The combination of the main music video product and ancillary texts effectively portrays the artist Hannah-Belle and the indie/folk genre. [1] The revealing costume and red lipstick in the music video represents sexuality and femininity, aligning with trends in authenticity and revealing styles. [2] Both the main video and ancillary texts like the CD covers depict a natural, minimalist aesthetic that epitomizes the calm sound of the genre. [3] This strategic combination creates a cohesive persona for Hannah-Belle that the target audience of teenagers and students can relate to, helping establish her star image and appeal to both indie and folk fans.

1. Shianne Brown
Question 2
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
To create a star, the star must be a real person, a public performer of roles, a persona
and an image. According to ‘An Introduction to Film Studies’ a star must be
approachable and relatable, with these characteristics in mind stars such as music
artists have to be a cultural signifier of a particular concentration of qualities. Hannah-
Belle, the artist of our main and ancillary productions depicts our current zeitgeist; we
are in an age of sexuality of clothing and authenticity of the voice. This is current
within our main product as we have her in costume which reveals her legs and arms
which have connations of sexuality. Furthermore, through the use of red lipstick there
is a representation of gender and femininity. On the other hand, being in a period of
authentic voices such as Amy Winehouse, Regina Spektor and Noah and The Whale
there is a sense of genesis, in terms of the rawness of their voices, and so the artist that
we decided to use represented this perfectly.
Sexuality
It is evident that embracing ones sexuality in particular women, is very common, as
stated above the revealing representation embraces femininity and seduction.
Our music video ‘Mexico’ was a representation of
freedom and euphoria throughout, this was a method of
signifying a particular attitude and ideology often used
in indie folk music, which is becoming increasingly
popular within mainstream music. It is as though
meaning is becoming attached to the artist through her
personality, consequently the audience becomes aware
of the feelings that are represented in this particular
genre and then subtly gains expectations of that
particular feeling to other music videos in that genre. The video is a performance and
allows the audience to join in with her. Moreover, my ancillary texts were intertwined
with the main product as I had to follow the same conventions of that genre in order
to make it believable. I decided to opt for a simplistic approach which emphasised on
the authenticity of the genre and how calm it was. By having a relaxed and natural
concept epitomises the sound of the album.
The social demographics for our media production is within the D strand which
places emphasis on teenagers and students, as the particular style is what interests

2. Shianne Brown
this type of audience more than any other strand. For instance, our music video and
ancillary texts would not be of interest to those in a higher strand such as A (Upper
Class.) In order to produce a successful artist there must be a target audience, which
will essentially buy the products hence make a star. And so, it is important that you
market the artist effectively, in terms of their portrayal in music
videos and products which the audience are pleased with. You have
to meet with the commands of the consumer otherwise your start,
and profit will be jeopardised. With a common theme throughout
both main and ancillary products, it helps the target audience to have
a foundation of beliefs for the artist, i.e. the audience has
expectations of the artist and therefore expects the CD and magazine
advertisement to demonstrate that of the music video. This was an
interesting genre as it was hybrid of folk and indie which allowed me
to explore these characteristics and incorporate both in order to gain
the interest of both folk and indie listeners.
Students who tend to attend music festivals, similar
to Glastonbury are the audience which we want to
attract.
Furthermore, within my ancillary texts, particularly the CD designs, I used a
computerised Polaroid tool which highlighted the voyeurism of the artist.
Having the knowledge that Polaroid’s are a dying breed of photography, I
wanted to use this basic design to encourage our target audience to realise the
beauty of the past. In addition, the pictures
used were very mellow and not busy which
again highlights the genre. I wanted to use a
significant amount of pictures of Hannah-Belle to
gain recognisability and association for the audience,
this signifies a convention of the music industry as
producers often focus a lot of the appearance and
costume as it creates a persona which in essence
creates a star. In addition, with the variety of pictures
I included in my ancillary texts builds an attachment
with the audience and we become accustomed with
the artist. Within my ancillary task, I used quite a lot
of vintage backgrounds to give an authentic and rustic tone to the CD cover in
particular. As the target audience are predominantly women, I felt that it would be a
strategic move to use this theme to entice the audiences and the consumer. In
addition, with our music video, there are heavy influences of the vintage aspect with
the scenes on the doorstep and many of the costumes, with the last dress very ancient
looking.
Comparatively, in producing both my main product and ancillary texts we used colour
correction which altered the contrast and brightness. This gave it a surreal component
which provides escapism for the viewer; consequently the viewer gains an affinity
with the artist and so the viewer finds this particular artist becoming. Overall, with the
combination of both the main product and ancillary texts, I was able to create a

3. Shianne Brown
particular star image and persona for the artist. It depicted the up and coming indie/
folk scene which indicates the success of underground artists which are deemed to
have a niche market, however, I feel as though marketing Hannah Belle in this way
allows mainstream audiences to relate and listen to the artist.
Whilst devising my album cover, I used adobe
fireworks which works as Photoshop and allowed me
to create an image which coincides with the music
video. This ancillary text also provides a concept of
nature and simplicity, with the use of the natural
brownish tone. I additionally used the contrast and
saturation level on the artist which blended with the
background, hence related with our main task the
concept being very minimalistic.
Moreover, my magazine cover was a chance for me to market
the artist strategically. I used a white background as I did not
want it to be too busy, I wanted to introduce a calm and
naturalistic approach to my poster, it is hopefully in your face
but not too in your face, obviously the outcome is to get
consumers intrigued with the artist and eventually buying the
album. The poster also markets our music video as it
emphasises on nature with the rose, and the picture is from a
shot, which I really liked from our filming footage, and so I
feel as though it connects with the main task successfully.