Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

1. How effective is the
combination of your
main product and
ancillary texts?
By Miranda Roberts

3. Through extensive researching of other magazine publications, such as
Empire and Sight and Sound, we chose and focused primarily on the
alternative and heavily artistic based magazine, Little White Lies. From then
on, we analysed every cover we could find in the paper form and on their
website. There are some example of their recent covers.
These covers mainly focus on the fan’s submitted artwork. Many just show a
main character, profile or figure and the title of the film is the only text to
appear. We found this challenging as we needed to ensure we had more text,
so we researched some more to find covers similar to our specifications.

4. We analysed a
cover to
establish the
typical
conventions of a
Little White Lies
Cover.
Basic colour scheme
of black and white
draws attention. The
background is simple
however looks
textured and well
designed. We
thought we could
include this on our
poster rather than
cover as it would
lessen the attraction
to the main focus.
We decided to keep
the logo it’s
recognisable black
on white.
The main text is the
name of the film. To fit
the quirky design, it
has used unique font
that includes back to
back letters and
symbols rather than
plain text.
The artist’s
signature at the
bottom right of
the cover.

5. We were happy
with the font we
chose as it was
unique and fitted
with the
magazine’s
ideals. We used
an off white
because it looks
bold when put on
black.
We were keen
not to use the
same font as we
felt it was
important to
establish an own
brand identity.
We also used
this on our poster
to uphold this.
We centered
our main
profile and
used the
glass effect
which we
found in
Adobe
Illustrator.
We drew and
designed our own
artist logo using
photoshop and the
Wacom tablet.

6. These are the typical fonts used
on movie posters. Mainly, in
capitals, distorted in some way
and either involve the warm
colour palette. Conventions like
these are easy to stick to the
horror genre as main colours like
red and black are heavily linked to
the genre.
The theory is also matched with
the format and design of many
horror film’s promotional posters.
At a glance, it’s clear to see the
colours, bold text and centered
images.

7. We used the same font in both
formats, creating a brand identity,
we used capital letters and a
heavy impact font that can be
clearly read from a distance and
not be distorted.
We added the tagline
and coming soon release
date in a different font to
mix up the design.
We made our billing block on
Photoshop using the Steel Tongs
font. This fits the conventions of a
promotional poster as it is key and is
always seen.

8. We decided to use a pre installed font called Letterpress on Final Cut Pro X. We
used this as it included all the features of a typical Horror/Thriller conventions.
Picking an off white/grey colour makes it clear for the viewers to see and read, this
is critical in a trailer. We also added an effect to ensure that the genre was clearly
represented within. We all decided against having our main font (on the magazine
and poster) as it didn’t fit as well and didn’t have the dramatic impact we saw in
this font.

9. I think overall we have collectively researched, analysed and chosen our text
to match our main product, and it works well within all our promotional
products. Although we have different fonts throughout, altogether they look
attractive and seamlessly work efficiently. All products have a high standard,
look professional and keep the brand identity when they are presented
together.