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

By Benny & Jeremiah

Questions regarding main product and ancillary texts

CD1. Does it fulfil its purpose?2. Would it be appropriate for your target audience?3. How does it combine with your music video?4. How does it combine with the magazine cover?Music Video5. Does it fulfil its purpose?6. How does it combine with magazine cover and CD?7. Is it appropriate for your target audience?Magazine Cover8. How does it link with your CD?9. Would it be appropriate for your target audience?10.Does it fulfil its purpose?

Original idea for our album coverThe original idea we had for our album was significantly different to our end product. The idea we envisioned in our first cover didn’t really compliment what we were trying to achieve in our music video. The use of too much animation would give it a cartoony feel, we felt it would be too simple and amateur, looking more like a mixtape rather than an album. After heavy consideration we scrapped this idea for another one.

This is an example of the mixtape format we didn’t want to emulate.

Album Cover

The ‘parental advisory’ label shows that swear words are going to present which is common of many rap albums.

Whilst making our CD we decided to change the name from ‘Man Of The Year’ to ‘Future Lights’ to become more interesting.

The album cover itself represents being British and the artist being in the limelight.

Back CoverWhen making our album we decided to research songs we could include on the tracklist from current artists. Slang terms are used to show reference to the specific target audience.

‘AlwayzRecording’ is a UK based record label which rappers like Wretch 32 and Chipmunk are on.

The use of the landmark ‘Big Ben’ is maintained from the front to the back of the album.

Album Questions1. Does it fulfil its purpose?I think our album fulfils its purpose as I believe the codes and conventions within the rap genre have been maintained. We could have used one individual pose from the artist but we used 4 in total for the album cover, showing creativity through inspiration from artists such as Andy Warhol. I also feel the name of our album is interesting being named ‘Future Lights’ as it his first album he’s hoping it will bring him stardom to see the flashing lights of celebrity life.

2. Would it be appropriate for your target audience?I feel it will be appropriate for my target audience as they will be fascinated by the album cover. The use of the landmark ‘Big Ben’ will immediately relate to those consuming the album who are British but is also recognised internationally. As the target audience we have identified as being between the ages of 13-25 we have catered to the technological advances today by making the song available on music sites like iTunes as shown at the end of the video.

Album Questions3. How does it combine with your music video?Our CD combines with our music video firstly because the rapper is shown wearing a gold watch on the album cover whilst in the video he is filmed wearing a gold chain putting emphasis on the luxury of a rappers lifestyle. Also there is a link in editing techniques with the use of multiple pictures in the album cover and also been used in the actual video as an editing technique.

4. How does it combine with the magazine cover?The album cover combines with the magazine cover because the same artist is featured on the front of the magazine as the album cover. The central image dominating the front page coincides with the album covers portrayal of the artist showing that he is the main focus. Also texts feature the artist posing agreeing with the stereotype of rappers being self-indulged into themselves and being flashy.

Magazine CoverFor the magazine cover we included a central image of the artist posing as we saw this was common in most hip-hop magazines.The main focus of the magazine is the artist Jezza therefore the main story is concerning the release of his new album.At the bottom of the

magazine we included a barcode to make it look more realistic.

Magazine Cover Questions1. How does it combine with your CD?The magazine cover combines with the album because the same type of font is used on the album cover, tracklisting and the magazine cover showing a similarity in the genre they are based in. Also a barcode is used on the back of the album as well as the magazine cover to show similarity.

2. Would it be appropriate for your target audience?Similar to the album, the magazine cover has also been created in the hope that it will fascinate and attract interest from our target audience. We have decided to go against the conventional idea of sticking to only two main colour schemes by using a range of colours all over the magazine this gives a sense of individuality in that we are in a sense ‘breaking the rules’.

Magazine Cover Questions• I believe my magazine cover

fulfils its purpose. The magazine name is ‘THE MASTERMIND’ its catchy like other magazines which we researched such as XXL, The Source & Vibe. The magazine cover features a title, central image, main cover story, feature stories and barcode which are all reminiscent of magazine conventions of today. On a whole, the magazine cover is very eye catching with the range of colours used and is fresh and appeals to the quite young audience.

Music Video Questions1. Does it fulfil its purpose?I feel the music video fulfills its purpose as we made use of the mise-en-scene as best as we could. We took a lot of elements into consideration such as location, lighting and clothing. After receiving the audience research questionnaire me and my partner did our best to conform to the conventions of the rap/hip-hop genre. The lyrics in the video also help to fulfil its purpose by talking about current social issues in youth culture of today.

How does it combine with magazine cover & CD?The music video combines with the album cover and magazine cover as we have made the artist the main focus of the ancillary texts and the video. An aspect which we have included in all 3 media products are the use of expensive items like the magazine cover and the music video which features the artist wearing a Ralph Lauren hoodie, Ralph Lauren is a high-end brand compared to that of Nike. On the front of the album cover the artist is featured wearing a gold watch highlighting the idea that rappers enjoy the ‘finer things in life’.