The Watchmen's Album Song List

This is a list of the songs that will be included in our Album;

Back To Me
The Watchmen
Recon
Regenerate
Heavy Hearted
Wage War
Fire
Shoot you Down
Fight For Us
Brave And Stupid

CD Digipak Research

CD DigiPak Research

As part of our coursework this year we need to make a Digipak for our band. A Digipk is a more modernised/stylish version of the CD jewel case that can hold one or more CD's in it. The CD's are held in place with plastic trays (flexitrays)

They give the product a more professional expensive look.  Especially when combined with a good looking material such as Matt Lamination or Spot UV.   

The most common type of Digipak is the 4-pack which opens up like a book, however, the 6 pack is also quite popular,  8 and 10 panels are also available. Digipak styled packaging is seen as less resistant to damage than the traditional jewel CD case as it is made from stock card however manufacturers have started to add a Matt Lamination so that is becomes water resistant and increased longevity.

Font Idea feedback

We printed out our font ideas and decided to give it to the rest of the class to see what they think is the best font to use for our logo.

The logo that gained the most votes was the 'Ringbearer'. We originally liked the look of the 'Scorch Flash' font because of its fiery look, however after receiving feedback we have decided we will use the 'Ringbearer' font when creating our band logo. 

Lyrics for our chosen song

Lyrics for our song 

[Verse 1]
No turning back now
I'm moving ahead towards the way out (the way out)
And don't you hate how
We get left behind
In the fallout (in the fallout)

[Pre-Chorus]
Take a breath and take heart instead of pulling apart
When you find yourself back at the start

[Chorus]
Every part of me
Catches on fire underneath
And when I ignite you'll see
Maybe I can light the way
I can light the way
Back to me
Back to me!

[Verse 2]
I won't stand down
As I feel the ground begin to crack now (to crack now)
So I cry out
The same call to arms
But with a new sound

[Pre-Chorus]
Take a breath and take heart instead of pulling apart
And you told me you know where to start

[Chorus]
Every part of me
Catches on fire underneath
And when I ignite you'll see
Maybe I can light the way
I can light the way
Back to me

[Bridge]
Let hope be everything that you need
To much to the victory
When you can't feel the difference between
An inch and infinity

(Every part of me
Catches on fire underneath)

[Chorus]
Every part of me
Catches on fire underneath
And when I ignite you'll see
Maybe I can light the way
I can light the way
Every part of me
I can light the way
Catches on fire underneath
And when I ignite you'll see
Maybe I can light the way
I can light the way
I can light the way
Back to me
Back to me!

Font Ideas

Artist Background

Artist Biography

Jordan Tuck, Alex Stone, Jesse Axen, ace McKinnon and tom bane are five best friends from California Sacramento that have bonded over their love of music and performing. Since they met in high school they have played in concerts throughout the years with a band they formed in year eight called 'where the sun goes'. In 2014 the band split as they left high school, some of the members went to collage whilst others got jobs. However all members of the group made a promise that they would make music in their spare time. In late 2016 the band formed a new band called 'The Watchmen' this band played in their local bar every weekend until they caught the eyes of an independent record label named Rise Records. With their single 'Back to Me' due to be released late 2017 the band have had a new wave of ideas for a new album. They are heavily influenced by rock artists such as: stone sour, bring me the horizon, linkin park and royal blood.

Our Record label

Our Record Label 

• Rise Records is an independent record label that’s based in Beaverton, Oregon, America. This particular record label specialises in genres such as punk rock, and hardcore music so it suits our band perfectly. 
• Some similar artists that are signed with this label are ‘Fire from the gods’ , ‘issues’ , ‘five finger death punch’ and ‘cane hill.’
• This record label is perfect for our band as the band specialises in their genre of music, and being an independent label they have a more creative control over their work. 

Audience Profile

Post Modernism

Post modernism

Post modernism is when something from an older era is referenced in an updated form of media.
An example of this is when an old music video or film is referenced in a new music video.

There are three genre styles:
Postmodern - make fun of these trends with the use of parodies etc.
Experimental - establishing trends
Cannon - woks within those trends to fix them and turn them into our cultural understanding

Post modernism allows new music videos to attract larger audiences because when they reference older content, older viewers that would have been a fan of the older content can relate to the new music video.            

These references made in the music videos are using intertextuality. This is done to possibly appeal and attract a larger audience, therefore giving the music video more publicity. These references could appeal to a bigger audience because the reference to the older text will allow older audiences to relate to that context. As its already updated the younger and current audience will already be attracted to the product.

An example of a postmordenist would be Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' and Madonna's 'Express Yourself'.

Done by Tommy Devaux and Max Rowlands

Genre

Genre

Our chosen genre for making a music video is rock. The reason we have chosen rock is because we feel that there loads of ideas that we can use when making our music video.

Although rock music is not my favourite type of music, after listening to the song it felt like there were so many ideas we could use to make our video. Also after watching other music videos similar to the one we have chosen it has made it easier to come up with ideas we could use to make sure it sticks to the conventions of a rock genre music video.

Major and independent record labels

Major and independent record labels

The 4 Major Labels are:

Sony-BMG
Universal Music Group
EMI
Warner Music Group. 

