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

Analysis

I created my ancillary texts so that they would visually relate to my music video 'Tribal Man Skank' and appeal to my target audience who love and enjoy new and exclusive music genre 'UK Funky House'. So when ever an audience,not just my target audience saw the Digipack or the magazine would automatically link it to the music video. I decided to use the colour red,black and white in the digipack and magazine to link with the character's costumes and the titles with in the music video.

The Magazine Cover

The bold slogan 'I BE THE TRIBAL MAN' which I have used as the main text for my magazine cover is Tribal Magz' logo. Not only is this his slogan; it is also the lyrics for the sound track 'Tribal Man Skank'. I didn't use a photograph of the artist because UK Funky isn't recognise for the faces of the artists but rather the beat of the music.

The artist's name 'TRIBAL MAGZ' is red, bold and centered in between the word 'MAN'. I positioned the text this way on the editing software Photoshop to reinforce the fact that he (Tribal Magz) is a man. I laid out the magazine cover conveniently so that the most important details are visible to the audience, for example the month in which the music video will be released; 'OUT IN JANUARY'. The name of the font is Impact and I made it all caps so that it would stand out and my use of big red 'I' and white background creates a very strong contrast which would attract an audience to read it. A further analysis can be found (here).

The Front and back of the Digipack

The right hand side of the Album Cover ( above) in the back cover. I've chosen to use Tribal Magz' logo so that the blue and white background is In the centre of the the Album Cover, I placed a silhouette of women and men dancing. which I created with Photoshop to project positive vibes. I wanted to recreate an image of a flyer which promoters would hand out after raves. This is why I chose men and women dancing,depicting the night life in red because it bright and symbolises energy.It also creates an image of unison which will promote group participation. This links to the music video as the characters support each other in the opening scene where the teacher attempts to discipline the students. Most importantly they dance together by doing the 'Tribal Man Sank'.

'IT'S TIME TO GET FUNKY' is a phrase which is frequently used by UK Funky House lovers and ravers use, my target audience will immediately be captured by this phrase. I placed it at the top of the CD cover so that it would be noticed, as people tent to read from top to bottom and the font is coloured red and blank and it's all caps. The font which is used for 'TRIBAL MAN SKANK' on the Album Cover is different from the font which I used for the Magazine Cover. Even though there is a contrast between the fonts, the brand identity is secure for both the Magazine and Album Cover due to the colour theme of red,black and white are maintained. I created a silhouette of the artist Tribal Magz and I centered it between the dancers to show that he has the lead role, similarly to the photograph silhouette of the Inner Album Cover I placed the lead dancer in the middle of the other dancers. The silhouette of Tribal Magz not only links with Inner Album Cover, but they also link to the lyrics of the sound track 'I BE THE TRIBAL MAN'. He is a man of African decent who created the song. A high percentage of my target group as an audience will find the silhouette attractive and appealing because they are African also.

Inner Album Cover

For the inner Album Cover I created a mirror effect to the front and back covers. I started with with the blue and white motif background. I chose the colour blue to symbolise versatility and vibrance. If I wanted to modify the Album Cover I could change the background colour from blue to orange and there would still be a strong contrast between the colours. My target audience will still recognise the UK Funky House phrase 'ITS TIME TO GET FUNKY' which consists with the same font design as the front and back Album Covers.

The magazine also links to the inner album cover as the performers L.R Skankers' title is placed near the bottom of the magazine cover and it is also placed within the spine of the album cover. I decided to maintain the picture within the silhouette that I created to reveal the dancer who are the L.R Skanker, so the audience would know that the music video is based on school girls that like the sound track 'Tribal Man Skank'. However my entire target audience will not portray the Album Cover in this manner. They might think the image is of Tribal Magz' favourite fans.

The 'No DETENTION' sign is directly linked to the first clip that is seen in the music video, this is the message which I'm sending out to my target audience. Students dislike detention as they are restricted from their freedom, so this album cover shall surely appeal to them.

Question 3: Discuss how you will present your work.

