Evaluation pt. 3 - How effective is the combination of your main product and the ancillary texts?

The idea of the main product was to not only to create a deep and interesting media experience by exploiting the genres of Psychological Horror so as to tell a message along with entertain and/or horrify. Bringing to light certain modern social issues that may have been overlooked was the goal which I feel was achieved expanentionally and after conducting an audience research found that some were able to understand what the film was meant to represent however this was usually from an experienced watcher of the horror and psychological genres with the more media challenged at first viewed it as a normal psychological horror but expressed interest to watch it again and that they would go watch it if it was distributed.

The radio production proved difficult due to the lack of any real research material which led us using a film which is almost the exact opposite to ou own (DR Who) but none the less proved effective in that it showed us how the advert should be structured, we decided to make it easier on our selves by only recording the promotional phrases on a zoom mic and using all the atmospheric music and sound effects from the film to enhance the trailer and make it more entertaining to listen to and ultimately make people want to go and see the film. We went through the motion by statig the people involved in production, he title of the film and who starts in it and eneded it with the entising traditional words of "coming soon" which will make people wonder about its release and keep an eye out, this could unintentionally lead to a cheap form of advertising through word of mouth.





Along with the project two pieces of ancillary texts were developed namely a poster and a radio trailer both of which involved using media in or related to the film. The poster, both draft and actual, was made using both scenes and props from the film itself so as to carry some of the weight and message along with it. The draft sums it up completely with Derek, protagonist, sitting in front of a blank screen, alone with DVD’s strewn about the floor this symbolises his loneliness and his reliance on media for comfort which I feel encompasses what the film was trying to convey, mental imbalances caused by an over-reliance on media.

















The main poster was a lot more minimalistic in that it just involves a table with a noose strategically placed with the DVD within the rope so as to link both suicide and the media. While this may not be as obvious as the previous one it does appear more like an actual movie which will ultimately attract an audience so they can see the message and thus spread it above and beyond its target audience, being both teenagers and adults both of which I hope will find the film educational and provide them with a necessary incite as to the dangers of relying on media to replace reality so they can then spread it themselves through word of mouth both the message and the film allowing not only for a word-of-mouth advertising technique but also do a genuine good deed.