1. How effective is the
combination of your main
product and ancillary texts?
2.
3. How typography, layout, design and
colour create a consistent style
Although in our main production no titles are featured, I have used typography
across both my digipak and poster to bring consistent across my products. I have
used the same fonts and in a similar house style in order to bring the two together.
The font has an ‘indie’ look to it, and is in fact called ‘Indie Regular’ and ‘Indie
Capitals’. Using the same fonts and for the same parts of text shows the clear link
between the two products. In hindsight, we should have included some titles in the
video, for a more consistent style across all three products.
Although in my digipak the name of the band is at the bottom, whereas on my
poster its at the top. I believe that the design and layout is still consistent and in-
keeping with each-other. Both follow a rule of thirds method, keeping text in the
middle, in both the main image is also central with the character being central to
both products. This shows a consistency with the music video as well, as I chose to
use the character from the video in the digipak and poster. The reason for this is to
bring the three products together, making the link for the audience and hopefully
attracting them to buy the product
4. How typography, layout, design and
colour create a consistent style (cont.)
In terms of colour, I believe this was one of the strongest relationships between all
three of my products. In the digipak, poster and main text I have used low key
lighting, combined with the high key central light. This brings a familiarity to the
audience, as this was a colour and lighting technique used across all three
products. I have chosen to stick to dark colours mainly, and tired to keep the more
unsaturated look with brings further consistency across the various texts I have
produced. Overall I believe colour and lighting is one technique which is the most
consistent across all three products I have produced.
5. How genre is suggested by
my three texts
Genre is suggested in a number of ways across all three texts. I think the most obvious links to
genre are mise en scene (costume and props), editing and the typography used on my ancillary
tasks.
I believe mise en scene is one the biggest contributions to suggesting genre in my three texts.
First of all my characters have an indie image, this was down to costume and the initial casting of
them. Both dressed in an indie style which immediately hints to the genre to the audience.
Furthermore our props, like the guitar, give away the genre to the audience. Providing the
audience with iconography linked to the indie genre clearly communicates the genre of indie. In
addition to this, our sub-genre of romance was confirmed through the use of the rose and other
props, such as making the tea and watching a film together.
Another technique which was used to suggest genre was the editing. In terms of the editing, our
colour correction of the main text and my own manipulation of the images chosen for my ancillary
tasks. In the main text colours were unsaturated for the memories and had vintage/ film feel, this is
another way in which genre was suggested in my three texts.
Finally, typography was another technique which suggested genre. As mentioned in previous
questions the font name was Indie. When researching for fonts I wanted to use, this was the ‘indie
look’ I wanted. In audience feedback my thoughts were confirmed on this that the font suited my
products and added to the confirmation of the genre.
6. How mise en scene is
created in my three texts
There are many different techniques within mise en scene I used across the three
of my products. I wanted to make all three look consistent, which lighting played a
big part in. The continued use of lowkey lighting across all three texts meant they
all conformed to each other, along with the use of the vingette, which was
particularly prevalent in my ancillary tasks further reinforced the idea that the
character was isolated and alone after the breakup. In audience feedback it was
confirmed that the three products work well together because of this, particularly
the digipak and music video, however this was also down to other aspects of
mine en scene, such as props. Props enabled me to further communicate the
message, themes and ideas of all three of my texts. I used a range of props which
confirmed the main and sub -genre, which consisted of a guitar, roses, cuddly
bear, cards, love letters, train/ theatre/ event tickets, photos, a mug and the tennis
ball. All of these items allowed the narrative to develop, as they were the trigger
points for the memories. Furthermore, they linked to the genre of indie and sub
genre of romance. They acted as distinct iconography for the audience to
recognise and this what pushed the narrative forward. Overall I believe the use of
mine en seen was effective in all of my texts and brought consistency to the main
and ancillary task
7. How my ancillary texts sell, promote and
create interest around my main product
The purpose of the ancillary tasks is to promote and engage the audience, so
they buy the album. When producing my ancillary tasks I needed to consider the
design, as it is imperative that they have the same target audience and are
consistent in terms of style, so they look like a ‘family’ of texts. To achieve this I
kept a central visual icon, along with other iconography for further establishment.
My main icon was the character, who was placed in such a way as if he had
written the song, and it was a reflection of his life. Using him across my digipak
and poster meant the audience saw a clear link between the ancillary and
product, thus promoting them. There was criticism of my poster, in particular the
fact that the background contrasts the main video and digipak. When producing
this I thought it was best to provide the audience with a fresh look to make the
products more diverse, however on reflection this is something I should have
looked to change. Another technique used to sell my main product was the
inclusion of a release date on the poster, this creates a hype around the product,
along with the digital convergence - through social media links - this creates
further interest in the product.
8. How my products are
ineffective
Looking over my products, although I believe I was largely successful in bring all
three texts together, making an effective digpak, poster and music video, in
order to promote the main product, being the album, there were some aspects
which, in hindsight, I should have changed and looking back, improvements
which could have been made. After collecting audience research, it is clear that
using a brick wall for my poster was mistake, as this took away from the
consistency of the products. In hindsight I should have used a similar, if not the
same background as my main image on the digipak. I wanted to create a sense
of separation, in order for the texts to not be too similar and boring, hoping the
font would bring the three together but obviously this has not worked.
Furthermore, it was said that the digipak was more romantic, targeting a slightly
different audience. Again, I should have considered included a wider range of
iconography, such as a guitar for on the images. By doing this, it would have
been more in keeping with the main product and poster.
