1) The author created ancillary tasks like a digipak and promotional poster for a fictional band to explore the codes and conventions of the rock/indie/alternative/folk genre hybrid. 2) In their main media product and ancillary tasks, the author represented this genre hybrid through techniques like oxymoronic lighting, close-ups to convey emotion, abstract color distortion, and conceptual narrative journeys. 3) By researching and analyzing other media texts in similar genres, the author was able to effectively apply genre conventions like lighting, costume, setting, and facial expressions to their own ancillary tasks and main product.

1. Joshua Millington
How effective is the combination of your main product and
ancillary texts?
In my ancillaries I explored, in detail the codes and conventions of the specific
hybrid-genre Rock/Indie/Alternative/Folk. The ideology of this is to establish
greater understanding and knowledge in terms of planning, researching and
constructing this media text. My
ancillaries set the foundations of how to
represent the codes and conventions of
genre.
My ancillary tasks were to create a
digipak and a promotional poster for a
make-believe band. So whilst planning this I
focused on genre, and I chose to
compose a folk/rock (such as Frank Turner, Fleet Foxes and Mumford & Sons)
look with a hint of classic indie (such as The Pixies, Sonic Youth, My Bloody
Vaentine, The Jesus and the Mary Chain and Dinosaur Jr.). The hybrid
combination has been the burning idea since day one and is hopefully reflected
not just in the ancillary tasks but in the main product.
I have been successful in representing this hybrid genre by using the diverse
conventions: oxymoron of high and low key lighting, close ups to convey emotion,
but also creating an enigma by hiding the face of the protagonist, abstract
distortion of colour, natural pastoral settings, use of shadows and some form of a
conceptual narrative journey. These conventions that I decoded from real texts
are existent in both my ancillaries and my final product.
The Jesus & The Mary Chain + Fleet Foxes = My first ancillary, the front cover of my
digipak
After my ancillary tasks, I researched and then decoded current real media texts
of similar genre; including the music video for the actual song itself. I looked at
the conceptual narrative heavy music video All I Want by Kodaline – this
Indie/Folk/Pop text a me understand how powerful the use of mise-en-scene is; in
terms of: lighting, costume, props, setting, facial expressions and proxemics. This
helped when constructing our media text; as we translated our research into our
final product.

2. Joshua Millington
How effective is the combination of your main product and
ancillary texts?

3. Joshua Millington
How effective is the combination of your main product and
ancillary texts?
Kodaline’s All I Want My
music video, Lover of the Light
Despite being of slightly different genres and
aspects; my ancillaries have synergy as they
contributed as a form of influence in terms of replicating conventions. Blow
Dumb by Nobunny is almost binary opposite in terms of musical genre, as it is
alternative rock/pop-punk; however it is still a performance video. Therefore I
manipulated the type of performance shots to match the genre.
Nobunny’s Blow Dumb My music video, Lover of the Light