Eval 2 - combination of texts

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

As part of our A2 texts we have combined 3 texts a music video , digi pack and mag ads. As we are producing all of these texts we have tried to target a wide variety of audiences. Our primary audience of 13-24 year olds and our secondary audience male audience. This has been a challenge due to in he media industry 3 media agencies often doing these 3 texts separately. An example of this is the Saturdays recently in the publics eyes in mags such as 

• hello 
• ok 
• Glamour 
• FHM
• bliss

Where as there cd was released by fascination and mercury records and there videos created by harvey b brown. These are all different companies so it is not often we see a link between these texts depending on the band and the context. However we are small indie video makers with small budgets this has not been possible. We have instead used the group to our advantage by covering and attracting both audiences and making the texts link and work with similar theme which fortunately for us the atomic kittens previous texts also did.

As we have targeted our music video at 13-21 year old girls due to our genre being pop this is the primary target audience for girl bands. THis is reflected through our song choice its okay by atomic kittens due to the video containing the classic girl band conventions.

Conventions 

1. The audience being able to relate to them- Our video reflects this as the video is set in normal setting which teen girls would be able to relate to. our video also reflects this as the narrative is very common amongst teens.
2. Aspiring to be them- our video reflects this as the audience is aspiring to be them as the girls are very glam and pretty. So girls younger will aspire to want to be famous and want to be like them. They may take on characteristics from them or just have them as role models.
3. Costume - the girls wearing similar clothes often linking the colour. The girls also have a range of outfits which they are wearing in all 3 texts. 
4. Male gaze- the male gaze is shone through all 3 texts by the girls wearing short dresses also objectifying body parts such as tight dresses and low cut tops. This appeals to male gaze and brings in the second audience.
5. taking on boy band characteristics. We have taken on boy band by locations used synced choreography and finally mag ads of laughing shots in all 3 texts behind the scenes shots.

      our mag add maybe distributed in magazines such as:

• ok
• glamour 
• fhm
• bliss

due to our target audience being girls ranging from 13-24 teens. And our secondary audience males. also having it in ok is targeting an audience we perhaps would not expect to view the product and targeting a slightly older audience. Atomic kittens previously being in FHM  for male gaze adds male appeal this ad is however slightly different as the girls in these adds would be more revealing and girls would be objectifying body parts for this appeal. We have taken this on board by wearing revealing clothing such as short dresses and low cut tops focusing on body parts so it is more appealing to the audience.

Digi pack would appear on amazon and in stores such as hmv. They also would also be able to download of amazon as the girls are main stream these would be the best places for products to be distributed and exhibited. Another way of distribution we have used is youtube for all our texts as we a indie company this has been useful as there was no cost. In the industry many bands also so this as it targets a wider audience as percentage of people can access the internet and use youtube. This also could target different social groups and cultures world wide which would not of necessarily of targeted.

social media has helped push all 3 texts to be popular and help with the distribution to all audiences. As networking sites such as facebook twitter and instagram are used all over the world eventually linking everyone. We have created accounts in all of these for our production so it has been very successful distributing all 3 products together and allowed people to follow us throughout the product changing and progressing.

Key features of each text:

Digi pack

album title and artist name. This can have the same, or an even better impact on the audience as an image. The audience need to know what they're buying and so providing this information is key to selling the product. On our digipak, we placed the artist name at the top in the biggest font, with the album title below in a slightly smaller font.

With colours, we have in some ways challenged the 3 colour rule that we picked up on, especially in the pop genre. Font colours, we have stuck to grey, salmon pink and blue, to match the blue colour themes seen in the photos, mag ads and video. These colours work well together, as they don't clash too much, yet they still provide visual pleasures for the audience. In the lyrics booklet, the colours of the writing aren't exactly the same as those on the outside, but they're different shades of these colours

However, in the photos in the lyrics booklet, we added another colour to add more visual variety and to break up the blue. We had 2 burgundy dresses and a cream and black lace dress, which may appear as though we are incorporating another colour scheme into the product, yet we feel we are not. These colours can in a way link to the pink fonts used on the back of the digipak, as they could be classed as different and extreme shades of pink. The cream dress can also fit in with the off-white background used throughout the digipak, and the black lace links to the grey font as some may see it as a dark shade of the grey. We felt that adding these extra colours has not completely challenged the 3 colour rule, but we have instead adapted it, so that the buyers can view a product containing variety and not just straight, common conventions.

