This is my evaluation question for my three products of my main task, my poster and my film review, describing how they synergise

1. How/Why do my three products
synergise and what is the
effect/significance of this synergy?
Joseph Cross

2. Poster

3. This leads us in to genre too. The usage of a
Poster
This can represent the audience teenager, asleep on his work and his posters,
of the film in a sense, it can be reflects that he will be a teenage student, but
interpreted so that the film is the heart he has drawn with a question mark in
aimed at a teenage audience, but the centre also represents the love interest of
an older one because the teen in the character.
the picture is studying
psychology, which is a subject
taken on mainly at A-Level, and if
you delve deeper, the use of
poster depicting ‘alternative’ This leads us to first
idols and music festivals, it is believe that it could be a
aimed at the alternative youth teenage romance story.
subculture. But if you look deeper
there’s more to it, such
as the fact he is working
on loads of poster’s for
what could be classed as
It could bring in elements from an ‘alternative’ style of
loads of places. I wanted to music. So it’s a teenage
bring in the drama genre a lot alternative love story, but
with a mix of social realism but this can’t be truly decided
it may not be very obvious because the tag line
from the poster, however i did leaves the whole genre
plan it this way. Due to my film representation down to
only being a short, i didn’t give interpretation.
away to much too quickly in my
film and i wanted to keep this We learn from the poster that the style of the film will
true to the poster. So i only be rather bleak in it’s outlook, this can be implied from
gave up information as i felt the tagline, it begins with a statement about how it
was necessary to draw in the gets difficult to be accepted, so the audience can infer
audience and intrigue them that this will be a theme of the film, then the following
enough to watch the film. statement about love is harder, can be inferred by the
audience that romance will become a theme of the
film too.

4. The themes and issues are represented very subtly in the poster.
The posters the teenager is
sleeping on in the poster, also sets
up a theme; ‘the alternative teen’
this could be interpreted in a
The theme of age and
couple of ways by the audience, in
growing up, is represented
the form that it could turn in to
through the youth asleep on
an issue, because of the ‘outsider’
his studies. But this is paired
representation of the teens who
with the issue of balance,
are classed as alternative, and this
which you also learn as part
paired with the tagline, could link
of growing up, this is shown
to the acceptance theme, and
through his note pad actually
there could be conflict revolving
being more taken over by a
around that, or that this is going
mysterious love interest,
to be an alternative love story,
rather than work.
due to some of the romance
elements in the poster. This links
This idea of growing up
back to Milgrom’s as she stated
and balancing work, and
with social realism shorts it’s best
romance is also
to only reveal what you have to,
supported by the tagline;
in order to keep your audience
‘Acceptance is hard.
interested.
Love is harder.’
The tagline also sets us up for a potential theme that The tagline then proceeds to set up another theme, of
could occur in the film, that is of acceptance, this a love interest, but it could also be his lack of a love
could be by anyone, like his family or his peers for interest too, this is down to viewer interpretation,
example. But as following the conventions of social which relates back to Milgrom’s theory, because i am
realist shorts, i didn’t want to reveal everything intriguing the audience to want to find out what
straight away, i just wanted to intrigue my audience happens, because the only thing they can be sure of is
at first. that love/romance will be present within the film.

5. The poster reflects the style of the film.
The poster reflects what I was trying to achieve in terms of character
development, as my film is very heavy on character development as a
main part of it’s structure.
The use of the brighter light on
the character and his posters
and work could be interpreted
in the way that these are the
important things on his mind at
this point in time.
The use of dark lighting, to
surround the main attraction
of the poster, which is the
teen and his work space, can
represent the dark cloudiness
and confusion in this
characters mind.
This leads us in to a point on
that because of his two open
books, and the fact they are in a
brighter light in the centre of
The use of costume and the poster, could be used to
make up also represent is show that the character is a
the character style, the long quite studious one.
hair and dark hoodie can be
representative of the
‘alternative’ or ‘emo’
subculture.
This is supported by the use of the alternative band and festival posters
underneath his work, these create a stronger link that this character is going to
be part of one these small subcultures, at some point in the film.

