How effective is the combination of your main product and acillary texts

How effective is the combination of your main product and acillary texts

• 1.
  How effective isthe combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
• 2.
  At the bottomof our ancillary text of the magazine advertisement we used cross media convergence of web links. These included an official website and social media links of Facebook and Twitter. These were important to include in our ancillary text as Genre is not simply ‘given’ by the culture: rather it is a constant process of negotiation and change said by David Buckingham. In recent years there has been social change which means how the audience use the platform of the internet has adapted. By placing these links it allows the audience to use the uses and gratifications model to get more information of the release of the album. For example on their official website there is a link to their social media accounts of Facebook and Twitter. By using this cross media convergence it allows the audience to gather more information, this informing the audience of our other ancillary text the digipak. By using cross media convergence it links to Henry Jenkins idea of entry points. Parts of the audience that follow the band on social media will find out about the album release in a different way. However, the main product of the for reasons unknown music video is on the internet platform of YouTube. This is an accessible platform to the audience as it can be accessed via apps on phones and the internet on the computer. On YouTube the video can then be shared back to other places on the internet like social media, by using this cross media convergence it allows the audience to interact with the main text and find about the surrounding texts. The use of the internet platform for all of our products allows the audience to quickly gain access to our products which as the audience is teenagers they’re stereotypically seen to be always on social media. By doing this it reinforces the album to the audience and this will allow it to get more publically noticed and viral to the public making these products relate to each other and make it easier to sell the album. This allows us to advertise our products for the album online as well as in print production like music magazines and billboards. By doing so it makes it interactive for the audience and links to modern media like Taylor Swift using social media to add a viral stigma around the music video ‘Bad Blood’ by doing so it matches the media that other musicians use and making the album more worldwide known to the public. Web Links How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
• 3.
  Reference to theband is clear throughout all of our products. This was done to help sell the album and reinforce the band members image. In the main text and ancillary text of the digipak the band is visually shown in a similar way implying the idea that they’re a part of the same world, which reinforces that the music video is for this album. For example the vocalist is seen the most in the main text and by visually referencing to the band this links the products together and shows that it is the same band. In the digipak all the band members are wearing the same clothing in the music video. By doing this it visually connects the products together to show they’re a part of the same album and by using this clothing it reinforces the music video. This allows the texts to be linked together quite quickly, as when the audience see the image of the vocalist in the digipak they will use the uses and gratifications model (Denis McQuail – 1987) to gain information that this song is a part of the album. As they’re only small images on the digipak it will link back to the music video as the audience want to see more of the band as they identify with them and the music. Making the audience go back and forth between products. The main text visually references Andrew Goodwin's idea that music videos contain performance. This is especially true in the indie/alternative rock genre. By placing so many shots of the band members it references that parts of the music video is a band performance, this is effective as it visually shows what may be in the DVD ‘live footage’ of the digipak. As some of the audience enjoy the live performance element this will link them to the album and make them more likely to buy it connecting the products together. In the magazine advertisement the bands logo is used to reference the band which is shown on the digipak also. By using this it shows who the album is by and connects visually as the audience understand that this is the bands logo making them connect to the band members. Band Members How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
• 4.
  In the ancillarytext of the digipak we wanted to make the track names relate to one another and have a certain theme to them. Our first track was for reasons unknown, which all the other products mention also. This was done to show that all the products are connected and they're all part of the same album era. The second track name was ‘The Lost’ this links directly to the album and the other ancillary text of the magazine advertisement. This is the album name and by using this on the ancillary texts it shows what they’re connected. Although it is not directly mentioned in the music video of ‘The Lost’ the narrative of the character looks lost within himself where he keeps continuously running around the station trying to find the other character implying this feeling of lost internally and externally. This reinforces the album name and by making that little connection visually to the audience it advertises our product to the audience. In the track names there is reference between the main text of the music video and ancillary texts. For example one of the track names ‘move away’ references the music video where that is what the character is doing. By mentioning this track it shows that this could be a follow up track from the music video. As Steve Neale demonstrated: Genres are instances of repetition and difference. In the track names they all have a similar concept following the overall promotional package theme of being darker and linking the track names to this idea of lost love and upset. This links the products together as the music video is about lost love and in The Killers previous albums lots of their music has focused on this and links it to the bands image by making it similar people are more likely to connect to it. For example ‘just another girl’ could imply the end of the narrative where the male character begins to let go of the mysterious female. By using these visual links it links the products together showing an example of synergy. Our track names also include re-recorded tracks, these link to the overall feel of the album and these are demo and bonus tracks which wouldn’t usually be placed in one of their albums. By using this we’re using older elements of The Killers to makes the album more intriguing to the audience to purchase it. By using this it links the audience back to previous albums and when they hear these songs they know they can purchase them on the new album and shows that the other songs in the album resemble this tone and makes the audience more intrigued. By using this we’re using older songs to help promote the album and what type of tone and theme it has. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts? Track Names
• 5.
