The first webpage I looked at was for Mystery Jets. The main language of the webpage appears in the form of the band name and new album title which are in large, bold font at the top of the screen and a paragraph about the band beneath the video shown in the image above. There are only three main elements to the website homepage, offering a minimalistic layout that is easy to understand. The band name and album name take up the top part of the page, whilst the video is the central piece of text that the eyes are immediately drawn to and the bottom third of the page is taken up by a short paragraph providing the reader with information about the band and their new album. The name of the band features a house style that is common throughout all of their advertisements and promotions and is made of a bold, black, sans serif font. This font is simplistic and modernistic and a common convention of modernistic indie bands that tend to have a very plain, bold logo. However this is contrasted against the name their new album Radlands which appears in a seemingly hand drawn, bright red font, reflecting the bands more artistic side connoting a more playful side to the band.
The only institutions made clear within this advertisement are the record shops the CD is available from. It is not immediately clear which record label the band belong to although after further research I have found it is Rough Trade Records. The band could benefit greatly by relating themselves to this institution as over the years it has built up a reputation of being an independent record label that treats it’s artists fairly and who only sign artists who are able to write, play and perform their own music. As Mystery Jets belong to the indie genre, belonging to such a prestigious record label could be hugely beneficial for them as, even if people have not heard of their music before, people may choose to listen to them or purchase their album due to the reputation of their record label. Although, by being stocked in such large shops as HMV and Recordstore the band can gain a reputable image from the fact that their music, even though belonging to a more abstract genre that is not that popular in the mainstream, is being stocked in large, recognisable stores that only stock music they know will sell well.
The ideology behind the bands new CD can only be described as nostalgic. On their homepage the still image that appears on their video feed shows the band wearing vintage clothing and the image has an aged effect on it. The name Radlands contains the word “Rad” which is also an older slang term for something that is cool and fun. Both of these effects combined suggest that the band are trying to create a nostalgic, vintage feel to their new album, which as I have seen in the CD advertisements I have looked at, is a common feature of the indie genre.
The audience is not made particularly clear within the webpage. As this is an internal webpage which doesn’t contain advertising the only traffic it would expect to receive would be fans of the band and their music therefore the audience would simply be fans of the music and their would be no need to try and identify with them as they already know the band and it’s music.
Overall, I think this is a good webpage, it is simplistic and easy to follow meaning anyone who visits it will not be confused. It also looks clean, modernistic and professional which means that it will be taken seriously rather than it looking amateur. I may look into using this layout when creating my own video as I like how it is simple and effective, however I will ensure I include the record label logo to ensure it can be linked to it easily.
Unlike the previous webpage, the institution that The Maccabees belong to is made clear at the bottom left hand side of the page next to the bands logo. This provides fans with a perfect opportunity to look at what other music the record label produces and also creates a synergy between the two institutions and helping them promote each other through their different websites. There are several other institutions that appear on the website homepage including Amazon, Play.com, HMV, Itunes, Twitter, Youtube, Tumblr and Myspace. By using these popular institutions on the homepage it is made clear to the audience that the band have a good reputation as they are supported by several well known social and sales institutions.
The ideology behind the webpage follows the popular conventions of most other indie bands. The deserted field in the sun on fire has connotations of hedonism and freedom, whilst also suggesting a wilder side. This lifestyle is appealing to the audience who choose indie music as an escape from the real world and want to escape into something fun and free. By linking the website to so many social sites, they have made it possible to reach as large an audience as possible. Although this didn’t seem to be a big concern for the previous webpage; i think I will add links to social sites for my webpage as it means I am reaching as large an audience as possible and that the CD and music video are well advertised on the web aswell as in printed media. Although I do like the way this website is set out, I think the bottom third of the page is cluttered and messy and would try to avoid this in the creation of my webpage.
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