Representation of the artist
The Representation of the artist is shown through the final piece of my music magazine because of the image. The image is very important in this advert becuase it shows to the audience what I am trying to represent the band as. The greyscale and the nostalgic setting of the photo help link into the band because of their vintage look and the comparisons which have been made with the band which are of the same genre. This also allows the audience to have an insight of what the video is going to be like and represent the whole campaign of the bands look and direction. This can be compared to other artists ecause we usually see a recurring theme throughout the promo packages, such like in the Kings Of Leon 'Come Around Sundown' Album.
Mise-en-scene of images
The Mise-en-scene of the images follows the same campaign throughout the digipack, the advert and my final video. This image above shows once again the same setting where my video and my music magazine advert took place, again this shows a theme throughout the products. By using this bridge and the same colour scheme throughout, it shows the conventions in artists today adapt to. Also by including the main characters from by digipack in my video, there is an obvious link that they are in the band, and show a link between all three products once again. Not all the time are the bands in their videos, but if they are including them in my digipack allows them to be recognised ad to show thier image.
Costumes and props
The Costumes and Props are very important when folowing and trying to adapt conventions from the major magazines and artists. In my Digipack my band members followed the look of the band, by using clothes which could be described as vintage, which fits into the bands look and sound. So the use of Denim jackets and Ray-bans allowed my characters to adapt the theme and make it reoccuring throughout. This is shown above as a major example, of Coldplay's recent album, they follow a theme throughout by using a bring multi coloured effect, on the album sleeve, in thier videos and in the music adverts. By following this theme in my construction, it has challeneged those conventions and allowed by product to be seen as setting a theme throughout, just like Coldplay. 
Use of font and style
The use of font and style follows and challenges many conventions of real media products throughout becuase in my media products above, I follow the same font throughout, this gives the band a distinctive logo, so when people see it they can recognise the band, this is usually changed by the band if they have a new album out. The real media product above follows a certain font throughout the whole album, the digipack, video and advert all have a theme and certain font which they follow. Allowing the album to be recognised by the font and style.
The written content in both my music magazine advert and digipack challenge forms of real media products in several different ways. By having the copyright text on my CD cover above, shows who the record label are and just like the coldplay CD cover above, they also have copyright written content, so it follows these conventions. Also the use of the tracklisting on the back, so the audience is aware of the tracks and creates a sense of real life media products. Also by comparing them to other products it allows me to create mine in the same way they would create their products.
Music genre (Advert)
The music genre in my music advert is suggested through many different conventions. First of all through the review from NME in the bottom left hand corner of the page, NME is known to concentrate on alternative, indie genre of music. So by placing this review in it gives the audience an idea of the genre in which the music is, and if they are readers of NME, they are likely to be interested in the genre that the band has. Again, in the bottom right hand cornewr of my advert their is a columbia records label, this label is known for creating some of the best artists of this genre for example, The vaccines, who this band has been compared to. So it comes across in both of these conventions.
Music genre (Digipack)
The music genre comes across in my digipack aswell as in my advert. The use of the characterers in my back image, allows the audience to get a slight idea of what this bands genre is about, the use of these characters portray that the band is an indie band as these people on my cover are likely to listen to this type of music. Which gives my an advantage of attracting an audience. Also again with the use of the columbia records label, it could interest the audience becuase this label is well known, and has attracted many bands to thier label of this genre.
Layout
The layout of my music advert is clear, and clearly outlines who the band are, the title of the album and the release date. The release date and band name are the most important conventions on this piece, as people will now know who they are and when the album is released so they can buy it. This is a common theme which runs through many bands adverts for new releases as they are there to attract an audience and following to the band. Including the website of the band offers a contact to them, which again draws people in. By having one main image it keeps it simple, and also draws into the theme of the digipack and the video. This them is found in many artists, for example, the coldplay example above, and also the use of the same font of Noah And The Whale.
Special Effects
The special effects I used in my digipack use conventions of real media products and have been changed to follow a certain theme throughout my digipack, advert and music video. London calling above is in greyscale, just like the image for my digipack and advert. My media products all have to follow these effects throughout to stick to a theme just like artists in the modern day do to thier real media products.
