PitchEmma, Tom & Michelle

ArtistSmith 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.

‘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.

Song & Video

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.

Audience Profile& Target Audience

Album/DVD

AlbumSmith 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.

DVDWill include:• Music Video for Weekend• Live performances• Tour footage

CD DVD

Image of Band

Ideas for Digipak ArtworkThe 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

Idea/Synopsis for VideoOur 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

Storyboard Examples

Ideas for Locations

York City Centre Woods (for camping)

Living Room

Ideas for Props

TentGuitar & Drum Kit

Skateb0ard

Camcorder

Vintage Clothes