6. Audience
The reviews at the
top of the poster
can inform the
audience choice to The characters work book,
see the film due to shows hints at a love interest,
positive reviews. informing the audience that
there will possibly be elements
of romance in the film.
The actors names inform
the audience, that because
they have never heard of
them before, they will be The posters the character is
new/untrained actors. working on top of inform the
audience that the character is
going to be part of an
‘alternative’ subculture.
The character in the poster is a The tag line informs the audience
male, informing the audience that that acceptance will also be
the main character will be male. present as an issue in the film.
The credits at the bottom of the poster show, that the director
also, did most of the other work, informing the audience that
this was a low budget production, because of the low amount of
crew.

7. Promotion The use of reviews at the top of the page, promote the film to the viewer, as the guardian is a
well respected newspaper, and has been established for years. This instills confidence in the
viewer that the review is reliable and the film is good, so therefore the audience will think it’s
worth a watch.
The release date defines a The use of my name as
certain time for the viewer director, plus the use of ‘new
to expect the film, but it film’ gives the audience a way
also draws out it’s release of perceiving that i have
allowing for the build up of already created works and
anticipation, and also could be an established
therefore allowing for director, this promotes my
more promotion if needed. film in the shape that, they can
go back and watch my
previous works, to get a
The use of actor’s names better sense of what they are
promotes the film as a to expect from this film.
relatively new social realist
piece as the actor’s names The use of production
haven’t been seen before on a company logos, also promotes
film poster, but this allows for the film, because they have film
the audience to wider then back catalogues that could be
actor scope. It also promotes considered very good short
the actors solo work if they films, that are worth watching,
have done any previously. so for this film to be added to
it’s roster promotes the film
When reading the production credits at the bottom of the poster, it tot he viewer as it was deemed
promotes my film as a small budget piece to the viewer, in the sense that a good enough film to join the
apart from two names, pretty much all the work has been left to me, production companies ranks.
whilst also acting director. It also promotes the other two names,,
because if the viewer thinks that they have done a very good job at their
position, they will look out for them in other films.

8. Viewer Preconceptions
The reviews create a The films title causes the audience to develop a preconception, that a question has been asked or the
preconception that the filmcharacter could be waiting for an answer to something, which could be running through the film as a
has been viewed, reviewed,theme.
and deemed as worthy of
four stars instilling The books and notebook
confidence in the audience. on the floor in the poster,
cause the audience to
develop the preconception
The use of the ‘alternative’ that the main character
band and festival posters will be a student, in his
have been used to create late teens, due to the fact
the viewer preconception he is studying psychology.
that this is going to
contain an ‘alternative’
main character or
The use of the love heart
characters.
drawn in the notebook,
containing a question mark,
causes the viewer to get a
preconception, that the film
could include a love interest.
The production credits, and production company logos, cause the viewer The use of the cryptic tagline, cases
preconception that this is a low budget film because the director has also a viewer preconception that the film
done pretty much every other job on the film, whilst the production could possibly contain themes of
company logos cause the viewer preconception that the film has been acceptance and romance, and the
picked up by production companies that have already been established romance point is backed up by the
and that ave also created films films before to a high standard. heart drawn in the notebook.

9. Review

10. Review The review informs the viewer about many things.
It informs the viewer about the title, the filming location, director, main
actors and it’s run time and certification, all in the first little part of the
review, it’s not even a paragraph and it’s extremely informative.
The review delves deep in to the film itself reading
in to the deeper meanings of the film, whilst
analysing the effectiveness of shots and also
analysing the acting and the directing. Whilst all the
time being able to draw upon, previous knowledge
of other films that could relate to this and using
specific examples of similar scenes, to improve the
reader’s understanding of what happens in the film.
The review also sets up the credits so they are
separate from the rest of the view, as such to
inform the viewer, who has worked on the film,
pre and post production, plus who also acted
and starred in the film.
The synopsis is set aside from the review, so that it is able to inform the
reader of a small idea of what actually happens within the short film,
before they read the interview, so that they can have a better
understanding when reading.

