How effective is the combination of your main product and

ancillary task?

As we can see in the screenshot on the left, I have focused my video around a combination of rural and urban locations which I believe have reflected the stereotypical associations of todays youth. The choice of location within my music video was very significant in order for it to fit the codes & conventions of the genre, therefore I have chosen to interlink my music video with the ancillary task by implementing some of the locations which were seen within the video. I believe that by focusing the digipaks background around the locations of the video, I have clearly portrayed a link with the main product as the end user would be easily allowed to acknowledge those locations and refer back to the video. In order for my digipak to present both the rural and urban locations I have chosen the front cover to reflect the urban area (Central London) whereas the inside of the digipak will reflect the open space, nature filled locations (parks). By implementing such design to my ancillary task I believe that it has gone with the stereotypical codes and conventions as mainly the digipaks have a very subtle one colour, faded background applied to each of the pages or a background image which portray striking compositions and successfully enhance the overall composition. I have followed the style of Avicii as mentioned in the first question, where his background has effectively enhanced the overall composition and being considered as a part of it rather than basing my content on a plain background, therefore following the second conventions that has been portrayed to me via looking at already existing products . The first location which I have implemented into my design was based on the opening scene of the music video. In the screenshot on the left we can see the opening scene that has portrayed the actress in the middle of an open field. The location which the actress was placed in was a good signifier of her isolation and emotional breakdown. As a result of this I have chosen to implement it within the inside of the digipak as when the end consumer will open up the product, they will gain an impression of being within the location, that they mainly associate with the video itself. Originally the photograph was quite plain therefore in order for it ti interlink with my chosen background for the front cover of the digipak and the background of the

advert, I have chosen to overlay the background with the same galaxyImage which has been used on the rest of

my images. By applying the same effect to the inside background photograph I have been allowed to carry on the same theme as from the front background of the photograph, which by the galaxy overlay portrays a significant amount of surreal element. Considering the fact that most progressive house digipaks portray surreal graphics within their front covers, I have challenged followed this convention and applied it to the inside, therefore creating a “Geometric Landscape Displacement” graphics which gave a portal-like impression. This as a result gave the booklet page a dream-like sense.

In order to construct my front cover I have followed the style which Avicii has portrayed within his work, as his digipak successfully combines the background images into the composition therefore concluding on a very effective composition, that is eye-catching and informative at the same time. Following this convention, I have come across the work by Rudimental and their album ‘Home’. Within the digipak, they have implemented a photograph of a building in Hackney, presenting to their audience where they come from. As a result of this, I have been inspired to implement a real life photograph into the background which has lead me to a creating a clear link between my main product and the ancillary task. The screenshots on the left portray some of the scenes within my video, in Central London where I have additionally photographed the locations for further use. By capturing the location of where the filming took place and the scenes that were included within the video, I have been able to clearly portray the link to my main product within the digipak. The photograph which I have captured of Central London (visible top right corner) has portrayed uneven textures, high contrast in shades as well as vibrant colours which is what I have found to be present within the image on Rudimentals album. As a result, my digipak has portayed a combination of both; urban and rural locations which has been clearly portrayed within my music video therefore representing the whole concept of the music video. In order to enhance the background image for the front of the digipak, I have implemented two image ovelrays; one being A galaxy and one being a flipped cloud image which when applied, created a dream like

atmosphere in the photograph. The use of galaxy image overlay can be additionally seen within the inside of the digipak where I have applied it onto the rural background therefore creating a corporate image within the digipak itself. I believe that by implementing a photograph of thelocation where the music video has been filmed onto the front cover, I have allowed the audience to refer back to the video therefore allowing for quick and easy recognition of the music video. I believe that this is quite beneficial for my product as due to the strong link, the audience will be persuaded to purchase the product due to their recognition of the video content. Adding onto that, I believe the post-production stages have had a significant effect on the attractiveness of the background which effectively catches the audiences attention, which would as a result drag them into the product . The audience will purchase it due to it portraying a surreal element that is very common for Progressive House.

