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

The Brief

My main task was to create a short, five minute film.

I then had to produce a poster and a film review for my ancillary tasks.

Both ancillary tasks were meant to promote our product in different ways, verbally in the review and

visually in the poster. I tried to make sure that the audience would want to watch our film based on

what they saw on my ancillary tasks through the use of creativity and text. I represented the film in the

most positive light possible, not only to promote, but to also establish a connection between the light heartedness of the ancillary tasks and the light

heartedness of the film itself.

How did my poster encapsulate the action comedy genre?

The poster strongly encapsulates the action genre of my film due to the bold font of the title as well as the slogan and the credits. The character positioning and gun hand signals also make it clear that the genre is action, as does the image of a target in the title. The fact that the background is lined paper and the slogan tells the reader that the film will be set in detention, creates a sense of irony which therefore has a comedic effect, as the last thing the audience would expect is for an action film to be set in a school. Therefore this connotes to the audience that our film is also a comedy.

How did my film review explore my main product?

My film review really gives the audience an incite as to what to expect in the film. It exaggerates the fact that the film is only 5 minutes long by saying, “Not just a battle against each other, but a battle against time...”. The review is ended with, “...this short film is definitely a must-see. And at only 5 minutes long, why not?”, again emphasising that this is a short film. The review also strongly highlights the fact that the film is funny and full of action, to make the genre clear to the audience. The review is designed to make the reader want to watch the film, and awarded it 4 stars.

Images

• The images I used for my two ancillary tasks only consisted of the two main male actors. I chose not to include any images of the main female character. This is because she does not appear until later on in the film, and I wanted this to remain surprising for the audience, and not to spoil the narrative. I believe this was effective, as the audience are able to look at the poster and review without them giving away too much about the characters and the plot.

Poster images

Review image

Images Continued...

• Both of the images were specifically selected to connote a sense of action to the audience, signified by the hand gestures to represent a gun, and the image of the forward roll. These are effective as they tell the audience that our film will be an action film; however they do not connote comedy.

Background• The lined paper background for my poster was inspired by

‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’. When I typed this movie title into Google, various images of lined paper came up, which I felt was a very clear way of setting the scene for the audience for my film, as lined paper connotes school. This also works hand in hand with the fact that the characters are in detention, as during detention, students are often asked to write lines on lined paper.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid inspired me to use a lined paper background in my work!

Colour Scheme

• As my production was aimed more so at male viewers, and part of the sub-genre was action,

I decided to opt for a masculine colour scheme. I used many blue shades in both

ancillary tasks to appeal to a male audience, whilst still aiming to attract some females.

This also linked the two ancillary tasks together, helping to establish a common

theme for my film.

Fonts

• I used a very similar bold font for the film title of both my ancillary tasks. This creates a theme for my film. The text used is big and bold to signify action. I also used a bold font for the title in the credits for my film. I have stuck to a black and white theme for each title for continuity.

Review Poster Film Credits

Web Address

• Looking at existing posters and short films I found that they include a web address to promote the film. Therefore I decided to include one on my poster and credits of the film. This provides the viewer with another source so that they can go and seek further information about the film.

The blue colour scheme is used in both ancillary tasks.

A very similar bold font is used to connote action.

The paper background was used not only suggests to the audience that the film will be set in school, but also directly links to the scene in which Ty screws up his lined paper and throws it at Freddie, who initiates the battle.

The web address is shown in both the poster and the film so that the viewer can seek further information about the film.

Both ancillary tasks have a bright white background which conveys to the audience a sense of light heartedness. This also links the film which was shot in high key lighting and made brighter during

editing.

Both images strongly connote a sense of action to the audience, letting them know what the genre will be.

SummaryOverall, I believe that the combination of my

main product and ancillary tasks has been effective. I have ensured that each one links to another in some way, be it through the use of

images, background, colour scheme, fonts or the web address.