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

2. https://youtu.be/F0hJg8AF9_I

3. How successful is the promotional package?
Each of the four promotional pieces, shown on the previous slide, have
to be effective as individual units of promotion, while also functioning
as extensions of one another, channelling the identity and style of the
film being promoted. During the production of these ancillary texts and
the trailer, it was essential for me to retain this knowledge and apply it
to these creations and, retrospectively, there were several key strengths
and weaknesses of the final products and of the promotional package as
a whole. Overall, however, I feel as though the promotional package for
‘The Basement’ will be successful when it comes to attracting the
relevant target audience.

4. There are many ways in which each of these pieces achieve success
through the use of symbiosis. Creating symbiosis between each piece
of media is essential, as it allows for audiences to ‘build up’ a
developing idea of the film’s narrative, style and imagery. As a
consequence of this, audiences will find it easier to separate this
particular film from other horror films being advertised, as they are
able to recognise key iconography from one form of media – i.e the
poster – and see it, recurring, within another. With this in mind, I
placed a strong emphasis on generating symbiosis during the
production of these pieces, and I feel as though this is one area where I
have been very successful. In order to achieve this success, it was
necessary for me to create a basic underlying theme that would serve to
link all four pieces together, while reflecting the identity and ethos of
the film being promoted. As can be seen in the promotional package,
the pieces are connected by the idea of a
partially unseen force, controlling and
manipulating what the viewer is able to see. In
the posters, the malicious entity – shown in the
use of shadows – is possessing the protagonist,
and on the front cover, it is pushing its face
through what would otherwise be an ordinary
wall. This ‘fear of the unknown’is often cited
as the greatest fear of humanity, and it is for
this reason that the antagonist remains unseen
in the ancillary texts. However, in order to fully
entice audiences to watch the film, the trailer
builds upon this premise and will serve to
reward them for their perseverance (assuming
that it would be the last element of the
promotional package to be released) by
showing this entity, submerged in darkness, at
the very end. Audiences will then feel as though
they have had their curiosity satisfied.

5. Symbiosis is also achieved
through the colour scheme,
particularly within the posters
and trailer. Colours specifically
associated with the horror genre
(red, black, white) were used to
signify the genre with ease, and
help generate an atmosphere
that audiences will be familiar
with – which is especially
necessary due to the relative
ambiguity of the content.
Furthermore, the continuous use
of a vibrant blue hue will
coincide with the demonic
imagery (i.e horns) to show that
the film is not just a horror, but a
supernatural horror, and this will
automatically attract the
relevant target audience while
disassociating the viewers that
the promotional package does
not cater for. However, although
this is typical for the genre and
allows for constancy between
the promotional pieces, a more
minimalistic colour scheme was
used in the main image of the
front cover in order to prevent
audiences from becoming bored
with the exact same colours each
time. This also accounts for why
the image is an extreme
close-up, as opposed to the
medium/long shots that are
used in the trailer and
posters. Although
establishing continuity is
essential to reflect the
identity of the film and
satisfy audiences ‘definite
expectations’, changing
certain features within my
promotional package will
show that the film is still
able to surprise them, as
well as reward them. These
‘surprises’, although not
radically different, will allow
them to develop their
existing opinion on the film
at hand, as well as
increasing the appeal of
‘The Basement’ itself i.e one
person may not like the
front cover much, but will
find the posters particularly
effective. This allows for a
wider range of viewers to be
targeted, with different
interests and personalities
to be appealed to.

