Website Analysis.

Today I have made a video showing you the layout of different websites in  my genre. I have used the software Bandicam to record my computer screen and I have done a voice over with an IPhone 3gs (that's why its bad quality) because I didn't have a mic. I originally shot the footage with CamStudio however this didn't work out very well as the footage was corrupted. The video I have made is only short due to the recording being sped up for an unknown reason.

Although its not the video I had hoped for it still shows what the websites actually look like and run like so I have an idea of how they work, as I need ideas for the website I am going to create. This is the video:
From researching into the websites I have gained knowledge and what they look like, how they run and what sort of things are included.


 - There is usually a banner at the top or side of the page showing the main pages in the website.


- The Home page usually consists of the important news about the artist and promoting new tours, albums and tracks. There are many links scattered around the pages to various social networking sites.

- The imagery and fonts used are simple. With bold white text and simple backgrounds. The links and important information on the website are in brighter colours to draw you to them, this is why the backgrounds are simple. It also looks professional and matches with the genre because of the dark colours.

- Links are also usually included in the websites. With link to their management and sponsors ect.

Digipak.

Here is a presentation about what a Digipak is and what Digipak's in my genre look like. I analysed four Digipak's in detail for some ideas when I create my own, enjoy:

Record labels.

Label is short for record label. Record labels are companies that manufacture and distribute recorded music and promote that music (or at least hire people to handle the promotion). There are two kinds of record labels independent (indie labels) and major labels (aka big four labels). Indie record labels are independent companies that do not have a corporate backer. Major labels are large corporations often owned by a parent company, like Sony. Three major companies dominate the industry and they are Universal music group, Sony music entertainment, and Warner music group.

 

 







 

 



 

 

 



 

 

The most successful bands are usually with mainstream record labels or subsidiary's of one of these major companies, for example if we look at Slipknot for example, they are signed by RoadrunnerRecords.  

 

They concentrate primarily on metal bands which can be linked to my genre, it is a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, they feature artists such as Slash and Nickleback. They distribute their products mainly through iTunes and Amazon, however also have direct links to buy concert tickets and CD's online. Social Media is very important for the company as they are promoting their company and bands through social media, there are direct links to twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Google, to follow the bands and the company, they spread there image mainly through these sites and not their website.

Here is the home page for the website:

 

 

On the other hand, Metropolis records are an Independent company and therefore their website is a lot different compared to the Roadrunner Records website:

 

As you can see the website is a lot less sophisticated compared to Roadrunners website. I should imagine this company will rely more on word of mouth and live events to generate revenue rather than actual record sales. There website will not get viewed as much as the other website and this is why it doesn't promote as much as the major company does and this is also down to the fact they haven't got the funds too. They distribute their products through the actual website not ITunes and Amazon, this is most likely down to the fact they haven't got the funds to put a link to ITunes, Spotify and other major companies into their website. They are also targeting a niche market and therefore wouldn't need to, only hard-core fans buy their singles and therefore they charge premium prices and sell it of their own website. However like Roadrunners website they to have links to social media sites and will rely on this a lot to spread the word about the band such as upcoming events ect, each artist has social media sites attached and their own YouTube channels. You can see the difference between big record labels and indie record labels just from their websites and how they operate.

 

I have also noticed something about their Facebook Pages after looking at them:

 

Just from looking at them you can see a massive difference, the Roadrunner records Facebook page (bottom one) is all about selling the band or merchandise, compared to the independent bands Facebook page which is more relaxed and he is trying to connect with the fans instead of just selling things to them.

 

However looking all record labels (big and small) in my genre there products are distributed mainly online through their website or other companies (iTunes) they also have links to the radio weather it be big companies like Last FM or smaller radio companies. They all use websites suited to their genre and social media sites dedicated to the bands. They use social media to promote the bands image and sell their singles, albums and merchandise.

The Music Industry.

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Intertextuality in Music Videos.

Intertextuality is the shaping of a texts meaning from another text. In other words it is incorporating things into a music video from a magazine, film, fashion, video game or television. Artists usually do this to make their video more popular as they are incorporating or mimicking a previous popular text and applying it to their video. The most popular example of this is from Madonna's music video for 'material girl' where is makes a clear reference to Marilyn Munroe in 'Diamonds are forever'.

Common Intertextuality in my genre usually comes from horror or thriller movies because the genre is so dark. Because the genre suits horror and thriller movies so well film companies usually get a band in this genre to make the soundtrack for the film. This is exactly what happened to the band Mushroomhead, their song soul is mine was used for the soundtrack of saw IV, and their video has many references to the film.


