The document discusses the creation of three promotional pieces - a website, poster, and trailer - for a horror film called "Midnight Messenger" as part of an A-level media studies project. Key points: - The pieces were designed to have a consistent "house style" using the font Trajan Pro and a color scheme of red, white, and black to clearly link them. - The poster conveys the film's supernatural subgenre through imagery of a clock set to midnight and strategic use of the three colors. - The interactive website effectively promotes the film to its target teenage/young adult audience through social media links and moving images. - The trailer builds suspense through a mont

1. For my A2 ancillary texts and main product I had to produce a website, poster and trailer as a cross
promotion advertising a film all conveying the horror genre. I immediately wanted each of my three
pieces to have a recognisable house style in order for there to be an obvious link between all three
and a link to the horror genre. I used white Trajan pro text when writing the title ‘Midnight
Messenger’. I used this on both my website and poster. Zoe and I then looked at each other’s
posters and websites at the titles and decided to use mine for the trailer. Therefore the trailer also
included the same generic house style.
We decided on the supernatural/ psychological subgenre of the film as we believe this would most
appeal to our target audience of 15-25 year olds
Poster
I have tried to convey my subgenre through the poster. I have used a 3 colour palette of red, white
and black. I used black to show darkness and night time, when horror films are usually set. I used a
white because it shows mystery and ghostly- which links to my subgenre of supernatural. I then used
red to show anger and danger linking to the horror genre, but it is often used in slasher film posters
to connote blood, however, as my trailer isn’t a slasher I didn’t want to over use the red colour.
I used an image of a clock which set to midnight- this then links directly to the title ‘Midnight
Messenger’. This shows that it is not a slasher horror film as they mainly use weapons such as knives
or masks like shown in the Scream films.
Conventionally, the star names are at the top, then the title is underneath them and has large font
so it stands out. You can see that I have used white writing for the title, but it also has a darker
overlay. In the background of the title there is a red blood stain, I used it to show it is a horror film,
but I didn’t put it too big because my film is not a slasher.
Also I followed generic conventions of a horror film poster as I included the certificate so it was
apparent who my audience was. I also used film credits for example the film director and producer,
as this is often found on film posters. I made up a website name, and checked that it had not been
taken as it is conventional to have a website. My tagline and release date are in red so it is clear to
the audience that it is in the horror genre.
Website
My website has several interactive features which I think will aim well to a younger audience which
is my target audience. I have a twitter news feed as well as a link to both a twitter and facebook
page. There are also several moving images- the main one being a full moon which transforms into a
clock at midnight- therefore promoting the title of the film through the image. I created this on
adobe flash, along with moving images of the cast and their names and a moving tagline changing
into the release date.
I conformed to generic conventions as the title is at the top of the website, where they are usually
found in most websites. Similarly to my poster, I have used the same three colours- black white and

2. red throughout the website so it was clear that the poster and website linked. Also I looked in depth
at Scream 4’s website and they used these generic horror colours. My website also contains the
trailer, film synopsis and poster which allows the audience to fully get an idea what the film is about.
Trailer
I have used the same font- Trajan pro for the text in the trailer. I have again used the same three
colours as a way of showing a consistent house style throughout all three of my texts. Zoe and me
looked at each other’s titles and decided to use mine in the trailer. We then decided that we would
use her font for the release date which is in red as it stands out against the black background.
Conventionally in horror films, the last scene is used to make the audience jump, therefore we used
a clip showing the main character looking in the mirror and the audience can see that the horror
character, the messenger, is behind her. There then is a close-up of the messenger character,
zooming in.
We wanted to create suspense which is usually found in horror films through using a montage of
clips, increasing in speed, matched with a faint heart beat. The increase in speed is conventional as I
also viewed Scream 4’s trailer and they also used this technique to build up suspense.
Again in the trailer, we used several clips of the time at midnight to reflect our theme and linking to
both the title and the other two texts. We also used different props showing messages, which helps
reflect the name of the trailer so the audience are fully aware. We also tried to present the idea that
no one knows what the messenger is through the dialogue. This then promotes itself to the thought
that it is not human, therefore reflecting my supernatural genre.
So, through looking at each of my products, they work well individually, and are successful as a
whole package too. I have made sure that several things are repeated in all three texts such as the
title, tagline, colour scheme of red, white and black, the font- Trajan Pro and the images I used for
example the repetition of the clock. This is what professional films do in order to advertise through a
range of mediums effectively creating a whole film package, but so each piece can also advertise the
film individually.
Through looking back on the three pieces there were several parts which I was proud of. I was very
proud of what I created on adobe flash in order to go onto my website. I worked very hard to make
an image I took of the moon transform into a clock at midnight. I also liked my image I took of a
pocket watch and the way I edited it on Adobe Photoshop. Itinted the image to give it a dark look to
help put across the horror genre which comes across in the poster.
I believe my most successful piece was my website because it also advertises both the poster and
trailer in it. It is interactive which is very popular with a younger audience. Younger people today are
using the internet, therefore will be more likely to view my website.I looked at other horror film
websites such as Thirteen ghosts, and I believe my film website was on par. I also looked at Scream

3. 4’s website, and it had lots of interactivity, however I though they maybe used too much so I took
this on board when creating mine.
I think that it will also go down well with my target audience because there are links to social
networking sites so they can find out more information about the film from these sites, which will
probably appeal to them a lot more.
I think if I were to make changes to one of the texts I would change the trailer. This is because when
comparing it to other trailers such as Scream 4 and paranormal activity, it is clear that it is not
professionally made. I think that this is obviously to due to the lack of time we had to make the film.
Also professional films have large budgets and a team of experts making the trailer so can afford
props, actors and locations. What also proved difficult was that there were just two people in our
group so it was hard when using the equipment.
I have used adobe Photoshop in the making of each of the texts. Each of my three pieces had links to
photoshop. I put together all of my elements on photoshop for my poster including editing the
image and creating the text. For the website I edited the entire range of images which I used, and
then I transported them into adobe flash to make them moving images. For my trailer I created the
text in adobe photoshop as well as the title.
My website targets the audience most effectively as teenagers and young adults are increasingly
using the internet to access all relevant information so I believe that the website will probably be
viewed the most. However, YouTube is also extremely popular with a young audience so the trailer
would also be popular for our target audience.
As I created the poster and website first, this has influenced some of my decisions when creating
certain aspects of my trailer. It’s also allowed me to change some of my original ideas for the trailer,
for example, I decided to highlight the theme of a clock at midnight in the trailer, more than I may
have done if I hadn’t produced the website and poster as they both contained images of clocks. I
also think it influenced my decision to use Trajan Pro in the trailer as I wanted to convey a consistent
style throughout all three pieces.
I believe my skills have developed vastly through the entire A2 media year. At the start of the year I
was totally new to using adobe premiere. However, now I feel confident that I could use it again in
the future through my experience of editing the trailer. I also had not previously used the camera
equipment so I enjoyed this experience as it has increased my skills in this area. Also, although I
vaguely knew how to use adobe flash, through creating the website, I have definitely enhanced my
skills in adobe flash.