Question 2:

How effective is the

combination of your main
product and ancillary texts?
• It’s crucial when advertising, that the
ancillary texts are strongly linked to the
main product. So throughout the entire
construction period, I made sure that all
of my products linked together.
 Short Film and Poster
• The first link to make would be between the short film and the poster. I made
sure that the titles in both these products were from the same font family and of
the same colour. Personally, I feel as though the titling is the first link audiences
make between a product and its advertisements. I chose the font ‘Times New
Roman’ as it is a basic letter press font. As my horror film was neither gruesome
nor purely based around the scare factor, I didn’t feel it appropriate to use a
more edgy font. The reason behind the colour of the titling being white was so it
contrasted the dark blue background on the poster and short film. Also, the
contrast against the background creates a ghostly effect which I feel is I feel is
appropriate to the horror genre. Another aspect I used to link the two products
was the colour scheme. When editing the short film I increased the contrast and
lowered the lighting in each clip to create a dark and eerie atmosphere. I also
added a blue tint to the clips to, again, help create a sinister and mysterious feel
as blue shades are often connected to feeling unwelcomed and cold. So when I
started assembling my poster, I kept in mind the colour scheme from the short
film. With my best efforts, I tried to keep the colour scheme as identical as I
could as to keep the advertising as similar as possible to the product.
 Having the same
character, costume
and setting helps
create a branding
for my products,
and links them
together.

Screenshot from short film Film poster

 Short Film and Poster
• The image used in the poster is of the protagonist in my short film. I decided that having
the main character in the poster was the main priority, and after contemplating three
different designs, I decided to choose the design that only included the main character. I
felt that this final design was the most effective in advertising the short film, as it captured
the plot line regarding schizophrenia. I decided to make this unique selling point apparent
within the poster to keep viewers interested in the film. Furthermore, the image of the
protagonist is very similar to one of the shots of the character on the train in the film. This,
again, links the two products together, as there is a clear similarity between the images.
However, for the poster I did overlay another image on top of the original, to make the plot
line more obvious to the viewers looking at the poster. The extra image was of the
protagonist again, however this image was taken from one of the shots of the character
towards the end of the film. I chose to mirror these two portraits in my film poster to
create a ‘before and after’ effect and show the audience what the character has turned
into. The second image appears to me a reflection of the main character in the train
window, despite the fact that the ‘reflection’ has a more sinister expression on her face.
This was also done to reflect the fact that the character is schizophrenic and has a dual
personality.
 Short Film and Radio Trailer
• For the radio trailer, I included the voiceover dialogue used in the short
film. These two lines of dialogue help to establish a link between the
short film and the radio trailer. The dialogue also makes part of the
storyline apparent, without giving too much away. Leaving the
audience with some enigma is an advertising technique which will
hopefully influence them to indulge their desire to know what happens
next. Another link between the radio trailer and the other media
products is the title, as well as the release date.
 Branding and USP
• The main features I tried to incorporate into my three media products
to establish a brand included the title. As stated before, I informed the
audience in all three of my products that the title of the film was
‘Delusions’. The protagonist in my short film is another form of
branding I used. My short film is based around one main character; I
decided to use an image of solely the protagonist to not only give the
audience an idea of what the film was about, but use this as a
marketing strategy so audiences can associate this actress with the
film. The USP of the film, I believe, is the plotline of the film. Although
many horror films have been based around mental illnesses, I believe
that my plotline approaches this topic in a different and unique way.
For example, my audience do not find out that my protagonist has a
mental illness until the very end when the voiceovers of ‘The doctors’
discuss that she will be fine “as long as she takes her pills.”