The document discusses the production and promotion of short films. It notes that historically, short films relied on film festivals to reach audiences but that now social media allows them to reach wider audiences. Synergy between film productions and brands can help promote both but is costly. While large films can partner with brands, small films have smaller budgets. The document argues that online promotion through websites, social media, and reviews is most effective for short films' target audiences.

1. Charlene Kelly
How effective is the combination of
your main product and ancillary texts?

2. Producing, Distributing and
Sharing Material
 Before the internet and social media
Short films like I Miss You would rely
heavily on film festivals to reach their
audience. Short films were an
opportunity for amateur directors to
showcase their talent through a film
about a topic they are most passionate
about. Short films often have a very
small budget and very little input from big
studio companies.
 More often that not if a short film had a
commercial release it was because it
was more than likely linked to a larger
production of a film for example Pixar
have just recently released ‘Tales From
Radiator Springs’ as a follow on from
their 2011 film Cars 2

3. Synergy
 Synergy has a massive impact on the media industry especially when it comes to the
promotion of films. Synergy is where two companies will pair up and create an arrangement
that is beneficial to them both for example, in 2012 Mount Dew paired up with the producers of
The Dark Knight Rises and created a promotional advert which featured Gothem city (the city
in which The Dark Knight is set. Within the advert you see an individual caught up in the
middle of a fight take a sip from a bottle of Mount Dew as soon as he does this the street is
suddenly empty and a voice over suggests that Mount Dew takes you to Gothem city.
 Synergy is extremely popular in the media industry as it offers both companies promotion of
their products to different audiences for example, this particular team up of Mount Dew and
The Dark Knight Rises works particularly well as Mount Dew is mainly targeted towards young
males who are also members of The Dark Knight Rises’ target audience meaning when they
see the advert they are far more likely to then go see the film. Similarly to this a Mount Dew
truck is conveniently placed on the streets during a scene from The Dark Knight.
 Synergy is a vital and important part of disrupting the promotional material of a film as it
means film producers can reach an audience they might not have originally reached leading to
the popularity of the film massively increasing.
 Although synergy helps to promote a film massively it is also extremely costly meaning many
small film companies can’t afford to merge with well known brands. For example, my short film
would never feature on a bottle of fizzy drinks as my budget for the film was extremely small
and this type of advertising costs hundreds of thousands.
 A perfect example of synergy would be my film’s website set up in order to promote the film
and provide the audience with extra information such as: film festival showing, full cast, back
stage footage etc. this website would be operated by Warp Films and will therefore be an
example of synergy as it would also promote their other products.

4. Promotional Campaign
(Convergence)
 When considering the promotion of my short film it is important to note
that there is multiple media platforms that hasn’t even been considered
during my project due to the cost and time it would take to successfully
make a promotional campaign for the public to see.
 For example my short film would not be advertised within a magazine or
on a website of a successful film company without a massive amount of
work. I would firstly be required to reach out to the company I was
wanting to advertise my film in. If they were willing to give me the time of
day I would then be required to show them my film along with many
different positive reviews of my film from well known and trusted film
critics.
 Even then advertising my film in one magazine wouldn’t be enough to
reach out to all of my target audience, I would be required to have
reviews and posters in many magazines of all genres as well as
advertising and promoting on other media platforms which may require
me to pay for radio slots, social media adverts, television adverts which
would end up costing me hundreds of thousands, a budget which is far
too unrealistic for my film and any short film not produced by a well
known production company.
 When considering the different platforms to advertise on it is important
to consider the platform most preferred by your target audience for
example my target audience is mature teens/young adults who are a lot
more engaged with technology and social media websites.

5. Promotional Campaign
(Convergence)
 In my personal opinion I believe the most significant media platform to promote
any film is the internet. Web 2.0 allows us to be both prosumers and consumers
and with the technology available today allows us to reach an audience we once
could only dream of, as said in a previous slide before the internet short films
relied solely on film festivals to reach their audiences however nowadays due to
the technology available short film’s can reach audiences around the globe.
Using my film for example, there once would have been a time where the only
individuals who seen our work would be the our teacher and the moderator
however due to the development of social media and YouTube we can now reach
out to our target audience and not only distribute our film to them but receive
feedback so that we can improve our product.
 Social media is one of the largest media platforms on the internet and can be a
free way to advertise your film for example the film Paranormal Activity was
produced on a very low budget and relied many on the promotion of the film
through their audience’s social media accounts people would share the trailer
onto their timeline that others would then see and share it themselves leading to
the film trailer connecting with millions of people who then went on to buy tickets
to see the film.
 Big social media platforms like Facebook also offer companies the opportunity to
buy targeted advertising. This is when Facebook send messages and links of the
promotional material to their users that fall into the target audience of the film.
This leads to more publicity of the film and helps to grow the audience.

