Evaluation - Question 2

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

To decide how effective the combination of my products (to form my promotional package) have been I decided to look at the specific things that make them effective, with particular focus being on the continuity between my main product and ancillary texts.

How effective are my media texts?

Individually my music video, digipak and magazine are very effective and when combined to create my completed promotional package they are successful in advertising my band. My media texts all follow conventions to create professional and realistic looking products but also defy enough conventions to link to the indie genre and make my products look unique and stylish. In terms of the music video the narrative alongside other technical elements such as the cinematography create entertainment which makes the audience wish to watch it the whole way through and hopefully at the end purchase the song. My ancillary texts have pleasing aesthetics which differ to other existing product which will hopefully draw attention and encourage people to listen to the song and as a result buy it. The audience feedback that I have obtained generally clarifies that my products are effective which tells me that my music video and ancillary texts have achieved their purpose. All of my finished products also have a clear link creating continuity, for example they all the feature the same cast members which form part of the band 'The Common People'. This means that my media texts are effective as a whole package and not just individually. Continuity is very important in ensuring that my promotional package is successful. 

Why is it important that my media texts have continuity?

Continuity running throughout al of my media texts is very important because not only is it conventional it also allows you to establish a recognisable style for your band. This means that when they see one of my digipak they should be able to link it to my video without much consideration and vice versa. Conforming to this convention also gives my products a professional touch and when something is professional it makes people more likely to purchase it. If my products all link through aesthetics and style, etc this also means that if someone likes one product such as my video they are more likely to like my digipak and magazine ad as well. This means they'll be more willing to buy the song as it clearly relates to their own personal style. As the purpose of my video is not only to entertain but also promote the band/album I can conclude that if my products have continuity then they are effective and successful as media texts. Having slight differences between the products is also necessary however as if they are exactly the same then they lose their uniqueness and possibly purpose as you may as well only have the one text as a form of promotion. The repetition of the exact same style can result in boredom and a lack of attention to the product entirely, therefore the right balance between continuity and replication needs to be found. Differences between the music video and digipak are typical as the style of the digipak should reflect the entire tracklist and not just the one single, although as the album is named after my single I believe the use of blood on parts of the digipak is ok. In addition to this the blood 'prop' usage could act as a motif which links to several of the songs on the tracklist it is possible to say that the digipak reflects the entire album rather than the digipak just reflects the music video I have created. I feel that the combination of my music video, digipak and magazine ad all have continuity which is created through a range of things however there are enough difference to ensure that the audience does not get bored of viewing them. 

Elements of continuity within my promotional package

Colour scheme:

Whilst planning and researching my products I created a colour scheme that I would use in all of my products as a way of establishing continuity. I choose to use red, grey, white and black particularly on my ancillary texts but also as some of the more prominent colours in my main product. This is due to the research I did before hand on websites such as color.adobe.com which provided me with some colour schemes based on colours picked out of my music video and also moodboards I had made previously. I felt that these colours represented the genre of indie rock well which generally tends to be quite dark based but I didn't want the dark colours to be to overpowering and dull so I also included red and white. I think the colour red is often associated with the indie genre in general due to the connotations of danger and 'living by your own rules'. I though that this colour scheme was quite simplistic which helped to create professionalism in my product which the majority of my audience agreed with however it was stated by one person that it was slightly dull. The use of only one or two bright colours is quite conventional of most media texts and I didn't want to break this convention as too many bright and eye catching colours can be overpowering. I also found that by using the one bright colour allowed me to draw attention to specific things on my ancillary texts such as the album name. Therefore it was effective in more ways than just aesthetics. To create continuity I used this colour scheme (via text and image, etc) on both of my ancillary texts, for example I used the same red colour on the album title on my digipak and magazine ad. I also used the red blood from my music video on my digipak so that the brightest colour on my ancillary texts was also the brightest in my video. Within my video I maintained this colour scheme were possible by using red lipstick for Kate's lip sync section of the video and using the red fake blood. I also used costume that mainly featured grey and black on both characters so that anything that I had control over followed the style I was hoping to achieve. In this way I believe that the combination of my products is effective.

