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

1. Evaluation – Question Two
How effective is the combination of your main product and
ancillary texts?

2. How To Establish A Brand Identity
When creating a film, it is vital that within the promotional package a brand identity is being created. The
importance of having a brand identity is that it allows a film and/or production to have a consistent feature
that is shown within their film and marketing campaign. When creating a brand identity, it can be achieved
by using: same font, colour scheme, main/key characters, style and genre.
By having a strong and well established brand identity it means that when it comes to promoting and
marketing the film it will be more successful as the film posters, social media links, teasers, trailers and
magazine features will all have a consistent theme which interlinks back to the film in order to promote and
represent the film strongly.
When promoting and marketing a film, it is important that the genre of the film is being represented not only
through the teaser trailers and official trailers, but also through posters, articles, billboards and more so that
the film is being promoted to people who are fans of the genre not only the actors within the film
When looking into existing teaser trailers and promotional packages, we have looked into a variety of different films
so that as a group we are able to get an insight into how a particular genre is represented in the film industry and
the conventions that are used to portray a certain genre, sub-genre or a hybrid genre. The films that we looked at
were: The girl next door, Red riding hood, Gone Girl and Donnie Darko as well as briefly referncing additional films.

4. Beginning To Create A Brand Identity
When it came to create our own brand identity within our promotional package is that we first
began by researching into existing films so that as a group we could identify the key elements
that went into creating a successful promotional package, thus a successful brand identity.
The first film that I researched into in order to identify and establish what brand identity is and
how it is use to create a successful marketing campaign was ‘The Boy Next Door’ which is
advertised to be a mystery, thriller romance film. In terms of the marketing campaign behind
this film, the brand identity was established through having a very limited colour palette of
contrasting tones, red and blues which reflect both aspects of the thriller and romance genre as
well as using the red tones to also inflict the essence of danger as well as romance that is shown
in the film. In addition to this, another common occurrence within this films marketing
campaign is that it consistently uses the main protagonist character, Jennifer Lopez, as the main
marketing point due to the fact that she is a very well known and established actor within the
industry whose fan base is roughly around the same demographic that the film is promoted
towards, thus attracting more people who are fans of the actress.
When looking at all of the platforms that this film has been promoted on, the main character,
the female, is being represented in the same way within every media product, this enhances and
solidifies the personality of this character being innocent and portrayed as being a ‘damsel in
distress’ which is typical in terms of the conventions of a thriller films as well as a romance film
as the female character falls for the male character.
From researching into these films, as a group we began to brainstorm the different key elements
that go into creating a brand identity behind a hybrid-genre, in our case it was creating a
romance-thriller.

5. CONFLICT
ROMANCE

6. Our Brand Identity
We created our brand identity by combining a number of things in order to create a stronger and
prominent brand identity. The way in which we did this was we reflected on the title of our film
‘The Girl in Red’ which we then though it was a good idea to focus upon the colour red to not
only reflect the title of the film and the main protagonist, but also the blood and cold blooded
murder and thriller elements of our film to also reflect the antagonist within our film.
Not only did we focus on the colour red, the font and typeface that we used throughout of our
promotional package which made it very influential on our brand identity. We identified that
font was an important element when creating a brand identity due to the way that within the
identity of The Boy Next Door, the same font was used in order to reflect the romance and
thriller through the serif font. In our teaser, we used a serif timeless font in order to create a
professional and sleek looking connotations which are synchronous to the thriller and action as
well as romance. The font that was used to create the titles in the teaser was ‘Iowan Old Style’
as it was the most timeless and broad font that reflects both genres of our teaser. In terms of
creating the main title typeface, we used a combination of fonts called ‘Futura Condensed’ and
‘Chalkduster’ by having ‘red’ in a different colour and font it allowed the type face to become
one of the main identifiers for our film as well as being durable for a range of different
platforms whilst still reflecting our narrative.
Finally, the last element of our brand identity is the costume of the red scarf that is worn by the
main protagonist character in our film as it not only links to the colour red that we are using, it
also contributes through the factor that this scarf belongs to our main protagonist and has
sentimental meaning towards this character in order to show the history and backstory of this
character.

