In this response I will be discussing how effective the combination of my main product and ancillary texts are. This includes our music video, digipak and magazine advert.

 

Mise-en-scene:

In terms of the mise-en-scene of both the main product and the ancillary tasks, there are two main ways which we have combined the three. The first is to do with the props used in our music video, specifically the note and the ancillary tasks. As you can see below, at the bottom of the note there is a lip-print which is assumed to be from a female as the pink/red colour is very feminine. The print is used to create an enigmatic atmosphere as the audience is unsure who the mystery girl is. However as you can also see below the same print is also used on the back of our digipak and at the top of our magazine advert. The reason we did this is because the audience will recognise the lip-print on all three products and instantly associate them as from one source, creating an element of synergy between the products as a connection is formed. This technique of linking texts is conventional for digipaks and magazine adverts, for instance on Ed Sheeran’s digipak for his album “plus” there features a + symbol which also appears on the magazine advert, linking the two together. However we decided to take it one step further by also linking our music video with the two ancillary tasks through the use of our lip symbol to embed the image in our audiences minds and ultimately synchronising the products together, promoting them as one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Secondly the way in which we have incorporated the exact same costumes into both our music video and the ancillary task helps to combine them all together as one product. The four main characters, Smart Boy (myself), Cool Boy (Rob Atkinson), Nerd Boy (Josh Calver) and Chav Boy (Mohsin Bhaiyat) all have their individual costumes and styles reflecting their unique personalities. The reason for this is because the diversity allows the audience to form attachments to the characters and relate to the individual which represents them the most (uses & gratifications theory: person relationships & identity). Wearing the same costume for all three texts is unconventional in the pop genre as usually artists change in order to show off their wardrobe and proposed fashion sense which comes with being a pop star. However the reason we did this was to  create synergy between all of the texts by establishing our artist’s ‘star image’ which is the theory proposed by Richard Dyer. By keeping their individual attires the same we have created personas for each of our characters which the audience can recognise through the use of our costumes. Subsequently when the audience see’s the characters wearing the same clothing on all three texts they instantly link the three together due to each of them having a consistent iconography.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have also incorporated similar lighting and background/settings into each of the three texts. The lighting we use in all three of the tasks is high key which is conventional of the pop genre as it has positive connotations that the audience associates with the genre. It also highlights the performs as being the product as they seem to be glorified by the use of high key lighting which makes the seem extraordinary, relating to Dyer’s paradox. The settings/backgrounds in all three texts are plain/simple which again can be seen in many other media texts such as Bruno Mars’ digipak and Robin Thicke’s magazine advert. These examples along with all three of my groups texts incorporate simple backgrounds/settings with non-gender specific colours such as white. This is beneficial as the pop genre is also non-gender specific and therefore our products will both similarly appeal to both males and females generating a larger audience. The high key lighting and white background seen in all three products help to synergise them all together and subsequently promote them all as one product. This is because the audience recognises the similarities between the three products based on other texts they have seen within the genre and consequently associate them together.

 

Camerawork:

We also utilise camerawork in order to combine our music video with both of the ancillary tasks. As you can see from the examples below we used both close-ups and mid-shots in our music video. Comparatively the shot distance we used for our ancillary tasks is also very similar as you can see from the images below. These shot distances can be seen used in videos such as “What Do You Mean?” by Justin Bieber along with The Weeknd’s magazine advert and Chris Browns digipak. Not only is the use of close/mid shot distance is conventional of the pop genre, using similar camerawork throughout the three texts also helps to combine them effectively. This is because it highlights the artists as the stars, allowing them to establish their ‘star image’ (Richard Dyer’s ‘star’ theory) amongst the audience. Therefore by incorporating it into our products we help to portray our artists as being talented as the audience is entirely focused on them (Dyer’s ‘extraordinary’ paradox) as well as create synergy between the three texts. This synergy is effective because the audience recognises the similarities between the camera work used on all three products which is not only appearing to them but they consequently realises that they are all part of one large project/product.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Editing:

When editing our music video and ancillary tasks we had to as we did with all elements think of ways in which we could effectively combine the three products as one. To do this we wanted to have a unique editing technique, a trademark if you will, that would allow the audience to recognise our products as being related and therefore enhancing the exposure to our target audience. As you can see from images below of shots from all three products, we incorporated a grid view in order for all four of the characters to be on screen at the same time. This allowed the audience to gain an understanding of each of the artists personalities simultaneously through the use of their costumes. This technique is unconventional in the pop genre as discussed by Josh Calver in my groups video response to question 1 which therefore makes our products unique and original. The reason this attracts a larger audience is because of Neale’s theory that ‘repetition is essential to the economy of the genre’. By using the same editing technique for all three of our texts we create a synergy between them, thereby informing the audience that these products are meant to be promoting each other. Goodwin stated that music videos are not primarily a commodity form but yet a promotional one. This is true in our case as by using the same grid method in our ancillary tasks as we did in our music video, the connection we formed effectively acts to promote our artists album through the use of referencing (grid editing) without actually directly doing so. In doing this we have taken advantage of Barthes theory that “every text is a tissue of quotations”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Typography:

Both our ancillary tasks incorporate typography in order to inform the audience what our product is and the details to go along with it. The font style we use is called Apple Gothic and it is from the editing software I used in order to edit both of the ancillary task. It is a san serif font which is all in upper case lettering which is very conventional of the pop genre as seen in digipaks such as Sam Smith’s and Nick Jonas along with Bruno Mars’ and Usher’s magazine advertisements. This is because the simplicity is aesthetically pleasing along with being what they recognise as being from the pop genre. This familiarity spans across both ancillary tasks effectively creating synergy between them. The audience is aware that they are both advertising/promoting the same product, the artist, and therefore are simultaneously referencing the same thing in order to generate as much exposure to the audience.