Font styles:

I wanted to create continuity through my font use on my ancillary texts so that they are cohesive with the style of my main product. There is no use of text in my music video however the genre, narrative and general style gave me some hints at what fonts I should use to match my video. I chose to use two main fonts on my product which were 'Lucida Sans Demibold Italic' (which I used on the band and album name text) and 'Century Gothic Bold' (which I used on most the other text e.g the ratings on the magazine ad) which both belong to the photoshop software. I had done research into fonts by using online sites such as dafont.com however the fonts that I had picked out and liked the best did not work well on my products and didn't match the style I was hoping to create, therefore I ended up experimenting with the fonts that Photoshop had to offer and found these to have the most impact. I felt that these fonts represented the indie rock genre particularly well due to there boldness. I didn't want to include too many fonts on my ancillary texts as I worried this would take away from the simplicity of my products and possibly reduce effectiveness and professionalism. Only using the two fonts also allowed me to highlight the most important sections of text in the bolder, more attractive font. The reason I used 'Lucida Sans Demibold Italic' is because its quite a loud and attractive font but doesn't distract from the image and other text on the page. I used the 'Century Gothic Bold' font for the other text because its less attractive than the other text and so you aren't drawn to it straight away. It is however quite similar to the other font which helps to create cohesion because if it was a completely different font such as a brush font it would not match the style of the product. I also believe that these font styles represent the style of the band quite well and also link to the narrative of my video due to there 'harshness'. To create continuity I used these fonts on both of my ancillary texts however with some other fonts on some areas of text but these still link to the general style of my products. I couldn't really link the font use to the music video due to no text featuring in the video, I did however capture the style and narrative which is quite aggressive by featuring an impact/bold font. I feel that this has helped to create a consistent style (a house style) which links all of my products effectively. 

Mise-en-scene:

The mise-en-scene I used, including things such as the props, costume and setting, helped to create interesting products and such mise-en-scene is continued throughout all of my products to create continuity. I chose to use props which fit not only with my narrative but also my genre. For example I used a knife and blood which link with the theme of danger. Not only have a used these in my music video to develop the narrative I have also featured the blood prop on my digipak to create continuity throughout the products. I could have also done this on my magazine ad but I felt this would have made my products appear to similar and quite boring. The knife prop was something that I was considering using on the disks of the digipak or on the back cover however when experimenting I found that the images looked unprofessional decreasing the professionalism of the product on a whole. I chose not to feature any of the props from my video on my magazine ad because there wasn't much room and I thought the use of the characters as the main image established a good enough link. The costumes I chose to use in my video and on the main image for both of my ancillary texts were very similar using the grey and black colouring identified in my colour scheme. I feel that this creates continuity and also establishes the bands indie style. The jewellery (necklace and bracelets) Kate wore in some of the beginning narrative sections of the video was also wore in the ancillary text image again creating continuity throughout the products. In addition to this the hair and make up look was replicated with the same lipstick used for the lip sync sections of the video being worn for the ancillary text photos. This helped to give my artists a consistent look making them identifiable by audience members. A differing characteristic between my music video and ancillary texts is the location used. For my music video I mainly used jacks house, the street and the green room for filming however I didn't think that any of these locations provided pleasing aesthetics to use on my ancillary texts so I chose to simply use a plain background. I had contemplated using the black curtain as a background like I had used in some of my shots however this would have altered my colour scheme a lot and maybe make it look to dark so I decided against this. It would have also made editing of the images a lot harder due to the ease of noticing mistakes, therefore lowering the professionalism of my products. I feel that my products still have continuity despite the changing locations as my video features a lot of natural/bright lighting therefore this links with the white background. I do not think that this is unconventional as it is rare to see front covers featuring settings from the one music video due to the range of songs featuring on CD's. Therefore I believe that my promotional package has a cohesive and continuous style which creates an effective set of products. 

