Ancillary Texts - LIIAR.

The brief for my coursework was to produce a promotion package for my new film. I will therefore create a poster for my film and a front cover for a film magazine, which will feature my film. To help ensure I produce successful ancillary texts I am going to look at how the media concepts can be applied to my ancillary texts. I will also look at existing media texts which will help me identify the conventions of both film posters and magazine front covers.


Film posters


Language- The language on film posters will be any form of text that is featured. This language will be informative; it will include a release date, the name of the film and perhaps other text such as the name of actors, the producer or the director etc. The language of posters will also include the style and colour of the font. The colour scheme of a poster will have an impact on audiences therefore it is very important that the right colours are chosen.

Institution- The institution for film posters will usually be the production company of the film. Their logos normally appear on the poster; this will help to promote the film. If the production company is well known and has released other films this might entice audiences to go and watch other films produced by them.

Ideology- the ideology behind a film poster is to advertise and promote an upcoming film. The poster has to represent the film through language and images, it has to inform and entice the target audience to go and watch the film.

Audience- Film posters are produced to reach a mass audience; they are usually put in magazines, on the internet, on the side of buses or billboards. Film posters are in various places so that people who do not buy magazines or do not have the internet will see them in other locations. Therefore film posters do not have a set audience as they are often seen by many.

Representation- The genre of film is often represented in the advertising poster, this is usually achieved through the image and language used on the poster. For example, a poster for a horror film would include a scary/threatening image and the use dark colours, whereas, a poster for a romance would include bright colours and an image revolving around a couple in love.


Film magazines front covers


Language- The language used on the front cover of a film magazine will include elements such photographs, plugs, mastheads and typography. Some magazines rely heavily on the written word when it comes to articles, however as I am only creating a front cover and not an article it is very important that I focus on the main image. The main image on the front cover is what will grab the audience’s attention; it is the key convention and usually is an image of the main character from the film to help promote it. The language also includes the colour and layout of the magazine. All these concepts have to be considered very carefully because publishers want to sell as many copies as possible so therefore have to make sure the language of their magazine is right.

Institute- The institute will be the publisher of the magazine. There are several companies who publish magazines. Some examples of companies who publish film magazines are; Bauer Media Group who publish Empire magazine, Future Publishing who publish Total Film, and British Film Institute (BFI) who published Sight & Sound.

Ideology- The main ideology for all magazines is consumerism. The more readers a magazine has, the better, making it very important the magazine includes features that will grab the target audience’s attention. Therefore I must make sure my front cover will grab my target audience’s attention in order to have high consumerism.

Audience- The audience of film magazines will often be film fanatics and people interested in entertainment. Film magazines include lots of different articles revolving around film, an example might be film reviews, and this will tell audiences if a film is worth seeing or not. Therefore I must make sure my front cover will entice my target audience to come and watch my film.

Representation- Film magazine front covers will represent films; the front cover will always feature a main character for an upcoming film. This main image will be very important, not only will it represent the film and its genre; it will also represent the magazine, for example, if the magazine has a well known actor or actress on it, it will make the magazine look more established.