Freytags Theory

Today we learned about Freytags theory of dramatic narrative, Freytag believed that a text should be divided into five main and distinguishable parts, the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and either the resolution or catastrophe at the end. The exposition is basically the introduction to the text and sets the scene for the rest of the narrative to follow, straight after the narrative is the rising action which is when parts of the literary narrative build up and develop the plot. Immediately after the narrative had been built up is when one of the most important parts of the narrative happens, the climax, the easiest way to explain the climax is by saying that it is when the "plot thickens" and a problem occurs that the character must get past, each genre has its own stereotypical climax story. Following the climax is the falling action which is where a conflict will about to be resolved or there is a final moment of suspense which makes the outcome of the narrative unclear, if the narritive was not following the standard cliched rules. Finally is the resolution, otherwise known as the dénouement, which is where the plot is resolved and everything comes full circle leaving the characters with a sense of normality again. Freytags theory can be devised into a pyramid which shows the full completion of all the stages:

If you build further upon the idea of Freytags theory pyramid you can see that it almost looks like a simplified graph of the narrowing growing and them shrinking to fit with the narrative. I constructed a more detailed graph which shows the same five steps only applied to the music opposed to a literary text: 

Focus Group

This is the focus group we did in order to help us research the topic of Indie music videos in more depth. We compiled a questionnaire and then used the results that we found would be of use to us and then asked those people to attend a focus group where we got them to watch three Indie music videos. These music videos were ones that we thought best summarised the Indie genre and also videos that we could use for the basis of ideas for our own video.

We discovered that the second music video we showed the group, "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand was the most popular amongst the individuals within the focus group. They said that they found it the most interesting because of the unique art style that was incorporated into it and also because of the heavy use of animation. In addition the group also mentioned that it was out of the ordinary and not something you see in every music video.

"I Predict a Riot" by the Kaiser Chiefs was also a popular video, although not as popular as the Franz Ferdinand video. The reasoning behind this the group gave was because it was fun to watch for the audience and there was very little narrative just fast jump cuts showing many different images. The group suggested that we try to incorporate something interesting, be it narrative or performance, in the video because it will attract peoples attention.

Creating a questionnaire

Below is the questionnaire that we created as a group, we intend to use the helpful feedback that is returned to us in order to see what type of person should be included in our focus group. The questions we have included in the questionnaire will help us understand in what age group Indie music is most popular with and also if the genre is preferred by one gender more than the other. Our questionnaire is also a good starting point to find out which Indie band is the most popular amongst the people answering it, after we have collected the data we can then research the band that was the most popular and see what it is that has made them so favoured.

Questionnaire

Initial Web Design Plan

1st hard copy website plan 

Final hard copy website plan 

1) Navigation bar + Drop down menu - I decided that the navigation bar would be positioned at the very top of the page as this is one of the first places the audience's eyes would be drawn to if they were to view the website. If iWeb is capable of the task I would like the first button, on the navigation bar entitled "Band Bio," to be an interactive drop down menu so that each member of the band is listed, this is because it would make the website seem more engaging for the user and thus more memorable, which in turn would mean the website is meeting its purpose.

2) Login section - If this plan was for a full working band website it would probably have a login section for a fan club of some sort, although the website isn't going to be fully operational I tried to imply the login section by adding a "Username" and "Password" text box where the respective fields would be filled in. I positioned the login section below the navigation bar as many websites have it at the top of the page and the users would therefore find it easier to get used to using.

3) Advertisement Banner - Adverts are commonly placed in two places on a website, at the top going horizontally across the screen or at the side of the page spanning vertically. I decided that the advert should be placed at the top of the page as this means that I have more room to manipulate the text and other features further down the page. In addition if its at the top of the page it won't distract the user when they scroll further down the page and as the advertisement will be advertising a product by the band it doesn't have to be big and flashy with loads of attention drawn to it.

4) Latest News with the band - This is where the main body of text will be placed on the page and will be filled with the latest information about the band. It is important that the main body of anchorage text is positioned centrally on the home page as this draws attention to it and makes the audience aware that it is one of the most important features on the page. The more important someone feels something is the more attention they pay to it so if the text is centred the audience will be more provoked to read it.

5) Social Network feed - Many Indie bands use social mediums to promote themselves so I thought it would be important to include a social network feed that will show the latest messages from websites such as Facebook and Twitter. However this may have to be changed when creating the webpage as there is a high probability that the social network feed would greatly slow the web page down. I haven't looked into that much yet but I think the easiest way to get a social network feed on iWeb is by using a HTML code.

6) Interactive Image gallery slide show - Near the bottom of the page there will be an interactive image gallery that automatically cycles through images in the gallery. Only selective images will be cycled through though as this feature would otherwise negate the point of having a gallery page. Having a feature like this makes the website appear more professional and sleek and therefore fulfils its purpose more as a greater amount of people would then want to visit the website again after they had used it once.

7) Bottom of the page hyperlinks - At the very bottom of the page there will be a secondary navigation bar that does the same task as the navigation bar at the top. However the text at the bottom will be less like a navigation bar and more along the lines of an obvious hyperlink, with the respective titles going to the respective pages. 

