Question 4: How Did You Use New Media Technology In The Construction Of Your Print Productions?

Unprocessed Images For CD Digipak/Advert

Below are the four unprocessed pictures that I used for my CD Digipak/advert.

CD front cover and Advert


Inside Left CD Digipak


Inside Right CD Digipak


Back CD Digipak

Question 3: What Have You Learned From Your Audience Feedback?

Question 2: How Effective is the Combination of your Main Products and Ancillary Texts?

I believe that my video production and ancillary texts work well together to create a house brand for Blighters, using the same techniques on all my ancillary texts and implementing a style throughout my productions, relying on the use of skateboarding and the ‘freedom’ of the target audience. This helps to identify the band in the genre and helps to remind the audience about the band for future references.

After finishing the video production, I decided on my house brand for the ancillary texts. This included the black and white images of skateboarding, the location of the music video shoot and the freedom of the band. These images, which I used as my CD Digipack design, all related the music video and helped to link it together. The front cover of the CD Digipack (which is also used for the advert) is taken at the skate park which I used for the music video production. The image shows the box which the band played on for the live performance shots of the video and is recognisable on the front cover to link the two pieces. This is one of the ways in which I have linked the band through my productions.

Another way that linked my music production and ancillary texts together was by using Jake Mardell for the CD/advert. Jake is part of my group for the music production and was the drummer in that. He is pictured in three of the four CD panes (Front, Inside right, Back). This was ideal for me as we are good friends and both spend a lot of time skateboarding together. This also helped when it came round to shooting the skating shots, as we both were involved in filming/performing the tricks and could bounce ideas off each other for this part of the music production.

I have used many editing techniques during the production of my ancillary texts. I wanted to keep the same basic design throughout to give the pieces a flow. I did this by using three main features of Adobe Photoshop. Firstly, I removed the colour (before and after) from the photos, as they were all taken in colour, to connote a moody setting and feeling to the pieces. I chose to do this as it also links well with the music video, as this was filmed in the fading light of day.

Secondly, I used the lightening effect (before and after) on all the panes to create the ‘halo’ style effect. I used this most on the front cover, covering all four corners and edges. This effect was also used on the three other panes to a lesser extend, covering opposite corners. I used this feature to as I felt the pieces lacked a visual punch when the effect was not used (see lightening effect before and after), which is vital when trying to sell copies of the album in shops. Lastly, I changed the saturation and brightness of each pieces to bring out the images more vividly when printed out.

One of the most obvious ways in which I linked the music video and ancillary texts together was through the use of the Blighters logo, which is used in all three production pieces. The logo, which was created using newspaper cuttings and altered in Adobe Photoshop, is a main feature of all three production pieces. In the music video, it is the first shot of the video as the letters individual enter the shot using stop motion. I think it is one of the most memorable parts to the video and because of this, I decided to use this for my ancillary texts. When using the logo for the CD Digipack and advert, I had to change the colours and saturations to make sure they were not ‘lost’ in the background. I think that this part of my coursework has worked really well as the logo stands out and show the laid back approach of the band.

Overall, I believe that all my production work links together well, using a variety of techniques to make sure the brand of the Blighters is recognisable and catches the eye of the target audience through the music video, CD Digipack and Advert.

Lostprophets - For He's A Jolly Good Felon

Band: Lostprophets
Song Title: For He's A Jolly Good Felon
Release Date: 12/03/2010

I have decided to use this as one of my case studies about the representation of youth in England. This music video uses the stereotypical council estate location, with the youths that live there being chased by the police. This video is easily identifiable with the target audience for the band (between the ages of 14-21)due to the rough urban landscape and behaviour of the males.

The video was filmed in Moss side (Manchester), and features car chases, council estates, plus a very special cameo from none other than Brick Top from the movie Snatch!

Collective Identity Case Studies

I am planning to look into a number of social realist films to show how collective identity can be shown and how the audience can identify with the characters involved. All the films that i will look have been released in the last five years to make sure that an accurate and up-to-date representation is given. The films i plan to review are as follows:
Fish Tank (Released: 2009, Country Of Origin: UK)
This Is England (Released: 2006, Country of Origin: UK)


When looking into these films, i will look into the aspects of the characters, their problems during the film, contemportary issues within the community, the characters attitudes and how the audience can indentify and aspire with the characters.

What Is Collective Indentity?

The collective identity of a person is created through thir sense of belonging to a group or class. This could be through their place of work, religion, family life, peers, social class, E/community (Internet social networking/school/clubs/groups) and aspirations.

A leader in the development of ones identity was Jacques Lacan, a French psychoanalyst. He proposed a theory called the Mirror Stage, which is when a child develop their identity. The Mirror Stage explains the creation of an Ego through the process of identification with ones own image. He showed how a baby can recognise itself in the mirror at around six months. This theory can be used in the media to describe how audiences recognise images on screen, helping to reinforce and define their personal identity and aspirations. When an audience see a character on screen that they like, this could be due to the fact that they can identify with the character or aspire to be like the character, or both.

