A2 Coursework Ancillary Texts Planning – Film If you are doing a trailer you have to produce the following ancillary texts to compliment your film: 1. a film magazine front cover, featuring the film; 2. a poster for the film. To do this you will need to research the conventions of these types of texts. Follow the instructions below to help you with your planning.
Film Magazine Front Cover: 1. Investigate how films promote themselves. Text and image is
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very important to the branding of the film, pick a film that is of a similar genre to your trailer and analyse its marketing campaign, look at choice of font, colour and image and what they all connote. (This bit of research is important for both ancillary tasks.) Do a set of font tests for your trailer titles, front cover and poster. These should be consistent across the marketing package. Research the front covers of film magazines. Come up with a list of conventions that you need to get right. Choose one cover and do a detailed analysis of it (this can be done with an image of the cover and arrows etc.) Look at how star image is used – see if you can come up with a set of ‘rules’ for the main photo of your cover. You will have to use these rules when photographing your ‘star’. Take a film magazine front cover and copy it on Photoshop, copying everything you can.
6. Investigate the audience for film magazines – who usually buys them and why they are important to the film industry. (Look online for information and articles on their importance). 7. Go to the websites of the magazines and the websites of their publishers (Total Film – Future =Publishing, Empire – Bauer Publishing). Find out the magazines’ ABC rating and how much they charge for advertising. 8. Do a flat plan of your front cover (the magazine equivalent of a storyboard) work out the layout you want, and plan the type of photos you need to take of your star. 9. Begin mocking up your front cover.
Film Poster: 1. Research the conventions of film posters. First look at their history and how they have developed over the last century. Secondly look at film poster from the genre your film is and come up with a list of conventions that you need to get right. Choose one cover and do a detailed analysis of it (this can be done with an image of the cover and arrows etc.) 2. Choose a poster and copy it on Photoshop, copying everything you can.
3. Investigate how important the poster is the promotion of the film. 4. Do a flat plan of your poster, work out the layout you want, and plan the type of photos you need to take of your star.
5. Begin mocking up your poster.