How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?


For our ancillary tasks we had to create a film poster, film opening credits and film review in film marketing all three of these products work together to promote the film. The film poster promotes the film, there may be several versions with different content these can be different in different countries, we created three different film posters which follows this. I believe all three of our poster promote the main message or our film and have a wide audience range.

The opening titles are what the audience sees first when watching the film these are important because they give an insight to the type of film the audience is going to watch and also correspond with the film poster to work equally in advertising the film. The way in which the title credits play an important part with in the film advertisement is because they are the first glimpse of the film which means they must make sense and entertain the audience, normally if a film has rubbish title credits its reflective of the film. Title credits are also such a big part or a film as they can make or break an actor or director, this is because title credits highlight the actors and directors with in the film making them memorable and recognisable.

The final ancillary task was to create a film review that would appear in a leading film magazine such as empire or total film, although the review is often wrote after the film it plays a fair job in advertising the film. Reviews often see the film depending on whether its a major block buster before the public has seen the film, they do this by going to film premiers. Reviewers by giving their verdicts on the film have a huge power to over the audience as they can persuade a person to watch or not watch a film. The main aim of a film review is to carry on advertising the film after its been released, good films will have several film reviews for example slum dog millionaire. For our magazine review we made it in the style of a total film magazine review, the fact that the review appears in this magazine advertises it immediately as it is one of the leading film magazines in the world, people by reading this magazine will realise that this review is of a trustworthy nature and can be falsed lead into any ting a reviewer says. We decided to use total film compared to filmstar as its more recognisable and there is more publicity surrounding the film.

I be live that all our three ancillary tasks work well together as they both show similarities between them, for example our magazine review shows a happy image and corresponds with our film posters where we use happy images of the girls in our film to promote the film. Furthermore through out our magazine review we use quotes from the film, which support the review as it is being backed up by the film. They all work equally in the marketing indutry as the poster promotes the film and entices the viewers to want to watch the film, the title credits prepare the audience for whats to come with in the film and the magazine review anaylses and interprets the film persauding people to watch it.

In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products?


Our film follows the genre of a drama, the main aim of a drama is to create a believable and realistic story that shocks and conveys a serious message to the audience. Our story is based around the main message of domestic violence we mainly wanted to show that domestic violence can happen to anybody you know whether they are male or female, old or young. I believe by our film carrying this message we have followed the codes and conventions of a drama. By using a character that is represented as young, innocent and lovable we have challenged the stereotypical character used in a drama which is normally a character in their mid thirties who generally focus on a life breakdown or crisis. We have also developed the theme of domestic violence within our film, to do this we have steered away from the typical patriarchal oppression related to women and now focus on the oppression and deception of a young girl who evokes sympathy and vulnerability. We chose to develop the character because we looked at the representation of children, considering we live in a child centred society and children are precious to us we thought the film would evoke more feeling furthermore sympathy conveying the message of our film better. (The Little Princess) like our story focuses on a young girl who needs the love from her father, however is constantly isolated as he goes to war leaving her behind in a cruel all girls school. From (The Little Princess) we have adapted the young and fragile character however like (Provoked) we have chose to use a more serious story line of domestic violence however using a young female character to evoke sympathy. In a drama it’s important to capture the mood and stableness of the character and this can often done through the use of lighting. In dramas the lighting is often made over contrast using too much light to show that the world around the character is at its natural state, this use of lighting highlights the fact that although the character is suffering the world around them still goes on. For example this is done often in dramas such as (Ashes to Ashes). On the other hand in Dramas like (Life on Mars) the lighting is made very dull this shows the realism of the characters life and the fact that nothing seems to surprise or thrill the character in The monster we have stuck to the codes and conventions of a drama by using dim light. On filming we were fortunate to get a permit to film in the park I believe the weather really worked to our advantage because the dull and isolated weather echoed the mind of our main character. Another way in which we created an isolated and unwanted character just like in (E.T) is through the use of misenscene which we kept to a bare minim, just like in dramas we only used the props necessary and did not over crowd the set. We have followed the codes and conventions of a drama as we have used flashbacks however we have developed them because by the end they tell the whole story. Furthermore we have challenged the general concept as they are used in more in a psychological way as you have to match the flashbacks along with the voice over in order for the story to make sense as the voice over and flashbacks have hidden meanings. In our story just like the film (Black) which is common in drama however it develops the voice over by combining it with music and challenges it because we use a child’s voice.

