Evaluation Question 2

1. Evaluation Question 2:
“How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?”

2. What were my three tasks for the project?
For my project this year, I had three different products I had to produce.
These included:
 A short social realist film (Main product)
 A promotional poster for that film (Ancillary task)
 A professional ‘Sight & Sound’ style review for the film (Ancillary task)

3. Main Task: Short Film “JACKED”
The main task this year, was my short film ‘JACKED’ and the two other
ancillary tasks were based upon this. My short film was a social realist
text, that focussed on karma and the problems with violent and
argumentative youths.
In the film, the main character James has an argument with his
girlfriend. After no time at all, she takes off a ring that he gave her and
throws it onto the floor.
After this, he is then followed by two hooded men with a knife and he
is eventually mugged for a fake mobile phone and then later on his
actual one.
The film was shot on one afternoon in a small park in a suburban area
of Surrey England. The audio taken, used the Cannon Ligeria’s on
board microphone and all other sounds were added in using sound
effects, music and mixing in Logic Pro X.

4. Promotional Poster
The next ancillary task this year was the promotional
poster for my film.
This poster was purposed to be a promotional media
entity that followed a professional standard, that was
highlighted in my research into other professional film
posters.
This poster went through two completely different drafts
and I speculated several different ideas for color and
theme. However through audience research, I decided on
a final design which was created using Adobe Photoshop
CS6.
The task set stipulated that I needed to have at least one
piece of original photography, so to comply to this, the
photos of the knife, phone and ring were all taken by me
and cut out using tools in Photoshop.

5. Sight & Sound – Style Magazine Review
The next and final ancillary task was my professional magazine review of the
film. For this, I had to write and design the page for a review of my film.
The review featured;
 A critical breakdown of the story and camerawork/editing
 an overall rating
 a summarized version of the film’s synopsis
 general information of the film
 the cast and credits
For the task, the review had to look and sound like a professional review, and
abide by the standards and conventions from other professional film reviews,
such as those analyzed previously. These reviews included those taken from
an previous release of Sight-&-Sound magazine.

6. Why is it important to have synergetic
products?
For many popular and successful film titles, whether they are
Hollywood blockbusters, or award winning – independent film
projects; it is essential that other media products are produced and
synergized with these.
This is so that consumers of media texts are well aware of the
upcoming title and have a broad understanding of it.
As well as this these extra products act as great promotion tools
for the company, as well as allowing a broader spectrum of
audiences to be attracted to the production.
For example, the Batman ‘Dark Knight’ films cater to not only an
older and more mature audience, but because of the video games
and toy figures, they also attract a younger audience , whilst
increasing their profit margins from the purchase of these
products.

7. Why is it important to have synergetic
products? Cont.
A set of products are synergized when they use the
same themes, images, characters and all focus
around one specific idea or thing i.e. a film, a
superhero, a celebrity or figure (documentary) etc.
To evaluate the success of the combination of all
three of my media products, I will be discussing
how they have synergized with one another and
explain what impact this has on them as a whole.
For each product, the do not have to relate to each
other in the exact same ways, but must all have
features that relate them back to my original short
film.
Poster
Review
Short
Film

8. How do my three products synergize with
each other? - Poster
Firstly, we shall look at the combination of my short film and
promotional film poster.
To synergize this with my original film, I decided to firstly keep and
utilize the theme of violence and danger. To do so, I used a dark grey
and gloomy background that covers the entire page.
As well as this, I used only white and dark, blood-red for the text in
the title, date, cast and credits. The dark blacks are conative of fear
and the red is indicative of danger or pain. This relates to the James’
fear in the film, and the danger he was put into when confronted by
the attackers.
The contrasting white was to represent the happy and calm state that
left James as he breaks up with his girlfriend and is then attacked and
robbed.

9. Next, I made the tagline “what goes around…” to suggest the
theme of Karma in the film, which may help educate the audience
with the intended meaning of the short.
My task stated that I must use at least one original piece of
photography for the poster, so I decided to use this as an
opportunity to help with its synergy.
So, I took three separate photos of the actual props used in my
short film. This included Kerry’s ring, James’ phone and the
attacker’s knife. This will excite the audience when they finally see
the items in the film, and it will make them feel as though they
now understand the poster more.
Each prop is representative of a main character and it is perfect for
establishing a connection between the violent and dramatic
theme, and the images within the film itself.
How do my three products synergize with
each other? - Poster

10. How do my three products synergize with each other? -
Poster
Finally, to create synergy between the poster and my main
product (the short film), I used the exact same font and
color choices for the title, as the title text in the actual film.
This is used very commonly for professional film titles, and
therefore it allows my product to seem, as though it to, was
a high budget Hollywood production.
To also make it seem like a professional and successful short
film, I added the two golden leaf images, with an award title
underneath it. The audience will see these and will assume it
is worthy of watching if it has gained awards.

