EVALUATION : ancillary tasks

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

POSTER

Title - In my format research I found that the poster always has the title of the film on it, and it is always the biggest and boldest font on the page. I therefore made sure that I conformed to this convention in my poster, because I feel that it is very important. This is because when someone looks at the poster, they need to easily be able to see what it is that's being advertised, because if they only see the poster quick, they may not see what it is if the title is small and doesn't stand out. I also used the same font for the title as I did in my trailer, which again conforms to conventions of other film posters. I also decided to conform to this convention because using the same font means that viewers can start to build an identify for the film, so it is more likely to stick in their minds and is more easily recognisable when they see the same font or title elsewhere. 

Colour scheme - For the horror genre, I found that the colour schemes on posters are critical in portraying the genre and what the film is about. I therefore decided to use blacks, whites and reds on my poster. I chose these colours because it means that they all contrast to each other, meaning that strong shadows/contrasts are created, showing the dark and horror theme of the film. However, I have developed the conventions of real media products because most posters have more than just 3 colours on. I think that only have 3 colours works well on my poster though because it keeps the focus on the main image and text. 

Text - In my research I found that horror posters have text on them, that are the key selling points for the film.  I included this on my poster, for example, the text at the top of the poster saying 'Staring Stu Wilson' and 'Directed by Lucy Nevill'. I included this because although it is fictitious, they are some key selling points about the film, because viewers can build a preconception of what my film will be like if they think that  the previous work of the people stated have produced good work in the past. Although, I have challenged this convention , because if posters do include text such as this on them, they are all normally related. For example, the text would all be about the actors who star in the film , or all the text would be about specific key producers of the film. By including a 'staring' and 'directed by', I have challenged this, although I think it adds selling power to the film because if people don't recognise who the actor staring is, then they may recognise the director, and vice versa. 

These images (click to enlarge them) show a real film poster (on the top) and my film poster (on the bottom)

Credits - My research also highlighted that horror posters will always have credits on them. These credits are always placed at the bottom of the poster and are in small, narrow font. I therefore conformed to this convention and added credits very similar to real media products on my poster. To achieve this I downloaded a free font from www.dafont.com that looked like a similar font to those on real horror posters. 

These images show my credits (on the top) and a horror posters credits (on the bottom)

Main image - The main image on horror posters is usually a character or something key from the film. I therefore used Slender on my poster (the character/non-human thing that the film is based around). This therefore conforms to conventions, and I think it works well because it is advertising what the film is based on, which hopefully is appealing to viewers. The main image also helps viewers to understand who and what the relevance of the character/subject shown on the poster is. I have therefore used a slightly low angle shot of Slender on my poster to show that he/it has power. This again conforms to conventions that camera angles help the viewer understand what's being advertised, and the dark and heavily shadowed and contrasted image also helps portray the horror genre and dark/mysterious theme of the film.

MAGAZINE

Masthead - In my format research of magazines I found that they all have a masthead. My magazine conforms to real media magazines because I too have a masthead on my magazine, and it is the largest and most bold font on the page, like it is in real magazines. Another way in which my masthead conforms to real magazines is that the font is simple, because if it was fancy font it would not be reflective of my horror genre/film and would be harder to read when glancing at the magazine cover. I also found that the masthead is positioned behind the cover model in the main image, so that the image is not distorted. I also did this on my magazine so that it looks more professional and so that the image stand out more than the masthead does.

Cover lines - My research highlighted that cover lines are used on all magazines. This is the text that is used on the magazine front cover to advertise other features in the magazine. They are generally positioned either side of the cover model, so I too did this on my magazine. However, I developed this because I used a big cover line to advertise the main feature of the magazine (my film 'Slender'). I positioned this cover line over the top of the main image, and it is 3/4 of the way down the magazine cover. This is a development of real media magazines conventions that all cover lines are to either side of the page, but I think it works well, especially as it does not distort the main image in any way. By placing the big cover line (with more text underneath) here, it stands out more and is therefore easier for the viewer to see what the key feature is in this edition of the magazine, therefore giving it selling power.

Main image - The main image of horror magazines is normally a main character of the film featured. I therefore chose to use Stu Wilson to be the cover model of my magazine, because he is the key 'staring' actor in the film who is also a main character in my trailer. This conforms to conventions of real horror magazines, and again, gives the magazine selling power because viewers will be able to recognise the actor and therefore could build a positive preconception to the film and magazine feature because of the actors good previous work/acting. 

Barcode/price - These features of the magazine are always positioned in a place on the magazine that is not distracting to the viewer. This is to that it will be the last place that viewers look, because it is the least important thing on the magazine over. I positioned the barcode and price in the very bottom right hand corner of my front cover, so that nothing on the cover is distorted and so that the price is hard to see (because viewers may be put straight off the magazine if they see that it is an expensive magazine).