Vampire WeekendStar image

Cape Cod Kwassa KwassaXL recordings

Institutional Context of the Band

• Our bands production company is XL recordings. • XL is an independent record label which was launched by Tim

Palmer, Nick Halkes and Richard Russell with Beggars Banquet Records in 1989 to release its rave and dance music. The label has grown into one of the most commercially successful and influential independent record labels in the world.

• The bands’ talent was first discovered by the record label during a gig played in London, where they were signed up ‘against the odds’ to the production company.

• Examples of other bands the institution have signed include:

• The White Stripes• Golden Silvers• RJD2

Star Image

Richard Dyer once said, “Star image is not a person, but more a construction of a range of materials, that are commodities produced and consumed based on the strengths of their meanings.”

• As a whole, ‘Picasso’s enemies’ main image consists of a fun loving, quirky nature with their own aesthetically unique style represented through the Mise en scene such as the painted canvas's throughout.

Target Audience

• Dyer also expresses the fact that “The image is constructed to suit a specific target audience.”

• Picasso’s Enemies main target audience is 16-24 year olds. In order to engage this niche audience. Themes of youthfulness, and sexuality are used, such as images of half naked painted boys. These images were included in order to engage the majority of our female audience. In terms of exhibition, this aspect will sell to alluring fans who intend to watch the video again and again. This in respect, should encourage viewers to go on to buy the products of the band such as T-shirts and posters.

‘Keith Negus’• Negus “believed in two ideologies that shape the

way in which the artists’ image and careers are developed, with the way that they are marketed towards specific target audience.”

• ‘Picassos Enemies’ is an Organic band, and are therefore ‘Naturalistic’ and self developed.

• The seeds of success are within the artists, however they are then ‘natured’ by the record company to bring this out of them.

• Some examples of this are shown:

- The band come across as themselves, such as pulling faces in frames. This demonstrates that they are not conforming to the traditional values of ‘Wanna be sex god!’ male star, but instead have their own unique, quirky fun luck nature.

Continued…

The band have an existing talent in the sense that they play their own instruments.

Own choice of a unique fast paced ‘rhythmic montage’ such as that of the band popping backwards and forwards created and introduced. This syntactic order provides a unique, fragmented style acting as a visual equivalent to the music.

Values of Music Stardom

• The bands overall image is sold through its values of music stardom. Throughout the video diverse elements of these are portrayed such as:

• Youthfulness.• Sexual magnetism.• Success against the odds.• Originality.

Youthfulness• The bands youthfulness is demonstrated consistently throughout the

video, such as the band pulling faces. Not only does this suggests a level of playfulness but also the band’s fun loving nature is demonstrated to the audience as well. Aspects similar to these will reach out to the target audience as they will be able to relate to the bands nature of not taking themselves too seriously. As a result the band suddenly become ‘real’ to the audience providing a human like quality to the band in the music video.

• The ‘pulling faces’ segmented element is seen throughout the main products of the CD cover and poster and therefore also acts as continuity throughout the combination.

• By pulling faces this also gives each band member a different personality that different audience members can relate to in different ways.

• This alone provides an open polysemic experience for the reader as they read the facial expressions in different ways.

Sexual Magnetism• In order to reach out to as vast a female audience as possible, each

band member holds different elements to their looks that will attract different female sectors of the audience, e.g. ginger hair and good physic, portrayed in one section of the video where the band are being painted topless.

• Throughout the video there is a build up of tension to this moment where there are quick shots of the boys upper bodies being painted. This held the purpose of enticing the female audience in order to draw them in and keep them watching.

• Additionally, by using an attractive female artist in the video also conforms to the needs of the male target audience. For example the artist is presented with red lipstick, blonde hair and a good figure. The male audience may find an attraction to her and therefore watch the video again and again in order to watch the female artist.

Success against the odds

• Picasso’s Enemies first met in university where they formed as a band and practised in the garage of one of the members home.

• One night the band played in a gig, where they were signed ‘against the odds’ to a record company that have now transformed this band into a leading well known group.

• The band’s image is sold through the music stardom as viewers can relate to the ‘underdog’ success of the band.

Originality

• The bands faces are imported into a Pop Art style representing the bands originality through a new way of stylising a music video such as pictures coming to life.

The image also demonstrates an aesthetically ‘artistic’ style through the mise en scene in terms of the saturation and exposure arrangements of colour, with a unique cinematographic appearance for the viewers as well.

How these values are used in our CD cover and Poster?

The front cover of our CDillustrates how as a group weeffectively used the visuallystylish ‘artist’ image of the videoto create a similarly aestheticappearance of our cover inorder to create avisual equivalent to the style ofmusic we wanted to portray.An example of this being thebrightcoloured splats. We also choseto represent the front cover inthis way due to the star image ofa fun loving quirky band and Ifeel the CD cover does thisstar image justice.

Poster!• We have maintained a

similarly ‘artist’ style for the poster! This is for continuity reasons so that consumers are able to recognise the band for their visual aspects afar as well as their actual music.

• It is a poster promoting their release album date and therefore must catch the audiences eyes. We felt using the bands expressions’ seen in the frames were appropriate here as the bands personalities are being demonstrated as well as a reference for when viewers watch the supporting music video. These aspect also support the bands music stardoms such as youthful and ordinariness.

Richard Dyer

Richard Dyer mentions that a star image is “constructed” and does not represent the real person themselves.

Our band now named “Picasso’s enemies” is an organic band. The band first formed at university where they shared the same flat and passion for music. One day they decided to combine their talents together to form a group. The band practised their songs in the garage of one of the group members house until one day when performing at one of their local gigs where recognised and signed up to a record label known as XL recordings. They are a young band and are well known for their fun loving nature as well as performing 100% at gigs. They have a quirky style and their style of music is Indie/Pop.

Paradoxes of Richard Dyer

Richard Dyer refers to the two paradoxes of a star image with the belief that “The artist is both ordinary and extraordinary”.”

Picasso’s Enemies conform to these ideas as they are seen as ‘ordinary’ in the sense that they have normal emotions as well as attitudes and actions that viewers can relate to, such as the band members pulling faces in the frames with the admiration of the female artist. As a result of viewers relating to their actions, a connection is made with the band and therefore an audience/ band relationship can be established increasing the exhibition of sales and albums etc as the audience care about the band members and music.

Having said this the second paradox suggests that the band are both present but absent, this is established through the audience feeling close to the band with an emotional connection, however due to the star image and talents of them, the audience can not actually reach out and touch and the band. As a result audiences constantly feel the need to consume more media products in belief that they are filling the gap between themselves and the band.

The next big step!

• All components of the band from the video to the promotional poster, make the viewers want to watch the band again and again due to the emotional connection developed through their mutual love for them.

• This is in time, will improve the exhibition of the band via consumers buying products as well as the album of the band. This therefore means the band will become well known and profitable for the record label that signed them in the first place.

The effectiveness of the combination and ancillary

texts.• The combination is a very effective advertising campaign, as if the words

and sound where taken off the music video and poster. The same semantic elements will still be able to link all elements together. From the music video to the CD cover to the poster.

• Each element single handily draws the audience towards the band and encourages them to buy the bands album which in turn will make viewers continually watch the music video.

• The CD cover, poster and music video all combine together to create the star image that we intended to reach out to a specific, chosen target audience.

• If each of these products were presented by themselves it would be very clear to an audience what band we are trying to promote as each of our designs include the same themes and styles such as the paint and the colours.