media evaluation question 2

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

2. Generic links:
In terms of setting out to make my production comply with the typical conventions of the genre, i aimed to make my video
more compliant. By doing this I was able to help my audience understand the genre of productions, for my music video. For
my print productions, I was not as compliant with the common occurrences within the genre of my media product.
Within my genre (alternative indie), it’s typical for music videos to be shot in low-budget locations. My music video was shot
in a bedroom, local park and an alley way; therefore my video conforms to this common convention, hopefully making the
genre of my music video clear and obvious to my audience; due to the common nature of low-budget locations that are used
in the genre. For example, Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars. This video is renowned for using a low-budget setting, and having
used inspiration from this, hopefully my video puts out the same message. Not only does the budget of these locations make
help the video conform to the genre of the artist, but the general connotations also do. The idea of the locations that are
used, being accessible to the audience, creates a personal touch to the video, which is very common for alternative indie
videos. As often in them, it’s possible for the audience to place themselves in the narrative etc. For example, again, Snow
Patrol’s Chasing Cars. This music video has the narrative of a man who has a lot of heartache, and because of the locations
used in the video, and the video creates a strong sense of relatability, of which I strived to achieve in my video, thus making
the genre more easy to identify to the audience.
Also, within my genre it’s very typical for the music video to be considered ‘artsy’ and ‘filmistic’. By this I mean it’s typical for
the music video to focus on the editing and cinematography, rather than just the narrative. I’d like to think that my music
video is judged on the editing and the cinematography, rather than the just the narrative. By using colour grading as a
prominent feature, as well as cinematic shots, for example my slow-mo shot, I believe my audience can recognize and infer
that my music video falls under the category of a typical alternative indie genre. For my print production, I intended to
maintain the artistic approach that I created in my music video. I took a minimalistic approach; in terms of inspiration, which
is a typical feature for the alternative indie genre. As well as this, the connotations to the minimalism movement is the idea
of symbolism and using the few visual features to tell a story. I applied this idea to my production through my motifs and shot
types. The motif of the Newton’s cradle tells the story of continuity, drawing an intertextual reference with my music video.
And the close-up shots tell the story of hostility of my music video’s character, and the coolness of my artist. The idea behind
this is to make the genre clear to my audience, as through my expression of common conventions within the alternative indie
genre.
If I was to improve my generic links in my print production, I would aim to make the magazine advert and front cover more
typical of the alternative indie genre. By this I mean I would attempt to create more of a narrative on the front cover and
magazine advert, rather than just having symbolistic shots; like I had created on the back and inside panels.
(the locations I used)

3. Visual links 1/2:
I opted against creating a logo. I did so due to my desire for the audience to be able to put a name to a face, rather than a
name to a logo, so to speak. Instead, I just used a psychedelic font for my artist’s name due to the connotations of the font,
that I have previously analyzed. The font and size of the text itself resembles something that you’d see on a billboard. The
connotations to billboards are obvious, they are the idea of promoting something massive and upcoming, to which is believe
my artist is upcoming, and hopefully my audience can make the same inference.
Across my productions I used colour to create connotations that conformed to typical uses of colour within music videos, but
also challenged them. Typically, within productions of all genres, colours are used as motifs which hold connotations of which
the audience can make and interpret to how they see fit. For example, the colour red is commonly used to connote ideas
such as danger and lust. in terms of using colour for connotations, my productions conform to this idea. However, I
challenged the typical colours used to connote the ideas I wanted to project. I wanted to project the idea of danger and
mystery; however I challenged the typical use of red to connote this and instead used a deep blue. The connotations to blue
are the idea of being cold, and emotionless; through these connotations I wanted audience to infer this, and make the
further inference of danger and mystery. The use of blue for these connotations provides my productions with a unique
dynamic, that makes it different from the norm, which I believe makes them more attractive to the audience.
In my music video I didn’t actually have any text, meaning that in my video there was no symbolism from fonts; however, in
my print productions, more specifically my album front cover and my magazine advert the font held symbolism relating to
the video. I used a psychedelic font on my magazine advert and the front cover of my album. The font itself is made of
parallel lines, and as I have mentioned before, it holds the connotations of continuity; of which is a key theme in my music
video. As well as this font, I used a font named ‘Summer Romance’ on my magazine advert, album cover and the album back
panel. I used this font consistently due to its aesthetic value. The font replicates handwriting, to which holds critical
connotations, in terms of making the productions more appealing to the audience. The idea of having handwriting replicates
the idea that the artist has put every last minimal aspect of their own work into the album, it’s like he’s signing off his work.
Suggesting the artist is proud of it, to which I personally think makes it more attractive, as confidence and hard work suggests
to the audience the artist is good at what he does. By using the same font across my print productions, the audience become
familiar with associating my artist to the text they see, creating a stronger and more prominent brand identity, for my artist.

