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

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

Producing, Distributing and Sharing MaterialBefore the internet and social media Short films like I Miss You would rely heavily on film festivals to reach their audience. Short films were an opportunity for amateur directors to showcase their talent through a film about a topic they are most passionate about. Short films often have a very small budget and very little input from big studio companies.More often that not if a short film had a commercial release it was because it was more than likely linked to a larger production of a film for example Pixar have just recently released Tales From Radiator Springs as a follow on from their 2011 film Cars 2

SynergySynergy has a massive impact on the media industry especially when it comes to the promotion of films. Synergy is where two companies will pair up and create an arrangement that is beneficial to them both for example, in 2012 Mount Dew paired up with the producers of The Dark Knight Rises and created a promotional advert which featured Gothem city (the city in which The Dark Knight is set. Within the advert you see an individual caught up in the middle of a fight take a sip from a bottle of Mount Dew as soon as he does this the street is suddenly empty and a voice over suggests that Mount Dew takes you to Gothem city.Synergy is extremely popular in the media industry as it offers both companies promotion of their products to different audiences for example, this particular team up of Mount Dew and The Dark Knight Rises works particularly well as Mount Dew is mainly targeted towards young males who are also members of The Dark Knight Rises target audience meaning when they see the advert they are far more likely to then go see the film. Similarly to this a Mount Dew truck is conveniently placed on the streets during a scene from The Dark Knight.Synergy is a vital and important part of disrupting the promotional material of a film as it means film producers can reach an audience they might not have originally reached leading to the popularity of the film massively increasing.Although synergy helps to promote a film massively it is also extremely costly meaning many small film companies cant afford to merge with well known brands. For example, my short film would never feature on a bottle of fizzy drinks as my budget for the film was extremely small and this type of advertising costs hundreds of thousands. A perfect example of synergy would be my films website set up in order to promote the film and provide the audience with extra information such as: film festival showing, full cast, back stage footage etc. this website would be operated by Warp Films and will therefore be an example of synergy as it would also promote their other products.

Promotional Campaign (Convergence) When considering the promotion of my short film it is important to note that there is multiple media platforms that hasnt even been considered during my project due to the cost and time it would take to successfully make a promotional campaign for the public to see.For example my short film would not be advertised within a magazine or on a website of a successful film company without a massive amount of work. I would firstly be required to reach out to the company I was wanting to advertise my film in. If they were willing to give me the time of day I would then be required to show them my film along with many different positive reviews of my film from well known and trusted film critics. Even then advertising my film in one magazine wouldnt be enough to reach out to all of my target audience, I would be required to have reviews and posters in many magazines of all genres as well as advertising and promoting on other media platforms which may require me to pay for radio slots, social media adverts, television adverts which would end up costing me hundreds of thousands, a budget which is far too unrealistic for my film and any short film not produced by a well known production company.When considering the different platforms to advertise on it is important to consider the platform most preferred by your target audience for example my target audience is mature teens/young adults who are a lot more engaged with technology and social media websites.

Promotional Campaign (Convergence) In my personal opinion I believe the most significant media platform to promote any film is the internet. Web 2.0 allows us to be both prosumers and consumers and with the technology available today allows us to reach an audience we once could only dream of, as said in a previous slide before the internet short films relied solely on film festivals to reach their audiences however nowadays due to the technology available short films can reach audiences around the globe. Using my film for example, there once would have been a time where the only individuals who seen our work would be the our teacher and the moderator however due to the development of social media and YouTube we can now reach out to our target audience and not only distribute our film to them but receive feedback so that we can improve our product. Social media is one of the largest media platforms on the internet and can be a free way to advertise your film for example the film Paranormal Activity was produced on a very low budget and relied many on the promotion of the film through their audiences social media accounts people would share the trailer onto their timeline that others would then see and share it themselves leading to the film trailer connecting with millions of people who then went on to buy tickets to see the film. Big social media platforms like Facebook also offer companies the opportunity to buy targeted advertising. This is when Facebook send messages and links of the promotional material to their users that fall into the target audience of the film. This leads to more publicity of the film and helps to grow the audience.