The media can influence the indentity of a person through many formats and platforms. TV, Film, Radio, Magazines and the internet can affect how we create our own identity, as people can idolise or aspire to be like a famous celebrity. Furthermore, as a result of peer pressure and false advertising, ones identity can be affected in a negative way.

Evaluation of Actors, Costumes and Locations

When producing the video for the Blighters, I wanted to create a video that appealed to the audience and that they could easily identify with. To make sure I did this, I wanted to create an original and familiar Mise-en-scene to encourage the identification of the male audience.

The man who played the lead singer and guitarist in the music video was Owen Taylor, who loves his music and has been scouted to be a model in the past. The cool image, along with the good looks, makes the audience aspire to be like Owen in the way he dresses and his style. This aspirational idea that Owen conveys is linked with the 1980’s style of the casuals and the yuppies. With 1980’s fashion coming back around again in 2010, the image of casuals is quite common today. The style (jeans and jackets) was created by the working class supporters of Liverpool football club, who travelled Europe with their club. They travelled to style capitals of Europe such as Milan, where they aspired to wear the expensive and fashionable makes on sale. The casuals look is an unconventional style for the skater image, with the casuals being described as pretty boys. The look of the yuppies also has close links to Owen’s style, which involves the blazers, jeans and shoes which he wears in the music video. The yuppies were young and a wealthy business man in the 1980’s who dressed similarly to that of Owen. Furthermore, they would listen to music of the same genre of the Blighters. The indie pop genre, with bands like The Police, was at the forefront of the yuppies culture. Sting, the lead singer of The Police, was a famous role model for the yuppies to aspire to. I have used this example and used this in my music production, with the lead singer taking the aspirational figure.

The bassist and drummer for the filming was taken up by me and Jake Mardell (another member of the group), as it was much easier to have us playing in the band than finding more people due to us always being around when filming. The dress sense and costumes of the bassist and drummer are slightly different to that of Owen, the lead singer. As I wanted the lead to stand out, I dressed the other members of the band in a more casual style. Both me and Jake wear polo shirts, jeans and skate shoes in the shoot. This style connotes more towards the skater image and can be related to the target audience, who mostly wear jeans and polo shirts as they are in-fashion with the target audience of our band at the moment.

The last members of the video are the skateboarders, who fill in between the live performance shots. I decided to use the ordinary look of baggy jeans and hoody to help make the production look authentic. This part of the production is easily identifiable and the dress sense is something that the target audience can relate to. The use of the ordinary look of the skaters makes the video very much an identificational production instead of an aspirational one. The skaters in the production could be seen in any part of the country as the look is popular and quite ordinary. Furthermore, the look of the skaters connotes their way of life. Their clothing isn't very flashy or high maintenance, which is reflected in their life style and this is represented in the target audience. Another way in which the skateboarders are quite ordinary and easily identified with is the tricks that are in the music video. None of the tricks performed take your breath away but are solid. These tricks could be performed by many experienced skateboarders and this makes the video more realistic to ordinary people.

When producing the music video, I wanted to create a male homosocial film. I thought this would be a better way of targeting the audience (mostly male) and helping them to identify with the band/skateboarders easily. Some people will see that as a criticism as I am only focusing on the male audience, but I believe this is best way to create a successful video. If I was to use females in the video, then would most likely be used as objects and show in a poor light. By keeping to the original line up of the band (3 males) and only having male skaters, it makes the video seem more realistic as males are in the band and most likely to use the park for skating. A theory to back this idea up was created by Jacques Lacan, who agree that my music production acts as a mirror for the audience, serving as a mode of identification by which they form their own sense of identity, negotiating who they are with the aspirational figures represented.

The location for the shoot, Hethersett skate park in Norfolk, provides continuity in the fact that the location is an ordinary skate park which could be seen anywhere in the country. However, the location is used for its comedy value as well. As you can see in the video, the skate park seems to be in rural location in the middle of the countryside. Unlike the stereotypical skate scene in an urban city location (see Lostprophets ‘Shinobi Vs Dragon Ninja’ or Sum 41 ‘Fat Lip’) the rural location of a village makes the video identifiable with the ordinary skater in a smaller village or town where this kind of skate park in the shoot is the norm.

After looking at the Lostprophets and Sum 41 videos, I wanted to use skate footage as the title of the song ‘Boys in Motion’ connotes the sense of movement and freedom and it appeals to the target audience, which hopefully will make it a success. Another reason for the use of skateboarding in the music video is also to keep the interest of the audience. If it had just live performance, then the audience would lose interest before the video has finished. When I introduce skateboarding tricks and shots into the video, it should help to keep the audience engaged with the production. Furthermore, the use of skateboarding can be used during the narrative to connote certain lines of the song. Lines such as "Better get used to being lonely", we would shoot the lead skater on his own at the empty skate park. Furthermore, the 'soldier' in this song will be the skateboarder. Another reason for the use of the skateboarding is to show that males are active and this video reinforces that idea. In the media, males in my target audience (16-25) can be seen as lazy and not have enough drive for life. However, this is not true for the majority of the target audience. My video proves that youths can be active and not cause trouble like so many publications make out.