Ancillary Research

1. ADDITIONAL
ANCILLARY RESEARCH
Ronan Johnson

2. FILM REVIEW
Layout:
The text in these kinds of film reviews is positioned
around the sides of the page, usually from the left to
the bottom, and is typically placed around the main
image of the page, as well as a few of the smaller
ones. This could be so that it keeps the page looking
neat, organised and continuous, as well as still
putting focus into where it needs to be. The quotes of
text are usually placed within or around the main
bodies of text, at a point where they are still
relevant to what is being discussed. These quotes
are used as a way of immediately showing the
audience an extract of important parts of the text.

3. Text Font/Colour:
The font for the text in film reviews tends to just be quite plain and simple. This
makes it clear to understand for an audience, meaning they can get all the
information they need from it, easily. The titles for the articles usually are done in a
different font to the rest of the page so that they stand out, and the font is typically
picked so that it relates to the genre or plot of the film in some way. When it comes to
the colours of the text, it is usually just black on some sort of lighter background, so
that it contrasts and stand out against it. This, once again, reinforces the idea that it
is supposed to be clear and easy to read for an audience.

4. Images:
Film reviews always include the use of a main image, that tends takes up a majority of the page,
when compared to other aspects, making it one of the main focuses of the page. This main image
usually shows an interesting or significant scene from the film that can end up acting as an
image that the audience find almost iconic, since they will associate this particular picture with
the film immediately. Also, there are smaller images that are usually used throughout the review
page too and these tend to be images that are more relevant to the areas of text they are placed
around, so as to give a visual image for what has being written about. These images, both the
larger, main one and the smaller ones, are usually accompanied by captions that just give a little
bit more information about what is being shown, so that the audience will understand clearly
why the image is relevant and why it is being shown.

5. POSTER
Text Font/Colour
In many horror film posters, the film title is the main focus and
because of this, it is typically made to stand out through various
techniques. The colour of the title tends to relate to both the plot of
the film, as well as the genre. In the case shown, the title ‘Sinister’ is
done in a very dark black/red colour which reflects the genre of horror
and connotes ideas of blood, danger and evil. Titles sometimes have
effects used for them too, which can further add to and reinforce many
ideas about genre and plot, for example, with ‘Sinister’ the title has a
reflective effect put on the text which can suggest that it’s like it’s
either worn and dirty or that it’s dripping blood. The text is usually a
colour that stands out against the background, meaning becomes a
focus point of attention for the audience, since it contrasts so much.
The other text on the poster tends to be more simple in both colour
and font.

6. SOME EXAMPLES OF RELEVANT POSTERS
Here are some examples of horror posters I have found, that I feel represent the horror genre
of supernatural and psychological the best, in terms of what I want to try and create. From
looking at these, I can see that many posters of this kind tend to have the outer edges of the
poster be a dark colour, mostly black, which then fades into the main focus of the poster.
These posters also have the main focus of the image, positioned in the centre of the poster.
Both the title font and the images used, are in relation to the film itself and what the title
suggests, making them very relevant.