Cold BloodEvaluation Part 2Beth Quittenton

How effective is the combination of your main product and

ancillary texts?

When creating my poster I wanted to have a strong central image that was the most dominant aspect of the

poster. Another important aspect was the colour theme of the poster. I wanted to connote a dark and gloomy

atmosphere; therefore the background image of the poster is black. This also connotes a sense of

mysteriousness because you cannot see anything in the background. I also wanted to reflect how the film has

elements of science-fiction; therefore I wanted to include the colour green as the second dominant colour. To

connote that this is a horror film, I have added subtle hints of red on the poster. I placed a cracked glass texture over the eye so that it drew more attention towards it. I wanted the eye to be the main focal point of the image, because

it shows how the main character has undertaken a transformation, and therefore represents part the film’s

narrative. This also creates a sense of direct address towards the audience; it naturally draws the eyes of the

audience to the face that is looking at them.

I have followed the typical conventions of a horror poster. When comparing my poster to an official horror poster we can see clearly similarities within it.

Firstly, the title of the film is the boldest and most eye-catching text on the poster. Also, the image is either of the protagonist, or the antagonist; these are the main characters within a horror film; therefore they need to be the most recognisable. Both of the posters have a tag line; the tag lines usually connect with either the place, or what happens within the film. Tag lines can be used to build tension, and also to inform the audience of the type of scary

location that is going to be used. Black is the most dominant colour within both of the posters. This connotes a sense of mystery due to the pathetic fallacy of night-time, and it also reflects on the scary atmosphere of the poster. The colour red on both posters represents blood, therefore the

audience know by the subtle hints of red on both posters that there is going to be some body-horror within the films. We have both also credited the relevant people and companies, in the billing block at the end of the poster, that have

helped to make the films; this is situated at the bottom of the magazine, underneath the title of the film. The images that are used in both posters

display either the protagonist or the antagonist, this helps to draw the audience into the image through the use of direct address, and also it gives

the audience a sense of the location, and the overall sense of the atmosphere of the film. My image fits the conventional structure of official horror posters because I have used an image of one of the main characters within the film, I have also used part of the custom used throughout the horror film to allow the

audience to get a sense of what the film entails.

During the construction of my magazine cover, I wanted to make sure that I had a strong central

image that related to my horror trailer Cold Blood. Although the model does not feature in the actual trailer itself, I wanted to use it because it indicates that there will be a strong “final girl” character who will challenge the antagonist in the full film. When looking at the image you can see that it is going include some sort of amphibian; the colours also

help to reflect the genre/s of the film. The colour red again connotes that the film is going to have

elements of blood, and the colour green usually relates to aliens, therefore this reflects that there is going to be elements of the sci-fi genre due to the

herpetology-based narrative.

When comparing my magazine cover with an official magazine cover you can spot some very clear comparisons. Firstly, we

both have a very clear and dominant central image of a “star” in the film; this allows the audience to be drawn towards the

magazine as they can clearly see the character. The film titles are also very boldly placed underneath the image, and also

the colour of the text links into the overall colour theme throughout the magazine. Both magazine covers have also

advertised free magazine posters; creating added merchandise to draw in potential buyers. The magazine titles are written in bold at the top of the page and relate to what

the magazine is about, and what area of creativity they feature in. There are also quotes from both of the featured films either above or below the film’s title, which humanise the film’s production and draw us into feeling closer to the

film’s stars.

On the slide before is a screen shot of a scene from my horror trailer Cold Blood, as well as my magazine cover and my poster. Together, they carefully try to create an advertising campaign that sells both

the narrative and genre of our film. Both my magazine cover and my poster fit to the trailer because of the use of the colour green, as well as the use of scales to connote a lizard-like creature. Also, the use of

black throughout all three images consistently create a sense of mystery, which would lure the audience in to find out what happens,

and how someone can become a lizard-like creature. The selected target audience that Cold Blood is aimed at is predominantly males, as well as females, between the ages of 18 to 25; we have achieved

this through the use of having a final girl on the magazine cover. Another horror film that has a target audience of both males and females, and also features a final girl is The Amityville Horror; the

final girl character has to protect her child in order to save her husband.

The trailer for Cold Blood is aimed at a wide target audience because of the way it merges two genres. Cold Blood features elements of sci-fi, and sci-fi is

stereotypically more appealing to males in comparison to females. However, the trailer also

features elements of a psychological horror, which is more appealing to females, so some females

would take an interest into our film. My magazine would appeal to a more mainstream audience,

rather than a niche audience; this is because horror is quite a mainstream genre amongst teens aged 18

to 25, therefore the magazine would mimic the conventions of Empire magazine, but with a horror

twist.