Promoting I Miss You Theyre many different ways in which I could expand on the promotional material I already have whist sticking to my tight budget, some of which I have already covered such as the use of websites and social media such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. However they are others ways in which I could use social media to my advantage meaning I wouldnt have to rely purely on shares of my promotional material. Instead I could take advantage of the ability to create free accounts and create pages specifically designed to promote and advertise my film. As well as using social media I could also devote a blog to the promotion of my film or even create a website all of which are free to do and all of which would allow me to reach out to my target audience. Due to my target audience being young and spending over 80% of their day on social media and the internet advertising in this way would be the most beneficial when it comes to engaging with my audience.

Why a Poster and Review were RequiredWhen promoting a short film like the one I produced it is vital to have promotional material otherwise the audience will never hear about the film. In order to promote my short film I produced a film poster and a film review which could be considered the two most vital pieces of promotion for a film. The review, poster and the film itself should always link and complement one another in a way that engages the audience and allows them to make a link between the three. It is said that we give advertising 3 seconds to catch our attention in some way before deciding whether or not were going to look at it properly or move on due to this it is important that they have features that stand out and that are appealing to the audience.A review of a film, like my own, is often wrote with the intention of persuading the audience to go and watch the film because of this it is vital that the review is accurate and descriptive and makes a visual link to the film in some way. To do this I included an image of Imogen and Mason embracing one another on the love bridge. Although this particular image was taken using a still camera it looks as though it is a screenshot from the film which helps to engage potential viewers of the film.A film poster, like the review should also link closely to the film itself in order for the audience to make a connection between the two because of this my poster features an still shot image of Imogen similar to the shots of her within the film.

Combination of the 3 TasksWhen producing my ancillary tasks it was vital that I created a synergy between my short film, the poster and the review to ensure they all linked together in order to make the promotion of my film as successful as possible. Each aspect of my task relied on each other in order to work effectively for example, in order to write a successful review I needed to have produced my film but in order to make my film reach it target audience I needed a review and a poster in order to promote the film. It was vital that both the ancillary tasks linked closely with the film in order to make the film promotion a success. It was vital that the audience linked the film with the review and poster just from a quick glance. The target audience for my short film is 16-21 year old females and is intended to be showcased online. Due to this the production of a film poster might seem like quite an unnecessary production however, film posters are quite often shared and passed on social media which helps to promote the film to a larger audience, maybe even some that I wouldnt be able to reach through poster placement alone. The internet is the perfect place to distribute promotional material for my poster as most members of my target audience owns a social media account. Social media is also the perfect place to share the review of my film as many reviews are often shared via a link to the magazines website. The film poster is also a great way to promote the film being shown at film festivals around the world which could help to increase my audience.

Barthes Enigma CodeBarthes suggested that theyre five codes to describe the narrative of a storyline these codes are as followed: Hermeneutic/Enigma code, Proairetic/Action code, Semantic code, Symbolic code, Referential code.Barthes states that every media production includes at least one of these codes in order to effectively engage the audience.Hermeneutic/ Enigma code This code refers to the mystery aspect of the film. All three of my productions set up an enigma code as the audience are left wondering why Imogen is walking around on her own, making them wonder what is going on and what is going to happen next. The audience receives small hints as to what is going on throughout the film however arent directly shown what is going on, they are left to figure it out themselves until the end when the enigma is answered. Similarly to this my poster and review also help to set up a enigma code as in the main image of the poster Imogen is fading away leading the audience to wonder why meaning theyre more likely to watch the film. Again my review reveals just enough information about the film without going into too much detail leaving the audience wondering what happens in the film which will lead to them going to watch the film.

