The document discusses the effectiveness of linking a music video to ancillary texts like a magazine advertisement and digipak. It emphasizes using consistent branding across all products through shared elements like colors, fonts, logos and imagery to clearly connect them. Research of conventions for each genre and product informed the creative choices. Feedback confirmed the clear links between the products and that they fit the target genre of pop-rock.

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

2. Digipak Magazine Advert

3. Music Video

4. Whilst producing by media products I had a vision to create a consistent house
style throughout my three products. In order to make my music video and ancillary
successful it is important that there is a link between them; the audience will
have to quickly recognise the link between the tree texts. One of the main
obvious link is the title of the music video and the logo- these two features are
the main links between the two media mediums. I used the same colours and fonts
on both of the music video and the ancillary tasks; moreover the same colours are
used in all the three texts as I kept the colour scheme throughout as it is
important to stick to the same house style for the products to be professional
and successful. For example, in the music video the use of colourful graffiti and
the colourful design wall where the lead singer was lip syncing. Also, the fact
that I’ve used a black and white silhouette effect on the image of the band on
both the digipak and magazine advert links to the fact that there are many black
and white scenes in the actual music video, which I thought is important to
include and also it expanded on my creative skills. Moreover, inside the digipak
I used the same image of the band, however without any editing as it has natural
lighting which links to the pop-rock genre of using minimal artificial lighting
and also in my music video it was mostly natural lighting which also shows a link
between them.

5. All the decisions that I’ve made whilst creating my
three products were conventions that I’ve seen in real
media texts that I found in the research and planning
phase as it is important for the audience/public
recognise and make an instant connection between them.
Also, it was important that the products fall under the
pop-rock genre by conforming to the conventions that
I’ve researched. In terms of the digipak and the
magazine advert they are both share similar qualities
however, as they are two different texts extra features
such as the release date and the release date which are
usually found on the magazine advert; which I conformed
to. Another main element that I needed to consider was
ensuring that my products appeal to the young adults
(16-25) target audience; on my ancillary texts I used
an image of the band members which were all 18 years
old which is obvious it is aimed at young adults and
for the main product they were the band members which
also fits in with my target audience. So, another
obvious link in my products in the use of actors and so
the audience will straight away know that the products
are linked.

6. It is important that there are links between all
three products, due to the importance of
promotion for the products. In the media
industry, promotion is one of the most vital
aspects that should be considered. Given the fact
that the magazine advertisement, its purpose to
sell the products to customers the use of release
date is very significant. The first thing that
the audience will see is the advertisement as the
digipak and music video are not released yet so
it is important that the music video and digipak
link with it so when it is released they will
instantly recognise it and especially with the
digipak as they same image, font, and logo are
used. In addition, the fact that it’s a new band
it is important to keep the main features the
same to make them more recognisable from a
distance, and I also used a larger font size for
the text on the magazine advertisement so they
can read it and make it more attractive. From my
research the artist/band logo is always at the
top of the page is also to promote it more than
any other feature on the advertisement.

7. Conventions of Pop-rock magazine
advertisement
Conducting research into pop-rock
magazine advertisements gave me
an insight of what should be
included on a pop rock magazine
advert and other genres to help
me expand my creativity while
creating my product. The
conventions that I’ve used for my
magazine advert are the one
circled in red; moreover I tried
to use as many conventions as I
can to make it professional and
fit into the pop-rock genre. The
only convention that I didn’t
manage to use was the ‘lyrics
from the main song’; however this
is not a common convention on
magazine adverts so it was fine
to leave out and not include on
my product. Furthermore, the fact
that there is a link between
magazine and advertisements as it
is a common convention of both
the magazine advert and digipak.

9. Conventions of Pop-rock for digipaks
Moreover, I conducted similar
research for digipaks and
what should be included. I’ve
found that there are a lot of
links between digipaks and
magazine advertisements; so
in my own work I aimed to
show these links as it was
important. The conventions in
the red circle are the ones
that I have used on my
digipak which are the main
ones so it was vital to
include in my work.

10. I managed to use all the conventions for digipaks which is
very important as it makes it professional and fits into
the pop-rock genre.

12. Genre- Pop-rock
From my post-production questionnaire results for the question about
what features that I have included in my products represent the pop-
rock genre and the question allowed the respondents to choose more than
one option. 100% of the respondents said that it was the use of bright
colours, 5/10 said it is because of the font used, 5/10 said it was
because of the layout and finally 8/10 respondents said that it was due
to the way the image is manipulated. This question is very important as
I wanted to maximise the reasons to why my digipak and magazine advert
fits into the pop-rock genre as I wanted to follow the codes and
conventions of the genre. Overall, I am happy with the responses as it
shows that way I conducted my digipak and magazine advert is very
successful and fits into my chosen genre. The font that I used
throughout was ‘Impact’ as it appealed the most to my target audience
which were from 16-25 years old , because they don’t really like dull
fonts as they prefer fun bold fonts. Furthermore, in terms of the logo
that I have used for the logo is also simple and in black to make it
fit into the pop-rock genre because from my research into pop-rock
bands they mostly have them in black and simple bold font. For my music
video, I aimed to use natural lighting the most because it is a common
convention of pop-rock music videos; it also shows how the band are in
real life as most pop-rock bands are fun and humble so I tried my best
showing that in the content of my music video.

