Investigating How 'The Wanted' Market Themselves

Traditionally, music bands marketed themselves using posters and the radio. However, Due to the technology developing over the years, there are many ways in which a band can now promote themselves more and quicker. A good example would be the British band 'The wanted':

YouTube- The band has their own youtube account where people can listen to their songs and give them feedback. Their videos are not just their songs, but also interviews, back stage clips, etc where you get to know the group better. The theme on the page is also personalised which is the same as the one on their website which makes it easier for the audence to recognise them. http://www.youtube.com/user/Thewantedmusic?ob=0&feature=results_main

Twitter- On Twitter, the band is able to promote their music by sharing videos. They can also Communicate with fans which is good as it can lead on to a positive word-of-mouth from the audience. http://twitter.com/#!/thewantedmusic




Facebook- Facebook is another popular social networking site where the band have over a million followers. Fans are able to see pictures, videos, band information, events, etc. and also communicate with the band. On this site, they also promote their merchandises. http://www.facebook.com/#!/TheWanted?sk=app_186599258079630

Official Website- On the bands website, you can listen to music, watch their videos, find out when and where their tours are taking place, sell their merchandise and more in more than one language. I think this is important as the band are not limiting their target audience. Also, Merchandising is a great technique to promote the band as people buy things like t-shirts etc which creates another way of marketing through the audience as other people can see. http://thewantedmusic.com/home

Blogs- Fans themselves have created ways of promoting 'The Wanted' using blogs. Again, people are able to see pictures, videos, etc and also comment on what they think of it. Being able to communicate and give your own opnion is important as it allows the audience to engage and spread the word. http://thewantedunofficial.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Technology has allowed us to promote artists and band in ways which could not be done before. They are now easy to access and are much quicker which has a great impact not only for the audience but also for the music industry.         

Editing

After having problems with uploading all our footage, we have finally uploaded everything onto final cut express and have edited some of the video. What we have done so far is selected all the shots we need; have cut them down to where we need them and have placed them in chronological order. Sorting this out and following our storyboard, not only do we still need to include our transactions, but also what I have realised is that we still need a few more shots to fill in the gaps. What myself and the group have decided is to go to Ivas house tomorrow and film there. What we are also going to do is take pictures of Kim for our individual digipacks.

Analysis of Music Video 2: Telephone

"Telephone" is a song by Lady Gaga. This song is featuring American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles and is written by Gaga herself and Rodney Jerkins. A critical success, most contemporary critics frequently noted "Telephone" as a stand-out track from The Fame Monster and it was Grammy-nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals in 2011.
Narration:
This music video is 9 minutes and 31 seconds long where the song starts at 2 minutes 53 seconds; giving a long prequel; typical of Lady GaGa's unusual, controversial, unconventional pop videos challenging society. Listening to this song, one would first assume that this song is about Lady Gaga receiving phone calls from someone frustrating, however, this video has infused a second, deeper meaning to the song, giving it an entirely new dimension. In Paparazzi, Gaga plays the role of a mind-controlled slave who was “programmed” to poison and kill her boyfriend. Telephone is a continuation of this story, where Gaga goes to jail for her crime. The “telephone” could be  a metaphor for Gaga’s brain and the fact that she is not answering that phone (her brain) could suggest that she has “dissociated” from reality. This can be portrayed in two separate shots:
Gaga’s head is the telephone. She is not answering that phone, which is symbolic of her dissociative mind state:

The telephone receiver is shaped using her hair which covers her left eye, representing mind control:

Mise-en-scene:

The use of the mise-en-scene establishes the setting of an all female prison. Lady Gaga's costumes change throughout and each time depict something different and unique which is one of the predominant things she is known for. For example, she has coke cans in her hair, dressed in tape, wears cigarette glasses, etc. One could say that the cigarettes covering her eyes represent her blindness to her highly toxic life as a mind controlled drone. These representations defies the social norms of conventional pop video's but follow's conventions of Lady GaGa's own strange pop videos. Later, you see the artist dressed in "caution" tape whilst in her prison cell. This could symbolise the artists dangerous side which is supported by the word 'caution' and the body gestures and movements she makes. The fact that one eye is covered, highlights the trauma mind control victims must go through, her body is a crime scene.  