The font we picked is a simple yet effective font that we downloaded off Dafont.com. We didn't want to use a font which was too fancy, as this could have come across as immature and unprofessional, and therefore wouldn't give the impact we hope for. We took inspiration from the Atomic Kitten digipaks for this font, as it again fits in with the professional look which we're aiming for. For the fonts in general, we have used more than one to add more variety. We have downloaded the fonts off the internet and have then installed them into the font book on mac, so we could use them on any software we needed. We chose our fonts carefully, as we wanted to make sure they were effective enough. We used the same font throughout in the lyrics booklet, as we didn't want it to come across as too 'clumsy', but on the back we used a variety, making sure they worked well together. The fonts all compliment each other, still providing a mature yet fun element to the digipak. 

An image helps the audience to identify the artist and a connection between the artist and the fans can be made, consequently encouraging more people to buy the album. We chose to follow this convention, and use a variety of images throughout the digipak. We placed an image on both the front and back of the group together, despite some existing texts using an image which flows from the front onto the back. Although we're going for a more 'professional' look, we used a slightly blurry image on the front where we are mid-laughter, rather than falsely posing.We thought this image worked well as it adds a sense of realism to the idea, and the laughing/smiling aspect enables the younger spectrum of the primary audience to feel a connection to the group, and makes it more fun and appealing for them. The image on the back isn't an accurate reverse of the front, but we are facing away from the camera, which adds variety to the style of images, and the holding of hands signifies the theme of 'girl power' and the closeness of the group. The lyrics booklet includes more images, which are exclusive to the booklet.

There will always be a bar code placed next to the production company logo and product information, such as the record label, on the back of a digipak. We added the record company logo, a barcode, the CD symbol, the DVD symbol and the 'available on iTunes' symbol, as well as our QR code. On the spine, we have followed common conventions, by adding the artist and album title again, and the record company logo with a distribution number. 

We added the QR code to the digipak too as well as the magazine advertisements, to promote the viral element of the 3 products. QR codes are becoming more frequently used and widely recognised, with more people buying and using smart phones, so we thought that by adding the QR code, we could widen our audience. Because Atomic Kitten split up in 2004, and re-united in 2012, leading up to the 'Big Reunion' between Liberty X, Five, Honeyz, 911, B*Witched and themselves, we felt that adding a sticker on both the front and back of the digipak promoting a live DVD of their tour further promoted the album as their 'new comeback album'. The iTunes logo also promotes the album to a wider audience by making it digitally available too, again linking into the reunion and comeback material.

Mag ads 

We started by looking at what magazines our girl band has been in. The main mag we had found the atomic kittens to feature in was ok magazine. They had all features separately in here telling life stories or being gossip. They have been in here as well for the latest singles and advertising there new album and dvd.

We didnt find many mag ads specifically by them as when the band came out digitisation and social media wasnt as big as it is today. They have mainly had mag ads advertising them getting back together and there reunion which was also featured on tv. The last thing i noticed they had articles on was the different band members leaving and changing. They were also in magazines for hobbies on the side such as big brother and personal live stories.



we wanted to look at what colour scheme they have used and how there style reflects there digi packs and videos. We looked at things such as the album covers linking with the theme of the poster such as picture on the left advertising the dvd. This reflects the album cover as it contains same text and same disco effects. On the right the picture reflects there first album that they made where they were the typical girly girls genre of music . Where they were very feminine taking on little inspiration from boy groups . The left is them later on changing and adding more of these features to attract different audiences.

 We also wanted to look at what sort of things featured on mag ads such as OR code and small text that we would need to make sure we included. As the band are not as modern as girl bands today they have no mag ads like these. However we did find mag ads releasing tour dates. The main reason we wanted to look at atomic kitten anything was so we can get an idea of how subtle they link the texts as this is not common in other bands and usually all 3 texts are completely different where as theres match.

we found some mag ads of them in FHM boys mag. This is bringing in our secondary audience of the male audience. Linking with the male gaze theory. The fact the girls body parts are objectified and the girls are dressed in short clothing and having low cut tops on brings in this audience. We are going to try to follow this by wearing short dresses that link together via colour and try wear short dresses with low cut elements.

 we have also looked at boy bands mag ads . These are very simple and often just contain them on a plain background wearing synchronised clothing and following the same style. We are going to reflect this by having the girl band against a white backdrop. This works for boy bands are they are a big statement . it cannot be as effective for girl bands as they are more glitsy and take on more of a womens audience then male. However as the industry is changing more and more girl bands are doing this and taking on these characteristics.

Little mix are one of the new latest most successful girl band of 4. They have been such a success this magazine is aimed at teens up to 24. Which is our target audience. We can take characteristics from this such as them being silly having fun and applying it in our own. The girls are also on a plain background and there colour scheme doesnt match they have the same style but colours are very different this also picking up from boy band ads.

