The document discusses researching existing album covers and magazine advertisements for inspiration in creating ancillary texts for a music video. It summarizes several album covers and ads, noting styles like simple designs, muted colors, artistic photos not including the artist. It also discusses the styles of Pinocchio and Wes Anderson works as potential influences for the ancillary texts.

2. First, I need to research existing album covers so that I can get some inspiration…
I decided to look at Noah and the Whale’s (the artist of our chosen song) albums, so that I
could incorporate their style into the ancillary texts for my music video.

3. Looks like an
article or a
newspaper advert
The style is
very ‘vintage’ The font is
striking yet
simple
The colour
scheme is
simple, and
the photo
has a faded,
exposed
effect
The photo is
blended
into a city
landscape
The outfits
are classic
and quirky
The credits are
placed on the
frontThe structure
is simple and
organised

4. The photo takes
up the whole
cover
The style is quirky
and simple
The name is small
and simple to
attract attention to
the photo
The photo is
bright and
has a
blurred
background
The photo is
simple and
not too
staged
The theme
seems to be
adventure and
exploration
There are no
additional
credits on the
coverThe outfits are
simple and lightly
coloured

5. The photo has
been acted out
The cover looks
like a movie advert
The name of the
band is large and
attention-grabbing
The photo
doesn’t
involve the
band
The colour
scheme is
bright but
still
understated
The people
seem to be
part of a bigger
story
The credits are
placed on the
cover, with the
name of the
album at the
bottom
The outfits are all
the same,
indicating a theme

6. It’s clear that Noah and the Whale prefer to have an ‘artsy’ array of album covers that
directly relate to their names in some way. Photos are used in all three, but one doesn’t
include the band, and the others are either staged or seemingly ‘random’ shots.
I have some pictures that I chose as stills from the music video that I want to use for the
ancillary texts, and all of them involve Owen acting for the video. Therefore, they don’t
involve any particular pose and so are relevant to the song.
I think I will incorporate Noah and the Whale’s artistic elements, such as their bright yet
understated colour schemes, and the way that they make their album covers look more
like movie posters than conventional albums.
They do this in two of the covers by putting credits on the front of the album and making
the structure simple and organised, with the title standing out and the picture being
interesting and edited so that it looks exposed and ‘vintage’.
If we decide that we don’t like the photos of Owen from the day of filming, we can
arrange a photo-shoot in the green room at college and take some where he poses
intentionally like the first album cover.
I will look at other album covers from the same genre of music (indie folk) in order to gain
a deeper understanding of the typical album covers and the themes that artists such as
Bon Iver and John Mayer use.

7. Indie folk album covers

8. The border has
been created
from the image
The photo takes up
the whole cover
The name is
placed at the top
in simple white
font
The photo
involves the
artist posing
The colours
are soft and
understated
The dog and
the artist seem
to be part of a
scene
There are no
additional
credits on the
frontThe style is very
faded and classic

9. There is a white
border that
surrounds the
image
The cover is a
drawing of a setting
The name is not
on the front, only
the image
The drawing
takes up the
whole cover
The colours
are bright
yet soft and
interesting
The artist is not
even hinted at
on the cover
The drawing is
the main focus
of the actual
albumThe album is more
about the music
than the artist

10. The entire cover is
very simple yet
interesting
The photo takes up
the whole cover
The name is
placed at the top
and is in an
interesting font
The artist is
not on the
cover
The colours
are
understated
and calming
The mountains in
the picture quite
clearly relate to
the name
There are no
additional
credits on the
frontThe style is artistic
and interesting

11. The three indie folk album covers that I chose to look at were:
• John Mayer – Paradise Valley
• Bon Iver – Holocene
• Tired Pony – The Ghost of the Mountain
I chose them because they are similar in style of music to Noah and the Whale, yet
they are all different in their own ways. All of the covers were very simple, with a
photo taking up the majority of the space.
I think they did this because they are all indie artists, and so are in it for the music and
not the money. This allows them to stretch further in the artistic side of their music
and make their albums a work of art rather than a piece of merchandise.
Only one of the cover actually involved the artist, and even then, it was a long camera
shot and so the background took up most of the image. The other two covers also
included interesting landscapes, but one was a bright drawing.
Although I really like the idea of using an artistic image as the magazine cover, I think I
will stick to using the conventional idea of an image of the artist. This is because I want
to go against the conventions of indie folk album covers and see how it will work out.

