1. QUESTION 2
How effective is the combination of your main
product and ancillary texts?
DEAD MAN’S HAND
Joe Habben

2. TARGET AUDIENCE
When it comes down to target audience, all areas of the film industry are involved. From
production and post-production to push and pull marketing. Each of these sections have a
big impact on how the film is seen and the impact that it has on the target audience. It’s
vital that you target the right audience when producing your film. If you don’t then you may
not earn enough revenue to support it.
There is a wide variety of audiences which films are able to market themselves to, ranging
from young children and teenagers to adults and the elderly. Personal taste and gender
also have a big influence on the target audiences for films. For example mainstream horror
would be marketed towards young teenager girls who are interested in watching films with
their friends and getting thrilled by the suspense. Whereas older more mature consumers
would be interested in independent upcoming films that feature talented unknown actors.
These audiences also affect where the films are marketed due to the lifestyles and activities
that the general audience participate in for example push marketing such as bus shelters,
billboards, trailers etc. Including pull marketing such as film websites, YouTube, and social
networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
•
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We had to also considered this when discussing the marketing for
our trailer. I believe that we would market our film towards 15-30 year
old males who enjoy watching gritty crime flicks, both mainstream
and independent. Because ours is an independent, we would
advertise this using mainly cost-efficient push marketing like trailers,
posters, flyers and other independent ways of marketing. We would
also use independent film magazines like ‘Sight and Sound’ and
‘Little White lies’ to features articles discussing our film which would
combine push and pull marketing by attracting consumers, they
would be interested in the article and would want to read more.

3. INDEPENDENT AND MAINSTREAM
I believe that our film is an independent film due to the fact that it has been
produced by a new upcoming director and features a female as the main
protagonist. I think that we would advertise our film to both an independent
audience and mainstream audience. This is because our film has a midrange budget and has been distributed by a large, well-known company.
This allows us to spend more money on marketing. I believe that our film
would attract a wider mainstream audience because it features crime and
action which are seen to be very popular in modern day film.
I believe that our film could be premiered at popular independent film
festivals such as ‘Sundance’ and ‘Festival De Cannes’ where the movie
would hopefully attract a lot of attention and gain popularity before it was
released. Here we would use push by allowing the media, film critics and
other people involved in the industry to promote and advertise our film for
us, this would intrigue consumers to want see our movie.
If our film became very successful then it might even be featured in
mainstream film festivals like ‘The London Film Festival’ and maybe
magazine such as ‘Total Film’ and ‘Empire’.
We had to also considered this when discussing the marketing for our
trailer. I believe that we would market our film towards 15-30 year old
males who enjoy watching gritty crime flicks, both mainstream and
independent. Because ours is an independent, we would advertise this
using mainly cost-efficient push marketing like trailers, posters, flyers and
other independent ways of marketing. We would also use independent film
magazines like ‘Sight and Sound’ and ‘Little White lies’ to features articles
discussing our film which would combine push and pull marketing by
attracting consumers, they would be interested in the article and would
want to read more.

4. SOCIAL NETWORKING
The film industry has embraced social media ever since its up rise. This is a cost-effective
way of interacting with fans and consumers directly using both push and pull marketing to
promote their newly released films. Social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and
Instagram are adopted by these corporations to use new and diverse ways to promote their
films to their target audience. Pages, profiles and websites can all be made via these social
networking sites, from here they can hastily and cost-freely spread their films virally and
increase their fan bases. A film example of this is ‘Paranormal Activity’. This film was
produced on a budget of $15,000 but managed to gross more than $150 million in box office.
Paramount produced this film and used Facebook as a way to reach their target audience
which turned their production from a small limited showing to a worldwide release.

5. PROMOTION OF OUR FILM
Our film would be produced by ‘Miramax Films’ because they are a large company which
supports independent films and are well known for it. We would attempt to get a larger
more mainstream company to distribute our film (e.g. 20 th Century Fox or Time Warner)
because it would allow us to reach as far as possible in the marketing spectrum of
reaching our audience. However this would not be the case with an independent
distribution company. Through our popular production and distribution companies we
would have the access to a larger marketing campaign where we could enter every
opportunity of advertisement e.g. billboards, magazine covers, talk -shows, posters, TV
adverts etc.

