From similar product research, I was able to note that all musicians – particularly in the indie genre which I am occupying with my products, have a collective house theme throughout their album artwork, merchandising and visual pieces. For example, British indie band Mystery Jets’ latest album entitled ‘Radlands’ holds a very Austin/Texas based theme due to the recording of the album there. This theme has extended into their album artwork and merchandise which frequently depicts the band’s members in a dusty, Southern US environment, clad in the appropriate spurred boots and vintage cowboy shirts. This theme is continued in their visual pieces – such as the music video for the titular single which shows off the wild, hinterland environment of the West. Thus, in order to keep to convention, I aimed to maintain a house theme throughout my main and ancillary tasks.
Thought the song in my music video ‘Oh My God’ is a track off Cult’s debut record, I decided I did not want to go with the theme of first, introductive album. This is due to the fact that most debut albums will need to feature the artist(s) throughout their music videos and print-based pieces. The aim of my products was to portray the band’s album as more of a concept album, with a running narrative which linked all of its tracks. This is the case with Gorillaz latest album ‘Plastic Beach’ in which there runs an ongoing story which audiences must follow to conclude and thus turning their music videos into episodes of a series, rather than independent pieces. This concept interested me, more than the purpose of a music video from a debut project to introduce, thus I portrayed Cults more of a well-established indie band and did not feature the band at all in the music video. Music videos tend to be the visual representation of an artist’s musical angle. As Cult’s first album is rather airy, unearthly and slightly eerie in sound, I aimed to convey this in my music video. As ‘Oh My God’ is perhaps the most infamous song off Cult’s album, it was imperative that the music video I made displayed this, thus my music video for it would be the main ‘episode’ of what would have been the ongoing narrative in the rest of music videos. The theme of course, was escapism, bohemian-lifestyle and Alice in Wonderland. Due to the significance to this song and music video in relation to the rest of the album, I decided that I would combine my second day of shooting with my photo-shoot, to add a sense of continuity between the music video and digipak. The front cover of the digipak depicts a scene in the music video in which the protagonist ‘Alice’ figure, joins the bohemian nymphs in a woodland-picnic and thus furthers her ‘corruption’ into a freer world. In bold letters at the top it establishes the word ‘Cults’ to fulfil the informative purpose of identifying the band involved. Below is the album’s title ‘Go Outside’. Cults actual album is not actually named this, though there is a track on it called ‘Go Outside’. I decided that due to the theme of escapism inherent in the products, ‘Go Outside’ would be a rather fitting title for the album as it conveyed the themes I wanted, in a rather simple and enigmatic manner. The back album cover also continues the theme of escapism which is emanated from the music video as it portrays the protagonist, shrouded in mist and heading off towards an ethereal light – the source of which is hidden by a cover of dark trees in the distance. This fulfils the back cover’s purpose of adding a sense of finality to the album – though the protagonist is heading off towards pastures new, her back to the camera has a sense of ending and finishing. Its other purpose is for providing information and production credits which was executed, using the same font – Birch Std used in all writing on the digipak and magazine advert – to continue the house style. The front cover is intended to draw in the casual shop-browser in a record store and achieves this by the particularly busy picnic scene which is filled with the video’s more memorable mise en scene, such as the crockery, flowers, candles and cakes. The interior covers portray the protagonist admiring a candle hanging in a birdcage off a tree, whilst the other mirrors the former by the fact it is also a single medium shot, and depicts the bird-masked-nymph looking inquiringly outward from behind a tree. These continue the sense of magic and enigma that is seen in the music video – heightened by the fact many nymphs are masked and thus, their identities hidden. All covers in the digipak help to establish the escapist notion of the music video – all portraying scenes which occur outdoors, rather than the beginning scenes which begin in the protagonist’s house. The magazine advert also conveyed the Alice in Wonderland/Escapist agenda. In bold letters it informs magazine readers that ‘the time has come’. This alludes to the urgency and time-keeping of the White Rabbit figure in Alice in Wonderland, and to instil a sense of connection between the audience and the artists – suggesting that at the bottom of every Cults’ listener’s garden – a band of bohemian revellers are waiting. The magazine adverts primary purpose is to grab the magazine reader’s attention toward the album and then to provide them with all the details on how to procure it. It was important not to deviate from the house theme in order to promote the album, so the font Birch Std was used again, with a picture which conveyed the Alice in Wonderland theme – it portrayed the White Rabbit figure looking blankly and thus mysteriously into the distance. The band’s name and album title were the largest pieces of text on the page – as they are the most important details needed to promote the album. A depiction of the band’s current existence and understanding was portrayed in the fact the advert promoted the band’s links to the internet community and to modern technology and systems such as iTunes.
The Digipak covers and magazine advert are distinctly part of a collective house theme – all depicting scenes or figures from the music video – to enforce ties with that itself. All together they provide a sense of the Alice in Wonderland theme and the lack of reality. Three out of the four digpak covers portray the protagonist in them – subtly adding to the fact the lead singer of Cults is indeed a female and thus in some ways preparing the audience for this – though the protagonist’s actress is not intended to be the lead singer; exemplified by the fact she does not perform the song in the music video. As well as using the house-font of ‘Birch Std’ on all print-based products, every photo has been edited on Photoshop with filters which heighten the imagery of light and colour and to give off an ‘instagram-like’ effect on the photos in-keeping with the band’s indie/retro roots.
The theme of the ‘party in the woods’ is evident in the digipak and magazine advert to. On the front cover of the digipak, a photo depicting the protagonist during the picnic scene establishes the ‘Wonderland’ imagery and already suggests the music would be airy, light and alternative in sound. The back cover continues this theme and portrays the protagonist slowly going forth into the woods which have been mystically lit to increase the enigma code. The magazine advert is in the style of an invitation to magazine readers to buy the digipak and therefore, they too are invited to the party in the woods. Thus Denis McQuail’s uses and gratifications theory is applicable to the music video – its chief purpose being that of escapism. The music video and the album artwork encourage the audience to ‘go outside’ as if to suggest that outside in all listener’s back garden, there is something strange, wild and exciting waiting for them.
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