Evaluation A2 Media Q2

1. H O W E F F E C T I V E I S T H E C O M B I N AT I O N O F Y O U R
M A I N P R O D U C T A N D A N C I L L A R Y TA S K S ?
EVALUATION QUESTION 2

2. PRODUCTS
The main product was the
music video for the band ‘Ceol’
and the song ‘We Fall’, it
followed a narrative structure
and complied with the typical
indie conventions.
The two ancillary
tasks were a digipak
for the band’s new
album and also a
magazine advert
which promotes the
album release.

3. DIGIPAK RESEARCH
Before creating my own product I looked into digipaks from a range of music
genres. This was helpful in finding the digipak necessities. For example, each
one had the band’s name and album on the front cover, a track list on the
back, as well as record label information.
Name of artist and album is large
and contrasted against dark
background.
Clearly structured track list on
back cover along with barcode
and copyright details.
Designs will often include
signifiers or symbols which relate
to the album content.

4. INDIE DIGIPAK RESEARCH
I then focused on the products made by indie artists as this was the genre I was most
interested it. During this research stage I found there were recurring details. One of
the most prominent features is the black and white colour palette; this has been used
by many artists to give an impression of minimalism. Another element of indie digipak
covers is the use of original artwork. Amber run for example, have used an image of a
key which has been created through light photography. Two door cinema club, have
also included artwork but in a different form, choosing to use a complicated illustration
of the lunar cycle to symbolise their song content.

5. MY DIGIPAK
In order to incorporate my own original artwork into my
digipak, I altered a landscape photograph of London for
the inside. The London skyline features in the music
video as Janadhi overlooks Primrose Hill, therefore I
thought this image would link the two products and also
be a symbol for some of the album content.
I altered the image on Photoshop using the ‘trace
contour’ tool. This was first inspired by the work of
Abigail Daker, her simplistic line drawings reminded me
of sound waves which I thought would work well with the
music task. This ‘sketch’ style of art also complies with
the black and white colour scheme which is so often
used for indie digipak covers.
I used the landscape image across the inside, covering
all three sides. Then I used another sketch image of the
original band on the front cover. I wanted to keep the
style consist throughout the task, and therefore chose to
use the same editing technique on all photographs.

6. MY DIGIPAK
The style of font was an important factor
to consider for the cover of the digipak
as the indie genre seems to have a
recurring trend. Artists like Hozier, Birdy
and Ben Howard all use tall, narrow
fonts, so I searched through Microsoft
word and ‘fontsquirrel.com’ for a similar
font. I finally decided on ‘Avenir Book’ on
Word, and used this style for both the
album title and and all other digipak text.
The band name was the largest feature
included on the digipak, promoting the band’s
identity. Another key element was the
barcode, proving it is commercial product.
As well as the record label details, this was
very small on the back cover of the digipak,
but still an essential feature to ensure there
are no legal or copyright disputes.

7. MY DIGIPAK

8. MAGAZINE ADVERT RESEARCH
The second ancillary text was a magazine advert, this would be found in a
standard sized publication, with the intention to promote the band’s upcoming
album release. Before making my own product, I again looked into adverts
from a range of music genres in order to find the typical features.
Common features;
• Background artwork
• Main text in black or white
• Bold colours
• Date of release
• Single words or phrases
• Record label details/ logo
• Specific information e.g date of
release.

9. MY MAGAZINE ADVERT
In order to comply with the conventions of a
typical magazine advertisement, I included all
the key features. The band name and album
title can be seen in a large font in the top left.
With bold, simple sentences and single
phrases also included throughout the poster, I
made sure to only include the necessary
details e.g. band website and purchase
information. The record label logo is also
clearly visible in the bottom right corner, this is
often included for legal purposes.
The background artwork I used is the same
image featured on the digipak cover, I had
seen this done by the 1975 and various other
bands, I thought the image reuse was
effective as the audience are already familiar
with the product and will not struggle to find it
on shop shelves.

10. TO CONCLUDE
While producing the main product and
ancillary texts, it was vital to maintain the
consistency, making sure they each
related to one another. To ensure this, I
used the same font style for each
product, the band name and album title is
written in ‘Avenir Book’ on the magazine
advert and the digipak. It also appears in
the opening time- lapse shot of the music
video.
Another important feature to maintain was the black and white colour scheme. This minimalistic
look was important as it was one of the main conventions of the indie genre, artists like Birdy,
Hozier and the 1975 have built their identity from the lack of colour in their advertisements.
I also thought it was important to reuse certain images, i.e. the line drawing of the band. This
features on both the digipak and the magazine advert. The recurring image will be memorable for
the audience and will hopefully boost sales of the product.