Evaluation - Question 2

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

The combination of techniques that I have used for both my trailer and poster are similar, however the magazine front cover is done in a different way, and this has been done to make each product more effective. The reason that I have approached my main product and ancillary texts like this is due to the fact that they will be targeted at different audiences. Both the trailer and poster would be produced by the same group of people advertising the product; however, this is not the case for a magazine cover. This is because the magazine company would be in charge of producing the cover to suite them as well as adding a different twist. This is done so that they would to appeal to a wider target audience. Because of this I have adapted my products in order to make it more effective and realistic.

The trailer and poster have similar themes to each other as they both portray the spooky horror idea. This is demonstrated through the use of different techniques. For instance, with the trailer we were able to take advantage of the fact we could add suspenseful music to fit in with the fast pace of the camera shots. As well as that we were able to edit the shots to adapt the colouring to make it darker, this further anchors the idea of horror. This then links in well with the poster as this shows photos from shots that are in the trailer, hence combining the two products. This form of advertising was done with a set target audience in mind, the age range of 15 – 25, this gives us a set goal in mind for what we need to achieve. These two products have been targeted towards this age range by the following techniques: showcasing the stars (young actors), setting, plot, dramatic camera shots, voiceovers, editing etc… all of these techniques have been used in a way to appeal to the target audience. These products work well together due to the intertextuality that exists between the two.

Through saying that the magazine cover is done on a separate basis is untrue due to similarities that it has, this is essential for advertising the film. Intertextuality exists between the products through the promotion of the main character, review quotes, and the dark atmosphere. The differences that occur between it is the use of different font, different images (although this character is shown in the trailer), a general new theme has been used to create a different effect. Although the magazine

company, ‘Exclusive', would still wish to portray the horror theme, they need to appeal to a larger target audience to be able to sell their magazine rather than just the film. This is the reason that it has been designed in a different manor. Ideally there would be more similarities between the magazine cover and the poster/trailer, in order for them to be linked more effectively, I still feel as if it is a successful and effective product.