The student created a music video as their main product and a digipak and magazine advert as ancillary texts to promote an artist with a retro 1970s theme. They used consistent colors, fonts, and imagery across products to create continuity and enhance the nostalgic aesthetic. Specifically, deep red and mustard yellow colors were used along with a "CooperBlackItalic" font to tie the products together visually and reinforce the retro style. While the colors and design of the music video fit with the ancillary texts, the 1970s theme was not as strongly portrayed through costumes and props as it could have been to create a more cohesive brand identity across products.

1. Question Two – How effective is the combination
of your main product and ancillary texts?
Brooke Smith

2. Why is it important to have an effective combination?
It is important to have an effective combination of main product and ancillary
texts as it gives a professional finish and enhances the unique aesthetic of an
artist. I have chosen typography and colour schemes that stand out, this has
allowed all of my media products to be eye catching. By using the 70s, retro
style I was able to create a nostalgic concept that also stand out from the
common popular styles. I used the same colours for backgrounds that were
sampled from the video. This enhanced continuity, I have also used a grain
effect on Photoshop to make the images look more authentic.

3. What is my overall theme? Were you influenced by other work?
My main product is my music video and I have produced a digipak and
magazine advert, which are my ancillary texts. My whole theme is 70s as it
coordinates with the trend in pop culture of nostalgia, it is also original which
allows the media products to stand out. I was inspired by recent TV and music
videos such as stranger things and Selena Gomez’s ‘Bad liar’. The digipak and
magazine advert link as they are both presented in colours that are iconic to
the 1970s era with added grain effects and the same fonts. However, my
music video is slightly disengaged from this theme as there is more of a
modern pop theme. The colours and aesthetic fit with the ancillary texts
however the 70s theme isn't portrayed as well in the main product. I could
have improved this by changing the costume and props to look more retro;
creating a more effective combination.

4. What is your house style and layout of your ancillary texts?
My ancillary texts are consistent with deep red and mustard yellow colours. These emphasise the
70s/retro house style as they were popular colours at the time and the combination of the two
also allow the texts to stand out more. The deep red background is eye catching, but also
provides a classic background. The use of red supports my house style as I have tried to use a
warm pallet, this wouldn’t have been as suited to a vibrant red. I have also been consistent with
the ‘CooperBlackItalic’ fonts, which allows customers to see the similarities and recognise the
digipak from the magazine advert. This font is also iconic to the chunky, rounded text seen in
many retro forms of media; enhancing the nostalgia in my main product and ancillary texts. The
visual recognition will create an iconic look for the artist. I have used a size 30 for the album
name as it stands out yet doesn’t overshadow the artist name which is sized at 80. The artists
name is created with ‘Cairo SF’, which is still bold and slightly rounded but has a more standard
lettering, which is useful for brand identity. The use of different font sizes stands out and
enhances the retro house style as it is not minimalistic. I have used the same image of the artist
from the magazine advert in my digipak, this also fits the imagery of the music video as I took the
photos for my ancillary texts when filming the music video.

5. How could you make your brand identity clearer?
I could make my brand identity clearer by making the artists costume more iconic
to the 1970s era. This would make the artist’s style more memorable to audiences
and customers. Furthermore, I could enhance the brand identity within my main
media product by using more props and costumes from the 70s era, this would
create further recognition of the artist. Looking at my music video, I can see that it
conforms more with the pop codes and conventions, this is useful as it fits the
genre of music and is easy to build hype. However, for my music video to have a
clearer brand identity and originality I should use conventions from other genres.
This would build a stronger combination and connection with the digipak and
magazine advert. On the other hand the fonts that I have used work the brand
well as they occur multiple times throughout the ancillary texts. The artists name
stands out against any other fonts, so is more iconic. To develop this I could add a
similar title into my music video.