Question 2- How effective is the combination of your main product with ancillary texts?

How effective is the combination of your main product with ancillary texts?

To ensure there is a coherent brand identity for the band, between all productions, they must be generically, visually, thematically or in terms of representations linked. I have identified links between my productions, through conventions and symbolism. 

Generic Links

Album cover- front

side 1

back cover

side 2

magazine advert

The band falls under the indie genre, therefore I have considered using genre conventions across all my productions. Typical conventions used in indie album covers or magazine adverts are soft, light colours and they usually feature a close up of the artist, composed in the centre. For example Florence and the Machine's album cover has a mid shot of the artist, to make it identifiable to the audience and make her the focus of the music. This also applies to Goodwin's theory that the record label have demands of the artists and often include the need for close ups of the artist and identify a unique visual style. This is demonstrated in Florence and the machine's album, as the artist is drawing all the attention, by being composed in the centre, with little negative space around her. Also it constructs her unique visual style because the floral background signifies her innocence and femininity, But her composition suggests she is dominant and powerful. It is also inspired by pre-raphaelites because of her pose, and the colours (red hair and pale skin) therefore connotes her music as emotive and meaningful.

My own album cover conforms these genre characteristics, and brands the artist in similar ways that the Florence and the Machine album does. I have used myself as the subject in the album cover, to represent the artist. I have used an indirect mode of address, which could challenge genre conventions because so covers use a direct mode of address to signify the confidence and power of the artist. However a lot of indie covers also use an indirect mode of address, such as the Florence and machine cover, to connote deeper emotions and a sense of enigma. Therefore I think the cover conforms the genre, however the magazine advert is less coherent because magazine adverts are used to sell the brand and the artist, so indie adverts usually feature the band members. I have challenged this because my advert is a photograph of a location, not a person, however it still works to relate to their music, by creating metaphors and meanings that link to both the album cover and music video, such as isolation and escapism. Also there are no band shots in the music video, which limits its relation to the band, however we intended to make a narrative video to conform the genre, because many indie videos are heavily based on narrative. 

The print productions challenge indie conventions because they are both in low saturation whereas album covers are usually highly saturated, to look vibrant, attracting their audience. However some indie albums, such as Arctic Monkeys' 'AM' album or their magazine advert are in black and white, to look more emotive and realistic, creating a visual for what their music sounds like and the messages it connotes. 

The saturated, warm colours in my music video do conform conventions of indie videos, because they aim to look eye catching, yet realistic to construct certain representations. My music video is more closely associated with the genre, whereas the print productions don't use generic links in a similar way, however the genre of the music is clear in each production.

Visual links

There are visual links between my productions. These include fonts, colours and characters. To ensure there is synergy between my print productions, I reinforced the brand's identity by using the same font on the album cover and magazine advert. This unique font creates a recognisable identity for the band, and connects the two productions, so that it is clear to the audience that they are both related to this album. To enhance this further I made all the text, in both productions, the same colour. The red headings and text relate to the title 'Bloodstream', therefore makes it obvious that this is the band's unique visual style, because there are links within their music. Also the colour red stands out, and symbolises danger, to create a sense of enigma, intriguing the audience further. 

I created a simple logo, to go on the magazine advert. I used a font to create this logo, and specific placement of the letters. It is small and simple, to consolidate minimalism, in order to not overcrowd the page. The logo represents the band (Firehorse) and looks suitable within the layout and style of the advert, and also works well for the purpose of promoting the band and building their brand identity. It also links with the album because the logo is featured on the back cover, reinforcing their brand. 

logo

the visual link between my album cover and my music video, is in the motif. I am the subject on my album cover, portraying the artist, and relating to the main character in the music video. I also acted as the main character in scenes of the music video. Both the main character and the subject in the album cover don't show their faces. This creates a sense of enigma, intending to engage the audience. However there are no other links with the motif between my productions, because I haven't used the same decorative images or designs and the visuals look relitavely different. However there are similar details used in the mist-en-scene, such as the composition. All of my productions use the rule of thirds, to draw the audience's eye to a subject or heading.

