This is Bombay Bicycle clubs poster for their tour that coincides the release of their album 'A different kind of fix.' I studied the digipak for the album and the poster follows the same aesthetic design. The use of the muted blue and the head design emulates the design on the front of the album digipak, uniforming the promotional design. At the top, also the same as the album, is the band's name in its logo form, the largest text on the page, so it stand out to the reader.
Again with this poster we have details of the album release, however just like the second Two Door Cinema Club poster it is very small and right at the bottom
This is the promotional poster for Two Door Cinema Club's first album, Tourist History, and the tour they did accompanying its release. The image on The poster is taken from the cover of the first album, so anyone flicking through a magazine that might come across this will see instantly that it belongs to TDCC because they will recognise the image from the album.
The writing is all in a similar font, thin and minimalistic, making it easy for the reader to read over the image. At the top of the page there is the bands name, in the biggest font, so the first thing the viewer sees is the name of the band. This means that the reader will instantly recognise the band, it also implies that this is the most important information. It will also capture the reader's attention. if they see the band name and like the band then they are more likely to read the rest of the poster, hence why it is the largest text on the page and at the top. Below it in slightly smaller font is the name of the band's album. This continues to attract the reader to continue reading, first the band name and then the album name, if they are a fan looking forward to the album they will be excited to read on for any more information. Then finally below that we have 'The debut album. Out now' which informs the reader, incase they didn't know, that the album has been released and is available to them. However if the reader isn't already a fan of the band this might encourage them to give the album a listen. If its the band's debut album then they're relatively new and this encourages people to give them a listen.
It then moves on to a section of smaller text, still in the same font, listing features of the album. The first line 'Includes the new single I can talk' with the words 'I can talk' in bold means that any fans of the band reading this will be excited as the album is the follow up from the bands latest single, letting them know that they don't exclude it from the album just because its a single, but that they include it along with everything else, making the fans feel like they're getting more. Then below that we have, in bold, the text 'Deluxe double disc edition' another bonus for the fans. The fact that there is a double disc edition caters to the variety of fans. Some people may only like Two Door Cinema Club for their music, but other people might like the band themselves more and want the extra content, thus giving them the choice of either album editions.
This is the promotional poster for another of Two Door Cinema Club's tours. This time coinciding with the release of their second album, Beacon. Again we have the band's name at the top of the page, being the biggest text on the page to attract the reader. However this time there's an image of the band themselves on the poster. None of the band's promotional packaging previously has had an images of them on it. This could be a representation of the fact that the band have grown in popularity and their self image has become a slightly larger part of their image. Though the image is not taken in anything that looks like a studio. In fact there's a distinct flash glare in the background and it is plainly taken against a red wall. So even though there is an image of the band, it isn't a perfectly airbrushed studio shot like you'd find on a pop album poster.
Another thing to note is the fact that the promotion of the album itself has been severely downscaled in comparison to the last poster. This might be largely due to the fact that the other poster was for the release of the band's first album, so they wouldn't have been as widely known or recognised by people, where as with their second album they have the success of their first album behind them and a growing fanbase set already so they don't need to promote its release as heavily bc people will have been waiting for it. The colour scheme of the poster matches the image, using reds and whites on a black background and keeping with the minimal style that accompanies so many of their promotional designs.
The digipak for Bombay Bicycle Club’s album A Different Kind Of Fix links a lot with 60’s counterculture. 60’s counterculture was an anti-establishment cultural movement that started in the US and UK in the 1960’s, it saw rise to many alternative lifestyles, celebrating creativity, experimentation and modern incarnations of the bohemian lifestyle. One of the biggest parts of 60’s counterculture was the popularisation of recreational drug use. Psychoactive drugs became a huge part of the subculture and this is what I can link back to the digipak.
The repetitive paisley patterns on the disk and digipak cover are similar to those linked to the 60’s counterculture era, the psychedelic and kaleidoscopic style is representative of the ‘trippy’ patterns seen and associated with psychedelic drugs. Even the colour scheme links back to the earthiness of the hippy/bohemian lifestyle.
