How effective is the combination of your main product with ancillary texts?
Digi-pak:
I created a bran
d style to promote Smaller Than You, which was the ‘skater’ image. I chose to market the ‘skater’ image as this is often associated with the ska/punk genre such as American ska punk band Less Than Jake. This association would allow the strong promotion of Smaller Than You as the genre theory states, ‘Many genres have built-in audiences and corresponding publications that support them’ therefore fans of ska/punk would be able to recognise the brand style of the genre within our music video .
I created a bran
d style to promote Smaller Than You, which was the ‘skater’ image. I chose to market the ‘skater’ image as this is often associated with the ska/punk genre such as American ska punk band Less Than Jake. This association would allow the strong promotion of Smaller Than You as the genre theory states, ‘Many genres have built-in audiences and corresponding publications that support them’ therefore fans of ska/punk would be able to recognise the brand style of the genre within our music video .In order to increase the audience appeal of my digi-pak I wanted it to follow the style of the music video. I did this by continuing the the ‘skater’ theme. The 
image shows the ‘skateboarder’ wearing a ‘hoody’ and appears isolated and menacing. This is a response to the stereotype associated with youth culture of Britain created by the media. This stereotype often associates young males with crime and rebellion and therefore creates a negative image of youth within Britain. The audience demographic of Smaller Than You (young males aged 16-25) will be able to relate to the image and see that as Smaller Than You are embracing the negative stereotype. This will therefore gain strong promotion as it appeals to the audience demographic.
The font used for ‘Smaller Than You’ which is printed on
the wall of the image of my digi-pak is inspired by the graffiti artist ‘Banksy’. Banksy is an anonymous British graffiti artist who is known for using stencils within his artwork. He is a representative of youth rebellion as he goes against the laws put down by society. His influence strengthened the rebellious attitude seen within my music video and digi-pak and is a symbol of how British youth don’t want to be controlled.
image shows the ‘skateboarder’ wearing a ‘hoody’ and appears isolated and menacing. This is a response to the stereotype associated with youth culture of Britain created by the media. This stereotype often associates young males with crime and rebellion and therefore creates a negative image of youth within Britain. The audience demographic of Smaller Than You (young males aged 16-25) will be able to relate to the image and see that as Smaller Than You are embracing the negative stereotype. This will therefore gain strong promotion as it appeals to the audience demographic.The font used for ‘Smaller Than You’ which is printed on
the wall of the image of my digi-pak is inspired by the graffiti artist ‘Banksy’. Banksy is an anonymous British graffiti artist who is known for using stencils within his artwork. He is a representative of youth rebellion as he goes against the laws put down by society. His influence strengthened the rebellious attitude seen within my music video and digi-pak and is a symbol of how British youth don’t want to be controlled.I’ve reflected on the skateboarding culture throughout my digi-pak in order to build a generic style for Smaller Than You. The inside left panel 
shows ‘Smaller Than You’ written on public property. This is a tribute to the band Less Than Jake
who use this idea within their music video ‘Does The Lion City Still Roar’, as within the video the edit shows the bands performance as graffiti on the wall.
shows ‘Smaller Than You’ written on public property. This is a tribute to the band Less Than Jake
who use this idea within their music video ‘Does The Lion City Still Roar’, as within the video the edit shows the bands performance as graffiti on the wall.The right inside panel is a reflection of the skateboarders 
within the video for the single ‘who knew’. The image shows the skateboarder holding the drumsticks which, in the music video, the drummer wanted back for his gig. This audience will be able to recognise this from the music video, which will in turn increase the appeal of the single ‘who knew . I wanted to promote the band as well as the video within this image therefore I placed each name of the members of the band and their role. I made sure this stayed behind the CD to keep the image in order with the digi-pak. 
The back cover uses the re-occuring motif of the skateboard. I made sure the skateboard was the focal point of the image as this promotes the brand style of Smaller Than You as well as reflecting the style of the digi-pak. I also used the same font for the track names as the one which is used for ‘Smaller Than You’ on the front of the digi-pak which, as said before, was inspired by the font of British graffiti artist Banksy.
Magazine Advert:
The advert
follows a continuity of the digi-pak as it uses the same location, cast and font in doing this it helps to develop the brand style of Smaller Than You as it develops the ‘skater’ image. The magazine advert promotes the EP for Smaller Than You and will include the single used within the music video titled ‘Who Knew’.
I would want this advert to go in the free magazine 'Outline' which is available in Norwich and Cambridge. As the band Smaller Than You are located in Norwich it would allow promotion for fans within the area as well as introduce new fans to their music as they would have access to see them live. On their webiste they offer a section on their website for unsigned local bands in Norwich. This section offers fans to get background information on the band and their myspace address. The magazine is free, therefore it will appeal to our younger target audience such as students who don't have a lot of money.
I would also like to place the advert in NME as it is usually bought by those wanting to find new artists or bands and offers the chance for fans to find out about these new bands on their website. This would therefore appeal to the target audience of Smaller Than You on a larger scale.
within the video for the single ‘who knew’. The image shows the skateboarder holding the drumsticks which, in the music video, the drummer wanted back for his gig. This audience will be able to recognise this from the music video, which will in turn increase the appeal of the single ‘who knew . I wanted to promote the band as well as the video within this image therefore I placed each name of the members of the band and their role. I made sure this stayed behind the CD to keep the image in order with the digi-pak. 
The back cover uses the re-occuring motif of the skateboard. I made sure the skateboard was the focal point of the image as this promotes the brand style of Smaller Than You as well as reflecting the style of the digi-pak. I also used the same font for the track names as the one which is used for ‘Smaller Than You’ on the front of the digi-pak which, as said before, was inspired by the font of British graffiti artist Banksy.
Magazine Advert:
The advert
follows a continuity of the digi-pak as it uses the same location, cast and font in doing this it helps to develop the brand style of Smaller Than You as it develops the ‘skater’ image. The magazine advert promotes the EP for Smaller Than You and will include the single used within the music video titled ‘Who Knew’.I would want this advert to go in the free magazine 'Outline' which is available in Norwich and Cambridge. As the band Smaller Than You are located in Norwich it would allow promotion for fans within the area as well as introduce new fans to their music as they would have access to see them live. On their webiste they offer a section on their website for unsigned local bands in Norwich. This section offers fans to get background information on the band and their myspace address. The magazine is free, therefore it will appeal to our younger target audience such as students who don't have a lot of money.
I would also like to place the advert in NME as it is usually bought by those wanting to find new artists or bands and offers the chance for fans to find out about these new bands on their website. This would therefore appeal to the target audience of Smaller Than You on a larger scale.
Isabella I've marked this question and suggest the following revisions, if possible by the end of this week.
ReplyDelete1) Re paragraph 1: You have a quote re built in audiences, could you provide the source of the quote please.
2) Pargraph 2) "This sterotype often associates young males with crime and rebellion.." Could you instead revise "crime" for "anti social behaviour". In the final couple of lines, "will be able relate to the image....are embracing the negative stereotype.." For a new band this is not a strong point to emphasise. Instead you could indicate that "the image of the hoodie on the digipak front cover represents the isolation/alienation of urban young men....that the grafitti image of the climbing man represents the brooding hoodie's desire to escape and create something energetic and entertaining."...or something like that.
3) Para 3) Re Banksy, you could do a little bit more research here. The association of the iconic and anonomyous artist Banksy with Smaller Than You" immediately gives the band status...you need to make this point.
4) Question 4..Re you comment about the footage at the end of the video is too dark. The lighting at the end of the video works well and effectively indicates the completion of the prank whilst anticipating that the band are about to perform at a gig.