Evaluation: Question 2

How effective is the combination of your
main product and ancillary texts?

This section of my evaluation will focus of the effectiveness of my ancillary
texts and how well they link to my main product, which is my music video. I
will discuss not only the process of creation from choosing the genre, but
also how they show a strong sense of continuity to my products.
Furthermore, I will explain how the audience feedback and research I’ve
collected over the process has helped me develop them. At the end, I will
give a value judgement on how effective the combination of my main
product and ancillary texts are.

After I had chosen both my genre and target audience back in October and I was beginning to plan for my main product, I
began researching various ancillary texts from my chosen genre of country. Firstly, I looked into the conventions that made
up a digipak, by analysing Taylor Swift's self-titled debut album. I discussed the conventions used in the front and back cover
and the disc itself. I felt this research would benefit me later on in the process when I began creating my ancillary texts. The
conventions I picked up on included the use of the artist’s logo or distinctive presentation of their name, that are present on
the front, back and on the disc. I stressed that its important that the artist has a unique way of presenting their name as this
makes it easier for the audience to distinguish it, it also validates it as official merchandise from the artist. For example,
Taylor Swift’s signature is present on almost all of her memorabilia.
The next convention I picked up on is the use of images that reflect the album's genre. In this case, Taylor Swift is of the
country genre, so it was important that the images showed this. They have in the sense that it is heavily associated with
nature and Swift is wearing a white dress, these conventions are stereotypical of a country album which presents it as a
country album to the audience.
Another convention I picked up on is the consistency, so both covers and the disc have to be in sync with each other. This
way, if the target audience saw one of the covers or the disc, they’d immediately recognise it. Taylor Swift has maintained
consistency through the colours (light blue), the fonts and the logos, which include the artist's and the record label's. One
final convention I picked up on which is small but important is the bar code on the back cover. This is used for scanning
when someone buys the album, each bar code is different for every product, and it is used as another way to distinguish
albums. Today, there are programmes and applications that can scan the barcodes to help you recognise the product.
I took all of these conventions into advance later on while creating my ancillary texts, I will talk about this later in a separate
slide.

Next, I looked into the conventions that made up a poster advertisement for an artist’s album. I did this by
analysing posters advertising various country artists. I found that the country genre as a whole uses a wide variety
of designs and the only similarity is that the poster design is often based around the design of the album cover.
Often the designs are extremely bright and focal which is done to attract the attention of their target audience,
this is effective. They also featured the common conventions for adverts/posters which is the artist's logo/name, a
picture (or two) of them, the album (or tour) name and a small picture of the album cover in the corner. Looking
at this existing work gave me inspiration for my own ancillary texts, displaying the ideal style and design for the
genre. I also discovered the conventional form of texts, i.e. the type of information that would appear on a poster
and what is more likely to be eye catching, making a reader take interest in the artist. I think a still shot for the
poster of the artist works effectively as well as placing the album artwork larger on a poster. I also think it's
appropriate use the artist's signature colour scheme for that album, i.e. Taylor Swift's RED album emphasises the
use of the colour red while the rest of the poster contains minimal colour (sepia or black and white), this shows
recognition to the fans and audience. Referencing the store that the album is available at is also key convention.
I took all of these conventions into advance later on while creating my ancillary texts, I will talk about this later in a
separate slide.

As I deem the front cover of an album the most important aspect of digipak, especially due to the
influence it has on the rest of the album’s promotion, I decided to delve further into the album covers of
my music genre, country. I embarked on some research into existing album covers for country music, in
order to learn the conventions and to give me some ideas for when I will be creating my own in the
future. In a Prezi, I analysed five country album covers in detail, discussing inspiration, conventions,
stereotypes and theories that relate to them. Some of thee album covers really influenced some of my
decisions while creating my digipak, I will discuss this on a later slide.
Follow the link to the Prezi: http://prezi.com/8v6vm_l4imau/ancillary-text-ideas/