The first thing I will do is upload my music video on to the social websites Facebook and YouTube so that I can observe the views so that i can gain an idea of who my target audience is. I will be able to do so by monitoring the comments of the viewers. After uploading the music video I will construct and circulate two types of questionnaires:

• An open question and answers. This questionnaire will be given to a selected audience who are aware of the music genre ‘Funky House’ as they would be able to give a good critical analysis on editing, composition and comparison of other funk house videos.

• A multiple choice questionnaire will be circulated through a variety of people so that the feedback for my music video is not bias.

My music video will be exposed to a wide audience so I will take that opportunity to hand out my questionnaires and ask further questions. I will present my results on Microsoft Office PowerPoint. The reason in which I have chosen this strategy is because the software consists of charts and tables which will be effective in demonstrating the audience’s views on the video on a clear visual.

Open Questionnaire

1. What did you like/dislike about Tribal Man Skank?
2. What would you suggest needs editing in order to improve it?
3. Compared to the other Funky House music videos that you have watched, do you think Tribal Man Skank meets the standards of others? State the Funky House video that you are comparing.
4. Who (age, gender, occupation, interests etc) do you think would most likely enjoy this music video and why?
5. What message do you think Tribal Man Skank is projecting to you (the audience)? Is it positive/negative? State why.

Further Questions
1. Age
2. Sex
3. Occupation
4. Ethnicity
5. Education
6. Interests

Multiple Choice Questionnaires

1. Why do you watch music videos?

□ To get a better feel of the lyrics of a song □ To Calm down □ To be entertained □ To get in the know

2. Do you like the editing in music videos; using shaky camera work, with quick zooms in and out, at the performance parts if the video?
□ Yes □ No

3. Do you think editing enhances the music video?
□ Yes □ No

4. What is you gender?
□ Male □ Female

Age

□ 12-15 □ 16-18 □ 20-25 □26-30 □31+

5. What is your favourite music video?

6. Do you think the pace of the filming is suitable for the music video?
□ Yes □ No

7. What source of media do you use to watch music videos?
□ Television □ Internet □ MP4 □ Other

8. What genre of music do you enjoy?
□ Metal □ Pop □R&B □ Hip Hop □ Indie
□ Techno □ Soca □Bashment □Funky House □ Slow jams

Audience Feedback

Open Questionnaire Response

1. What did you like/dislike about Tribal Man Skank?
I liked the theme of stereotypes of school children and teachers. I enjoyed the storyline.

2. What would you suggest needs editing in order to improve it?
The cheorography needs to be in time with the music.

3. Compared to the other Funky House music videos that you have watched, do you think Tribal Man Skank meets the standards of others? State the Funky House video that you are comparing.
No, because it needs more scenes.

4. Who (age, gender, occupation, interests etc) do you think would most likely enjoy this music video and why?
Young, black, students that like Funky House.

5. What message do you think Tribal Man Skank is projecting to you (the audience)? Is it positive/negative? State why.
Don't listen to the teacher jus SKANK!!! (dance)

Further Questions
1. Age- 17
2. Sex- Female
3. Occupation- Student
4. Ethnicity- Black/African
5. Education-College
6. Interests- Dance and sing

The audience feedback which I received has provided me with an insight on how to make improvements in order to enhance my media products. Amazingly for my media products, they were all flawless except for my music video.

From the questionnaires which I handed out, I found that my target group and general audience find a fault in my editing. They said that the towards the end of my music video, the pace of the video was not in sync with the sound track. I received the same feedback from Facebook.

When creating my music video I found it difficult to sync the action of the film to the sound because if I had chosen to cut the film in Premiere Pro there would be no footage for the audience to see. To make my music video more appealing to my target audience I will re -shoot the dancing scene so that I will have more footage to cut effeciently

Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My A2 Media product is a music video. A music video is a motion picture produced to accompany a song, frequently for promotional purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. I think originality “thinking outside the box” makes a good music video. In terms of promotional purposes, the video must firstly capture and engage the audience then convey their message be it direct or indirect. The audience is the most important aspect of a music video as it is being direct to them. This can be achieved by adopting and challenging forms and conventions of real music videos.

