2. Artist
Smith Westerns
• Smith Westerns are an indie rock band from
Chicago, Illinois, taking their influences from the likes of David
Bowie and T-Rex.
• We chose this band because we thought that they were a good
example of the Indie Rock genre and that they fit well into the
connotations associated with it.
• We wanted to use this artist due to their carefree nature and because
they are a young band which we, as teenagers, can relate to.
3. Song & Video
‘Weekend’ – Smith Westerns
• The existing video for ‘Weekend’ consists of shots of the band having
fun & doing ordinary things – we felt that this showed the carefree
nature of Indie Rock bands and wanted to try and replicate this in our
own video.
• We chose this song because the music is quite cheery and would be an
ideal pace to edit to. In the Indie Genre we have found many
examples of more upbeat songs and analysed them which helps us to
draw inspiration and comply to common codes and conventions we
have found in certain music videos.
4. Audience Profile
& Target Audience
Our fan is a 18 year old male from a typical
middle-class background, who is extremely
passionate about the music he listens to. His
typical dress code is skinny jeans, baggy
layered clothes such as plaid shirts and hooded
denim jackets and other various vintage-
looking items. He wears band shirts from
influences such as Nirvana, Black Flag and T-
Rex, who inspired the skinny-jean look. In his
spare time, he attends gigs featuring Indie
Rock bands and plays the drums in his own
band. He enjoys skateboarding through town
and eating pizza. Mainstream music, in his
opinion, is overrated and has no personality –
he prefers less well-known bands on
independent labels. He centres his general
look around the appearances of the bands he
listens to.
5. Album/DVD
Album
Smith Westerns + Friends Mixtape
• We decided to create a mixtape as opposed to a regular
album because it’s a different concept to that of many
other albums, linking into the genre by being unusual.
• It features Smith Westerns songs as well as tracks from
other artists in the genre. Remixes of Smith Westerns
songs is also included.
DVD
Will include: Image of
Band
• Music Video for Weekend CD DVD
• Live performances
• Tour footage
6. Ideas for Digipak Artwork
The album artwork for Smith Westerns needs to represent
not only the band’s musical style but also their image in
general. We took inspiration from other Indie Rock bands
such as Bleeding Knees Club album, which featured
seemingly random images – fitting well into the
conventions of the genre.
The artwork should include:
• A cat
• Dolphins
• Palm trees
• A yin yang symbol
• Pastel colours
• Name of band
Artwork Idea
7. Idea/Synopsis for Video
Our video idea is inspired by conventions that we have analysed
within existing Indie Rock genre music videos.
Our video will include:
• A shot of the ‘present’ – 3 guys exit a tent, hung-over &
confused
• Zoom in, zoom out of a fire to show flashback
• A flashback to ‘the night before’ – skateboarding, having
fun, visiting shops
• Shots of polaroid photos, cats & vintage clothes
• Shots of 3 guys drinking at one of their houses
• A ‘live’ performance is cross-cut between shots of drinking
• A handheld camera to show ‘low quality production’ – shaky
• Back to present – shows guys picking up the camcorder and
watching back their own videos
