This document provides a step-by-step breakdown of how a poster was constructed to promote a new soap opera called "Upon Thames". Some key steps included: 1) Using text tools to add information about the show's channel, time, and air dates. 2) Inserting the show's logo and images from the first episode to generate intrigue and hype. 3) Adding the tagline "Guess Who?" along with a question about how well people know their neighbors to hint at themes of secrecy and lies. 4) Manipulating images and adding final graphic elements like a blood splatter and knife to create a dramatic mood that matched the soap's themes.

1. Poster Construction – Step By
Step Breakdown
Leeza Ah-Wan
Candidate Number: 6593

2. I used the text tool to “inform” (Katz)
an audience of important
information, such as the channel,
time and days my soap will be
distributed on. I used adjectives such
as ‘new’ to draw in a pass along
audience by denoting I have
something fresh and different to
offer.
I copy and pasted social networking
logos obtained from the search
engine Google onto my poster. Both
logos originally had a white
background, which was removed
using the magic eraser tool.

3. I used the text tool to type up the
text in the top left corner. I believe
using a hashtag will grab the
attention of a pass along audience, as
it suggests that there’s excitement
surrounding ‘Upon Thames’ as
people are talking about it all over
social media. This will create a sense
of hype, prior to the first episode
airing.
I inserted the ‘Upon Thames’ logo.
Using it across all three of my
products increases the likelihood of it
becoming more memorable and well
established.

4. Next, I inserted the BBC 2 Ident. I
believe showing the synergy between
my soap and BBC 2 will mean I can
appeal to a larger demographic, as
BBC 2 is such a well acclaimed
institution.
I then placed in my first image. I
manipulated the lighting slightly
to make the shadow effect more
dramatic.

5. I then placed in my second image.
I didn’t have to manipulate the
lighting on this photo at all.
Next, I placed in my third image.
Similarly to the first image, I
manipulated the lighting slightly
compared to the original image.

6. I used the text tool to type up the
tagline: ‘guess who?’. I believed the
juxtaposition of using red and white
looked effective and added to the
overall dramatic mood of the poster. I
also added an outer glow effect to
the text to add to the interrogation
feel created. This tagline was also
chosen as ‘guess who’ is the
predominant theme in our trailer and
I wanted my products to offer
consistency.
I included the rhetorical question:
‘how well do you know your
neighbours?’ to denote that one of
the main themes explored in this
soap opera is secrecy and lies.

7. Afterwards, I inserted a splat of blood
and then used the smudge tool to
stretch it out and make it look more
realistic.
Finally, I inserted an image of a knife.
I chose one with blood as it worked
well with the splat of blood
underneath. The image of the knife
also had a background and this was
removed using the quick selection
tool and rubber tool.