6. In addition to this, symbiosis is also achieved through the font and style of the text used across all four pieces. For the title of ‘The
Basement’, the same white, Times New Roman font and red tint is used each time. As this is the title of the film, and therefore the
first area of text that audiences will seek to look at, it is necessary for it to retain these features, as it allows audiences to connect that
particular style of text to the film – and the repeated uses of this text only serves to reinforce these connections, making them more
likely to remember the film in their daily lives. Moreover, it expresses the identity of the film – the innocence implied in the white
colour is slowly being corrupted by the red, signifying otherworldly evil and, of course, Joel’s possession by the devil. Both these
colours, and the simplistic serif font, are also emblematic of the subgenre, and are seen across a variety of horror films, as shown
below.
This fully establishes the film’s place within the supernatural subgenre, and ensures that this is prominent across all four pieces of
media. Outside of the title, a similar font and font colour is also used throughout, seen in the straps for the trailer and masthead for
‘Overlook’ magazine, for this same reason. However, in regards to the magazine, certain alterations within the font colours and
styles were used so that the identity of the magazine could also be reflected – in addition to the identity of the film. These alterations
and adjustments to the overall aesthetic were limited, however, as I did not want to detract from the film being promoted, unlike
certain magazines such as Empire that are entirely focused on projecting their own brand identity. As highlighted in the previous
section of tis evaluation, it was quintessential for ‘Overlook’ to a be a magazine that is able to base its overall look around the style
of the main film on the cover image, as I am attempting to appeal to fans with a developed interest in the genre. This, I feel, has been
achieved to relative success; the front cover functions both as independent form of promotion and as a component within this
promotional package. Despite the continuation of font styles and colour schemes, however, I feel as though the main image could
have developed upon the poster images in its own individualised way. Apart from the basic thematic link that it shares, it is quite
separate from the other media within the package, which almost serves to develop an abstract narrative (Joel’s transformation into
the devil). Although I did indeed want to individualise the cover image, it could have retained individuality while also fitting into
this narrative, generating a more developed feeling of satisfaction for audiences when watching the trailer.

7. HAVE I
SUCCESSFULLY
APPEALED TO MY
TARGET AUDIENCE?

8. Both Hannah and William from my focus group greatly influenced the methods I
used to assemble this promotional package. They represent the target audience for
‘The Basement’ and the focus group as a whole – their particular feedback and
responses were professional, opinionated and helpful. Overall, I feel as though I
have achieved success at catering towards their needs and, as a consequence, the
needs of my target audience.
Hannah’s favourite horror film, ‘Disturbia’, is an outsider in terms of the genre,
as it is more of a psychological thriller with many twists and ambiguities. Indeed,
her favourite aspect of the film was how it ‘evolves’ – and this idea of evolving can
be seen across all four promotional pieces, specifically the development from
poster to trailer highlighted earlier in this presentation. The concept of evolving,
although only highlighted here, is one of the themes that would be prominent
across the narrative of the film itself, thus appealing to Hannah’s desire for a
smarter, more complex kind of horror.
Both participants seemed to prefer the content of older horror films, with Hannah preferring the new ones only for how they are ‘put
together’ i.e the sleek production design, more sophisticated technological advances. Bearing this in mind, I created the promotional package
attempting to emulate the French expressionist horrors of the 1950s and 60s in terms of imagery and composition, as seen primarily in the
abstract, atmosphere-driven trailer, and the emphasis on a strong blue hue throughout all pieces. Furthermore, William expressed concern
over how the devil would be presented – he didn’t want viewers to be able to draw comparisons with Freddy Krueger, who enters dreams as
opposed to controlling and distorting them. This forced me to change certain aspects of my trailer mock-up and, subseqauently, final draft, as
his concern was indeed justified and, upon re-evaluation, the original draft of the trailer would have incorrectly portrayed the devil as
someone who enters their dreams, as opposed to controlling them. Indeed, this was a gaping flaw that not only would have given the target
audience the wrong impression of the film (allowing them to liken it to A Nightmare On Elm Street, an altogether different kind of horror), but
would have jeopardised the narrative I had formulated during the extensive research and planning stages. William’s feedback here, therefore,
has allowed me to cater specifically for the needs of the target audience that he is representative of.

9. In regards to the other members of the focus group and questionnaire recipients – some of whom are shown above – a variety of their recommendations and feedback
was utilised during the creation of my promotional package. Xavier’s idea of Joel not knowing he was possessed until the very end severely impacted how I approached
the plot of the film, and how I would convey this plot. Encouraging me to place more emphasis on Joel, as I did in the two posters, allowed me to remain ‘rooted’within
the conventions of a horror film, as I was previously in the process of creating an atmosphere-driven package open to interpretation. Placing more emphasis on the
human characters and weaving them into the narrative was, as Xavier put it, ‘essential’, and allowed me to achieve a greater level of complexity in the overall product (I
initially wanted them to be insignificant in comparison to the levels of evil generated by such a powerful force as the devil). When presented with my initial plot
summary, Tony felt as though the project was ‘too similar’ to various other supernatural horrors, and upon re-watching the horrors he named (Insidious, The Conjuring)
I was able to work out how to draw inspiration without directly copying them. This is shown by the deliberate use of ambiguity across all four pieces, which serves to
represent the confused dream state of the characters and the mystery of the film.