  All of thetexts reference the track ‘for reasons unknown’ this is a major selling point for our album and by referencing this throughout the products it allows the audience to know that this song is featured on the album. In the ancillary text: the magazine advertisement, this track is used as a selling point: ‘featuring the hit single ‘for reasons unknown,’ this is done to reference the music video to the audience. Members of the audience who are unsure at what this song is will be able to search for it and this references that the main text and ancillary text are part of the same world. In the other ancillary text of the digipak the track is mentioned a few times on what is featured in the digipak. The song is the first track that is listed on the CD. This links to this idea that this song is important and as it is number one could link to this idea that this single is the number one track of the album which reinforces the audience to watch the music video as it is a main feature in the album. On the DVD section of the digipak there is mention of music video collections which features for reasons unknown by placing the tracks name again it references it’s importance and this part of the digipak instantly links to our main text. Another feature included in the digipak is behind the scenes footage of music videos. This links back to the main text as the audience will get to see the making behind the video and those parts of the audience who are visually engaged to the band will be intrigued by this feature. The use of for reasons unknown is an example of synergy. By placing the track and music video in our digipak and the music video online it allows the audience different access points to the main text. By allowing the audience to view and listen to the track in various ways it reinforces the album to the audience and makes them more intrigued to buy it if it is seen to be a popular song on the album. For Reasons Unknown How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
• 6.
  Throughout all thetexts to promote the album the use of colour was important. This is as we wanted to create a darker tone to reinforce the albums concept. In the ancillary texts of the digipak and magazine advertisement, the use of colour is visually similar and by using this it allows us to use synergy and connects the products together and when seeing the colours the audience will recognise the colour and know what album it is for. This is important as future advertising for the album and tours for the album would use this colour to relate back to the album and make it more recognisable. The use of dark colours like black is consistent of these print productions with hints of purple and blue within the images. By using this colour theme throughout these products it allows them to familiarise with it as Sonia Livingstone said: Different genres specify different 'contracts‘ to be negotiated between the text and the reader. The audience expect the promotional packaging – especially the print productions to relate to one another so when the audience see one text they think of the other texts. By doing this it is an expectation and it helps us reinforce and sell the album. Our main product uses colour in a different way. This is as most music videos don’t use all the colour conventions in the album but the main text connects to other music video releases. For example the next single from the album will have a similar colour tone to the for reasons unknown music video to show they’re part of the same genre. However, although the colour tone used is slightly different there is a colder sense to the video – this is especially done in the narrative. This is done in the narrative to connect the audience to the lyrics of the song and by making them think about the music rather than the video it links them back to the album. The use of colour uses a blue and colder tones, in the flashback scene this is seen to be much colder with less colour. This darker colour in the flashback scene may have fitted better in the whole video to instantly connect the products together. However by using a subtle cold colour it intrigues the audience making them know that this is part of the same album era and by using this darker colour filters on all productions it allows it to resemble a good promotional package for the album as it references the darkness throughout all the productions. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts? Colour
• 7.
