EVALUATION 2

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

When beginning this project, we wanted to create a distinctive and empowering brand surrounding the artist featured in our music video. The purpose of this was to create an influential media figure, which would result in a large fan base. In order to do this, we had to maintain a theme of characteristics and lifestyle for our protagonist to portray a believable artist. Therefore to build upon this, we created a digipak and magazine advert to promote our music video and aimed to link all three of these tasks to achieve our goal.

DIGIPAK

When creating our first ancillary task, our digipak, we knew that this was key to giving our audience an insight to our music video. Therefore an important aspect of each panel was to include a different theme in each one to reflect the variety of locations featured in our main product.

This panel includes the rebellious side of the artist through the action of smoking as well as the seductive nature through her choice of clothing. Lyrics are featured to promote the song and bring out the meaning of words through relating them to our chosen images Moreover an obvious theme of this panel is the American flag which is a current trend to which our audience can relate to.

This panel strongly reflects the title of our song 'Beat Down' which is illustrated literal by the use of boxing. This was important to include within our digipak as this location appears frequently in our music video and associates perfectly to the real meaning of the lyrics. These Specific lyrics are merged in front of these images in which they relate to.

This panel focuses on the dominant side of the artist which is strongly expressed by the use of the frowned upon dog breed. The leather inspired costume creates a sexual nature through voyeurism, which is crucial in attracting the male audience. Moreover, the illuminati them which appears several times throughout our music video is illustrated by the established hand gesture for this belief which is merged across all photos as a hidden message.

In this panel, we have shown the urban location situated in Bricklane, London. This was an important feature of our video due to it bringing a vibrant colour scheme and sense of adventure which our young adult market can relate too. We decided to incorporate splatters of paint across our images to bring out the graffiti aspect of this location. As well as include an image of our dancer to show a content of both genders.

The target of this digipak was to maintain the brand we had created in our main project and portray this clearly through our ancillary task. I believe we done this well by clearly showing all aspects of our main artist's character throughout all of the digipak panels. This included the fearless persona she carried in the boxing setting, the dominant status shown in the leather themed, dog featured scene as well as the feisty and rebellious attitude portrayed in the urban environments. All of these characteristics were clearly displayed by numerous collages of photos that were cleverly merged together to give a professional finish. Moreover, an important aspect of this digipak was the use of Voyeurism which shows the female artist's seductive ways in order to catch the male market as well as the females who would inspire to be like her. This was shown by her choice of clothing materials such as leather with are normally related to a sexual nature as well as an exposure of flesh in specific minimal clothing. In addition to this, we have also included a variety of different costumes to contribute towards displaying a unique and adventurous sense of style. As this artist differs from the ordinary we believe it gives our audience something to remember the artist by, as well as influence them into following her distinctive trends. All of this is an example of branding which is crucial for a creating a visual style in which the music video is presented in. Branding is a common convention of a music video as the label has to present the audience with the artist they followed since the beginning of their career. This means maintaining a clear fashion style and theme of interests so the audience are always catered for throughout all products which are released.

You would find our digipak product being sold in a British global entertainment retail chain such as HMV. However as this is a high status store selling the best in the music industry, we acknowledge that we had to create product that would stand a chance against its competitors. To do this we knew that the front cover had to be eye capturing enough to draw existing and potentially new customers in to purchase. We done this by the use of an intense close up of our Artist which immediately stated the brand which we are trying to sell. The title is unexpectedly small printed however, we believe this wasn't crucial in selling our product due to the most important feature of our artist being the first thing we want our audience to look at. The back cover was also a vital part of the production recognition where everyone who contributed to making this product were recognised. This is crucial for the production team and record label to maintain their reputation and gain credit in the music industry as well as build on their profile.

MAGAZINE ADVERT

The purpose of our magazine advert is to promote the single BEAT DOWN. As the main feature of the music video is the female artist, we thought it was important to use her as the key aspect of our advert. This allows us to immediately display the brand surrounding the artist and target our audience. In the chosen photo, we have clearly displayed her unique sense of style by the use of a gold peace chain earring, a baggy wooly hat and a slight reveal of leather clothing. All of these items are seen as fairly masculine and therefore portrays her dominative ways and her strong independence shown throughout the music video. This links in perfectly with the urban background of graffiti walls which are a main location in our video. As this environment isn't somewhere you would stereotypically find a female, it enhances the fearless character we want our artist to carry. The layout we chose for this advert was determined by the chosen photo. As this photo was landscape this immediately set the orientation of the advert however this worked well as the a4 sizing would fit perfectly with the official layout of a magazine page. Due to the composition of this photo, it also meant that the text could be merged over the faded background of the image to the left. This allowed both aspects of the advert, the text and the artist, to get the focus and attention intended without any distractions. The chosen font of this advert reflects the edgy style of the graffiti in the background. This is the same font used in the lyrics featured in some of the digipak photos and therefore this supports the crucial method of Branding. The text informs the audience of whom the track belongs too Steve Aoki & Angger Dimas Feat. Iggy Azalea as well as giving vital information of the single release. An important aspect of the advertising purpose of this task is enhanced through the use of the quote best of house music. This statement is taken from the respected NME music publication company and therefore entices the audience to discover if it is true for themselves by purchasing the single. Moreover, the use of house music clearly states the genre of the song and therefore targets its intended market. Another similarity between the digipak and magazine advert is the mentioning of Production companies and record labels which is a vital convention when promoting a product. This is displayed by the use of official logos which are recognized throughout the music industry. These logos are also shown at the end of our music video to give the credit to the contributors involved in making the product.

The Comparison
After analysing the skills and techniques put forward in to both ancillary task I believe, that as a combination, the two work together effectively to promote our music video. The magazine advert focuses more on the crucial information for the releasing of the main product in comparison to the digipak that gives more of an insight into the content of the music video. Both methods work well in promoting the video due to the digipak not giving much away to leave the audience wanting more, contrasted with the digipak supplying maximum footage in order for the audience wanting to proceed and discover the full music video. All products, including the main and ancillary tasks follow the same theme through the use of Branding. This means that throughout all products, the distinctive Artist we have created has been maintained and therefore we are able to target a specific audience. There is a strong theme of dominance and voyeurism throughout, including urban environments and an empowering personality. All together, this expresses individuality and adventure which is influential to our audience. Moreover, the overview of this brand matches the up beat genre of the music video and relates to the lyrics and title of the music video BEAT DOWN. Similar fonts and edits are used in all products, including contrasting images and a vibrant colour scheme, as this creates a visually interesting aesthetic to keep the audience engaged. On top of this, mentions of the production companies and artist logos are featured throughout so that legal credit is given to all that were involved in the making process. In conclusion, the theme portrayed throughout all three products make a rocognisable brand for our target audience to follow. Without an established visual image, it would be impossible to target a specific market and cater their needs in order to be a success.