Evaluation Question 2- Tasha Reynolds

Pre-video Script:

(Title): Question 2.  How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

(Subheading): Short films and marketing

There are various ways to market a short film that are more accessible and less expensive than if you were trying to promote a feature length film. For example, you could create a website that stands as a form of advertisement for your film. Viewers can join as members and buy tickets to watch it, while other marketing professionals will be able to contact you and help towards the advertisement of your film.

Another method that is effective and efficient is social media. This is a brilliant form of promotion especially if your target audience is in touch with the new media culture that is apparent today.  For instance, you can create a Facebook page based on your short film in which you post various exciting updates such as teaser trailers and contests. My personal opinion of using social media is that it’s a great way to connect with your target audience and gain feedback to improve on.

A popular source of promotion for short films is film festivals as due to the fact that film critics, bloggers and others associated with advertising will be available to get in contact with. As well as having the opportunity to give them a press release of copy of your film to share with people in the industry. Additionally, if you work your way up by submitting your films in smaller film festivals and gain success you will be more likely to succeed in popular festivals like Sundance and Toronto.

(Subheading): How are posters used as a marketing campaign?

Posters are a great way to promote your short film. This is due to the fact that they are advertising your film by engaging the spectator visually but at the same time not giving too much information away. For example various conventions of my final poster not only entice and engage the viewers but also conveys enigma amongst them as it’s a product that intrigues you in wanting to find out more by watching the film.

Our target audience are males and females aged 17-25, so when I was constructing the poster I was aware of the various conventions I would need to use to make my poster appeal to this demographic. For example, the image used for the background of the poster contains the two main characters leaning against each other while sitting, in a comforting and reassuring manner. The meaning that I wanted to be communicated from the action that takes place within the poster is that the two characters have a close bond towards one another. The aspect that I like about this whole image is that the audience don’t have to know the relationship between the characters or the reason why they are doing so from watching the film. They can just relate to the moment shown on the poster by connecting it with a memory that they each have from a time when they portrayed these same feelings and emotions seen in the poster. The reason why I believe that this target demographic would appeal to conventions like this is due to the fact that by the age range stated, our audience will have a clearer understanding and familiarity of what it’s like to have a close bond or relationship with someone. Compared to individuals of a younger age range as they won’t have had as much experience or understanding how strong a bond is between two people.

One element that we as a group wanted to project clearly through our marketing campaign is the aspect of reality. I feel like the location that we chose to shoot in; Brighton is perfect for expressing this. As you can see in the image on the poster the photo is set on a peaceful beach where the atmosphere is contrastingly different compared to the bright and lively attractions visible in the distance. The poster is designed to imply that you the spectator are intruding on a personal moment the characters are displaying. The goal that I wanted to achieve with this visual is that when you look at the poster you feel like you are there in the image with the characters making it realistic and relatable to our target audience.

(Subheading): How the poster and the film link together to create a brand?

Both the film and poster work well together to create a brand for the marketing of this project. This is because they both support one another through their combined purpose and similarities in design and connotations. For example, the title is a very important convention in terms of maintaining a brand as it has to be memorable both visually and verbally. So when it came to constructing the title of our short film we had to take this into consideration. The name ‘One Year’ suited the format of both the poster and film as it was short, simple, and enigmatic. Now when promoting a brand yes the name is important but the visual conventions are the elements that stay in people’s minds. So when choosing the typography of the title we wanted it to suit the style of both products but to also have a link to the storyline. We chose shorelines font type for both the poster and film as it resembles an individual’s handwriting and therefore conveys a personal interpretation for the audience and solidifies the link between the poster and film.

(Subheading): How the review influences our short film

Another marketing method to promote a short film is by having a review written of your film. In our case we had to write a review from the point of view of a film critic working for them. When doing this we needed to take into consideration the type of target audience we would be writing for.

In this context it was for 25-35 year olds; a contrasting audience to our own. Therefore when writing the review there were certain conventions that we had to abide by to attract this demographic. For example the context and formality of the language in which they write in is critical and honest but at the same time specialised and respectful. The target audience for LWL is of a middle class background that enjoy spending their free time reading this product therefore resulting in LWLs to cater to their wants and needs.

The outcome of the review written will either be positive or negative however this is based on what the critic thinks. If the review is mostly negative this may resist their audience from watching it. Therefore slightly effecting the overall marketing campaign of the brand as a small percentage of both ours and there audience overlap. However, some viewers may not let the review effect their opinion about whether to watch it or not as they may just read the review to get an idea of what the film is about.

When looking at the marketing campaign based on our actual review I would say that our film was successful but still had room for improvement as it lacked originality in some areas. Overall, I think our attempt to mirror the structure and language of a LWL review was very challenging as we wanted to obviously mimic the aspects that they use but at the same time give an honest review about how we all personal felt about the outcome of our film.

My Question 2 video