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

In constructing the main product and ancillary texts I worked towards a goal of keeping them to an alternative stylisation. This was done because the Blighters music is within the Indie – New Wave genre which to me means an alternative and unique style; wanting to bring across consistent products I stuck to the artist’s genre like glue. By doing this I enable the audience to identity with all of the bands products and help create the bands own unique identity to further increase their popularity.

Therefore after finishing my main product I went about finding a basis to hang my ancillary texts. With the music video being created in a quirky non-conventional location yet also using many traditional approaches I wanted a similar angle for my ancillary texts. To achieve this I wanted to link the majority of the digipak to the skateboarding aspect of my video, one stereotype that follows skateboarding and is manifested in many skateboarding products is graffiti or strong graphical elements. Once I had this style in mind I looked for a way to use my limited artistic skills to bring this across.

Through using Adobe Photoshop as well as Illustrator CS4 and a large amount of varying textures and flourishes I was able to create multiple images to use for constructing my digipak. I linked the band strongly to the ancillary text by having the lead singer from the main product, Owen, on the front. This is ideal because many bands singers are seen as the most attractive of the band because they are the ones constantly shown throughout all products which link them into its core identity. Furthermore wanting to stick to the alternative artistic style I created the other 2 panes above. These stick to the strong background drop affects adding depth to the image while also following the same strong sky backdrops within the music video as shown from the original images below.

Another aspect of the audiences attraction may be because aspirers see the band as the ultimate of any musician due to their ability to sing as well as play an instrument. Wanting to play upon this fact I also set Owen up as the main image on the magazine advert which solidified the link between the main product and ancillary texts and used the same colour scheme and base image of the Album cover itself.

I also used another pane to show the entire band along with writing along them giving you their name and instrument played. Meaning the 2 panes below above employ background images that came from the music video enforcing the link between both products.

Another link between the band and the ancillary texts is by having the booklet within the digipak to have a page per song released on the CD. This enabled me to create 4 very distinctive images constructed around each songs unique lyrics. Each page has an alternative style following the feel of the song as well as the overall quirkiness of the products. For example the ‘Boys in Motion’ song which I choose for the main product is on the first page while also having a strong background taken from the product, as well as a few notations on the lyrics (Shown above - 2nd Image).

Furthermore wanting to keep with the strong graphical element the other pages in the booklet and back of the digipak keep to a flourish basis and have no photo elements to cement the style. The colouring of each page also keeps to the quirkiness by having a brighter palette of colours with high contrast; this in itself creates an attraction to the audience because it catches people’s eyes along with making the product more desirable by being uniquely designed. This uniqueness links to the rural rather than the urban skatepark location within the main product music video.

Both the main product and ancillary texts bring across a feeling of freedom to be you due to their uniqueness yet also strangely traditional style. You can identify with the band by their lyrics such as the Boys in Motion song being based around love and moving on, yet it’s also mellow sounding on a subject which can be quite hectic. This simplicity to life shown in their lyrics is also shown in the design of the main product and ancillary texts. The main product is a simple down to earth video with no special effects or massive high maintenance likewise the ancillary texts follow very simple designs yet both bring it across in a strong fashion.

Both products are aimed at a younger demographic because of their slightly Indie - New Wave genre and unique stylisation. Non-mainstreamers would be attracted to the bands identity and mellow sounding music against rock or pop counterparts.

However while these links are strong and quite effective I could have gone for more photo based ancillary texts which would have enabled me to have a stronger link between the Music Video and ancillary texts. Likewise it would have enabled a stronger skateboarding relevance which I could not include due to my limited artistic skill set.

Overall I feel the links between my main product and ancillary texts are effective. They both have similar identifying factors creating a unique brand while also strengthening Owen as the lead musician.