The name of the album itself ‘A Different Kind Of Fix’ links to the counterculture theme too. ‘Getting a fix’ is a phrase that originates in drug culture, meaning that you need your daily dose of whatever narcotic you’re addicted too, however in modern culture it has also evolved to mean something less serious. For example ‘I need my coffee fix.’ So Bombay Bicycle Club are linking the album name to the 60’s counterculture, but the album name is actually ‘A different kind of fix’ and the different kind could relate to the fact that the music is the fix in this case. Saying that you’ll be addicted to their music just like you would be drugs. The band is also missing from the digipak. There are no images of them at all, promoting that they are about their music and not their personal image like so many bands within the indie/rock genre do.
Finally, the imagery on the front of the digipak. The human heads filled with the same patten as is on the disc. The pattern fills the area where the brain would be and this could be because when you take drugs they affect the brain, or eve when you listen to music, its the brain that processes it all. It also outlines the nasal passage and the throat, this could be because most commonly you either inhale or take drugs orally, again linking back to the concept of the 60’s counterculture.
Alt-J - An Awesome Wave
The first thing about the digipak for Alt-J's an awesome wave is the cover. It simply shows an image on the front, no visual representation of the band, or even their name or the name of the album, it is simply the image. The image is a multi-layered radar image of the Ganges river delta in Bangladesh. The image was taken by the European Space Agency's Envisat Earth-observing satellite and all three images were taken on different dates and then layered, exposing the difference in background radiation between them. This lack of self image on behalf of the band fits with the common genre conventions of not having images of the band themselves on the album cover, promoting that the band's priority is their music and not themselves and that they want their fans to be interested in their music.
Inside the digipak is plain white. The only writing on the inside the name of the album, which is lacking from the front, it is written in a simple and plain font in the bottom left hand corner, this gives the entire digipak a minimalistic feel, again there are no 'frilly bits' cluttering it and distracting the eye. Even the disk is plain white, the only writing the tracklist around the edge in the same simple font. This contrasts with the colourful image used on the front, making it the main focus of the album. The fact that the bands name isn't on the front also contributes to this, making the image something that becomes associated with the band and the album. Fans only need see the image and they know exactly what the album is.
Tourist Histroy is Two Door Cinema Club’s debut album released in 2010. The image on the front is of a cat, the image itself is very a sic and doesn’t look like anything taken in a studio or even professionally, it looks like an image that pretty much anyone could have taken and this makes the album look less artificial and the band more down to earth (This makes sense considering this is the band’s debut album so they aren’t particularly well established yet). The image is also repeated on the disc itself, except the cat’s eyes have been photoshopped over a low angle image of a kitchen cupboard, this again connotes normalcy. The image could also be taken of what the cat is hypothetically looking at or in the same room as the image of the cat was taken. Another thing I noticed was the fact that the way the text is arranged below the cat’s eyes makes it look like a cat’s nose (the upside down triangular shape) making the disc look like the cat’s face. Also the image on the leaflet part uses what looks like amateur photography aswell, linking back the image on the front of the album. This could also connote a more personal feel, making the user feel like the band has put something personal into the design of the album instead of letting someone just design it for them completely professionally.
Another thing to note is the fact that the band aren’t actually pictured on the album at all, and in particular their absence from the front. This shows that their music is more important than their image. They don’t want the audience to see them on the front of the album and buy it because of them (which is something more commonly found in pop music) but instead because they see their name and know their music or want to listen to their music.
The text is also consistent throughout the design. The font used has a circular theme. The C’s and O’s are thin and circular whereas the rest of the letters and bolder and more condensed. This is something used across the album pack. There is also the placing of the two O’s in door over the cat’s eyes, this intensifies them and captures the eye of the audience more. It also links to another consistency in their work, as the artwork for the singles they released matches the same theme as the album artwork. This consistency makes the band’s work recognisable to the audience.
Also the colour scheme is consistent throughout. The colours cool blue and purple shades. Even the images used in the booklet are taken as the light is fading so that the tone of the sky is a purply-blue colour. This keeps the appearance clean and gives it a running theme.
