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.

Music Video - Costumes

 

 The clothing worn by James' character represents the "alternative mainstream" fashion that fits the genre of music played by A Joker's Rage. Because this style of dress is so common amongst fans of rock music, it will easily attract fans as they will be able to relate themselves to the character. It also continues the simple yet effective theme that influences the genre of Garage Rock.

Choosing the clothing that was worn by Sorrel was much more difficult as there were several different options available that would still connote the same characteristics of "alternative mainstream" as the clothing worn by James. The final decision was made for her to wear something that would be fitting in the gig scene, that is no effort is wasted on flamboyance but the style of clothing is still relatively represented.

Musical Profile - Festivals

A key indicator of the style of music a band plays, and the type of fanbase they will attract is the variety of music festivals they play. For example, Sonisphere, a metal festival that has previously been headlined by bands that include the Big Four, is a popular location for metalheads and rockers. In contrast, very few Sonisphere attendees will also be present at Latitude, a more family-oriented festival with folk being as prominent in Southwold as metal is at Knebworth.

Given their origins in Glasgow, A Joker's Rage would be unlikely to pass up an opportunity to play at Scotland's biggest festival, T in the Park. The style of music played at the festivals is varied, although A Joker's Rage would have no problem fitting in. The T in the Park website takes a very simple approach in its design, with very little clutter on the main page. The colour scheme of the main page is natural, by making it predominantly blue, representing the sky, with the festivals traditional attractions on a green field at the bottom.

Music Video Analysis - "Wake Up" by Story of the Year

Story Of The Year - Wake Up by epitaphrecords

This essay is an analysis of the video for "Wake Up" by Story of the Year, a post-hardcore song that was released in 2008. It contains several generic characteristics shared by post-hardcore music videos, including the band performing in a warehouse, and a loose narrative, cutting from one to the other throughout the video. It was directed by Ryan Smith. It targets an age group of 16-25yr olds as its primary age group, who like to avoid sharing the tastes of mainstream/popular culture. In April 2010, I attended a gig headlined by this band and the audience consisted of predominantly this age group, while the gender balance of the crowd was probably slightly in favour of males. The post-hardcore genre of the band and song is an offshoot relatively modern offshoot of hardcore punk music, itself an evolution of the original punk movement in the 1970s. While it began to appear during the 1980s, it experienced a growth in prevalence during the mid-00s. The genre differeentiates itself from the earlier punk rock and hardcore punk movements due to the presence of more complex guitar riffs, a wider range of vocals and varying levels of heavyness within the songs sound.

Even though there is no obvious link between the lyrics and the visuals, there is a link between the concept of the video and the lyrics. Both the lyrics and the narrative come across as derogatory of contemporary society and aim to highlight the negatives of modern life. This aspect is most obvious in the chorus, "Wake up, to the sound of this time bomb, wake up, to it's deafening song." These lyrics imply that it is so glaringly obvious something is wrong and that, if we don't do something about it soon, it will be too late. Visuals that illustrate the lyrics includes, towards the end of the video, where Marsala repeats the chorus several times, the camera becomes shaky and smoke fills the screen, referencing the “time bomb” and “deafening song” that the band believes is about to hit contemporary society.

The video frequently cuts in time with the beat of the song, and even changes pace to keep up with the music. An example of this is the opening of the video.  It begins with images of various places, such as a building, an airport and a highway, making use of shadows and low lighting to give it an air of dystopia,  before cutting to a warehouse where the band are playing. This cut is accompanied by a change in the tone and pace of music and features an increase in the speed of the camera's movement. There are also many close-ups of the lead singer, Dan Marsala, in the video. This is achieved through the use of the conventional camera being used to shoot the music video and a handheld camera, used by Marsala himself, which breaks the potential monotony of the regular camera.

Throughout the video, the logo associated with the album which features the song, The Black Swan, plays a fairly important role. It is used in the narrative in the form of a graffiti emblem sprayed onto plain t-shirts and already appearing on the clothing worn by members of the group within the narrative. It is also heavily featured at the end of the video in several different forms. This includes on buildings, billboards, a water tower, planes and road signs, heavily promoting the band and album. Instead of using sexuality to promotoe the band, Goodwin's notion of looking is referenced with Marsala's use of the handheld camera. By pointing the camera at himself, and with the TV behind him, the video image is looped several times due to what is being shown on the TV also being captured, in turn making it appear on the screen.

As previously stated, both the video and lyrics refer to the band's attitude towards contemporary society and the way in which this attitude is promoted. The notion the effectiveness of a cause you truly believe in is accomplished by highlighting that a small-scale operation is able to make themselves known on a much larger scale, by displaying an image in various places. This is a form of protest as well as a quasi-tribute to anonymous artist, Bansky.
The video contains elements of performance and narrative, cutting from one to the other throughout the course of the video. They are also linked together as they are taking place at the same location, but only existing together towards the end, when a smoke grenade is thrown into the warehouse, to cover the fact that the activists have been there, promptly explodes near a guitarist as he is playing.
The point of this video is to highlight the importance of standing up for the right cause and making sure changes are made before it is too late. There is also a secondary emphasis on the value of grass roots and small-scale organisations of activists that aim to promote their cause.

Similiar Artist Imagery Part 1 - Images

According to the band themselves, A Joker's Rage are significantly influenced by Jane's Addiction, an alternative metal band from Los Angeles, CA.

When considering bands that have a similar sound to the band that I am promoting, A Joker's Rage, one stood out much more than the others. This band was the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, a garage rock band from Los Angeles, CA. Their style was almost identical to A Joker's Rage, despite coming from very different backgrounds. Both bands are also able to create their own sound, despite the similarities in style of play.

 

Along with Jane's Addiction, A Joker's Rage quote American alternative metal band, Faith No More, as a key influence on their own bands sound.