Evaluation: Question 2: How Effective is the Combination of your Main Product with Ancillary Texts?

(IMAGES TO BE ADDED)

The way that my main product (my music video) and ancillary texts are related and influence one another is crucial to their effectiveness. I will split my answer to this question into two parts: how my main product combines with my digipak, and how my main product combines with my magazine advert.

Digipak:

The main theme of my music video was experiencing a journey, and I have tried to replicate this in my digipak as it is the main focus of the narrative of my music video - and subsequently the central theme of the overall brand I have created. Each panel shows important stages of the narrative which is linked to the concept of a journey punctuated with flashbacks which are shown with the use of black and white. When viewed as a whole, these four panels show the journey of the main performers character from regretful and begrudging to responsible and kind. The types of shots throughout these four panels also show this change. The first two shots (walking past the garages and exiting the house) are medium or long shots, at either his height or a high angle (which makes him appear weak and vulnerable). The second two shots (train and walking through the city to the girls' house) are close ups and are either at his height or a low angle (which makes him appear strong and confident). This emphasises the focus on a journey in both my music video and digipak, and this link strengthens that theme.

Just like the music video, there are transitions from black and white to colour in my digipak. In the music video, these are used for both flashbacks and a possible reference to a dream-like state. The transition is only used once in my digipak, as the first panel is mainly black and white and the second panel shows the change from black and white to colour when the boy leaves his house in my music video. As with the journey aspect of my music video, this link between the music video and the digipak - an ancillary text - improves the effectiveness of this aspect.

The image on the second panel of my digipak uses a particularly striking shot. This image, as aforementioned, is taken from the part of my music video where the boy leaves his house and there is a cross-fade from black and white to colour. The still I used shows the black and white image of the boy going left, towering over the image of the boy in colour. This shot implies a dream-like state more than most other shots in my music video (the circular shot of the boy in bed used in my music video is also very effective). This merging of dream and reality adds mystery to the music video and my digipak - what is real? This ties into the last paragraph, and helps to create a recurring motif, a topic inspired by Goodwin, that is associated with the brand.

Another aspect of Goodwin's theory that is used to increase the effectiveness of the music video and digipak as a combined whole is the focus on the male performer. The performer is the focus of all four digipak panels, and is also heavily focused on in nearly every shot of my music video. This focus is never transformed into a negative, voyeuristic focus, but is used as a way of creating a human figure that will be immediately recognised as the main symbol that represents the brand. This also fits into the genre's (pop) conventions, as in the pop genre the artist, or main human representative, is often a large part of the marketing and success of the brand. For example, the name "Britney Spears" is a bigger brand than her songs on their own. Likewise, the character of the main performer is a bigger representative of my brand than the songs themselves.

The graphic design used for the logos, text, and other effects in my digipak are also related to the themes of my music video. The front panel, for example has an artistic effect that makes it look like the image was painted. This, combined with the font for most of the text that I have chosen - which I have also constructed to look like it was hand-made with a paintbrush/artistic techniques - constructs a very artistic and creative feel. The font used here was found by trying to make the name of the album - Tonight - match the style of the graffiti in the background, so that the name of the album appears like graffiti on the garages behind the boy. This artistic font was then used throughout my ancillary texts - except from the logo for The Colours, which is different to make it stand out - so that it was associated with the brand. In the music video itself, I also tried to create an artistic feel by using a variety of techniques - the walking theme, the dream-like mechanic, the traffic and traffic lights, the flashbacks, the lyric cards, and the montage. This creative link binds the music video and the digipak together, and creates a clear bond between the two that relates them. 

Leading on from this, the use of colour on panel 1 of my digipak is a link to both my music video and its genre. To begin with, I used only black and white on panel 1 of my digipak to emphasise the distinctively stylish look, but after much discussion with my class and tutor, I decided to change the logo of the band - The Colours - to a design that reflected the genre of the music video more effectively. The use of a bright pink colour - like on the HMV logo, which is a symbol of a brand that has a large focus on pop music - and a font similar to the logos for similar artists such as Coldplay and Lady Gaga relates my digipak to my music video through genre conventions and therefore a similar target audience of teenagers that are attracted by these forms and conventions.

The lyric cards were also represented in the digipak, as I used effects (another link to the theme of creativity) on rectangular shapes to make them look like 3D objects - lyric cards. I used these lyric cards as a means of putting the track list on my digipak, and this resulted in something more than just a simple track list, as the track list had a direct link to the music video and the brand. The lyric cards are a very recognisable part of the brand, as they are used in the music video, the digipak, and the magazine advert - they are used in the main product and both of the ancillary texts.

Overall, my main product - the music video - and the ancillary text that is my digipak are very strongly linked by the recurring themes that are present in each product.

Magazine Advert:

My magazine advert also uses the themes of the brand to increase its effectiveness. However  the themes are represented slightly differently.

I mentioned in my analysis of the combination of my music video and digipak that lyric cards were a large theme of the brand. In my magazine cover, this is shown as the A4 Magazine cover uses the image of the boy standing by a red postbox - a cultural signifier - with lyric cards as its main focus. There are other large connotations in this image, with the iconic look of the boy and the other cultural signifier of the fence and bush that connotes the contemporary estate. The boy is, as ever, the main focus as he is the figure that is associated with the brand.

I have mentioned previously that this focus on a representative figure is a pop genre convention. For this reason, the magazine advert would appear in magazines such as Top of the Pops of We Love Pop. These magazines are heavily focused on the pop genre and, as you can see by these images of the front covers, heavily focus on the artists rather than the actual music. My magazine advert would fit in well in one of these magazines, as it is different and intriguing enough to stand out, but the focus on the character of the boy - the representative figure of the brand - would ensure that the magazine advert fitted in well.

The lyric card being shown in this image is the lyric card showing the word Tonight. This acts as the logo for the album itself in this image, and this creative and unusual way of showing the album name relates to the theme of creativity I mentioned earlier in this post. The same font has been used for the text in the corner of the magazine cover, and white text is used to stand out on the black and white background. This is another example of the recurring creative theme being used for my magazine advert.

As for the music video and digipak, black and white is used to create a dream-like image. The majority of the magazine cover is black and white so that the magazine cover fits the dream-like theme that is used regularly in both my main product and ancillary texts.

Furthermore, just like on panel 1 of my digipak (I discussed this earlier in the post), I changed the logo for The Colours from black and white to a bright pink colour. The effect of this on my magazine advert is similar to the effect is had on my digipak, in that it connects the magazine cover - the ancillary text - to the music video - the main product - through a sharing of forms and conventions of the pop genre and the target audience of teenagers.

In summary, the magazine advert uses many of the same core themes that the main product - the music video - and the other ancillary text - the digipak - use. This strengthens the connection between these three products, and creates a strong brand image that optimises the effectiveness of both the main product and the ancillary texts.