1. B Y : S H A N I A S U K H U
Evaluation Question 2: How
effective is the combination of your
main product and ancillary texts?
2. Assignment Brief
In our unit G324 our main task which we was
assigned was to create a five minute short film.
In addition to this, individually we had to complete
an ancillary task where we had to create a film review
and film poster in order to promote our short film.
By carrying out these tasks I had to ensure I was
aware of the codes and conventions associate with
my chosen genre which was a comedy and
incorporate them into my ancillary tasks.
3. How does my poster meet the comedy genre?
The use of bright and bold
colours, such as yellow and
blue connote happiness
which reflects the comedy
genre well.
The tagline “There’s a
first time for everything”
summarises the plot.
This links to the main
image suggesting the
main character may be
losing his virginity.
In the image Suki D’s facial
expressions are comical. I
believe this image
successfully presents the
comedy genre as the
viewer can see Suki D
looks surprised/happy
about something.
The use of the plain
blue background
connotes calmness
which meets the
comedy genre as it
reflects the light
heartedness of the
film and Suki D’s
situation.
Suki D is presented
wearing nerdy and
oversized clothing which
suggests he is clumsy and
embarrassing, making the
poster more humorous.
4. Fonts used on Poster
For the film title, cast names and release date I used the font
Poplar Std. I chose to use this font as I thought it stood out and
would catch the viewers attention. Furthermore, I also chose
to use this font as the bold font style, in addition to the effects
I added to the font, such as a drop shadow, inner glow and
bevel and emboss means viewers will be able to easily and
clearly ready the text from a distance.
Universal Accreditation was the font style I used for the
billing block as I found this was commonly used on film
posters. By using this font I was able to ensure the billing
block on my poster looked professional. I included a drop
shadow and inner glow to the font style in order to make
the text stand out amongst the blue background and main
image.
I chose to use the font style Adobe Heiti Std
for the social media and Big Boy website
links as I thought this font was simple and
very easy to read. This was important as
individuals who view the poster may be
interested in finding out more information
about the film, meaning the text must be easy
to read and understand.
I chose to use a different font for the tagline
to make the poster more interesting. I used
simple effects such as a drop shadow and
outer glow to ensure it stood out.
5. Image used on Poster
Before After
For my film poster I had contemplated using an
image of both characters, Suki D and Lady
Candy; however, I came to the conclusion of
only including an image of the main character
Suki D to create an enigma when the audience
view the poster, leaving them trying to work out
the plot of the film through the single image,
title and tagline.
I chose to crop the background out of the
original image as I wanted to centre the image
on the final poster. I also added a drop shadow
effect and brightened the image to make it
stand out and look striking against the blue
background.
The reason I chose to use this specific image
was because I believed it is very humorous and
represents Suki D as being an amusing and fun
character which is expected of characters in
comedy films. In the image he is shown with his
hands over his male genitals which suggests the
plot will be based around a sexual idea;
however, it does not give away the plot of the
film.
6. Fonts used on Film Review
For the In Cinemas banner I used the font Myriad Pro and
added a drop shadow to it. I wrote this in complete capital
letters as I wanted it to stand out to the viewer and inform
them that the film is in cinemas and attract them into
watching the film.
For the main text containing the actual film review I also
used the font Myriad Pro. I chose to use this font as I felt it
was very subtle and clear ensuring the reader would not
have any problem reading the text which was important as
the whole point of a film review is for the reader to read the
critiques review.
For the magazine company information, such as the
company name, website and page number I used the
font Futura as I felt it was simple. I wanted to ensure
the font used for this text did not distract the viewer
from the main review.
For the film title and tagline I also used the font
Myriad Pro and added a drop shadow to the tagline
text similarly to the ‘In Cinemas’ text. I chose to use
this font as I wanted to use a fairly consistent font
style throughout my film review. I also thought this
font was clear, very easy for the reader to read and
stood out which was very important as this was the
information I wanted to stand out most.
7. Image used on Film Review
The image above was the image I chose to use on my film review. I chose to use this
image as it shows both the characters, unlike the poster which only included an image
of the main character, Suki D. I chose to use this image as it allows the viewer to
develop and idea of the relationship between the two characters. Furthermore, the
fact that the audience are unable to clearly see what Lady Candy is looking at in shock
creates an enigma; however, by looking at the direction of Lady Candy’s eyes they are
able to make a connection between the title ‘Big Boy’ and Suki D’s genitals, therefore
suggesting the film is centred around the topic of sex.
8. Colour Scheme
Before creating my film poster and film review
I knew I wanted to ensure I used a consistent
colour scheme throughout to ensure my
ancillary tasks looked professional and link
with one another. I began by researching
comedy posters, such as ‘Going the Distance’
and ‘Run, Fatboy, Run’ and found that
common colours used were blue and yellow.
This is because these colours are bright and
bold, therefore connoting happiness,
reflecting the light heartedness of the comedy
genre. I therefore wanted to include these
colours in my ancillary tasks as I wanted to
represent the comedy genre well which would
have been less successful if I had used dark
and dull colours, such as black and grey due to
these being depressing and saddening.
Furthermore, I chose to use these colours as
they are radiant and vivid meaning the posters
would stand out to viewers.
9. Influences
The main influence for my film poster
was ‘Walk of Shame’ (2014) which is
also a comedy film similarly to ‘Big
Boy’. After looking at this film poster I
gained my inspiration of using a single
image against a plain background. I
chose to do this as when I first viewed
the Walk of Shame poster I was really
drawn into the idea of having one
image as the main focus of the poster.
However, I did contemplate doing this
as I was unsure as to whether the
audience would be more interested in
seeing a poster with more detail;
however, as the Walk of Shame poster
was similarly created in 2014 to Big
Boy, I felt it would still be relevant and
meet the expectations of the modern
day posters.
10. How did the Film Poster and Film Review
contribute to my main product?
The ancillary tasks which I had created for my film, ‘Big Boy’ followed the
codes and conventions associated with the comedy genre which required a
lot of patience and effort as I had to carry out plenty of research on the
genre in order to ensure I could incorporate these conventions into my final
poster and film review.
Posters are created to help promote films and interest individuals into
watching them. I believe I have done this successfully by creating a poster
which was captivating and engaging. I had to consider the image I was
going to include on the poster, as well as the fonts for the title and tagline
as these are the most important features and I had to ensure they were
effective and would intrigue individuals into watching our short film,
without giving away too much about the film.
By creating a film review for ‘Big Boy’ I was able to give a critical opinion on
the short film, in order to inform individuals about the film and help them
decide if they are interested in watching it.
Overall, both the film poster and film review help raise awareness about the
short film. This contributes to the final product which I have created as it
helps promote it and interest individuals into wanting to watch it.
11. Conclusion
To conclude, I believe the ancillary tasks I have created
work very well together and help promote the film in a
positive way. I think the use of colours, images and
text really appeal to my target audience and intrigue
them into wanting to watch the final film.
Overall, I am very content and satisfied with the final
ancillary tasks which I have created and strongly believe
the combination of my main product and ancillary tasks
has led to the creation of a very successful film.