4. Visual links 2/2:
There are two specific motifs that I used across all of my productions. The first is the Newton’s cradle. This motif, within my
productions, is the most significant due to the connotations it carries. I decided to use it across all of my productions as it
creates a direct link between the music video and the print productions, which helps me to further and strengthen the brand
identity that I created for my artist. Another benefit of using the Newton’s cradle across productions is that, despite the
common connotations they share (in terms of linking the video and print productions together), they can also be interpreted
to the specific production. By this I mean that in the music video, the cradle holds connotations of representing the
relationship of my two characters. Of which to put it simply, is an endless clashing of egos, as well as the idea that it’s always
caused and ended by one person (like moving and stopping the balls of the cradle). And in my print productions, the cradle
connotes this idea of a continuous experience that the audience will endure and experience when listening to the album,
which is a good thing. Overall, this motif strengthens the brand identity of the artist, as well as gets the audience intrigued
and eager to understand all joint and independent connotations that the cradle holds, across the productions.
My other motif is the use of the colour blue across my productions. I deployed this motif to replicate some of the same
intentions I had with my Newton’s cradle motif. However, it differed as I wanted to keep the connotations the same across
the productions. I mentioned this in my analysis of generic links, so I don’t want to repeat myself too much. However, the use
of the colour blue in my productions both conforms and rebels against common uses of colours within media productions, in
terms of representation. It conforms as colours are commonly used within media productions to connote emotions and to
give details about features within the production. However, it challenges them as the colour I used, is not the typical colour
that is used to project the ideas that I wanted to project. i.e. red is commonly used to infer ideas of danger and mystery,
however I've used blue. This really strengthens my productions as it furthers the brand identity, due to the consistent use of
one colour my audience are able to make the same connotations, which is what I want for them to do.
In terms of mise-en-scene, it’s composition that is the only subheading within it that has features that were used across my
productions. In terms of shot types, I defied and complied with the rule of thirds across my productions. By placing the image
in the centre of the shot, whether it’s within my music video or on my print productions, the connotations remain the same.
The connotations, in simple terms, are the idea of being in the centre of attention, highlighting the significance of whatever is
in the middle of the shot. For example, the lip-sync shots and shots of my artist on the front cover of my album and magazine
advert, all place the artist in the middle of the shot, which is to suggest to the audience that my artist is the most significant
aspect of each of the productions. Furthering the brand identity and facial familiarity that my audience has with the artist.