Beacon
The second album case shows a slight change in the band's style, this is the album following the release of tourist history and it shows how the band have matured and changed. First of all, biggest change is in the photography. The image on the front is professionally created and obviously uses photoshop. It is still taken in a normal looking room, so some of the normalcy of the band's style still remains, however there is a noticeable artificial quality to it, for example the lighting and the way the woman's legs are highlighted and the green light coming in through the window, this indicates to the audience a more professional and less personal feel.
The font has also changed from the last album. instead of being placed over something it has been slipped between the legs of the girl in the image and it has also lost the circular theme and is instead a lot more clean cut and minimal. This again connotes a more professional and artificial element to the album. This shows the change in the bands status and the fact that after the success of their first album they've made it a lot bigger.
However another thing to note is the continued absence of the band themselves from their album covers. Again the album uses abstracted and interpretive photography instead of images of the band themselves, showing again that the music is still what is important to the band and that they do not consider their image as part of their music. It also shows that they do not need to promote themselves to promote their music. They are well established enough on their own for them not to need to plaster their faces over everything they release.
The music video starts by jumping immediately into the introduction of the song, swinging down onto a scene where a man, dressed with his face covered, is climbing down over a metal fence. The location is dark so the video is set at night and as the man walks by he points a crowbar directly at the camera. The camera tracks him as he walks towards a set of doors where two more men are waiting. As he walks off the lead singer walks into the shot with his mask pulled up and his face in clear view as the lyrics start. The entire atmosphere of the first few seconds of the video implies a situation where the 4 band members are breaking in to some sort of building. This connotes rebelliousness and non-conformity which, to a fan of the band, fits with their general style and ethos.
Also, the camera is being held on foot and not on a tripod or stand of some kind because the camera moves a lot and as the song starts there is a lot of movement and jerky sudden zooms. This fits with the music genre because the band fall under post-hardcore/metalcore and this means their songs contain a lot of heavy sounds. Their music also contains an electronicore/dubstep/trance element to it though and this gives their music a more electronically manufactured sound alongside the raw instrumental metalcore sound. The zooms fit with the beat of the song, sometimes small, sometimes zooming completely in to a close up of the band member’s faces. This gives the music video a more homemade feel, instead of being something manufactured by a record label. Which, again, fits with the bands style and ethos. They maintain a very ‘do it yourself attitude’ despite their huge success, sticking faithfully to their sound and their beliefs. This is mirrored in many of their videos as some of their other videos even mock the music industry and the systems by which our world rely on to work.
Once inside the building the band run in past the camera, actually knocking it, keeping up the ‘homemade’ side to the video. The band are then in a well lit warehouse, walking towards something taking off their masks. This is when the camera cuts to a high angle shot in black and white with a ‘rec’ sign in the bottom corner, almost imitating a cctv camera. This reinforces the theme of non-conformity and rebelliousness as the band are obviously not meant to be in the warehouse but are, and don’t even care if they’re being watched.
The shot then cuts to a long shot of the band playing in the warehouse with all their instruments, this lends a ‘live band’ element to the video as the band are playing the song as if live but set in the warehouse in the video. This fits with the conventions of the genre as most rock/metal bands are mainly about the instruments, compared with a pop group where all the members are only singers, bands rely on their instruments as detrimental parts of their performance and so their music videos are often in a ‘live band’ format.
Also throughout the video there are intended visual glitches. Like at the point just before the chorus, their’s a break where the lyric is simply the word ‘destabilise’ but in a computer manipulated voice, making it sound robotic and ‘techno-y’ At the moment the shot cuts to the drummer mouthing ‘destabilise’ but as he does the screen glitches the colours separating slightly and the face of the drummer pixelating. This happens at points throughout the video in correspondence to the beat, relating back to the bands electronicore, dubstep and trance elements as these sounds are created electronically (so by computer) so the visual glitching relates back to their music style as does their ‘live band’ format relate back to their hardcore and metalcore elements.