6. MARKETING AND PROMOTION OF OUR FILM
•
Due to the fact that our film is low budget and an independent I feel it would be produced by
companies such as ‘MIRAMAX’ or ‘Film4’
•
We would market our trailer through web 2.0 on social networking sites like Facebook and
Twitter. A website would also be created for the film using pull marketing where consumers
could interact and gain information e.g. the release date, starring actors etc.
•
We’d take all opportunities to publicise our film as much as possible using push marketing
like interviews with the actors and director. These would be presented on the internet or in
small company and independent film magazines such as Sight & Sound. The film could also
be advertised on gambling websites/games which would relate to the film.
•
We would also use a unique strategy of push marketing by producing and distributing masks
that imitate the ones that the main characters wear in the film. These could be given out at
suitable places such as near cash points in town where people dressed up as the ‘One -Eyed
Royals’ would hand them out along with leaflets and flyers of the film and would answer any
questions about the film.
•
It would also be shown at small film festivals and award nights before the main release.
•
Our film would be viewed at independent cinemas like the Duke of York’s Picture house, if it
became a larger success from media attention due to the advertisement, I think we would
extend the showings to larger more mainstream cinemas to increase the consumer population
of our film.

7. DEAD MAN’S HAND TITLES
In our trailer I decided to use a strong,
bold font called ‘Impact’. The aim of using
this font was to hopefully achieve what it
says by impacting into the viewer’s head,
standing out from other films which would
tempt them to watch it. Because the film
that we created is postmodern and very
stylish, I decided to make the titles this
way too. As you can see I presented the
info and text in our trailer in full capitals,
coloured with a clean white against black
background. I decided to put the text in
capitals because it is more outrageous
and challenges the typical subtlety of
most other postmodern crime films such
as ‘snatch’. I think the white against the
simple black is quite minimalist and draws
more attention to what the text is trying to
get across to the audience. As you can
see I also featured these titles on top of
clips such as when we used freezeframes to present each of the characters
individually to the viewer. I shaped the
compositions of these texts to reflect the
contour outline of each of the characters,
this was so that neither of the two
subjects clashed with each other and
blended together well.

8. DEAD MAN’S HAND TITLES
I believe that these titles help our film stand
out because they are very constant
throughout the trailer which increases the
likeliness of them imprinting themselves into
the viewers mind. The strong text contrasts
a lot from its backdrop. We used these titles
to explain the narrative of the film but also
the information about the film e.g.
production, release date etc. We created a
USP by mentioning that the film was given
the award of the ‘Best Independent Film’ at
the Cannes Film Festival which is an
incredibly good achievement, I think that
this would allow it to push itself away from
other films being released at a similar times
which would bring more attention to it. We
also mention that Sight and Sound
magazine have called the director ‘The New
Guy Ritchie’ which is also a high status
which would attract film fanatics and a
larger niche audience.

9. TARGET AUDIENCE
The beginning of our trailer opens up with two of the main characters running out the doors of a bank, this
instantly implies the genre of the film and part of the narrative, this a very popular story-type which I believe
would attract a large male audience.
This part of the narrative was inspired by Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, where they only show the robbery postbank heist. I think this works really well with our trailer because it is an independent and also leaves it to the
viewer to use their imagination. I don’t believe shooting the actual bank hold-up would fit our budget due to all
the expenses, this is good because it would also attract a niche audience of viewers who enjoy watching films
which aren’t so stereotypical and challenge the generic storylines of mainstream film. I feel that this gives our
movie some individuality from other crime films where the plot only revolves around how they conduct the bank
heist, but not what happens afterwards e.g. the consequences or slip-ups etc.
I think our trailer would attract a creative audience due to the visually entertaining editing, cinematography and
stylish content. Because a strong female lead and two male characters are featured, the trailer would draw in a
large audience consisting of both a males and females which fit well into our target audience of the age
between 15-25 years old. At the end of the trailer, there is a blooper-like scene where the two male antagonists
get into a lift and stand there silently whilst corny elevator music plays, this adds a comical touch to the film
which may attract a more relaxed and humorous audience.