 

Summary of my findings :

Magazines specific to our genre:

• TEEN NOW - 11-17
• LOOK           -18-35
• GLAMOUR   - 16-34
• BLISS           - 13-17
• OK                - 25-34

Secondary audience 

•    FHM - Target audience 15-34
•    NUTS -18-34

Summary of conventions:

• The release date
• Album/song title
• Image of album cover/image of artist
• Artist name
• Brief information on the artist/album
• Record label logo
• Girly colours 
• Male gaze 

Music Video

From past research i have looked at what is most common in girl vid these are some of the key features that make the music videos so successful.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VISUALS + LYRICS:
There is a strong relations ship between the lyrics and visuals especially with the narrative.the lyrics link like 'on the phone all night long'. This part of the narrative all reflects this part of the lyrics.

MALE GAZE:
The male gaze is a big part of our video. As the girls are wearing short dresses and also are very glamourous. They reflect the male gaze as they have also reflected the body parts being objectified and having revealing clothing that appeals to the male audience.


PERFORMANCE, NARRATIVE AND/OR CONCEPT:
There is performance and narrative as this is a romantic vid. These both are cross cut. The performance is lip synching and some footage of classic girl dancing. The narrative is also linear as it follows the path of the pairs break up and there past together. Performance is also in time with the beat which we have picked out specifically to match with instrumental parts. 

LOOKING/MODE OF ADDRESS: 
The girls when they lip synch are looking directly into the camera making a connection with the audience . This makes me more believable as the audience can believe what you are saying. They also look at variety of angles past he camera looking at the different things making it distance and also believe able for the audience to watch as they can feel what the lyrics and the story line is saying. 
The narrative however ever looks into the camera unless a point of view shot. As this is for the audience to watch and understand the story that is going on. We can make the video more emotional as it is more serious and not comical which could be seen if the characters were looking into the camera.

SHOT VARIETY + NO. OF SETUPS:
There is a wide scope of shot variety , to show emotions and to set the scene. We have also looked at what shots could be framed to create different affects on reader. The set ups we have used are several to make the video more exciting however we haven't used the typical ones that we would expect to see from a girl bad like this we have instead taken on the characteristics from a boy band such as having them on the moor and on white back drop. 

FX
we have used effects for our narrative such as the black and white effect to show the past and then the present. For the performance we have used effects such as layering and transformation tool to have us in the same shot lip syncing and to make the video more exciting.

LOCATION/S + MISE-EN-SCENE:
we followed girl band characteristics such as them being girly , where we used rose petals and candles in pink and red to give this effect. Also as it is a romantic we set mise en scene such as a meal , memory boxes and petals. this is also in all 3 texts.  The locations we used were the moor, the woods, river, white backdrop.

1. The audience being able to relate to them- Our video reflects this as the video is set in normal setting which teen girls would be able to relate to. our video also reflects this as the narrative is very common amongst teens.
2. Aspiring to be them- our video reflects this as the audience is aspiring to be them as the girls are very glam and pretty. So girls younger will aspire to want to be famous and want to be like them. They may take on characteristics from them or just have them as role models.
3. Costume - the girls wearing similar clothes often linking the colour. The girls also have a range of outfits which they are wearing in all 3 texts. 
4. Male gaze- the male gaze is shone through all 3 texts by the girls wearing short dresses also objectifying body parts such as tight dresses and low cut tops. This appeals to male gaze and brings in the second audience.
5. taking on boy band characteristics. We have taken on boy band by locations used synced choreography and finally mag ads of laughing shots in all 3 texts behind the scenes shots.

How our texts link together 
summary 
- colours
-style 
-font 
-boy band characteristic
-theme
-girly

How our texts dont link 

-narrative isnt shown across all 3
-little link to video as is sad and mag ad and digi pack funny happy and light hearted

Improvement s what we could change 
- time managed better
-video featuring more locations and outfits 
-steadier camera work
-more research into similar products 
-more professional equipment 

if the brief was different what other approaches would you have taken ?

we would of made it a lot more simplistic due to the atomic kittens past adds and work being simple however if we did this it wouldn't be affective so we would have to change this. Also if the brief was different we would of chosen a different track doing previous research so we could use this the best to our ability to use a wide range of tools and techniques which would work better to meet the brief fully.

Viral Vid and QR Code
On my evaluation question 4 (technologies) I have in detail talked about  how we used a the virial video and also QR codes to help create more of a promotional package and link our texts together. The viral video in particular helped us to encourage user generated content which helps make the  work we are doing popular and exciting for the audience. Here is a link to the evaluation question where this is detailed. EVAL 4.