Evaluation Question 2

1. HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE
COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN
PRODUCT AND ANCILLARY TEXTS?
QUESTION 2

2. Main Product: Five Minute Film
Ancillary Texts: Film Poster, Magazine Review
Our main product was the result of intense planning and preparation. We researched many other films in
the thriller/horror genre and wanted to implements its conventions into our own film. It was important to
ensure that these conventions was spread amongst all our courseworks to reinstate the effectiveness of
portraying our genre. Our first production was the film which meant the subsequent ancillary texts had to
match well with the film. Before producing any of the texts, we wanted to ensure that our protagonist was
the primary subjects of all the texts because he will be the symbol of whole project. It was also important to
add conventions of the hybrid thriller/horror genre on all our texts to target our desired audience.
Ultimately, we decided that all our texts must include the protagonist and have a gloomy atmosphere. The
gloomy atmosphere is a key convention of the horror genre and will promote mystery and uncertainty. This
will be the driving force to attracting an audience.

3. COMBINATION OF FILM AND POSTER
The film and poster follow conventions from the hybrid genre of thriller/horror. It was important to
firstly create a connection between the film and the poster because they would be part of one ultimate
product. Because the audience would see a film poster before they see an actual film, we had to
handpick certain features from the film and implement it in the poster.
The film and poster are both texts that are revolved around the primary sense of vision; ‘What you see
is what you take in’. For this reason, visual stimuli had to be prioritised which meant attracting an
audience relied on making both the film and poster visually appeasing. We decided to create a gloomy
setting for both pieces. In the film, we used editing software to reduce the brightness, narrow the
contrast and altered the ‘heat slider’. What this produced on screen was a slightly dark and blue image.
Similarly., our poster uses the same technique: a slightly dark and blue image. However, to emphasise
the importance of the school, we made the top portion of the poster (the sky) brighter. Also, the poster
gets darker as you go down the image courtesy of the gradient tool.
The effect this had in respects to both texts was that they promoted an uncomfortable aura due to the
dim setting. The poster really had to embrace the gloomy atmosphere because our genre uses these
conventions to attract the audience. Making both the film and poster mysterious though the use of
shading alterations can allow our audience to wonder the twist our texts have. The mysteriousness in
both texts creates questions the audience will interpret and will encourage them to watch our film.
In evaluation, we believe the combination of our film and poster was excellent because they both share
similar features . The poster creates questions for the audience due to its ambiguous nature. This is a
key concept in our film because many questions are left unanswered such as how the antagonist
reappears in the film after being killed.

4. COMBINATION OF FILM AND MAGAZINE REVIEW
A common reason why people watch a film is due to a convincing film review they read in a magazine. Magazine
reviews are very effective texts because they are constructed to subtly persuade a reader to watch a film. They
contain mesmerising stills from the film, catchy titles and critical feedback. If a magazine review gives a positive
critique and emphasises the masterclass of aspects of the film, the reader will be tempted to watch it.
Our other text, the poster, concentrated deeply into more of the horror genre but did not particularly embrace the
rest of the hybrid genre. We exploited this gap by focusing our magazine review on the thriller side and emphasise
the action sensation of the film.
1. We chose to include just one still image from the film but have it cover almost half the page. This moment of
the film is the exact moment our protagonist meets the ‘ghost’ of the antagonist. It is an over-the-shoulder
shot and does not reveal the identity of the antagonist. This was done intentionally and its effect is that it
promotes unknown enigmas for the film.
2. In terms of the actual written review, we decided to use upbeat and positive vocabulary. In addition, we
revolved the review on the thrill factor of the story. The extract focuses on the directors tendency to leave
parts of the story unexplored and diverting the plot in fluent fashion. This compliments the film because the
audience will already be aware of the horror side of our film but emphasising that the film also has action will
give the reader even more reasons to watch the film.
3. Furthermore, we included additional text boxes on our magazine review page dedicated for a catchy phrase to
compliment the film and a critical verdict of the film. Both were made positive and included persuasive
language to tempt the reader to watch the film. This will convince our audience because by focusing on the
details we had not previously covered in the poster, we provided a different viewpoint of what our film has to
offer. This will attract audience of both horror fans and thriller fans.