Magazine and Poster Initial Sketches

Magazine Initial Sketch

Poster Initial Sketch

Recces

How effective is the combination of my main product and ancillary texts?

A film distributor has to carefully locate and identify the audience, consider why that particular audience would want to see that film and estimate the revenue potential across all formats of its release, this is particularly important as the distributors will need to see if the film will be profitable and worthwhile. If the production is not successfully marketed then this could cause a fall in revenue and would mean that the film is not making as much money as it should be. A film distributor will also have to develop plans and partnerships to build awareness of an interest in the film, this relates back to my previous point as if the film is not made largely aware and not marketed widely then less people will know about it meaning there will be a loss in the profit made. They will have to convert as much interest as possible into cinema visits and persuade exhibitors (cinema operators) to play the film, this is very important as if no cinemas want to play the film then nobody can watch it.

Reach relates to film distribution as all films will need to reach their audience. The larger the reach for a film the more expensive it will be however; this means that the film will be aimed at a larger audience which allows the film to make a larger profit. This can also work in the opposite way and mean that there is possibly a loss/ smaller profit made if the film distributors fail to market the film to the large reach effectively. Various forms of advertising including print and digital mediums will need to be used, mainstream media can also be targeted through interviews with the cast, TV/ Radio etc. A film that had a successful reach was The Woman in Black featuring Daniel Radcliffe. This film had a very large reach and made a successful profit with Daniel largely promoting the film and many other forms of advertising used to get the film out to as many people as possible.The size of the marketing plan will differ from film to film as some will have bigger expectations than others. Audience research is vital during film distribution and marketing as this is what will ensure that the marketing materials appeal to that particular audience.

Deadpool was a film released in early 2016 and its advertising campaign was one of the most talked about in the run up to its release. It used many different posters and other forms of advertising in very clever ways. The first poster they used was one typical of a film with a romantic genre. This was used because the film was released on Valentine’s Day and to make the film more appealing to a wider audience, including those who are not massive fans of the superhero genre. This played on the 'rom com' idea and fooled a lot of people into seeing the film.
Another advertising method they used was large billboard s with

emojis that represent the name of the film. This method appeals particularly to the younger generation who regularly use emojis on their smartphones. Finally they used more traditional posters that are more typical of the superhero genre, however, these posters were specifically placed on certain websites eg. Social media sites to avoid the views from younger children as these posters contained sexual themes. This ensured that the film could not attract any controversial views. 
Ryan Reynolds was the lead actor in the film and helped a lot with the marketing campaign, having a well known actor on the film helped largely in terms of gaining interest. The trailer links to the last poster, which is the most typical of the superhero genre. This film followed a simple advertising campaign that did not always follow the conventional rules of a typical superhero film, however the trailer contained the most links to the last poster.

Uniform identity is extremely important throughout advertising campaigns in films as they should all link together and relate to each other. With my poster, magazine and trailer they all link together as the image on the poster is one featured in the film and the magazine features one of the actors on the front cover and several coverlines that all relate to the film. This creates a narrative that flows through the products.

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Unforgiven Finished Trailer

Unforgiven Draft Trailer

In what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?