13. Links between ancillary tasks- magazine
advertisement and digipak
From audience feedback on the post-production questionnaire based on the magazine
and digipak outcome. I asked an open question on the what the links are between the
digipak and the magazine advertisement, so I get more open responses and what their
opinions are. One of the main aims was to make sure that audience will instantly
make a clear link between the digipak and magazine advertisement as it is a main
convention to use similar features on these products.
100% of the respondents said that there is a link between the magazine
advertisement and the digipak.
- Most said that the colour scheme
- The way the image is manipulated
- The fonts/typography used (logo and song name)
From these results it shows that there is a clear link between my two products and
that it conforms to the conventions to making links between the two products as it
makes it easier for the audience to notice my products from far away. Also, it
creates an element of consistency which demonstrates professionalism in my work.
Furthermore, there is a visual link between both the digipak and magazine advert
which was important as from my research most digipaks and magazine advertisement
are very similar.

14. Links between ancillary and music video
I asked the same question again but it was based on what the links are
between the music video and the ancillary. From the post-production
questionnaire results, all the respondents said that there is a link
between them and the most prominent answers were:
- Use of actors (same band members)
- Location – especially the graffiti ( used on the back of the digipak)
- Colours
- Typography
- Artist logo
Overall, this shows that there is a clear link between the two products as
I aimed and especially by using the same colour scheme and typography
throughout my work which shows consistency which creates a journey in my
production. Moreover, the fact that I’ve used the same logo throughout is
one of the biggest links because it represents my band and it is the key
element to keep the same in all of the work. Also, both the main product
and ancillary fit into the pop-rock genre and this is reflected by the use
of colours and the use of natural lighting. Furthermore, the use of the
same actors in all three products shows the main link and makes the
audience that they belong to the main product (music video).

15. Use of actors and location
The use of actors and location shows the main link between my ancillary and music
video, especially because I used an image of the band members on the front cover
of my digipak and magazine advertisement which shows that they are the band
members that were in the music video. Also, in terms of location is that on the
back of the digipak and inside on the CD panel I’ve taken pictures of the graffiti
where the music video was shot which appeals to the younger audiences. Linking
back to the theory of ‘fun’ and ‘trouble’ by Dick Hebdige is that graffiti appeals
‘fun’ to young people whereas ‘trouble’ to the older generations. Also within my
music video this idea is revealed and the fact that I’ve used a silhouette effect
on the front of my digipak and magazine advertisement is to show that in the music
video it reflects how young people are viewed in the media and how most young
people are actually trying to escape from these stereotypes. It also suggests that
there maybe some sort of enigma code in the actual music video that needs to be
revealed, in this case the image is revealed when the digipak is bought and also
due to the fact that throughout the music video there is a sense of mystery
especially in the objectification scenes which were in black and white which will
make them question themselves why she’s locked up and if the two characters will
be together and they would want this question to be answered by the end of the
music video. In the music video and digipak there is a symbolic code due to the
use of costume and props as they are wearing hoodies and drinking alcohol which is
typical of young people which suggests that the two products are linked due to the
symbolic code that is used in the products. Moreover, the young people are trying
to reflect the negative stereotypes of young people which is created by the mass
media and to refer to the exaggerated social reactions caused by the activities of
young people. This point links to the fact that both digipak and magazine
advertisement doesn’t show the band faces due to the silhouette effect used which
suggests that they are undercover and you don’t know what to expect from them,
which is why the enigma code is used; however in the music video there is some
sort of countertype of these expectations.

16. Conclusion
To conclude, the combination of my music video and ancillary
tasks (magazine advert and digipak) was effective and successful
as I managed to use most conventions and aimed to make the most
links as possible especially because they are both different
media products. From my post-production questionnaire it shows
that there has been a link and shows that my products were
successful overall. I think that my product would fit into the
pop-rock genre as I used a combination of the conventions
throughout, which makes my product effective and also fits into
my target audience. It was important that my audience noticed
the links between my products, due to the fact that from most of
the research I conducted there is always a link between them for
it to increase the selling as it makes it more important and
shows the professionalism. For example, the reason why the logo
and song title was the same for all three products is inform
them that they are all linked together by the use of the same
fonts and colours which was vital to keep the same throughout.
Furthermore, another reason why I think that my products were
successful was due to the fact that I kept the same house style
which shows continuity in my work and it is a factor that most
professional designers aim to have.