6. Promoting I Miss You
 They’re many different ways in which I could expand on the
promotional material I already have whist sticking to my tight
budget, some of which I have already covered such as the
use of websites and social media such as YouTube,
Facebook and Twitter. However they are others ways in which
I could use social media to my advantage meaning I wouldn’t
have to rely purely on shares of my promotional material.
Instead I could take advantage of the ability to create free
accounts and create pages specifically designed to promote
and advertise my film. As well as using social media I could
also devote a blog to the promotion of my film or even create
a website all of which are free to do and all of which would
allow me to reach out to my target audience. Due to my target
audience being young and spending over 80% of their day on
social media and the internet advertising in this way would be
the most beneficial when it comes to engaging with my
audience.

7. Why a Poster and Review were
Required
 When promoting a short film like the one I produced it is vital to have promotional
material otherwise the audience will never hear about the film. In order to
promote my short film I produced a film poster and a film review which could be
considered the two most vital pieces of promotion for a film.
 The review, poster and the film itself should always link and complement one
another in a way that engages the audience and allows them to make a link
between the three. It is said that we give advertising 3 seconds to catch our
attention in some way before deciding whether or not we’re going to look at it
properly or move on due to this it is important that they have features that stand
out and that are appealing to the audience.
 A review of a film, like my own, is often wrote with the intention of persuading the
audience to go and watch the film because of this it is vital that the review is
accurate and descriptive and makes a visual link to the film in some way. To do
this I included an image of Imogen and Mason embracing one another on the
love bridge. Although this particular image was taken using a still camera it looks
as though it is a screenshot from the film which helps to engage potential viewers
of the film.
 A film poster, like the review should also link closely to the film itself in order for
the audience to make a connection between the two because of this my poster
features an still shot image of Imogen similar to the shots of her within the film.

8. Combination of the 3 Tasks
 When producing my ancillary tasks it was vital that I created a synergy between
my short film, the poster and the review to ensure they all linked together in order
to make the promotion of my film as successful as possible.
 Each aspect of my task relied on each other in order to work effectively for
example, in order to write a successful review I needed to have produced my film
but in order to make my film reach it target audience I needed a review and a
poster in order to promote the film. It was vital that both the ancillary tasks linked
closely with the film in order to make the film promotion a success. It was vital
that the audience linked the film with the review and poster just from a quick
glance.
 The target audience for my short film is 16-21 year old females and is intended to
be showcased online. Due to this the production of a film poster might seem like
quite an unnecessary production however, film posters are quite often shared
and passed on social media which helps to promote the film to a larger audience,
maybe even some that I wouldn’t be able to reach through poster placement
alone. The internet is the perfect place to distribute promotional material for my
poster as most members of my target audience owns a social media account.
Social media is also the perfect place to share the review of my film as many
reviews are often shared via a link to the magazines website.
 The film poster is also a great way to promote the film being shown at film
festivals around the world which could help to increase my audience.

9. Barthes’ Enigma Code
 Barthes suggested that they’re five codes to describe the narrative of a
storyline these codes are as followed:
 Hermeneutic/Enigma code, Proairetic/Action code, Semantic code,
Symbolic code, Referential code.
 Barthes states that every media production includes at least one of
these codes in order to effectively engage the audience.
 Hermeneutic/ Enigma code – This code refers to the mystery aspect of
the film. All three of my productions set up an enigma code as the
audience are left wondering why Imogen is walking around on her own,
making them wonder what is going on and what is going to happen
next. The audience receives small hints as to what is going on
throughout the film however aren’t directly shown what is going on, they
are left to figure it out themselves until the end when the enigma is
answered.
 Similarly to this my poster and review also help to set up a enigma code
as in the main image of the poster Imogen is fading away leading the
audience to wonder why meaning they’re more likely to watch the film.
Again my review reveals just enough information about the film without
going into too much detail leaving the audience wondering what
happens in the film which will lead to them going to watch the film.