7. TEASER
POSTER
MAGAZINE COVER

8. How Our Brand Identity Is Established
When creating both the promotional poster and magazine cover, we had
to decide how we were going to promote our film as well as
representing and showing out brand identity which we decided would be
through showing the main and key characters. We applied this over both
our poster and magazine cover in which it showed our actors within the
role of their characters as oppose to the actor in order to reflect the
film and the characters that these actors play, which was most
important in the poster. By having our main characters within the cover
and poster it worked in harmony with the main title of the film which is
shown over all of the promotional package as the title of the film
reflects the main protagonist character and gives insight into her role
and contribution within the film.
In addition to using the main characters within the marketing aspect of
the film, we also continued the same colour scheme on the promotional
poster and the magazine which was black, white and red which was also
worn by all of the characters featured on the poster and cover which
strongly connotated and displayed our brand identity.
Our brand identity was continued to be shown as we used the same
typeface and font that was used to create the main title of the film
which was used within the teaser, poster and magazine. This means that
this typeface will become easily identifiable and recognisable to our
audience and can be easily referenced and drawn back to the teaser.

12. Do each of your products suggest the
same genre? – Promotional Poster
The final promotional package does present the same genre of our teaser over all of the
marketing and promotion platforms through the way that we established and created our
individual brand identity which was present within our poster, cover and teaser trailer.
In terms of our promotional poster, our genre of a thriller romance is clearly being
established through the use of colour, composition and proxemics of the characters to one
another. The way in which the poster promotes and sells the component of thriller and
mystery is through the use of creative lighting in which we used two light sources which
come from both sides, the left and right, of the page to not only illuminate our characters
but also cast purposeful shadows onto our characters, Damian, which in turn adds a
sinister element to this character. In addition to the lighting, by adding the faint blood
spatter over the entirety of the poster which was deliberately covering the character
Damian’s face it reinforces the sinister side of this character and it is this character that is
offering the elements of horror, blood and mystery to the film as the other two characters
have purposely been composed above of the blood to connote the idea that they have no
blood on their hands showing the innocence of these two characters.
On the contrary, the essence of romance and love is also present on the poster not only
through the use of red to connote the idea of amorousness and being sensual, but also
through the proxemics of the characters. The main female protagonist is seen to be in the
middle as well as the foreground in the poste as if to suggest she has relations to both of
these characters as well as dividing these two characters up. Furthermore, the female
character is composed to be facing the male protagonist character which in turn suggests
she is more involved with this character and discarding the other character.

13. Do each of your products suggest
the same genre? – Magazine Cover
Looking at the magazine cover that as a group we created for the
highly successful ‘Empire’ magazine as this company was most
relevant in terms to their house style and what films they promote
in terms of genre. The way in which this product successfully shows
the same genre in comparison to the teaser and the poster is
through the main image that has been used which is of our main
protagonist character, Rose.
On the contrary, the magazine cover focuses more on the romance
aspect of our teaser through the main image as well as the lighter
colour and background used as well as the consistent use of a light
red to suggest romance and love. However, the essence of the
thriller side of the genre is shown through the main tagline which
hints to the breakdown in relationships of the character shown.
Furthermore, the taglines also reflect our brand identity as it
focuses on our characters as it offers an exclusive interview with
our main protagonist as well as with the director for the film.

14. Do each of your products suggest the
same genre? – Teaser Trailer
The final cut of the teaser trailer accurately displays the same genre that
the marketing products suggests in an equal balance throughout of the
teaser. The elements of the romance part of the genre is present
whenever the overall colour and exposure of the teaser is lighter in tone
to be synchronous with the budding romance between the two
protagonist. Furthermore, the red scarf that is worn by the female
protagonist also plays a large role in suggesting romance and love as it was
given to her by mother.
On the other hand, the thriller elements are present within the teaser also
through the use of props as from the beginning as a blade was shown to be
the murder weapon as well as fake stage blood to connote the bloody,
cold-blooded murder. Also, thriller aspects were shown through darker
lighting and more experimental camera angles such as hand held shots as
well as being shown within the montage scenes.