11. How do my three products
synergize with each other? –
Film Review
My second ancillary task for the project was my ’Sight and Sound’ –
style film review. It is hard to create synergy between this and my
main product because in the media industry, reviews are never made
by the same person as who made the film itself.
However I have used several ways to subliminally relate this product
with not only the short film, but also the promotional poster.

12. How do my three products
synergize with each other? –
Film Review
Firstly, I used the design, color and structure of the page to relate
this to my other tasks.
After development of a pre-set website template, I changed the
color theme, from a bright red, to white, black and dark, blood-
red used in both my poster and the title text in the short film.
The hard black and dark red used in the page title and
surrounding boarders, again, links the product to the film’s
connotations of danger and pain.
As well as this, the white background used is the exact shade
used in the first half of ‘JACKED’ in the title and the credits,
therefore linking the review to my poster well.

13. How do my three products
synergize with each other? –
Film Review
To create a connection between the review and the film, I also
included a screenshot of the second scene in ‘JACKED’.
Not only this, but a shorter, more concise version of my synopsis was
placed in the bottom right corner, to show that the reviewer had a
large understanding of the short’s narrative and was directly
addressing the story given.
Finally, my film was shot in Nork Park – Banstead, a small suburban
area in surrey. To show that my film is supposed to be a well known
production from this area, I titled the magazine ‘Banstead Reviewers
Magazine’. This is shown in the black bars along the top and bottom
of the page.

14. How effective is the
combination of my
two ancillary tasks and
my short film?

15. Firstly, to measure how successful of a product my promotional
poster is, I need to see how well it combines with my main task –
the short film.
Through the placement of the three items on the poster, the audience can quite
clearly understand what my film is supposed to be about. The image of the
knife will show to the audience that there will be themes of violence within the
film, and help promote it as a social realist text – i.e. gritty, harsh, realistic etc.
Unfortunately, this also means that when the knife is revealed in the short, If the viewer
has already seen the poster, it will be less of a surprise and therefore have a less
significant impact on them.
The Short Film and the Poster

16. The Short Film and the Poster
My film poster is used to reveal the genre, themes, issues and meaning of the film to the
audience. However it is quite unrevealing in other aspects such as the fact that there is
no background photo of any characters or a scene from the film. This will make the
audience wonder exactly what the characters will look like, and where the film could be
set.
For example we see the photo of the ring amongst the phone and the knife.
Firstly, the audience will be wondering what significance the ring actually has in
the film, and will therefore make the audience curious when they watch it for the
first time.
Also, this unrevealing method, allows the audience to create their own preconceptions of
what these items will be about and will therefore be more interested and focused when
watching the short. This means that the poster with have successfully acted as a product to
advocate and endorse the quality and ’watchability’ of my film.

17. The Short Film and the
Review
My Sight and Sound-style magazine review can be said to have an
effective combination for several reasons. However there are still
aspects that may suggest an improper connection between the two.
Firstly, the review utilizes the colors of the
promotional poster and the film title, therefore
establishing a clear unidentifiable connection
between the two.
My review also addresses the film as a professional
product and criticizes it accordingly. This is to create the
illusion that the film is a higher-budget production that
could be seen in television breaks or film festivals.
Finally, beside the title of the
magazine section ‘films’, there are
logos of several professional film
production companies. Because
of this, it is placing my product
(the short film) in the same
category as productions by all of
these major organizations. This is
useful because the intended
audience will therefore perceive
my film as a more professional
product that deserve recognition.

18. The Short Film and the Review –
The Downfalls
Although the review was in many was successful in creating a link between
itself and my main task, and establishing a professional standard to the film,
there are still some downfalls that could be improved upon to increase its
credibility as a successfully combined media product.
Firstly, it is fair to say that the review has an ‘online’ style to it,
and could be recognized as a template for a review from
independent critics’ website. This would therefore make the
audience less confident about the credibility of the review,
because online sources are seen as less prestigious as those with
their own magazines.
As well as this, the overall star rating given to the film by the review, could have been placed onto the
film poster, to synergize the two products further with the film.

19. Overall Evaluation
It is fair to say that my three media products combine well together as a whole
media entity. This means that they link together well, and allow the audience
to recognize my main task (the short film) as a professional media product that
is synergized between other products.
The poster worked well to promote the short film, as well as providing a good amount of
information to the audience, to establish genre, themes and issues, meaning and
connotations. However it is at part, lackluster in providing an idea of what the film entails.
Next, the review of the short film was great for establishing a professional recognition for
the film, as well as producing a usable rating and critical evaluation of the narrative and
cinematography.
But unfortunately, the review could have been related and connected to the other products
better, by possibly adding images, logos, or quotes directly related to the film and/or its
’production company’.

20. Thank you for watching my
presentation

21. Evaluation Question 2:
“How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?”