1. HOW EFFECTIVE WAS THE
COMBINATION OF THE MAIN
AND ANCILLARY TASK?
Melissa Moon
2. Continuity
I used three products in which made up my production package and these included a
poster, magazine and a teaser trailer. The combinations of these three products as a whole
were quite effective mainly because I had used continuity throughout my products in relation
to the font, and also the colours and it seems to show a sequence or trend. I also felt as a
combination my package had reached my potential focus audience by using elements in
which would appeal to them specifically, in this case it would have been aimed at females
between the ages of 16-24 or 45+. However, from my textual research combined with both
sets of my audience research I had tried to aim my products at a wider audience with mixed
gender and age sets. To do this, throughout my products I used a mixture of features in
which would appeal to all ages and genders rather than appealing more to one gender, yet I
decided I would keep my actors the same in order to make the products recognisable in
relation to what is being advertised, and shows how the products link together. I had used
actors in which were of both genders and had a range of ages so that there were characters
in which the majority of people could relate to, or link in with the products themselves. I had
used the two main characters throughout to show some of the narrative in a way but also to
show the importance of these in comparison to the rest of the characters, showing them in
the same part of the frame to signify them as being equals.
3. Audience
I think that my products could possibly attract a wider audience due to the fact that the concept
of falling in love and facing the obstacles could appeal to anyone generally. An older
audience could feel connected to it as something that has happened, or possibly just for the
feel good factor whereas a younger audience could feel either alienated or connected to
this. This could be the case as females of a younger age would feel connected due to the
typical fairytales they have been told, whereas males do not have this barrier. The decisions
I had made were all based on the audience research in which I had carried out and I had
asked questions such as “What makes Romantic Drama products appealing?” and “What
do you expect of the Romantic Drama genre?” and this is when I used the feedback of both
“Colours, loving poses” and “happy endings, obstacles”. This was the reason in which I had
used a three colour palette with a mixture of showing both the good and bad sides of falling
in love, and I had done this by using a poster which shows distance, and a magazine that
shows love alongside a trailer in which shows both. From previous research I had seen they
had all used curly, red and pink fonts but I did not want to do this, as I had found people
wanted something new so I had challenged the typical conventions of a romantic drama.
4. Themes
Throughout my products I had constant running themes, such as the stereotypical differences
between the two characters like in „It‟s a boy girl thing‟. The costumes on my poster show a
well off female and a normal male and shows them falling in love, possibly. However, unlike
stereotypical posters that either show love or rivalry I have chosen to show the obstacles.
However, by doing this I think the products link well together because the costumes connote
the personality of the two characters in which are shown in the trailer more in detail. The
magazine however shows a totally different side to it all. The main theme in a stereotypical
professional romantic drama is two young likeable characters falling in love with each
other, yet there is complications like an ex and in the end it all ends well. I chose to replicate
this rather than challenge it because without the good ending, the feel good factor also
fades. Instead of using the theme of it being set in a high school or on a beach I had used
everyday locations so that it looks just like a natural occurrence so that a wider audience
could relate to the situation and feel more emotionally connected to the characters and this
is an important factor overall.
5. USP (Unique Selling Point)
Overall, the three products work better in combination because they all show how they link
directly in with each other and it allows the audience to see more into the film, and also
entices them by doing so. I feel that my products do have a USP in relation to others of the
same genre, it shows that it is unique by challenging the typical forms and conventions and
thus meaning that the audience is getting something new, in which I found from my
audience research is what they had wanted. One of the biggest USP factors in my products
could be in the way in which my photography was not edited in order to make it look more
realistic, and natural. Even though I had followed some forms and conventions of
professional texts, I had also challenged other features such as the music type, and also
the locations and I think this is the main USP as I have made it unique.
6. Other ways of promotion
There would be other methods in which could be used to promote my film to the mainstream
audience, the main reason being advertising on social websites such as facebook because
this is where my desired audience (Females, 16-25) could most likely be found and due to
the idea my products were based on a midstream budget this means another way of
advertising could be using billboards in highly populated town centres, and on the sides of
buses for example. However, when it comes to the trailer it would be beneficial to play this
type of trailer in mainstream cinemas during film showing of a similar genre and this is due
to the idea it would show more awareness of the film itself.
However, overall I did think my three products did make a largely effective combination rather
than just a single product because it gives more away as more products are released.