Background
area 11’s record label is cooking vinyl, the band is originally from Bristol. The band’s lead singer goes by the name of Sparkles, the bassist is Alex Parvis, the drummer is Jonathan Kogan, the keyboardist is Luke Owens, the guitarist is Tom Clarke.
Music Video - Shi no Bardo
The song is called Shi no Barado released in 2013, the narrative of the video is conventional and although stereotypical being the idea of two love struck individuals trying to find each other. This is shown through a combination of both the lyrics of the song and the use of enigma and action codes shown in the editing process.
For instance, the opening 23 seconds includes the use of enigma codes to draw the audience in this is first done through the use of audio with the sound effect of an ominous rift like sound and the dropping of Beckii Cruel’s (featured artist and lead protagonist) bag making the audience question both what the video has in store in terms of the narrative and in terms of what to expect from the genre of music.
This is then followed by the action code of hearing the first keystrokes which then signifies to the audience that the track is an out of genre venture to the band, they normally produce songs of pop punk and rock variety. Furthermore we see ECUs of all the band members playing their instruments creating an enigmatic effect again making the audience question where they are and possibly even who they are. We are then met with and the action code of a wide shot showing the whole band looking to the camera giving the audience visual confirmation of who they are. We then see the entrance of an symbiotic code with the use of MCU on the lead singers face as he sings the opening line "I saw your face in the LEDs..." this could be a reference to the audience as they are literally seeing Sparkle's face in a LED screen as well as possibly referring to Beckii Cruel as in the context of the video she is watching their video though an LED screen. Furthermore there's the possible symbolic codes the first being that the band is not as important as the lead singer as the are represented mainly as being obscured in the shadows as silhouettes, as well as for the first chorus of the song Beckii Cruel joins in simply by singing aloud at her computer screen possibly symbolising the idea that she meant to represent a fan to begin with before she is being represented as an artist this idea is furthered in the repetition of the chorus for the second time when she begins to sing to herself in the mirror almost being symbolic of fans having a song stuck in their head.
The restrictions of Beckii Cruel in the video up until the final chorus could be seen as sexist as if she is meant to represent Area 11 fan base then there is the implication that their fans are simply love crazed teens ready to uproot their lives for them as shown when Beckii gets a train presumably to Bristol to sing with the band. Additionally every scene before the train station Beckii is always shown to be in the world of the domestic which could reinforce old stereotypes and ideologies.
Web site
Area 11's website is used infrequently and is still currently decorated for the holiday season of 2017. This is shown with the top post of "Modern Chrystmasis" this being an intertextual reference to their album released a year prior "Modern Synthesis" and of course a play/pun of the traditional Merry Christmas. Furthermore, the band's logo is changed slightly from its usual colour of light grey to a very bright white as to more clearly represent the time of year this is also shown through the image used in the background representing the winter through the use of bright blues. Additionally, we see in the upper left hand corner of the screen there is the ability to listen to the band's latest album. Furthermore we see drop links to the news feed that automatically displays the most recent tours, the store, the entirety of their back catalog in both video and audio forms, and contact information for the band. In addition to this we have a live feed of the band's social media accounts and links to said accounts on the upper left hand side which is just above the option for the audience to interact with the band's newsletter by submitting their email account. The current from of the website gives a friendly and vibrant feel which seems to not fit the style of the band's music being punk rock.
Magazines
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