Before creating my film review page from a real running film magazine I decided to do some research about the layout.

Film Review Research

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Here is an article I found dicussing both Empire and Total Film I found this intresting because this was helpful when chosing what film magazine I would like my review to be in :

Introduction ~~
Total Film and Empire are probably the two most popular and widely available film magazines in England. Empire has been going the longest, (for as long as I can remember) and Total Film has been now going several years.
Both magazines include cinema reviews, videos to rent and buy, DVD’s, information on up-and-coming films and interviews with actors, directors, etc. I usually buy Total Film but have bought Empire a few times and still tend to buy it if there’s nothing good on Total Film.

The Reviews ~~
Well considering you buy these mags to find out what to see at the flicks or to decide what film to rent or buy this bit is very important. I cannot really say which magazine has better reviews as all of the reviews are wrote by different people. Most of the reviews in the two magazines are high quality and useful but some are just full of irrelevant drivel. And some of the top members on Ciao’s film reviews are easily better than reviews in these two magazines.
What I think makes Total Film win on reviews is that they still include lots of detail on less well-known and unusual films. Empire tends to only devote one or two paragraphs to these less well-known films and purely concentrates on Hollywood blockbusters.
Value for money ~~
Both magazines contain roughly 150 pages and unfortunately both have lots of adverts. Total Film costs £2.90 and Empire costs £3. So not much difference in price but I would certainly say Total Film is better value for money as it frequently includes a freebie.
Though if its just reviews your after both mags are bad value for money when you can get high quality and accurate reviews on a huge variety of films on Ciao.

Other bits about the magazine ~~
I personally prefer the layout and style of Empire though I suppose it’s a matter of personal opinion really. Empire is plainer and simpler and it is easier to be able to just pick up Empire anywhere inside and start reading. With Total Film you have to rely more on the contents.
One thing I like about Total Film is their coverage on unknown filmmakers and unknown films. And they include lots of information and advice for budding wanabee film directors. Even if your not considering making a film this section still makes good reading.
Both mags interview big, well-known famous faces – British and American stars. Total Film also reviews film websites, film hardware, videogames and film related books. Empire also reviews all of these except videogames. Quite useful really getting reviews on all of those as well as films.
Subscribing ~~
Like all magazines Total Film and Empire are desperate to get subscribers. Both do this by offering very competitive subscription rates. At the moment though if your looking at subscribing to one of the two, Empire will give you the best deal. Subscribing to Empire will give you a £1 off ticket at ABC and Odeon cinemas and U571 on DVD or video for free. Just a shame really that U571 was totally inaccurate and based entirely on lies. Though that’s totally irrelevant…

Overall ~~
Both magazines are good but if you are thinking of buying one of the two I would recommend you buy Total Film. Though as I said earlier if its just reviews you want your frankly wasting your time with Ciao and loads of other reviews all over the net.
However if your bored and need something to read I strongly recommend both, there’s quite a lot in them and there’s lots in to interest anyone remotely interested in films.
Here is my final film review after studying the style of 'total film' reviews to make the page look official I have added other film reviews which I have typed on films out in the cinemas currently.

These films were :

Twilight : The New Moon
Nativity
Law Obiding Citzen

to make my film reviews seem more realistic I watched two of the films above in the cinema (Twilight and Nativity) and have researched about Law Obiding Citzen by purchasing magazines with the film review in and researching information about the film on the internet along with watching the trailor.

Voice Over Script Longer


There are not many things that I am scared of there are actually many things I enjoy, like swinging on the swings, and going round on the Mary go round, I love my friends Emily and Zoey and I know they love me too, we have so much fun.

We love going to the park, and lying in the grass, we could laugh all day long. I love going to the park its better than going home.

I’m scared of spiders I’m not even scared of ghost, even when my friends leave me I’m still not scared. The only thing that frightens me is a monster.

The monster I know isn’t like any other monster. He doesn’t live in my closet or under my bed.

He doesn’t only come out at night. I don’t really understand because I love him; He says he loves me. We still have fun too.
But playing hide and seek isn’t the same as before.

Because these days, if I lose the game, I lose sleep that night too.

I don’t know what to do, I’m so lonely sometimes

I know everything will be okay and the fear will go away,
Besides, the monster only comes out when the bottle is out.
But I’d still like to know why does he treat me so?

I’ll never be mad but I know there should be love & comfort at home.”

