Part three of my a2 media studies evaluation. - San

1. How effective is the
combination of your
main product and
ancillary texts?
Created by San Dhinsa

2. The purpose of my ancillary products
As you may already know, this year our task was to create a music video.
This gave me an insight on the conventions of a music video and also the
detail behind an artist’s representation. However, in the music industry it is
also vital to promote the artist so they can gain more recognition and
sellability. It is also important to create products that can be sold as this
financially supports their career and provides money for their music label.
Along side my music video, I created two ancillary products that were aimed
to represent my artist is the best possible way. The products I decided to
make were a digi-pak and a magazine advertisement. Digi-paks are special
edition products that contains not only the music CD itself, but other special
features such as competitions, codes , messages from the artist and more.
Creating a digi-pak has been interesting as these are rare for music artists to
sell these days as people tend to just download their music online, but this
task enabled me to put my ‘thinking hat’ on and find ways that would make
an audience pay for a digi-pak. A magazine advertisement was also fun to
make because it is enhanced my graphic/editing skills in order to make an
aesthetically pleasing design that would catch someone's attention.
In order for my ancillary products to be successful, they needed to clearly
represent the artist’s genre and style of music. The following presentation
breaks down how effective my ancillary products were in doing so.

3. My Digipak

4. My Magazine Advertisement

5. House style/Branding
For my products it was important to keep a good quality style of branding so that my artist
could be associated with a specific style. The style I chose was homely, warm and an
overall style that my audience can relate to as this what indie fans look for in an artist.
In order for this to work, during my research and planning stage I looked up different
marketing packages that had a strong sense of branding. I found this was usually
formed from the consistent use of the same colour palette and typography. Therefore, in
my magazine advertisement and digipak I used the same typography from dafont.com.
Using the same typography created a strong branding because the typography looked
hand written. The audience would denote handwritten typography to be personal and
rustic which connotes the artist to have a warm personality as the hand written style
shows a sense of sentimentality. This also made the digipak more enticing to sell as it
would attract hardcore fans if the writing looked more personal as if the artist hand
wrote it himself, making my products effectively combined as they have a personal
touch.
Handwritten
typography

6. House style/Branding
I also used the same autumnal colour palette
through out my music video and ancillary
products as this enforced the indie vibe. The
indie genre is usually associated with warm
colours to connote a down to earth persona
and nature like feel. The consistent colours I
included were orange, brown and red. Red is
associated with passion and love which
highlights how the artist would create songs
with emotive lyrics such as Ed Sheeran's
‘Small Bump’ (which you can listen to here)
as indie songs tend to reflect on deep
personal themes. The orange signified
warmth which made the artist seem more
approachable so my audience could relate to
him. Statistics even show that orange
promotes positive energy which links well
with the nature shots in the music video to
make the artist seem down to earth and
nature friendly. The brown also highlighted
the earthy atmosphere and comfort.
Therefore, using the same constant colour
palette made my products very effective.
As you can see, my
ancillary products
and music video
use the same
colour palette.
The guitar is a
deep red, the
leaves are orange
and brown
and the
leaves/nature is
shown everywhere
to create
a strong
iconography of
nature and its
colours.

7. House style/Branding
A key piece of iconography I used was a guitar. A guitar is usually
associated with the indie genre as most indie songs tend be acoustic
and are raw - meaning there are no studio touches such as auto tune or
synthesises but rather pure instruments such as an acoustic guitar. It
also anchors the artist’s down to earth persona and homely-ness
because he seems like an average person rather than a big pop star. We
did not conform to the Robert Dyer Star theory as we did not use our
artist as the main image, instead we branded our artist through the motif
of leaves which are seen in the music video and on the digipak as the
main image. Leaves usually signify nature and growth – both of which
are deep themes that further shows how relatable the artist is and how
his music is branded to have deep lyrics which effectively showcases
the genre of the artist.
Guitar
Leaves on the digipak front
cover and leaves in the
music video.

