Our Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/thewallsrock/

Our Bands Website

http://deanandalexmusic.wix.com/thewalls

We have finished our design for the website in which we made it very simple but very easy to navigate. The color's we used were mainly dark so that we didn't make it too bombarding to which our viewers would run away. We added our tour dates as well as many quotes and notes from each band member. As well as this we wanted to familiarize our fans with us so we added pictures of our rehearsal times so we don't look secretive. We want to connect with our audience by selling ourselves as an organic band with regular young men who do not act large in the social hierarchy within the music industry. For example we didn't believe it was necessary to put our lead singer in the middle of the pictures as we don't want him to be the main focal point rather than the band itself. Enjoy!

Our Finished Album Cover

I have made our finishing touches within our Album by adding small tweaks that contribute to the realistic side of the spectrum. We flipped the logo on the opposing side so that when it reaches the shelves it can be noticed through the A-Z product line. We added some more songs that reflect many different meanings as if they are past experiences that we have been put through. We also changed the Universal logo into a more realistic and not as big production studio. Beggars Group. Lastly we added a with thanks message with a photo, so that buyers understand how great-full we are for them to buy and listen to our music. 

Our Album Completed

Here is my finished digi pak design, which I created using Photoshop. For the front cover, I decided to use the wide shot of our band so it gives the audience an insight of the type of band we are. It gives us a sense of individuality and presents us an organic band. The clothes we are wearing are not of any specific interest as we are classified as an indie organic rock band so we like to connect with our audience by making as look like normal everyday citizens.We decided to take a picture of us performing different poses to again accentuate the idea of being individual but as well to cohere with the Ramones album. I chose the colours as it links back to Primate but it also adds an authentic look that gives it its difference towards other indie albums, as if the past is being re-invented into the future. Also the Ramones, Stone Roses and the 2000's The Strokes, also use black & white within their covers and photo shoots. The name Walls also gives it a mysterious/conspiracy feel as we could be portraying many different things relating to the characteristics of a wall. It raises questions such as... 'What is on the other side? When will it end?'. Hence why I named one of the songs 'Jaded' as it means being bored, therefore our audience may think that it represents the simplicity of a dull wall or dead end in which we make it sound more interesting as it is such a broad idea.

We used this type of font (Floydian) because it was the closest to getting it to look like it was embedded into the wall as if we had painted it on. I positioned it behind our heads and slightly erased some of it so it would look a little more realistic because it would of been illegal to paint on the wall.

Updated Album Cover and Steps

We mad a few finishing touches on our album cover and we will tell you the steps made to produce the artwork.

This change includes a cropped version so less space is exposed. I added a gradient to which it makes the central focus either the logo or the band. We started it off by taking pictures of the band against a dull dirty wall and incorporated Kings of Leon's pose by making random ones up. I edited it in Photoshop and used a black and white filter. I then experimented with many texts and found the Floydian one to be the most realistic one that would look as if it has been embedded onto the wall. I layered the image and placed the text behind the band making it look like graffiti.

Finished Album Cover

We created a survey and asked at least 30 students around the school which album cover they liked the most. In-fact 25/30 said it was the album cover that's bellow the text. Knowing that they like this one the best seems promising as it accentuates an organic/indie feel to our band. We also chose it because it is original and is deemed 'cool' by other students. It contains our band with the logo embedded behind us as if it has been inadvertently printed on a 'Wall'.

Album Cover Part 2

After taking some pictures I used photoshop to edit them, making them sharper and having cool vignette's. I tested and experimented with the effects that I can use on the font and placed it in many positions. Here are the pictures:

Our Photo shoot for the Album

We had a small photo shoot in school to finalise our idea on the album cover. We decided that we wanted to use a clear but dirty wall to make it simple yet ironic with the name of the band. It makes it seem as if we are controlling what has been going on behind the walls, which may generate many different meanings that will create a hype. We also decided to wear our own clothes that represent each-others qualities. This is purely because we are indie (individual) and like to keep things simple without revealing too many details, unlike synthetic artists who have to be glamorous and design the most revealing yet egocentric album covers to attract an audience. Our poses were influenced from the Kings of Leon, who all stand differently to show their individuality. We also used a background font to go behind our heads, sort of like the Ramones but with a more subtle and embedded look into the wall. Our font is still the same (Floydian) as it looks like a piece of edited graffiti that does not look too eccentric or eye catching. The main focus is to look like we are regular people who do not believe in flaunting everything we make or everything people see.

