Ancillary Task Research

We have began looking at other students ancillary products to get an idea what we will need to produce and the standard it needs to meet. We looked at a magazine front cover which was a level 3 and a poster which was a level 4, and I have learnt a lot form this task. The front cover used one image which was framed well and very effective, however the poster got more marks because of their use of different images and their IT skills when editing them, which is something to bare in mind. Both were very good, and the main issues were in meeting the conventions of the product they were. The magazine front cover for example had quite a small title which does not meet the typicality of that specific magazine, and the other stories within the magazine were not large enough. The poster was not clear which type of poster it was as it featured a credit block but no release date so it could have been a teaser poster or a film poster. This is something I will need to focus on to make my own products effective.

Character Poster

I could not find a character poster for The Woman in Black, and this is the closest I could find for the sequel. This is common in the horror genre as the characters are not the focus point like they are in most films, and instead the scary thing which is there or that will happen is what the plot revolves around. This poster features a child and theoretically this is the character it is starring however there is a shadow which appears in the shape of the woman, and this becomes the focus point which shows the audience what the film is really about. She is much bigger than the boy and he seems to be cowering from her, showing she is someone to be frightened of and implying she is a large problem a small boy cannot overcome. The rest of the poster is black, so the attention is kept on the little boy looking fearful and this makes the genre of the film very clear to the audience and also makes them want to know exactly what is scary about this, sparking their interest to go and watch the film. There is writing and it differs from the first film and is much simpler, which keeps the attention on the characters, but it is in white so the audience clearly see it and know the films name. There is a credit block and a release date which helps when selling a film as it offers further details for those who are interested by the poster. The target audience is again not definite however horrors are generally aimed at young adults and this will appeal to them as it looks like it will scare - which is the primary reason we go to watch films of this genre.

DVD release poster

I could not find the DVD release poster for The Woman in Black however this is the one for the sequel Angel of Death. The main variation of this poster and the rest of the poster campaign is that this features reviews from expert witnesses. This encourages people who did not see the film at the cinema to buy the DVD as well as people who are well known and trusted agree that it is good. The reviews on this film focus on how scary the film is, which means that they are promising the audience that they will feel fear, confirming the genre is horror. There is a little boy as the focus point and he looks terrified, while a shadow of a woman looms over him. This gives away what the scary point of this film is however entices the audience to buy it and see this woman properly, and find out why the boy is so scared. The text is large and attention grabbing, maybe to remind people of the film before this in the series and gain fans of that film as potential buyers, as well as to inform people what film it is they are interested in. The age rating is also on this poster, probably so the target audience is clearly identified and no one too young attempts to buy this film as it may be too scary for them to watch.

Main Poster

The main poster was released after the teaser poster, and it offers more details on the film. Again Daniel Radcliffe is the main feature point in this poster, with him as the main image and his name at the top of the poster. The Woman in Black is written in the same eerie font as on the teaser poster which connotes supernatural. The tag line is different now and offers more information about the film itself as 'fear her curse' tells the viewer that the storyline will be based around a curse, presumably the woman in blacks curse. In the background you can see more than in the teaser trailer, and this time a shadowy figure can be seen in the fog, as can a haunted looking house. The colours are again black and white, which makes the poster look scary and makes it clear the film is from the horror genre. There is an appearance of fog being around this character which makes it seem creepy and also sets the mood expected for the film. There is also a credit block this time which shows this is not a teaser trailer and more information is being divulged.  

Teaser Poster

This is the teaser poster for The Woman in Black and following convention it reveals very little about the plot of the film. The Woman in Black focused heavily on the fact Daniel Radcliffe was in their film and therefore have broken convention and included his name, however they haven't included a whole credit block. For this reason the poster consists mainly of his face, as they are trying to appeal his fans and fans of Harry Potter who are eager to see the main character act in something else. The film title and tag line also feature on the poster and they help give a very supernatural feel to it, particularly the title which appears to be glowing. The tag line asked if the audience believes in ghosts which gives them an idea what the film will be about but not a very clear one, and this writing is actually on top of an image which appears to be a ghost. This makes the question seem almost stupid as the person looking at the poster can see the ghost, and this creates a sense of realism around the film and the storyline which will come. The overall tone of the poster is dark and mysterious due to the colours used which are black, and white on both characters skin. The pale tone of his skin contrasts with the black background, maybe implying he is good against this darkness. It also however makes him appear ghost like himself and the audience could question his character and who he is in the film. This film appears to appeal to teenagers and young adults as it is clearly established as a horror film. It also attempts to appeal to Harry Potter fans who vary in age, and this can be supported by the lack of features which specifically target any age group.

Film Posters

I have begun looking at posters created for films so I can get an idea what to make for my ancillary product. Film posters are generally designed to create a buzz around a film which is going to be released soon, and throughout the advertising campaign different posters are released with more information on than the last. Film posters have artistic value and allow the designer to be creative. They can become as iconic as the film and people buy film posters to hang in their house, which means they have to be visually pleasing, as well as attention grabbing. Posters need to inform the reader of the films plot, release date, name and actors in it as well as make the film appear interesting and are often referred to as 'a movie in a glance' because of this.

There are four main types of film posters - teaser posters, main posters, DVD release posters and character posters. These are released at different points in the advertising campaign, with the teaser trailer being first. This is released before production has finished to spike interest in the film and generate buzz, and maybe draw attention to any interactive advertising being used for the same reason. Once the film is finished, the main campaign begins and the main poster and character posters are released. The main poster is seen on billboards and in public places, while character posters are often not as commonly seen however often sold as merchandise. Character posters are used primarily if the characters are the main focus point of the film or if a famous actor is starring - with horror films they are not as common. Main posters are created to encourage people to go to the cinema and see this film, and after the cinema screening has finished the DVD release posters replace these. They're usually similar, however the DVD release poster will feature experts opinions or ratings on the film to encourage people to buy the DVD even if they did not care enough to go to the cinema initially.

Feedback on our first shoot

We have begun filming recently and while our shot ideas are generally good and work in reality, we have come across some problems. The first one was using the equipment, but this was easy to overcome as it came with practice. Once capturing all our shot which we are filming in school, we watched them back on the Macs. Our first issue was one of the shots was not very effective and would not match up with the shot which it is supposed too, so we will have to rethink this one. Other than that, the actual action and shot types were effective, however we discovered we had not moved items which were in the background which makes the film appear much less professional as it is messy. We also realised we will have to darken these shots considerably to make them fit our genre, but this is a problem we can fix with editing. We are going to do these shots again, this time removing items we do not want featured in the shot and hopefully this will be much more effective.