Comparing Wix & Wordpress.

I decided to create two websites for two completely different artists. I used wordpress to create a website for Rihanna and then I used Wix to create a website for Arctic Monkeys.

The two websites are completely different to each other, The Rihanna website is a lot more brighter as it is more colourful and the images included are also in colour compared to the Arctic Monkeys website, which is Black and White, including the images. This is because the artists are different genres, so by using different conventions such as colour codes, this helps the viewer establish and identify the genre easier.
The images on the Rihanna website are also much more natural,for example, most photos are of her out in public and there is 1 photo from a magazine, but this helps the viewer connect as they can see she is actually a normal person and does normal things. Whereas the Arctic Monkeys images are all from live performances to give it that indie/rock type of feel, however, this will make the viewer want to go and see them as all the photos look like the concerts will be fun.

At first, I preferred working on WordPress but I think this is because I prefer Rihanna in general as appose to Arctic Monkeys. But once I started uploading things such as the photos for the gallery, I started to have trouble as my laptop wasn't compatible and some of the photos wouldn't upload or show on the page, which was a bit of a nightmare and meant I had to go on a computer at school (which wasn't a mac) to enable my pictures would upload and show. It was also quite annoying as the photos wouldn't go where I wanted them to  and as time went on, I found it more and more stressful as I kept losing work that I had spent loads of time on and things (pages) were harder to find.

Next, I used Wix, which I found a lot easier as my laptop was more compatible with, it was also a lot clearer then Wordpress as the menus were a lot more simple, My work also didn't get lost unlike wordpress- So I preferred this website to wordpress. Therefore, I will use this to create my artists webpage. 

My Website (WIX)

http://claudiahurtwood.wix.com/arcticmonkeysx

I liked the idea of using a simple theme, which also looks good, so thats when I thought of the idea of making the website black and white. I think it looks 'edgy' which also goes with the sound of the band. I used the bands logo for the header of the website, this allows the album and the artist to connect and it is also part of the marketing/merchandise so as soon as people see this logo-straight away they know what it is. Next I added the Facebook and Twitter widgets, so fans can click on the buttons and it will follow or like their page on either Facebook or twitter, which allows the fans to connect to the artist directly. Then I added a few photos of the band live- to give it the concert element, I made all the photos black and white so that they fit with the website. Above these images, I also added the option to 'buy tickets here' which means if the viewer looks at the photos and thinks 'they look like they would be really cool to see' they can click buy tickets now and get info and tickets on all the bands latest gigs. I also added the list of tour dates on the front to show the viewer that the band could be visiting a city near them, so they could go and watch. Finally, the menu bar at the top, which consists of  'HOME', 'GALLERY', 'CATALOGUE', 'ABOUT' and 'TOUR', all of which are pretty self explanatory.

Looking At Album Artwork

Do you think the album work is for a band or artist. And why?

I think that this album work is for an artist, this is because the image we see on the cover, is a woman on her own, it is a mid shot of her sitting down looking at herself in the mirror, so it is very much centred on her, where as I think if it was a band, there would be an image of all the members together on there. The name 'Marlowe' is also in white which stands out against the Red background, but the name Marlowe also looks like a artist name, not the name of a band.

Do you think they are synthetic or organic?

I think that they are organic, this is because the image is very plain and naturalistic, she is just sitting looking in the mirror and it is all Red and she is outlined in Black- it doesn't look forced.

What kind of music/genre is it and why?

I think that this type album would be to do with the alternative genre because of the colours and effects reflected off the album. 

What do you think overall about the artwork?

I think that it is quite simple and I think the Red, Black and White work together well, I also think that it represents the alternative genre quite well as it is plain, naturalistic and simple but also different at the same time. 

Why is all the album cover Red?

Do You think the album work is for a band or artist and why?

I think that this album work looks like it is for a band, even though I thought the previous album was for a solo artist and they are the same person/people, this is because we can see more than one person on the cover, all though I don't think that they are the band members, each person on the cover could represent or reflect some of the actual band members.

Do you think they are synthetic or organic?

I think that this band are organic, this is because we can see a lot of nature in the picture and this could reflect the 'organicness' and naturalistic feel within the band and looking at the picture I feel like the people feel free, which is how an organic artist/band should be and feel. 

What kind of music genre and why?

Again, I think that this would be of the alternative genre because of how simplistic it is and the effect on the image makes it look different and edgy, which is a convention of that genre. 

What do you think about the overall artwork?

