Media Evaluation Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts? Draft

Media Evaluation Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

The music video, DigiPak and DigiPak advert create a coherent brand identity and house style through the use of the colour scheme, as the distorted grey aesthetic is used throughout the products which is conventional of the genre of the products, as the use of the fuzzy distortion on the images in the DigiPak and the video is evocative of the "DIY" aesthetic of the punk genre, this is furthered by the use of iconography which is in keeping with this as it jumps from grungy images of urban decay to images of over pollution- these images are explicitly linked to the genre, as the genre is stereotypically known for viewing the more outré elements with relish and slumming in scuzziness this would therefore fit into the conventions of the genre, and further the message of over pollution of the song . Also the decision to use screengrabs from the video, though distorted through Photoshop, provide a clear and coherent brand identity, it allows the brand to become easily recognisable to the audience as they all link together through use of similar imagery. It also conforms to conventions of other media products that were analysed, such as the Devo DigiPak , wherein the videos themselves are used to create a brand identity for the band (Sven E. Carlson) which is then carried forward into their other products, namely DigiPak and the advert for one, this is shown through the use of screengrabs from the video on the DigiPak and DigiPak advert, this is providing a continuation of the brand identity from the video to ancillary products to create a more cohesive house style.

The font also adds to this sense of unity across the products, the white text creates a contrast to the gritty black and white visuals which furthers the degraded aesthetic, it's appearance in the video not only harks back to '50s sci-fi films (which used this sort of title sequence) but is also a convention of this genre of music video. To use it on the ancillary products links the products together through this shared theme, furthering the message of the song- as this subversion of the conventions of idealized '50s futures with images of pollution and a sense of futility against what would typically be an overbearing sense of optimism creates an interesting juxtaposition and furthers the message of the song, and by carrying this over across the products it creates an ideological unity that adds to the overall cohesiveness of the products.

The use of screen grabs as art work provides a consistent visual style that is used across the products, it works almost like a logo, and creates a sort of signature for the products linking them together promoting a sense of synergy between them, it also the distorted nature of the screengrabs recalls the earlier days of punk with fanzines such as Sniffing Glue, thereby this "cut-up" look on the ancillary products conveys the genre to the audience and allows the products to stand unified together sharing the representing the same genre. This synergy between the products is further stressed in the fact that the advert contains an image of the of the DigiPak, this demonstrates clearly to the audience an explicit connection between the products.