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

I believe that the combination of our main product and our ancillary texts were very effective. There were a variety of ways that we helped to do this.

The Photoshop work such as the DigiPak designs and the advert show many similarities and I also believe that it was overall successful. When making the two products I believe that we took all the media conventions and criteria into account. For example, we used specific colours, framing, composition, Mis en scene, editing techniques, Etc. Throughout our Photoshop products we used a number of effects but more specifically we used a mixture of sepia and a dull brown over layer which makes the image looks much older and retro. This is something that we wanted to achieve as it also relates to our ‘urban’ and ‘street’ theme that we run throughout all of our products. The use of this effect also allows the audience to recognise our media products and understand they are an overall piece. For instance, the colours and locations used in our ancillary tasks are also used in our music video. This creates relevance and also helps the audience match the two together.

More specific

Firstly, the most iconic thing that stands out and helps audiences to relate our DigiPak and advert together is the ‘Urb4n Blur’ title. This is something that we wanted to achieve, therefore audiences can instinctively realise that they come from the same product. The reason why I think it does stand out is because of the contrasting colours. For example, the brown and yellow do not blend together, making the brown ‘Urb4n Blur’ title stand out.

Another immediate similarity of the two is the colour schemes. Throughout the two ancillary tasks we used a dipped overlay making the picture look older than it is, and also creating that ‘retro’ feel that we wanted to enforce throughout all of our products. However, the vibrant and strong colour of the purple makes our artist also stand out. In order to this we used multiple effects such as changing the levels contrasts and selective colour, making his purple hoody stand out.

In addition, having done some research, I realised that many artists and bands use their front cover also as the advert. When creating our own I also released that this is an effective way to help attract the audience, as it will make it easier for them to match the two products together. Moreover, throughout the ancillary tasks we took much inspiration from ‘The Streets’ and other artists of the same genre such as ‘Plan B’ and ‘Devlin’. For example, our main aim was to create a brand identity that made us different from others, and also creating a continuous theme throughout our media products. We achieved this by using many vibrant colours and including a variety of ‘street’ and ‘retro’ locations such as the Skate Park, high streets, roads, and parks, snooker clubs, the launderette and city scenery. Another way in which we tried to enforce our theme and genre was by specifically calling our band name ‘‘’Urban’’ Blur’. This enables the audience to immediately understand what genre of music we produce.

Therefore, in conclusion I believe that combination of our main product and ancillary tasks went very effectively and successfully. For example, it can be clear to see that there are many similarities and patterns that run throughout. This enables the audience to understand that they are an overall product. In addition, another factor that shows similarities is our text. For instance, we continued to use the same font which also enables our audience to recognise us.