How Effective is the Combination of your main product with ancillary texts?

For my media A2 assignment I was given the brief to create a music video that would mean all of the planning, organising, promoting, filming and showcasing were down to myself and my partner Ben. Upon creating this product I had three key sections on which to focus my work which would be collaborated together to help promote my music video to an audience. The three stages are the music video itself, the digipak creation and the magazine cover. Upon creating these three sections I explored a variety of ways in which I could relate and link these products together. The main idea was that I would keep the band the same and that I, playing the main character of the music video, would be the focus in all three aspects of the media production. That way the audience can then make the relation between all three aspects thus providing the use of

synergy. One band that has used this idea of collaborating their music video, digipak and magazine cover would be ‘The Black eyed Peas’ promoting their latest album “The E-N-D”. From using the band in each shot, there is a relation in both the music video and magazine. As you can see from a screen shot you can see that the clothing is kept the same during their music video. This portrays the

use of combining their ancillary texts towards the music video. Between the magazine cover and the album cover you can see that the band has used the same font effect that would relate to one another. From this use of same text I have also incorporated this idea to present collaboration. From looking at this example I then developed a clearer understanding of how these two ancillary texts can collaborate together.

A Way to relate the two ancillary texts together was to include a ripped effect. This would then relate to the black eyed peas album and cover and their title featuring in both ancillary texts. I incorporated this effect to express ideology of a hidden message within which the audience could then relate to the music video with the main character singing a message towards his dying brother. Ben and I chose to use this effect on the digipak and the magazine to show a collaboration between the two ancillary texts.

One main aspect in which I would relate my ancillary texts to my music video would be the choice of location. Throughout the music video the choice of location was key to exemplify the genre and emotion of the song. Whilst on set for filming we came across a field that portrayed isolation. Because the film looks upon the brother dying the use of location then helped to connote the ideology of depression. To link in with this idea of a depressive state, for my digipak I followed along with this idea and created a digipak that would represent the bleakness and the loneliness of the song. That way the character featured on the digipak front cover would be portrayed alone. This would then link back

to the music video and the audience can make the relation of this character losing his brother and would understand why he is unaccompanied. To get a depressive feel towards the audience I, along with my fellow team mate Ben, chose to add in a black and white overlay on the image, then to change the contrast and exposure levels. That way the bleakness really stood out. This would relate back to the use of a black and white effect during the flash back scenes through my music video. From using this, the look

that was created reflected that of the character in the music video meaning the two sections were conveying synergy through the feeling and the state in which the character is in.

For the magazine Thus use of location, being a secluded field aided in the relation towards the digipak. This then created a depressive atmosphere. From creating this bleak and dark atmosphere, with death hanging between each key section, it helps to synergise the products and enables them to work off one another to help promote the same idea, just with a different style. This idea of representing the band in a depressive state has been used by the band ‘U2’ and their album promoting “Joshua tree”. For the digipak the cover is a depressing black and white image that portrays the band in a melancholic state, emphasised by their facial expressions, which show hardly any emotion. The location that is featured al relates to the.

The use of facial expressions was shown through my digipak with the main character singing in the field. The use of mise en scene helped to represent this bleak depression through a secluded land scape

with one lonely Joshua tree that looks to be dying. The magazine cover also features this Joshua tree dying alone and helps to incorporate ideas of loneliness and death. Both

the digipak and magazine cover have collaborated in the promotion of their new album and Ben and I have also incorporated these ideas expressed to help in the promotion of ours.

For the mise en scene that is featured throughout I used this idea of seclusion and isolation to help link an idea between the three sections. This was done through the use of location. When a shot comes up of an empty field it portrays not only the conventions of folk but also conjures up ideas of loneliness and seclusion from the world. This idea, Ben and I focused upon quite a lot to help promote the same idea, just in different formats. We came across this idea of an empty field when on location for shooting. Originally we chose to shoot the performance part on the field, but the

wind worked against us. Because of this Ben was able to capture some images that connoted the character’s emotions quite well. Even though this location doesn’t feature throughout the music video there is still a relation from this field in the digipak and the magazine cover. One idea for the

magazine cover was that main character would be standing in the field with an acoustic guitar. This shot helps relate the music with the visuals. With an acoustic guitar featuring throughout, the audience can then relate this instrument back to the genre of indie. But from thesecluded location the mise en scene has helped with the synergy of each key section by linking on together. The digipak has many images of the field in different opacities and from different angles. For instance in one shot there is dying shrubbery. From having this image

in the foreground and with the rule of thirds aiding the image it helps to connote ideas of death and despair. So from linking these locations with one another the use of synergy is shown to work positively. This idea has been seen through the digipak and magazine cover of ‘Katie Campbell’s’ “Twang on a wire” where barbedwire and a lonely flower are in the foreground and a secluded field is in the background. This idea brings across the emotions of loneliness and freedom being blocked. In the magazine cover you can see that Kate has incorporated herself within the cover to helps the audience relate the artist to the song. This is the same idea that I have done with my magazine. You can see that Kate

has used the same sepia effect for both her magazine cover and digipak cover. This is again an idea that

myself and Ben have incorporated in my media products to help connect the ancillary texts together and towards the music video.