Estella Wadham_Research task 2,3,4_Generic codes, conventions and graphic elements

1. B R I T P O P
W E B S I T E
R E S E A R C H
E S T E L L A WA D H A M

2. Britpop is a mid-1990s British-based music and culture
movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter,
catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the
darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music. Bands such as
pulp, oasis, blur, suede and supergrass are examples of brit pop
bands. (source Wikipedia)

3. The first thing you see on
the website is a band
photo and their name,
attracting fans to this
website.
It has a clear navigation bar
with a newsletter, store,
news, music, events, videos,
photos and about. The
"newsletter" asks fans to
sign up and receive latest
information about the band,
this makes fans feel closer to
the band, growing the
audience.
Neutrual colours are
used to attract
attention to the band
and their name as they
are the focus on the
front page
The website has stayed
up to date with marketing
by adding social media
platforms, appealing to a
younger audience.
Footer: copyright disclaimer by the media industry behind this music artist.
Brands logo is the
brands image.
Codes and conventions:

4. The rest of the website
Promoting new
songs increases
audience size,
hooking them on
to the band
Promotion
of the
music
video
entertains
the
audience
and
encourage
s replays
Newsfeed,
the fans
feel more
connected
to the
band.
The overall colour theme of pale blue is used
as it attracts many different ages and fits well
with the home page (which is cream)

5. Graphic/audio-visual elements of
scouting for girls’ website.
Font type: Scouting for Girls’ use a
geometrical sans serif font type,
making their band name easy to read
due to the clean, crisp lines while
staying modern, attracting a younger
demographic.
This websites images are high
resolution, making the website a better
quality, creating a professional feel.
Colour: Scouting for Girls’ website has a consistent
colour theme throughout with a repeat of cream and
blue. These two colours show consistency through
the website, tying the homepage and linked pages
together. The simple colours focus people to the band
name and key information.
Their homepages background is shot in a mid shot, this makes audience feel
comfortable with the band while allowing simple hand gestures and body
language.
As for the album
covers, they are
shot in a very
wide shot,
leaving space
for the bands
name.
They also have red
running through
their colour
scheme, connoting
they are British.

6. Blur’s home page is simple but eye catching as there's a
contrast between the black and white tones, and a video in the
background, making it exciting for the reader.
The sans serif font makes the website easy to
understand due to the clean crisp lines,
therefore attracting more people as it's easy to
read.
The social media icons in
the top left hand corner help
advertise to a younger
audience such as ages 16-
25. Social media also helps
fans feel more
interconnected and build up
a community.
Navigation menu bar:
Includes specific
sections such as news,
bio, music, tour, sing up
and merch store.
Footer: Copyright disclaimer by the media industry behind this music
artist.
This website includes
a search engine to
enable users to find
specific content.
Band’s logo is
the brand
image, and it’s
located by the
navigation
menu.
Codes and
conventions

7. The news heading features latest
nominations for awards, new
videos and other big
announcements
The bio gives a short
biography on blurs career,
referencing albums and song
releases
The music headline links to a
page with all blur's albums,
promoting all their songs.
The tour, gives information
about new and upcoming
tours/ events that blur will be
attending
Similarly, to Scouting for girls,
Blur has a sign-up feature for
updates, so fans feel closer to
the band
The store headline refers to
blurs store where you can buy
merchandise, and this is
especially popular with the
mainstream audience

8. Audio-visual and graphic elements
Blur’s use of the tones black and white gives the website a
minimalistic feel. These two tones are constantly paired with
other colours for promoting the brand as they go with
everything.
As for audio-visual elements, Blur’s homepage has an animated background
with clips of the band performing live. Many shots (featuring extreme wide
shots, wide shots and close ups) have been used mixed with different angles
(such as birds eye view and low angle), this animation with movement
makes the band seem exciting and unique, giving fans a glimps of the
experience.
Font type: Blur uses a sans serif thin font throughout their website
as its simple and easy to read when compared to sans serif.
Blurs merchandise page has a neat layout with even
spacing between each item. There is an item
description below it with a sold out icon in the top
left hand corner if the product has been sold out.
Close up shots
of merchandise
available.

9. Oasis' home page has the generic
features of a band home page
however additions such as a scroll
feature and animated background.
These two features add an element
of excitement and attract people to
the page. the animated background
features past tours and events ,
exciting fans as that could be them.
They have a latest news page,
which keeps their fans up to date.
Oasis-
Homepage
Oasis also have social media links, keeping
younger audiences interacting with them.
Navigation menu
bar: Includes
specific sections
such as music,
gigs, videos, press,
photos, news, band,
and merch store.
Bands logo is the bands image. It is
located in the top left hand corner.

10. music highlight has a short story
on oasis' success with albums
below it
gigs section, promoting
the band.
Selection of videos to promote the
band further and encourage replays.
photos
press has past press reviews
and covers to show their
success and how others view
them.
The news page keeps fans up
to date
The band page introduces every band
member, making fans feel more
connected to the band as it seems
more personal.
The shop headline links to another
website of oasis' official shop, selling
merchandise. (which is popular with
fans)

11. Audio-visual and graphic elements
Similar to Blur, Oasis use the tones white and black throughout the website. A few colours such as blue
and red are used however the tones black and white are prominent providing the perfect backdrop for
many styles.
As for audio-visual elements, the home page (similar to Blur) has an animated
background of clips from various performances. There is many extreme wide
shots, close ups and extreme close ups, shot in low, high and birds eye view
angles. This mixture of shots and angles creates excitement, reeling the
audience into the band.
Black and white used to give it a more “retro”
theme and to fit the colour scheme of the
website. Shot in mid-shot and medium close up.
Font type: Oasis’ font type is Sans Serif
Helvetica Black Oblique. They constantly use
this font type foe their logo, making it
recognisable worldwide.
The websites images are high resolution however a grainy filter has been added to some images/videos to carry on with the “retro”
theme.

12. Comparisons.
When comparing all three Britpop
band websites, they all have a
similar layout and headers
however different
features. scouting for girls'
website has a cream and pale
blue colour theme connoting
happiness which is a theme within
their songs "she's so lovely" as an
example. In comparison, Oasis'
and blur's websites are darker
with bold white sans serif fonts.
Oasis and Blur have an animated
background, making the website
exciting

13. conclusion
The purpose of all three websites is to advertise the band's music while allowing fans to
access to information about them. The websites also have high commercial value as they
all advertise merchandise tickets and latest songs. It is generically conventional for the
homepages to have navigation bars, taking the consumer to other pages straight away. The
three websites are also generally designed with a colour theme making them aesthetically
pleasing for consumers, therefore attracting more money and publicity. Scouting for Girls
and Blur have a footer containing a copyright disclaimer by the media industry behind the
music artist.
When researching genre, I've learnt a lot about brit pop and how different bands have laid
out their websites. As for my band website, I plan to stick with the generic conventions of all
the websites I've researched by adding a navigation bar and band name visible on the
home screen. My audience will expect a good quality website that is simple to read with the
use of sans serif font. It should look aesthetically pleasing too.
As for graphic elements, I have been able to identify various camera shots and angles in the
band's music video and websites. If I want to attract viewers, then I will use similar angles
and shots to the bands. Oasis and Blur added the feature of an animated background which
helped tie the whole website together. All three websites also have high resolution images
to look professional and I will do the same to create a professional look for my website.