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

Our desired effect of the three products was to create a harmonious impact on the audience. We focused mostly on the aesthetic look of the products to achieve this. Using a strong colour pallet and reinforcing the surreal imagery, captures our intentions of creating a 'wonderland-like' quality to the products. The wonderland image is symbolic of the manifestation of the character and her thoughts. It represents the ambiguity of whether her journey is real or just a figment of her projected fantasies.

In relation to the main product, the magazine advert develops the concept of surrealism and dream-like qualities. By foregrounding the vivid colours flowing through the patterned border, it stands prominently against the dark and brooding background; essentially this introduces the theory of binary opposites by Claude Levi Strauss, experimenting with light and dark, lucid and bleak to fundamentally create an image that suitably ties in with the themes used in the other products. It also suggests a more sinister undercurrent, the idea that the character is consumed by her fantasies. The colour scheme also exemplifies the contrast between the characters dystopia and utopian world. By merging the two, it is suggested that they overlap, that the wall between them occasionally diminishes; blurring the lines of reality.

In the magazine advert we used two separate shots taken from the video, to create continuity; by using familiar imagery, the audience will condition themselves to recognise a link throughout each product.

The juxtaposition of the image at the bottom is an example of the continuation between each of the products, creating a fluid link. It creates the sense of synergy between the three texts. Using this we can market the products as a set, each of the products complement each other and reinforce the created meaning.

We incorporated the lead character in the narrative in each of the ancillary texts, in this way she becomes a symbol of the collective product, it brings the narrative to the forefront of the product. The theme of exploration and wonder is something we wanted our audience to associate with the young character, if we apply the uses and gratifications model (Denis McQuail) to this, in the sense that the audience will look for something to relate to or seek solace in, our central character is constructed to do so.  She represents the stage in adolescence in which we are experimenting and learning who we are, essentially trying to establish an  identity. 

Other ways in which we attempted to create fluidity is through formatting such as the fonts we used in the texts. The colour purple (used in both the video and the digipak was chosen because of its association with psychedelic imagery and serenity. The idea of serenity and balance is what the ‘perfect’ world embodies; it constitutes the ideal construction of the utopian world.  The psychedelic aspect of the colour purple reinforces the surreal imagery that we have also channelled effectively through the texts.

Selling the products narrative characteristics rather than the band themselves creates an element of rarity.  Band images are available with each and every album, on merchandise and in posters. Our aim is to create an exclusiveness that is only illustrative of this album; in a way it introduces a 'special-edition' component to the products. The product is intended to draw focus away from the typical image of the band that in this circumstance remain with a sense of ambiguity, reinforced by the lack of their presence in the texts. I believe that we have effectively combined the products to create synergy that is sustainable throughout each text.