As you can see this video has a direct relation to the film and you can see why, as this genre fits with these types of films directly.

Slipknot have also been seen with intertextual references to the film saw with the clowns and bike featured is some of their tracks.

For my music video and most in my genre most intertextual references come from horror films, for example the costumes and props used in the films I have analysed can be linked to many movies like saw.

Coventions of my genre.

As I have now looked at a substantial amount of music videos in the industrial/electro genre I am now going talk about the basic conventions in this genre.

Camera shots, angles and movement.
To start off low angles are frequent in this genre, in many videos I have seen there have been low angle shots of the band member/s looking down at the camera, maybe as this matches their image of being bad/scary/intimidating as this is the kind of vibe that this genre gives off.

 Close ups and extreme close ups are a major part in this genre, as in many genres. Extreme close ups of band members to show facial expression or make up, close ups of the instruments being played or just close ups of weird objects. Close ups where packed into every video I have watched.

Long shots and establishing shots are also frequent as these shots are used to show the location or the whole band together.

 The camera movement can fluctuate depending on the type of song from very fast to moderate however in all of the videos I've watched with the exception of one or two had camera movement, the movement tends to really speed up as the song speeds up. Panning of the camera is common to switch between band members and zooms are also common. The lead band member also tends to control the editing and movement of the camera, examples of this are in the mushroom head videos and the nine inch nails video I analysed, this makes the lead member look powerful.

The camera's focus is also used in videos to give a blurry effect making the camera go in and out of focus. Movement of the camera is used in most of the videos to makes you feel disorientated and this matches the genre and this type of music.






Editing and Post Production effects.
The editing in videos of this genre can also vary but it has a common pattern. The editing always comes back to the lead singers no matter what, and usually revolves around him like in the slipknot video dead memories. Editing however is mainly fast in most videos, with quick cuts of the instruments and close ups of band members, a common pattern is cuts between close ups and long shots, showing the band performing with a long shot and then a close up of the lead singer. An extreme case of fast editing is in the slipknot video spit it out or in evetus the fallen, and then slower editing is in videos such as nine inch nails and mushroom head however it all depends on the tempo of the song. There are many post production techniques and special effects used in this genre, some more than others, common features includes, fading, interlacing, overlapping of shots, slow motion, colour grading including bright colours and dark lighting, flashing lights and blurring.

Mise en Scene.
Costumes - are very important in this genre and are instantly recognisable, the common dress code is dark clothing and piercings like in Nine Inch Nails videos and Stabbing Westward, however then you get the extremes which are also common with unique masks such as in mushroom head and slipknot and then weird costumes such as a priest, zombies and ballerinas and boxers like in videos for evetus and stabbing westward. The costumes are immediately recognisable for the genre and this links with the make up.

Make up - is also important in this genre and this links in with the costume, face paint is common with the lead singers in mushroomhead and in evetus, common colours are white, red, green and black. Blood is also common in the genre along with also a dusty old dark theme which is portrayed through the interesting use of make up such as the greyish make up used in the fallen, save us and save yourself.
Lighting- The common lighting in the genre is low key which is always associated with the rock genre and has been seen in most of the videos I have looked at. However as my genre is mixed with electro, bright colours are also used which I have seen in a lot of videos, colours such as orange, green, red, white and blue. Most sets are mostly dark with a back lighting like in save us however natural lighting is also just used like in evetus the fallen. I have a feeling I will be using colour grading a lot during my editing process and will have to play about with lighting to get the right feel for my song. A mixture of bright, natural and dark lighting was used in this genre however low key is dominant.
Props - props are an good way to make a video interesting and this genre is full of them, some props are fairly basic like canes and jars however in some of the videos I've looked at weird and wonderful props are being used such as dog muzzle a tread mill and a kids bicycle.





These are just the basic conventions of the genre I have seen so far, I will be looking into more videos in this genre, however for now these are the trends I have seen and the things that make this particular genre easily recognisable.

Slipknot.

Slipknot are a heavy metal band formed in 1995 and are similar to the previous band I have analysed Mushroomhead. Their image is very important in their music videos like mushroomhead they also wear masks and have unique costumes, the two bands have also had past feuds due to the similar image. Here I have made a popplet about the band and some of the videos they have done to draw some ideas from them. Here it is: