How effective is the combination of your main product and

ancillary texts?

The aim for the project was to produce a coherent marketing package which consisted of a house style which would attract my audience to the products.

Marketing packaging consisted of a music video, print advert and digipak. In each of these three products I used a coherent house style to show the features of the indie genre and the band itself, and so they all matched and

looked the same.

Within each product we made sure the same costumes, filters, fonts and colour schemes were used so the

products worked as a package. When research and planning in the early stage I discovered Noah and the

Whale used the same style filters within their music video and media products which I then applied within my own work. I used it in my music video and print work which

kept a consist house style which matched the indie genre.

House style & Theme

In my research I discovered that many indie bands used vintage filters on their images and video. This was a concept that I adopted with my own work and wanted to use throughout all three pieces as I felt it strongly represented the genre and the audience. I asked a focus group of fans of the genre which filter they liked best from a

variety of choices, then decided to use the filter they picked on each of my pieces. By doing this I kept in theme with the genre and had work that was liked by the target audience. I used a vintage filter

called Lumnia which created it’s own colour palette producing soft mellow colours such as soft blues, purples, reds and creams. These colours connoted a vintage and indie feel relating to our camping

and freedom theme.

Font

For each individual product I used two styled fonts. Both I feel were simple, and easy to read, yet also reflected the indie

genre. One was called Typography Times, and the other was Clean Head. I used them for the titles and the body of the text within the pieces, both on my advert and my digipak. By using the same font throughout it helped establish a brand identity, thus becoming recognisable with the audience. The fonts were

selected by our target audience, from a variety of different available fonts I could use that I felt reflected the genre most. Clean Head provided a simple handwritten element which was a popular aspect my target audience wanted. Whilst gathering

feedback I took into account their feedback and opinions in order for my products to appeal to them.

Whilst researching I discovered Florence and the Machine use one particular styled font for the

artists name. The font displays a simple handwritten element which connotes an individual style and

doesn’t allow the house style to lookmanufactured. It allows her target audience

to recognise her through her house style whichis a common element see within the indie genre.

I applied this method within my own work by applying a bond simple handwritten font on each

of products creating a marketing package.

Indie genre band’s font styles display simplicity as they want their target audience to be focus on their music rather on their image. I felt the simplicity of their font’s mirror the simplicity of their music. I used this within my own work as I wanted my target audience to recognise our band for their simplicity. I took inspirations from bands such as:

LightingThe lighting throughout our music video shifts from natural

lighting to artificial lighting. Our narrative concept displays natural light and we enhanced this by applying a filter creating

warm tones and contrast. Naturalistic lighting is a common element seen within the indie genre as it displays band’s

exploring life outside and encountering on various activities. Band’s such as The Vaccines use naturalistic lighting and filters to emphasise their visuals of exploring the outdoors and spending

most of the time outside. We incorporated this into our own work by also filming outdoors creating the same natural light other

bands use displaying a laid back look rather than a manufactured look.

Our performance element displayed entropic elements as we used artificial lighting within the studio to highlight the

performers. It‘s entropic as it’s not a common feature seen within music videos as they keep their performance element outside containing the natural light. It link’s with Goodwin’s theory of

promoting the artist/ band and highlighting this to the audience. Because we filmed the performance elements indoors it creates

originality, as most performance elements of this genre are typically seen outside under natural light.

In our performance I used the lighting to highlight the performer so they were all that was visible in the frame. This drew all the attention on screen to the performer and made the audience

recognise what they looked like. I also included close up shots of the performers for my print work, again helping make the

audience more recognisable and marketable. This matches with Goodwin's theory of the record label demanding close up shots of

the band so they are more marketable to the audience. The reason we chose to use the studio lighting was because our

audience recommended it to us, as it would define the performance element and the performers.

My ancillary products displayed the same natural lighting and filters used within the narrative concept. We took a Photoshoot outside capturing the natural sunshine and lighting emphasising the band embracing life outside. When taking the photographs I decided on how to present the performers as it allows them to become more recognisable for the audience. Correct use of

lighting allows the images to become easily viewable and allows the band to look professional and well known to the audience.

To continue the theme of the outdoors we went to the forests to capture the natural landscapes and the light seeping through the branches of the trees. Within my ancillary products I merged the two photoshoots together to capture the essence of the outdoors which is a common element seen within the outdoors. This is a

feature adopted by Noah and the Whale which I discovered within my research and tried to implement in my own work.

Costume and Props Our theme for our narrative concept was based on a road trip and a sense of freedom. We collected props that suited the laid back indie genre and would display the genre to our target audience. The props we collected mirrored the theme of the video and the feelings we wanted to display. I gathered many different props, such as the guitar, a tent, sleeping bags,

wellies, and rucksack. Due to the theme of the road trip it allowed the actors/performers to wear clothing which connoted the indie genre such as denim jackets, printed t-shirts and skinny jeans/chinos. The laid back style

of the costumes allows our target audience to identify the genre. By allowing the actors/performers to wear indie styled clothes allows them to

display their characteristics and personality.

The iconic feature of the acoustic guitar is used throughout the video as it is a major feature of the indie genre. It symbolises the genre to our target audience. Whilst conducting our research and planning we discovered the guitar to be a iconic element which is commonly seen. We used the same

guitar for the performance element so it’s coherent to the rest of the video.

For our ancillary products our performers had different outfits on as we wanted to display different fashions of the genre. Because of the filters

and the house style we used to give the band a identity we thought using the same costumes wasn’t necessary as they are already identifiable by

the audience.

Visual Themes

I have shown the visual themes of the indie genre by including many different features and aspects commonly seen within the genre. I have

used many different features and aspects of the indie genre to create the visual theme. The main theme I wanted to convey throughout my products was a vintage old school style. To convey this I have used the same styled

indie filter within all three products. This creates a sense of continuity throughout the marketing package which is a redundant feature within the

indie genre. The indie genre reflects the notion of being individual and quirky this is interpreted into the products using colour, font and filters. Due to the music video being based on the outdoors I wanted to have a

naturalistic theme within my ancillary products. I tried to use organic colours and images that were shot outside.

I received audience feedback which was positive to the filter I had selected within my products. Audience feedback revealed my products showed

professional and indie qualities. This shows that the theme I was creating suited the audience and therefore helped me create something that fitted

with the theme. The audience feedback gave me opinions and feedback on what filters and font styles to use in order for my products to appeal to

them. This is what I was trying to achieve with the features and aspects that fitted the indie genre.