To create my digipak, I first took plenty of images of my main character that featured in my
music video (to ensure continuity) and uploaded them onto my computer to view them. I
made sure I took images in all three of my filming sessions to ensure I had pictures of every
location like the graveyard, the woods, the field etc so I had a lot to choose from. After sorting
through the images, I began editing the images using Adobe Photoshop CS5 to ensure they
looked vibrant. The first draft of the album cover for my digipak was the most time-consuming
out of this process. I had a vision to create an album cover that featured an extreme close up
of the artist with some flames surrounding her, relating to the title of the album. The first thing
is was find a clear close up shot of my actress, the one I used was from the first filming session.
I used the magic wand tool in Photoshop to cut out the background and then I saved this
image for use later. Next, I found an image from the second filming session of my actress
standing in the graveyard surrounded by trees and using the overlay tool, I overlaid an image
of some flames on top of the image, which created the impression that the location in the
image were on fire. I reopened the close up image and copied it on top of the edited image of
the flame engulfed setting, making sure I covered up the part of the image that featured the
body of my actress. Finally, I adjusted the brightness and contrast to make both layers blend in
together. As for the text, I decided that I wanted to have the title of the album to be engulfed
in flames also. I created the fiery text from following a tutorial on the internet, and I was very
happy with the result. I used a simple yet unique font to display the artist’s name and I
inserted the fiery album title right next to it.

The other images that made up the first draft of my digipak didn’t take up as much time as the front cover did. I decided
that because the cover was very focal and bright, the rest of the digipak should be simple to balance it out perfectly. As for
the back cover, I wanted to use a silouhette shot of my actress as this linked to some scenes in the music video and it was
simple yet effective. I adjusted the brightness and saturation on Photoshop to make it brighter and stand out more. I also
placed a barcode, some websites and my artist’s record label (Big Machine Records). These are key conventions for the back
cover of an album so I deemed it important to be added. The last thing I did was add the song list in a simple black text that
followed the continuity from the front cover but was also easy to read. The back and inside left parts of the digipak also
didn’t need much editing. To enhance them to suit my genre of country and possess a dark and mysterious theme, I used
the overlay tool on Photoshop to put a picture of some clouds on top. I decreased the opacity of the image to make it look
like it was fog. For the inside one in particular I darkened
the overlay so it looked like dark smoke. For the inside left
and right, I used a picture of a picturesque field and
overlaid an image of some flames on top. I decreased the
opacity and it gave the impression that the field was on fire
which captured the essence of my theme, the destruction
of nature.

After receiving some feedback from my teachers and peers on the first draft of my
digipak, I decided to apply these suggestions in order to improve my product. The
first suggestion was to completely change the concept of my front cover of the
digipak. I picked up on this earlier when I completed the first draft. I noted that I
felt it looked out of place and wasn't conventional to my genre of country music, it
reminded me much more of a rock or heavy metal album cover. While looking at
some more country album covers, I was unable to find one that I could take
inspiration from and duplicate, so I decided to extend my research into the folk
genre. One front cover I really felt was effective and conventional to the folk genre
was Gabrielle Aplin's English Rain. I felt it was simple, yet complex in its attention
to detail. I decided to take inspiration from this album cover and duplicate it the
best I can. I used an image I took from my third filming session to do this, I altered
the brightness making it very vintage and old fashioned looking and applied the text (album name and artist's name)
in the same style as English Rain. I am very happy with this finished front cover as I feel it says a lot in a simple way.

As for the back cover, my feedback indicated that it didn't need much alteration at all. The only critique that I picked out is that
the first couple of song titles in the track list are difficult to see. To improve this, I quickly increased the brightness and
saturation, making the text more visible as well as making the cover more vibrant and colourful. My feedback indicated that
the back left and inside left covers did not require any alteration as they're conventional to my genre and they compliment the
digipak in its entirety. So I've left them as they were before. As for the inside centre of the digipak, my feedback concluded that
along with the front cover, it looked very unconventional and was reminiscent of a rock or heavy metal album. After hearing
this feedback I decided to replace the burning field with an image I took at the church in my third filming session. In my video,
the church section in the bridge is the most vital component in my opinion. So I feel it important to include an image from this
scene. I touched up the image a little to make it look more vibrant and supernatural, and I split it in half so it would fit in the
two disc sections in my digipak. I also put the artist’s name, the album name, the record label name and a code on the spine of
the digipak to finish it off

