This document provides an evaluation of a music video, album cover, and promotional materials for a fictitious band. The music video represents different social classes through three girls ages 17-19 dressed in warm outdoor clothes. It aims to convey the message that stereotyping teenagers leads to lower class behavior and things need to change. The album cover features the same photo layered three times, with font representing the house music genre. Originally a more pop-oriented cover was considered but changed to better suit the genre. The promotional materials follow conventions like ratings, release date, and ways to purchase the music prominently displayed, along with fake band information. Feedback was that using black and white captured attention while conveying the

1. EVALUATION
How effective is the combination of your main product
and ancillary texts?
I am using three girls in my video
ages from 17-19. However, I am not using
the male gaze theory; they are all dressed
up in warm clothes as the video takes place
outside. The props they use aren’t
feminine either. This video represents
social classes more than the male gaze. To
show high class one of the girls will be at a
horse riding school, whereas, the working
class girl will be walking around the
streets at night looking like a stereotypical
chav with big gold hoops and hair scraped
back. This is to make it clear to the
audience of their social classes. In most
house videos you do see the character out
walking about.
There is a relationship between the lyrics
and the meaning of the music video. “Turn
it around”. This is what the meaning of the
video means. People need to stop treating
teenagers like they are from a lower class
and cause trouble because they will end up
behaving like that. Most stereotypes act
how they are presented in the public
therefore, this stereotype on teenagers
needs to change, “I know we can turn this
around”.
In my music video you have an insight
into their lives for a few minutes and the
camera are follng them around. This does
happen in music videos so the audience
know what is happening and they can feel
like they are a part of it.
House music videos don’t tend to use
black and white as it connotes sadness.
However, it was appropriate for my music
video to convey the narrative. From
audience feedback it also makes the video
more captivating as the colours change,
keeping my audience interested in the
footage.
I have stuck to the main conventions of a
house digipak as I have used vibrant
colours and have a theme throughout my
digipak, which is the convention of almost
all digipak’s.
January 2014 Question Two Media A2 Coursework

2. House digipak cover usually consists of an
abstract front cover, although my front
cover is not abstract, it is still unusual as I
have layered the same photo three times.
The font type for, ‘Sub Focus’, is very
genre related and represents the house
genre quite well. However, the font at the
bottom of the CD cover is more pop genre
specific. Sub Focus do have a hint of pop
sound in their music so I thought it would
still be appropriate to use on the CD cover.
I was originally going to use the cover to
the below; however, I thought this was too
pop genre orientated.
This is going against the conventions as it
is not the exact same photo to the album
cover. However, I liked this advert as I
thought that it wasn’t giving everything
away, suggesting that there is more to
come as you can only see a snippet of
colour, although, it is too focused on the
girl in the middle which was not
intentional. If I was to do it again, I would
have them all looking forward instead of
into the centre. This causes the eye to
focus on the girl in the middle, who also I
the only one with brown hair. For that
reason exactly I decide to put her in the
middle instead of singling someone out
because I didn’t want anyone to get
offended, this was the most sensible option
at the time.
I feel that this is also more artistic which is
mainly the photos used in house music
adverts and digipak’s.
The layout, however, is very conventional
to an album advert. The image is usually at
the top with ratings below and the release
date in big bold font below the picture,
again, usually in the centre. I have also put
social networking sites and paces where
you can by the music from on the age and
this is conventionally on an album advert.
I have also used a fake website to the
information about the band as this is
always on an advert.
By Jessica Goldsmith