The combination of the band's main product (their music) and ancillary texts (music video, CD cover, poster) effectively portrays the band's star image to their target audience of 15-25 year-olds. The video, cover, and poster depict the band's youthfulness, art school style, creativity, talent, and success against the odds through their casual clothing, artistic backdrops, and depictions of the band playing instruments. Unresolved romantic tension between the two band members also maintains audience interest in the band's image.

1. Task 2 How effectively is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

2. Introduction Richard Dyer’s theory of star image is based around the concept that these artists are commodities which are formatted on the strengths of ojective meanings. They are purely created and constructed in such a way to draw audience through originality of apperance. In this project we have looked into creating a band with a spasific star image made up of a range of meanings that is attractive to a paticular target audience 15-25 year olds. With chossing a track we have created a promo music video that explores the consept of Star image and with the help of Richard Dyer we have been able to specify what ‘start image’ really is and why it is so relevant to the music industry. The successionand recognition of stars vastly depends on media for example magazines, TV, radio and the internet as these are the most common was of distributing news and informing people of the progress and rise of a star.

3. Youthfulness/Originality We also tried to underline perhaps most importantly the image of youthful determination and organic passion for the arts presenting very carefully their passion for art which collides with the music world. This art school look that so many of the alternitive/indie artists have now is very appealing to and audience of 15-25 as the ruff and readiness is a statement that an easy, simple, casual and relaxed look is more genuine and organic more real than covering yourself in jewels and expensive designer clothing. It wipes away the unnecessary’s and just allows you to be. But being is something that their music is and it allows them to be true to their own. We have displayed this in our video through their casual dress of jeans and white t-shirts the casual look of the 80’s that seems to still represent the same relaxed unpretentious image. As a star an image like this is very appealing as it is a great message to the target audience saying that less is more.

4. Following the theory of Dyer’s we have related our product to his analyses of meanings displayed and attached to star images. Ones which are especially significant to our product which highlights our start image is Youthfulness as our stars Marlene and William are 21 and 22 years of age and they sing of their new experiences and feelings all of which depict the effect of young love. This is presented in our video through the playfulness shown in our bike and boat concept where their strong relationship is very apparent. Yet this happy and playfulness is ever so slightly juxtaposed with a firmer fascination this is show in the way William looks at Marline from the bench when she is dancing around throwing the leaves. We decided we need to add another convention of emotion to our video that would create and more intricate and realistic feel but that would most importantly add more substance to their star image. What I mean with this previous statement is that it will show that they are not frivolous, young and juvenile but that they are free and are genuinely enjoying life even with its difficulties. Youthfulness/Originality

5. Youthfulness/Originality However we decided to add a bit of fun and something special to identify the playfulness of her character and so we decided to paint a flowery pattern down the side of Marlene’s face. This added to the playful youthfulness of their character as make-up like this is very fresh and young yet most importantly of all it reflects the art school style presenting her to be creative, funky and confident in being herself. Regardless of Dyer’s theory that they are not real people but are constructed images it is our job to create a convincing band that will sell to their target audience for being original and this is every record companies objective. In regards to the whole art school style which we have chosen to identify in our video is also very clearly and effectively used in our CD cover and Poster. In or CD cover we have used one of the three images that we used for our backdrop that I created and then subtle placed a photograph of both Marlene and Williams with in and it looks as thought they are surrounded by this non-naturalistic artistic world.

6. Creativity/Talent This is meaning is presented in the performance section of our video where they are both shot playing instruments, Marlene on the key board and William on guitar. When considering how we were going to sell our product the ‘Falkues’ to our target audience it was very clear that to do this successfully we need to present them with their instruments. This is because the playing of instruments is a skill and talent, and people believe that making your music is what makes and artists so organic. This is most certainly due to the fact that creating music and lyrics give a strong sense that their songs are personal to themselves and are references to real things and emotions. This concept is very important to the ‘Falkus’ as their start image is ‘all about the music’ their star image presents how they are most ambitious about their sound and communicating to their audience than everything else. To convey all of the above we need to create an interesting performance concept and layout to reflect this talent and above all else their creativity and originality. It was with this desire that we decided to create a strong concept which would project their talent and reflect their creativity and so we created the detailed textile collages. These collages represent their passion for art (having gone to art school) and creates a very effective uniqueness as it is a concept not explored or translated by any artists.

7. Success against the odds Also the concept of success against the odds is very important as both Marlene and William are originally from Sweden and have spent most of their life until recently living in Sweden studying art. The fact that they have decided to go traveling as a group together with little money but determination and love for the art is what makes them most appealing. They are just two ordinary Swedes that are on their way to achieving so much just because of interest, passion and care. This gives the message to the audience that it is possible to follow your dreams which is of course a very attractive meaning to see with on to ordinary individuals, its promising and gives hope to the youth.

8. The Two Key Paradoxes The paradox of being ordinary and at the same time extraordinary is another topic Dyer analyses showing how incoherent a star image is. This is strongly presented in over video in a literal sense seeing as our two artists are doing ordinary activities yet those activities are extraordinarily non-naturalistic and their for interesting and appealing yet they are also appealing to the target audience as they are ordinary activities. Adding that non-naturalistic dimension in for an audience adds interest to the audience own experiences with these ordinary activities is opens the imagination and that is was it so appealing. A star must also be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer what is ment by Dyer’s words here is that to obtain their audiences interest it must seem to them that they are in reach of Marlene and William that they know them and most importantly relate to them. This is again achieved through their ordinary character and thought their genuine delivery and appearance.

9. Yet parallel to this the fact that they are stars at the there are things you don’t know about them secrets that of course keep you interested in hope of discovering more. This is projected with in the lyrics of the song and is very much suggested in the video and this is their relationship. In many shot William looks at Marlene studding her, yet she is oblivious to this at times like the top and bottom photographs. This underlines the possibility that there is a romantic feel. There is a flirtatious connection between the two of them at times like the middle picture on the left. This concept was Initially constructed to create interest and to add to the level of their star image. Leavening this notion open will keep the audience intertwined into following their progress as a band. Compunctions are made and this shapes the audiences need to complete and make sense of the image, it makes people become infatuated as to find the truth. As Dyer says “In the music industry, performance seems to promise the completion of the image” but they never do which is ultimately unsatisfying but cleaver as it leads them on to continuing to consume the star. Whether this consummation is thought buying the songs, TV, Radio, Internet and magazine in attempt to complete their image.