Shots:
The shots I used in my products were all of a conventional style. I used varying shot types in my music video with particular focus on close ups, mid shots, long shots and two shots. I used close up shots mainly for the lip sync sections of my video as it is conventional and helps to maintain focus on the characters lips as they are singing the lyrics. I also used close ups on shots were the characters are meant to be conveying strong emotions as this allows the audience to clearly see their faces. As I mainly used close up and medium close up shots in my music video I wanted to create continuity with my ancillary texts by using a close up shot for my main image on both the digipak and magazine ad. I found this to be conventional as it allows the audience to form a connection with the artists and their style. Not only did I aim to create continuity throughout my products but I also thought that a close up shot would look more professional and stylish in relation to the form. Therefore I have used similar shots to create an effective combined promotional package which has continuity and cohesion. 

Effectiveness according to target audience

My target audience would be social group E which is mainly young people and in particular students. This is because the portrayed styles generally appeal to this demographic as they are created by them. In addition to this the cast members are quite young (both 18 years old) meaning my product would be more relatable to this age group. As the feedback I obtained was mainly from this demographic I am able to assess the effectiveness of my products based on what respondents have said. 
One of the questions that I put on my survey (regarding my music video only) was 'Do you think that it is effective as a media text? Why?' I found that there was a unanimous vote with everyone answering 'yes' to this question. This informs me that everyone thought it was effective and fulfilled its purpose as a music video. The reasons for this decision were quite varied showing that it is consumed differently by everyone. However some of the given reasons were that it was 'engaging', 'entertaining' and had an 'impact'. This tells me that my video was successful in attracting my audience and didn't lose their attention. One person said that 'parts were entertaining using various techniques to link the narrative to the song' suggesting that my planning (through my storyboard, etc) has really paid off as when thinking up my shots I was always seeing how I could link them to the song via the editing, cinematography, etc. From looking at these responses I feel that I can say that my product has achieved its purpose and is an effective and successful media text. 
As this question was only addressing my music video, I included the question 'Do you think my video and my ancillary texts match?' in my focus group to get an idea of the overall effectiveness of my promotional package. In response to this question I found that they all agreed and thought that they did match. This is good because this means that my promotional package is thought to be cohesive and linking. This also means that audience members will be able to identify the song by any of my products. Kate and Ben both thought that the use of blood on the digipak and in the video provides an identifiable link which was my intention. The idea of using props from the video on my ancillary texts was an idea I set out on using and had even experimented with using the knife prop but found that this did not work as well. If I wanted to make my products even more cohesive I could possible use the blood on my magazine ad however finding a place for this could be difficult as it is already very crowded. As Ben also pointed out, cohesion is also created through the use of the same characters on all of my products, therefore I believe that this is enough to create a link. Kayleigh also said that you can sort of tell the narrative through the ancillary texts which again tells me that my products are cohesive as if you were to see my digipak or magazine ad you would be able to identify the link with the video. 
Overall I think I can say that my target audience viewed my promotional package as an effective media text which fulfills its purposes of entertainment and promotion. 

Survey question 2 (repost):

Focus groups (repost):

Applying Media Theory

To evaluate the effectiveness of the combination of my main product and ancillary texts properly I needed to see how media theory can be applied to my work. I generally adhered to media theories linking to narrative, representation, audience and genre suggesting that my products have been effective.

Narrative Theory:

