Question 2 Sasiane Saku

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary

texts.

My aim throughout the process of creating and constructing my ancillary task and trailer was to keep all of the three parts connected to each other. Researching my genre which was stalker/slasher was very interesting as the genre was all new to me , to become more familiarized with the genre me and my group analysed different film packages from film genres similar to ours, for example Halloween was one of our case studies. We needed all of our text to be realistic media products which is something that I had already discussed in question . When making my trailer, poster and magazine front cover I had to include the different props, Costumes hair and make up that I believed were needed and suitable for each text I was constructing .

Colour scheme During the research stage for my ancillary tasks I realised how all slasher/horror magazines and news papers used a consistent colour scheme to help readers /audience identify their product easily . The colours red white and black were the three colours which were always expected by readers because they were the three colours which my target audience wanted to see in my product . The three basic colours were used across most of my text as I believed they emphasised the characters involved in my trailer and also the message that me and my group were trying to portray to the audience. However with my colour scheme I used different tones and effects to keep all the texts similar but unique in their own way . I emphasised on the three colours black red and white throughout my ancillary task because I wanted the audience to understand and realise that all my texts are linked together even though they are styled differently . The colour black is the foundation the texts I have created , for example the black on my ancillary tasks is also related to the night scenes include din my trailer it creates a sense of dullness which emphasises the attitude of my character as he is mysterious , in the dark you do not see anything .

Images

The still images taken for my ancillary task where very different , I took plenty of images in different locations and only used the two best images which I thought had a strong impact for my products. Looking at real media text such as Halloween , Texas chainsaw and scream I was able to see how the still images for the magazines and posters were used. While doing my research on real media texts I understood that all images were normally one shots of the dominate character which would be the killer I believe the reason real example film packages include only one shot images for their posters and magazines are so that the audience can be really focused on the main character . The main character could be a well known actor which will grab the attention of a mass audience. Real media texts used longshots or an iconography related to the character ( such as a knife ) to be the main image for their magazine and posters so that the audience can gain ideas about what the film will be about .

Characters

I would say that my promotional package all together is very effective especially with the use of characters. For both of my ancillary tasks my magazine and poster I used two different characters from my trailer , this is so that my audience can gain an insight to who will be featured on my trailer. I subverted to the idea of having the main character on my magazine front cover because I wanted the audience to expect something different this would have a surprise to them as normally with front cover images you always expect the main character to represent the film they will be featured in.Props – with props we used a chain and knife , in most horror films we see that killers are accompanied with weapons which they use to threaten or target different victims that they are after . For my magazine front cover my victim has a chain around her neck this was because I wanted the audience to feel as if the female victim had power as the head line is “ Aali Harvey Born to kill” . However in the trailer we see that the killer is always accompanied with the chain or a knife this gives out a different message to the audience and reinforces the character of the killer . The killer is wearing a mask which connotes that the killer wants to keep is identity . We were influenced by this idea from our case study analysis Halloween were the killer was often masked to disguise himself or some shots were only midshots which meant that the audience could feel some suspense to why the killers face isn't being displayed.The misenscene picked by me and my group members for our ancillary tasks were picked carefully because we wanted to create meaning for the audience and also we wanted the audience to understand that our ancillary tasks and trailers come together as package so everything you see on the ancillary task will be presented in the trailer we wanted a consistent flow .

Compare how professional distributors market to different audience through different posters and trailer

Professional distributors market to different audience through the use of cinema screening and also posters which can be seen at bus stops or on buses and also at new agent stores. Professionals distribute to different audience through magazines as well because they know who their target audiences are and by doing an audience research they will be able to know the different places where their target audiences are situated and what interests they have that trigger them to be attached with one particular genre. This is a poster of Texas chainsaw which I saw when I was analysing my genre posters , on this poster you can see that the release date is visible at the bottom of the page near the credits in a red font ( January 4th) this is so that the audience are aware of the date that the film will be screened at the cinemas or at a premiere . By looking at how professional distributors market to different audience through different posters and trailers I was inspired so I decided to include a release date on my poster to make it seem realistic and professional .

Fonts were also a big part of the trailer as this helps the continuity of the trailer , also in each of me and my groups ancillary tasks we tended to use fonts which were big and eye catching , we used colours such as red and black to attract our audience .For my ancillary tasks both of my fonts were different however the colours were similar , I made them similar so that the audiences could get the same feel of my genre . Red connotes danger and blood. The font I chose for my ancillary task was very important as it reflected my genre well and also the fonts that were used for my trailer was also important as it positioned on top of a blood splattered background this allowed the audience to gain more understanding on what my trailer was about .For example the red blood splatters connote danger and the audience could assume that someone has been attacked.

Fonts

In trailers and films we would see that professional distributors used their company logos so that the audience knows were the trailer or film was produced . Me and my group copied this idea so that we could make our trailer look very realistic and effective. However for my posters ancillary tasks I didn’t include a social website such as Facebook were the audience could find out more information about the trailer that was being produced, this was one aspect which I thought could of made my ancillary text more effective and realist.Furthermore my poster included credits as it was a convention from the film industry which I had followed , by adding credits to my poster this would help the audience and readers understand the different positions and roles that each staff was involved in within the production.

I would say that my package all together was constructed well , as I used a range of different elements which enhanced the meaning of what I was trying to portray ( what genre all my texts were ) . By following the conventions of stalker / slasher films for example layouts and colour schemes .I was able to construct a good film package that would attract my target audience as I tried hard to portray all the different meanings that I wanted my target audience to understand.Cretaing my trailer and ancillary task was very exciting as me and my group had come up with plenty ideas or all of our finishing products.