Evaluation Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary task?BY JOE LEVER

Mise-En-Scene: Music Video

When creating my music video and ancillary tasks I focused on mise-en-scene. Firstly, the actors/actresses in my music video were directed in order to fulfil the concept and execution I had envisioned. I directed Aiden (the protagonist and front man of the band) to play a character that is filled with anger and jealousy; in order to do this I told him to use body language as well as facial expressions to really ensure that the narrative looked real. Bria, the girl in the video, was directed to come across flirtatiously to the other boy in the video; she did this mainly through the use of body language i.e. the playing of her hair, and the close proximity between her and the other boy in the video. Linking to the instruments as props, I directed James (the drummer) and myself who played guitar in the video, to look simply as we normally would when performing live. I didn’t want these characters to express to much emotion as they are not relevant to the narrative; instead they are just charismatic in the sections in which they appear, similar to the energy of a real Indie band performing live.

Mise-En-Scene: Music Video

Lighting was important in my music video, especially during performance shots; I used stage lights in order to highlight those on the stage, the lights came from above and shone down on the band members. Besides this, I adjusted the brightness and saturation when editing in order to achieve filtered shots that focused on the person in the shot rather than the environment surrounding them. In addition to the instruments used, I included several close-up shots of the guitar cable which eventually led to the amp at the end of the song. The last shot of the song shows an amp which isn’t turned on; this acts as an end to the song and a metaphor for the protagonist having no hope after seeing his love interest holding hands with someone else. The shots of the cable are filtered with black and white filters as well as flashes of green; these flashes imply that there are connection problems with the cable and the amp throughout the song – effectively they foreshadow the idea that the amp is not working correctly.

Mise-En-Scene: Ancillary Tasks

When creating my ancillary tasks it was extremely important to consider mise-en-scene. In my magazine advert, I used Photoshop to edit a close up of the protagonist on the phone to make his skin green and on the digipak front cover, I edited his eyes green. I believe these helped to create an image that stands out to the viewer and relates to the concept and title of the song. Both ancillary tasks use the same colour scheme to display convergence across several media platforms as fell as to display the brand identity I have create. Both ancillary tasks see a close-up of the band’s front man as this is integral when creating a brand identity; the band’s front man would become recognisable and his image would immediately be associated with the band, this would appeal to the target audience as it explores a form of interaction between the artist and the consumer as they see his face on various platforms.

Genre Representation: Music Video

When creating my music video, I attempted to conform to conventions and characteristics of the Indie Rock genre in order to create a product that would appeal to my target audience and promote the band. One convention that I followed was the use of live performance; the music video sees many shots of the band performing on stage as this creates a focus on the band doing what they love. A more contemporary indie convention is to combine this with a narrative included in between to break up the music video and give a story to the viewer; the use of a narrative helps to make the music video more memorable. Indie narratives are usually simple and easy to follow – mine conforms to this convention, primarily because it is an amplification of the lyrics which are very clear and easy to understand; I believe that the use of a narrative will result in the video resonating with the viewer more so than if the video just contained performance shots. Camerawork in the video conforms to Indie conventions as it frequently displays close-ups and full length shots to show the band and what they are wearing; editing has bee used to create a unique product that still appeals to my target audience. The use of transitions makes the video run more smoothly, fast cuts and slow cuts replicate the tempo of the song and complex editing (i.e. very quick jump cuts) during fast tempo parts evoke a sense of thrill in the viewer as well as creating a music video that is more interesting to watch. Additionally, the use of a black and white filter is common in the Indie Genre, it is often used to make the videos look retro and raw however in my music video, it is used to symbolise the lack of meaning in the protagonist’s life.

Genre Representation: Ancillary Tasks

In my ancillary tasks it was difficult to represent the Indie genre as the conventions of the genre are not particularly unique. I have included close-ups of the band’s front man on both the magazine advert and the front cover of the digipak, as well as a mid shot of him on the back cover. This has helped me create a brand identity and conform to the Indie genre. On the magazine advert, I included reviews from the magazines ‘Kerrang!’ and ‘NME’, two magazines that are notable and associated with Rock/Indie Rock Music, moreover, I referenced Johnny Marr and Morrissey (of The Smiths), one of the most famous Indie bands of all time by comparing The 1984 with them in terms of their impact on the genre. These reviews will appeal to my target audience who will be familiar with these references to the band and the magazines. I also used a black and white filter on both ancillary tasks which conforms to the Indie genre as many music videos within this genre use a black and white filter.

Influences: Music Video

My music video was influenced by other bands such as The Kooks, The View, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, Catfish and the Bottlemen and The Wombats. When researching music videos of the Indie genre, the songs ‘Sway’ by The Kooks and ‘Same Jeans’ by The View are examples of music videos that display live performance intertwined with narrative shots; I thought that both of their music videos were extremely effective as they captured my attention and stood in my memory over other videos I had watched as I was drawn into the narrative of the songs. The songs ‘Pacifier’ by Catfish and the Bottlemen, ‘All the Rage Back Home’ by Interpol and ‘Bullet’ by Franz Ferdinand’ are examples of songs that used interesting filters which captured my attention. ‘Pacifier’ uses a black and white filter but this is combined with the use of vivid colours such as yellow smoke and a red flare; the latter two songs use a black and white filter throughout. This influenced me as I believe that the cinematography looked excellent and it captivated me, it made the music videos look, to me, more professional than others I had seen and they offered a retro undertone. I used a black and white filter in my music video to imply that the protagonist’s life is plain and meaningless without the girl he loves, also the filter connotes to a retro and rustic theme that would appeal to those who have already experienced college in allowing them to reminisce and think back to a time in which they experienced a similar affair as the narrative is a teenage love affair which is relatable to most.

Influences: Ancillary Tasks

After researching many Indie digipaks, I decided that it would be best to create a digipak that wasn’t influenced by any that I had seen. The vast majority of Indie digipaks and magazine adverts consisted of band art work as shown in the two pictures on the right. Interestingly, the bottom photo is a the album cover for the band’s debut album however this simple black background with a white diagram on has become part of their brand identity and is seen on other media products of theirs. For my ancillary task, I felt it was important to focus on the image of the band’s frontman in order to create a recognisable image that would be associated with the band. Also, the colour scheme helped to create a brand identity as green is not a common colour to be used as a primary colour in a product.