Tim O'sullivan (1998) stated that all media texts tell us some kind of story which is done through careful mediation. This story reflects us as a culture and our experiences help us to understand how and why the 'story' has been constructed. My music video links with this theory as the narrative is based around domestic abuse and mental illness reflecting society as this is something which has become a big issue in .recent times. Our experiences of domestic abuse/mental illness will also impact our understanding of my main product as if we have been a subject to it or know people in such situations we will have a greater understanding of the story and the way in which the text is consumed may be different as the audience may be affected emotionally by it. Audience members who have no link to such things may not be impacted in the same way however the media also has the ability to teach us about ourselves and therefore my video will possibly make people more aware of such issues. Kate Domaille (2001) said that every story can fit into 1 of 8 narrative types which I believe my main product loosely relates to. My music video fits with the 'Romeo and Juliet' narrative type due to the inclusion of a relationship however the complication of abuse and mental illness means that my narrative is still fairly original, fitting with the indie rock music genre. The larger variety of narrative types now used may be due to the influence of postmodernism which includes elements of the past and future to create original differing storylines. Sven Carlsson (1999) stated that music videos generally fall into 2 rough groups- performance clip or conceptual clip. My music video is a mix of both, using performance and concept to create entertainment. The performance I used within my video includes lip sync and dance elements but the dance elements continue the costume used in the narrative clip sections however with the inclusion of blood to further our knowledge and understanding of the concept used. Pam Cook (1985) came up with the standard hollywood narrative structure which all media texts should have. This includes having 'cause and effect', meaning something should happen to provoke something else, in my narrative the domestic violence and continual verbal attacking results in the female character having a breakdown and consequently killing her partner. She also said that media texts should have a fictional world (called a diegesis) which contains verisimilitude. I have used this in my own product by using real life setting such as the house setting which contains everything expected to be found in a house. The main prop that I used was a knife which you would expect to find in an ordinary kitchen and so its use as the 'murder weapon' creates verisimilitude as it is an everyday household item that most people would have in their homes. Cook said that generally narratives should have equilibrium to begin with but as the narrative continues this will be disrupted resulting in a quest and then resolution of the problem to regain equilibrium. My narrative does not follow this structure exactly due to the non chronological order of my video which begins with the end (this is a feature of postmodernism). Equilibrium can be seen in the flash back scene were the couple are happy however and this is disturbed by the males aggressive nature and violence resulting in the females quest to escape the continual abuse. The resolution would therefore be when she kills him and has escaped entrapment. The beliefs of Claude Levi Strauss (1958) could be seen as opposing in my main product. He thought that all narratives are operated to certain binary opposites, for example Good vs. Evil however in my music video there isn't a clear protagonist or antagonist (also linking back to Pam Cook). This is because at the beginning Kates character is seen to be the victim (therefore the innocent protagonist) whereas Jacks character is identified as the antagonist however as the story progresses we see Kate turn into the bad, antagonistic character whilst Jack is the victim. However at the end when Jacks character is killed we still don't feel remorse for him and possibly still feel empathy towards Kates character even though she is no longer the 'good' character. This potentially suggests that both characters are antagonists, the protagonist can only be identified by the audience as 'prosumers' as its identification is powered by our own ideologies and experiences. Michael Shore (1984) had a number of ideas about narratives with one of which being that music videos are 'recycled styles'. This is true with my own video with the basic idea of domestic abuse being borrowed from other videos such as Calvin Harris's 'Sweet Nothing' music video and Alt J's 'Breezeblocks' music video which both have a violent/abusive nature. He also stated that music videos are 'surface without substance' which means that it is based about the look rather than the meaning. I don't think that this applies to my own music video which has a deeper meaning behind it and although the aesthetics are important, they do not have as much of an effect as the narrative. However my use of cinematography and editing does adhere to this idea.  Andrew Goodwin (1992) came up with the idea that everyone responds to videos differently depending on our own views and values, therefore we create individual meaning based on our own experiences and understanding of culture. As I mentioned earlier I believe my video adheres to this as depending on your level of understanding of domestic violence you will understand/relate to the concept differently. 

Representation Theory:

In relation to Laura Mulvey's 'Male Gaze' theory I went against the typical sexualization of women which is expected in a music video. Laura Mulvey suggested that women in media texts are seen in the way that men look at them. It focuses on emphasising the curves of the female body, displaying women as objects, displaying women in the way that men think they should be perceived and viewing women based on sexual desire and appearance. Although I believe that this theory is right in relation to most music videos I wanted to go against this in my own main product as I don't agree with the objectification of women. I chose not to use clothing which could be seen as provocative or sexual mainly using plain, baggy t-shirts and jeans. The shots I used generally didn't display my female character in a sexual way either. The most common shot used to emphasise the curves of the female body is an upwards or downwards tilt. I have used something similar in my video however this shot contained the male character as well making them equal. The shot was not intentionally used in this way either as it was used to provide a link with the lyrics of the song for entertainment purposes rather than voyeuristic pleasure. I did however use close ups of particular sections of the female characters body but not on provocative areas such as the bum or boobs and so I still do not believe that I have adhered to Laura Mulvey's theory. Richard Dyer came up with the 'Star theory' stating that 'stars are commodities that are produced by institutions'. His theory suggests that stars are constructed by institutions for financial reasons and are built to target a specific audience. I have followed Dyers theory in the way that I did create my band and their style etc however I did not do this for financial gain and I created a band based around the love of music due to the typical conventions of the indie music genre. I used indie style clothing and make up in my video to create a star which people of my target audience could relate to and aspire to be like. I looked at existing female indie style band members/artists such as the Haim sisters and the female vocalist from wolf alice which all have quite a unique and intriguing style which has helped with their success. This meant that my artist would also be seen as successful and would have a unique and interesting style which makes her differ to most artists, particularly conventional pop style artists. I used dancing and lip sync etc to represent that my band is in it for the 'performance' aspect of the music business and not the money, which is also a convention of the indie genre. 