One could argue that this is could therefore be targeted at the modern youth audience who are scared to defy the norms of society and be themselves; this video could therefore inspire them to grow confidence and become more of an individual as suggested with the 'caution' tape in the prison. Gaga is also dressed in a formal jacket covered with jewels which is covered by the American flag; this emphasises that the artist is patriotic and loves her home country.    
Lady Gaga is constantly seen in extreme strong make up which emphasises her femininity and extenuates her sexuality throughout the video. This therefore links to voyeurism which refers to the idea of looking in order to gain sexual pleasure, suggested by Goodwin. This can also be seen through her outfits as they expose a lot of the artists body. 


Sound:
The first sound used in the video is of female prisoners talking through dialogue which is later followed by a kissing sound, exemplifying the sexuality of the video, again relating to voyeurism. A voice over is used on "intercom" which is a typical feature of a prison location. The song begins later which is use of non diegeic and digeic music as the audience can hear the song and throughout the video, the characters dance to the music, and the telephone noise. There is further dialogue in the video when the prison guards, Beyonce and Lady Gaga are talking and ambient sounds of drawers being opened and closed and keys rattling; these fixtures are all typically found in prison cells.There is further ambience of high heel footsteps which gives a sense of femininity. 
Offensive language is also used in the video as dialogue to appeal to the younger target audience as the youth have been stereotypically portrayed to use this type of language.



Camera work: 
Various types of camera work are used throughout the video. In majority of the shots, Gaga is in the centre of the frame which establishes the protagonists significance.  
There is use of a shot-reverse-shot in the car showing both Beyonce' and Lady Gaga not only allows the audience to see their facial expressions, but also emphasise their importance as the two main characters in the video. 
There is also a pan/ tracking shot following Beyonce' walking into the diner justifying her importance in the video which is followed by an over the shoulder shot from Beyonce's point of view; which allows the audience to directly see from her perspective. 


Editing:
Various editing techniques are used throughout. For example, the subtitle headings are used to entitle the name of the song and who is starring in the video which is something you do not often see in other music videos. Because you usually see titles like these in films, it prepares the audience for the narration giving a 'film' feeling to it.There is use of jump cuts to multiple different scenes which could suggest a metaphor of the teenage audience's hectic lifestyle as it is fast paced which they can therefore relate with the video. 
The CCTV style camera shots are made to look like the characters are under constant observation as they are in prison; this is typically not conventional of most pop videos which makes this video stand out as Gaga has challenged these conventions and has achieved a successful outcome. It can also suggest that the audience is watching the prisoners as well which allows us to engage with the artist.   
There is also use of a flashing camera to give the impression that photo's are being taken of Beyonce as a snapshot image which fits in with the narrative of the video. Subtitles are later used in the video during the diner scene to show the speech from Gaga to Beyonce; this editing technique is conventional of pop music videos. Also, a multiple split screen of Beyonce and Gaga enables the video what both artists are doing at the same time to conventionally send a message to the audience. Majority of the editing is fast paced when the artist sings which symbolises the hectic and chaos in the artist's mind. 
Goodwin suggested that there is a relationship between the music and visuals. Because this 'Telephone' is an extended video with a story being told in between the song, there is less need to illustrate the meaning of the song with the visuals. The director Jonas Akerlund has instead used the editing to represent the feel of the song with the use of jump cuts. For example, this is portrayed in the fast cuts during the more energetic moments of the song where the artist is in the kitchen.  

Intertextuality:
A common technique used in music videos is intercontextual reference. In this video, the director has included a car that says "pussy wagon" on it which relates to the film 'Kill Bill' (2003). Also, Beyonce puts on Mickey Mouse sunglasses, which are the same glasses worn by Gaga in Paparazzi while killing her boyfriend. 

Individual Response to the Idea

At first, myself and my group had chosen Sarah Blasko for our artist and we worked into creating the music video for her song 'We Wont Run'. During the process of our filming, my group did not feel 100% happy with what we were creating. Personally, I felt that we had good ideas which we could have developed on further, however, the group were not confident and felt that we did not have a solid enough idea in general. The outcome of this was to change the song which I felt that we are taking a big risk as this was suggested 3 weeks before the deadline which had also worried our teachers.
The idea for the music video for the song 'Moon by moon' by Bat for Lashes is that a young girl is waiting for her boyfriend or friend (this is left ambiguous) and when he does finally return they have a wonderful time. But at the end of the music video he abruptly leaves leaving her alone again. This narrative is supposed to cover the topic of gender roles and relationships, how a young girl waits on a boy while he can wonder in and out whenever he feels fit. From a different perspective this also looks at isolation and feeling alone. 
I still believe that we should have carried on with the original song, however, learning from our mistakes will hopefully help us pursue our music video forward :) 