5. Thematic links:
Previously, I have briefly analyzed the ideas behind the motifs within my productions, however I will go into full detail now.
The first recurring motif within my productions is the Newton’s cradle. In terms of the connotations that the cradle shares
between the music video and print productions, the idea of continuity is the one that is most prominent. In my analysis I’ve
been using the term ‘continuity’ without really describing what I mean by it. Continuity within my productions is the idea
that watching my music video, and listening to the album etc. is one continuous experience, it’s the idea that with all the
connotations within the music video and print productions, the audience is constantly interpreting them in their own way
and creating their own understanding of how they want to interpret the productions. However, despite sharing the same
props and visuals, in terms of motifs, the productions do hold their own connotations to the motifs.
One of the themes that I raised in my music video were the idea of teenage paranoia and teenage relationships and the
emotions that they go through when in a relationship. However, in my print productions I did not link or reference this theme
from the video, as I feel that the theme is more specific to the song and the music video, rather than the album and
productions as a whole. However, if I was to improve my work, I would have tried to include this theme a bit more within my
print production. As I believe that it is an important theme to deal with, as well as the fact it would attract my target
audience more; as it’s a theme that they can relate to, one way or another. Another theme within my music video was this
idea of how females are perceived. By this I mean, typically, women are perceived as heartbreakers. Within my video, it can
be interpreted that the female character is the typical heartbreaker, the type of character who is hard to figure out, but
always ends up breaking hearts. This theme was somewhat touched upon in my print productions, as on the inside panels of
the album, there is the female character from the video next to the Newton’s cradle. It’s almost like a hidden answer, when
interpreted correctly, the audience can infer that she is in-fact the cause of the relationships problems (due to the
connotations of the cradle). However, it’s more of a cameo inclusion, rather than something that holds a deeper meaning. If I
was to redo my print productions, I would definitely have attempted to include more of the themes that are in the music
video, as it would’ve created a more relatable product for the audience, but also it would’ve furthered the brand identity
created from the themes.
In terms of if any of the narratives within my music video are echoed within my print productions, I only made one clear link.
The link is the idea of who is to blame for the cause of the relationships issues and happiness. The inside panels of my music
video contain my two characters, of whom are both next to the Newton’s cradle. And as I’ve already said, the cradle
represents who begins and ends the events within the relationship, and by having both characters next to the cradle, the
element of mystery is there, as well as the shared narrative of who is to blame. However, other than this, I intended to keep
the narrative unique to the music video, as within my print productions I wanted to focus on brand identify and promoting
the actual artist and his album, rather than just the music video.

6. Representation links:
The way I wanted to represent my artist was in a way to which the audience could perceive him as a guy who takes pride in
his work. I aimed to project this representation through my print production and the connotations to the font I used on the
front of my album cover and my magazine advert. The use of the summer romance font, replicates handwriting. I have
previously analyzed what the handwriting connotes. To put it simply, it replicates this idea that he has gone into every last
detail himself, including handwriting the title of the album. In terms of this representation within my music video, I didn’t
include it; however, if I was to edit my music video, I would try to add this element into it, as I believe that it would make my
video more appealing to a much wider audience.
Another representation of my artist that I wanted to project was this idea that my artist is an open and intimate person, to
which makes him more appealing and attractive to the audience. This is a representation that I wanted to maintain
consistently throughout my media productions. In terms of this representation in my music video, I used close-up shots
during the lip-sync to create this intimate and personal relationship between the audience and the artist. The shot itself
replicates this idea that the artist is telling the audience a story, suggesting that the artist is open enough to tell the audience
what’s on his mind etc. In terms of projecting this idea in my print productions, I used close-up shots of the artist, to connote
this idea of intimacy, that I projected in my music video. This representation makes the artist more appealing to the
audience, as it furthers the idea that the artist is a relatable, normal guy.
The group I focused on representing most was teenagers. However, this representation was only most prominent and
noticeable in my music video. The narrative of my music video is the feature that was used to represent this group. The
storyline of a teenage relationship represents the age group of teenagers as a group of people who experience a variation of
emotions, whether that be through relationships etc. This representation was not really suited my print productions, as the
topic projected in the video, is more suited specifically to the video, rather than the album and print productions as a whole.
Another representation that I maintained throughout both of my productions, was the stereotypical view of women. The
stereotype is the idea that women are dangerous and unpredictable and untrustworthy. In terms of creating this
representation in both productions, I used the deep blue motif. In the music video, the female character is wearing the blue
lipstick, connoting the idea that she is a cold hearted person, as they are the connotations to the colour blue. I maintained
this in my print production, through the use of a close-up of my female character on the inside panel. This matched with the
deep blue background furthers the connotations and link between the two productions.
In terms of representation across my productions, I feel that if I was to redo them I would focus more on creating a
representation that is clear and obvious, as it would help further the brand identity across my productions, as well as making
the productions more attractive to the audience, due to the consistency it would’ve provided.