Uses and Gratifications (Blumler and Katz 1974)The Four Needs Theory Blumler and Katz suggested that the public use media to satisfy their needs which often fall into one of the following categories:Escape and Diversion from every day life, Surveillance and Information, Personal Relationships, Personal IdentityIt is important that my ancillary task combined with my film work together in order to fulfil the four needs in order to appeal to my target audience and keep them engaged. Escape and Diversion from every day life Watching I Miss You and the reading the review would make the audience feel as though they are temporarily in a different world, their mind would be so preoccupied by the products that they would forget about any problems in their own life and instead worry about Imogen's. Surveillance and Information My ancillary tasks work perfectly together to fulfil this category as they provide the audience with information about the film, including release dates, overall ratings, cast members, personal opinions about the film etc. This leaves the audience feeling as though they are well informed about the filming meaning they are more likely to speak to others about it which leads to further promotion of the film.Personal Relationships All three of my productions work in harmony to fulfil this category as they help the audience to develop personal relationships with one other as once they have watched the film they might then share it on social media for their friends to see, similarly to this they may share the film poster encouraging others to watch the film or they may read the review and discuses it in comparison to their own opinion with others that have also read it.Personal Identity The combination of my productions also work well together to fulfil this category as many members of the target audience will be able to relate to the storyline, teenage breakup, leaving them feeling as though they can emotionally connect with Imogen. The poster also helps as Imogen is fading away and the title I Miss You is present again playing on the audiences emotions. Similarly to this the review is written from the point of view of an individual which helps the audience make a connection with the writer as well as making stronger connections with the film as the review refers to the fact that most girls have been through a similar situation.

My Film PosterThe poster is one of the most vital promotional pieces and it should help set the tone, genre and storyline of the film. It is important that the poster links closely with the film in order to ensure that the audience makes the link between the two when they see the poster. In most cases the poster features an image that relates to the film hence why I have chosen to take a long shot of the main character walking up a street in the centre of Newcastle which is where my film is set, this shows visual iconography between the poster and the film as the audience can easily link the poster to the film just by looking at the image alone due to the location and the pose being the same as what is featured throughout the film.The choice to take the image from behind was made as for a good proportion of the film the audience is following Imogen around as she relives dates herself and Mason shared together. I also edited the image of Imogen and placed it within a different layer on top of the background so that I could feature it in colour. The purpose of doing this was in order to help the audience make a link between the poster and the film as Imogen wears the same clothing throughout most of the film (the clothing featured in the main image of the poster) I also edited the image by changing the adjustments to make it look as though Imogen is fading away, I made this decision as I feel as though it hints at the ending of the film without giving too much away which again helps to link the two productions together.The font used on the poster looks as though it was handwritten I chose this font in particular for this reason as I believe it links closely with the scene in the film where Imogen writes a suicide letter again hinting at some aspects of the film. I have also included the logo of film festivals that my film would be shown at to help promote it even further.

My Film ReviewMy review was based closely on my style model, a short film review from the magazine Little White Lies, the target audience of this particular magazine is quite young and falls within the age range of my target audience because of this I ensured that my review looked as close to my style model as possible in order to attract the attention of my target audience.The main purpose of a film review is to help attract the target audience through a non-biased individuals personal opinion. It is important that the review links closely with the film and presents accurate information, because of this the written aspect of my review took the form of the typical conventions of a film review including stats, ratings and an outline of the film. In order to help the audience make a link between the review and the short film I took a still image of the two main characters embracing one another at one of the locations we filmed at this allowed me to create an image for the review that looked like a screenshot from the film. I also make the decision to feature the image in black and white, similarly to the flashback scenes in my film, in order for the audience to make a visual connection between the two. This shows Visual iconography between all three productions as similarly to the poster just b y looking at the image the audience can link the review, the poster and the film together due to the actors, locations and poses all being similar.

ConclusionOverall I believe that my main product and my two ancillary tasks work together effectively and successfully to help portray the genre, tone and storyline of the film without giving away too much. The ancillary products work extremely well when it comes to the promotion of the short film and really help to connect and draw in both my primarily target audience and my secondary target audience.Due to the distribution of the poster a wider audience will be drawn in to viewing the short filming due to them seeing the poster featured either online or around the city centre in magazines or featured on billboards. Due to the three tasks having a synergy, working together for a greater outcome I believe they have been extremely successful. All three products also show visual iconography between them meaning the audience can easily link the three together due to the images on the poster and the review representing aspects of the narrative of the film, intriguing and drawing in the audience.To conclude I believe the effectiveness of my main task and ancillary tasks has been very successful and I am happy with the outcome of all three projects as I believe they all work together perfectly to promote one another, helping draw in a wide range of audiences including those that do not fall within either of my target audiences.