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

Irrespective of the medium, stars have some key features in common:
A star is an image, not a real person, that is constructed  out of a range of materials (e.g advertising, magazines etc as well as films and music.)

Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings. 
When creating these products it was very important that I kept the style consistent and in keeping with the bands star image.

These are the qualities which we are going to promote in the flashguns.

Youthfulness

Sexual magnetism
Originality
Creativity/talent
Aggression/anger
Success against the odds 

Stars depend upon a range of subsidiary media – magazines, TV, radio, the internet – in order to construct an image for themselves which can be marketed to their target audiences.
The star image is made up of a range of meanings which are attractive to the target audiences

All of the images have an essence of mystery.
For the marketing of our band and star image I created an album cover and a tour poster using Photoshop.

Here are the inside images for the CD cover.

The album cover and the back of the album cover have both got similar styles of editing and are both taken at night, this adds to the idea of mystery because of the general fear and uncertainty that the dark induces. This also ties in with the name of the album. The suggested midnight sky which we see in the picture could be seen to have some significance to the song itself. 
The image conveyed within these pictures is similar to that conveyed in the video. The lighting is all of a dark essence. There is a large amount of 'dead space' in the video and the back of the album cover.

When creating the tour poster I paid special attention to the the way that the band would have wanted to be portrayed. I made special emphasis on the word LIVE. This is because this is what the poster was especially made for and the place that the band will make the most money.
The way that the band have been positioned in the photo gives a sense of space and individuality to the band members. The image which we see is quite different in styling from the video itself, this is to add a sense of variety to the bands image rather than to make them look too static.

I am quite adept at using Photoshop as I use it a lot in my own time. The photo which I have used contains a large amount of empty space which is very suggestive that something mysterious must be going on within the image, hopefully this will instill interest and promote consumer consumption of the product. I have tried to create an album cover which will portray the bands intended star image, which is of a fairly youthful image however at the same time is trying be slightly mysterious.

The mock up the tour poster which I have made was meant to add a sense of realism to the product, although they are an actual band and they have got tour posters of their own I felt it would be beneficial to create my own version of it. The picture which I have used portrays the band as fairly ordinary and normal people which will help people to relate to and to follow the band.
In the modern music industry live performance plays a large part in completing the aspect of star image, however it leaves people unsatisfied that they cannot have the essence of a live show whenever they listen to their music. This will hopefully promote the following and consumption of the bands music.

 The video is mainly based on performance shots of the band. I was trying to use the bands USP (unique selling point) to create a following and to promote the sale of live shows.
In the video the band are portrayed similarly as in the poster which I created a fairly ordinary and normal group, however they have got a talent and a product which people will hopefully see in the video and want to consume.

Theorist Richard Dyer came up with a paradox within the concept of star image. Firstly the star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the audience. Secondly the star needs to be simultaneously present and absent for the audience. There are some common values of stardom, these include youthfulness, rebellion, sexual magnetism, an anti-authoritarian attitude, creativity/talent, anger/aggression, a disregard for social and political values relating to sex, drugs, and success against the odds.