11. The review attracts the audience
differently from the poster because it’s
less visual based and more text based. Less Visuals
Mo
re
Te
xt
Functionally, it’s got a very easy to follow
layout, and everything that needs to be read
or had attention drawn to has been
highlighted, and when compared to the post, Everyth
ing that
where the poster has a layout but it hasn’t needed ha
to have s
highligh b
been massively highlighted or and you aren’t ted suc een
the Cre h as
shown where you need to read in to, that’s dit
and Cap s, Synopsis
up to viewer interpretation, where as this is tio
been hig n have
shown so you can follow it properly and have hlighted
made b an d
old.
it all laid out easily and plainly so you can
make your own judgement as a viewer.
Purpose wise, it is there to give a better
overall view of the film to the reader. It
has not been designed and written for
casual readers, it has been written for
L ex i s
fans, this is evident through it’s more p l ex
Co m
complex lexis, more in depth review of More
the writer’s previous work as well as
comparisons to other directors in the Credits Ac
knowledge
same genre/field as me, whilst also going m ent
deep in to the credits, so that the reader
can identify who did what and whether
they enjoyed it or not.
It’s main function is to inform by actually looking in
l in e
to the film and reviewing it’s critical aspects, such as Ou t
tory
the directing, acting and film making as a whole Bri ef S
rather than trying to attract it’s audience cryptically
without revealing much to hem about the story line
which in the review has been shortly and briefly
outlined in the synopsis.

12. 1
The review, when i was writing it i
tried to keep it as unbiased as 1
possible.
There are a few examples of bias in the writing
Within example 2, the phrase ‘powerfully juxtaposed’ over
exaggerates my directing/editing skill, as it was juxtaposed
but it wasn’t as powerful as it has been made out to be.
Plus furthermore the sensationalist language used, makes
out that an untrained actor has intense acting skill, which
she doesn’t, she was just good at acting, not amazing.
2
Within example 1, the phrase ‘create wonders
with’ over sensationalises my skill as a
director, overall the language used in this
paragraph over sensationalises small details to
make it seem like i have put a lot in to it.
1
Within example 3, once again language
plays a large part of making this biased, the
language is so over the top in it’s
descriptions, it makes it seems like i have
created one of the most amazing shorts
ever when in reality it’s a rather basic film,
with a basic structure and a little
complexity o the story.
The overall impact that this has on the review is a small problem but it 3
isn’t out of hand. It is typical of reviews to sensationalise certain parts of
the film, to the reviews advantage and this is what has happened here, it
may mislead a couple of naive readers, that are new to the magazine, but
considering the magazine is for a niche audience anyway, the seasoned
readers should just see right through it.

13. When reading
the review
within the first
At the end of the first
column genre is
paragraph, genre is
steadily affirmed
already stated as a social
to the reader.
realist hybrid.
In the next paragraph this is then
developed, by explaining the lead
characters social realist roots. By
referring to his previous work, ‘family
vices’ character and his social realist
roots comparing the similarities
between the two characters.
Then at the end of the paragraph which
introduces the next, starts to bring in the genre
which makes it a hybrid by explaining the failing
dramatically relationship between the male lead
and female supporting character.
The genre is then defined as drama, which is shown
through the problems with the relationship and also
the problems between their peers which are
discovered later on in the interview which reaffirms
this social realist drama hybrid genre.
Then later on, it goes on to
explain my social realist
directorial roots, and elaborates
on how the audience can pick up
on these still.

14. There are three specific paragraphs in the review
stating who the audience for the film is.
Within the first paragraph it
states how the film is delving in
to the world of teenagers,
which gives the reader an
immediate drawing towards a
teenage audience.
Then later on in the
interview whilst talking
about the location choice, it
talks about how i chose to
record in my sixth form,
which once again links it to
the teenage audience, the
sixth form would be full of
teens.
The third example, it states how
thew film is trying to represent
what teenagers go through on a
daily basis, so following Milgrom’s
theory of writing your film so that
your audience can identify with it,
the audience must be teenagers.

15. The interview also contains the
director’s rationale within it’s writing.
It’s shown in three parts of this review.
Firstly it’s shown in the first paragraph, when
it says it wants to open the doors to the
teenage world, showing the reader that the
rationale was to try and represent teenagers,
differently from the negative representation
portrayed in the general media.
Secondly it is shown when the director
is talking about how he chose the sixth
form location, this relates back to
teenagers, plus he also stated he
wanted to accurately portray the social
cliques of teens.
Thirdly it states in the paragraph that
the film makes a good stab at opening
and getting through the door to the
teenage world and gives a real
representation about what the
teenagers go through, which shows the
director’s intention.

