Potential Band Names

Initial Ideas and Inspiration
We knew we wanted to re-name the band rather than staying with and using the original 'Snow Patrol' title. The reasoning behind this was to avoid any expectations our viewers would have when seeing our band name. By choosing a completely new, unheard of and fresh name, no association with existing bands could be made on the production.
Using the internet, books (thesaurus, dictionary and novels) and posters we came up with a selection of names which we could potentially use for our band. The names are:

1) Numb Cure
2) The Clergymen
3) The Untamed
4) The Pigmy's
5) Requiem
6) Sphinx
7) The Wookies
8) Ignite


All the above were chosen largely based on there abstract nature which follows a theme used by many indie/rock bands. For example, the currently popular indie band 'The Wombats' are a good example of the application of this abstract naming process.
The names highlighted in bold and italic are the two names we have considered to be the most fitting to the concept we are using in our music video and we feel these names will appeal to our target audience.

Final Decision
Our final decision was the name IGNITE. The reasoning behind this is that it contrasts heavily against the mood the band emits to its audiences. The word ignite means to set alight, and is closely linked to the idea of fire, which of course is bright and warm. Fire is often used as a symbol for energy, happyness, passion and hope. It can however also be used to symbolise death, dying and disappearance. This is why we decided on the name as it brings out much of the implied meaning in the bands songs and highlights the sometimes hard to see messages through the grey, dark imagry used. Also the word IGNITE flows well when said and has a rounded sound, making it appealing to consumers. Not only this, but the short, dualsylabic word is easy to remember making it easy to be accessed.

Snow Patrol Official Wesite

We analysed and discussed the features of Snow Patrol official website to spot weather they conformed to the general question, 'what makes a good website?' which we had done market research on and got results from the public.

http://www.snowpatrol.com/

Snow Patrol.com

Personally I feel that Snow Patrols official website is very effective and successful as it holds all the features of a good website. I came to this conclusion by taking suggestions from the online question I posted which was accessible to everyone use uses Yahoo Answers to comment. I also gathered opinions from my classmates, friends and family. 

Text

Firstly, when you enter the website you are greeted by an enormous white font situated on a black background saying, SNOW PATROL (shown above). This grabs your attention very quickly and the contrasting colours used make the text stand out dramatically. 

Music

Next to this text sits a red snow flake, a symbol commonly associated with the band, and the words, 'AUDIO PLAYER' with a play button. Even if you had never visited the bands website before, you would know from the use of the play button that you have access to listen to music from the site. As shown from the picture to the right, when the play button is pressed, a separate window opens giving the viewer access to browse through the bands albums and songs. From my question posted online about what makes a good website, the ability the play music on the site with ease was a big factor. One person said, "your website should also have your songs playing or some sort of play button to be able to play your songs. (people are lazy, they don't want to then search all over the internet looking for your music. make it easy for them and you)." 

Headings
Right underneath the main 'title' of the website sits a row of headings taking you to each page on the website. The text appears white but hovering the cursor over the link, the text turns red. Red, as well as black and white, is the focus colour of this website therefore it creates a theme which runs through the website making it look very tidy and professional. In the picture below, it shows the effect of the text changing colour when the cursor in over a word (gallery).

Backgrounds
The image used as a background for the website is a picture taken from one of Snow Patrols concerts. It involves the massive crowd and has been edited red which continues the colour scheme throughout the website. 

There is another background to this website. Along the side of the main page there is an enlarged and blurred image of trees and branches. This fits in with the style of their music and compliments a lot of the themes which run through their songs for example; loneliness, gloomy, sadness, darkness...

Links
This website is a brilliant example for showing links the viewer. At the bottom of the page there are several links to various other sites and how you can link the two. By making Myspace, Twitter, bebo, Facebook and Youtube accessible the the viewers of this site they are putting themselves at an advantage because by clicking on each of these links it takes you to the the bands related page. For example, by clicking on the Facebook link, it will take you straight to Snow Patrols offical Facebook page. 

Latest

The Snow Patrol website features a 'Latest' column which is a must have feature on an artists' website simply to allow the fans to keep up to date with what is going on with the band and any up coming promotions or concerts. 