Relating back to my original research into digipak/album covers, I will now compare my completed digipak
to a real one in the music industry. This way I’ll be able to see what conventions I took into consideration
while creating my digipak. By doing this, I will be able to make a final judgement regarding my digipak’s
conventionality.
The first convention I carried over from my research was the use of the artist’s logo or distinctive
presentation of their name. I deemed this important as it makes it easier for the audience to distinguish,
and it also validates it as official merchandise from the artist. The next convention I carried over was the
use of images that reflect the album's genre. I was inspired by Taylor Swift’s album as she wears a white
dress and it reflects the genre of country perfectly, I did the same to ensure that my digipak fitted the
stereotypes of the genre. Another convention I carried over was the use of consistency throughout the
entire digipak. I did this by using a similar colour scheme
throughout as well as similar fonts. This way the audience
know immediately that they are all part of the same
album. The final conventions I carried over from the back
cover was the use of a barcode, the record label logo and
some websites. From discussing the conventions I have
used in my digipak, I have come to the conclusion that it is
conventional. I have followed the basic
and complex conventions used in a
digipak thoroughly, which make it fit
into the music industry perfectly. It
also matches the conventions of my
music video and gives my entire
campaign continuity.

To create my poster, I first took plenty of images of my main character that featured in my music video (to
ensure continuity) and uploaded them onto my computer to view them. I made sure I took images in all
three of my filming sessions to ensure I had pictures of every location like the graveyard, the woods, the
field etc so I had a lot to choose from. After sorting through the images, I began editing the images using
Adobe Photoshop CS5 to ensure they looked vibrant and adding text. For the main image, I decided to use
a picture I took in my third filming session in the South Cave Graveyard, with the trees framing the image I
felt it would look conventional to my genre. The first thing I did was add a 3D image of my current album
cover for my digipak (first draft). I also used the same ‘Girl On Fire’ fiery text that I had used in my digipak,
and I added that respectively. The last things I did was use the text tool to add a few bits of important text,
such as ‘the new album’, the artist’s name and ‘available in stores and on Itunes now.’ I made this text
white and then added a stroke tool which but a black border around the text to make it easier to read.
Finally, I adjusted the lighting and saturation to make the image more vibrant. After completing this draft, I
received feedback from my teachers on how I could improve it even more.

After receiving feedback for the first draft of my magazine poster, I realised that it
looked too busy and the text was out of place. So I decided to start from scratch and
create a very simplistic poster that used the same image as the front cover of my
artist's album (2nd draft). I was inspired by a poster I found online of Gabrielle Aplin's
English Rain. I also decided to add some reviews of the album (the five stars) from
various music magazines as this demonstrates convergence and synergy within the
industry. I did this by finding a picture of a five star rating, using the magic wand tool
delete the background and inserting it into the poster. Another thing I did was add
some images of the amazon.com and Itunes logos. This way my audience will be able
to recognise these logos and know instantly where to purchase the album. Finally, I added some text using the
text tool to distinguish the album’s release date and what formats it will be available in (CD, vinyl etc). While I
am pleased with this, I noticed later on that it more resembles a flyer than a poster. So while it is suitable as a
flyer design, it does not match the conventions of a promotion poster. I will take these changes to heart and
create another poster design.

After receiving feedback from my teacher on the second draft of my poster, I was told it more resembled a flyer
than a poster. So while it is suitable as a flyer design, it does not match the conventions of a promotion poster. I
decided to start from scratch yet again and make a new poster. This time I used a similar image as the back cover
of my digipak, with the silhouhette of my artist. This stage of my poster design took the better half of a day as I
found it difficult to get the text to match the image. It went through three separate stages before I completed it. In
order to make this poster as good as it could be, I combined ideas from both my first and second draft. I followed a
similar design and layout as the first draft with the use of the same text and fonts. But I also took some ideas from
my second draft with the use of the amazon and ITunes logo, and the album cover from my digipak. After
completing this design (below), I showed it to my teacher and she felt that the image should be the focal point of
the poster. So she suggested I put all of the text into a box at the bottom so the poster is less cluttered and easier
to read. I followed her advice by using the box tool to add a box, I filled it in so it was completely black and then
adjusted the opacity so it was more translucent. I also made the fonts much more simple and similar to those of
my digipak, to ensure there was continuity. I completed it by placing all of the text in the box and adjusting the
lighting so it was easier to read. After showing this to my peers and teachers they were very pleased with it and
stated it would fit in perfectly to a music magazine.

