Digipak Ancillary Production - Outline

I found a digipak template online to act as a useful guide for me creating my final ancillary product. The template includes:

• Front cover
• Back cover 
• Inside cover
• Disk cover

On Photoshop I can take the images I will create and put them over the artwork layer and then finally remove the template layer - leaving an existing product of my digipak. 

Music Magazine Conventions - Ancillary Research

In my ancillary products i am creating a magazine advert, I have chosen to do some research into music magazines as well so that i could get a feel of the genre for my advertisement. I plan to identify the common codes and conventions of magazines in order to produce successful content.

The images used on covers of music magazines is mostly the artist. Eye contact is often used to engage the target audience to the artist, creating a rapport. Often it is a mid shot or close up for one artist and a band is often a longer, wider shot. There is nothing distracting in the background, so that the focus is on the artist.

Typically there is no more than three colours used at a time to keep it simple and minimalistic - and keep the main image as the main attraction. If too many colours are used it can be considered as overwhelming, and can deter the target audience.

The other text on the front cover eg, subtitles and brief text is always in capitals to grab attention, making it appear loud, bold and appealing to target audiences. The font is the same and used in bold across the cover. The sublines beneath subheadings is usually in a different colour so that people reading the magazine ca easily differentiate between sections.

The name of music magazines are usually brief and catchy so that they are easy to remember. Examples of this are:

• NME
• Kerrange
• Q 
• Billboard
• Rolling Stone 

The name is always at the top of the magazine and often a block colour so that they are clear and readable to immediately catch attention. The main artist feature on the magazine as the main attraction. 

Ancillary 2 - Text

After I chose the artwork and placed it on the poster page, i had to add text. I used the same band name and album name as the digipak - therefore ensuring consistency throughout my products so that my consumer can see clearly who I am advertising.

The bandname 'undercover brotherhood' is in an american typewriter font which stands out due to it's originality and subversion of the common convention of a sanserif font. I situated this at the top in white to stand out from the bright blue background colour which is another convetion of magazine adverts of this genre. This shows the audience that the bandname is the most important feature in regards to the text, which is further illuminated by the use of a different font.

The released date is in capital letters and I the same colour as the background to really stand out. Furthermore, it stands out more due to a dropshaddow behind the statement to make it really eyecatching.

The rest of the text is all in white to standout from the dark colours behind it. They are also in the same font. This includes the album title, inclusion tag line and links to social media. I selected all the fonts provided on photoshop, which I believed was appropriate for my target audience and fitting for my genre.

Audience Feedback for Advert - Questions

I decided that after creating my ancillaries, i wanted to get audience feedback to see what my target market thought of them. Similarly to when I was creating my music video so that I knew I was creating something that was going to be conventional to my film. I used the survey website surveymonkey.com.

This site allows you to design your own survey which can be sent out to other media students to get feedback on what they think of my product designs. From this I can collect responses all in one area.

The questions I asked were:

• Do the colours go well together? - I asked this because I wanted to know whether the use of the vibrant background colour was effective in catching attention. 
• Can you tell what I am advertising? - I asked this question because in my common codes and conventions research I found several similarities between posters and adverts and what type of advert it is (tour or album).
• Does the illustrated image look effective and sophisticated? - I asked this question as the illustration I have done had block colouring which can sometimes be seen as uncreative and look like it appeals to a younger audience.
• Does the artwork appeal to you? - As my classmates wee in my target market age range, I felt this was an appropriate question to ask. 

Audience Feedback for Advert - Results

After I had received replies from all the people that I had sent my survey too, it was time to look at the results which I was happy with. I received 100% 'yes' for all the questions that I hoped for a 'yes' and 'no' for all the ones I had hope 'no' for. This is extremely positive as it means that I have achieved what I was hoping to achieve when creating my products.

• Do the colours go well together? I asked this question to get feedback on whether all of the chosen colours blend well together and look effective. I am glad that my target audience I had asked think that all the colours go well together as this is paramount as I want my product to stand out as much as possible. If the audience I had asked answered the question 'no' it wouldn't be fulfilling it's purpose as a competitive advert. 

• Can you tell what I am advertising? This is an important question because I wanted people to be able to tell if it was advertising the album or the band. Therefore the positive feedback is highly appreciated as I am happy knowing that my advert is successful at promotion. 

• Does the illustrated image look effective and sophisticated? This question I asked was only to ensure that everything on the front of the magazine advert was aesthetically pleasing. As the colours used in the images fall out of the lines etc, I wanted to make sure that the audience knew it was supposed to be like that and that it was the artist's intention. 

• Does the artwork appeal to you? This is a paramount question as I sent this questionnaire to my target audience to get their opinions on the advert and by finding out if it would actually appeal to them would allow me to know if my advert would be successful or not.  

Ancillary Research - digipak artist research

As part of my ancillary research, I have decided to look at similar artists digipaks. This will be useful as I will be able to see what similar artists do. Through this research I will identify the similarities and differences between similar genres and their digipaks.

I have chosen to analyse in the the 1975's self titled album. The 1975 are an English rock band from Manchester known for their own unique style. Their album '1975' was released in september 2013 and topped the charts. I have chosen to analyse this digipak as it is a similar genre to the band I have chosen to do for my music video which will be beneficial for when it comes to creating a digipak for my own artist.

The artwork on the front cover of the digipak is minimalist and simplistic which the name of the band as the main image. This is a common convention of the band as their image is meant to be portrayed as simplistic. There isn't any need for any extra font or text, especially considering the album is self titled. This will draw the target audiences eyes to the name of the band, moreover the minimal writing allows the name and album title to be memorable.