Shoot Day 1

Due to un-expected plans our narrative shoot day was interrupted as we found out we had a faulty tape which stopped us from doing it. However the week after we decided to attempt a performance element with the song what went down. We decided to book a studio in Mill Hill as it was cheap and the closest to making the performance element look as real as can be. We set up all the equipment and started to perform. None of us had actually listened carefully to the song so some of our song playing didn't cohere with the music. For example the main chorus includes many elements of techno instruments that have been edited carefully, hence why we weren't able to produce a smooth song and make it look like we are in time with it. We tried to use many different camera angles, such as man close ups of the singers face right up by the microphone just like in the original FOALS video. We also experimented by using many different close - up shots of the instruments, those like the ones in AC/DC's Thunderstruck where the camera is attached to the instrument. We also tried many wide shots of the band that looked decent as we all look like professional organic artists. However there were problems with the camera work, the footage was very out of focus as it was a new camera that we hadn't used before, the lighting we chose gave a very blurry grainy effect that didn't look 100% right as the room was especially dark. Our group was getting tired and quite stressed as were given a short time limit to film the song, so it was rushed at some points which lead to many mistakes that caused hesitations in the filming as well as irregular instrument playing. We also decided to turn the lights off at the beginning of the song which seemed good at the time but was actually a ignorant mistake as the lighting was dark already and we barely were able to see what the singer was saying, therefore it looked very amateur. Overall it wasn't a success but I managed to piece up the video to show that we have done something within this idea, so I incorporated my own type of teaser video of background footage of The Walls working on their new song. This will be shown in the next blog, but regrettably we have decided to change our idea because of this shoot day, due to the miscommunications and time between us, our new idea will not feature the same narrative and we will be filming in school. We will also be choosing a new song so we can make everything a little simpler so we don't spend so much time filming. However this footage didn't go to waste.

Our New Updated Cast

Draft Email To Send To Record Company

We have decided to email Domino records as they were the primary company that made the Arctic Monkeys who they are today. They do not sign the best and biggest artists but they have a good history of making good music and selling organic artists songs all over the country.

 

 

 

A Change In our Idea

Researching and Planning -Target Audience Research Conclusions

 

 

 

Casting Our Band

We took a few photos of our band in a small studio so that we could grasp the full experience of having an organic band in our presence. They are all young boys who all have many similarities in terms of interests (music is obvious), style and looks. We have decided to cast them in our video as they fit the criteria of being an indie rock band such as... Keeping it simple in terms of what they dress, how they perform etc. They do not like to make music that is heavily edited as well as editing themselves through things such as clothing and makeup. They also like to wear clothes that suits their attributes and do not have the need to match one another as they are representing themselves as an individual member of the band but at the same time representing the group itself. The bass player has that quiet look as if there is a hierarchy when it comes to the importance of positions. The drummer seems to have an up-beat look about him that makes him an exciting part of the band, and the guitarist/lead singer is the one with the cool guitar and cool looks and will take the centre stage when we come to film our video.

Lyrics and Explanations Development

It is clear that these lyrics contain clausal elements which adhere to our narrative. First off, the song starts off with the lyric, 'I buried my heart in a hole in the ground', which signifies how our character is going to be empty inside due to his daily problems. 'Cowards downtown' signifies the hateful people in this persons life. 'I buried my guilt' hints that the antagonist/protagonist has buried his past and has grown a new attribute into his life. Music

I buried my heart in a hole in the ground
With the lights and the roses and the cowards downtown
They threw me a party, there was no one around
They tried to call my girl but she could not be found

I buried my guilt in a pit in the sand
With the rust and the vultures and the trash downtown
So don't step to me, kid, you'll never be found
Cause while you were sleeping, I took over your town

When I see a man, I see a lion
When I see a man, I see a lion
You're the apple of my eye, of my eye, of my eye
You're the apple of my eye, of my eye, won't ya

I fell for a girl with a port-wine stain
I knew her initials but never her name
I tried and I tried and I was never the same
So no longer through love and I'm forever changed

When I see a man, I see a lion
When I see a man, I see a lion
You're the apple of my eye, of my eye, of my eye
You're the apple of my eye, of my eye, won't ya
Give up my money, give up my name, take it away
I'll give it away, I'll give it away, I'll give it
When I see a man, I see a lion
When I see a man, I see a lion

When I see a man, I see a lion
When I see a man, I see a lion
You're the apple of my eye, of my eye, of my eye
You're the apple of my eye, of my eye, won't ya
Give up my money, give up my name, take it away
I'll give it away, I'll give it away, I'll give it
I'm a sycophantic animal, I'm a sycophantic animal, I'm a sycophantic animal
Break up the chain, I'll break up the chain, I'll break it
Give it away, I'll give it away, I'll give it
When I see a man, I see a lion
When I see a man, I see a lion
You're the apple of my eye, of my eye, of my eye
You're the apple of my eye, of my eye, won't ya
Give up my money, give up my name, take it away
Give it away, give it away, I'll give it
See you again, I'll see you again, I'll see ya
Give it away, I'll give it away, I'll give it
When I feel low, when I feel low, I feel it
When I see a man, I see a lion
When I see a man, I see a lion
You're the apple of my eye, of my eye, of my eye
You're the apple of my eye, of my eye, won't ya

Locations Of Music Video

For our locations we want to use very dirty and dull areas for the narrative purely because it will accentuate the child/musicians upbringing and emphasise how his life transitioned to a much lighter future. He will grow up in a council house in a suburban area, right next to a high-street (Edgware). The drug deals will take place on station platforms at night, making it look more dangerous. We would like the performance element to be located in a studio, preferably a big one. However the cheapest one we could find was in mill hill. We would like to use the places below as key areas to use within our music video, as it is a way of connecting with the audience as some of these places are recognisable. Thus increasing the chances of any public awareness.