8. From looking at the magazine advertisement, the guitar, mug of coffee and song
sheets signify someone who is relatable in society and is very passionate about their
music. Alongside the warm colours the audience will recognise the indie vibe as
everything looks very earthy and indie like. The scenery and nature images on the
digipak also addresses the audience as very bohemian and someone who is
peaceful. This links to the music video very effectively as the artist is taking a walk in
the forest, making the audience relate to him as he is nature driven.
Mode of Address
LEFT : Magazine Ad with guitar, mug of coffee and song sheets
MIDDLE: Scenery on digi-pak panel
RIGHT: Music video shot of artist walking in forest alone

9. The message on the digipak
from the artist is also very
direct to the audience as he
even goes as far as saying
his music is “personal” to
him. This depicts the artist
to be close to his audience
as he wants to give a
personal vibe about himself
to make himself personally
relatable so fans can
identify their situations and
style to him. This is further
highlighted in the music
video as there are shots of
him that are indirect as if
we are watching him on his
walk like we are able to
follow him around, which is
rather personal, and there
are also close up shots
where he directly sings to
the audience to form a
close relationship.
Mode of Address
Top images show the artist singing directly to the audience –
Bottom images the audience are watching the artist

10. To further showcase how the artist is a down to earth person, on our digipak we
included a midshot of the artist not looking at the camera. This represents my artist
to be very thoughtful which works well with the deep song about a lonely girl. This
also effectively combines well with my music video as the artist seemed to look
away from the camera whilst performing as if he was in deep thought. The title of
the album itself highlights this as it is called “trailer thoughts” which further suggests
the artist has deep songs and lyrics as if he reflecting on his own experiences. The
reference to a trailer also suggests he may travel a lot, like he is walking in the forest
in the music video, which reinforces his thoughtful personality. A lot of indie people
love to travel and write journals, and his album is his own journal of his deepest
thoughts.
Representation of the artist
Shots from my music video of the artist looking thoughtful Artist looking down thoughtfully
on digipak

11. Guitars are iconic in the indie music genre because artistic people tend to play them such as
Ed Sheeran. The guitar and music sheets also connote someone who could be busking for a
living, the mug of coffee also highlights this as coffee is widely used for working class/
average people who are working early mornings and late nights- suggesting he works for a
living which makes the audience relate to him.The coffee mug prop also suggests the artist
drinks alot of coffee and my indie audience are the type of people who would go to coffee
shops regularly –and bring their laptops or books to write their own songs. This represents
the artist to be relatable as he is not rich and he is a small time artist trying to make a living.
The song sheets also portray the artist to be very passionate about his music and they may
be sentimental to him which indie music tends to be. The sentimental representation is very
popular in the indie music industry i.e Ed Sheeran is represented like this to. A sentimental
representation makes the artist seem more approachable and homey. The representation of
my music artist also effectively combines well with my music video as the artist is wearing
high street clothes making him seem like a real person rather than a rich celebrity. The deep
red orange colour of the guitar also signifies warmth. In the music video it self, the artist
seems to have a warm personality as he is singing about a girl whilst walking in the forest,
showing that he has some emotional depth to him. Overall, my magazine advertisement and
music video combine to make my music artist seem very relatable and down to earth.
Representation of the artist
Artist
looking
thoughtful
in the
forest
Guitar
Music sheets
Mug of coffee

12. The music video itself touches upon a few different themes, however some are
illuminated through the ancillary products also, which effectively combines all the
products. The imagery of leaves on the CD and on the front panel of the digipak
suggests a theme of nature. Nature is a theme that represents growth and time. In
our music video , the protagonist is going through a time in her life where she is
homeless. We represent this time through a series of jump cuts of her looking for
rubbish and looking for somewhere to stay. This links back to nature as this is her
personal experience like a flower experiences growth. The visual use of nature is
also shown through the mise-en-scene throughout the whole music video.
Themes
Leaves on the digipak
CD and front panel
Jump cuts of protagonist looking for somewhere to rest

13. My digipak also has an image of a desolate location where there is no
physical people in shot. This makes the image look isolated which is
another theme in my music video. The protagonist is facing loneliness
and isolation in society. An example of a shot that shows this is when
she is walking through the forest and a long shot shows no one else in
site, the framing also makes her appear smaller as there is lots of
space around her to further show how she is alone. Therefore these
two products work well together as they further show isolation
through scenery on the digipak and the scenery in the music video.
Themes
Desolate scenery on digipak
Protagonist looking alone-
Long shot
Desolate scenery in
music video

14. Overall, the final presentation
of all three of my products all
looked the same which shows
how they were effectively
combined to represent my
artist and the indie genre.
They all link together in terms
of the autumnal colour palette
, Naveed wearing the same
outfit, the same out door
location and the motif of the
leaves, therefore they all
brand together effectively.