Question 1 Evaluation:Ancillary Tasks

Rhiannon Jenkins

In what ways does your media product use,

develop or challenge forms and conventions of

real media products? 

Film Poster

Film Poster: Colour Scheme

In terms of colour scheme used, I would say my film poster adheres to conventions. I took influence from the Woman in Black and House At The End of the Street posters as both have a dominant colour filtering through. What I mean by this is that on the WIB poster the colours are mainly tones of blue and the same goes for H.A.T.E.S except the colour is sepia. I opted to use a blue filter when creating my poster because I felt this connoted the genre of supernatural thriller well as it gives the poster a cold and unnerving feel. I extended my use of colour scheme to the text used as well, by keeping all of the text the same colour (like the WIB poster) but making an exception for the month of release at the bottom of the poster in order to make this stand out the the audience.

Film Poster: Layout After much research I believe that I have stuck to the general conventions

of film posters particularly in terms of layout. Much research showed that most film posters within the supernatural and/or thriller genres had layouts very similar to the two in the bottom corners. I designed skeleton layouts for both of these designs and when creating my ancillary tasks I decided to opt to base it more so on the H.A.T.E.S poster because I thought my poster would look better with the background image inserted in this way. However, I did develop and use parts from the Shutter Island poster as H.A.T.E.S was one of the only posters I had seen that did not include a billing block, and I felt this was a good convention to incorporate into my own product as it made it look more professional and realistic.

Film Poster: Choice of Image

The image I decided to use is very similar to the image of Jennifer Lawrence on the H.A.T.E.S poster. I decided to use this image because this was the most influential poster I had come across as the film itself included elements of both the thriller and supernatural genres as well as having a female protagonist. I used a conventional close up image which allows the audience to see the characters expression very well. This is seen on other posters too, such as Shutter Island and The Woman In Black. What I hoped to portray with my model was for the audience to notice that she was not looking directly at the camera, suggesting that there is something else her attention is being diverted to, thus leaving the audience wondering what that is. The fact that she is not smiling also intrigues them further as they may perceive her to be in danger.

Film Poster: Choice of Image

I chose to insert a background image very similar to the H.A.T.E.S poster as well, although other posters such as Shutter Island portray it is as a typical convention to show something to do with the place in which the film is set. I chose to do this because as well as using this convention, it also adds another element of mystery to the film. Unlike Shutter Island and H.A.T.E.S the title of my film has nothing to do with the location, so the house in the background of my poster acts as an enigma code within itself. Therefore, I have developed an existing convention to act as another source of mystery, which is key to the genre my products are advertising.

Film Poster: Use of Text

In terms of colour scheme, the text that I used conforms very much to conventions for the most part, however what I did find was that a lot of other posters used a different colour to that of the rest of the poster for the title of the film. I chose to challenge this convention because I did not feel that it was a necessary action. I did attempt changing the colour of the title so that it was the same colour as the month of release but after deliberation, I decided that the size and boldness of the title made it stand out enough already and that if I changed the colour the ghostly atmosphere of the poster would have been ruined.

I conformed to conventions in that all of my text is upper-case as this makes it easier for the audience to read, especially from a distance which is quite likely as film posters are often placed in far away-public places where only the title can be read from very far away.

Film Magazine Cover

Magazine Cover: Colour Scheme

The colour scheme of my magazine cover uses a lot of conventions from the film magazine Empire. From research I found that Empire picks a colour scheme based on the genre of the film and will either use white or red for accent and to colour the title. For example, the cover below with Jennifer Lawrence is for a futuristic action film, so the colours silver, grey, black, red and white are used to potentially connote weapons, bloodshed and a fast pace. I applied this to my magazine cover by using dark blue, pale blue and white but also decided to use the colour red for accent and to catch the audiences attention as it contrasts well with the blue.

Magazine Cover: Layout Much like the colour scheme, I followed a lot of the conventions set out by

the magazine Empire with regards to layout. As you can see by the two below, I have taken aspects from each of them and used them to create my own magazine cover. I have placed the masthead, main image and bottom strap line in the exact same place as the real magazine cover to create a sense of authenticity. My coverlines mirror the ones on the cover to the left and my main coverline, insert and top strap line are placed very similarly to the ones on the cover on the right hand side. The only convention I have challenged is that I have included a barcode, whereas the covers of Empire available online do not have them. I did this because after looking at the majority of other magazines out there almost all of them had a barcode so I did not want to alienate my product.

Magazine Cover: Choice of Image

I have noted that many empire covers have an action based film advertised as the main attraction or draw on the action elements within a film as this is what appeals to their target audience. This greatly affected the image I decided to use on my magazine cover because not only did I want to portray my characters heroic side, I had to make her appeal to a male audience because research told me that the main audience for magazines like Empire are male. I decided to take influence from the below cover of Jennifer Lawrence in the Hunger Games. She is shown poised as if she is ready for action but is also wearing form-fitting clothing which Mulvey would suggest adheres to the ‘Male Gaze’ or more simply, attracts the male attention. I attempted to stick to this convention by dressing my model in a form fitting t-shirt and by having her hair down, but whilst also standing her in a position that suggests she is a strong character.

Magazine Cover: Choice of Image

Unlike the poster, the actors on every cover of Empire I have come across so far look directly at the camera. I decided to adhere to this convention because it made the image I used for my poster easily distinguishable next to the one I used for my magazine cover. Using a picture where the character is looking directly at the camera creates a more personal connection with the audience member and sells the product by giving off the impression that by buying the magazine, the audience member will be able to connect with them more through the articles that are explored within the issue. Mulvey would also argue that if the coverstar was a female, the eye contact would attract the male audience member.

Magazine Cover: Use of Text

In terms of text, I would say I have conformed to Empires conventions. All of the text I have used is upper case which is constant throughout all of Empire’s covers. In addition to this the text I have used is very easy to read and never includes sentences more than a few words. This appeals to a wider audience as it is easy to understand and can grab almost anyone’s attention.