Snow Patrol Album Covers

After deciding upon a song by Snow Patrol and looking at the bands history and success, we thought it would be a good and helpful idea to examine their website and range of album covers. This would give us an idea of and make us aware of any trends that occur throughout their albums, website or even promotion posters. 

After focusing on each album cover separately, we found that abstract imagery was a common trend which shines through on each example. The album covers do not seem to show much similarity in specific images or themes, meaning each one is unique and random. This could be an advantage when we come to decide upon ideas for our album cover. I will do further research into Digi-Packs and how they formed and the different styles of manufacture to gain a better understanding of their purpose and design.

Snow Patrol

Snow Patrol

Snow Patrol are an indie (also known as ‘alternate rock’) band from Bangor, Northern Ireland. The band was formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 and is now based in Glasgow. Five members make up the band; Gary Lightbody – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, Nathan Connolly – lead guitar, backing vocals, Paul Wilson – bass guitar, backing vocals, Jonny Quinn – drums, percussion, Tom Simpson – keyboards, samples


Starting Off…
The band released their first three records with the independent labels Electric Honey and Jeepster. After the release of the EP single ‘Starfighter Pilot’, and the studio albums ‘Songs for Polarbears’ and ‘When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up’, no hype or attention was paid to the band. So in 2002 the band signed on to the major record label Polydor Records in 2002 and since have blossomed and have been acknowledged for their brilliant music.

Success
Snow Patrol rose to national fame with their major label debut, ‘Final Straw’, in 2003, which sold over 3 million copies world-wide. Their next studio album, ‘Eyes Open’, (2006) and its hit single "Chasing Cars", propelled the band to greater international fame selling over 6 million copies world-wide. In 2008, ‘A Hundred Million Suns’ was released and soon after in 2009 their first compilation album, ‘Up to Now’. Throughout Snow Patrol’s complete body of work from singles, albums, music videos and live performances, the band has not only made millions but has been nominated for 27 awards and won 10 including Best Irish Band and Best Album (Final Straw). 

Indie Artists/ Bands

.Kings of Leon - Snow Patrol - Keane - The Script - Jamie T - Oasis - Arctic Monkeys - MUSE -The Killers - The Ordinary Boys - Kaiser Chiefs - The Rapture - Stereophonics - Biffy Clyro. 

"Indie rock is a genre of rock, and a means of producing that music, that originated in the United Kingdom and the U.S in the 1980's. It is rooted in earlier genres such as alternative, post punk, and new wave." - sourced from Wikipedia

Indie artists are usually presented as scruffy, usually male and are often shown playing there instruments as the music itself provides a more genuine style of music in comparison to the electro/pop genre where mainly synthesisers are used to give artificial sounds.

The word 'Indie' is an abbreviation from the the phrase 'Individual record label'. this simply means any record label that is not owned by the few large labels and instead remain 'independant'.

Our Song: Lyric Analysis

You Could Be Happy Lyrics
You could be happy and I won't know
But you weren't happy the day I watched you go
And all the things that I wished I had not said
Are played in loops 'till it's madness in my head

Is it too late to remind you how we were
But not our last days of silence, screaming, blur
Most of what I remember makes me sure
I should have stopped you from walking out the door



You could be happy, I hope you are
You made me happier than I'd been by far
Somehow everything I own smells of you
And for the tiniest moment it's all not true

Do the things that you always wanted to
Without me there to hold you back, don't think, just do
More than anything I want to see you, girl
Take a glorious bite out of the whole world.


Meanings, Connotations & Feelings Created
Just reading the lyrics, without listening to the music to accompany them, the initial vibe of the words chosen is very sad and thoughtful. The choice of words and construction of the sentences creates a very gloomy and a definite feeling of the singer being heart-broken about a failed relationship. Although the lyrics reflect upset emotions about a break up, they do not suggest anger resentment towards his 'ex' partner. 
After choosing this song for our music video, I thought it was important to gather general information on what the song meant to people and what emotions, thoughts, images it brought to mind. I asked my class mates, family, friends and also posted a question on Yahoo Answers. 