12. Magazine adverts

13. The structure of
the advert is very
organised
The photo takes up
the whole advert
The name is
placed at the top
and the album
details are at the
bottom
The artist is
posing in
costume
The colours
aren't too
bright but the
advert is still
interesting
The album cover
is used as the
image
The release
date and
album details
are at the
bottom
The style is quirky
and interesting

14. The colour
scheme is
consistent and
calming
The image takes up
the whole advert
The name is put
right next to the
name of the album
The name of
the album is
the biggest
font on the
page
The artwork
is faded and
interesting
The picture is the
same one used on
the album cover
There are a
few album
details at the
bottomThe text is
understated and
minimalist

15. The advert is very
much like a movie
poster
The photo takes up
the whole advert
The name of the
album is put in a
contrasting font to
the name of the
band
The name of
the album is
the first
thing you
see
The colour
scheme
isn't
overbearing
The image from
the album is
expanded to
make an A4 image
There are
additional
credits like
reviewsThe style is simple
and attracts
attention

16. The three magazine adverts that I chose to look at were:
• Florence + the Machine – Lungs
• Biffy Clyro – Mountains
• Noah and the Whale – The First Days of Spring
Again, these three bands are indie artists, and one of the adverts involves the artist of my
chosen song. All three were very simplistic, and this reinforces the idea that indie bands and
artists are more concerned about their music than flamboyant advertising and over the top
images.
The adverts all have these things in common:
• Interesting or simple image
• Credits around the image
• Details of the album e.g. release date and reviews
• Understated yet interesting colour scheme
• Similar to a movie poster
I like the idea of a simple magazine advert, and my favourite out of all of the adverts was the
Florence + the Machine one. This is because it involved a medium close up of the artist with
props that related to the name of the album and a quirky style.
I think that if I was to make an advert involving Owen, it would look most like Florence + the
machine’s advert because I want to include a picture of Owen and the puppet. I would also
include reviews and details of the album, such as release date and different formats.

17. Pinocchio

18. As I was inspired by the story of Pinocchio, I thought it might be good to include some
aspects in my ancillary texts. I like the classic style of the art in the film, and the puppet
we are using definitely reflects this style.
The colour scheme of the film Pinocchio mostly involves primary colours, and the colours
themselves are very bright. Although the album covers and magazine adverts I looked at
all had muted, understated colours, it would be a good idea to play around with
brightness and exposure levels on my own ancillary texts to see what works the best.
The puppet will definitely by featured in the ancillary texts in some way, but I will have to
see if the pictures from filming will work well or if new pictures will need to be taken.
These would be done in the green room against a plain background, so that editing is
easier.
I would also use studio lighting and the picture would obviously not be illustrated like the
film, but I could include some drawings or illustrated aspects in the ancillary texts. I will
try and keep the mood happy and light, like the film, rather than make the colour
scheme too muted or unreflective of the message of the video.
I look forward to seeing how I can adapt the art of Pinocchio into my ancillary texts.

19. Wes Anderson

20. When looking at Noah and the Whale’s magazine advertisement for The First Days of
Spring, the art of Wes Anderson came to mind. The style of the advert was very similar to
the structure of Anderson’s poster for Moonrise Kingdom.
This made me think about incorporating some of the famous director’s ideas into my
ancillary texts, as his style is very unique and the quirkiness of his work is his trademark.
The colour schemes of his different films are very significant because they tend to be
consistent throughout the film.
If I was to apply this to my music video, I would have to choose a colour scheme based
around a certain emotion, place or person, and I would have to keep these colours at the
forefront of every scene in the video.
As this is difficult to do on film, I could apply it to my ancillary texts instead. The images
could involved solid colours that all compliment each other and make the onlooker feel
something specific. This could sway the audiences in the advert’s favour, and I could test
different responses by doing a survey or Q&A.
I think that incorporating Wes Anderson’s style into my ancillary texts could be very
effective in drawing in audiences of all ages and music tastes.