10. Uses and Gratifications (Blumler and
Katz – 1974)
 The Four Needs Theory – Blumler and Katz suggested that the public use media to satisfy their needs which often fall
into one of the following categories:
 Escape and Diversion from every day life, Surveillance and Information, Personal Relationships, Personal Identity
 It is important that my ancillary task combined with my film work together in order to fulfil the four needs in order to
appeal to my target audience and keep them engaged.
 Escape and Diversion from every day life – Watching I Miss You and the reading the review would make the audience
feel as though they are temporarily in a different world, their mind would be so preoccupied by the products that they
would forget about any problems in their own life and instead worry about Imogen's.
 Surveillance and Information – My ancillary tasks work perfectly together to fulfil this category as they provide the
audience with information about the film, including release dates, overall ratings, cast members, personal opinions about
the film etc. This leaves the audience feeling as though they are well informed about the filming meaning they are more
likely to speak to others about it which leads to further promotion of the film.
 Personal Relationships – All three of my productions work in harmony to fulfil this category as they help the audience to
develop personal relationships with one other as once they have watched the film they might then share it on social
media for their friends to see, similarly to this they may share the film poster encouraging others to watch the film or they
may read the review and discuses it in comparison to their own opinion with others that have also read it.
 Personal Identity – The combination of my productions also work well together to fulfil this category as many members of
the target audience will be able to relate to the storyline, teenage breakup, leaving them feeling as though they can
emotionally connect with Imogen. The poster also helps as Imogen is fading away and the title I Miss You is present
again playing on the audiences emotions. Similarly to this the review is written from the point of view of an individual
which helps the audience make a connection with the writer as well as making stronger connections with the film as the
review refers to the fact that most girls have been through a similar situation.

11. My Film Poster
 The poster is one of the most vital promotional pieces and it
should help set the tone, genre and storyline of the film. It is
important that the poster links closely with the film in order to
ensure that the audience makes the link between the two when
they see the poster.
 In most cases the poster features an image that relates to the film
hence why I have chosen to take a long shot of the main
character walking up a street in the centre of Newcastle which is
where my film is set, this shows visual iconography between the
poster and the film as the audience can easily link the poster to
the film just by looking at the image alone due to the location and
the pose being the same as what is featured throughout the film.
 The choice to take the image from behind was made as for a
good proportion of the film the audience is following Imogen
around as she relives dates herself and Mason shared together. I
also edited the image of Imogen and placed it within a different
layer on top of the background so that I could feature it in colour.
The purpose of doing this was in order to help the audience make
a link between the poster and the film as Imogen wears the same
clothing throughout most of the film (the clothing featured in the
main image of the poster) I also edited the image by changing the
adjustments to make it look as though Imogen is fading away, I
made this decision as I feel as though it hints at the ending of the
film without giving too much away which again helps to link the
two productions together.
 The font used on the poster looks as though it was handwritten I
chose this font in particular for this reason as I believe it links
closely with the scene in the film where Imogen writes a suicide
letter again hinting at some aspects of the film.
 I have also included the logo of film festivals that my film would
be shown at to help promote it even further.

12. My Film Review
 My review was based closely on my style model, a
short film review from the magazine Little White Lies,
the target audience of this particular magazine is quite
young and falls within the age range of my target
audience because of this I ensured that my review
looked as close to my style model as possible in order
to attract the attention of my target audience.
 The main purpose of a film review is to help attract the
target audience through a non-biased individual’s
personal opinion. It is important that the review links
closely with the film and presents accurate information,
because of this the written aspect of my review took
the form of the typical conventions of a film review
including stats, ratings and an outline of the film.
 In order to help the audience make a link between the
review and the short film I took a still image of the two
main characters embracing one another at one of the
locations we filmed at this allowed me to create an
image for the review that looked like a screenshot from
the film. I also make the decision to feature the image
in black and white, similarly to the flashback scenes in
my film, in order for the audience to make a visual
connection between the two. This shows Visual
iconography between all three productions as similarly
to the poster just b y looking at the image the audience
can link the review, the poster and the film together due
to the actors, locations and poses all being similar.

13. Conclusion
 Overall I believe that my main product and my two ancillary tasks work
together effectively and successfully to help portray the genre, tone and
storyline of the film without giving away too much.
 The ancillary products work extremely well when it comes to the
promotion of the short film and really help to connect and draw in both
my primarily target audience and my secondary target audience.
 Due to the distribution of the poster a wider audience will be drawn in to
viewing the short filming due to them seeing the poster featured either
online or around the city centre in magazines or featured on billboards.
 Due to the three tasks having a synergy, working together for a greater
outcome I believe they have been extremely successful.
 All three products also show visual iconography between them meaning
the audience can easily link the three together due to the images on the
poster and the review representing aspects of the narrative of the film,
intriguing and drawing in the audience.
 To conclude I believe the effectiveness of my main task and ancillary
tasks has been very successful and I am happy with the outcome of all
three projects as I believe they all work together perfectly to promote
one another, helping draw in a wide range of audiences including those
that do not fall within either of my target audiences.