1. EVALUATION QUESTION
2: HOW EFFECTIVE IS
THE COMBINATION OF
YOUR MAIN PRODUCT
AND ANCILLARY TEXTS?
Sharna Mandil

2. The brief of our assignment
 The main objective for our coursework was to
create a 5 minute long film.
 After this was completed, we then had an
ancillary task to complete which consisted of
creating a film review and a film poster to
promote our film.

3. What was the objective of our
ancillary task?
 The main goal of our ancillary task was to promote our
film using both visual and text platforms, in the forms of
a film review and a film poster.
 I tried to ensure that my target audience would want to
watch my film based on both the review and poster.
 My main goal was to present the final film in a high
standard by using creativity through the use of
Photoshop, to promote my film so my target audience
would want to watch it just based on what they had seen
through my poster and review.

4. How did my poster meet the
romantic-comedy genre? The tag line on the poster also gives
away to the audience that the films
central theme is centred around
time, as the tag line has the word
‘race’, and the female lead’s body
I also chose to use a divide between language (her pointing to her watch)
the two characters, which shows that also connotes to the audience that
the two main protagonists have some the films narrative focuses around
sort of relationship divide between time.
them which needs to be fixed, which
is a common theme within the rom-
com genre. I also got this idea from
I decided to use bright red within
the film poster ‘The Ugly Truth’.
my poster in a number of different
elements, with the font being red
and also the main female
characters dress being bright.
The characters body language is also a Red connotes love and romance
give away of the genre. Bobby’s within many film posters, and I
expression and body language is that of found that during my research
a frustrated one, whereas Zara’s body many romantic-comedy film
language connotes to the audience that posters used red somewhere in
she is waiting for something, which is their poster. For example, the film
why Bobby has such a frustrated look on poster ‘She’s Out Of My League’,
his face. Time is a also a common the main female protagonist’s
theme used throughout the rom-com dress is bright red, which
genre, with films such as ‘How To Lose indicates to the viewer that the
A Guy In 10 Days’. film entails love and romance,
which is why I opted to use red
within my own ancillary task.

5. How did my poster meet the
romantic-comedy genre?
The title’s font is [insert font here], which
is a plain and clear font which is easy to The main title is a mixture of both
see and read. I decided to use this font, standard text, and bold text, to
as I previously mentioned the text comes highlight who the films main
out clear to read, which links to the plot protagonist is. BOBBY is in bold,
of our film which is clear and easy to which gives away to the audience
follow which is why I decided to use this who the main character is. I
font. decided to do this because, I
wanted to let the audience know
who the main character was, but at
The clothing of both characters, also the same time not give too much
conforms to the conventions of a typical away as there are two characters
rom-com film. The male is wearing a suit, on the poster, which creates an
which is typical within rom-com films such enigma to the audience as they
as ‘Friends With Benefits’, where the male are left wondering who the female
lead on the poster is wearing a suit. The is and why has she been placed
females clothing also connotes to the on the poster. It creates questions
audience that my film is a rom-com as the such as, what role does she play in
female leads within many rom-com films, the film?
are presented as attractive and sexy, and
wear clothing to connote this, which is why
we decided to put Simren in a bright red
dress to conform to the typical convention
of a romantic comedy film.
I also put the BBFC certification
onto the poster as this is a
convention of film posters.

6. Font choices for my poster
The other font I used within my poster was
called TW Cen MT (Body). I decided to use this
font as it is to the point, clear and easy to read,
which is like the plot of this film, as it is easy to
follow and understand. The font is also BOLD
in some areas of the poster, this was to signify
to the audience who the main characters were
and also to highlight the key information on the
poster, such as the release date, main
protagonist, and also the tag line.
For my credits on my film poster I
decided to use the font
called, ‘Universal Accreditation’ as
this is a convention of any film poster

7. Font choices for my review
I used a font which was clean and simple, so that it
was easy for the audience to read. The font was also
similar to what we used in our credits.
I decided to opt for a font similar to what I used
in my film poster ([insert font here]), as the font
on my film poster was clear and simple. I
decided to use the font ([insert font here]), as I
believed it would be effective to use on my film
review. I stuck to a white colour to add to
continuity.

8. Images used within my film
review
I decided to not use a shot from my final film by print
screening, as I thought the quality wouldn’t look as good in
comparison with a still image shot taken on a digital camera. I
decided to use a 2 person shot with both protagonists, as I
thought this would be more effective as opposed to using an
image with just one protagonist in as when researching into
film reviews, many rom-com film reviews main image was a
picture of both protagonists involving some sort of character
positioning revealing who was the more dominant character in
comparison to the other. The image I used reveals to the
audience that Bobby is the main character, as he is looking
directly into the camera and engaging with the audience
through his facial expression. Zara is looking away from the
camera and looks slightly uninterested into Bobby’s attempts
to woo her, as she is looking away. Her facial expressions
also reveal that she is slightly awkward while Bobby gives her
attention and affection, as he has her hand held close to his
heart (connoting love to the audience), and looks very keen
The clothing the characters are wearing, gave and excited through facial expressions and body language, as
me the basis of what colours to use for the he is embracing her hands with both of his hands not just one,
colour scheme of my film review, which is why I connoting he is very attracted to her which is a convention of
opted for red, white and black for continuity, rom-com films, as the female lead usually is very attractive
making it look that little bit more professional. and all other males are in some way attracted to her. I think
the image was effective in not giving too much away to the
audience, but at the same time giving enough information
needed to guess the genre through the use of body
characters body language, facial expression and the colour of