The video then cuts between the various band members as they play the song and jump around energetically in the warehouse. It also cuts frequently to close ups of the lead singer, but again in black and white with the ‘red’ sign in the bottom corner, constantly affirming the anti-establishment attitudes the band maintain. Then, as the song reaches the end of the chorus the lead singer screams ‘We need to fucking erupt!’ with the shot being a close up of his face but this has been sped up as in the time it takes him to say this he moves across the warehouse, the band receding behind him,but with the camera still fixed in a close up on his face.
This is when he electronic element to the song comes in and there is a break in the lyrics. This part of the song is filled with various shots of the band members, always relatively close up to them, that keep cutting fast to the pace of the music. The electronic element is also linked by the visual shot of the lead singer behind a laptop and various other electronic equipment. The energy of the band in the video also fits the song as they jump around and their is even a sped up shot of them climbing and jumping off the walls of the warehouse during a short electronic break in the song.
The song then reaches a break from the electronic sounds and a short and slow verse starts with very little of the intense and hard layering of multiple instruments that the rest of the song has contained. The shot is of the lead singer and he starts running towards the camera in slow motion but as he gets to a certain point the camera starts retreating from him but moving up and down with him as the person holding it is running along with the lead singer. This then fades using the glitchy colour separations into another shot of the lead singer standing still and looking up as the camera moves in towards him. This fits to the music as the lead is stood in a sort of angelic pose looking up as if some sort of heavenly light is shining down on him and the music at this point is very light and calming.
The song then dives back into its heavier sound again and the video cuts to a montage of shots of the various band members all screaming at the camera in black and white with the ‘rec’ sign in the corner. The camera stays in the same place but the shots change to various different members rapidly cutting again to the fast pace and beat of the song.
The finally it cuts back to the live band layout to a shot of the band members jumping in unison to the beat of the song, this is something else they do throughout the video, the cuts have been timed so that the physical movement of the band members meets the beat of the song and this makes the video flow more seamlessly in correspondence to the song. The shots continue to cute between different band members and different angles of the band on a whole till the end of the song. Then the song goes back to the slow and light sound from earlier and shot is of the lead singer singing into the camera again but it is also crossed with other shots oft he band members as if one is glitching into existence and the other out of it. Two separate shots of different people but the camera kept in the exact same spot.
The first thing about this video is the fact that it is entirely in black and white, and it seems to be set in the 70's as a lot of the people within in the video are dressed in this fashion. This black and white, 1970's style connotes a sense of remembering and nostalgia. This links with the lyrics of the song in that it talks about the breaking apart, and end of, a relationship. However the narrative to the video itself is a lot more impressionistic, not addressing the lyrical narrative of the break-up directly.
For example, the video starts with a short piece of footage, before the song plays, of the band walking up the stairs to an interview and laughing and joking with each other. The shot then swings round to bring into view a man looking impatiently at his watch then at the band with distaste as they enter the room, this implies that the band don't take what they do, or their success, too seriously and that they just enjoy creating their music. Then the band are seated at a press conference and asked questions. One man stands up and asks the band if they are 'surprised by their level of success, considering...' then gestures towards them in a demeaning and condescending fashion. Implying that he doesn't really take the band seriously and that he is shocked at their success considering their attitudes and behaviour. However the question is never answered and at this point the song starts.
As the song starts it immediately cuts to a shot of the lead singer walking down a hallway, this relates to Andrew Goodwin's conventions in the record label's demands for close ups of the artist and also follows the convention that the lead singer of a group or band often gets the most screen time in music video's due to the fact that they're the ones singing the lyrics.
It then cuts back to the press conference and the members of the press start to argue, standing up and starting to push and shove and cause chaos. Over these shot's the lyrics sung are 'did you ever, get to know me? 'Cause it has never, been so plain to see.' We assume when a song is about a relationship or the break down of a relationship that it is between a couple, two people, but the lyrics here could refer to the bands relationship with the press. The fact that they start arguing about the band(even though it is not clear exactly what about) and the band is still sat at the table, the lyrics fit as the lead singer sings into a microphone at the rabble of press members, literally asking them if they really know the band and its members. This could also be a play on the idea that the press and the media are often biased and can twist things.
