1. SECONDARY RESEARCH
JAMIE WHITBREAD

2. MAIN TASK: FILM TRAILER
• Mark Ramey in issue September 2010 of Media Magazine, said
that it is crucial to know the typical conventions of the
genre, as this will make the trailer be received better by an
audience as they can identify the trailer as the certain genre
easier.
• For instance, the typical conventions of a horror trailer include
high and low key contrast lighting, canted camera
angles, extreme close ups and jump cuts. Ramey says that the
rules are like a recipe to making the perfect film.
(Low key lighting) (Extreme Close Up)
(Canted Angle Shot)

3. BARTHES’ ENIGMA CODE
• Barthes’ Enigma Code (1964) is a theory which suggests
that the audience is drawn in through the use of
mystery, because they are likely to question what they
have just seen, and the answer will only lie in the film. This
makes it likely that the audience will go to see the film. For
example, in the trailer of the film of ‘The Blair Witch
Project’, the opening scene tells the audience that three
student filmmakers disappeared in the woods and were
never seen again. This makes the viewers curious as they
will want to know what has happened to the students and
why they disappeared.
• We are planning to use Barthes’ Enigma Code by leaving
some information out of our trailer. For instance, we are
planning to use a doll for our trailer, and we will not give
away the background of the doll in the trailer.

4. TODOROV’S NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
• Todorov’s Narrative Structure (1969) is a theory
which suggests that films all start off with an
equilibrium, and then have a disruption, followed
again by the balanced equilibrium. Trailers do not
always follow this structure, because most trailers
only show the best scenes without trying to give too
much of the film away, and will usually end with the
disruption which intrigues the viewers to see the film.
• We will apply Todorov’s Narrative Structure to our
trailer, which will start off balanced and end
unbalanced, which will also make viewers curious to
see the film.

5. • An example of Todorov’s Narrative Structure could
be the trailer of ‘The Possession’. In the beginning of
the trailer, everything is very calm, which gives the
trailer a balanced look to it, but as the trailer
progresses towards the end, after the character
receives a certain box, it starts to become tense
and unbalanced.

6. INFLUENCES - POSTER
• After looking at this, we have gained ideas and advice
on what we can do to make our three different media
products.
• Firstly, we are planning on typical horror conventions
such as extreme close ups, canted angles, and low-key
lighting as this will allow audiences to identify the film as
part of the horror genre which will make them feel
scared or uncomfortable while watching the film.
• After looking at Barthes’ Enigma Code, we have realised
how important the creation of mystery is to make the
trailer stand out. We will do this by not giving away too
much information surrounding the key points of our
trailer.
• To create mystery, our trailer will follow a non
chronological structure where the pace will build up to
create tension when the equilibrium will not be revealed
unless the whole film is watched.

7. ANCILLARY TASK: FILM POSTER
• An article on
‘www.webdesignerdepot.com’, written by
Mathew Carpenter, states that there are 7
elements to create a great movie poster.
• Step 1: Attention - Use a striking image which will gain
attention from an audience, such as a character, as
this will gain attention and allow insight into the plot of
the film. For example, this Hangover poster has a
light, gradient background and a large image which
makes it stand out. http://www.webde
signerdepot.com/2
• Step 2: Iconography - Tell the audience the themes 011/02/7-elements-
contained within the film with the image, but without of-a-great-movie-
poster-design/
telling them with words.
• Step 3: Interest - Make the viewer interested by placing
them in the middle of a scene which can only be

8. • Step 4: Appeal - Make the film appeal to all
suitable audiences, to both fans and non-
fans alike, by using elements that will stand
out more to certain fans, such as the
choice of names or the actors used.
• Step 5: Style - The film poster should have a
unique style that matches that of the film’s
overall genre, as this will help the audience
to identify the genre. It is also important to
ensure that the style used is apparent over
all products, because this makes them
more recognisable. For instance, we can
see this with the posters used for the Harry
Potter series. The first poster is somewhat
bright, which reflects the uplifting, warm-
hearted style of the film. However, in the
later film posters, the posters start to turn
gloomy and darker to reflect the ominous
themes of the film.

9. • Step 6: Lasting Appeal – The poster needs to be something that
can later be reused to achieve it’s maximum potential. For
example, the image needs to be something that can be
remembered and reused easily. For instance, the poster can be
resized and reused for a DVD cover, which will make the DVD
recognisable.
• Step 7: Recognisabilty – A film poster should have something
unique that makes it different and recognisable against other
posters. For instance, The Godfather series are recognisable by
the dark background, the bold, white title and the
dark, shadowed image of the protagonist. This theme is followed
throughout the Godfather 1, 2 and 3, which makes all of the
films recognisable.

10. HOW TO READ A FILM POSTER
Tim Brownlee of Media Magazine says that all of the words and
images have a denotative meaning. The denotation of a word
or image is what you are seeing. Everything used on a poster
can be read into further and have a deeper meaning, such as
the setting, colours, actors, clothing, and etc. An example could
be how blue is often used to represent sadness and to make
things seem cold.
In the film poster that we will create alongside our trailer, we are
planning to use colours such as grey, as they can connote a
chilling, paranormal atmosphere which is suited to the horror
genre.
The choice of actor we will use are also intended to represent
our target audience, which is young adults, because of their
age, costume and status.