Thematic links

There are thematic motifs that create links between my productions. The clear theme in my album cover and music video is enigma. The mystery is constructed in both of these productions by concealing the main character, as yo never see her face. By not giving much away about the focal point in the productions, it creates suspense and mystery, making the audience want to explore it further.
There is also a narrative link between my music video and album cover because in the video the narrative is all seen from the main character's point of view and on the album cover, the eye-level, over the shoulder shot creates the impression that we are looking from her perspective again. This also crates the theme of escapism and that she is looking to fit in.
There is a thematic motif that recurs in my album cover and magazine advert, which is the surrealist photographs. Both images construct the theme of deconstructed reality, and escaping into a dream world. However there are certain themes in the music video that don't relate to the print productions. The narrative of the video is about binge drinking and drama surrounding this issue. This theme is constructed through the actors and the mise-en-scene, by using props such as bottles of alcohol and plastic red cups. This theme doesn't feature in my print productions because it doesn't relate to the images and visuals, therefore I wanted to focus on the surrealist idea, and the theme of alcohol abuse wouldn't work with the conventions of the indie genre.

Representation

In all my productions there is a constructed image of the band being abstract, through the surrealist visual style and distorted camerawork. The band are also represented as up-beat and contemporary, constructed through the young characters and their behaviour. However this may not be evident in my magazine advert because there are no band members and the image is in black and white. My advert does create the representation that youth are isolated. The image is a long shot, with leading lines, to create a feeling of isolation. This is reinforced in the album side covers, because I am looking into the mirror at fantasy places, they are in the distance, connoting her isolation. Also all the negative space around her emphasises this idea. This is also evident in my music video because the main character is isolated, an outcast at the party, not interacting with any of the other characters.
My productions show that the band value interpretations of youth and their culture. The song lyrics talk about dealing with addiction and heartbreak, therefore we raised similar issues in our music video. It expresses the band's dislikes; old habits, facing reality and isolation.
There is a consistent representation of age. This is constructed through the use of actors in our music video, as they are all 17-18 year olds, and the subject on my album cover is the same age. It constructs representations about this age group being rebellious, irresponsible, joyful and sometimes isolated or lost.
There is a representation of gender. Women are represented as reckless and sexualised. Our music video references Mulvey's male gaze theory, as women are represented in the media through a male perspective, in order to appeal to them. The men in our music video are represented as outgoing, dramatic and emotional. This is shown through scenes of them dancing, then darker scenes such as when the gay couple are arguing.

However these representations aren't evident across all of my productions, as my magazine advert doesn't have any people in and the album cover doesn't create the same representations, surrounding binge drinking. The album cover marginalises men because there is only a female on the cover. The representations it creates about women is that they are strong, due to the central composition, yet emotional because of the black and white colours. The white colour could symbolise her as innocent, yet the black contrast as evil and mysterious.


My productions are effectively linked through every aspect, constructing a brand identity. There are links that carry my ideas and representations across all of my productions, such as by using the same characters and visual styles. However the consistency is subtle, and could be hard for the audience to recognise. To improve it i could make the links stronger and more obvious, so that the audience pick up on the brand identity. I could've done this by featuring the same person in my magazine advert, or using the same miss en scene that featured in my music video. However overall I think that they work well together because each production has its own individual style, to avoid looking repetitive and boring the audience. This package promotes the artist by conforming to their genre, making it look abstract and ensuring that the band's title stand out on the packaging, to attract their audience. The music video promotes the band by appearing entertaining, and up beat along with the music. The print productions create a sense of enigma, that intrigus the audience, and the headings and composition draws in their attention.
It would be easy to see, from looking at all three productions, that they are all from the same artist. I have linked all three by using a similar visual style; they all look like they are shot from the main character's perspective; they construct the same representations about isolation and reality; and they are all altered in a way that disorientates reality, even in the music video there are shots overlapping to create disorientation. Although there is a stronger connection between the album cover and magazine advert. To construct links i used the same fonts, colours, visual style and layout. Therefore it is clear to the audience that they are promoting the same album.
I have succeeded in crating a brand identity for the band. I considered this when making up a logo, which features on the back album cover and the advert, making it identifiable to the audience. The bold headings for the band's name and album title, reinforce the band's visibility and personality. The music video establishes the genre of their music and appeals to their target market.