1. How effective is the combination
of your main product and
ancillary texts?
Evaluation Question 4

2. Introduction
• In addition to my short film, as part of
my advanced portfolio I also have to
create two ancillary texts
• These are: a film poster, and a film
review
• They need to be an effective combination
with my main product

3. Film Noir Posters
• Authentic film noir posters from the
1940’s do not look like modern film posters

4. Film Noir Posters
• It could even be argued that they are not
an effective combination with the films
they represent
• It is important to remember that they are
very much of a time
• In a blog post, I realised this, and decided
that my ancillary texts would be more
modern than these authentic posters

5. My Ancillary Products

6. My Ancillary Products
• As you can see, my poster and film review take
the form of a modern style of film poster (with
actors names, title, credits) as quite formulaic.
• However, I link it to my genre of short film
through a number of features, which I will now
explain.
• This will show how they are good ancillaries in
combination with my main product

7. The Basics
• Firstly, my ancillaries link to my main
product in that they clearly show the three
actors and actresses in my product.
• The idea is that anyone who has seen the
short film would realise this.

8. Representation
• The representation of my female ‘femme fatale’
in the poster, mirrors that of her in the film. A
large, evil character that has a presence over the
two male characters
• The representation of the two male characters in
the poster also mirrors their representation in the
film. Two conflicting males, facing eachother.
Both consumed by their love and desire for
‘Betty’. It highlights how their desire leads to
conflict

9. Representation
• The ‘femme fatale’ representation in my
ancillary shows her as the main character
• Like the main product’s narrative, the poster
focuses around her
• She is presented as a large figure on the poster,
though she almost fades away to the background
– like in the film. She is always present in the
thoughts, motives and desires of the two male
characters, but she is rarely seen.

10. Representation
• A similar effect to my
poster is seen in the
poster of the Film
Noir ‘This Gun For
Hire’, in which the
‘femme fatale’
represented in the film
takes up a large part
of the poster, to mirror
her presence.

11. Narrative
• The representation of ‘Betty’ on the poster
further links to the narrative
• In the narrative, she plays off the two men
against each other with rumours, encourages
them to meet together, and then kills them both.
Escaping with a sum of money agreed by the two
men.
• The narrative revolves around her and her
control, and can be seen in the poster.

12. Narrative
• The poster depiction of the two men also mirrors
the narrative.
• The narrative shows them to hate one another,
and so by showing them sitting opposite
eachother in my poster, this highlights the
competition and rivalry between them in the film.
• They are also shown to be much smaller than
‘Betty’, almost insignificant. In the film, to her
they are significant.
• They are represented to mirror how they appear
in the film. Importantly they are done so
underneath the cloud of Betty.

13. Narrative
• The poster also explicitly mirrors the
narrative by showing the two men sat at
the table with a briefcase – exactly what is
shown in the film
• The briefcase as a motif in the film
connotes deals, money and concealment. I
used this in my poster to mirror this motif
as seen in the film.

14. Genre
• Importantly, my poster and film review mirror
the ‘Film Noir’ genre as a whole
• Firstly, the poster is in all black and white, which
mirrors a key convention of the genre that an
audience will instantly recognise
• My use of conventional 1940’s font also helps
allude to the sophistication and glamour of the
1940’s genre

15. Genre
• Also, the images used in my poster were created
with film noir lighting techniques in mind. The
‘chiaroscuro’ lighting technique as seen in my
film is replicated in the poster to mirror the
genre.
• There is a sense of darkness about the poster,
and duplicity. The half dark/half light shadow of
my actresses face on both the poster and review
show how I have used chiaroscuro lighting like I
have in my film

16. The Film Review
• The film review, although looking to
appear as from a film magazine, also is an
effective combination with my main
product
• It too, is black and white, generally quite
dark, and sees my main actress take up one
side of the double page spread – in typical
chiaroscuro lighting to her face.

17. Film Review
• Furthermore, the content of the
magazine’s explicitly cites some of the
links to the film and it’s genre.
• With my film being a modern take on the
genre, the magazines review also talks
about the modern features I use, such as
mobile phones and the modern soundtrack

18. Audience
• My film is aimed at a young (16-24) audience
who may prefer independent and short films to
big ‘Odeon’ blockbusters
• I looked to effectively combine this aspect of my
film with my ancillaries in my film review
• I did this by ensuring that the double page spread
appeared as though it was in a ‘Shorts’ section of
a film magazine
• I also used the review text to be able to mention
the modern concepts in the film that I used to
make it appeal to younger audiences.

19. Audience
• Also to appeal to my audience, my film poster
features the logo’s of numerous short film
companies and independent film companies and
cinemas. My audience of independent film-goers
should recognise some of these and want to see
the film.
• This therefore further links the ancillaries with
the aim of the main product to appeal to this
target audience

20. Final Evaluation
• My ancillary texts and main product are an
extremely effective combination
• This has been achieved through matching
specific genre conventions in the ancillary to my
‘film noir’ genre, such as chiaroscuro and dark
lighting
• I use the ancillaries to reach out to my target
audience through how I review the text
• Creating a simplified version of the narrative of
my final product through how I represent my
actors and actresses in the film poster