Relating back to my original research into album posters, I will now compare my completed poster to a real
one in the music industry. This way I’ll be able to see what conventions I took into consideration while
creating my poster. By doing this, I will be able to make a final judgement regarding my poster’s
conventionality.
The first convention I carried over from my research was continuity between the poster and digipak. To
ensure this, I used one of the images that was featured in my digipak. I also featured the common
conventions for album posters which is the artist's logo/name, the album name, the date the album is
released and a small picture of the album cover in the corner. Another convention I carried over was the type
of information that would appear on a poster and what is more likely to be eye catching, making a reader
take interest in the artist. For example, using a still shot of the artist as well as placing the album artwork on
the poster is conventional. Another
convention I carried over was the
continuity in the colour scheme to the
digipak (red, yellow and brown tones). I
felt using the artist’s signature colour
would show recognition to the fans and
audience. The last convention I carried
over was the reference of where the
album is available i.e. ITunes and Amazon.
From discussing the conventions I have
used in my poster, I have come to the
conclusion that it is conventional and will
fit perfectly into the music industry.

After I had completed both my ancillary texts and music video, I received some feedback from my audience
through a number of questionnaires. The general feedback towards my ancillary texts from the questionnaire
was positive, with all of them agreeing that my digipak and poster fitted in well with my music video (see pie
chart). Although I did receive some feedback for improvements in both my questionnaire and set of interviews.
To improve my digipak, from the audience feedback I have learned that I could possibly improve my choice of
images - particularly on my digipak - as one comment from the feedback was that I had two many medium close
up images of the artist in my digipak and I should’ve taken a picture from a different angle. This could be
something I could reconsider to improve my digipak so that it is able to connect with my target audience more
effectively. I received only one short comment on my poster that regarded the font. My interviewee felt like the
font didn’t reflect the genre of country well enough and it looked unconventional. This is something I am
tempted to change as I deem correct conventions very important for my texts. Additionally, I feel I could have
also included more web addresses or social network connections on my advert that my target audience are
aware of (such as Facebook and Twitter) as this would have given my artist and new album more publicity by
establishing connections with different forms of media. However, I was conscious of over-crowding my advert, as
I thought it looking simple and clean was effective in making it stand out to the audience and easy to read. I
thought if too many images or text were present, it may look cluttered and not fulfil its purpose in advertising the
artist's new album effectively. Another general comment that was made in the questionnaires was that I should
have incorporated fire into the ancillary texts more, especially as its such a big motif in the video.
See Question 3 of my evaluation for more
information on the audience feedback I
collected.

In these images below I have inserted my main ancillary texts into various media products in order to demonstrate their
appropriateness and appeal. These include the IPhone and IPad, Spotify, ITunes and the official charts company website. I have
purposely inserted my artist into the country album charts instead of the main album chart, I have done this to demonstrate
that country music isn't very mainstream in the UK and it usually doesn't make the top five in the main chart. But usually,
singles from the album are very successful in the singles chart which then prompt the album to enter the main album chart. I
have also inserted my promotion poster into Q magazine, to get a feel of how it would appear.

From my thorough and detailed research, design process and audience feedback. I can
safely say that the combination of my main product and ancillary texts are effective.
From doing research into texts of my genre, country, I have been able to recognise these
conventions and apply them to my own work. I’ve also followed the same theme as my
music video while doing this, and my audience feedback shows that my target audience
consider the combination of my music video and ancillary texts effective. With this
statement made, I don’t intend to make any more adjustments in order to improve them
as they aren’t needed.

Evaluation: Question 2

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Evaluation: Question 2