The Title
The title of my music video is Tribal Man Skank. The title’s font is Impact, coloured in red and outlined in white on a black background. I used the Stretch in and Cross Zoom transitions of Adobe Premier Pro to display the title forty eight seconds in to music video, just before the dancing begins. I didn't place the title of my music video at the beginning because I want the audience to feel as if they're in DETENTION with the students.

Music Video Title 'Tribal Man Skank'

Setting and Location
The setting and location of my music video is within a school compound: classroom, locker hall and playground. I’ve chosen to shoot my music video in this location to defy the typical raving scene that ‘Tribal Man Skank’ is usually played in. I could have created the typical raving scene at a club or house party, with disco lights. However I want to bring to fun side of school to life, to show my audience that school isn’t only for learning but socialising and exploring talents. Films such as ‘High School Musical’ and ‘St. Trinian’s’ are both filmed in a school compound as it suitable for the story line. Also in the music video ‘Lip Gloss’ is filmed in a hall way and lunch hall of a school.

Costumes and Props
Within the first frame of the first scene the main characters are in a class room amongst: a book, folder, tables, chairs and wall notes. The uses of these props create an educational environment and setting. However the costumes (uniform) which should comprise of a white shirt, tie, kilt, black socks and shoes are purposely altered and incomplete. A red hat, hooded jumper and stripy socks are added to challenge the entire cliche. Two of the characters also have in full view a mobile phone and headset which are prohibited in classrooms. Similarly in the film ‘St. Trinian’s the character’s uniforms are all altered to project their individual personalities by wearing short skirts, make up, high lights and just the school tie to demonstrate that they belong to the same school.


Tribal Man Skank Dancers

St. Trinian's Girls

Camera Work and Editing
Camera work and Editing is very important and effective in every film/music video. I’ve used a combination of medium shots, close-up shots, shot-reverse-shots and panning shots to create tension in the opening of my music video. An example of how I created is created is captured in the fifth frame in which the teacher is pointing to her students.

As I’ve executed a non-narrative approach in the second part of my music video with the choreography, I had to cut the footage and arrange it in a suitable order so that that the soundtrack is in sync with the dancing and acting. I did this to emphasize the lyrics because the dancer's don't sing.

Close-up (shot-revers-shot) Tribal Man Skank

Storyboarding/Preparation
In creating a motion picture with any degree of fidelity to a script, a storyboard provides a visual layout of events as they are to be seen through the camera lens. When I had been granted permission to use Tribal Magz’s track ‘Tribal Man Skank’ I brainstormed thousands of ideas and chose a story line which defies the typical raving scene and that demonstrates the fun side of school. Film directors Joel and Ethan Coen use and create storyboards widely before filming and as a result their films are very successful. They have received numerous awards and nominations.

The Genre
My music video hasn't got a fixed genre. However it's a combination of genres. It's a musical even though the characters aren't singing but their energetic dance moves speak for the lyrics of my media product. The sound track is used to advance the development of the characters and so is the choreography. The dance moves in my music video are very precise and exclusive to 'Tribal Man Skank' as they illustrate the lyrics. Similarly to Beyonce's music video 'Single Ladies' the dance moves represent some of the lyrics of the sound track.

Still from 'Tribal Man Skank' Still from

Still of 'Single Ladies' Beyonce

Introduction of Character

Three of the main characters, which are students after the still title ‘DETENTION’; the font is black, All Caps and on a white background which peels off the screen. This was done to create a clear sense of the setting (school/classroom) so that the audience will have an idea of what to expect. This is a good way to introduce the character because I want the music video to be about school. Similarly in the music video ‘Lip Gloss’ the main character who is also a student is introduced after the name of the rapper ‘Lil Mama’ and the title of the video crawls on to screen, the main character’s mum then hands her a charmed bracelet containing lip gloss. This is an apparent link to the title of the film. I adopted the use of the hall way from 'Lip Gloss' because I think it really creates a strong sense of setting as I used lockers and posters as props.

Introduction of 'Lip Gloss' Introduction of 'Tribal Man Skank'

Still of Lil Mama using lip gloss