The document discusses how the filmmaker's ancillary tasks of a film review and poster relate to and reflect the themes of their short film as the main task. Specifically, the review breaks down the film's themes effectively by providing context and comparing the film's issues to historical problems. The minimalist poster represents the film's themes of instability and change through its irregular fonts and simplistic design, informing audiences while maintaining mystery. Both ancillary tasks were designed to clearly reflect the same themes of education portrayed in the short film.

2. REVIEW

3. How does my review inform
my audience about my film?
One of the main elements that
informed audiences was the
combination of layout elements and
the way that the review was actually
written . On one side of the page is a
review of the film, and the effects
that the film has, and then on the
other side, an impartial synopsis of
the films overall plot. By placing the
two next to each-other, it gives the
viewer a chance to look at both, and
make a reasoned judgment on what
they think of the actual film, instead
of being simply told what to think.

4. How does the way that the
poster attracts people differ
to the way that the poster
does?
Both the poster and the review share very
similar aspects; both have reliance on layout,
aesthetics and content. However, this is to
different purposes, and shown to achieve
different things. For example, the poster is used
as a marketing device; it is mainly seen by
people who have never seen the film, and acts
as an anchor, drawing people towards the actual
film. However, the review is something that is
seen potentially after the poster is seen. The
poster could be seen as cursory, whereas the
review is much more in depth, providing
detailed information for the audience to make a
reasoned judgment. Differences between the
two are obvious; one (the review) has may more
words on it, and depends on content much more
than looks.

5. Is my review in any way
biased and what might
impact of that be?
Bias, in a review written by myself
and about a film created by
myself, is going to be obvious and
apparent. I believe that bias in a
review of this manner is something
that is unavoidable. However, I did
try to minimise this. An impact of
this could be that the audience
may feel that the review panders
to the film, and could deter the
audience from watching the film
entirely.

6. From reading the
review, what do we
learn/understand about the
genre of/audience for/
director’s rationale for the
film?
One of the things that is detailed
in the review is the context of the
film, and the way in which I have
tried to make the point of the film.
I wanted the rationale of the film
to be clear; I wanted to be clear
that I was trying to make a point
with the film…

7. How effectively does the
film review break down the
themes and issues of my
film?
I believe that the the review breaks
down the issues behind my film
effectively, as it provides a number
of things. One of those things is a
contextual look at the film; it
compares the film’s problems to
those that existed further back in
history, and as a result, gives the
audience a more reasoned look at
the issues of the film, and how
long those issues may have been
around for.

8. POSTER

9. From looking at the
poster, what do we understand
about the audience of the film?
One of the things that is communicated
by the poster is a sense of youth. I used
irregular fonts to connote a sense of
irregularity; something that is normally
synonymous with the in’s and out’s of
teenage life. The sans serif fonts that I
used create an irregularity in the poster,
meaning that the design has a much more
modern feel to it. The simplistic colors
used also mean that the main points of
the design stand out, and each part
complements another. For example, the
red of the graphic helps to create a point
of interest in the poster, drawing the
viewer in

10. How effectively does the poster
represent the themes and issues
of the film?
One of the things that I tried to represent
in my film was the instability of youth; a
culture that has been existent for years
and years is slowly being turned on it’s
head, and I think that this scares people.
Change is difficult to accustom to,
especially when something that you may
have gone through has now disappeared,
and has become irrelevant. The sans serif
font that I used was used to show that
instability and organic style of change.

11. How far and how effectively
does the poster reflect the style
of the film?
I tried to represent a minimalist nature in
the design of my poster; by only using
clean colours such as white, black or
crimson, I wanted to keep as much of the
viewer’s attention on the poster as
possible. The minimalist style of the
poster co-ordinates with the style of my
film, as it could be said that the style of
my film is also very minimalist. Close
coverage during a large portion of the film
means that I was able to create certain
connotations and deeper meanings in my
film, as well as retain a certain aesthetic
quality, such as overexposing natural
sunlight in camera to create a sense of
isolation.

12. How does my poster inform my
audience about my film?
There are a number of elements that I have
employed in order to make sure that the
audience knows about my film, but at the
same time, retains a degree of mystery/ For
example, the central graphic (a pot of glue)
has certain connotations, such as a role
within education, etc. An audience member
may be guessing, but will not know what the
glue actually represents until they see the
film or read the review, thus creating a
synergy between the three. Awards banners
at the top signify that the film has been
nominated for an award of some sort,
whereas quotes to either side of the graphic
from media professionals mean that the
audience will believe what is said, as it is
from a trusted source.

13. How effectively does the poster
advertise the film?
One of the things that I tried to achieve
when designing the poster was to create
something that had impact. Instead of
having a number of elements dotted
around the page, I wanted to focus the
viewer’s attention on one point, and then
base other elements around that one
point. For example, the title, directly
below the graphic, means that a viewer
looks directly from one to the other. This
means that the viewer works their way
around the poster and as a result, sees
everything, as opposed to only a few
minor details. Bright , but played-down
, colours are used to divert attention.

14. What preconceptions does the
poster develop in the mind of
the viewer?
One preconception that immediately
springs to mind when looking at my
poster from the eyes of a first time viewer
is that it looks fairly alternative; in that
the color scheme used, the layout, type
faces etc are all non-standard. Many
mainstream films do not use layouts in
this manner because they give too little
away. However, because my film is away
from mainstream entertainment, I can do
just that; I can give away as much or as
little as I desire in the design. Another
preconception could be that the film
revolves around children, what with the
child like font used for the main title of
the poster.

15. SHORT

16. What thematic elements
are common to both the
main and ancillary tasks?
One of the main thematic elements that runs through both the ancillary and
main tasks is a theme of education. I tried to explore them differently in both the
main and ancillary tasks. For example, by only using one graphic in the ancillary
task means that the element gains an atmosphere of simplicity. This is also
something that I wanted to pull through to my main task. The main graphic of
the poster is something that has been changed in post production (Photoshop) is
something tat was done to create a different representation; changing the colors
and turning it into something that isn’t as recognizable is something that I
wanted to portray in my film.

17. How do my ancillary tasks
impact on my main task?
When creating both of my ancillary tasks, a big part
of that creation impacted upon the creation of my
short film. For example, when creating the poster, I
had to make sure that what was being represented
in the poster was synonymous with what was being
represented in the film. I wanted to make sure that
the same themes and issues ran through each
element of the production process.

18. Are my ancillary tasks a clear
reflection on my main product?
The ancillary tasks, the poster in particular, was designed to explain the same
themes and issues as are present in the main task. For example, the simplicity
and layout of the poster that I created was designed to divert the film’s
atmosphere away from other mainstream films, and create the impression that
my film is a more independent film, which it is. Working under the genre of social
realism, I wanted to show that my film had this connection to the ancillary task,
and that the connected elements have all built onto each-other.