Q2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary products
1. 2.HOW EFFECTIVE IS
THE COMBINATION OF
YOUR MAIN PRODUCT
AND ANCILLARY TEXTS?
By Stephen Mulonso
2. THE PURPOSE
An artist needs a album/digipak when it comes to sell and promote
their work. IN order to do this we needed to create a digipak that
represents the artist and and the genre of music at the same time.
This meant that we had to show the truth of the character. So in order
to do this we need to conform to the codes and conventions of rap.
This was done through the font and the mise-en-scene and aswell as
the the type of photo we have chosen.
This was also the case when making the website. In order to not cause
confusion, it is best to make sure that we had to keep consistency.
Here we can promote the artist and the way he looks through the
gallery and their social media pages.
3. CONCEPT
Our song was mainly about a passion for music but because of the
way its written, many people can interpret it in a more romantic way.
So we wanted to conform and subvert form the genre by adding our
own distinctive style through the use of jump cuts and jolting around
with time. With the use of cinematography and performance we
wanted to make the artist seem to relaxed and passive with the use of
performace which goes along with the video. This is because they
lyrics are quite solemn and chilled so making over the top
performance would not suit at all.
Anytime we was showing the narrative we decided to make sure it was
in black and white. This easily shows that the evens that are occurring
happened in the past. This heavily contrasted between the
performance section as it was a in bright colours to show the present
and the fact that the mood is bright shows that the feelings and
4. MUSIC VIDEO
Here will be a link to the music video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BG8ovX63Xs
6. ANALYSIS OF DIGIPAK
The digipak links clearly between the video and the website and the
artist as well. The artist is quite humble and having possessions are
not one of his concerns. This is where we deviate and realise that e
should not be showing off however we decided to bring it back and
be iconographic with the young people of London. For example with
the use of the branding Trapstar, the younger people may feel in
touch with it because it is affordable. The significance of wearing a
hoodie could suggest that although he has become famous he is still
in touch with his roots. A convention of rap is maybe to keep the
artist hooded however in this instance, he has not got his hood up
which could suggest that he is not going down that path anymore.
People of London can also adhere and find that it is appealing is
through the use of London being moulded into the jumper. This
could suggest that being a Londoner is a part of him and is unique.
The fact that we can clearly see the Shard shows iconogaphy which
shows the luxuries of London which is kind of unconventional of a
rapper because showing your upbringing plays a part in authenticity.
7. …
Typography plays a part in reflecting the artist and the subversion of
the genre. As we can see it is in plain writing and the colour blue. The
colour blue is used to create melancholic of sadness and sorrow. This
is further reflected in the song that are portrayed in the album.
However, although this album is about hardship, some rappers would
believe that it would be better that you should still show hardship
however through the font it needs to reflect the artist on the digipak.
The spacing between the words “the journey” is nicely presented
8. HERE IS THE WEBSITE
https://dcuonacreous.wixsite.com/mysite
9. ANALYSIS ON WEBSITE
My website is quite unique in the sense that it does and does not follow the
codes and conventions of a general rap. Especially the UK Genre. This is
because he is still adhering to the genre however, he is not being the
complete stereotype by showing off money but to show a more reflective
tone. So the photos that I have used are of which the artist more serious and
reflective. I also used the application Photomosh to create a deeper feeling
and creating some movement. The movement in the picture creates a feeling
of uncertainty and the fact that the picture is not still could suggest that he
still needs to figure some things out before he can put himself at ease.
We’ve realised using this as an effect makes the website more appealing and
also helps present the agenda of the album.
Through the use of typography, we decided that we would keep it plain and
easy to read. As stated above we do no want to be the conventional rap
culture and try to show off so keeping it plain and simple helps reflect the
artist. I perfectly placed the picture on the left hand side of the screen
because of the direction the artist is looking. This could portray that he is
looking towards it. It also highlights the title of album due the fact that some
people may ask what his is looking at but it is evident that he is looking at
10. …
However we do have some conventions of rap and have not completely
neglected it. This is done through the picture that sits in the background of
the music video. In the picture we can see that there are buildings and in rap
location and where you have been brought up play a significant role to the
artist and what he stands for. What we can see is a piece of art that is on the
jumper. There are significant and well renown places we can see such as the
shard for instance and when people look at it, they can feel that they are in
touch and are more connected to the artist.
But as we progress further into the website, we go back to this more trippy
effect and shows more about his inner self. Moreover, this website reflects
the fact that he is in conflict between finding himself and what people want
to portray him as. So the sharp contrast between conventional and
completely unconventional is clear and evident.
The news page about the artist was quite a unique page that once again we
have the inner self photo meaning that here is no movement and this
highlights the good that he has done in the past. I decided not to make it
over the top because this page had vital information about the artist
meaning that it needed to be read by many people. So keeping the
distractions to a minimum was a good idea so that they can concentrate on
11. WAS THERE A LINK?
Between the website and the music video I believe there was as clear
link. This is because of the mood of the song and other aspect such
as the mise-en-scene which has allowed me to make the correlation
between the two. With the buildings that are portrayed in the music
video are the very beginning, we do get a glimpse of these as being a
Londoner is a part of him as a person. This as convention of rap and
showing some of the glamourous parts however we did show some of
the more urbanised elements of the city. Moreover, we used the same
text compared to the two which makes it clear that they both share
the same agenda. When doing audience research we realised that
they liked the way the digipaks where seen so this meant that we can
use some of the conventions that were placed in them.
12. OVERALL
I believe that there is a clearly link between my ancillary and the final
music video because through out all of them we can see that
reoccurring themes of the buildings and the mise-en-scene stays the
same through out it all. Consistency is key because we do not want to
portray any other issue than the conflict that the artist he is feeling
within himself. If I could do anything again I believe that I would
change is maybe adding another page on the digipak to show more
of the urban side to show the life of both before fame and after fame
with the artist.