The shot then cuts to a hotel room containing the band, press photographers and multiple women. The shot is edited to be very blurred at the edged and this could indicate a drunken haze as the people in the room are drinking. The band are lounging around, the bassist lying on the floor with his bass guitar next to a woman, and the photographers are taking pictures of the women posing in a reserved but slightly sexual manner. This relates to Andrew Goodwin's convention of the voyeuristic treatment of women and the male gaze in that the women are posing in suggestive and slightly sexual ways despite the fact that they are moderately clothed. The entire atmosphere of this setting relates to this sort of famous lifestyle stereotype with the band members simply lounging around while the press buzz around them furiously.
Then we cut to a shot of the guitarist finishing a bottle of, what is presumably, alcohol and throwing it backwards over his head. The sequence of shots to follow then fit with the beat of the song as it then cuts to a shot of the bottle flying across the room and the press staring at it with shocked expressions on their faces but in slow motion. This fits with the song because it sort of slows down at this moment and falls into an electronic repetition of the last word of the previous verse as the bottle flys across the shot. It then cuts to a shot of the bottle smashing against the adjacent wall and stays there as a man who by this point we can assume is the band's 'manager' comes in holding a member of the hotel staff in a headlock. (This does link as previously the hotel room shot is interspersed with shots of the manager in the hallway starting to argue with a member of hotel staff). This fits with the lyrics as at the moment the manager walks into the room holding the man in a headlock the lyrics sung are 'The door is open..' which makes a very literal connection between the song and video.
This then links back to the press conference as the hotel room also descends into chaos. However again we have the lead singer simply sat on a sofa in the hotel room as if he outside of everything that is happening in the room. The video then cuts again to a third setting with the band on stage. This adds a live performance element to the video. It also shows shots of the band members laughing and joking as they play on stage which again supports the idea that the band don't take themselves too seriously and just enjoy performing and creating their music despite their success.
We then cut back to the press conference again and it is clear that the entire room has descended into complete anarchy at this point, however the band are not involved and instead lying behind the two upturned table they were previously sat at at the start of the conference. This image relates to an image of conflict with the tables acting as barricades between the band and the press and could again relate to the band's 'relationship' with the press.
Again we have the band and in particular the lead singer just sat in the middle of the chaos, the shots cutting between both the press conference and the hotel room. The fact that the lead singer is sat in the middle of everything singing but not interacting with what is happening could be a symbol of the band's detachment to the mainstream music industry.
The band then flee the hotel and run outside towards a car, indicating for it to leave promptly. Obviously they are running from the chaos ensuing in the video possibly relating to them running away from the press and the opinions they hold and the industry. But as they leave the car is crowded by a horde of screaming girls and before they can leave the lead singer is pulled out of the car. This shows the girls in a very feeble way, the way they're screaming and chasing after the band as if they can't control themselves, putting the band above them. However the way the lead singer is pulled out of the car could show how they can't escape the life they have due to their fame and their success and in turn can't escape the press of the industry.
The final shot is of the band on stage(from behind) bowing to the audience, moving back to the live band aspect of the video. They walk forward and bow as they music slows down and sort of faded out towards the end of the song, as if the band are bowing because they've finished the song the artist just heard as if they'd just played it live. Additionally I also found this interview that has the band talking about the video for Changing of the seasons and its meaning.
Two Door Cinema Club- Sleep Alone
The video starts by zooming in through a door to a bedroom
where the band members lie sleeping. As the song starts the lead singer, lying
on the bed, awakens and gets out of the bed, the other two band members still
asleep on a chair and on the floor. It then cuts to a shot of the guitarist
lying on the floor, his guitar next to him. This is a sign of the bands style.
Even though the video is more interpretive their physical instruments are still
there.
