Evaluation Question 2: How

effective is the combination of

your main product with ancillary
texts?
Billy Clayton

Digipak
After completing the music video for Warriors by Coco & The Butterfields,
the following process was to produce a series of images that successfully
reflected the themes of the music video in order to produce a Digipak. To do
this, I created a mood board of screenshots from different scenes of the video
and narrowed down to the most appealing shots which represented our target
audience most suitably, regarding feedback from fellow students considered to
be a possible target audience. These screenshots then allowed me to construct
a photo shoot with our actress, Danielle which held the most aesthetic appeal
whilst maintaining a bold link to the visuals presented in the video.
The visual themes in Warriors are primarily reality, fairytale and illusion
based, therefore, the use of costume and location both constructed and
repeated motifs from our production. The use of the red hood and lipstick in my
Digipak, which was taken from the Red Riding Hood scene, according to
feedback was considered the most appealing to our possible target audience of
16 20 year old middle class white British females as it connotes articles of
clothing sold at contemporary fashion businesses such as Topshop and H&M.
This indication confirmed that the Red Riding Hood persona was most suited
for the Digipak, thus I followed this theme for each panel.

Digipak Panel 1 & 2

Panel 1, a low-angle close up of Danielle displays the actress looking over her shoulder wearing the
red hood in front of a grey sky and bare trees. The logo for the band has been photo shopped black
and placed on her hooded shoulder in order to appear bold and significant. The use of this image as
the front cover makes an explicit link to the music video as it connotes the scene in which Danielle
turns to look over her shoulder at a close up whilst wearing the same costume on her journey
through the fairy tale. A close up has been used in order to familiarize the audience with the artists
face and create a developing visual style. It also conforms to Goodwins theory that focus on the
performers lips has been made, both in our music video and the Digipak due to the use of red
lipstick which has been used in order to dignify the actress as Red Riding Hood. The second panel is
a medium close up, displaying Danielles profile with the hood up and a vast green field behind her.
This panel, again makes a heavy visual link with our music video as it is reflective of the shot in
which the camera films Danielle from the same angle whilst she lifts her hood and stands in a
greenery-filled location, reinforcing the notion of a consistent promotional package. The use of
colour saturation being altered supports the theme of fairy tale and illusion as Danielles hood, lips
and eyes appear to be bold and captivating, whilst the grey sky looms around her, blurring the lines
between illusion and reality as Danielle is the subject to the fairy tale universe in our music video.
The use of fairy tale costume repeated from our music video in to the Digipak also acts as an
intertextual reference to the promotional images of British indie group Florence & The Machine for
the single Rabbit Heart in which a mystical, other worldly theme has been incorporated.

Panel 1

Screen shot
from video

Panel 2

Florence & The

Machine
Intertextuality

Digipak Panel 3 & 4

Once again, panels 3 and 4 document the performers face in order to support the theme of
a coherent character based Digipak. My Digipak is designed to replicate those which come in
the form of a plastic jewel case CD, therefore the third panel is shot at a portrait position and
is a close up of the performers face with just a small glimpse of a green holly-bush behind
her. The close-up shot at a portrait angle appropriately fits the panels use as the disc holder,
with the disc fitting neatly over the performers face when inserted. The use of the bush within
the location makes explicit reference to the music video as Danielle walks through a
woodland-enclosed pathway before exiting in to the open and is filmed through a holly-bush
in the process, allowing the audience to make this connection. This type of shot also strikes
similarity to the cover of British singer-songwriter Marina & The Diamonds album Froot, who
are possible target audience are likely to be familiar with, in which a portrait close up has
been used with the addition of red lipstick. For the fourth and final panel of the Digipak, the
rule of thirds has been used in which the track titles occupy one third of the panel, whilst
Danielle occupies another on the opposite side, with space between each. This panel makes
visual links to the music video as Danielle is shot using this method during the second verse
in the video, furthermore implying the characters journey and ambition within the Digipak.
The same logo featured on the first panel has been reused for the back panel, this time
coloured in red in order to appear bold against the greenery and conforms to Goodwins
theory that artists develop common motifs which provide a visual style. The use of a bold,
white font and red logo keeps the colour palate of the Digipak consistent as it matches with
the costume and lighting in each photograph, supporting the shots used in the video itself
which share these motifs.

Magazine Advertisement
My magazine advertisement makes use of another low-angle close up
photographed on the shoot of the Digipak, similar to that of the front cover, however,
this image features the performer with her hood up whilst using darker lighting,
relying on shadows to create a further eerie and dramatic impression. It once again
portrays the performer who has been featured both in the music video and on all four
panels of the Digipak. This makes the character a tool to familiarity when possible
members of the target audience recognise her in the music video from witnessing
the advertisement prior, thus making the character an almost iconic figure due to
her significance in the process of the ancillary texts. In addition to this, the repeated
use of the same performer could generate hype from the possible target audience
who may expect to see more from her once the advertisement and music video has
been consumed, thus encouraging sales for the Digipak. The image makes visual
reference to the music video as the shadows reflect the woodland scene in which
Danielle looks around her in curiosity, provoking and reusing a sense of ambiguity for
the characters safety on her journey. Danielle makes notion to looking four times in
the Red Riding Hood scene alone as she attempts to learn of the strange new
environment around her. The magazine advertisement repeats this as Danielle
glances directly in to the camera which is below her, thus continuing the theme of
the characters power whilst in an unfamiliar situation.

Music Videos which use the concept of a coherent

package Marina & The Diamonds Froot
Marina Diamandis, better known by her stage name as Marina & The Diamonds is a Welsh singersongwriter. She released her debut album The Family Jewels in 2010 which charted at number 6 on
the official UK album charts and scored herself a number 1 with the 2012 follow up release Electra
Heart. The singer, whos music primarily consists of Indie-Pop and New Wave released her third album
Froot this week (16th March) which is currently at number 6 on the official UK album charts and
presents a coherent visual theme when comparing the music video to the promotional package.
Speaking about the background of the album, Diamandis stated The songs all came from a very
natural place for me. The themes heavily come from experiences where I have grown and developed
significantly as a person and a songwriter. For the tour, I am going to create an electric garden with
fruits and flowers growing from the stage. When looking at Diamandis cover art, an image of the
singer with neon stage lighting reflecting against her hair and a night sky against a black background, a
theme of nature put in to a futuristic setting is present (hence the title with the altered spelling of
Fruit). This is reflected in the music video for Froot in which the singer stands in a dimly lit doorway
with just her face lit up and soft non-ambient lighting surrounding her. On the back panel of the album,
the night sky is repeated with each track title underlined in a different colour. When looking at the audio
videos uploaded to the singers YouTube Channel, each video uses this night sky with neon font and slot
machine style images of Fruits, thus using a coherent visual style.

Album front and

back covers

Froot official
music video

Froot audio
track on
YouTube

Magazine/Public
advertisement for
Froot album