16. Do each of your products suggest the
same narrative themes?
When creating and showing a particular narrative, each media product successfully represents the
same narrative in order to promote and advertise the film using different techniques and processes. In
terms of the teaser, the narrative is the key element in order to sell the film as this is where the
introduction and portrayal of the key characters is vital in order to show the relations that these
characters have to one another as well as how they contribute to the plot and how they show the
genre. The main thing that needs to be translated from on screen to our audience is the idea of
thriller and mystery through the portrayal of the alter-ego of our male character which is best
reflected through the bathroom mirror scene. Furthermore, the teaser also follows the same narrative
as it shown the disruption of the equilibrium through the breakdown of the relationship between the
two main characters as well as the killings.
In terms of the promotional poster, the narrative of the teaser is being well reflected as both the
romance and the thriller aspects are being represented and advertised within the poster through the
use of the blood spatter to connote the blood and murder as well as the proxemics and body language
between the male and female character as if to suggest romance between these characters.
Finally, when looking at the magazine cover, the narrative that is being shown in both the teaser
trailer and promotional poster is also being shown as it shows the romance through the main image
and the thriller elements through the main tagline and also the use of the red.

18. Do each of your products represent
characters in similar ways?
The overall promotional package show the characteristics and personality of each
of the characters in order to show the genre and their relations to one another. In
order to create a successful package, the characters needs to be promoted and
represented in the same way so that there is character development whilst not
confusing the audience by drastically and overcomplicating the characters.
Looking at the trailer, the main protagonist character, Rose, is displayed
throughout of the teaser to be a vulnerable and weaker character when compared
against the antagonist of the film, however, she challenges these conventions and
stigma of female characters being ‘powerless’ and the ‘damsel in distress’
through the way that she is determined who is not afraid to take control over
situations; this is also displayed within the promotional poster as she is composed
between the two male characters as if to suggest she is driving a wedge between
these two characters and complicating the situation. On the other hand, the
expression of this character on the post contradicts this idea as she looks worried
and scared as she faces away from the antagonist as if to suggest she is perhaps
scared or powerless against this character. When looking at the cover of the
magazine, it focuses more on the romantic element of the teaser in which Rose is
subsequently being used as a passionate and sensual icon to reflect these ideals.

20. Do each of your products represent
characters in similar ways?
When looking at the male characters within the teaser, both Damian and Alec are
portrayed as a typical male character who has the most power. But when
comparing these two characters to one another, it is evident that Damian has the
most power and ‘laddish’ behaviour whereas Alec is seen to be more reserved and
defenceless in the hands of Damian. This relationship between these two
characters becomes evident in the bathroom scene where Alec’s mannerisms and
language is visibly frightened, whereas Damian is seen as sinister and dominant.
This relationship is also translated onto the poster as each character is seen on
opposite sides from one another as well as facing out from each other as if to
suggest the disconnect and miscommunication of these characters. Subsequently,
Damian is casted more into shadow and having blood spatter over his face to
enhance his character of being an impulsive cold blooded killer. Where on the
other hand, Alec is seen in the light as well as having the female character facing
him to suggest his innocence and budding romance.

21. DAMIAN ALEC

22. Do each of your three products clearly 'speak'
to and appeal to the same target audience?
As a group, we aimed to promote our teaser trailer and promotional package
towards male and females between the ages of roughly between 15-25 year olds.
The reason as to why we chose this audience to promote to as this was the highest
percentage of demographic who are interested in both romance and thriller films
as well as sub and hybrid genres. We have effectively created a conversation
between ourselves and our audience through the way that within the teaser, both
romance and thriller themes are equally shown throughout the duration of the
teaser in addition to also showing elements of the murder scenes, budding
relationships and mystery. When conducting our audience research, it was evident
that women are more attracted to romance films whereas men are more
interested in thriller, crime and mystery films; so by combining these two genres
together we are able to wider our demographic in order to attract a mass
audience rather than a niche audience that a romance or thriller genre attracts.

24. Do each of your three products clearly 'speak'
to and appeal to the same target audience?
Both the promotional poster and magazine cover further appeals to the same
target audience as both of these elements combined both genres of romance and
thriller. However, when first looking at the promotional poster, it seems more as a
thriller film which successively will attract our male viewers, whereas the
magazine cover focuses more on romance which will interest the female
demographic. Although both of these products do host both genres, they are more
lenient towards one genre in order to keep the design simple and understandable.
When looking at both the promotional poster and the magazine cover, the use of
language that has been used in consistent throughout as it uses basic language
and text without using long and complicated words which will appeal to our
younger audience as they will understand what is written. Also within the cover, it
also features quotes and rhetorical questions which are successful with this
demographic as it intrigues this audience and makes them really think about the
question and apply it to their lives to come up with an answer. This language is
also reflective within the teaser as we used very limited and short phrases on the
titles to reflect the narrative to keep it short and basic.