9. Images used within film poster
I wanted the male to have a flower in his mouth to
indicate the humorous element of the film. The flower
indicates romance, however, the fact it is placed in
his mouth adds a humorous element to it,.
I decided to use images of both The concept of time is illustrated
leads within my film poster, as I through the use of Zara’s body
believed using both protagonists language as she is pointing at her
on my poster would indicate the watch, which indicates to the
genre of the film through the audience what the central theme
characters body language, facial of the film is (time).
expression and the colour of their
clothing.
When taking photos for my
poster and review, I decided I
I decided to use a full body shot of wanted both leads to be
each character, as through doing dressed in a particular way. I
my research many rom-com posters wanted the female to be
used full body shots to show the dressed in a dress which is a
characters body language. In my convention of a rom-com film,
poster as the female lead is pointing as the female lead is usually
to her watch, and Bobby’s body very attractive and in the film
language indicates he is frustrated, poster she is dressed ‘sexy’
which creates enigmas as to why is and made to look extremely
he frustrated, is he late for a date attractive.
with the female lead?

10. How did my film review explore the
final product?
I decided to keep the layout of my film review as simple and straight
forward as possible, to ensure that the review would be effective and
easy to follow. I opted for a red, white, and black colour scheme for
my poster, which is a convention of a rom-com, as the red’s connote
love and romance. The tag line for the review gives away to the
audience that the protagonist Bobby is unlucky in some sort of way
however, we don’t know how this is which is why I decided to use this
tag line as it gives away some information without giving the whole
plot away to the reader, which would persuade them more to watch it
as they wasn’t to find out why Bobby is ‘the most unluckiest guy,
ever’.
The poster emphasises twice that the film is short, with the ending
statement being ‘and at only 5 minutes long, who wouldn’t give it a
watch?’, and also the verdict part of the review also again
emphasises that the film is short with the statement ‘a short, but
incredibly sweet film’. Emphasising twice the length of the film was
something I really wanted to incorporate within my poster, as it would
make the audience want to watch it even more as it is only short, but
also at the same time very enjoyable, which is why it was awarded 5
stars.
Another convention of a film review I also decided to follow was the
large bold font, in the middle of the review highlighting the best parts
of the film ‘this comical film is an instant classic’. I got this convention
by researching into other film reviews in magazines such as Heat,
and Empire, which also had larger bolder font in the middle of the
review telling the reader what the best elements of the film are.

11. Colour scheme
Throughout both ancillary tasks, I decided
to use the colours red, white and black.
The important text on my film review and
poster was in white and red, so that it stood
out and was clear and so the audience
could quickly scan the poster and review,
and see the most important pieces of
information rather than reading the whole
review, or looking at the whole poster. I
stuck to white for both titles on the film
review and poster to add to continuity.
Red is a colour typically used within the
romantic genre, as red connotes love and
romance, so as a convention of this genre
I wanted to use this colour throughout
both tasks. On the film review I wanted to use white as my
central background, so that the main text and
images would stand out more allowing the
viewer to focus on the text, and as dark colours
aren’t associated with rom-coms I decided to use
a light colour to meet the conventions of a
romantic comedy.

12. Background
 I opted to use a simple plain background for my poster,
using the gradient tool on Photoshop CS5 which faded
from black to grey.
 Black and grey aren’t a typical colour associated with the
rom-com genre, more the horror/thriller genre, however, I
felt black and grey are simple colours and as the central
pictures are quite large in size, so I decided a simple
background would look more effective and simple, as it
would allow the audience to focus more on the image of
the characters instead of the background.

13. Logos and websites
While researching current film posters, I found that somewhere within the poster
(mostly at the bottom), all the film posters provided a web address of the production
company, which meant that the audience could type the web address into the internet
and be directed to the films website, which would provide further information about the
film. As a convention of a typical film poster, I decided to add ‘LOL Productions’ web
address so our viewers could find out more information about our film if they wished
to. A web address is very important as digital technology is increasing so people tend
to find out more information via new digital technology, rather than ‘old’ technology
such as newspapers.
I also added the social networking sites Twitter and
Facebook logos onto the poster, so viewers could
find out more information via social networking sites
if they wished to. Social networking sites are a very
popular platform to promote films, and networking
sites are very popular and widely used by
thousands of people each day, so it is an easy way
to promote a film to a mass audience.

14. Summary
 Overall, I feel that the combination of both my
film review and poster is very effective, as both
tasks link to the other in terms of either colour
scheme, images and backgrounds.