Evaluation Question 2

Media Coursework
Alex Rhodes

2. How Effective is the Combination of Your Main Product and

Ancillary Texts?
I have created an Indie genre video, advert and digipak and have consistently tried to
look for elements which would help to get this idea across. For the digipak and
poster, I have used the same colour scheme, the same font, and the same
unpretentious layout so that it would appeal to my chosen audience of Indie. This
would hopefully appear to be seen as a type of branding for the band that we have
created, and it should stick with the band so that one anyone sees this type of
layout, they can relate it to the band. Contrastingly, the music video that we have
created doesnt match the same style and bright and colourful setting as the posters,
however it does fit in the with Indie genre which was the main aim which I was trying
to recreate. The flashes used in the video try to add a bright affect, but at the same
time it keeps it simple so that nothing is over complicated and the audience are able
to see what they want to see.
The simplistic approach that I have tried to adopt suits all three of the media
products that I have tried to create. And although the video doesnt match the
digipak and poster on the first watch, there are intentional links with the simplicity
that has been used. This was possible to do with the video as it is a performance
video with the band in a setting that would be viewed as indie, and in black and
white which complements the straightforwardness that we have tried to use. After
thinking about the three media products, one thing that I could have done to make
the three fit in together would have been to create a plain black and white poster
and digipak. Nevertheless, I feel as though the song and the band are enthusiastic,
which made me feel as though the song needed to appear more positive and
exciting, which is why I decided to add in the flash effects on my video and have a
colourful advert and poster.
We also focused on the instruments in our music video so that it would appeal to our
chosen audience as the Indie genre often like the idea of the bands being based on
their musical instruments. To get this message across and show the audience that
this band is a guitar band, I could have added in an image of the band with their
instruments or added elements which suggest that this band are based around their
guitars. This would have helped the audience acknowledge what the band base their
songs on and what they are influenced by, which would indicate instantly if the
audience would like the idea of the band and what type of music they play.
My main product also ties in to the ancillary texts due to the consistency of them
both, and they way that styles are repeated to ensure they look like they are linked
with one another. For example, on my digipak and poster I have kept to the same
font so that there is consistency which makes it look professional, keeps it looking
realistic and it matches the audience that we have been aiming for as the simplicity
of it appeals to the indie audience. In addition, we have been consistent when
creating our music video. We have done this by using similar close ups of the lead

Evaluation Question 2
Media Coursework
Alex Rhodes
singer when he is singing the chorus, and we have edited the flashes in whenever the
song is being played at high tempo. Consistently doing this has made the videos
appearance to seem more enthusiastic and it increases the tempo at which the video
appears. The digipak and advert are both symmetrical with the way that they have
the same colour scheme, font etc. which has been effective with the way that it
works with the video as all of the media products have aspects of consistency linked
in with one another.
Traditionally indie icons alternate between looking scruffy in a way, or looking
smart. The smart look that we decided to go for matched the professionally looking
advert and digipak which was created. We decided to have the band all wearing
shirts to make them look together, and it helps represent what the band are like as
they arent the typical rock n roll scruffy band, they try to present themselves in a
positive way which appeals to a large indie audience. Having matched the video with
the digipak and advert with their professional looking appearance, they work well
together as they will significantly represent what the indie audience will be looking
for.