Feedback

"The singer is thinking about their relationship and how most of it was good, but he also knows that it could have been better. He knows that she wasn't happy but he wishes he could have stopped her. He misses her but wants her to be happy. He wants her to go on with her life and all the things she couldn't do before while in the relationship....I love the last line of the song "Take a glorious bite out of the whole world"" - a member of my media group


"It's like he’s looking back on the relationship and saying she can now go and do the things shes always wanted to without him there to hold him back." - classmate

"My favorite track on the album. The message is easy enough: let go of the person who wants to be happy without you, but never let go of the happy memories. What's exceptional is the way it achieves this message, its pairing of lyrics and music." - Yahoo Answers


"The lyrics are simple and bitter/sweet. They are sung with a tiredness and loneliness that is very appropriate. The music is simple too, but almost cute and child-like. Absolute sweetness and absolute caring with undertones of sadness, truth." - Yahoo Answers


".. he realises that it's too late to mend their relationship but he still has an ounce of disbelief.. he's giving her closure, getting it for himself.. saying i loved you, i love you and i want you to be happy in doing all you ever dreamt but never imagined you could with me by your side.." - family member


"maybe it is about him actually killing - he wishes so much that he hadn't, Or maybe he or she just died. And he feels like there was nothing he could have done. As days go on he realises what they had was amazing and he realises how much he loved her or him. But it also kinda sounds like he died.Or.....killed himself to get out of the way. He wanted the best for her. But saw that killing himself was the only way to achieve this." - classmate


"The beginning of the song has a childish lullaby sound to it, and it reminds me of how when a relationship is over, after all the crying and blaming, sadness, and anger you're left feeling little and wanting someone to hug you and tell you it's okay; you find comfort in the things that remind you of the past." - family member


"As for the lyrics themselves, they just blew me away because of how much they reminded me of the end of my own relationship. "And all the things that I wish I had not said / Are played on lips 'til it's madness in my head", the person is thinking of all of his or her mistakes, the would haves and should haves of the end." - Yahoo Answers


How We Will Use It
Now that I have a range of answers from several sources, my group and I can now sit down and gather the thoughts or images that most commonly came to mind to people. We are able to take some of these suggestions and interpret them into our visual imagery to include in, not only our music video but our other media products such as CD cover, website, poster etc.

Contacting Record Label - Permission Request

I sent an email to Polydor Records under the Universal Corporation to request permission to use the Snow Patrol song - 'You Could Be Happy'. The email reads:
" Dear Sir/ Madam,

                           I am a year 13 student currently attending Walton High School in Stafford and I am studying Media Studies. As part of my coursework project, I am required to design and create a music video to accompany an existing song. The project is purely for educational purposes and will be completely non-profitable. 

I am writing to you to ask permission to use the Snow Patrol song - 'You Could Be Happy' for my coursework task. Your co-operation would be much appreciated, I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours faithfully,
Maizy Parkes (aged 17) "

Songs We Considered

When it came to choosing the song that we would use for our music video we quickly decided that a song from the Indie genre would suit us best. Myself and my group members listen the that style of music so firstly we made a list of the band that we enjoy to listen to. The songs that we came up with (below) all include instrument playing, rather than the use of synthesisers (an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies and can also imitate other instruments). This is helpful as it would enable us to show the band 'playing' the music to create an entertaining visual for the audience.

1) Vampire weekend - A-punk

2) The Kooks - Matchbox

3) The Hoosiers - Choices 

4) Kid British - Elizebeth

5) Razorlight - Somewhere Else       

6) Razorlight - America         

7) Snow Patrol - Run       

    8) Snow Patrol - You Could Be Happy         

After listening to each song and brain storming on possible ideas and themes, we finally decided upon Snow Patrol - 'You Could Be Happy'.

The interesting thing about this song it that it does not have a music video available which allows for a 100% un influenced production when it comes to making ideas our own. Having no image association link with our song is a big advantage to us because there will be no 'comparison' of our video to an existing music video.