1. 1. H O W E F F E C T I V E I S T H E C O M B I N A T I O N O F Y O U R M A I N P R O D U C T A N D Y O U R A N C I L L A R Y T A S K S ? E V A L U A T I O N Q U E S T I O N 2 My short film The Cup of Knowledge is a creative piece of my own self expression, whilst my ancillary products (Film Poster and Review) are promotion materials for my film. This combination of products should be effective through the use of media language.
2. 2. R E P R E S E N T A T I O N In my main product and ancillary products, I made the representation of genre one of the main features. The genre of my film is Fantasy/Coming of Age. In order to combine these two genres I had to focus on different features of my film and the ancillary products to create this feeling. I chose to give the cup have a mystical quality, as this is the titular item in my film, I feel that it was an important part of representing the fantasy genre of the film. So, in order to best represent the fantasy genre, I needed to create an aura of mysticality in my products. This included; My choice of non-diegetic music when the cup is revealed (Monster Rally - Wilson) - this song has a quirky mysterious sound which I feel represents the mystery surrounding the cup. In both my short film and my poster I chose to develop my use of media language through the use of the colour spectrum. I used purple lighting in the majority of the bedroom scenes to connote the fantasy genre and create the feel of mysticality. I positioned the cup against this light in some shots to help connote the magical nature of it. I also did this in my ancillary products, I chose to use stills from the film in my review that best represented the fantasy genre, and this of course featured purple colouring. And in my poster I used purple as the colour of the liquid in the cup to portray the idea that the cup contains the mystery and fantasy of this story in a literal sense. The presence of the iconic Cup of Knowledge on the film review and the poster makes reference to the title of the film and also the plot of the film. The positioning of the cup on the poster also makes it clear that it is of importance as it it on top of the exam papers and in the centre of the poster. The angle used is a high angle shot, I have used a similar shot in my film as well, so this further represents my film. Also a shot of the cup in the review is taken directly from my film, its likely that this is a defining image chosen by my company Orlando Media to represent the film. I chose not to use the colour purple in my film review design as it is a separate entity to my poster and film, it comes from a different company and a different producer, the only input my company would have is the images used in the review. I chose the colours green and blue to create a fresh look. I mentioned and praised the use of lighting citing it an unorthodox choice but it showed my creativity and challenging of the coming of age genre.
3. 3. The representation of the coming of age genre comes from the use of past A-level examination papers both in my film and my poster in that examinations are usually a source of stress for young people so, this is a specific representation of sixth form students the UK. This also represents the age of my protagonist. (17-18 y/o taking their A-level examinations) which is directly linked to my target audience and I feel that due to the featuring of these items that my overall product can be more relatable to that group. The idea of the grades on the past papers also connotes the cups influence on my protagonist and how it has helped him to improve his performance on these papers. I feel that this succinctly represents the theme of my film. My protagonist has been portrayed in both a positive and negative way, this is a subversion of Propps narrative theory, my hero character becomes more of an anti-hero as he has his own flaws and has to combat them, this includes his laziness to work hard, and also his inspiration to commit a crime. Across my poster and my review we can see him in different phases of the story. The positioning of him smiling into the reflection of the cup on the poster represents his how he has gotten himself into the mystery of the cup, and how to start with hes pleased about it. And on my poster it shows him looking confused, which represents him at the equilibrium of the story, pre- cup discovery. I also have a second character, the dispatcher according to Propps theory ; who effectively sends my character on his quest. In my film this is a binary opposite to my protagonist. She is female, and evidently hard-working which is a complete difference to my protagonist. The editing I used to represent the cups power. - I utilised quick cutaways from previous parts of my film, kind of like a flashback sequence. And I also used non- diegetic sound to further portray the quick sequence of events.
4. 4. Overall I think the combination of my short film and my poster both represent the fantasy and coming of age genres, and that the review does a good job of consolidating all the information in relation to my short film. All three products, main and ancillary, carry similar connotations and they present a unified message that my film is of the fantasy genre through the use of media language. The most difficult part for me was trying to represent my character effectively, as he has both negative and positive representations. It was difficult to choose which shots best represented him especially in the magazine review. In the end I chose a more neutral representation so that the audience could decide what kind of character he is. Barthes narrative theory works with my short film; Barthes uses a series of codes to find similarities in narrative, these include: Action, Uses of Enigmas, Symbolism, Semiotics, and Culture. The action that culminates my film in the form of burying the cup during the field scene, restores normality to the protagonists life. The Enigma is in the form of the cup, how did it appear, why? And the powers it bestows drives the story. The purple hue lighting is the main symbolism in this film, which is the connotation of the fantasy genre. The semic representations include the literal knowledge on the cup itself, which conveys the idea of the cups power. Past papers are also an example of representing the age of my protagonist which are present on my poster and in my short film. My film is also based on a student who is 6th Form College studying A-levels, which is a culturally specific part of life in Britain. The use of language in my film review directly relates to the target audience. I have written it in a way that any sixth form student could understand. But I have also used media and film related terminology e.g. hue and directorial which makes it more specific to media students. I also included some comedic elements in my review in order to make it more appealing to my target audience (16-21) and to make the film review more light-hearted, like the style of Empire magazine.