Explaining the conventions of my ancillary products.

1. Conventions of my
Ancillary Products
This presentation explains the conventions of my products

2. Ultimate Film Magazine
From my research, I understood that it is
conventional for the masthead to be placed across
the top of the page, taking up all of the
space, rather than being pushed to the left. I
applied this convention to my magazine because it
allows for a larger masthead, which grabs more
attention. I applied the conventional use of the
bold sans serif font for the same reason, to refine
the quality of the magazine and enhance its
aesthetics in the eyes of a potential reader.
I have included the actor in my image in a
medium shot. My research suggested that
it was conventional to do this, or to use a
medium close-up. I chose the latter
because I felt the inclusion of his arms
would make him look more in character.
He is the antagonist, and I felt that the
medium shot’s relationship with the colour
on this magazine would work together to
create a product that reflects the tone of
the movie it concerns.
Three coverlines, as well as the coverstory, have
been aligned to make use of the left third of the
front cover. The vast majority of magazines that I
have observed have made use of this convention,
because it gives order to the front cover and
doesn’t make it seem cluttered, which will
obviously put the reader off the magazine. By
making use of the left third, my front cover looks
ordered, professional, clean and aesthetically
pleasing. These are important qualities to any
successful magazine.
I have used key words on my magazine such as
exclusive to enhance the appeal of my magazine
to customers. All magazines use such words
because it makes them seem better than
competitors. To a fan of Fatal Silence, seeing the
word exclusive above the coverstory enhances
the appeal of my magazine. They know that they
cannot get this interview anywhere else, so they
will be more inclined to buy my magazine, which
boosts sales. This is a conventional application of
an enticing word.
My magazine applies the use of the route of
the eye. All text has been placed in the line
that the eye naturally takes as it glances at
the magazine. This technique is conventional
because it is an added convenience to the
reader, and makes all information clear
because of its positioning. The route of the
eye explains why I have placed coverlines at
the top and bottom, on the top right and
lower left. They convenience the reader and
boost the professionalism of the front cover
as a result.
The coverlines at the top and bottom of the
page appear to bookend the magazine, giving
a sense of order and logic to my front cover.
They both make use of the route of the
eye, which results in important pieces of text
being in positions that are eye catching to
potential customers.
I have applied colour in such a way that it
captures the essence of the film that it
features. Fatal Silence is a thriller with set
in a setting which very real elements of
danger. The red text is employed to
connote that danger which is shown in my
trailer. The misty background has also
been employed in this way, to capture that
chilling thrill that is emitted from a thriller
film. My magazine has thus clearly made
use of the convention of modifying its
colour scheme to suit the feeling of the
film involved on its front cover.

3. Fatal Silence Magazine Poster
My research told me that the vast majority of film
posters contain a slogan of some sort. Additionally,
I found that slogans are typically placed at the top
of a poster, so with that in mind, I decided to apply
the same technique to my poster. I chose the
words ‘You were warned’ because it reflects the
tone of the film, i.e. to have an element of mystery
which is another convention. So by putting one
single component onto my poster, I have covered
three conventions.
I made use of another convention by
using the setting in the backdrop to the
poster. I wanted the actor to be
standing in a pose, which I interpreted
as a convention, but I knew the
inclusion of the setting also is a
convention because it adds insight into
the nature of the film. I added mist in
front of the film to heighten the chill
effect that is created by thriller films.
Usually, one or two leading actors are
featured on the poster, to add an
additional wow factor that can draw in
potential customers. It is proven that
actors draw in fans, therefore I had to
include this vital detail. The question of
where to put the names of the actors was
also solved by convention. Actor names
are conventionally placed immediately
above the title of the film. The reason for
this is so that they draw attention to one
another.
I also discovered from research that posters tend to
use a medium close-up or close-up shot of a main
actor from the film. I have decided on this
approach too. No-one wants to see a poster with
an actor who makes a cameo. It simply wouldn’t be
interesting. I applied some editing to the
image, making the actor’s eyes a more overstated
shade of red to reflect his role as the antagonist.
This is conventional only on the basis that it gives
the image a sense of reflection. It reflects the tone
of the film.
Another obvious convention that I have made
use of is the inclusion of ‘building block’ credits
on the poster. I stuck closely to convention,
using the typical agency font and making the
credits small. This indicates that it is intended
that the credits should not be the most
important piece of text on the poster. I chose
also to format it in a grey font to reinforce the
intended role of the credits. The convention is
that they are necessary, but not important.
I noticed that most posters include an age
rating and other logos on the bottom of the
poster. The age rating has been included
along side a sound company logo, and two
production company logos, including that of
New Line. This is convenient information for
the reader should they wish to know it, but
to the casual observer, this information may
not be important, so I followed convention
and made these logos smaller and
formatted in a colour that does not
immediately catch the eye.
I added the date that the film is released
to cinemas. Convention stated that this
information be necessary because the
whole point of a poster is to advertise a
movie. Readers want to know when the
film comes out, so I had to include a date. I
chose to format it in a red font, and make
it larger than the surrounding logos and
text, which ensured that it would draw
greater attention from the eye.