I created this scrap book to give me a visual idea what elements and images may be used in my poster :

Scrapbook

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Monster Script Draft #3

We see a shot of three girls hurrying to class (this is noted by the empty halls in the school and the fact that they are carrying books rushing) Right before Lilly goes into her classroom:

Lilly: Bye guys I’ll meet you after school. Same place as always!

Lilly walks into the classroom. Everyone looks at her and the teacher immediately tells her to sit down.

Ms. Harper: (Teacher gets up from her desk where she was busy doing something on the computer) Good morning class! I thought today we would do a fun writing activity.

Class: Awe (whiny, not waning to do it)- Lilly is seen and she does not participate in the whining.

Ms Harper: Now, now kids I mentioned it would be fun, so there is no need to panic. I want you to write about what you are most afraid of. It can be fictional or non-fictional. (A cut to a kid raising his arm, very eagerly) Wait Mathew let me finish then I’ll help you.

I am leaving that for you to decide. Say for example, if I were to write about my worst fear I would write about giant spiders attacking my house! (laughs) Anyway, get started now and you have until the end of the lesson, if you don’t finish it’s homework! (Sounds of the class whining again)

(The focus will start to go towards Lily. Due to an over the shoulder shot, we can start to see what she is writing. Her first written words are “I don’t have many things I’m scared of. There are actually many things I enjoy. (In the midst of that sentence the narration starts and there is a slow fade to three girls playing the park on swings, they are laughing and playing but the voice over covers up the sound from the park) There is a fade back to the classroom of Lilly writing.

Lilly(V.O. narration):” I’m not scared of spiders. I’m not even scared of ghosts. The only thing that frightens me in this world is a monster. (There is fade to Lilly walking along a fence and dragging the stick along the metal bars.)
The monster I know isn’t like any other monster. He doesn’t live in my closet or under my bed. He doesn’t only come out at night. I don’t really understand because I love him; He says he loves me. We still have fun too. (Fade to Lilly sitting on the ground in the park with her knees to her chest and her eyes covered with her hands. She uncovers her eyes and looks around, but there is no one there)
But playing hide and seek isn’t the same as before. Because these days, if I lose the game, I lose sleep that night too. I know everything will be okay and the fear will go away. (Fade to Lilly laying on the grass with a flower in her hand. She is laying on her back looking up at the flower as well as the sky. There will also be a POV shot of the sky at this point)
Besides, the monster only comes out when the bottle is out. (A fade of Lilly at the park watching an alcohol bottle float by in the pond. )
(We are now back in the classroom scene.)
But I’d still like to know why does he treat me so? I’ll never be mad but I know there should be love & comfort at home.”

As she finishes writing the essay. She puts down her pen and looks up. She is looking straight at the camera when she shuts her eyes. We then have sudden scenes of the film running backwards in about 5-10 seconds as there is a anticipating sound playing. We then have a mirage type scene where We are zooming into Lilly yet tracking backwards at the same time to create a "different world" feel. We cut to a black sillhouette shadow of a man raising his hand and then we hear Lilly saying "Daddy, No"(-The last scene will be very discrete and dark, the man will not be fully shown therefore we will not see his face, yet everything comes together at this point as it is clear who the monster really is.)

This is the slum dog millionaire trailer and below i am going to analyse three different film posters for this movie :

The main colours used on this Slum Dog Millionaire poster are red, yellow and orange, although all these colours give off a warm vibe they all are used for different reasons. Red is stereotypically known as the colour of love and passion however, can also connote strong ambition and a will for fighting linking in with the theme of fighting for love in the film. The colour red additionally links directly to tag line of the film “what does it take to find a lost love” as red has an attached sigma to love. Other than the colour red the colours orange and yellow are used. The colour orange half way between red and yellow and can be said to be a corruption of the two colours being inseparably tied to the image of fire. The colour can be symbolic of energy, enthusiasm, 'get-it-done' attitude which links in with the characteristics and personality of Dev Patel as Jamal k.Malik in slumdog and could have been used to show the characters role in the plot of slumdog. Furthermore the colour introduces a very Indian based theme to the film as the colour orange is stereotypical of Indian culture. By using the colour orange the poster also introduces a theme of religion (Hinduism) which directly links in with Jamals character, religion is spefically referenced in the scene in slum dog in which the two boys are running away from the police in the slums and the Hindu god Rama appears showing the audience the path in which people chose in life. Other than the warm colours of red, orange and yellow, cold colours such as blue and purple have been used, blue and purple colours are used to contrast with the warm colours this is used for a number of reasons I believe the contrasts are used to show the two characters banished love this is mirrored by the female characters running actions as if she is running away from authority to be with Jamal. The colours also symbolise royalty suggesting a theme of money and riches with in the film. Also the colour addresses the famous quiz show “Who wants to be a millionaire?” again referring to money and the values of it. The female character is placed in the center of poster along with the male character, the lighting has been adjusted to make the female character look angelic like and pure. This suggests that she is the main female character in the plot and highlights her as the damsel in distress. This is contrasted with the orange colour of the male character which suggest his quest for her through out the film and possibly is pressure and tension during questioning game show. The main figures in this poster are the “Who wants to be a millionaire?” question board, the female character and male character.

