Evaluation Question Two

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

How/ why do y three products SYNERFGISE and what is the effect/significance of this synergy?

POSTER

- From looking at the poster what do we learn/ understand about the style of/genre of/audience for of the film?From looking at my poster we learn the style, genre and audience of my film ‘Out’. The genre of my poster and film is Social Realism with features of thriller; this is presented through my poster as well as my film.

- How effectively does the poster reflect/ represent the themes and issue of the film?The effectiveness of my poster reflecting and representing the themes and issues of my film were noted through audience feedback. After carrying out a questionnaire for my target audience one of the questions I asked was if they could recognise any themes and issues from poster - these were some of the responses ‘Isolation – parental neglect – abuse – secrecy – discovery – neglect – trespassing – someone leaving or girl leaving’. Parental neglect, abuse and isolation were the themes and issues I wanted to represent in my film therefor my poster is effective in representing these themes and issues.

- How far and how effectively does the poster reflect the style of the film? The poster reflects the grittiness of the film and the dark themes it carries – also it reflects the style of the film effectively by the use of grainy airbrush paint around the title and parts of the main image. Also the use of black and white shows that this film is going to have a dark and thriller aesthetics to it, so it may include a dark setting and horrific story line.

- How does my poster inform my audience about my film?My poster informs my film through the use of imagery – my images can be taken literally as my main image is of a girl walking in through a door it suggests that she is either walking into a problem or out of one, which in my film the teenager walks into a problem where she is about to be kicked out. The second image on my poster is of a whiskey bottle which could be puzzling to my audience as to what it has to do with a girl in the previous image – but it also makes a connection between the two images, suggesting and foreshadowing that these two images are linked in the film.

- How effectively does my poster promote my short film?My poster effectively promotes my short film as it clearly tells the audience what type of film it is, social realism/ thriller, from its design and layout. It is also eye catching as it does not look very similar to mainstream posters which feature mainly who is starring in the film. Whereas mine does not show who is starring in the film through image but rather focuses on what the story is about. Lastly through the many laurel leave awards and quotes about my film on my poster effectively promote my short film, showing that my film is appreciated enough to win awards and gain reviews on it.

- What preconceptions does the poster develop in the mind of the viewer about the film?The preconceptions that my audience may develop from my film poster is that it lacks realism in the way the images have a gritty effect and are presented in only black and white

– but it can also suggest that there is meaning to the black and white, that either life/everything is black and white or that there is a decision to be made which should clearly the right thing should be decided. There is also a dark undertone presented in my poster form the darkness of the face of the character and in general the darkness of the poster.

SHORT FILM

- What key thematic elements are common to both the main and ancillary tasks? How are these explored/ represented differently in each?The key thematic elements which are common in both the main and ancillary tasks are that they all hold the conventions of social realism, representing the genre social realism. My film uses untrained actors and explores relatable themes and issues, but also uses dark lighting. My poster is very dark and has one main figure as the image which is associated with thriller posters but also by having a whiskey bottle in the poster it also relates it to social realism posters. My review uses professional comparisons pinpointing specific themes and issues.

- Do the review and poster convey/ communicate the same message/ meaning as the film or do they mediate/ narrative/ characterisation elements?My review, poster and film communicate the same messages and meanings, which are neglect, abuse, alcoholism and violence. However my poster does particularly communicate the violence in my film well, whereas the review and film do. My film and review present characterisation element effectively however in my poster it is unclear of the traits the figure holds as it could be her that has a problem with alcohol which in my film it is made clear it is not her.

- How do my ancillary tasks impact on my main product?My poster impacts my film by communicating the themes and issues of my film through imagery and allows my audience to preconceive their own ideas of what it is about – also it engages and makes my audience interested in my film.My review impacts my film by making comparisons to other professional films similar to mine giving information of the themes and issues and lastly it gives a quick synopsis of what my film is about.

- Are my ancillary tasks a clear reflection of my main product?My poster uses still shots of my main protagonist and significant props used in my short film, they represent the story of film from the whiskey bottle being the deal breaker and the protagonist walking in the door, standing her ground. This then foreshadows and reflects what happens in my product. My review discusses my film genre, its themes and issues and also gives a short synopsis of my film; this clearly reflects my main product.

- How do the review and poster reference another to promote/ deepen our understanding/ introduce extra layers of meaning into the film? My poster and review reference another to promote and deepen our understanding through various features, The poster references to the film by the gritty effect and black background, allowing my audience to sense that my film is dark and gritty, the void of the face on the girl promotes themes such as identity and neglect which are two main themes in my film. Which my review reinforces the idea that it is a dark film by comparing it to previous work, also my review features an image which is similar to the images present on my poster. Both my

poster and review promote each other as my poster promotes visually themes and issues my review comments and explains what the imagery represents and how it fits into my film.

- What stylistic elements are common to both the main and ancillary tasks?The stylistic elements that is common to both the main and ancillary tasks is the darkness/ dark background of the poster and the dark lighting in the film creating a disturbing atmosphere for the characters. My poster is artistic and not generated like a main stream poster, however it does hold features of thriller film posters, and my review’s layout and design is inspired by the sight & sound review pages which generally hold films from the genre social realism – therefor my poster and film all follow the same stylistic conventions of social realism and the thriller genre, which both these genres are both found in my film; presenting the same stylistic tone throughout all three tasks.

- What narrative elements are to both the main and ancillary tasks?The narrative elements that can be found in the main and ancillary tasks is that my poster and main show the main protagonist Lane walking through the door into darkness – the whiskey bottle is also shown on the poster which is a crucial prop in the film as it is used as the turning point. My review explains the narrative in the synopsis and critique and further explains the reason for the bottle – which the poster does not do.

REVIEW

- How does my review inform my audience about my film?My review informs my audience about my film through the short synopsis of my film present on the page. The audience is also informed through comments and analysis of features used including insight to the style and part of the story of my film. There are also professional comparisons to other shorts which allow the audience to understand who and what this film is mainly targeted at.

- How does the way that the review attracts an audience to my film differ from the way that my poster does? (Different functions and purposes). The different way my review attracts my audience is through the criticism and professional comparisons to other short films, attracting those who have a deeper media knowledge and are interested in review magazines, like sight and sound

- Is my review in any way biased and what might the impact of this be?My review is biased as there are more compliments than negatives, especially when comparing to professional productions as it is very difficult to criticise my own work and not be biased. Therefor this would impact my film by representing it positively rather than negatively.

- From reading the review what do we learn/ understand about the genre of/ audience for/ director’s rationale behind the film?From reading my review we learn that the genre of my film is social realism with features of thriller, we know this from the comparisons of professional social realism films and the reference to my previous work. We learn also that the audience is for this film is for those that have in-depth media knowledge, but also can appease to those who do not. The reader understands mine/the director’s rationale is that this film is not just purely entertainment but also holds a deeper message, hoping to inform those of the issues that are going on my film that they are going on in reality.

- How effectively does my film review break down the themes and issues that are the chief concern of my film? My film review breaks down the themes and issues that are chief concern to my film by mentioning the themes and issues (abuse, neglect and isolation) and then repeats the themes and issues when comparing to other short films and my previous production.