creates specific emphasis on the ideals and beliefs of the band-members, their iconography but also reveals a substantial degree about the institutional context of the music label. 

The music label are obviously keen to present their artist(s) as a new breed of boy band. The minimalistic setting reflects the 21st century trend of minimalism in both fashion and arcitecture, and overall theme of the album cover suggests a serious, business-minded and professional nature. 

Each band member stares directly into the camera which asserts their sense of authority and serious nature; this could even suggest that a visually intruiging album cover is not of real signifigance to the band: that they want to focus soley on promoting their music. One band member however, situated at the back of the image, evidently looks in a different direction to the other band members. This could reflect a differing ideolology or moral from the band member, or could even indicate a difference in the individuals personality or talent. 

Analysis of "S&M" Rihanna

Cultural Context 

• Rihanna's latest music video has been dubbed one of the most controversial music videos of 2011. The video is an example of post-modernism, representing social constructs and objective truths, but also exemplifies the sadomasochist movement/ideologies.
• Rihanna highlights the pleasure she takes in the infliction of pain or humiliation upon another person (whereas where masochism is pleasure taken in receiving the pain) through a comical parody of the codes and conventions of music videos of the 21st century . Throughout the video, Rihanna delivers pleasure, especially sexual gratification, from inflicting or submitting to physical or emotional abuse. 

Issues and Debates

• The main issue surrounding the music video is that persons who watch/use the video to communicate with one another would need a substantially informed or sophisticated understanding of the context and issues raised within the video such as sadomasochism and objectification through vanity and sexuality. 
• Age restrictions have been imposed upon the music video, and it has also been banned in 11 countries across the globe in order to prevent consumer audiences being susceptible to such controversial and thought-provoking imagery. The complexities surrounding the age restrictions is that the restrictions themselves are very easy to work around/defy. Authorities therefore perpetuate the video by undermining it.
•  The restrictions increase the percent of viral marketing - in a sense the more people are told not to watch the video, the more people will want to watch it. 
• Through viral marketing techniques through websites such Youtube, Facebook, Myspace and Twitter Rihanna will broaden her fanbase, reaching out to aspirational and admiration seekers, but also to anti-authority rebels. 
• Another issue is that Rihanna's fanbase consists of many young girls, especially teen and pre-teen: they look up to her as she is a dominant force/presence within the music industry. Will this result in them trying to adopt the new found, sexually promiscuous and ecsentric ways?

Costume and Mis-en-scene

• Rihanna's aesthetic is promiscous where most of her outfits are revealing, or made out of perspex/pvc material which have predomiantly sexual connotations. 
• Much of the mis-en-scene and costume is hypo-exaggerated/hyperbolic. For example the fuschia and white patterning on the walls of the room in the opening sequence, also the popping turquoise colours of the walls when the artist is being dragged to the "press conference" and ultraviolet makeup.
• Rihanna's hair is of a vibrant red colouring and a juxtaposing of characters is created through the styling of her hair an costume; where we see a more refined and presentable rihanna in a floor length gown with groomed hair, contrasted with a wild rihanna with "afro" style hair, dressed in a crop top with "censored" written across it, dark blue trousers and fur scarves draped around her neck. Rihanna also has a crown on her head. 
• The fact that Rihanna is behind a perspex/transparent plastic wall during a press conference could indicate at her being trapped or her internal ideologies and morals being prevented from being revealed to the outside world. The ideologies and imagery conveyed by Rihanna is evidently viewed as corrupt through the words inscribed in "newspaper article style/font type" on her dress.
• The reporters and journalists also wear conventional clothing associated with the sadomasochist movement.
• Props feature whips, tape and modern/surrealist furniture to create the illusion of a fictional/fantasy world
• The idea that the video is a parody of the conventions of modern day movement, and in parallel sadomasochism, is highlighted through the artist's use of celebrities from the present day media spectrum. For example, when Rihanna appears with a man dressed in pink and white clothing (along with traditional elements of sadomasochist aesthetic) on a lead, audiences will recognise that the man on the lead is in fact Perez Hilton, an American celebrity gossip columnist. 

Editing

• The editing techniques used are useful in conveying Rihanna's transition from an illusive and delusional state to reality. The editing style frequently features focusing and de-focusing to create a movement between two worlds.