I like this art work as I like the idea that it looks like the landscape goes on forever, which is what the artist or band of this album will want their music to do. I also like it because it is simple and clear to see/read like the previous one and it is also different to most other album covers.

Do you think this artwork is for an artist or band? and why?

I also feel like this is an album cover for a band, so overall I think that they are a band. However, I don't think any of the people on the covers are band members, I think they they just want to get their music out and that is the most important thing to them.

Are they synthetic or organic?

I think that they are Organic. This is because the person on this album cover looks quite scared or hiding away from something, which could indicate their music or look is scary, which could put people off, However, despite this, they have still used the image on their album cover. 

What kind of music genre and why?

I think again that it is alternative, because the image on the front of the album is very different, but yet simple along with the title and font-which don't stand out as much on this album, so this also reflects they are not pushing their name out their- just their music, which is another reason I think that they are organic  

What do you think of the overall artwork?

I am not as keen on this artwork as I think the image on the front is off putting as the person looks quite scared, so that would put me off. However, the cover fits the genre. 

Goodwin's Narrative Theory.

Goodwin's narrative theory consists of three categories; Illustration, Amplification and Disjuncture.
Illustration; the video tells the story.
Amplification: The images amplify the lyrics as a narrative may be used to covey a deeper meaning that would not be picked up from the lyrics alone. The artist(s) may take on fictional roles within the narrative.
Disjuncture: There is little connection between the lyrics and video or where the video contradicts the lyrics.

Beyonce's video Pretty Hurts is an example of illustration.

 

In the video, we see her getting ready at a pagent and perfecting herself and the lyrics are;

'Pretty Hurts, we shine a light on whatever's worst
Perfection is a disease of a nation, pretty hurst, pretty hurts
Pretty Hurts, we shine the light on whatever's worst 
We try to fix something that you can't see
Its the soul that needs the surgery'

 Here, we see the title of the song is reinforced in the video by being printed on a sash which illustrates the fact they are at a beauty pagent. 

 In this shot we see the girls are getting ready to go on stage, showing the competitiveness of the pagent. 

 She is being measured, this shows the pressure she is under to be skinny to fit in with the other models. 

Here we see that she has lines round her face suggesting she is having surgery- this illustrates the standard of perfection they must be 

Finally, we see all the girls dressed up on stage at the pagent. This concludes the video as we have seen them from the start, getting ready and this is the end result. 









An example of Disjuncture would be Lady Gaga ft Beyonce- Telephone.

None of these images have anything to do with the lyrics, in the video we see Lady Gaga dressed up in several different strange costumes and we see her crawling round half naked in a jail, next we see her with Beyonce in the car and then they poison some people in a diner, which has got nothing to do with any of the lyrics in the song. 

Finally, an example of Amplification would be Judas- Lady Gaga.

 The video opens with an extreme long shot of 12 men on motor bikes and her at the front. The song is called Judas, who was one of Jesus' 12 disciples. Therefore, the 12 men could represent the disciples and she could be Jesus.

 We then see a close up of her necklace, which is covered in crosses and through out the video we see a lot more crosses, this could be highlighting the fact that Jesus was put on the cross to die.

Next we see Lady Gaga on a bike with a man who is wearing a gold crown with what appears to be thorns on it, which is what Jesus was wearing when he died.

Finally we see her dressed in this Blue headdress/outfit, which conveys her as Mary, Jesus' mother. Therefore I think this video has more of a deeper meaning compared to what we see on the surface of the video. 

Annotating my website.

The front page of my website is very simplistic with a little biography of Rihanna's life, this is so that it will draw fans in and people who maybe don't know her as well will want to look in more detail at the website. The technological convention of the blue theme across the website will help attract an audience, all though Blue is seen as more of a masculine colour, I think using baby blue appeals to both a male and female audience, I also chose it as I felt it fitted the theme of her i-D magazine shoot, which I chose an image from to use as the header on the home page of the website. 

  As Rihanna's target audience is teenagers both male and female, I used a twitter widget to show audience can follow her on there and keep up to date with her, as they are always on       social media.

