2. HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION

OF YOUR MAIN PRODUCT AND ANCILLARY TEXTS?

This is the final draft of the poster of my film “Demented Dreams”. The poster of my film is very genre-oriented, and follows all the codes and conventions of the psychological thriller genre. The poster did not need to depict the exact storyline or narrative of the film, but instead needed to give off the mysterious and enigmatic effect found in most thriller/horror movies.

As you can see, there are not many visuals needed in the poster. The main element is the use of colour psychology. The colour blue is used to depict gloominess and sadness. The darker areas with the black are used to show darkness, enigma and mystery.

The colour red is used only in the text, which adds a sense of danger. The white is used for the important texts, like the title, to stand out in front of the dark background. The photograph of the lead actor has been edited, with the colour balance enhancing blues and reds.

These were the only two film stills from the final film that were used as the background visuals in the poster.

The word “Voices” was used to create a sense of confusion, mystery and curiosity.

The hooded alter-ego’s face is not clear, which is why it was used in the poster to tell the audience what the conflict of the movie might be.

The photos on the left are more film stills showing the lead actor’s expressions. In all photos, the protagonist is shown being scared, anxious, confused and worried.

Such is shown similarly in the photograph on the right, which was used in the final poster.

These are posters of other psychological thriller films that are similar to the poster of my film “Demented Dreams”.

This is the magazine review of my film in ‘Total Film’ magazine’s “Buzz” section.

The magazine review talks about the film’s main storyline, along with details about technicalities like cinematography and editing. Such details help emphasize the film’s technical strengths, making the audience more fascinated and eager to watch the film.

The title of the film is emphasized by being written in bold, over a red background.Quotes like: “The most intense movie of the year!” also help in creating curiousity, as well as creating a sense of guarantee that the film will meet up to their expectations. This is also done through adding Star ratings.

This is what the ‘Buzz’ section of ‘Total Film’ magazine looks like. I have applied a similar format in my film’s magazine review. I have also used speech bubbles and other shapes to emphasize certain parts of the text.

These are the film stills used in the magazine review. I chose to add these photos because they clearly depict the genre and narrative structure of the film. The photos on the bottom explain the lead character’s personality and the conflict she was facing. The photos on top are used to show the genre elements. The clown statue, snow globe and hallway create eeriness and creepiness. The dark and blue visuals seem striking and bold, as well as enigmatic and mysterious.