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

I believe that all my products have continuity with each other. The dark solemn tones in my music video (such as the colour scheme and different tonal aspects within the nose-en-scene). Therefore for my first ancillary text (my digipak) I took photographs of Erin before our second filming shoot, therefore the lighting would be the same and the setting would not change. Therefore, when I came to deciding what CD cover and inside cover pictures I would use, I would have a selection of photographs with high correlation to my music video. Also, these photographs I thought could have been used for my magazine advert (shown in the second advert).

The selection in photos I wanted to use:
                                

 As you can see, the colour scheme and mise-en-scene such as her lying in the bath or surrounded by water which links my ancillary texts to the music video, and therefore, if it was a real life professional product people would spot one of my pieces and hopefully then associate it with the others. Just as I have done with my second magazine advert and my Digipak.

As you can see from the above photos, my Digipak and second magazine advert share the same front cover, thus done to highlight simplicity and show that again, like the video, my products aren't there to be fussy. Also, just like the company 'Apple' all my products are extremely minimal. The photo beneath is an inspiration I had for my second advert as it was so simplistic but looked very professional and clean. The below Magazine Advert was created by Sony Music which is a mainstream music production company. Although it is mainstream work, I think the minimalist use of photography and simplistic text design could be passed off as independent and would not have cost much to create as it is primarily made up of shapes. Therefore, I took inspiration from this minimalistic design and made my second music magazine advert. Therefore, keeping the professional-look that mainstream products have, but still having the originality and independence of a cheap product.

I thought that by using my CD front cover on one of my magazine adverts would create continuity with both my music video and my Digipak. I think this worked well because you can associate all my products with one another. Also, as Sven Carlson states: my music video would be perceived as an 'Art Clip' as there is no sign of lip-sync and is clearly conceptual. Therefore, by almost re-creating the artistic ambitions within my photography for my ancillary texts, it has enabled me to further create continuity throughout. Thus when put together as a complete product, the colour scheme, stills and moving footage all look relatable. That is why, for my first magazine advert, I used a still from my music video to create the three-picture effect. This worked well as you can instantly associate it with the beginning of the video and the psychology of 'Encoding, Storing and Retrieval' which has proven, that a person always remembers the beginning or end of something (whether that be a list, film or music video) as it can be stored in Long Term Memory quicker. Therefore, in real life if my music video was being promoted, my audience would instantly be reminded of my main product from my ancillary texts due to the same mise-en-scene shown at the beginning.

For my Digipak, I used my Google mock-up as a starting point as I gathered quite good feedback from my audience. They said they liked the minimal design and also commented on the Polaroids. The Polaroid pictures are effective in comparison with my main product as in my music video, there are constant flashbacks.

This use of time and present day and past pieces of film was incorporated within my Digpak as Polaroids are usually taken to remind you of a past event that you want to remember. Therefore relating to my music video as my main actress (Erin Miller) is supposed to be looking back at her most fond memories of her younger years.

 As you can see from the screenshots on the left hand side, for my first poster ancillary text I have used these photographs to create it.

I did this because in order to create definitive continuity with my music video, I felt like it would be easier and more efficient to take it right from the source. However, for my second poster ancillary text I did not use screengrabs from my music video as I felt I had already created continuity with my Digipak and had already established that technique in my first poster text.

For this effect I had to stop my video several times to create this effect. I thought it would be ironic to incorporate the scenes in which she's smiling because the video in itself is quite solemn. However, if people believe that it is light-hearted video, they may be more likely to watch it and thus be more likely to accept his ideas. Therefore, when creating my first poster ancillary text, it was essential to depict exactly what you want your audience to see: to almost control them by enabling them to relate to the content.

Therefore, I do believe that my main product and my ancillary texts are effective in regards to the photographs used and my decisions in terms regarding audience feedback and already existing products such as the Justin Timberlake advert. Audience feedback was crucial for the decisions I made when creating my ancillary texts and therefore cannot be regarded as just way to improve or success feedback as it was primarily important for creating continuity so that people may distinguish my products from another but also instantly establish them as a set group.

This is how my product would look if it were on a Billboard (mainstream advertising):

I decided to create two Magazine adverts as I could not choose between the two. As the first one is very conventional to the music video (as it is made up on screenshots), it creates continuity with my video. It also creates cohesion with the title of the album 'Drown' as you see her in three-steps submerging into the water. However, my second magazine advert is a lot more simplistic and has a lot less information on it. I have used the CD front cover to create this minimalistic advert which in real life, would be sponsored by 'iTunes'. I think they both look quite professional which can be backed up via  the feedback below. Again, if someone were to be walking down the street just having watched my music video, they would be able to establish it by the mise-en-scene. This is such as the bathtub, the use of water, the aerial view and finally the contrast between a more melancholic photo (shown on the left and on my Digipak) and then on the right for a more light-hearted photograph. This also captures the fact that film is simply moving image and you can capture as much in a photograph as you can throughout a 3 minute video. This is why I want my audience to be able to effective notice the combination of my main music video product and my ancillary text.

                         

My first Magazine advert was inspired by the 'Kings of Leon - Only by Night' magazine advert in which different photos were montaged together, I took this idea and formulated my own inspiration. This then transformed into a 3-stage picture, which in my opinion tells a story in itself, whereas my second magazine advert is more refined to the CD cover. therefore, it would be easier for my audience to identify the CD in a shop if they had been seeing it magazines, on billboards... etc.

In conclusion, all my products work cohesively together as a package. I think I have directly and consciously researched different conventions to create effective similarities between my main products and ancillary texts. By focusing on film artists and directors such as Eric Anderson, has enabled me to penalise my work on a professional level and also use it comparatively in comparison t their own work.