Media Evaluation

Music Video/CD Cover/Magazine Advert

Q2.How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

• This is our main product- follow this link- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dhs7c-dnmgs My ancillary texts for the music video includes the front cover of CD cover, back cover of the CD, the inside

cover of the CD and the magazine advert. These are my ancillary texts and I will explain how each of these texts show a combination to my main product.

Front of CD Cover

Inside of CD CoverBack of CD cover

Magazine Advert

Magazine Advert Combination to Music Video

• Through the process of our media project for making a music video, I have linked my music video product to ancillary texts which are the CD digipak design and the magazine advert which has allowed me to develop ideas and follow codes and conventions for my main product. In this essay question, I will discuss things I have used from ancillary texts that shows a relation to my media product.

• +The theme around our music video is the stereotypical image of a young rap artist trying to come up into the mainstream society from an independent label. This is why the music video purposely focused just on the artist’s image, identity and status, not on anything else. For this specific reason, I related my music video to my magazine advert. For my magazine advert, I have made the theme for each ancillary text red, black and white. I have chosen a mid shot in colour where he is looking directly at the camera which imitates and shows a combination to the music video as in the music video, he seems to look right into the camera at various scene occasions. I chose this picture as it relates to the locations of the music video. There is good framing and angles in the magazine advert photo. Also this photo focused predominantly on the artist’s facial features and expressions. From the magazine advert photo, the artist looks serious, predominant and important due to body language and camera angle such as low angle shots which make the artist look superior. Even though the colour red is not associated in my main product, I used the colour red as it went well with my other colours black and white. Also the audience mentioned to me in my audience feedback that I should use the colour red in my magazine advert as it is a predominant colour used in rap media products and in music overall.

Magazine Advert Relation to Music Video [Main Product]

I have used this print screen to incorporate how I wanted my front cover of my magazine advert to be. The screen shot is in colour with a medium shot of the artist which also has the background of the setting the which I wanted to keep to show the artist’s whereabouts. I decided to use this similar type of shot for the front of my CD cover but change it to black and white and make the artist have a similar facial expression and body language. I have shown a combination and similarity between my magazine advert and this screen shot from the music video I have used. E.g. Hands in the pocket, stern, aggressive facial expression, against a wall and showing the background of estates which relates to the music video.

Front and back of CD cover

The digipak design- the front and back of the CD promotes the artist as seen in the main product. The image at the front cover is filled with a dark background with the image being in black and white. The artist is looking directly at the camera and the typography is in bold red with a different font used. The back of the CD cover relates to the front cover and the video as it has a dark effect then goes into a light effect to give some light on the artist’s face. This is where he is looking away from the camera leaning against the wall, which is shown in some parts of the main product in black and white and colour.The magazine advert and CD cover designs have different images as I feel that the digipak design focuses more on promoting the artist and the magazine advert focuses on the main theme of the song which represents a stereotypical image of the artist. I have used the same colour theme overall for the CD cover design and magazine advert which shows that I have used a consistent colour scheme to follow the US codes and conventions as the main product is a based UK music video. Overall, there has been a close link of my music video to the ancillary texts as I have made sure to use a mixture of black and white and colour photos to display my ancillary texts which shows a link to the music video as the main product is shot in black and white and colour.

Front Cover Relation to Music Video

My front cover of my CD has a distinctive relation to my main product. The content from my CD cover has followed the technology from my music video. I have used a similar type of camera shot and angle to make an effective combination within the product where this creates a synergy. From the CD cover the artist has an open body language, is seen to be optimistic and has an aggressive approach towards the audience. I have allowed the visual material to tell its own story for the audience to engage with the artist which creates an image analysis of the product. Also the red wall with the black clothing gave me an idea of the colour scheme for the CD cover. The red, black and white colour scheme gives that professional look about the product and makes it have the potential in being a marketing vehicle by being promoted on social networking sites to the ideal viewers. This will generate publicity and a high consumption unit for the product being advertised.

Back Cover Relation to Music Video

I have incorporated this shot of the artist looking away from the camera from my main product as shown to the right. The screen grab shows the artist looking away to the left of the camera. This is where I changed this and made the artist look away to the right on the back of my CD cover. From doing research, I found out that a lot of rap CD covers have the artist looking away with an open body language where the artist’s facial expressions and body posture would show the audience what he is thinking which leads into critical viewing. This CD cover is creating a message for the audience which could be that: the artist is too good for the camera so he doesn’t need to even show his face. This is what is basically interpreted in the rap genre of music that rap artists are too good to look into the camera as this is a way they engage with the artist.

Inside of CD cover

My inside cover includes the artist’s biography and his lyrics to the song let me flow. This photo was taken at a similar place to the location of the video which shows a combination to our main product. This is also a similar shot that is seen in our music video. A side angle shot of the artist looking away from the camera in black and white is used in the main product. This is where I used this shot from the video for the inside of the CD cover.

Inside of CD Cover Relation to Music Video

These two shots are very different. I used this shot to create an idea for my inside cover for the CD. The screen shot shows a low angle shot of the artist from head to waist whereas my CD cover shows a medium close up of the artist coming out from the corner of a wall. This creativity of the artist being shot next to a wall with his head just out focusing on head to chin represents the video. In the music video, there are a lot of shots where the artist’s feels entrapped within a location or feels very closed towards the audience where yet again, I maintain the stern, aggressive look but do not go over the top with his facial expressions.