First Panel - Former Decision

This if the final edit of my digipak's first panel. The reference to Team Rocket, of Pokemon, is still recognisable, although not as obvious as originally planned. This is because I feel that the background of light grey works better with the logo colour of red than a plain white background, as would have been used had the influence of Team Rocket been a primary feature in the artwork. Instead, there is more emphasis on it being an original logo to give it's relationship to the band more strength.

This panel also shows my chosen name for the digipak. It's title, "The Battle of Life" is in reference to a lesser known work of the 19th Century English writer, Charles Dickens. This reference shall be explored in more detail when the digipak's full playlist is posted, in conjunction with my final digipak image.

First Panel Influence/Intertextual Reference

I have chosen to base my band's logo, and the most prominent feature on the front cover of my digipak, to reference Team Rocket, the fictional criminal organisation from hit TV anime, Pokemon. I have chosen to do this as a significant part of my target audience, namely males aged 18-25, will have likely grown up watching Pokemon, and may recognise, consciously or otherwise, the influence I had in creating the logo.

First Panel Research

As the above album covers show, a common theme among rock albums is to use either a band logo, or an album specific logo on the front cover. This allows easy identification of the album, which makes purchasing that specific album a much simpler process. However, the first two images, which are album specific did not previously have any association with the band. Therefore, only those with a prior knowledge of the album cover would be able to identify it. This weakness in advertisement can be overcome by using a generalised band logo, such as the one on used on the third image, by American Post-Grunge band, Breaking Benjamin. This recurring logo motif, which is present on all four of the band's albums, serves to remind fans of previous albums that this is their new album.

Because this is the first cover art being used to promote my band's digipak, I will be using a generalised band logo rather than an album specific one, which I shall create using image-manipulation software, most likely photoshop. This logo, which initially takes up a significant portion of the front cover, as Breaking Benjamin's does, can be reduced in size as the band gains more name recognition.

Find one or two other texts that represent youth in a similar way to White Girl, This Is England and About A Girl - Explain the links.

Contemporary representation of British youth in films usually takes one of two distinctive routes to attract an audience. The first, which is often found in comedies, is a light-hearted, playful middle class youth, such as in St Trinian's. The second is much more common, being used in a variety of shows and film, including White Girl, This Is England and About A Girl. This second type, which can be further split depending on the intentions of the director, usually shows working class youths, who have struggled to find an identity, but eventually discover one that they feel comfortable with, for example, Leah's conversion to Islam in White Girl.

This approach is also taken in the 2006 film, Kidulthood, written by Noel Clarke. However, the antagonists of this film are also from a similar background. This balanced representation of working class British youth, written by someone who has experienced this lifestyle in reality, can be considered a highly accurate representation. In contrast to youths being the main protagonists in This Is England, and the balance in Kidulthood, a 2008 film, Eden Lake, provides a very right-wing view. A horror/thriller film, it portrays youths as a major threat to British society, that plays on, and fuels, the fears of youth caused by various newspaper articles highlighting a supposed increase in violent crimes committed by the British youth. While each of these films represents British youth with a slightly different approach, both represent them similarly to White Girl, This Is England, and About A Girl. For example, This Is England, Kidulthodd, and Eden Lake all feature a tribalistic group of youths that care only for their own, while the disenfranchisement shown in White Girl is also present as an underlying theme in Kidulthood.

What are the connotations and ideologies, meanings and target audience of T the Park festival?

The background of the main page for T in the Park’s website connotes a simplistic, calm and relaxed experience, something which the promoters hope will entice potential attendees to buy passes. On top of the sky-like scene, a rainbow that covers part of the left side of the screen adds to the calm effect, despite also being an indicator of rain. However, the existence of the rainbow, which occurs after rainfall, may instead connote that it is the dawn of the festival season after a prolonged period of inactivity on the festival scene. The rest of the page’s layout is even more simplistic, using bold colours and fonts to catch the viewer’s attention. Text displaying important information of easy to read and is placed at the very top of the page, being the first thing that catches the eye. Overall, the layout of this page promotes the festival using the most simple, yet effective, of techniques while still displaying as much information as required.

Target Audience - In Depth

- The gender that would be more likely to watch my video are males.
- The age demographic that my video is aimed at is the 18-25yr old bracket. However, it could also appeal to slightly older or younger age groups as well, due to the diversity of the music genre.
- Almost all of those who watch my video will likely be of White British origin.
- The dress code associated with my target audience is wide and varying, although the majority will conform to Alternative Mainstream brands, such as Converse and DC, as well as wearing slim-fitting jeans and checkered shirts. Others may be more Rocker or Biker-inclined, possibly adorning leather jackets to fit these subcultures.
- Hair style is another aspect of my target audience that can vary greatly, depending on background. In fact, almost all common hair styles would not seem out of place on people watching the video. I believe that perhaps the most common hair style would be from 1-3 inches, probably with an unkempt look.
- While the aesthetics of my music video, as well as the aesthetics of most music videos in the genre, will appear to be aimed at the working class, it is more likely to be watched by lower-middle and middle class people who pretend that they are working class or think they are.
- Many of my target audience will shun use of modern technology to meet their requirements of looking low maintenance. However, they may wear basic jewellery, almost always ear piercings, or some form of studded item.
- As my music video fits the relatively wide genre of "Rock", it will attract a variety of different people who all consider "Rock" to be their favourite. Fans of music more specifcally similar to A Joker's Rage will listen to bands such as Jane's Addiction and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
- As part of their avoidance of anything "mainstream" my target audience may tend to purchase their clothing from online stores, such as Amazon, or from smaller shops, like Rock Collection.
- Perhaps the main source of entertainment for most of my target audience is music itself. They may also watch various TV programmes and films via the internet.
- Bedroom walls of my target audience may feature band posters, due to their close association with bands and their own identity.
- In terms of films, my target audience will usually prefer lower budget, often independent, films that have more focus on story rather than visuals, although stunning visuals can still be present, in cinematopgraphy rather than special effects.
- The top choice of radio stations for my target audience are Planet Rock, Absolute Rock, and Q. A large portion of TV time will also be devoted to music, through Q, and MTV Rocks, while popular magazines include NME, and, once again, Q. My target audience will be fairly adept at using a variety of social networking sites, specifically Facebook and Myspace.
- The tribal identity of my target audience is defying "mainstream" culture in favour of what has become the second largest subculture, or the "alternative" mainstream.

Michel Maffesoli on Find Your Tribe

While perusing the internet during a particularly dull presentation by a student during one of my lectures at the Paris Descartes University I discovered a very interesting website, created by a British TV station, known as Channel 4, that allows the people of the UK to discover which tribe they belong to. The premise of this website is quite obviously influenced by my own work, most notably my highly successful 1995 book on the decline of individualism, “The Time of the Tribes”, as evidenced by its reference to the existence of many different tribes within society. The multitude of different tribes available on the website show how fragmented modern society has become, thanks to the variety of different spheres of influence available to the average person. However, all of these tribes share common themes. For example, each and every tribe is based on some form of consumerism, with several being hyped as “alternative” to the “mainstream” tribes. In reality, these tribes are equally as “mainstream” as those they are trying to differentiate themselves from. And the majority of that which is consumed by each of these tribes is often linked by some form of brand name. For example, the tribe known as “Rahs” tend to wear brands that many other tribes can’t afford, such as Jack Wills. This financial advantage over another tribe, “Townies”, is almost the only thing that separates them from each other, evidence at how easy it can be for new tribes to create themselves.