QUESTION 2 - EVALUATIONHOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN

PRODUCT AND ANCILLARY TEXTS?SAMUEL FORD

INTRODUCTIONThroughout the course of this year, I have been creating three different media products. The main one being the movie trailer, ‘The Illusion of Justice’. The ancillary texts (the other two media products) are the poster (advertising the movie) and the magazine front cover.

While creating these three products, I have tried to effectively keep a consistency throughout.

COLOURSMy movie trailer fits into the genre of ‘Action Superhero’. However, I have not taken the light hearted approach to this genre like some movies have done, e.g. Spider-Man. In my movie trailer, I was attempting to create more of a dark and grimey atmosphere because the narrative of the story is quite dark and grimey! I believe this was quite consistent throughout my movie trailer, magazine front cover and poster. For example, in the images below, you can see my character dressed in a black and white dinner suit (this is his superhero suit and a symbol of who he is and the fact that he uses illusions to get justice in the world). Furthermore, he is also wearing a mask in order to hide his identity. This colour scheme and costume is consistent throughout my media products:

Movie Trailer

Magazine

Poster

COLOURSThe colours are very consistent in my media product in terms of lighting. Throughout the movie trailer, magazine and poster I have tried to portrait my dark, dingy and grimey theme quite strongly through the use of lighting. I have been focusing on indoor dark, low-key and shadowy lighting in order to really bring out that black and white colour scheme I was trying to achieve.

(Some snapshots of the trailer) Post

erMagazine

Low-key and shadowy background lighting

COLOURSFurthermore, in order to achieve this dark and grimey theme I have colour graded all of my scenes and shots of my movie trailer to take on a much darker and professional look:

CAMERA AND PHOTOGRAPHYAs my movie trailer features a very dark and moody theme, I wanted to portrait this by using very dramatic and theatrical camera shots. I particularly focused on using these important shots on my protagonist (James, the superhero) because he is the character/model which is featured in these dramatic mid-close up shots, showing the character and his suit in quite a close camera format:

Poster

Magazine

Movie Trailer

FONT AND TEXTAs the poster and magazine front cover are advertising the actual movie/movie trailer, I believe it was important to have the main title of the film, ‘The Illusion of Justice’, in big, clear and easily recognisable font. Furthermore, from research I have done, I have seen that professional film companies do the same when advertising their movie across ancillary texts.Below, you can see that I have used a font that is quite unique and has not yet been used to advertise any major film that fits into my genre (superhero action). By giving the main title this unique font, it acts as a sort of logo for the movie, which the audience can easily recognise and will also make advertising the movie and it’s title a lot better through my ancillary texts.

Poster

Magazine

Movie Trailer Ending

MOVIE SLOGANFinally, I decided that it would be good to incorporate the main slogan/catchphrase of the movie, in my ancillary texts. I have noticed that movie posters like ‘The Prestige’ have used the main slogan of the actual movie. In ‘The Prestige’s’ case (one of my main pieces of research), they use the slogan ‘Are you watching closely?’

Therefore, I used my main slogan that the superhero protagonist says, ‘A magician never reveals his secret’, at the top of my movie poster. This is a really effective technique to entice the audience the watch the movie because of the mystery and intrigue it gives off.

Poster

Snapshot from the scene when the slogan is said by James, the superhero

protagonist.