Evaluation - Question 2

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

Directors commentary 
Describing my artist: fresh, unique and modernistic.

In relation to my music video

In relation to my music video, I believe that there were a variety of elements which contributed to the visuals and conventions of a Drum and Bass music video. Firstly, in my music video there are 3 different outfit changes from the artist in the video. The first outfit shows him quite rugged in a shirt and tie after a day at work. I use this outfit as I wanted to show him as having a hard day at work and then going straight out and partying. In most Drum and Bass videos, you do not usually see this, but I wanted to challenge this concept. The second outfit shows him quite dressed down and casual. The third outfit shows him the same, but with a bomber jacket in dark colours. I wanted dark colours for this as a from my research, there was a significant amount of videos where the artist was always shown in dark lighting and dark colours. Also, there is a vital reason in why there are a number of different outfit changes. This is due to the song being called 'Changes' so I wanted to convey a link between the title and what is in the video. The type of clothing I used was also to try and target my target audience too. I thought that the audience could possibly engage with the artist as they may have been in a similar scenario like him before. E.g. going straight out an partying after work.

The specific editing style that I used was important as during my research a number of editing styles came up continuously. This included slow motion, starting off with slow cuts and gradually getting faster cuts, close ups of the artist and also rewinding in some form. The use of close ups provided the audience to be engaged with the artist an familiarise themselves with him. It also showed the artists facial expressions clearly and efficiently. The colours represented in the video have a link between the digipak and magazine advert. Not only did the focus group help me to come up with ideas for both of my digipak and advert, but my music video had elements which linked in. For example, the use of the bright coloured balloons at the beginning was significant as it was one of the first things the audience sees. I portrayed the brightness from the balloons in some of the neon text which was used in my digipak and magazine advert. 

Digipak

With my digipak, I struggled to come up with ideas of what it could include and present. I was able to get some positive feedback through a focus group. This helped me to come up with a variety of different ideas and possibilities for my digipak. However, I wanted it to stay within the Drum and Bass genre and also fit in with the conventions of this particular genre and my music video. From the focus group, I was given a number of different colours to use in my digipak. People suggested I use the element of dark colours and also neon colours. Throughout my digipak I used the colour blue with a particular background, but edited it so it was different on each side. I used this same background for my magazine so it stayed in contrast with the digipak. I used the outline of a city on the back cover to represent nightlife which i wanted to correspond with my music video. On the sides which the artist it represented, he is faded into the background. I wanted to use this element to correspond with in the video where he is 'tripping'. The use of the neon colours were used in both my magazine advert and digipak. This is to fit in with the Drum and Bass genre. Also, with my research I found that a lot of albums from this particular genre use neon colours too. 

Magazine Advert

One particular aspect which I used throughout my digipak and magazine advert was the same background. I did this so that there was an effective combination between the two. I also used the same picture for my digipack front cover and my magazine advert. The picture of him is also very similar to a part of my video. I wanted to have a contrast and connection from my digipak, magazine advert and music video. The picture to the right is a screenshot from the video where the artist has a dark black shadow around him. With the magazine advert, I chose a neon colour to have as an outer glow because not only did I gain this information from my focus group, but I also thought that it could portray my artist as fresh, bright and new to the music industry. 

The colours, font and images have been consistent through both my digipaks and magazine advert. There has also been elements and ideas which I have taken from my music video, and included in the others too. The facial expression in which is shown in the magazine advert is very serious. However, I wanted it like this as I wanted the audience to engage with the artist and remember his face.