Ancillary text ResearchTo give me the ideas of the norms of ancillary texts that will go with my trailer, I have analysed

three movie front cover magazines, and three movie posters. This gave me an idea of what works well and what doesn’t, this will set me up for when I come to create my own products as

I will have a rough idea in what direction I want to go in. This research has been effective in teaching me the norms and by doing research throughout the entirety of the product I have been able to gain more knowledge. I did this ancillary research over a period of three weeks

and this gave me time to thoroughly analyse each product.

Magazine Front CoverThe price of this magazine is £3.99. This is a reasonable price for a whole movie magazine as the content opposes from a normal magazine. The date and the price are together, a typical convention for a magazine but has been fitted in with the title in between the ‘M’.

One of the main focal points of this front cover is the mast head, in a blue glowing colour attached to lightning bolts that bounce off of it. This connotes action and excitement reminding the audience that Iron man 2 is a thriller. The mast head also matches Iron Man’s costume with the blue shining light coming from his chest, the effect of this is that the front cover is fluent and the audience is drawn to the central image. The image is centred in the middle of the page, a typical convention, with all the sub titles in buzz words surrounding it. The texting creates a frame. The main colour of iron man is red and this depicts strength, not only this but it is bold on the page as the light blue mast head contrasts it.

Anchorage is used in this magazine, where the caption adds meaning to the picture. In front of the central image is the caption ‘IRON MAN 2. NEW SUIT. NEW ENEMIES. SAME ATTITUDE.’. The list of three builds up the audiences excitement while also depicting how there is more to iron man than what we have already seen. The lexical choice of ‘new’ suggests that iron man is as good as ever and you could argue it makes the audience intrigued. The fact iron still has the ‘same attitude’ makes the character relatable creating a connection to the audience and therefore drawing them in.

This magazine has not used the left side third for all of the information, instead it is down the bottom. This compliments the overall effect of the magazine cover because the image is really dominated and by putting the text around the image and keeping it out the way, the focal point, iron man, is dominant. The actually text used includes a few buzz words to create further excitement, an example of this is ‘ultimate’, ‘plus’. By using words like this on the cover the audience are automatically drawn in.

The puff on the page in this case is the circle, and it is used as a way of drawing attention to the text which says ‘Ultimate review of 2009, this highlights the popularity of the magazine. The puff compliments the house style of the front cover as it is blue, this means that it minimises any distractions.

There is other titles used on the page like ‘PLUS! Three AMAZING EXCLUSIVES’ and this draws attention to the diversity of the magazine and means the individual is more likely to pick up the magazine and buy it. Something else that is intriguing to the audience are the graphical features used, one of the most effective on this page being the lightning bolts. They add depth to the title while supporting the theme of the front cover of super hero’s, as they connote power and dominance.

Something this front cover lacks is direct mode of the address, words that talk to the audience personally. There is no use of direct lexical choices like ‘You’ which would make the individual feel important. However an aspect that works well on the page is the strip of additional images at the bottom, the images are off Kick-ass, Avatar and robin Hood, all iconic people in the film world and this makes the magazine have more depth. The lay out of the page means these pictures don’t distract the central image, but they support it.

Magazine Front CoverThe price of this magazine is £3.99. This is the same as the empire magazine and is also a reasonable price considering the content. However this magazine doesn’t put the price on the cover and this is interesting and may be done to intrigue the audience into buying it.

This magazine has a central image, but it is the only image on the page. By doing this the audience are forced into focusing in on the character, Harry Potter, and the text that surrounds it. The character is staring directly into the camera depicting strength and courage while also creating a connection with the audience. This links in with the direct mode of address because it makes the magazine personal to the individual. In addition, the character is wearing quite typical clothes and again this makes it realistic. One of my favourite aspects about the central image is how the arm of Harry is over laying the subtitle ‘Harry Potter’ and this results in the audiences eyes being focuses on Harry. It may also be done because this is such an iconic character so the audience know who it is as soon as they see him, therefore making the title less important.

The masthead ‘TOTAL FILM’ is in capitals, therefore relating to the subtitle however it is in a different font that is more simplistic yet more definitive and this is done to highlight the importance of the title on the page. Again the picture is over lapping the title itself and this is a typical convention used by magazines. The white text contrasts with the deep red background, but also has a glow to it, therefore fantasizing the masthead.

Anchorage is used in this magazine cover, with some of the text accompanying the picture. The text says ‘No school. No rules. Can Harry cut it in the real world?’. The rhetorical question gets the audience thinning while adding depth to the cover itself. Not only this but the repetition of ‘No’ is used for further enticement. By using anchorage on the picture becomes more interesting and it creates fluency through the magazine cover. Again this magazine cover also doesn’t use the left side third for the important information, this is due to the central image, so the text frames it. This shows how much importance the central image has on the layout off the front cover.

There are a few buzz words on this page for example ‘SPEAKING’, ‘SCREAMING!’ and ‘SMOKING!’. These words are used with intention of drawing attention to important parts of the article therefore reflecting the significance of the produce as a whole. The use of buzz words that all begin with the same letter means that the cover itself is more fluent over all.

Graphic features used on these page are aspects like the lightning bolds which add excitement to the magazine cover. The red background creates a contrast with the bolts therefore adding more depth to the magazine front cover.

Magazine Front Cover

Furthermore buzz words used within the magazine cover include ‘plus’ and ‘gore blimey’ and these words draw attention to the importance of the information on the page. It therefore influences the audience into being involved and submersed in the cover. Paired with this is a puff is used in the top right hand corner telling the audience that the magazine has all new film reviewed. This highlights the popularity of the magazine and entices the audience in. The fact it is in a bright yellow fits the typical conventions of a magazine front cover as they intend to draw you to this important information.

