Evaluation Question II: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?
- 1. EVALUATION QUESTION II How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
- 3. PURPOSE The review is designed to draw in audiences that are interested in film and would question watching one based on another’s opinion of it. The review is a third party and so is different to the poster in that the light that the film is portrayed in is out of the director’s hands. My review may be slightly biased in this respect, as unusually, it was created by the same person as the film. Therefore, the review has the power to draw in audiences, or push them away, depending on a single person’s view of the film. For this review in particular, audiences are likely to be attracted to the film because it is rather appraising.
- 4. PURPOSE The poster is different to the review in that it is created by the same group of people as the film itself. Therefore, they have full control over the creative decisions, in order to make the film look as attractive to the target audience as it possibly can. Therefore, I created this poster, taking into consideration the conventions of a traditional film poster, as well as the usual forms of social realism. I used intermedial references, which allows the poster to serve its purpose in making the film look like its worth the reader’s time.
- 5. PURPOSE It’s down to the director to decide the purpose of their film. The message of the film usually depends on the genre it fits into. For the social realism genre, the director usually aims to draw attention to issues and themes that they feel passionate about. I chose to follow the issues of neglect and isolation, as I feel that everyone, especially young children, require a certain amount of care and attention to thrive in their other aims, and to attain happiness.
- 6. HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN PRODUCT AND ANCILLARY TEXTS? The purpose of both of the ancillary task are to support the film. The review has the possibility to draw audiences, although its main feature includes honest opinions and the promotion of the film from either a positive or negative point of view. Meanwhile, the poster’s purpose is to advertise the film in the most attractive way possible.
- 7. THE AUDIENCE It may be suggested that the audience of my poster are slightly more intelligent and film literate, as the minimalist symbolism takes more time to interpret than perhaps a more saturated image with obvious iconography. The large amount of space leaves room for conventions, as well as to hint towards issues and themes. I might also be implied that the audience is of a lower class, in the low budget feel of the poster, in that the illustration looks quite rough and almost child-like. This might attract a younger audience who like to relate to themes surrounding their age group. The intermedial references, again, hint to a media literate audience, who perhaps value content over the aestheticism of the poster and the film itself. The film festivals and reviewers also hint at the type of audience, as they are companies that the director has chosen to associate with. For this poster, niche festivals and film magazines are chosen, which implies that the audience also favours niche films.
- 8. THE AUDIENCE The audience for the review is suggested to be film literate in the way that the film review fits the conventions of a Sight & Sound review, which implies that this review’s target audience is similar to that of the film magazine – enthused about film, educated to a high level, and of higher class and/or status in today’s society. Nevertheless, the language used is fairly accessible to most readers, and graphics help to divide the page into easy, readable segments. Therefore, whilst the predominant audience is the film literate, other members included might be of a younger age, and a little less film literate. Considering that the review is placed within a blog post online, this might attract a slightly different audience, in that the internet is used by many, and less educated people may be able to view this review in their casual enthusiasm for film. The simple layout of the review has its advantages for attracting such an audience as it is easy to look at and read.
- 9. THE AUDIENCE My main task uses social realist conventions such as untrained actors and real locations. This suggests that the audience for my short film are similar to that of the typical social realism viewer – educated, film literate and drawn to representation of minority groups. This might imply that the audience also identifies with some of these representations, as the genre aims to provide social extension, giving a more accurate idea of what today’s society consists of. My short film includes a young female, which is less common in main stream shorts and films. Audience members will be able to relate to this character, as her experiences at her age can also be remembered by older viewers. This also adheres to Marilyn Milgrom’s theory of using familiar rituals as an audience pleasure.
- 10. HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN PRODUCT AND ANCILLARY TEXTS? The audience for each of the texts is very similar. It appears the ancillary texts, as well as the main task are primarily aimed at older, more educated and film literate audiences. The accessibility of all of these texts may generate further, secondary audiences, that are less educated and just have a casual interest in film, as they are easy to view and read.
- 11. STYLISTIC ELEMENTS The review is presented in a neat manner, using pale colours for the main aspects of the page, and lines to split the main bulk of text into easy to read pieces of writing. There are several areas of more saturated colour, which all follow the same palette to keep to the minimal page architecture. The plain style of the page caters for a variation of audiences, as it is easy to take in, yet simple in order to focus more attention to the content of the review.
- 12. STYLISTIC ELEMENTS The poster is also minimalist, in the respect that the illustration features watercolour and thin lines. The watercolour image adds to this because it creates a pale, pastel like colour scheme that makes the heavy, shaded digital imagery stand out more, emphasising the themes of vulnerability. This juxtaposition between light and dark creates a almost monochromatic look, and guides the reader’s eye to the areas of the page that require the most attention.
- 13. STYLISTIC ELEMENTS The camerawork uses a vast contrast in the shots used, creating form in the narrative. The close ups paired with the wide shots clearly show the character in her surroundings, making it easy for audiences to understand. The basic, neutral colour palette creates a monochromatic feel, making actions more emphasised, in that the characters are displayed as a main focus, with no bright colours to distracts the viewer’s attention.
- 14. HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN PRODUCT AND ANCILLARY TEXTS? The minimalism displayed in the main product as well as the ancillary texts ensures that the stylistic elements can create synergy between the three products. The simplicity in the graphics suggests that the audience values content over the image itself.
- 15. ISSUES AND THEMES IMPLIED ( A N D H O W T H E Y C R E A T E P R E C O N C E P T I O N S ) The poster features imagery that hints towards themes of isolation. The characters are depicted within quite far proximity from one another, which suggests the formal relationship of the man and the girl. The issue of care is presented in that an older man is accompanying a younger girl, which also creates the preconception that the girl has an external issue. The text in the windows bares resemblance to that of a neon sign, which might carry connotations of night time, as well as associations with motels and cafes/bistros, which contrasts in concept with a school, which shuts at night time.
- 16. ISSUES AND THEMES IMPLIED ( A N D H O W T H E Y C R E A T E P R E C O N C E P T I O N S ) The review automatically hints towards themes of exploration and curiosity, as well as vulnerability in the saturated images that depicts the girl looking at the wooden dinosaur. The synopsis explains the storyline to emphasise these themes, as well as the issues of neglect and abandonment, and isolation. The girl’s external issue is well presented and her internal issue of experience and vulnerability is suggested in the ‘What You See Is What You Get’ style of the synopsis. This creates the preconception that the girl goes on a physical and a metaphorical journey, expanding her knowledge of the outside world, yet realising she still needs mature care and attention.
- 17. ISSUES AND THEMES IMPLIED The main film provides the female character with a personal space in which she embarks on a literal journey, yet arrives at the end having also travelled in terms of innocence and curiosity, and also the acceptance that she is a vulnerable young child that needs care from an adult. This echoes issues covered in the wider media regarding the amount of independence that each child requires. Parenting is an important responsibility, and the tension created by low key lighting and close up camera work hints at the themes of vulnerability in that the audience are questioning the girl’s safety at times in the film.
- 18. HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN PRODUCT AND ANCILLARY TEXTS? The ancillary texts support the film in that they allow the readers to make preconceptions that fit with the issues and themes featured in the narrative. Both the poster and the magazine review hint towards central themes of vulnerability, as the girl is described as, or depicted in a way that makes her look small, and/or alone, which also implies issues of isolation and neglect.