Josh Calver

MEDIA A2 LEVEL COURSEWORK

The main part of my A2 Media Coursework required me to produce a film trailer, as well as two different ancillary texts; poster and magazine cover. Combining the three products together required me to work with the genre of the film, ensuring that I keep the theme

going throughout all three products.Firstly, the most important aspect of my three media products was to create synergy and promote the product successfully. The main product I created was the trailer and I had to construct it to fit in the Mise-En-Scene of the other two products. I have included a colour

scheme in all three products which is the dominant white text, connoting innocence although the nature of the film isn’t innocent at all, which contrasts the whole film. General

representation of the protagonist character has allowed me to create a very dark and mysterious feeling throughout all three products, creating a sense that he is not to be

messed with. This is highlighted in the magazine cover when the spotlight is directly on the weapon he is holding directly at the camera. The direct address suggests that he is pointing

the gun at us.

HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN PRODUCT AND

ANCILLARY TEXTS?

ANCILLARY TEXTS

TRAILER

Captured Official Trailer[]Final Draft 2015

In the construction process of all of my products, my main ideas were generated out of the research I conducted and the data I received through questionnaires and creating my audience profile because it allowed me to find out what people want so that I can include that in my products. Following uses and gratifications

and demographics of my audience, I have been able to focus primarily on the consumer and work around their need and wants to make sure that my products are successful. I feel that when the release of an upcoming film is on the cards, if I was in charge of a production campaign for the poster, trailer and magazine

cover, I would follow the similar steps I have taken in my A2 coursework. Initially, all my research allowed me to plan out how I would do my trailer, and

how my ancillary texts would connect to it. For example; choosing the fonts and colour scheme for the trailer then deciding on the colour and fonts for the ancillary texts was a good method of highlighting synergy. With both my

ancillary texts, the nature and effect of the main image is very similar, using natural night light has helped me create this very realistic looking picture, for example on my magazine cover, the natural light of inside the car was fantastic

and really helped the gun look like the most significant part of the image.

Ultimately, the combination of my products has been successful in promoting and advertising my product across multiple platforms. Significant elements of each product have been seen in all three I have made and usually, it is the small things that people notice and find interesting about products. However, this point is directly focused at the niche audience and appeal of film fanatics who will go out of their way to find out key information to find more out about the film rather than the target mass appeal who will want big explosions and A-list stars. With the two-step flow in mind by Paul Lazarsfeld, including a Newspaper opinion/rating quote at the top from The Times, a very respected and critiqued paper, will open up the Media Consumers who follow opinion leaders in the media world. People who have a generic opinion from the papers will come to the conclusion that it must be a good film if critics at The Times say it has. Going back to the elements of synergy in all three products, the title of my film is the biggest piece of text in all three, leading the audience’s to see that it is the main focus and the message they are trying to get across is that you should watch the trailer, want to see what happens and then ultimately pay for a ticket at the cinema. Throughout all three products I have created, using ideologies of stereotypical film fanatics, there is no real significance of female characters apart from the kidnapped damsel in distress in my trailer. In my opinion, I feel that I have presented male characters as both good and bad, although I did not include any attempts of the husband to save his wife and only showed snippets of the wife’s torment by the male hooded figure. However, I have also showed the general stereotype that in most films, it is always a male villain, following to the conclusion that if I did introduce a female villain against a male protagonist, I personally don’t think it would flow as well with my storyline and wouldn’t get as good of a response from my desired audience.

Furthermore, regarding the success of the three products I have made, I feel that they promote and advertise my film very well, I think that my film magazine has been the most successful out of the three as it looks the most professional. If I could choose any of the three products to be put out into the real world, it would be my magazine

cover. However, it wouldn’t have the same effect on my audience because of the synergy of the other two products.

I feel that looking back on my A2 Foundation Portfolio; I can see a significant improvement in all the work I have completed. Starting

from research and ending in evaluation, all my skills and knowledge I have gained over the two years has been converted into my A2

Portfolio. The knowledge I have gained through the sole research about film magazine and marketing campaign will help me to apply

this to my further studies and I have gained a real insight into a product’s success.