Throughout
my main and ancillary products, I have attempted to include conventional
synergistic features, as I believe this would have the best impact on my target
audience, which would therefore help to promote my film. This is because the
target audience will instantly recognise these features as part of my campaign
due to the consistency of the characters, mise-en-scene and fonts used etc.
Ultimately, I hope that this recognition will be most effective on the audience’s
ability to take notice of the institutional information included in 2 out of 3
of the texts.
The target
audience of my film are male and females, aged between 15-30 years old, who
have an interest in the thriller genre. From my research I found that males
preferred psychological aspects in films, which keeps them on the edge of their
seat, whereas the female portion preferred films with a romantic tone. In an
attempt to target all aspects of my target audience, all three of my products
contain conventional thriller conventions such as the dominance of the male
antagonist, whilst also challenging this stereotype with a small focus on
romance. This will therefore target my audience in the most effective manner,
as I have been able to appeal to their interests in all 3 of the products,
whilst being true to the thriller genre.
My poster
consists of three main images of both the protagonist and antagonist. I decided
to put the protagonist in the centre of my poster as this brings the audience’s
attention to her and her weak and distressed facial expression, which is
suggestive of the plot in my film. This is further emphasised by the 2 images
of the antagonist either side of her, which gives the effect that he is always
surrounding her and watching over her every movements. This is also reflected
in my trailer and magazine cover bringing in another element of synergy across
the three products, which will allow for a better promotion of my film. I then
used Photoshop to make the antagonists images black and white, reflecting his
rigid traditional beliefs of a patriarchal world. I also used Photoshop to wash
out the protagonist’s image in order to further make her appear weak and
vulnerable, whilst also amplifying the colouring of her eyes and lips. The
brightness of her eyes in the centre of my poster is the initial drawing point
for the audience. The fact that she is directly looking at the audience, almost
acts as a plead for help, which uses a direct mode of address. The inspiration
of my poster came from the film poster for ‘Before I go to sleep’, which is
also a thriller film, focusing on vulnerability of the female protagonist and
the mysterious domineering actions of the male antagonist, aimed at a similar
aged target audience. The overall effect of my poster and corresponding
features in my other 2 products act as an enigma code for the audience, which
is a common feature of thriller films, as they are left wondering how the
protagonist found herself in this state of insecurity, which will therefore
increase interest in my film.
The use of
casual wear for my female antagonist is another example of synergy across all
three of my products. This adds a sense of realism to film, as the female
audience members watching may be able to relate to the character more, due to
her fashionable, casual outfits, which may be similar to their own style. This
therefore means they may be able to put themselves in her shoes, as a young
female going about her daily life, which will increase the impact of the
‘thriller’ nature of our film as they begin to understand that they could just
as easily be in her situation. The adrenaline that the audiences experience is
a large part of thriller films, so by making our character as relatable as
possible increases our chances of our audiences experiencing this, thereby
making our film more effective. The protagonist is also wearing similar casual
outfits in my ancillary texts in order to amplify the effect of this synergy.
The female protagonist is often presented in the trailer wearing light coloured
shirts, connoting her vulnerability and innocence and a red coat, suggesting
the danger she usually finds herself in which increases her victimised
appearance. However, in my magazine front cover I decided to challenge these
conventions by putting my female protagonist in a dark jumper and the male
antagonist in a white formal shirt. The reason for this was because it links to
the ambiguous ending of our trailer, where an unknown hand wearing a glove is
seen to be pulling a knife out of a draw. By putting my protagonist in a black
jumper could connote dark intentions, this therefore creates an enigma as the
audience is left questioning whether it wad the female pulling out the knife or
not. The white shirt that the antagonist is wearing is quite conventional of a
thriller film as the formality of it reflects his dominance and power he has
over the female. This is emphasised in my magazine cover, where the male is
presented in the behind the female with his arm covering her mouth, connoting
his control over her. Audiences would recognise these two main characters in
all three of my products, therefore increasing their interest of who is holding
the knife and how the story ends for each character.
A theme
that was synergised across all three of my texts was the idea of time. In my
trailer, we made sure to increase the pace of editing for several reasons. The
first being that this is a stereotypical feature of thriller films and the
second being that it creates the effect that time is running out for the female
protagonist. This is then amplified by the ambiguous shot of the knife at the
end of the trailer. In my poster, I split the page into three sections in order
to display three images at once, although this suggested he always has control
over her, it also connotes an idea of stages, which can be associated with
time. This was a weak association, however I felt that it was important to
include, as it makes the effect of all 3 of my products more successful. My
magazine front cover, features a faded background of clocks. This is a direct
link to time and leaves the audience wondering whether the female protagonists
did run out of time, which adds an element of adrenaline to my portfolio as a
whole.
The main
way I have shown synergy throughout my texts is through the use of the
‘Charlemagne’ font. My trailer, magazine cover and poster all heavily feature
this font on the title ‘Fixation’, which allows my film to be easily
recognisable to audiences. This is a simple but effective font, which I found to
be stereotypical of the thriller genre. Similar fonts can be seen in the film
‘Before I go to sleep’, ‘Identity’ and ‘Primal Fear’, therefore further
appealing to audiences interested in this genre. I believe that the use of this
font throughout my main and ancillary products is important, as it has
increased the overall campaigns professionalism.
I included
institutional information in 2 out of 3 of my products as I found this was
conventional for trailers and posters as it credits the actors, directors and
all crew included in the production of the film, however unconventional of
magazine front covers due to the concise information usually included on these.
On my poster I included a 5 stars rating and quote from a well-known magazine
company, Empire Magazines as this would instantly attract my audience and give
them a perception that my film is high-quality and overall effective as a
psychological thriller. The use of a well-known magazine company is important
as it means that their opinion is trusted, therefore meaning there would be
increased interested in my film as a result of this. Similar reviews can be
seen in my trailer, also by very well known and trusted companies, which will
help to improve the initial impression the audience receives from each of my
products.
Low-key
lightening was a key feature synergised through all of my products, as this is
a very conventional aspect of all thriller films. My trailer starts off with
very high-key lighting in order to emphasise the romantic tone and offer a
bigger contrast between the beginning and end of my trailer. However the
majority of my trailer and also my ancillary products use low-key lighting in
order to connote danger and mystery.
In
conclusion I believe that the combination of my main and ancillary products is
successful and effective as I was able to use synergy throughout in order to
make elements recognisable to my target audience, which will therefore increase
interest and revenue. Although I did include counter typical conventions such
as the romantic tone at the start of my trailer, I mainly focused on
stereotypical features of the thriller genre in order to effectively target my
young adult target audience, at the same time as offering a different
perspective on the genre, which could potentially lead to added interest.
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