The two characters are represented photographically and the “Who wants to be a millionaire?” board has been placed graphically. The messages with in the poster are both visual and verbal, visual being the two characters with desperate expressions longing for one another. The verbal message is the direct question towards the audience of “what does it take to find lost love?” which directly asks the audience to answer this gives the audience a message that with in the film there will be a film of love however also makes the audience start to think about their love live and perhaps, a lost love also.

The main figures in this poster are the “Who wants to be a millionaire?” question board, the female character and male character. The two characters are represented photographically and the “Who wants to be a millionaire?” board has been placed graphically. The messages with in the poster are both visual and verbal, visual being the two characters with desperate expressions longing for one another. The verbal message is the direct question towards the audience of “what does it take to find lost love?” which directly asks the audience to answer this gives the audience a message that with in the film there will be a film of love however also makes the audience start to think about their love live and perhaps, a lost love also.

I believe this poster can be aimed at a wide audience range; it is focused at a British Asian audience because it cleverly combines modern British society with Asian culture. It introduces many themes of stereotypical Asian religions such as Hinduism and Islam and introduces British culture with a British based TV show “Who wants to be a millionaire”.

All movie posters are set out for the same purpose this is to get the audience to watch the film from this poster I am persuaded to watch the film as they include the directors’ name in eye catching yellow writing. From seeing his name in this poster I will immediately recognise his other works of Danny Boyle and will want to see the film as I enjoy his style of work. Also I am drawn in to the film as on the poster I am asked a rhetorical question in which I cannot reuse to answer. In addition the audience wants to watch the film as they would have seen trailers and would like to know how a film based around a television program can turn into a convincing love story. The genres referred to are drama and romance, the codes and conventions that have been used through out the film are young lovers having an obstacle to loving each other.

In Slumdog Anil Kapoor is used a unique selling point for a bollywood audience as he is a well known actor in many bollywood films and a huge star success for India featuring in films such as welcome, race, no entry and yuvvraaj. Other than Anil Kapoor, Fredia Pinto is also used as a selling point for Slumdog as she is a professional model in India moreover dev patel is also recognised for his role as Anwar Kharral in 19 episodes of the british tv series Skins.

The tag line on this poster is this works well in a rhetorical format as it makes the audience question the themes with in the film by labelling with in the multiple choice answer questions. The tag line directly makes interaction with the audience by questioning them.

I do believe this is an effective poster because its eye catching through the chaotic colours in the back ground, the two main characters are placed well with in the frame this adds a theme of the characters always seeming to miss each other which fits in nicely with the narrative of slum dog millionaire. The title of eye catching which making you remember the title of the film. Furthermore the poster attracts an action based audience because of the chaos deliberately made on the poster and the tag line is smart which entices the audience to answer.






The information on the poster is important because it allows us to identify the genre of the film, in addition the writing placed at the bottom of the poster is extremely important as allows us to see all the companies that are involved in the film, from this we are able to remember any other films the companies such as Fox Search Light pictures and Warner Bros have been involved with such as Space Jam and Looney Tunes Movie and we can remember whether we enjoyed these according to whether we have or not this may influence us to see the film. The poster includes the peoples choice award logo this shows the audience that Slum Dog millionaire has been voted by other people as a good movie making he film seem more reliable, this persuades the audience to watch the film.

The film poster for any film is a very important element as this along with trailers and other advertisements aspects it entices the audience to watch the film. The film poster is crucial because it gives the audience a chance to see elements of the film with out telling the whole story. Film posters are used on buses, billboards, in telephone boxes and in the cinema and they stir a major source of publicity and advertisement, film posters are really one of the main important conventions of film advertisement.