Artist Information: Natasha Khan

Natasha Khan, also known by her stage name Bat for Lashes, is an English musician. She sings and plays the piano, bass, guitar, harpsichord and the auto harp. Khan's debut album, Fur and Gold, released in 2006, peaked at number forty-eight on the UK Album Chart and was short-listed for the 2007 Mercury Prize. In 2008, Khan received two BRIT Award nominations for Best Breakthrough Artist and Best Female Solo Artist. Khan's second album, Two Suns, released in 2009, reached number five on the UK Album Chart and number seventeen on the Irish Album Chart. It produced her first UK top forty single, "Daniel", and was short-listed for the 2009 Mercury Prize. Khan was nominated for Best Female Solo Artist at 2010 BRIT Awards.

Album Art Analysis 5: J. Cole

Cole World: The Sideline Story is the debut studio album by American rapper J.Cole with the distribution from Sony Music, and designed by Alex Haldi which consists the music genre, Hip Hop. The first thing you notice is the colour scheme of black, gold and red. These colours have opposite connotations. Black can be associated with strength, power and authority, but it is more common for being the symbol of grief. Gold represents wealth and prestige and red signifys love and passion, but can also be betrayal and hatred. All these colours helps us with the true meaning of the album itself.
J. Cole has said that the reason for the title "The Sideline Story" is because he feels that since being signed to Jay-Z, it has been like someone being on the sidelines for their favourite basketball team, and they're just waiting until the coach puts them in. This links to the image of the album as we see the artist in a locker room. One could say that his life has been about hard work just to get off the bench and be in the lime light. He’s in Cole World where he’s trying to get off the bench which is a great metaphor for his ambitions in both basketball and the rap game. 
The artist is positioned in the centre of the frame which immediately draws our attention to him and the use of the medium shot allows the audience to not only see his facial expression, but everything around the artist as well.  
The use of light is significant as it looks as if the artist is in the middle of the light which could symbolise that he has got what it takes to shine.
The artists name- J. Cole- has contrasting images of the devil horns and a halo on the letters 'O' and 'E' which could suggest that the artist is not perfect which is also reflected on his music as there are songs where he has raised issues about abortion and pregnancy for example. The colour of the  artist name and title is white which stands out to the audience as it is contrasted with the dark background. This could suggest that the colour white represents the truth which people can see, and the darkness is the hidden truth which therefore again links to him not being perfect. 
Overall, what I like about this album cover is that it has deep meaning to it as it portrays certain aspects of J.Cole's life. 

Album Art Analysis 4: Cheryl Cole

3 Words is a debut studio album from British pop singer Cheryl Cole, by Fascination Records. Cheryl Cole's album '3 Words' is a simple, feminine yet significant album cover that allows the audience to see her as a solo artist. She is portrayed as being very feminine which is shown through the headpiece she is wearing on her head that has a net covering her face. One could say that this distances her from the audience and signifys her innocence and fragility. The white flowers on her head associates with peace, purity, love and innocence, and also support and convey the femininity of the album which from the CD cover may come across as being entirely female based. 

From what we can see, the artist is not wearing any clothes which is juxtaposed to the net covering her face. This also links to voyeurism as Goodwin argues that a female performer will frequently be objectified in this fashion, often through a combination of camera work and editing with fragmented body shots emphasising a sexualised treatment of the star. 
What is noticeable is that there is no colour as it is black,white and grey scale which enables the album to stand out as it looks aesthetically pleasing. The artist herself looks calm which adds to the aesthetics brought along with the album. The background has a paint affect which makes her seem as if she is coming out of a painting, hence she is picture perfect which again links to the feminism.
With the writing being very small on this cover, it exemplifies the significance of the artist being tangled with her album which allows the audience to see that she wished to be recognised. It is written in a curly and feminine font which gives you the impression that she is basing her album on femininity, reinforcing this point of emotional fragility. The fact that it is tattooed onto her body, one could say that she wants to be permanently recognised.   
She is positioned in the centre of the frame which immediately draws our attention to her. The use of the medium close up shot allows us to focus on her facial expression which comes across as being soft and simple.
Overall, I think this album cover is signifying the dominance of women, creating a sentimental theme at the same time.