Web Page Mood Board

In my mood board I have focused on the idea of patriotism quite a bit with the central image being the Union  Jack flag and an image of a group of Mods from the 60's. Our group decided that the band should be portrayed as British and be styled the same way as their music is very similar to other British bands. We also decided that they should be fashioned the same way that other British Indie bands are looking like they're Mods from the 60's as it was a very iconic time in terms of both music, fashion and media. Other philosophies that I tried to get across in this mood board are the notions of peace and how the band believes that peace should always be the way, this shows their almost naive like nature of the world as they don't have the life experiences that older generations have. I also linked the band strongly to the idea that for them it is just about the music and not the lifestyle that is meant to come with it, this makes them appear more innocent and easier to market as people will instantly like them if they are considered to be just about the music an nothing else.

Representation of the Artist

This image is a visual representation of the way I would like the band to be marketed and shown in the music video.
Starting at the top left of the image is a music stave that twists and represents the path the band must take to achieve success in a profession they feel strongly about. On the stave is a selection of notes which someone could denote as all the problems they will have to face in their career.

Bellow the music stave is an image of the band called the "Arctic Monkeys"  we have modelled the apparel of our band off of them, which means our band would look similar to a 60's mod gang, however we may have to subvert something in their appearance as we don't want the band to seem like they share the same beliefs as the "Mods." The image also connotes that the band work as a unit and this is another way we want the band marketed.

Underneath the image of the "Arctic Monkeys" there is an image of  one of "Lady GaGa's" album covers with a saying on it called "The Fame Monster." This implies that many Pop musicians are in the business just for the fame. However her album cover is crossed out and which implies that the image is saying the opposite and that our band are there because its a profession they feel strongly about and they're willing to excel the honest way, through hard work.

To the right of the "Lady GaGa" image is a picture of a young child with the word "innocence" written on his arm, which connotes youthful innocence. This is another ideal that we want our band marketed as because they are young and we want them to appear naive about the music business, this naivety will make the band appear more friendly and as a result more likeable. 

Finally above that image is a picture that recreates the Greek myth of the king Sisyphus trying to push a rock up a hill. Whilst the story behind the image doesn't really convey the correct message about the band, the image does. It shows determination to succeed no matter how hard the task is to succeed at.

Music Video Idea Pitches

The Smiling Lies - Space Elevator:
As a group we discovered that the majority of Indie bands music videos heavily emphasise the performance aspect of music videos opposed to the narrative like many pop videos do.

Pitch 1: My first idea focuses on the idea of time as it is closely linked to the word space in the name of the song title "Space Elevator." The band members would be filmed individually and they would each play at a different speed, be it through their own personal judgement or through our editing. They would then meet up, most likely around the drummer, and they would begin to play together in time. However as the band members begin to play in time, it affects time around them and people in the background would either be interacting at a rate that is either slower or faster than normal. I think that the band should be in a public space and also go unnoticed by the public as they go about their business.

Pitch 2: An idea that often occurs in Indie music videos is the idea of juxtaposition where two things are compared with each other but yet they are complete opposites. I was thinking that we could satire the mainstream pop music industry and have stereotypical concepts appear in the video such as Beauty shots of the lead singer whilst the rest of the band act like you would expect an indie rock band to. This would cause conflict between the members in the band until the band gets fed up and they surround the singer whilst he is posing as a generic Pop artist. The singer would then go out of shot whilst surrounded by the band and then reappear dressed as so he fits in again with the rest of the band. This would all happen before and during a live performance of the song with an audience.

Pitch 3: This idea would take a very long time to edit and it would most likely prove to be very problematic to create, but it could still be doable. Each band member is assigned a colour, most likely a primary one such as red, blue or yellow, the world around them would be black and white and very dull, but as each band member passed an object it would light up as there colour. I was thinking that the band members could each take multiple different routes to get to an empty venue but on the way they would each light up their respected route with their own colour. Before the band get to venue it should be empty but when they get there it would fill up with an audience and the colours would be highly satirised.

Pitch 4: A fourth idea idea that I think we could use is the band are shown playing the last couple of seconds of a song at a live concert, in a small venue, they only have one fan there though and they get fed up and wished they could have more fans. A warp like effect would then appear on screen where they are playing at a bigger venue and they have a much larger audience. About halfway through the song the audience will change from the bands idea of an ideal audience to something hellish and out of their nightmares. The band get caught by the hellish audience but when all seems hopeless the bands one and only fan from their previous show turns up and saves them. The band and fan then attempts to escape in an elevator, relating to the name of the song, before managing to get back to their original gig where they play the remainder of the song.

Pitch 5: My final idea is more loosely based around the idea of interesting camera shots while the band performs, there would be a small acted narrative either in the background of the video or it would cut to it every so often. These camera shots wouldn't focus on the band members as people but rather as body pieces and instrument parts. The band members faces shouldn't be revealed until the end of the song and even then their faces wouldn't be seen as they would be wearing masks that make them appear faceless.