The price of this magazine is £2.90, this is cheaper than the other empire magazine. However the release date was March 2001, while the other was in 2010. This shows how magazines like this used to be cheaper but the industry has grown therefore allowing top brands like Empire to up their price.

The central image of this picture opposes to the other, and this could be down to the fact that the genre is a horror. The shot is close up of the main characters face, half of it being in the dark to reflect the villainous side. This is effective because it creates an atmosphere for the audience before having to read the text. The text compliments the mood, however, due to the colour scheme being red and white, connoting both danger and excitement. The characters eye has been edited red also, creating fluency for the cover but also reminding us that he is the villain.

The mast head of this picture is in red in order to match the whole house style and iconography of the image. It reminds the audience that the movie is a horror. By ensuring that the whole front page flows the magazine is able to target the demographic audience. In addition to this the masthead is also in a simple, yet bold font which is in capital letters, a typical convention for movie magazines. Other titles on the page also match the colour scheme, and are either in red or white. The main title that links with the picture, anchorage, says “What’s cooking?”. This is a reference to a quote in the actual film, making the cover more relatable but also more intriguing. You could say this links in with the direct mode of address because the audience are made to feel that they are being talked to.

The only other image of the page is along the bar at the top of the page of a woman involved in a different movie story. This depicts how the magazine has depth but also doesn’t take any interested away from the main story. The picture however doesn’t have any graphic feature unlike the main image, the eye of the main image is in red and this feature solidifies the atmosphere of the picture while also enticing the audience.

Something that this magazine has uses successfully that opposes to the previous two is the use of the left side third for important information. The effect of using this means the audience are lead down the page , and then to the face. Having said this the magazine is working its text around the image, something the other two did, but just in a contrasting way.

Poster- HannibalI chose to analyse the same movie, Hannibal, for the poster as this will show me how the magazine front cover and the movie poster link. The picture used is the same which is a extreme close up of the main actors face, with the eye edited Red foreshadowing danger as well as reflecting the genre of horror. This picture is effective because it has been heavily edited with dark shadows dominating the page creating a negative atmosphere, it also is a way of framing the face making it a focal point. Furthermore the shadowing also creates a definitive outline of the face and this further supports the idea that the character is a villain. You could argue the shadows create a light vs. dark, suggesting there is a hero in the movie. This lighting has been used in recent films like Annabelle, showing it is a norm that is on going. The image also has a grainy effect which results in the character on the front looking a lot more creepy.

The colour of the main masthead of the page is red and is in capitals not only showing its importance but conforming to the genre of horror. The title font is simplistic with the flicks creating a form of elegance and this could be done to highlight the diversity of the horror film. The credits on the poster are also in red creating fluency through the poster, while the main actors at the top are in white, giving the page more depth and reminding the audience who the main characters are played by.

This poster has followed the norms in the way that a lot of the text is either at the top or the bottom of the page and these provides space for the image while also framing the picture, resulting in the audience being drawn in to the focal point. All the font in the page is exactly the same and this is good as it adds to the simplicity. Linking this poster to the magazine I analysed there is a lot of similarities, the picture used on both format is the same and the text used in both cases is similar. The fact this is similar makes it more memorable as people will see the picture on the multiple formats and will want to know more.

Poster- Oculus

The image on this poster grasps the viewer due to the realistic editing of the hands under the girls skin. It immediately links with the storyline of the film because it is all amount the supernatural force that has haunted this actress, the idea that she can’t escape and this picture highlights this oppression. The hands also cover the girls eyes and this suggests that this is controlling her identity. Overall the picture creates a mysterious and creepy atmosphere that sets the audience up for the film. However something that goes against the typicality of movie poster is the lighting used, although there is slight shadowing the picture itself is quite light, in particularly in the hand area and this may be done to subvert the audiences expectations as a way of setting them up to scare them even more. I think the lighting in this photo is an effective aspect even though it is not what you’d initially expect on the film poster.

All the text on this page is in the same colour, white, this goes along with the lightness of the photo and doesn’t cause any distractions. It could be done to draw attention to the innocence of the girl and how she is trapped and oppressed. The masthead is spread out evenly across the page and this creates more suspense for the poster with the caption about it: “You see what it what it wants you to see” reinforcing this.

This poster opposes to the previous one I analysed and it shows how a movie poster does not have to follow the norms in order to grasp your attention, the most successful aspect on this page is the hands within the skin as this is realistic and is shocking yet enticing to the audience. Because this edit is so dramatic, the rest of the poster is toned down in order to create a good balance.

Poster- The ConjuringUnlike the other two posters, the image used is a long shot of a girl sitting in a chair with the doll on her lap. The fact the room is dominated by shadows as well as the fact the girl is facing away from us and into the corner creates the sense of isolation and detachment. It also makes the doll face which is staring into the camera more shocking. The model is in very typical clothing for a horror, with white clothes, and this coincides with the fact the poster is following the norms. Again there is the light VS dark approach, due to the dense shadowing against the bright white walls that the girl is facing. You could argue this is done to show that there is a lack of hope and the danger is creeping in. It also suggests that it is inescapable and the corner of the room is symbolic to this. Due to this intense atmosphere the audience are also made to feel that they are stuck therefore making the poster a huge success.

All the text used on the poster is white and this compliments the light vs. dark idea because the white is contrasting on the shadow. It also creates fluency with the poster. The props on the poster, the chair and the doll, is also very typical conforming to the norms of a horror. However due to the actress facing away, there is a sense of mystery. This is a way to entice the audience in to watching the film as it is not giving anything away. This is the most effective poster I have analysed due to the multiple interpretations that can be made. It is also interesting to compare this to the Annabelle poster as this is the film set before the conjuring. The Annabelle poster is a close up of the doll and this may be done to show the truth behind the doll.