The colour scheme of the digipak is minimal and there are no other colours than black and white. This is conventional for this band and genre as they aren't flamboyant as they differ from the 'mainstream' music, making their image purposely different. The back of the digipak is similar to the front but with different font, however it is still effective in the minimalist style. By having a simplistic colour scheme, the target audience is able to focus on the important information as there are no bold or obstructive images on the title.

The disk is dark grey/black with the title of the band printed across the top lightly. The lyric book is also black, with white font listing the credits on. The monochrome colour scheme of the entire digipak stands out as it differs from a lot from other chart topping albums as they follow the conventions of bold colours to catch their target audiences eye.

Ancillary 2 - Logos

After receiving verbal feedback on my magazine advert, I decided to ad logo's to the bottom as it would be paramount for my product to include information of where the artist can be found as well as incorporating well known company logos. These are situated at the bottom of the advert where it is a common convention to find information there. Further more I added a QR code for consumers to find out more online.

Sound - Post Production

As my media project is a music video, I have one soundtrack throughout the entire video which is Arcane Roots - Held Like Kites. To ensure I could use this song, I composed an email to their manager. In this email I explained that I am an A level student who wanted to use their song for my final piece. It was important to chose my song prior to any planning of the music video. This is because I knew what genre/narrative I wanted to link the lyrics to. Therefore i knew i would have to choose a song i was happy with as well as being able to create a storyline out of the lyrics. After listening to the lyrics of this song I quickly created lots of new ideas for my narrative which was inspiring.

Editing Software - Post Production

I have chosen Adobe Premier Pro to edit my final music video after careful consideration I decided to go along with the software I used last year for my preliminary AS film. Due to my previous knowledge and understanding, using it again will allow me to develop other skills that will help with this years editing. Premier Pro has all of the relevant features that I need and it is easily accessible to me.

Filming the Kite Scenes - Actors Costumes

I had done research into costumes that I wanted my actors to wear, and spoke to them for input where they had similar ideas. It's important that the costumes are conventional to the genre of music as it would appeal to my target audience of younger people as my characters are 18-20 years old - if their costumes are stereotypical then it will make the video more relatable for the target audience.

• This is a screen shot from the kite flying scene where my main character wore mostly black by a red scarf too. The majority of black in the costume connotes a tone of mourning and death relating to the mise-en-scene and narrative throughout the music video. The black ripped jeans still appeal to a modern young audience as ripped jeans are in fashion - appealing to my desired target audience. The red scarf connotes feelings of love and lust and by blowing in the wind it creates feelings of lost love as its trying to blow away. 
• The kite in the characters hand symbolises the whole narrative though the theme of 'holding on and letting go'. The character has this as it relates to her trying to let go of her lost love as she knows its time to move on. 

Audience Feedback - Post Production

After showing my initial stages of editing to my target audience, I asked them a series of questions regarding my music video and how they thought I could improve. I decided to do a style of focus group, and asked people from my media class and external students to participate. This relaxed style promotes honest, genuine criticisms rather than formal pressure.

The questions I asked was -

• Are the flashbacks clear?
• Can you tell the story line?
• Does the song relate well to the theme/shots?
• Does the music video appeal/interest you?
• What did you like the most?
• What did you like the least?

Couple Filming Day 4 - Kitchen Scene

This is the day I filmed the flashback scene in the kitchen of the couple making tea.

I got various shots this day as it is one of the most powerful scenes. The motif of the two mugs is important to show the relationship that is now broken. The juxtaposition in the comparison shots between the couple and the protagonist on her own create a powerful message.

I captured:

• over the shouldershots
• wide shots
• high angle
• low angle
• close up
• extreme close up

Held Like Kites Music Video - 2nd Draft

Ancillary Research - digipak artist research

For my research for my ancillaries, i decided to look at similar artist's digipaks to get ideas of not only how they are set out but the format of their digipak too. This is beneficial as i can locate similarities between genres and their digipaks. I have chosen to analyse the catfish and the bottlemen album, the balcony.


Catfish and the Bottlemen are an english indierock band originating from llandudno, north wales in 2007. Their debut album, The Balcony, reached no.10 in the UK albums chart and achieved Platinum status on the 30th of December 2016. The group consists of  Van McCann(guitar), Johnny Bond(guitar), Benji Blakeway (bass) and Bob Hall (drums). They paired a DIY ethic with a grity, garage-laced sound constantly gigging throughout 2012-13 before signing to Communion Records owned by mumford & sons bandmember Ben Lovett recording 3 singles before moving to Universal in 2014. Later that year they received  a Best Newcomer Award from the BBC.

They have released 3 EP's and two albums. Their first album 'the Balcony' was released at the end of 2013 reaching number 10 in the UK albums chart. their second album 'the Ride' was released on the 27th May 2016 through capitol records reached number 1 in the UK album charts for 1 week. In 2016, they won the Brit Award for British Breakthrough Act. 

The main image consists of an image of two bodies with no heads. The only details given are the white outline that can only suggest the genders of the two bodies, eg the one on the right having outlines of breasts. The top left corner has the bands logo to establish who they are and attract the attention of fans of the band. The logo has the same colour scheme as the rest of the album cover. The drawing on the front cover is more ambiguous and not so straightforward, creating interest.

The colour scheme consists of grey scale, including blacks, whites and greys. The font is contrasting the background on the front and back cover. the white on the cover gives a more luminous look and stands out from the black background - however it remains a simple and minimalist aesthetic.