Evaluation 3 - How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?

In addition to creating a film trailer, we were set two ancillary tasks to also create, all of which combined to make a promotional package for our film. The ancillary tasks we decided to create were a poster, and a magazine cover. Posters are easily made, and effective in giving the information they're intended to give. For example they're made to be eye catching and luring, intriguing passers by to pursue more information regarding the film being advertised. Secondly, magazine covers are a more descriptive promotional item. This is because a follow up of some sort is found within the magazine; Whether this be an interview of a cast member, or a review of some kind, more information is given about the film.

Our initial research into the conventions of magazine covers and posters involved analysing different magazine covers and posters that we found online, mainly on google images. An idealistic magazine which greatly inspired us was 'Empire' magazine; we found an Empire magazine cover which we liked, and then based our designs around it, using it as a rough template. 

The initial plan we drew out for our magazine is shown below. We used this as a guide, however slightly changed certain things as we were creating it.

The conventions of a magazine cover soon became clear and we ensured we included; a mast head, strap lines, a main image, a barcode, and cover lines on our own magazine cover. In order to link all three tasks, the same font was used for the title of the film for each. This is shown below.

Magazine cover title

Trailer title

Poster title

The main image on the magazine cover is of Rosie, the main character, expressing horror on her face, which is clearly fitting for the genre of the film being advertised. We darkened the image and added a reddish tone, creating more of a dull, horror-like mood, whilst also matching the bold red masthead. Black is a dominant colour on the magazine as it is the background, the purpose of this being to create a feeling in which the viewers are apprehensive as they do not know what is behind Rosie. Additionally, because of the dulled image of Rosie, it may appear as though Rosie is being consumed by the darkness. The colours we have used allow the film to be recognised as a horror, therefore attracting the correct audience. Below is an image of our completed magazine cover.

After the research was done and it was clear which conventions needed to be used, the initial plans for the poster were drawn up on paper in the same way. The plans we drew up were alike with the final product, we didn't deviate too far from them as we were happy with them, and they were accurate. The conventions of a poster which we used were things such as; a masthead, billing block, tagline, reviews, and a main image. Again, as shown above, we used the stylistic font of our film on each of the tasks, in order to link them together. Below is the completed poster.

Above you can see the billing block on the poster. The billing block is a block of writing conventionally in a thin, narrow font, displaying the names of the production companies involved, the director, and the musicians. Below the billing block are the involved production company logos. The tagline is positioned just below the main title, in a smaller font, reading 'A childhood nightmare brought to life'. This tagline will be what people who view the poster remember, making them wonder what the childhood nightmare is? Below is an image of the main title, with the tagline below it.

The dark, dulled theme of our poster conforms to the conventional colours of the horror genre . Black is a dominant colour which connotes evil and the unknown. This black colour combined with the scratch effect, and the faded image of the antagonist dulled into the background, creates an uncertain mood, suggesting Evylin is lurking in the darkness. The scratch effects also covering the main image suggests that this darkness and evil surrounding Evylin is also consuming Rosie. The scratch effect is also consistent with the background of the inter-titles in the trailer. This again demonstrates a link between the tasks, and establishes a unique style for our film. 

Inter titles

The scratch effect on the main image

As shown above, our main image is of Rosie expressing a horrified look on her face, as though she is in fear of something. We played around with different effect and manipulated the brightness and tones of the original image in order to create this more ghostly, authentic image. Additionally, there is an image of Evylin standing, and looking directly into the camera. This is positioned on the left of the poster, and partially explains to the viewer why Rosie may have that expression. The positioning and sizing of the two images suggests to the viewer that Evylin may be following Rosie, or may always be around her. This is a chilling thought, and raises questions as to why Evylin is following her, and how can she be stopped. Rosie is seen displaying a distressed look on the majority of her clips in the trailer, this is another link between the image and the trailer. 

To conclude, I believe the combination of our main product and both ancillary tasks was effective in creating a complete promotional package for our film. Through the use of all three of the tasks I believe we would have distributed a vast majority of our target audience, thus ensuring our film sold was successfully. Each product is specific its genre and appeals to only a certain type of audience. With the help of the tag lines, inter-titles, and overall sequence of the trailer, it is able to narrate to the audience, intriguing them, and drawing them in.