Evaluation Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Throughout the project I have done research into the crime thriller genre and following this, planned and produced a film trailer, poster and magazine cover based on the film I had put

together. After doing my research I made sure that the products I planned to create all worked well together and clearly advertised the same film, working well as an advertising package. I

also wanted to ensure that all three products followed the expected codes and conventions of a crime thriller film to attract the right target audience. To begin with I looked at existing products

for a variety of films of this genre and analysed them in some detail so I could begin to understand what made the products so effective.

By doing this initial analysis I could then incorporate certain ideas into my planning such as, what colours are suited

to the genre and what sorts of fonts should be used. It also taught me what appealed to the audience and what they would expect to see in an advertisement for a crime thriller. I went through the same process for each of the products until I had a clear understanding of what

would make them work well together.

When it came to creating my products I began to take specific things into consideration and attempted to use these things in all of my products. For Example:

-Dark colours-Colours that connote ideas of death, blood, crime, danger

-Bold Fonts-Main characters are clearly visible

-Having a villain and a victim with clear distinctions between the two

After considering these things, I began to plan and create my own advertising

package, the results are below.

I am pleased with my final products and after gaining audience feedback I am certain that all

three products work together well as a combination and the ancillary texts do support the main product. Firstly, I ensured that the colours used work as a theme and run across all of my three products. I have used blacks and reds as the main

colours with elements of white running through all of the pieces. The reds connote the idea of blood and violence and on top of this the black add themes of death and danger. These colours are really prominent on the poster and magazine cover which really helps the genre to be identified. Although there is not much chance of using certain colours throughout my trailer, I did film it at night which adds a very dark feel to it. White is also a very dominant colour on all three products, with the

word ‘hour’ being written in white on both the poster and magazine, linking them together and highlighting the element of time in the film. The title of the film and the intertitles within my trailer are also written in white, subconsciously linking the products with the ancillary texts.

The next clear link between all of my products is that the two main characters are visible on each of them. I

feel that this element makes the combination successful as once the audience has seen one

advertisement, the film will be familiar to them when the see the next. This will help sell the film as the

images of the characters will begin to stick in peoples minds, especially the mask. The two characters featured in all

three products keep the narrative running across all three products which allows the ancillary texts to work well with the main product. When the

audience sees the characters on one product, they will be familiar with them when they see one of the other products.

The title of the film adds coherence to all three products as it is clearly visible on each and is one of the largest pieces of text on every product. It is also written in similar colours which adds a link. The same font was used for the title on the poster and at the end of the trailer which helps to highlight the element of time, considering the letters are similar to those on a digital clock. This links these two products together nicely

and the colour used to write the text on the magazine is also the same as on the poster, adding another link.

I also used a black background for both the magazine cover and the poster as this supports the main product. All three of my products are set in the dark which brings

them all together to work as a package. The black highlights the death and destruction within the film so by using this colour on all three pieces keeps them all following this same theme and ensures that they definitely fit in with the crime

thriller genre.

After I had created my products I conducted a focus group with a female that fits into the criteria of my target audience. When asked whether she thinks that my products work well together she commented “the colour scheme is the same and the title is really clear on all of them” which tells me that I was successful in linking all of my three products. This is really important as if they are not distinctly advertising the same film they products will not be effective in selling the film and could cause confusion for the audience. I could also mean that they are expecting something else when they go to see my film.

After receiving this feedback and beginning to evaluate my products, I am happy that my pieces do work together in successfully advertising my film and I am pleased with the fact that all three

products are coherent. The most important element of the advertising package is the trailer as this gives the audience a preview of the actual film, with the ancillary texts supporting this advertisement and making it clear what the film is about. I do feel that the combination of

products works together and effectively portray the same narrative between all three of them. They also stand out as crime thriller advertisements and definitely all connote ideas associated

with this genre.