Evaluation 1

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

To complement our music video we have created a complete CD cover (including front, back and inside) and a poster.

The music video was shot predominantly at Holborn studios so we decided to use a picture of our protagonist (Vida) seated in the white room for the front cover of our CD front cover, the background contrasts with Vida making her stand out really well.

The lighting of our music video is bright and lively which appeals to our target audience so I kept the lighting extremely similar for the CD covers. If anyone was to watch our music video they would be able to quickly identify the CD cover and poster.

Through all my media texts, we used the image of our protagonist to keep it consistent throughout our production.

I have carried out semiotic research into other existing CD covers, the most fascinating discovery I have found is that symbols would signify the image the artist is trying to portray, for instance on the cover of 50 cent’s ‘Guess who’s back’ album cover he is clearly representing gang culture, the symbol which makes it clear is the use of a 9mm handgun pointing slightly towards the camera in addition the Christian necklace represents religion which tells us that he believes that God is with him.

I decided that we didn’t need to use any additional props for the CD cover but I considered the pose she struck carefully. She has both hands on her head and is looking seductively into the lens of the camera; other females would want to be like her.

I also carried out research into the differences with album covers and posters and established that the cover to an album can also be used as a release poster; however the poster will include a few more details such as the release date and independent reviews. Using the album cover as a poster keeps things simple, in addition the more times an image is repeated the more likely it would be noticed and/or remembered by the customers.

As you can see from the image above, we also used the CD cover as our poster; however we included the release date, the record labels name and information about the production team.

All in all the combination of our ancillary texts and main product is extremely simple and effective; it quickly allows the audience to identify the genre. The colour and texts used are consistent throughout and so is the costume and props.