How effective is the combination of your main media product and ancillary texts

1. Seanån Mullan
HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION
OF YOUR MAIN MEDIA PRODUCT AND
ANCILLARY TEXTS?

2. Throughout my products, it was vital
that I maintained a range of aesthetic
properties in order to create an
effective, recognisable brand and a
sense of synergy.

3. MOVIE POSTER

4. MOVIE TRAILER

5. MOVIE MAGAZINE FRONT COVER

6. MOVIE POSTER - In my movie poster, I utilized the “Stencil” font as I felt that
it was simple for my audience to read and understand, yet bold and daring which
almost represents the product. I felt that it made my poster look quite
sophisticated which helped make the product more serious and professional.
TEASER TRAILER- Unlike most promotional packages, I used a different font in
my teaser trailer. I used font called “Futura” as I wanted the text featured in the
trailer to be very basic, not taking any attention away from the storyline. However,
if I was to redo this task, I would consider using the same font as I feel now that it
would create a more recognisable theme for my audience.
MOVIE MAGAZINE - I decided again to use a different font on my magazine
cover as my study of the music magazine industry revealed that successful pieces
such as Entertainment Weekly often utilise a font to compliment the rest of their
text rather than that associated with the movie.
FONT

7. Consistent use of fonts in an approach that is used within the film industry as
film brands need to be clear and memorable so that the audiences will
instantly recognise their products. An example of this would be that of the
film ‘Frozen.’ This distinctive font was designed specifically for the film and
therefore features on other products connected with the franchise. This makes
the Frozen merchandise instantly recognisable.

9. I was able to make my combination of products more effective by using a
similar colour-scheme across them all. Further developing the Missing brand.
Red, white and black shades prove prevalent; all of the captions in the teaser
feature in white, as does the masthead of the magazine and the text along the
bottom of my poster, while much of the other text is featured in a rich blood-
like red. The red in particular stand out across all of the products and
connotes danger – a major theme within the movie. Such a contrasting theme
is popular among horror films and thereby instantly helps suggest the genre.

11. Another key way to create synergy is through the main character. I created a
clear synergy between my products by featuring my main character on the
front cover of my magazine and poster, making sure to minimise any dramatic
changes so that she was recognisable from the trailer. The ghostly child was
initially featured in my trailer wearing all black with her hair down and dark
eye makeup. These elements are repeated in both the magazine and the poster
to ensure audiences can link the various products. I really enjoyed
incorporating some of the main elements shown in my teaser trailer into my
poster and magazine as it felt like it was building the characters profile up
more. This creates a really effective link between the products.
MAIN CHARACTER

12. My ghost protagonist Roise in my teaser trailer.

13. Roise in the poster. Roise in the Movie Magazine.

14. In the beginning, I struggled to find ways to create synergy between my movie
magazine and the other two products, knowing that the magazine needed to be of
its own identity rather that of the films. Magazines usually utilise a distinct house
style, rather than changing their colours in every issue to suit the main film that
they are featuring.
What I done to overcome this was create some key elements of the magazine that
did not relate to the other products such as the puff and fonts which helped give
the magazine its own identity. Another thing I did was feature the masthead in
white, although it matches in with the colour scheme of my poster and trailer,
white is a very common colour that its often used for the masthead of a magazine
as it stands out off the background.
Also, the use of rich red was used to create an effective link between the magazine
and my other products. The use of the red across the magazine is prevalent in the
other poster and therefore helps build the movies brand for the audiences.
Although the synergy could have perhaps been improved in certain areas, through
the use of colour, key images and symbols I feel that I have indeed created a really
effective combination of products. By linking my teaser trailer, movie poster and
movie magazine front cover, I have built a recognisable brand for audiences.
SYNERGY