The lighting is hazy and dim giving the video a dream like quality. This fits with the lyrics of the song as they talk about someone sleeping alone. The whole set being a bedroom is a very literal link to the song itself. Then the video shows items in the room, such as a hoodie and a cushion, coming to life, and starting to move towards the lead singer. The lighting then changes when the tv turns itself on, and several white lights start shining through the door and window, as the camera swings back around the scene shows that the rest of the band members are suddenly awake and on the tv screen is the band, just visible through the static, playing the song. The TV having the band playing on it is something we can apply Andrew Goodwin's conventions of music videos to, with the concept of screens within screens and looking. The TV screen is a screen within the screen of the video, and the audience's eyes are automatically attracted to it.
The video then cuts to a shot of a sleeping bag opening up and flying in front of the lead singer and the other band members, the tv screen is now almost melting out of the screen. All this represents a supernatural element to the video, as if the room is haunted. This fits with the lyrics in the chorus that reads 'Cause he knows, that they're just ghosts, and they can't hurt him, if he can't see them' as the video is representing these 'ghosts' in the unusual and paranormal activity in the room. It also literally represents the part saying that 'they can't hurt him if he can't see them' because the band members or the audience can't actually see what is causing the unusual things to happen.
However the shot then cuts as the lead singer backs onto the bed and falls onto it. However as he does the lighting changes again and he is back in the room as it was at the start, nothing paranormal happening and the other band members still asleep. This suggests that the lead singer is having a dream or that he dreamed what just happened previously. This is a literal link to the title of the song and the lyrics in the concept of sleep. As the song is called Sleep Alone and sleep is a theme throughout.
The shot then cuts to the TV static and zooms out of the tv to reveal the band playing in the same room, except on the TV. The shot then cuts from being a shot of the TV to as if we are simply watching what is going on on the TV through the entire screen. So basically eliminating the screen within the screen. The video is slightly blurred and is regularly interrupted by static, this confirms to the audience that they are intact watching the TV screen within the video. This also adds a live performance element to the music video, which correlates with their other video’s. For example, I examined the music video for Changing of the Seasons and this is the same in the aspect of live performance. The band are clearly seen throughout the video playing their instruments to the song, however this is not the main focus or style throughout the video, it is broken up with narrative or interpretive video. This is a theme throughout many of Two Door Cinema Club’s videos.
The video then moves on to change again. The lead singer is on the bed as it falls from a skyscraper and then into the ground down what seems like a bottomless hole. This again adds to the dream and sleep theme of the video and links to the lyrics of the song as it frequently talks about sleep. The way the bed is falling through the hole is very similar to Alice falling down the rabbit hole and falling for a long time, we can apply Andrew Goodwin’s theory of the frequent use of intertextuality to this part as it is very representative of Alice in Wonderland. This again links to dreaming and notion of the supernatural or paranormal.
As a group we discussed several different genres and artists, looking at various music videos by artists from various genres. at first our ideas were very scattered and we started off by looking for what genres of music would be best suited to creating an interesting and original music video for. For example, we talked about bands like Enter Shikari, but watching their music videos, like the one above, and the music videos of other artists that fall into their genre, we found that the content could be quite repetitive and the music video's follow the convention of having a 'live band' theme, with the band playing live infront of the camera as opposed to a 'storyline' type of music video.
We then looked at artists like Pendulum and the types of music videos that similar artists to them produced. The videos were a lot more abstract than that of the post-hardcore and metalcore bands such as Enter Shikari. Pendulum's sound does retain the similarity with them in their Drum & Bass sound, but instead of crossing it with metalcore they cross into electronic and industrial rock. The music video's for this genre, for example the video above for Propane Nightmares by Pendulum, generally follow an abstracted narrative that doesn't instantly appear to hold a connection to the song. The artists themselves aren't seen playing instruments or in a 'live band' format at all throughout the video and this is something we preferred to the Enter Shikari video
We then looked in the Indie/Rock genre and explored the different artists that fell underneath that. We specifically looked at Two Door Cinema Club and their music video for their song Sun. We liked the mix of narrative and live band within the video and their other videos. They follow a narrative but still retain the bands presence, this is a convention that could allow to explore and experiment with our video more.
This blog is dedicated to my A2 Media coursework. In this project I'll be creating a promotional package for an album and I'll be using this blog to post my research and findings.
