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

2. From looking at the poster, what do we learn/ understand about
the style of/ genre of/ audience for the film?
GENRE
• From the review, the audience learn that the genre of the film is social realism. The themes and
issues that are written about in the review reflect problems in society, which are then realistically
portrayed within the film. The review makes the genre of the film clear from the outset by stating it
in the opening paragraph; “...finds truth for the characters of this social realism short...”
• The poster resembles that of other professional social realism films. The minimalism of the poster
presents the film in a way which is not exaggerated or glamorised, which are stylistic elements of
the social realism genre.
AUDIENCE
• From reading the review, it is not instantly clear who the audience would be for the film. However,
as it is of the social realism genre, the audience of current social realism films would be a possible
audience for my film; an audience that I found out about in my initial target audience research.
Another possible audience that can be deduced from the review are fans of Lynne Ramsay’s
“Gasman”, as the opening resembles stylistic elements similar to the opening of my film. Although
the audience is slightly unclear from the review, there was an intended target audience for the film,
which was discovered during the research stages.
• The audience for the poster firstly be the niche audience for social realism shorts. This audience
could expand to teenagers and young adults due to the characters that can been seen in the poster.
Another possible audience are young/new drivers, which can be established as the two characters
are seen sitting in a car. These demographics could be attracted to the film as they may feel they
can relate to/ sympathise/ empathise with the characters.

3. How does my poster/ review inform my audience about my film?
• My review informs the audience about the key
themes and issues within my film right from the
opening quote from Bob Marley: "When you
• My poster firstly informs my audience smoke the herb, it reveals you to yourself.“ This
POSTER
REVIEW
about the genre of the film. It quote cleverly depicts the message of the film
accomplishes this as it resembles and gives indications of the issues that will be
elements of professional social realism present.
film posters. It uses naturalistic colours • The main theme of PEER PRESSURE and issue of
and simplistic fonts to create a sense of DRUG/DRINK DRIVING are then later explained,
along with the effect that it has on the
minimalism.
demographic for the film.
• On the poster, the audience are • The review also gives the audience a little
introduced to two of the characters foretaste about the character Charlie, describing
within the film. The identity of the him as a “shy and quiet young man”, and gives
character remains hidden. It reflects the indication of his WANT/NEED/OBLIGATION, as
opening of the film, where only parts of well the dilemma he faces in the film; “does he
figure are shown. This creates a sense of drive?”
ambiguity. It enforces the stylistic • Details of cast, the various characters and credits
such as director, writer and production
element of hidden identity present in
companies are listed at the bottom of the review,
the opening of the film, similar to that of giving the audience information about the people
Lynne Ramsay’s “Gasman”. involved in the making of the film.
• Links to the film “Gasman” by Lynne Ramsay are
made through a comparison of the introductions.
This informs the audience that my film contains
stylistic traits similar a successful professional
social realism short.

4. How effectively does my film review articulate the themes and issues
that are the chief concern of my film?
ISSUES
THEMES
The primary issue of the film is drug
Within the film, the main theme is use and drink/drug driving. This is
peer pressure. This is articulated initially articulated in the first
subtly through the description of sentence of the review, which is a
main action that occurs during the quote from the famous Bob Marley:
film. “when you smoke the herb, it reveals
This theme is then later made clear you to yourself.” This quote is a clear
with explanation of its synergy with indication of the issue present both
the issues within the film and the from the words of the quote and the
effect that this has on the audience. connotations associated with Bob
Marley.
EFFECTIVENESS EFFECTIVENESS
I believe that the my review I believe that my review articulates
articulates the main theme of my film the main issues of my film in an
in a fairly simple way. It just states the effective an interesting way. The use
theme when describing the synergy of quotation from Bob Marley
with the main issue. provides a dynamic introduction to
However, although it is simple in its the review. With the connotations
approach, I feel it is effective as it tell that Bob Marley invoke allow the
the audience clearly what the theme audience to deduce the theme of
of the film will be. Therefore, they drugs.
have an instant understanding.

5. What preconceptions does the poster develop in the mind of
the viewer about the film?
My poster is inspired by many social realism posters that are used to
advertise current short and feature films that are out. As a result of this, it
follows the preconceptions that are associated with these posters. The use
of the simplistic photo follows the convention of social realism posters. This
is to make the visual aid minimalist. The use of the basic colouring signify
the often bleak and gritty themes that are associated with the social
realism genre.
The picture keeps to the style of authentic covers. It is minimalist and
presents the film in a way which is not exaggerated or glamorised. The
simple style of the poster does not give much away about the film, leaving
preconceptions about themes and issues open to individual audience
interpretation. The main preconception that is given to the audience is that
the film is from the social realism genre.
Two characters are seen in the poster, however no defined features are
visible. This creates a sense of ambiguity. It enforces the stylistic element of
hidden identity present in the opening of the film, similar to that of Lynne
Ramsay’s “Gasman”.

6. How does the way that the review attracts an audience differ
from the way that my poster does?
The poster is designed in a similar style to already existing social
realism advertising posters. Its appearance is minimal, and
simplistic. It uses soft, natural colours to enhance the naturalism.
POSTER
The main focus of the poster is the picture; the text provides basic
information regarding the film’s cast, director, production
companies ect.
It attracts an audience interested in the social realism genre,
similar to the poster, but attempts to do this through visual
methods rather than text based. The simplistic style of the poster
creates a sense of ambiguity about the film, allowing the audience
to develop their own theories of the film.
The review is written and designed in the style of “Sight and Sound”
magazine, therefore the design is sophisticated and the language
REVIEW
used has a high level of lexis, syntax and register. The amount of
text in comparison to the amount of images used attracts an
intellectual audience as they will be more interested in an analysis
of the film.
Audience is also attracted through the content of the writing. It
analyses the film, comparing the opening to that of Lynne Ramsay’s
“Gasman”. Those reading the article who enjoyed watching this film
will therefore assume that my film will be one to watch as well.