The gallery allows fans to look at recent images of Rihanna, whether it is at the latest event or of day to day life shopping or having something to eat. This reflects on of the paradoxes of Dyers Star Image, She is ordinary, as we can see from pictures of her wearing no make up and shopping in the supermarket, but also extraordinary as we see her at events such as the Met Gala and her Movie premiere wearing couture gowns. Rihanna presents herself as an 'Island Gal' so in the gallery, we can also see images of her in Barbados, where she is from, having fun which I also think is one of her ideologies, to not care too much and have fun- which is reflected in her pictures. This also supports Dyers Star Image that she has been presented as an ideology. These images are also symbolic conventions as she looks beautiful in every image, boys will find this attractive and girls may aspire to be like her and I also thinks it puts across the message 'always be the best you can be' or 'make the most of your self' which could be seen as other ideologies.  I laid the images out like this as it makes it much easier and clearer for the viewers to see.

The store is another way of attracting the fans to the site and it is also another way for the star/label to make money, this fits into Dyers Star Image as she has been constructed as a commodity, to make money for the label, we can also see that she has featured on the cover of Harpers Bazaar, which supports this theory. Again, I laid it out very simply to make it easier for the viewers to purchase.

The tour page shows a header of Rihanna with 'Diamonds World Tour' written on her arm, it then lists her American tour dates, so fans can check to see what date she will be in their city etc and then get buy tickets. This is an example of how she has been constructed as a commodity by her label, to make money.

The news section of the website shows articles that have been published recently about Rihanna, This helps keep the fans up to date with her and what she is doing. It also features images of Rihanna at recent events and talks about achievements she has achieved. In one of the articles it also talks about her being on the front of Harpers Bazaar, which reinforces Dyers Star image.

My Website. (WORDPRESS)

https://claudiahugo.wordpress.com/

Comparing two websites.

Madonna - Like A Prayer

Madonna’s music video ‘Like a Prayer’ was set and released in America in 1989, it is seen as one of

the most controversial music videos known to date.

We first see an establishing shot of a church, this tells us where the video is set and it is also represents Christianity. It is an extreme long shot and shows us that it is in the middle of nowhere and lonely, which may be why Madonna has turned to religion as she felt lost. However, we can also see an orange light coming from inside the church and it looks like it is on fire, which is not something we associate with church/heaven, we normally associate it with hell. However, once it cuts to inside the church, we can see it isn’t burning and in fact, religion is reinforced with props such as candles and crosses.

  

We then see a high angled shot of her kneeling down praying, which makes her look small and because she is praying, we assume she is going to be religious. However, we can see from the high angled shot that she is dressed provocatively as she is wearing a low cut red dress, revealing her boobs. This is illustrating her as a sexual object and it is extremely controversial as she is in a church and it is seen to be extremely disrespectful to be in church dressed like this. Also suggesting the fact this is why her music is selling; sex sells. This is also reinforced when she starts kissing the Black Jesus, later on in the video we also see her kissing his feet, showing she worships him and he has more authority than her, the fact he is Jesus also reinforces this.  The high angle also connotates how weak she is and it makes her look vulnerable.

The lighting used within the Mise En Scene, is also Red, which illustrates danger, provocativeness and love, all of which are conveyed in this video.

The editing used within this video is also synchronous; it uses lots of fast cuts, which cut in

time with the beat of the music, which illustrates action.

We see a group of White men that have been involved the raping of a White woman, which is once

again objectifying women and showing them to be weak, once again, when the police show up, they run away, and we see a low angle of a Black man running down the stairs, the low angle allows the Black man to look powerful and caring, which subverts the Black Stereotype of being uncaring, However, the police turn up and arrest him for the rape. This highlights the amount of Racism in America at the time that this video was released; these issues are still ongoing, such as the Baltimore Riots currently happening. This is also reinforced later on in the video when we see a long shot of Madonna dancing in front of burning crosses which were used to warn of celebrate when the Klu Klux

Klan had or were about to kill a Black person. So when we see her dancing and happily singing in front of them, it is seen as extremely disrespectful, which again causes a lot of controversy. The cross is also a symbol of Catholicism, which will again be seen as disrespectful.

Towards the end, we also see a group of gospel singers, dressed in Red, a colour that has appeared

many times in this video, the gospel singers are also seen as a convention of the Christianity religion, which has also been an issue within this video. However, all though Madonna is on her knees in front of them crawling along the floor, showing a more sexual side, it could also represent the fact that she is

free and has no worries and show the fact that because the gospel choir celebrate when they sing, they could be leading her to go and set the other Black man free from prison which once again subverts the stereotype of Black people being unkind and uncaring.

At the very end, we see a Red curtain come down, which gives it the sense of a show, indicating

they may have put this whole thing on to make the audience realise ongoing issues in society that are even still going on today.