Evaluation part 2

2. How effective is the combination of my main product and ancillary texts?

In my film I have tried to capture this idea of youth identity. The narrative itself is dramatic and has a powerful twist at the end. I aimed to grip my audience by incorporating great sound, editing and composition into my film. Initially I carried out research into short films to get a grasp of the forms and conventions. One of the most useful films I found was a Nike advert based around cycling legend Lance Armstrong. The use of panning across beautiful countryside scenes really inspired the beginning of my own film. I felt that it was successful in gradually building pace across the film. Another feature that really worked well was the use of close ups focusing in on his face and legs. It emphasised how hard he was pushing himself. That was an aspect I also wanted to capture in my film. Another really powerful scene in the film was a still shot of Armstrong cycling towards the camera. You get a sense of speed and helps maintain the pace of the sequence.

I also had to gain an understanding of the forms and conventions of short films. The lack of time obviously means there is little time for character development. In fact my main character doesn't even speak. However I feel that helps the audience develop their own ideas about character and their personality. The fact that my film is an action drama means that I have to maintain the pace and create the suspense throughout. To do this I used fast paced electronic music in the opening sequence. In the final sequence I also use another upbeat, high tempo soul tract by Nina Simone. I drew inspiration for the use of the song from the climax of the film “The Thomas Crown affair” a famous crime thriller. Thomas Crown, played by Pierce Brosnan is on the run from the police after stealing a valuable painting. The music works well with the high tempo. I wanted to incorporate the “thriller” element into my own film. The lyrics too are semantically linked to the action and the feeling I want to get across to the audience.

The use of black and white in my film is also based on my research into film technique. Levi Strausse' theory of binary opposites suggests that in all media texts there are conflicts between opposites such a good and bad or happy and sad. The use of black and white in my film makes the distinction between the two worlds of the characters. The black and white connotes images of evil and mystery. I use black and white for scenes involving the drunken group of lads. I did this to create a sense of suspicion and mystery around the group. In contrast I use full colour in all scenes involving Jack. This is to provide the opposite representation. I also made the decision to base some of my characters in accordance to Propp's character theory. Jack is the hero, Tony, the coach, is his donor and the rest of the characters play the role of villains.

As mentioned my target audience is 16-26 year olds. With this in mind I made attempts to make my article to appeal to them specifically. Colour scheme therefore was the first important issue to be addressed. I wanted it to be bright bold and enticing which left me choosing a light green and white background which I felt would be particularly attractive to my audience. I then chose a purple and white colour scheme for headings, captions and page numbers. The colours worked well with one another and help the key words stand out. For the headings I used “serpentineDBol” font which is quite a funky youthful font. Although the font wouldn't necessarily be noticed by the reader it adds to the vibrant feel of the page. I really tried to focus too on the composition of the images on the page.

The images also play a massive role in grabbing the reader's attention. I have three images of me in action as director. I have positioned these images in the top right of the page roughly shaped in a semi-circle. The top image is a shot of me pointing across the photo. I have deliberately positioned the image there to draw the reader, via my arm, to the centre of the page and the callout. The bottom image was taken on the diagonal and also helps draw the reader's attention to the centre of the page. Another feature I incorporated was a reference to the website at the bottom. This gives readers the chance to get more involved in the interactive aspect of the magazine where they would be able to access further reviews, opinions and further information on the film. From a business perspective this would also provide the magazine to make greater revenue. If a film magazine can attract more visitors to their website then they can generate greater revenue from advertising.

Like my article I tried to apply the same approach to my poster but I went about it differently. I wanted to use an image that would really stick in the reader's mind. I really wanted to make the audience capture two key elements of the film; the drink and the cycling. The image itself was taken at a low angle with the empty vodka bottle, sick and helmet in the foreground and the bike in the background. I edited the image using iPhoto to create more contrast and reduce the saturation. My reason for doing this was to make the image much darker and generate more negative connotations. Increasing the contrast also makes the wording stand out much more clearly. I particularly wanted to focus the reader's attention on the vodka bottle which has deliberately been positioned directly in the centre of the page. I also want them to focus on the helmet which stands out mostly because it is such a bold bright colour in comparison to the rest of the image. The purpose of the poster is to leave the reader questioning the connection between the drink and the cycling. I want this to spark an interest in the film and a desire to find out what the link is between the two.

The text also plays a key role in raising this question. My subtitle reads “Focus on the road ahead”. This has double meaning, which becomes clear for those who see the film, and is designed to leave the reader thinking “what does that mean?” I want to leave the reader with a sense of mystery and give them enough ambition to see it. In order to make the text hand out I have used a very dtrong colour scheme of yellow text and black background. This also flows with the contrasting colours in the poster used to represent good and bad. Jack and his cycling as the good and the lads and the drink as the bad. For the title I have decided to use a graffiti style font. My decision for this is because I feel it connotes youth culture, dark alley ways and underage drinking. It is a subtle message that adds to the image I am trying to create in the poster.