How effective is the combination of your main task and ancillary tasks?

The combination of our main task and ancillary task works well together through the use of layout, design, language, persuasive techniques and mode of address. Technical appliances were need such as camera angle, lens choice, framing, shutter speed, depth of field, lighting and exposure and juxtaposition. Symbols such as objects, settings, body language, clothing and colour where there to construct a meaning for the audience. As an encoder I had to consider some semiotics for the decoder. Semiotics is the study of signs and their role in the construction and organisation. We believed written words such as headlines, captions, speech bubbles and the style of the magazine and poster would help the viewer to recognise the media text. As a group we wanted our trailer, magazine and poster to create a sense of polysemic which allows more than one interpretation of the story line so the viewers could decode the media text the way they want. The media text we wanted to create an anchorage where words are used to direct the meaning of an image for the reader encouraging them to understand a particular meaning.

Through the process of creating the poster, I decided to have it A4 portrait as most posters do. I have kept all the codes and conventions of a poster so the audience are quick to recognise that it is a film poster selling a new film. The centre of the poster is an image of the final girl who is also the main character. She has blood dripping from her mouth suggesting she is the monster in the film. She is also wearing a white school shirt and a black tie suggesting to the viewer she is still a school girl. This image may encourage the viewers to find out more on the subject matter concerning a school girl with blood on her lips suggesting she is involved with the killing of the victims portrayed around her. The six images screen shot from the trailer are there to advertise a few photos to encourage the viewer to take a rather more interest in the film. By doing so I am aware that I have given off a bit of the film as in some horror films it is not so obvious who the monster is until you are half way the movie. However my aim is to let the audience know Holly and understand her so enigma code can be raised to whether they are willing to sympathise with Holly knowing she is a killer because of her dark past or would the audience still hold something against her for being a killer anyway. At the bottom of the poster the end card is placed with the film company and the scan code for people to scan the code via their phone which will automatically access them to the film website. Not only did I not break the codes and conventions of the poster I also kept the codes and conventions of a horror film magazine. I kept the three colour schemes which were red black and grey to emphasize the horror of the film. The front cover is of Holly with blood dripping from her mouth. The layout of the magazine is sophisticated to suggest the seriousness of the film. The typography is simple with just two different fonts used for the writing. If this was a real film, Holly would be a well-known actress to a few horror films. Her face is therefore the main selling point.

The layout of the magazine is influenced and inspired by Gorezone which also has the main character at the front of the cover with blood dripping from her and a horrendous facial expression. The pictures which I have used for the poster and magazine are the same images which would be seen in the trailer giving the viewer more thrills to watch the trailer and the film in the cinema.
The types faces and fonts I have used are to encourage the viewers to read more if it is a magazine or to watch the trailer if it is a poster. In the trailer the captions are in red blocks with a horror film about it on
a black background.

This typography builds a horrific atmosphere to the film. The title of the magazine is called Gorezone taken from an actual horror magazine. This process of taking a used name is called ‘bricolage’ which is ‘borrowing’ signs and features from different text. The colours of some of the font is red as red has the connotations of anger, danger and horror. The background is grey almost like being in the middle of black and white or light and dark suggesting there is a mixture of the killer in this film; not everything is the way it seems.

The size and quality of the picture fits well with the magazine as a whole including its features. The centre image was edited to get the right light and shading to create a horrific atmosphere through the magazines and posters. Make-up needed to be applied such as black eyeliner and red lipstick illustrating mise en scene of sexuality towards Holly. Her aim was to look attractive and dangerous just like the femme fatale in film noir. The quality is of a high standard as the images were taken off a digital camera. On the poster there are smaller images of scenes from the trailer and the quality there is poor as I sprint screen the images from the trailer. The low quality is not as obvious as they are small and not the main focus of the poster. There are there to encourage the viewers to take a more positive approach to the film. The images have been cropped and edited. It is obvious to recognise on the magazine that editing has been taken place on the image of Holly as she has red eyes, her skin is clear and flawless and the edges around her hair are a bit rough as I removed the background. As I did not have the best quality software to edit the images, the magazine did not look so professional through the centred image and the rough outlines. However placing all the codes and conventions in the right placed made the magazine more recognisable. The cropping of the images on the poster and magazine are not recognisable. The photographs relate to the rest of the stories and front page as they all have an image of Holly in the same clothing and a cold and deadly facial expression. On the poster some of the images are taken from the trailer, this is also apparent as the viewer can see a dead person, someone getting strangled and someone running away from Holly. These particular images have been selected as they are there to encourage people to know more about the film if the images inspire them to.

The size of the headline of the magazine is the largest font size compared with the rest of the page. The reason being the viewer will recognise and learn what the brand name of the magazine promoting the film. ‘A Kiss of Death’ is in the same font and colour in the end card of the trailer and the poster creating a combination between them. The key words in the trailer, magazine and the poster is the title itself ‘A Kiss of Death’. The font of the title is always read. The same text effect used on the title is found in the trailer and the poster to build consistency.  The headline ‘A kiss of Death’ in the magazine has Holly as a background with red lipstick and blood dripping down her lips. This suggests the film will portray a sense of sexuality and murder. There are no words omitted from the page although I did consider placing a gripping caption on the poster. I did not go along with the plan as the poster layout did not permit me time to do so. From the poster, the headline is gripping with a horrific theme to it giving the reader the message that the film itself is horrendous. The captions in the trailer such as “they happened” gives an impression that something happened that should not have happened emphasizing to the reader a disequilibrium has occurred.
The mode of address helps to establish the relation between the media production and audience. When our trailer is released there will be a first person voice over to guide the audience through the story. Some movies the audience may know more than the characters however in this film some of the information will be held back and limited for the audience to create dramatic tension. The impersonal mode of address would sometimes be broken when the character looks into the camera and speaks to the audience and this is found in comedy. However in this horror film there will be no dialogue of Holly addressing to the audience. However the only times she looks into the camera is to give the impression that she is alone in this world and even the audience are part of her enemies.

It is important that the trailer, poster and the front cover magazine works well in conjunction of each other. I have done this through the colours and images combining the main product being the trailer and the ancillary task which is the poster and front cover magazine. After this part of the work is done, as a group we had to think of a distribution plan with the little budget we have. We decided to use synergy to help our film to reach the viewer’s social media as the vast majority of our target audience are most likely to appear on. Millions of people access YouTube on a daily basis and by placing my trailer there it will permit anyone to access it. Comments will be left and the amount of views will be shown which will encourage more people to see the trailer and be in the process of wanting to watch the film if the comments and views encourages them to. Moreover I can use social network such as twitter, Myspace, Bebo, Facebook and Hi5 to my best advantages to post the trailer on people’s pages to watch and leave their reviews. This will also encourage their friends and word of mouth will go round about the trailer. On Facebook I could even create a page on the film where questions about the film will be answered and upcoming premiers and festivals on the film would be posted up and distributed to everyone linked to the page. Moreover I could adapt the poster to place it as an online banner for people on the internet. This will give them the opportunity to access the film website and find out more on the film as well as watching the trailer.
The poster can also be distributed in public and specific areas because of the low budget. A successful place for people to notice the film would be at a horror film festival placing the poster around the area knowing my target audience would be around to see it. Located placed such as Camden where horror and gothic mainstream will attract a lot of horror fans to watch the film. On the poster there will be a bar code which will allow the viewers to scan the code on their phone which will place them to the actual film website where they can find out anything they are looking for concerning the film. Furthermore, at specific cinemas such as ones which are specific with horror films would be able to show our trailer to the audience before the actual film begins.