Monday 14 December 2009

CW - Evaluation: Main Product and Ancilliary Texts

PLANNING

  • We based our print text around our original main product.
  • We researched a majority of album covers and advertisements within this genre of music, and all print media produced by The Shins.

  • From this we found that The Shins used a cell shaded, cartoony art style on their advetisements and the majority of their album covers.

  • We also used the same hand-written font used in all their advertisements and album covers to aid in band identity.
  • Majority of their album covers and advertisements are hand drawn, or are made to look this way, e.g. the 'Wincing the Night Away' album cover.

  • We came up with the idea to depict challenging ideological discourse of the dominant capitalist mindset.

DIGIPAK

  • This idea was postmodern as it is ironic when combined with the main product, as capitalism is glorified by all the businessmen wearing suits in heaven.
  • Shown as unappealing to the audience by showing the businessmen with no faces, connoting that this ideology creates lack of identity.



  • Band not shown on cover.
  • This creates a genuine and pure image of the band, and creates an anti-brand image.
  • We decided to use an evening lit sky for the digipak as it represents the end of the working day, and connotes a more depressing tone.
  • We put the album title on 'the heavenly gates' on our digipak.
  • It represents the route to the true happy way of life through the happy connotations of the gold bars and brighter sky behind them.
  • We used a blue lit, daytime sky inside the digipak. This connotes that the music inside is happier or the way through the gate.


  • The song list being inside the digipak connotes that they are special, and creates an enigma as to which songs are on the album, enticing the audience.


ADVERTISEMENT

  • We decided to take the same graphic style and use the same location as on the album cover.


            • This would help to advertise the album cover and band further by the audience being able to recognise the art style as a visual motif of The Shins.
            • George and I created a text saying that the album is out now, to promote the album.

            • We included band name, and all text in key corners of the page, for reading line.



            • Here we also created a postmodern image by ironically showing prisoners in heaven.
            • They are going down an escalator to signify they are lower ranked than the people on the higher cloud.
            • The four prisoners are depicted to be The Shins by there being only four of them by themselves, on the escalator named the same name as their album.

            • This connotes that the sorting of people via levels of society forces people to conform, removing individualism.
            • This enigmatic meaning in the advertisement conforms to advertisements of this genre of music, and certainly 'The Shins'.

            DYER'S FRAMEWORK

            Band seems to challenge stereotypical brand imaging. However, using Dyer's critical framework, brand image conforms to traditional rockstar image through anti-establishment, anti-authoritarian and rebellious motifs shown throughout the video.

            First person mode of address in lip-synching sections of the video create a para-social intimacy with the characters and band, as it feels as the characters, and therefore band through the lyrics are speaking directly to the audience.


            Brand image is perceived as genuine, and missing the artificial look. It is also seen as very naturalistic, anti-establishment and without need for monetary success. These qualities are shown throughout the video by various connotations, e.g. playing in a treehouse with knitted jumpers connote a naturalistic, care-free lifestyle, and showcases musical talent seemingly genuinely. This creates 'The Shins'' star image.



            This ties into Dyer's paradox of the star image. 'The Shins' are shown simultaneously as both extraordinary and ordinary. They are depicted as ordinary through wearing everyday clothing, and playing in a natural, ordinary, run-down treehouse. This helps the audience to identify with the band. However they are also shown to be extraordinary though musical talent.


            Another of Dyer's paradox of the star image is present in our video by being both present and absent simultaneously. The band are shown as present by being shown physically on the screen, in a relatable location, and are shown playing to the audience. However they are also shown as absent, by their physical absence from the audience, and their absence from the narative, and when they are shown as not to be playing to the audience.


            Our print work also convey these same qualities of the star image.


            The album cover conforms to this particular star image by not showing the band, which connotes they just care about the music, which then depicts the band's image to be uncaring of materialistic goods.



            The advertisement also shows the star image paradoxes present in both the music video and album cover.



            The advertisement shows the band as both extraordinary and ordinary. Ordinary by showing the band as slaves to society, just as everyone in the video. However they are shown as extaordinary by being shown as alone, and through the physical idea of the band being advertised due to their musical talent.



            The advertisement also shows the band to be both present and absent due to the band being visible on the poster, yet in reality far away.

            These factors present in all our created texts create a para-social intimacy between the band and audience.

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