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
In all three of my media products I have followed a brand identity all the way through. By choosing certain conventions when in the construction of my media I noted that most real media products follow a certain theme throughout an album, advert and digipack. The example I looked at was Kings of Leon ‘Come around Sundown’ they followed a theme throughout, the video’s, CD cover and music adverts, all following the same font, same album theme of the sundown, they also followed the same colour scheme to fit to the brand identity.
In my products for The Castells, I have followed a theme through the combination of the main product and the ancillary tasks. The use of the same font, same colour scheme, and same characters allows this to follow the same conventions of real media products, but also shows a link between all three products.
By using the same theme throughout my media products, for the audience who have only seen the advert can get an insight into what the video and digipack will be like, and this will show a recurring theme throughout.
By choosing this certain brand identity throughout, it shows the identity of what the band are like and the comparisons that the band were made to help me create these conventions and follow them throughout, for example, the band were described as a late 1900’s rock, so by making the main product and ancillary tasks have a vintage look, it helped the band’s sound and look come across.
By choosing this certain brand identity throughout, it shows the identity of what the band are like and the comparisons that the band were made to help me create these conventions and follow them throughout, for example, the band were described as a late 1900’s rock, so by making the main product and ancillary tasks have a vintage look, it helped the band’s sound and look come across.
Above I have used the same font throughtout to follow this certain brand identity and theme.
The same setting/place is used throughout my video, digipack and music advert. Agin following the same theme, by choosing a black and white effect throughout.
This can be seen below in the real media product of Coldplay's latest album Mylo Xyloto, where the band follow a recurring brand identity throughout. They follow the same colour scheme from the album artwork to clothing. This is popular with Coldplay and has been seen in past albums.
3.How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
Equipment
HP Computer
Without a basic computer I wouldn't be able to construct the work I have. Constructing the Digipack, Music advert and music video was all done a computer and by doing it, it helped me gain skills throughout, so I could improve my work to the best of my ability.
Camera
The camera I used was an important piece of equipment during all stages of my work. I took photos of my planning, then uploaded them to my blog. Then in construction, I needed photos for my Digipack and advert, which I uploaded and applied them to my work.
Photoshop was an important device I used to construct two key pieces of work. First of all by using Photoshop, it helped me gain knowledge when using this tool and allowed my work to follow real media products and allow it to fit into the whole brand identity. Both the music magazine advert and Digipack were made in Photoshop as it has very suitable tools for creating these products.
Below are a few digital technologies which I used to develop and construct my work, but a main programme that I used to construct my Digipack and advert was Photoshop.
What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
Audience feedback is very important to me and helps me learn a lot about my work. It gathers information from a wide range of people to see what they thought of my work. This allows me to go back to my work and make improvements, but it also helps me gain knowledge of what has worked well so far
Dan Howard, Age 17, A media student.
'I am really into the whole theme of the products, I know this band and I know that this is what they are like, so by fitting it all together it makes it work really well. The brand identity was the key part for me because it stays the same all the way through, and that's what I like about it. It also fits with the music and band also, which was another highlight of Sam's work'.
Stephen Donaghy, Age 18, A business Student.
'I'm not really into this genre of music, but when I watched Sam's music video, it was great the track, the magazine, the video itself, all linked. It has lead to me liking this music a lot more, and i now really like The Castells, so it has drawn me in very well'.
Chris Murray, Age 17, A geography Student.
' The dark vintage theme, I think worked really well. It creates a sense of nostolgia, which I believe comes across in the music anyway, so this all fits together which is good. Overall, I found the video very entertaining and a good watch'
Beth Devanney, Age 18, A Sociology Student.
'It is good that Sam has stuck to one scene in his video, which shows a vintage look which I presume he was looking for, But even though I did enjoy the video, it can become repetitive at times, but a plus side was that It did fit into the track, which I really enjoyed'.
By gaining this audience feedback from the first draft of my music video, it allows me to look into it and take away improvements. For example, it was suggested that the video may be a bit repeated at times, so I have replaced clips which may seem to similar to others to give a better outcome.
Also by the use of social networking sites, I was able to gain feedback from people I don't know, so they were critical, but this helped me understand what improvements I needed to make so my video can be a lot better.
