How effective is the combination of your short film, film review and film poster?

Question 2

Short filmhttps://vimeo.com/195467926

Magazine Review

Film Poster

What message did you want to send to your audience through your poster and review?

The message that I was hoping to send out to my audience through the poster and review is that the film is quite dark and mysterious, that’s why I used a black background in both the review and the film poster. Using this dark colour already sets up the dark mood for the audience. I also wanted to make sure that the audience are somehow interested in the film so they would go and watch it. I did this by adding a picture of one of the scenes from the film and adding a little caption to it. This lets the audience see a little bit of the film and hopefully they are interested enough to go and see it. I also did this in the poster by making the title “The Screen” look like a TV when it loses signal and adding a image of the syringe in the redness. This makes the audience wonder why there is a syringe and hopefully they would watch the film to find out. Also the tagline “Trust no one especially yourself” would hint the mystery which would make the audience interested.

What is your film’s unique selling point?

In my opinion the films unique selling point would be the twins. It’s a great plot twist that no one expects (as I found out from my target audience) It’s an idea that isn’t seen in a lot of films so it would be something new that the audience would love. Throughout the whole film everyone is convinced that this is time travel (which could be considered a selling point too since time travel is really popular nowadays especially by teens and young adults, our target audience, so if the audience think that this is what the film is about they would want to go and see it) and the audience only finds out that there is a twin towards the end, no one sees it coming and it’s a big reveal and a plot twist which everyone would love and enjoy. Another selling point is the dark twist that is revealed. At the beginning we find out that Abel’s partner Sarah died, we think that it must have been either a natural death or an accident like a car crush but then we find out that it is actually the twin that killed her, after he slept with her.

Another selling point are the flashbacks that we see to remind us of the narrative and the repeated scene at the beginning that we later on see near the middle of the film.

What mode of address does your film use?

One mode of address that “The Screen” uses is the language. It’s quite laid back and informal. Also when the twin is talking to Abel, his tone of voice mimics Abel’s which can make the audience feel quite sympathetic for him. Also Abel’s tone throughout the film, I hope that as his tone changes the audiences emotions change too for example when he nearly starts crying, I expect the audience to feel sorry for him and when he finds out that he’s been in the church for a long while, I expect the audience to feel shocked but also a bit angry just like Abel.

Another Mode of address is using the typical imagery throughout the film. Everyone knows what the inside of the church looks like so this shouldn’t be something new although it’s used differently, not in a good way but an evil way. We also used typical characters, Abel, who’s confused and doesn’t know what’s going on, upset about Sarah dying. Abel’s twin, angry for parents choosing Abel and not him. Also making them identical twins helps the audience understand from the very first moment that they see both of them together that they are twins.

MOD & USP for Film Poster and Magazine Review

I think that the unique selling point for my magazine review is the layout of it. It includes big images from behind the scenes and one still from the film. The audience love seeing behind the scenes images because they are always interested in how the films are made. Including a still from the film also allows them to see a bit of it before actually seeing the whole thing and some might get a pleasure from then noticing that still in the actual short film. The unique selling point in my film poster I think is the static title. Not only is it similar to the one on the actual film but also it relates to the film. Posters should always relate back to the film and this one does simply because it has a static title. I also think the image of the syringe creates enigma, therefore the audience would want to see the film after seeing the poster to find out why it was placed in the poster.

The mode of address I wanted to use in my review was images that relate back to the film, and I’ve done that by including the still from the film. I also wanted quite informal style of writing because not only does it match the films informal language but also the audience might feel more comfortable whilst reading it. I wanted a professional looking poster and I made sure I had that by doing some research and looked out for posters that looked neat and tidy. Then I put all of the posters together and created my own. I also made sure that the images that I included in my poster weren’t low quality stills from the film but high quality pictures that I took of the actor on the day of the shoot. I made sure that he made the correct facial expressions that were needed and that would fit the film.

How are they similar to the short film and how do they represent it?

My magazine review and poster are similar to the short film as I made the fonts quite similar as to the ones that were used in the film. For example the title is static in the film poster just like it is in the film. Also the title is bold in both the magazine review and the poster just like it is the short film. I also think that the ending credits font is similar to the one I used to write the actors name at the top of the poster. In both I used a lot of black to represent the theme of darkness and mystery that is seen throughout the short film. I also decided to use pictures of the actor so the audience would feel familiar with him when they see him on the big screen.

How do all of these products work together and how effectively do they advertise your film?

They work really well together as they all approach the audience in a similar but at the same time different way. They both are similar in terms of the way they look but they both tell the audience something different about the film itself. This is great advertising for the film since the audience can learn something different from both of the products since none of the information is repeated. The review works well in advertising the film since it shows the audience a still from the film itself, showing them a little sneak peak and telling them a bit about the narrative without actually spoiling anything. The poster advertised the film very well since it has the image of the syringe which creates enigma and the audience want to know why the syringe is there and why it is important, since it was placed on the poster. It also has static film title which might attract the audience since it’s not just a boring solid colour title. It also links back with the film which some might find it quite clever.