How Effective is the Combination of my Main Product and Ancillary Texts?

The film distributor is responsible for the marketing of a film; the distribution company is usually different from the production company. Promotional techniques and platforms conventionally used to advertise a film include film posters, magazine features, film trailer(s), billboard/public posters, social media campaigning, TV/cinema advertisement and website ads. The marketing of a product (film) may differ depending on the target audience and demographic; for example, a children's film is unlikely to be majorly advertised on social media, as they are too young to use it. Similarly, a film with the demographic of older/elderly people is also unlikely to be advertised through social media as they are also unlikely to use it. A more appropriate platform for this audience would be TV adverts or outdoor adverts. Colour schemes, imagery and font also illustrate a representation of the film demographic:

 This film poster, 'Mr. Holmes' is aimed towards an older demographic. This is clear due to the font used, which is in the style of old handwriting, and the amount of text displayed. The main character shown on the poster is an elderly man dressed in an old-fashioned outfit. Together, these denotations connote the target audience. The other film poster, 'Toy Story 3', clearly illustrates a demographic of children. This is due to the bright, bold colours, an image of several toy characters and a lack of writing/titles. The design of a film poster (or any other platform) is structured and based on a specific audience's needs and expectations.
Audience research plays a key part in the marketing of a film - by conducting research before advertising, the distribution company is much more likely to successfully promote the product. Audience research can identify the target audience's needs & expectations, and can also assess which media platforms they are most likely to be affected by.
My trailer is a product designed to promote a film, which works alongside the film poster and magazine cover. Each of these products have been designed so that they present similar denotations in terms of colour, narrative and composition. They are all targeted towards a specific demographic, which is teenagers and young adults. The target audience should be able to establish the connection between the three media platforms which all promote the same product due to the similarities which they share.
   

How Did You Use New Media Technologies in the Research, Planning, Construction and Evaluation Stages?

In What Ways Does My Media Product Use, Develop or Challenge Forms and Conventions of Real Media Products?

What I Have Learnt From Audience Feedback

Audience Feedback & Justifications

Individual and Group Ideas for a Horror Movie

Individual Ideas for Horror Movie: 

Before thinking about my individual ideas for a horror movie, I conducted research around the genre and the conventions it holds regarding narrative structure, audience expectation, location and characters. This very much helped me to think about my own ideas because it gave me a better understanding of stereotypes and genre conventions. Watching a variety of existing horror films also gave a lot of inspiration when thinking about ideas for narrative. 

Personally, I am very interested in the sub-genre of psychological horror because I think it gives a deeper meaning and something for the audience to really think about. I would really like to create a horror film/trailer that incorporates this, as well as aspects of typical jump-scares and villainous characters. I also like the idea of something being haunted or possessed previously, holding thrilling events throughout time and effecting individual characters or groups in turn. I would like to make my audience feel on-edge and unsure of what is about to happen next, rather than a stereotypical plot which is usually quite predictable.

Group Ideas for Horror Movie:

As a group, we discussed a variety of potential narrative structures, character types and possible locations. After researching existing media texts within the horror genre and watching horror films, we had a clear understanding of the expectations within this particular genre and also what is conventional and unconventional. Taking this into consideration, we explained our individual ideas and wrote them down, before coming to an agreement for a voted/chosen idea as a group. First of all, we decided to work on a plot based in an old manor, where a young girl saw dead people who had died there throughout the years. The girl would then die and join the ‘ghosts’ while haunting the manor. However, we could not pursue this idea into a horror film trailer because we were unable to find a reliable and suitable location to do this. Therefore, we went back to discussing our ideas as a group before deciding on an alternative narrative for our trailer. We knew that we had to be more realistic and conventional, therefore we chose to base our trailer at an outdoor location. The narrative that we chose consists of an abducted child who went missing over 15 years ago, who is actually still alive but she is possessed. The girl now hides at an abandoned garage and waits for victims that she can violently murder. In particular, the narrative focuses on a small group of teenagers; two girls and two boys. We decided to do this because it meant that we could use the stereotypical character types which is the princess, the hero, the helper, the final girl and the villain. As well as this, the locations that we chose are easily accessible and do not require permission to use. 

One By One - Final Product