11. TIPS FOR MAKING A MOVIE POSTER
• Understand the Film – Make sure that you understand the full
story when creating the poster, because this will make others
have an idea of the story which can help to make them judge
whether they will want to see it or not.
• Pick the right font – Although there are many different types of
font styles, only a select few will be good enough for the
poster. Make sure that the font is vivid, clean, and readable
for effected and clear communication.
• Avoid Clutter – White space will help to keep your poster
design clean and a lot more organized and will alow more
people to focus their attention on the important details.
http://unifiedmanufacturing.com/blog/5-tips-making-movie-posters/

12. INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCES
• In Media Magazine, Tom Brownlee talks
about Intertexual References. This is
where a product takes a verbal or
visual reference from another product.
• In our film poster, we had the idea for
an intertextual reference, which was to
use similar text that the poster of ‘The
Woman in Black’ uses, because we
think that the ghost-like look is what we
are aiming to create.
• We are also inspired by the foggy
background which hides the ghostly
face, and we would perhaps like to
use this as another reference.

13. INFLUENCE - POSTER
• When we were researching advice for creating a film poster, we found
that the Mathew Carpenter’s article ‘7 Elements to Creating a Film
Poster’ was the most useful.
• We understand the importance of the image in the film poster, as this will
entice the audience while still telling them a story without words.
• An idea we have thought of was to use toys in our film poster as this will
be striking to the viewer as people are usually used. Toys are also
associated with children and innocence so it will be somewhat shocking
to the viewers. The image would help to communicate the story without
having to use any text.
• We are also hoping to make our film poster seem somewhat simple and
use some white space, as this will allow the poster to appear organized
while still making the audience focus on certain parts of the poster.
• Conventions of film posters generally include a striking image, the film
title, the release date of the film, and actors or company names which
we will try to include to make our trailer seem realistic.

14. MAGAZINES
• An article written on
‘magazinepublisher.com’ gives us
‘design tips for a great magazine’.
• User a Great Cover Photo – A magazine will
only have one chance to try and make a first
impression, which makes the image vital to do
this. A photo can be recognisable and stand
out by showing action or relating to the target
audience. Bright or unusual colours and
unusual camera angles will also make the
magazine stand out to the consumer.
For Example, Empire Magazine’s which shows
The Joker uses bright, fluorescent colours which
makes the text stand out.

15. Use a Great Masthead – The Masthead is the magazine’s
logo. This means that it needs to be eye catching and
the first thing that the consumer notices. All magazines
will be fighting for the attention of the
consumer, therefore a masthead that is designed well
will entice the reader to read that magazine instead of
another.
Careful Font Usage – The font that is
used can also have a big impact on the overall look of
the magazine. Using too many fonts can make the
magazine cover look tacky and be visually confusing for
the reader. This means that a maximum of three fonts
should be used on a magazine at one time, and only
fonts from the same font family should be used.

16. In an article online, Tina Zennand of ‘Underworld
Magazines’ tells us how to design a great
magazine cover with ‘simply irresistible tips’.
Offer Something Extra - Give something out
alongside that the consumers cannot receive in
other ways, such as a free poster, a free gift, or
special offers (such as money off).
Show Some Energy – Make the pictures look
exciting by making them different or unique. Also
give the cover a compelling heading, and try to
make the consumers what the magazine actually
contains without using too many words.
http://www.underworldmagazines.com/how-to-design-a-
great-magazine-cover-simply-irresistible-tips/

17. SUCCESSFUL MAGAZINE COVERS
Rebecca Loveridge (2011) says that there is a recipe that magazines
follow in order to achieve success.
• A Powerful Story and Compelling Image –
The article that is featured on the front cover needs to be compelling
as this is what consumers initally look at, and this is what will draw in
readers.
• Benefits for the Reader –
The reader should be benefited with exclusive offers that will not be
able to be found anywhere else, such as exclusive interviews and
articles.
• Spark Curiosity –
Have one main coverline that is exciting and will make the consumers
want to see it, but only to a limit of coverlines so that the cover does
not become overcrowded.
• Keep It Simple –
Loveridge says that keeping it simple is most important, as a strong
image on a white background will make it stand out, but also tell a
story.

18. INFLUENCE - MAGAZINE
• When looking at secondary research for magazine
covers, one mutual thing that we have noticed is that almost
all of the articles we looked at told us to add something extra
that will benefit the consumer.
• To apply this to our magazine cover, we have planned to
feature our film as an exclusive interview or a review that will
be unique to our particular magazine, which will benefit the
consumer because they will not have heard or seen this about
our film before.
• The masthead that we use will be big and stand out as it is the
logo, and can influence whether someone picks up the
magazine or no, as it needs to make the magazine stand out
from a distance. Also, this needs to stand out to try and
convey to the audience what the magazine is about.
• The photo will stand out, which is an important element which
is going to make the consumer feel attracted to read it. We
will make the camera angles used seem unusual to make our
picture seem unique and stand out.