  The use oflocation is interesting in our products. In the main text we decided to use the intertextuality of York Train Station. This links the audience to other media products and means that when they next see another media product with York Train Station they will think of The Killers and their album. The use of this location contrasts the ancillary texts of the digipak and magazine advertisement. By using this contrast it is interesting, however in the music video the narrative shows that the character is moving away (this also is an intertextual reference to one of the songs on the album). By using this idea of him moving away it references that the character is moving to the location of the album. One of the scenes in the music video is of the character looking at a train board. Although it does not directly say where the character is going the board says ‘London’ this references to the audience that this is where the character will be lost. As this is the first single for the album it could link to the idea that as this song has been released before the album he is not in a cityscape yet and is a pre-song to the album. By using this it intrigues the audience and him moving away could reference the location on the digipak and magazine advertisement. By using a location the audience are familiar with it connects them – especially British members of the audience. As The Killers have a big British fan base it links that the album is going to be more like their older albums as the UK is where one of their first fan bases started. By doing this it connects the fans and raises the bands image of this album. Although the texts are working separately the use of contrast interlinks them through the album of ‘The Lost’ by putting small references in it engages the audience and allows the products to work together in slightly different ways. By using this smaller location in the music video it implies this idea that they’re a niche audience which is common in this genre. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts? Location
• 8.
  How effective isthe combination of your main product and ancillary texts? Record Label The record label is displayed on both ancillary texts of the digipak and advertisement. This is shown by using the official logos, on both ancillary texts they’re placed in the same position. By doing this it connects the ancillary texts together as by placing them in the same way it implies a certain house style to the products and that they’re part of the same album era. To reference the record label: Island Records - based in the UK that is a division of Universal Music Group (UMG). We decided to make the music video similar to other musicians with this record label. By doing this it connects it to the record label, making it more realistic to the audience. As most music videos include a narrative and performance with lots of close-ups of the musicians as said by Andrew Goodwin we decided to use this in our music video also. This is used similarly in Fall Out Boy’s music videos. As they’re based in the rock genre and are part of the Island record label making this connection will link fans of theirs to The Killers making them more likely to buy the album. By doing this it allows us to resemble the record label and by making it professional it allows the audience to know that the other ancillary texts for this album are professional too. As Island Records is based in the UK this is why we decided to place the music video in the UK this was as it resembles the label. The use of the a professional simple layout to the digipak and advertisement and music video links the products together and implies the sound of the album. By using these simple effects it shows that this album is part of Island records and as this is a well know record label it makes the audience know that the album will be good and reinforces them to purchase it.
• 9.
  For our promotionalpackaging for the album we used different types of media to get the audience interested in the album release. The main text was a music video, this is an important feature and is a main feature of album releases, by placing this it instantly promotes what type of album it is and how the audience can connect to it emotionally. By using Andrew Goodwin's idea of concept throughout the whole music video of lost love it links to the other products in the promotional packaging. The music video was the most important text as they get to use a technology platform to share the video and by using a music video it makes the audience aware that The Killers are soon to release a new album. Although most advertising today is done online we used a magazine advertisement poster to advertise the album. This advertisement talks about the single ‘for reasons unknown’ by using this text is implies synergy and allows them to go onto another media platform to get more engaged with the album release. The use of a magazine advertisement is important as lots of people still buy music magazines and as The Killers are from the indie/rock genre it allows them to be in several types of rock magazines including: NME & Kerrang. This allows them to be noticed by several people as the audience buy magazines which means the audience can use different entry points to access the album and its release. The use of the advertisement is universal so it could easily be advertised as images online to the audience. By making the advertisement adaptable it means it can go on billboards, leaflets etc. This means they see that the advertisement is adaptable and is easy to make it viewable to the audience to make them aware of the album release. The other ancillary text. The digipak is important as it shows the audience the album and features it includes. This use of media is very important in the music industry and having a physical copy of this is important as some older fans may still use stores like HMV to get access to their albums and use CD’s. However, this digipak could easily placed online to iTunes which will make it online accessible. By using these things in an adaptive way it makes the productions more easily accessed to so the audience know about them and are more likely to buy it if they can see and buy it in several different ways. By using different media technologies it allows the audience to find out through different entry points (Henry Jenkins) making it interesting for all the audience. Type of media used How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?