Album Artwork Analysis - The Clash - "London Calling"

- The genre is conveyed through the image - it is clearly Punk

  -> Values: - The artist is shown expressing anger and frustration

  -> Rebellious - This is shown as he is smashing his own guitar

- The word 'Clash' suggests they are against the mainstream

- Image - Agressivemess, anger, suggests their own values and beliefs.  

  -> Black and White - suggests negative emotions 

  -> Connotations of sharp and crisp means sophistication and wealth however if it was grainy and blurred that would connotate authenticity -> It has deliberately been done 'High Finish'.  This suggests that the artists passion is more important than the actual image of the artist.

-The name of the album appears bigger than the actual name of the band.  This suggests that image is not as important as the music.  

- The image is a shot from a live gig which connotates that the artist is passionate about their music.

- We are not able to see the artists face - values of the artist are that the music is more important than the image.

Audience

- Targets older people as its from the 1970's, therefore audiences would have been different in terms of taste and likings.

- Targets people who like to be 'different' and not follow the mainstream.

Analysing Album Art

When analysing album artwork, look at:
- Images
- Fonts
- Portrayal of Artist


How the artwork conveys:
- Emotional response to the music
- Genre
- Star image (values and beliefs)
- Intended audience
- Uses and gratification
- Message about social group


Album covers as an art form
- Ambiguous or intriguing imagery - could be interpreted a number of ways (always interesting to look at)
- Shocking - mainly punk artists do this - deliberately controversial to grab attention 
- Visually dense (lots of images, lots to look at)
- Minimalist - unusually sparse or empty (why have they done this?)


Having and understanding of what is expected of a CD cover and how it should convey specific messages about the artist, I am able to apply my knowledge when I am creating my own digi pak.  To broaden my knowledge I analysed a few CD covers to see how other artists convey their genre and messages.

Indie Kids Subculture

WHAT IS INDIE?

"Indie" stands for "Independent". The late teens to mid twenties kids mainly all share a common love for the arts and music. But they are opposite to mainstream in terms of their personality, style, dress sense, etc. They listen to many bands most people haven't heard of and tend to dress however they want, creating trends themselves. 

Indie kids are often seen in art gallery, underground clubs and vintage shops, and they like mixing lots of styles found in these shops. They tend to be open minded as well as opinionated and are curious for new ideas in all art fields mainly music.

They tend to wear warm neutral tones as opposed to black, as well as light fabrics, almost simular to the 

hippie style.

 They listen to Indie and Alternative music, and are considerate the "hot"nerds.  Indie kids are the new generation of nerd but the "cool nerd" version because they embrace the awkwardness.  An example is the way they have made the big dorky glasses a fashion statement rather than something people would laugh at.  Indie kids are often very sharp and very quickwitted.  They tend to listen to bands from back as early as the 1960s. Typical indie kid bands include The Beatles, Bright Eyes, The Shop Assistants, The Long Blondes, The Rascals,The Shangri Las and The Who.

Indie kids wear clothes from second hand shops, have an unfounded fascination in things like cassette tapes and vinyl, and often wear thick rimmed glasses and a little hint of 60's.

CCCS Research Task

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The understanding of how different sub cultures have come apart and the meaning behind why it took place will influence my final product.  This is because if my chosen music artist comes from a subculture, I will be aware on how to target them to a specific audience.

Music Timeline

We created a music timeline which gave us a broad knowledge and understanding of the music industry and the type of genres that were popular then, the artists which were around etc.  We was able to see how there have been changes over years in fashion, music, style etc.  

Richard Dyer - Star Theory

We looked at a theorist called Richard Dyer, and examined his idea of the 'Star Theory'. The four parts of this theory focused on Constructions, Industry and Audience, Ideology & Culture, and Character & Personality.

Constructions - Stars are artificial images despite the fact that they are illustrated as 'real people'. A unique selling point helps their image as it makes them a more memorable artist. Therefore audiences are more likely to copy them or imitate them.

Their image is usually constructed through the media (advertising, magazines etc).  This has been stated, however some record companies don't understand the full process resulting in the failure of some artists.  Dyer suggested that TV shows such as The X Factor - subtract the longevity of some artists.  

Industry's and the Audience - Their main purpose is to make profit rather than statements, so institutions often sign artists who are alike other famous artists, as they know audiences will like them. However this does lead to a down fall in creativity and audiences don't want to spend money on blandness.  Some Star's can also be deemed opinion leader's and create a culture.  An example of this is Lady Gaga.  Her image is formed to to target people who like being unique, different and against following the latest fashion trend in the mainstream.  This enhances her 'star quality' as an artist.  

A criticism against the 'Star Theory' is that Star's tend to lose longevity because they fail to develop or sustain their image.  Also, other new and upcoming stars who are similar to them, distract the audiences attention.




Learning about Dyers Star Theory I was able to gain knowledge on how artists present themselves in a particular way.  This is helpful as I am aware of how i will market my artist.  I could then apply my knowledge and understanding about Dyer's Star Theory to my music artist, and present my him in a particular way.

Arguments FOR and AGAINST of why female models are used in music videos

Reasons for why Females are used in Music Videos on Prezi