Audience Theory:
Bulmer and Katz came up with the Uses and Gratification theory which looks at the effects of the media from the point of view of audiences. One idea is that the audience is active as they have control over what they consume, for example in the past offensive or rude things were not used within media texts and could not be viewed on the TV. However now if we don't like something we just choose not to consume it. This applies to my main product as some people could be offended or disturbed by some of the imagery projected within it however if they feel this way they can just choose to stop watching the video. This theory also suggests that we as an audience are motivated by our desire to gratify certain needs. One of these needs is 'surveillance' which means to be aware of what is going on in the world. I think this links with my video as the main themes of domestic violence and mental illness are real life issues and so by watching my video you learn about these issues and can see the effect they have on people. This raises awareness and understanding of real life issues which many people are unlikely to be very informed on. Another way we as audiences wish to gratify our needs is by 'diversion' which means forgetting about our lives and problems (also referring to escapism). I believe that my music video also provides this as the problems/issues represented in it are potentially more problematic than peoples real life problems therefore putting things into perspective. In addition to this watching the video captures a large amount of your attention allowing you to forget about your own life completely whilst you are viewing it. Stuart Hall came up with the Reception Theory which suggests that media texts are encoded by producers who fill the product with values and messages which are then decoded by spectators. Spectators view the texts in different ways and this may not be the way the producer initially intended. There are 3 readings which are the dominant/preferred reading, the negotiated reading and the oppositional reading. In relation to my music video I am the encoder and the people who have watched my video are the decoders. The dominant reading would be acceptance of the message that domestic violence is a problem which needs to be addressed and the signs need to be looked out for more than they are. The negotiated reading would be that the audience accept my view but do not agree or disagree with my values, for example they may see how some could see domestic violence as a problem but they may also see how people may think that it is provoked or not necessarily that much of an issue. The oppositional reading would be an audience member who doesn't agree with the message I have created at all and thinks that domestic violence is not an issue and does not need to be addressed. This may be due to a lack of understanding of the issue or the extent of the issue which is not really highlighted in my video due to a lack of resources and ability to create realisticness. 

Genre Theory:
There are a number of theories relating to genre, for example Barry Keith Grant (1995) came up with the idea that all genres have sub genres which allow the audience to identify them through familiar or conventional characteristics. My music video adheres to this cause although it would fall under the 'horror/thriller' category it is possibly under the 'psychological thriller' sub genre due to the introduction of mental illness and the females unstable emotional state. Steve Neale (1995) also said that genres are 'processes of systemisation' meaning that they are dynamic and evolve over time. They also have specific features which make them identifiable. For example in my main product and also on the digipak cover I have included blood which is a familiar/conventional characteristic of the horror genre. This allows audiences to identify the video as from this genre straight away. Rick Altman (1999) suggested that genre offers audiences a 'set of pleasures' which can be emotional, visceral, intellectual or possibly a combination of these. I believe that my music video contains all of these traits. The saddened emotions felt by the female character are carried on to the audience and her feeling of entrapment also reach the audience who wish to help her. Visceral (which means leaving a physical impact) could be created for some audience members who are saddened, shocked or feel more informed by the video which has a lasting effect. This may make the audience want to do something about the problem themselves. There is also an intellectual pleasure as after the short beginning section of the narrative were we see the female character holding the knife, we want to know what is going to happen and end up guessing at possible outcomes. We also wonder reasons for the inclusion of the prop in the opening sequence, for example 'what caused this situation?'. 

These are the ways that I have used media theory to create an effective set of products.