HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN PRODUCT AND ANCILLARY TEXTS?

A PRESENTATION BY JONATHAN BRIGGS

INTRODUCTION• At A2 level, I was required to make a short film, which was

the main product, a film poster and a magazine review, which were the two ancillary tasks.

• The genre of my film was horror, so I know I needed to look at the genre in detail and see other film advertising campaigns so that I could know what to include throughout my ancillary tasks.

• How effective was the amalgamation of my the main product and ancillary tasks? Well, by assessing each of the ancillary tasks individually and comparing them to my main product, I can come to a clear conclusion.

MAGAZINE REVIEWI had a read through many film magazines that included many film reviews, and it was Empire that seemed to set the best examples. Upon assessing what I needed to include in my film magazine review, I came up with the key assets that I had to include in my magazine review:

- Main image, usually a screenshot from the film, dominates the page.

- Title of the film being reviewed.

- General verdict of the film and/or a star rating.

- Tagline for the review.

- Significant sentence taken from the review, usually in bold and in a large font.

- One section of the page might be used to display the important details of the film like the release date, running time, cast and even details about the director.

- Might have a mini box at the side of the page which contains interesting facts about this film.

I used most of these valuable parts of a good magazine film review in my own!

MY MAGAZINE REVIEWMain image of the film, which dominates the page and catches your attention.

Title of the film which is being reviewed.

The ‘popcorn’ rating of the film out of five. This is my own version of a star rating.

A short biography including details about the director’s work and achievements.

The tagline for the review.

Summarizing this page of the magazine.

Main body of the text including the general verdict on the film at the end.

MAGAZINE FRONT COVER

I thought I would make this in my spare time. It’s the cover of the magazine which contains the review of my film. The weekly magazine is called FilmFan.

MAGAZINE REVIEW – SUMMARY Overall, I feel that my magazine review works well with my short film, making the combination between the main product and this ancillary task strong. I used the key conventions of typical film magazine reviews in my own magazine review, and collectively they give my review a professional edge.

FILM POSTERBefore producing my film poster, I wanted to be sure on what I was making and what to include. I began this process by looking at countless horror film posters and I found some of my favorites from which I would draw inspiration for my own.

Take note of these; they are simple but effective.

MY FILM POSTER

These show the film festivals at which the film has been screened. By using these, people will be more inclined to go and see your film as it has been internationally recognized and praised.

The credits of the film at the bottom of the film poster. You always see these on every poster!

The film title is in a clear and dominant position on the poster. It directly links to a scene in the film.The use of red hints at potential bloodshed in the film.

The clear white background suggests that a perfect situation is going to be stained by bloodshed and horror.

Release date.

Links to social media sites so that people can find out more about the film.

FILM POSTER - SUMMARYDrawing comparisons between my poster and classic horror film posters, it is clear to see that I have used some of the conventions of the horror film poster genre as I have produced a poster that doesn’t give away too much and leaves you guessing while being a piece of artwork and advertising at the same time. On review, my film poster really does work well in conjunction with my short film, therefore making the combination of the two really effective. The blood-written message on the film poster is an effective way of giving away the title of the film at the same time as directly linking itself to a scene from the film. On top of this, the poster does not give away much detail, which should mean that people will be intrigued to go and watch my film.

CONCLUSIONSo now I have assessed the effectiveness of the combination between each individual ancillary task and my main product, but overall, how effective is the combination between my film and both the poster and magazine review? I will confidently argue that the combination is effective. Firstly, the poster and magazine work in conjunction to promote my film. Secondly, the poster directly links to my film as the title references a particular scene. Thirdly and finally, the magazine review does an excellent job in terms of giving people a brief insight into my film so that they will be persuaded into going to view it.