Referring back to the first evaluation question, I have stated that within my research I have found that one of the main codes & conventions within digipak & advert construction which I have found is the major link between the use of images and typography which creates a corporate identity in-between the two mediums. As a result, by the digipak and the advert portraying the same images and typography use they allow each other to promote the second product which would affect the recognition of the product. Due to this the audience passing by can notice the advert by which they will absorb the information as well as get familiar with the graphics such as the geometrical shape, urban background and the typography style. As a result of this, when visiting a shop they will notice my digipak and automatically associate it with what they have seen within the advert, persuading them to purchase my product. As we can see in the bottom right corner I have presented a well known example that I have based my advert production on. The digipak and advert for Rudimental ‘Home’ album present a high level of interlinking due to the common use of imagery as well as typography style. Within their advert we can see the same image being used of the building, with vibrance being the only element they have changed. I have acknowledged that Rudimental has increased the colour vibrance within their advert which as a result reflected in the advert being more eye-catching due to its bright and live colours that will stand out against various objects or elements outside of it. I have chosen not to follow this convention of increasing the brightness within my advert, as I believe the bright and colourful typography as well as the geometrical shape are bright enough to catch the audiences attention. On the other hand, having the background reasonably darker than the typography has allowed me to emphasise the font as well as its colours making the advert text easily readable. Within my digipak I have additionally used ‘Bebas Neue’ typography however in white which can be clearly seen on the CD and the strap/fold in between the pages. As a result of this I have chosen to continue the use of white typography onto my advert where the same white ‘BebasNeue’ font has been used in order to write the features which follow the codes & conventions such as the release date, track list information as well as additional information. Typography was a significant element of my ancillary task construction as due to its I was allowed to make my product attractive for the audience as well as being allowed to resemble the progressive house temper.

The typical elements which appear within a progressive house advert are: the album title, artist name/logo, track list information, release date as well as additionall information such as website links. I have followed each of the conventions and their typical placement with my placement being mainly inspired by Zedds ‘True Colors’ advert, however one area which I have challenges it the artists name/logo placement. In most of the adverts the logo is mainly presented towards the bottom however there are some exceptions such as Rudimentals advert. By supporting Rudimentals logo placement, I believe that I have not overcrowded the advert therefore making it easier to follow and understand.

Considering the fact that within my music video I have implemented quite a surreal narrative which portrays a combination of positive and negative associations of todays youth, I have challenged to represent this by some of the graphics which I have included within my work. For example we can see that within the back cover I have implemented a tessellating graphic composition which can be additionally seen on the front cover within the geometrical shape as well as the typography. Focusing on the back cover of my Digipak, I have mainly based my feature placement as well as graphic inspiration from Zedd’s ‘True Color’s. The biggest

element of my back page construction was the graphic element which symbolizes the tessellation of the actresses emotions and movement which can be clearly seen within the video by the dynamic nature of the actress, rapid change of location and the overall tempo of the song. This shows the fact that young people don’t know how to manage their emotions, therefore in order to symbolize this mood within my work I have researched and constructed a vibrant pattern. Other than using the graphic composition, I have additionally interlinked my ancillary task to the main product by implementing the songs title which we used named ‘Beautiful Now’. The main product portrayed a large amount of surrealelement within my work due to the location and the overall narrative, therefore as a result of this I have refined a track list of 11 tracks by which their titles reflect a similar, dream-like theme reflecting my music video theme. As a result of this I believe that the audience will acknowledge the track list and will be persuaded to purchase the digipak due to their interest in the surreal element which my work portrays.

Concluding, I believe the link between the music video which I have constructed as well as the digipak and the advert is very strong. The link has been created by a variety of elements however I believe the elements which have had a major effect on the interlinking were in fact the imagery which I have used as well as the typography. Within my video we have been portrayed a major sense of surrealism which within my digipak and advert has been resembled by the manipulated backgrounds. The use of real life imager which has additionally been portrayed within my video has as a result created a strong visual link between the video and the digipak, allowing the audience successfully recognise areas of the video and apply them to the digipak & advert , and vice versa. The final digipak & advert products have met my expectations as in my previous research I have stated that I would like to create a product that will attract the audience due to its eye-catching design as well as allowing for easy transfer of information to the end consumer which I believe has been met by my digipak and advert.

Within my digipak and advert construction I have been allowed to develop my construction skills by graphically generating content such as typography and graphic compositions which has challenged my Photoshop skills. I have additionally made full use of the current photography skills, which I have used in order to capture effective and clear photography for my digipak & advert construction. As a result of this I have been able to create a code & convention inspired product that is up to a high standard.

CONCLUSION