Subsidiaries of Sony-BMG:

Columbia Records
Epic Records
RCA Records
Sony music Nashville
Provident label group

Subsidiaries of Universal Music Group

Capital music group

Republic records

Island records

Def Jam recordings 

Caroline Records

Universal Music UK

Subsidiaries of EMI

Blue Note Label Group

Capitol music group 

Caroline music group 

Virgin Music Group

Standalone Labels

Subsidiaries of Warner Music Group

Atlantic Music Group 

Warner Bro's Records

Rhino Entertainment

Major record labels are bigger and more powerful then the independent labels. They manufacture, distribute and promote the music of people under contract. It is likely that most major labels are owned by a parent company, for example, EMI's parent company is Universal music group.

There are huge benefits of being independent compared to being with a major record label. For example when you are working independently you have full rights and control over your music where as when with a major record label you wouldn't have full control of your work.

Major record label artists earn around 10%-15% royalty on their music. where as an independent label is likely to offer 40-75% in royalty.

Major record labels do not work closely with the fans. With independent labels, they work much closer to the fans. They feel like they have a connection with the artist. 

With the progression of technology, independent labels can benefit from it as they can now put demos of song on the internet. 

Advantages and disadvantages of working in a group.

Advantages

• Easier to come up with ideas as everyone is able to give input.
• Amount of work for each person will be less then having to work on their own.
• Ability to motivate other members if they're having doubt.
• Everyone can develop their skills by learning of others in the group.
• Less stress overall because you've always got someone else to help you if your stuck.

Disadvantages 

• Choosing roles might cause frustration/ conflict 
• Possibly having members that are un willing to work or do not contribute to the group
• Possibility of arguments when the group can not come to a final decision, this slows the whole process of making the music video.

Song Choice

Song choice

For our music video we have decided create a music video for "Of mice and Men, Back to Me". Although this is titled "Official Music Video" there isn't really any sort of narrative, it only consists of a live performance. However in our music video we are planning to include a narrative as well as a live performance.

Music Industry Crisis

Music industry crisis

During the 20th Century all music would be listened to on vinyls, cassettes and CD's. Before iTunes and other online services to buy music, you would have to buy one of these devices and the equipment to play them on e.g. a record player would play vinyls. 

When the MP3 player was invented (The iPod having the biggest name) music would then be brought online from sites such as iTunes. Being able to download music to your device using the internet means no one feels the need to go to shops such as HMV to buy CD's. This means these kinds of shops are forced to close down. 

A huge problem for the music industry is streaming music illegally. It has taken over how people download their music. Personally its strange to think that buying music was a normal thing to do because my generation of music all comes from streaming it. I couldn't imagine myself paying money for music. I don't think anything of it when i stream music it just seems like a normal day to day thing however, i do understand that artists aren't getting the amount of money they deserve due to streaming services. 

The music industry is constantly trying to take down and sue these specific streaming websites however more and more of them are created all the time so it makes it incredibly difficult for the music industry.

Goodwin Theory

Goodwins Music Video theory.

1) Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics 

2) There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals 

3) There is a relationship between music and visuals - largely to do with editing

4) The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of artists and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work - a visual style

5) There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body

6) There is often an intertextual reference - to films, tv programmes, etc. 

Chainsmokers music video

Analysis of chainsmokers- closer music video.




The Chainsmokers- Closer is a music video consisting of a couple in a relationship, it starts off with the two of them sitting down looking at pictures they have taken in the past. Each new photo they look at brings up a new memory in which then plays what happened in that photo. For example on of the pictures was taken of them at the beach so the shot changes to the video of them at the beach and what they did.

The first  Goodwin theory is what do the lyrics mean to you in your head. In this music video the all the lyrics are coming from either the man or the women and they are signing them to each other as if they were speaking to them. Basically they are both describing how they feel about each other. It talks a lot about their memories together which makes me feel there is a lot of love and passion for each other.

The second theory is how do the visuals mix with the lyrics. for this music video there are a few aspects of the video which link to the lyrics. Such as "In the back seat of your rover" a shot of them driving a range rover and another shot of them inside it is shown. The most obvious one is the link between them expressing their love through words and then reflecting those feelings on screen as well.

The third theory is Narrative and performance. So how does the performance tell the story throughout the song. In the music video we are constantly shown scenes of the two characters spending time together, traveling to different places and creating memories there.

The fourth theory is how do the micro features come together to create the final piece? For cinematography there are a lot of close ups of the two characters close to each other which tells us about the relationship between the two. For mice-en-scene  there isn't much to say about their costumes, pretty much it just consists of holiday clothing, for example, bikinis vests and shorts etc. For the setting of the music video, it changes throughout the song, moving to the different destinations that they supposedly made memories in. For example one of them would be the beach and another could be when they are both sitting on a sofa in a house looking through pictures. To describe the editing in the music video, i would say it starts of at a steady pace matching the pace of the soundtrack. Once the chorus starts to play, the pace of the editing begins to increase and the cuts start to match the beats of the song.

The fifth theory is star image. So who is the main focus of attention? For this music video the main focus of it would mainly be the female however they both get roughly an equal amount of screen time. There really isn't anyone else in the music video so it isn't difficult at all for the viewer to know who the main focus is on.

Done by Max Rowlands and Tommy Devaux