16. Themes and Issues are Within the paragraph in
articulated, well through the second column, it
out the review, some starts to open up issues
subtly and some very further by talking about
obvious, the highlighted the bullying that some
examples are the more teens go through, and it
obvious ones, but they also starts to mention on
still achieve the alienation of social
articulation of the cliques.
themes and issues to the
reader effectively.
Themes are opened within
the first paragraph, by saying
it is set in the sixth form, an
area mainly populated by
teens, there will be a teenage
theme running out the film.
The next paragraph brings up the
theme of a niche social clique,
which is represented in the film,
and the issues that are normally
tied to this social clique.
Within the last paragraph highlighted in
the second column, it talks about
themes of romance, and acceptance to
start it off that have been subtly covered
through the review. It also highlights key
issues that some teens deal with such as
rejection, isolation and torment.
The next paragraph delves in to some of
the issues in the film, for example it
drops in to the failing relationship, Luke
is trying to establish with Alice, so
within the first column is has already
brought up 3 instances of themes and

17. Main Task

18. In the actual film you can see the
upper class clothing which is also seen
in the mise en scene by the character
wearing a ralph lauren polo shirt, Also
seen by the mise en scene in the
other characters via the branded t-
shirt depicting a video game character
and also the character off screen
wearing a pair of chinos shows the
upper class clothing.
This works with the poster cause you can
see in the poser that the character is
wearing upper class clothing, it doesn’t have
any logos visible but it fits comfortably and
has two tone colours on the item, which
shows it’s more expensive than most
clothing which can connote the upper class.

19. This can also be seen in the The other youth you can see is
main task. displaying her confidence via the use of a
For example the main character n almost patronising facial expression
Luke, here can be seen in the and her proxemics of being quite close
midshot conveying a sense of to the character of Luke which is her
uneasiness because he is being way of intimidating the character, which
hounded by the group of follows the groups mentality of
youths. intimidation.
The character behind the main
character is leader of the youths
and you can be his facial expression
that he is conveying confidence and
also by the shadow on his face and
the way he is holding his posture
that he is trying to intimidate the
character Luke.
In this ancillary, it is very text heavy, but the shot
from the film in the review, uses a midshot to
depict the main characters, this was a useful way of
conveying emotion to the viewer via facial
expressions and also by body language and they
way they stood.

20. Through out the whole piece there is a theme of love and acceptance running throughout it, this can be seen in the screenshots from the
main task, via the over the shoulder shot looking at her which the cuts to a close up of her eyes, and the her smile, which shows he is
analysing her, showing his love interest.
This is also evident in the poster, via it’s tagline
‘Acceptance is Hard. Love is Harder’. This connotes
to the viewer that a common theme that runs through
In the review the the film will be acceptance and love.
recurring theme of
acceptance and love is
evident throughout but
is most evident in one
specific paragraph,
which manages to link
the story to a likeness
of a professional
product. But it
highlights what happens
in the love story in the
short film.

21. The main message/meaning of my film which is extremely evident by
the end, is that if you fight hard and stick to your principles, whilst
standing up for yourself, acceptance and love is achievable evident by
the two main characters getting together at the end, shown by the
holding of the hands after she rejected him at the beginning of the short
film.
The poster extremely mediates these messages mainly
due to the fact, that when creating the poster I had
Milgrom’s theory in mind, that stated to keep a viewer
interested, is to not give away too much of the story
details, which is evident in the poster, because it’s very
Within the review, the cryptic, to get more ideas of the meanings of the film
meanings of the film are you have to analyse and look deep in to the poster. The
explored in depth, which is love elements can be seen on the notepad, plus the
evident via this paragraph tagline shows the acceptance idea, which causes the
more than others. It delves in audience to be interested and intrigued to find out more.
to the love meaning that is
shown and how these are
evident through the social
realism and drama genres
that cause this hybrid, for
example it shows how that
acceptance is a massive part
of the film because It in depth
analyses the scene where
Alice is bullied predominantly
because she is different from
the socially accepted norm.

22. The poster overall has a better effect on my main task than the
review in my opinion because of it’s layered meanings and effects
on the viewer.
It starts off with the main title of the film, in big white lettering so
that the viewer can easily identify it. From there the viewer can
easily delve deeper in to the poster, to get more hints about the
story. For example the main character is wearing clothes related
The review impacts on my main task in the way that this is to the middle class, which can show class representation, from
a good critical review of my film, it is slightly superlative in there the posters can also demonstrate to the viewer that it will
it’s explanation which can kind of drag the review down a be based around an alternative social clique because they show
bit but otherwise the review is structured critically and alternative bands and idols. Furthermore the heart drawn on the
analytically, so overall it’s impact is generally good but the notepad connotes the romance theme to the viewer.
over exaggeration of some of the description lets it down.