10. REACHING THE TARGET
AUDIENCE THROUGH
OUR TRAILER
One subtle way I linked our trailer to the magazine cover was by putting a
quote by Sight & Sound magazine into the trailer. By doing this, we told the
viewer that Sight & Sound have featured our film in one of their magazines.
This would encourage the viewer to buy the magazine and find out more about
the film. I think this is a subtly clever way of promoting ourselves through a
magazine, it is also a sign that a well-known prestigious magazine has
selected to write about our film, which would attract a nice audience of a lot of
independent film fanatics.
The target audience for our film would be 15-25 year old males and females,
but the majority of the audience would consist of adolescent males. We would
rate the film a 15 because it involves violence, swearing and illegal activity.
The target audience are males and females because the main protagonist is a
strong female role which the same sex would find empowering and
challenging to the stereotypical all-male casts in crime films. This would also
be appealing to a male audience because they would want to see the young,
attractive female character in action. Our film would be released in winter
because it would flow well with the rough, intense content of the film, whereas
if it were a romance or comedy etc. it would be released in the summer when
the weather is bright and cheerful.

11. FILM POSTERS ~
RESERVOIR DOGS
The Reservoir dogs
posters were all
produced individually
without a running theme
except from the main
featured conventions
such as the main
characters, the titles and
the colour scheme.
I like the way that they
have featured the
characters so stylistically
and made them the main
focus.
I also admire the way
they have featured a lot
of red to signify that
there will be a lot of
blood.

12. JACKIE BROWN
I really admire how Jackie Brown was advertised. A poster for each main character was created,
but also a main poster which featured all of them. This gave them a variety of different covers but
all shared the main themes such as black and white photograph, the titles and the actor/actresses
name. I think this is an interesting, individual strategy of marketing which has inspired me.

13. KILL
BILL
Like Reservoir dogs, Kill Bill
produced a wide range of different
posters which all featured the main
props, characters and colour
scheme.
I believe that they used the
colours yellow and black
because it relates to
warning signs which often
signify danger.
I really like the way that
they have made the props a
big feature of the poster
because it tells us that it
has a lot of importance to
the narrative.

14. LOCK STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS
Lock Stock and Two Smoking
Barrels used a similar marketing
strategy as Kill Bill and Reservoir
Dogs. Here in there posters they
featured the main characters and
themes of the films i.e. Poker and
Crime. What I like about these
posters is the vibrant Saul Basslike graphic ideas they have
presented which adds a postmodern edge to the advertising
strategy.

15. DEAD MAN’S HAND POSTERS
Here is the trio of my final posters, as you can see, I was mainly inspired by Jackie Brown’s technique of marketing where I have created a
series of posters featuring different main characters. I was also inspired by the way Lock Stock featured its main props to signify the genre
and content of the film, this is why I have featured money, guns and cards. In a way, these are the McGuffin of the film which push the
story along kept a running theme in the posters through the main titles, composition and colour scheme. I used a red brick background
because it gives off a rough, cockney-like appeal which relates it to other films like Snatch and Lock Stock. I think the strategy of creating a
series of posters has given our marketing technique a strong USP. I am very pleased with these, due to the fact that we have a variety of
posters means that we could advertise the film more frequently in locations, our target audience and other audiences would then see
these, making the connection between the trio. They would also see certain aspects which link to the trailer and magazine, this would help
the film stand out by a strong margin from others by having a wider variety of marketing strategies which would build up the existence of
our production in their minds.

16. When you look closer
underneath the text you
can see that the girl is
holding a gun, this shows
that she is in control but
also as it is a typically
used prop it signifies the
film genre.
The way in which she is
holding the gun to her
head tells the audience
that there will be violence
in the film, it also adds
depth to the image as to
why she would be doing
this in the situation of a
bank heist…
I think the combination of
male and female main
characters would attract a
wider audience of both
genders.
In this poster (similarly to
the trailer) I have
presented the female
protagonist as a strong
lead role. Here her head is
in a strong looking position
making her look like she
has authority, she is also
giving off a look like she is
in control. I shot the
photograph from below her
also to give the sense of
dominance. I believe that
this would attract a wide
audience of women and
feminists because its not
very typical to see a lead
female protagonist in a
popular crime film, I think
they would see this as
empowering and would
want to watch the film.

17. In the left image the character is holding fake money which we created by taking images of £20
notes off the internet and resizing them to fit the scale of ordinary bank notes. We then printed
these out and stuck them onto wads of paper which we had also cut to size, this was then
completed by wrapping a thin piece of card around each of the wads.
I believe that this trio of
At the bottom of
posters fits well with the
each of the posters I
trailer and
added the main title
communicates with it
and below it the
well. This is achieved
slogan ‘A heist is
by the posters featuring
the same props which
going down’. This reare featured in the
enforces the hints to
trailer i.e. money, cards
the genre and the
and guns.
content of the film.
The style which we
These titles are also
have presented our film
featured in the trailer
in relates well to other
which allows the film
famous crime films
which would attract
and posters relate to
bigger fans of the crime
one another.
genre.
To bring more focus towards the main protagonist I used a great depth of field on the two other characters
and focused more on the props which they were holding. I did this to enforce that fact that they are less
important and to subliminally tell the audience who the narrative revolves around - Sam (Beth). The text
‘Dead Man’s Hand’ reflects the image as the character is holding a hand of cards and dies later in the film,
this is also the same case with the other poster where the character’s hands are full of money and he also
dies. This is also one of the reasons why they are both out of focus and Sam (Beth) isn't, because they both
die in the film and she is the survivor.

18. MAGAZINE COVER RESEARCH & INSPIRATION
To further the marketisation of our film we would try to feature our
film on magazine covers such as Sight and Sound, Little White
Lies and maybe Empire, depending on the attention on our film
and its success.
The target audience of the issue would have to be similar to our
other ancillary products (male/female age 15-25) otherwise it may
be advertised to people who take no interest in our film and the
marketing strategy would have no purpose.
Here are two exemplary magazine covers produced by ‘Sight and
Sound’ magazine, I believe that our film would be featured in this
magazine due to the fact that it is an independent film being
produced by a new upcoming director. If we were to create a
magazine cover like one of these then we would need to present
on of the creators of the production e.g. director, actor etc. this is
because they are more interested in the artistry and creation of the
film
Here are another two exemplary magazine covers which have
been created by a company called ‘Little White Lies’. This is a
magazine which aims at a younger audience who take more
interest in independent films which I believe is an ideal for us
because our film is rated a 15 which would hopefully widen our
consumer population. All of their magazine covers feature
illustrations as the main cover which gives their magazine a strong
USP and helps it stand out from other magazines. If we were to
feature on this, then we would have to produce some sort of
illustration or artistic design representing our film. I believe that
this would be an ideal magazine for our production to feature on
because it would fit well with the artistic concepts that our other
ancillary texts carry.

19. DEAD MAN’S HAND MAGAZINE COVER
On the far left is our final magazine cover. Before producing this we
researched and looked at other Sight and Sound magazine covers to
get a gist of how we should present ours. After researching we found
that they don’t show anything to do with the film, but the people
behind the production e.g. actors, directors etc. For this reason we
decided to show an image of the editor/ cinematographer, we did this
because our film trailer is quite visually artistic and creative which is
part of its USP. To challenge other magazine covers we decided to
make our subject more interesting by giving him a slightly mad
expression and feature some of the props from our film (mask and
poker chip), this contrasted to other Sight and Sound magazine
covers which typically feature the subject in a monotone perspective
with basic visual accompaniment. We believe this would stand out
from other magazines because it is out of the ordinary and features a
new and upcoming production artists which might take peoples
attention due to the fact that it is the directors which are most
commonly featured. We featured the props in the image because it
allows him to relate to aspects in ‘Dead Man’s Hand’, this would
entice the viewer to read about what is so special. I believe this would
attract a wide mixture of a mainstream and an independent audience
because Sight and Sound is a famous independent magazine which
features the best new releases. I think this works well together with
our other ancillary texts because it features some of the main props
of our film which signify aspects and elements of the production. It
also shares the title ‘Dead Man’s Hand’ which allows our target
audience to identify it and relate it to the subject and the posters and
trailer.