Evaluation Question 4- How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Evaluation Question 4- Technologies Used on Prezi

Evaluation Question 3- What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Evaluation Question 3 on Prezi

Evaluation Question 2-How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

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

The way in which a film and its ancillary texts connect is very important in order for your film to be a success. It is no good for a film which genre is action, to have a poster which displays an innocent image of a couple as this is associated with romance which would give the audience the wrong message about the film. The ancillary products of a film play a big role in the marketing stages as they are the main source of promotion. A really good example of how ancillary products have worked well in promoting a film would be that of the Disney Pixar film Finding Nemo. A range of teaser and theatrical posters were made for this film, each giving away a little more information about the film (similar to trailers). The first poster that they released did not focus on the characters very close up but instead from a distance surrounded by other fish. This gave the audience an idea what the genre of the film is. They then moved on to producing posters with some of the main characters, and then a busy poster, including all of the characters. With each product poster they produced, each focused on a different aspect or character from the film to help entice the viewer into wanting to go and see the film.

The brief that I chose, required me to produce a poster for my film and also a review to be featured in a magazine. These are both very effective methods in promoting a film. To start with I researched into existing solutions for other films to find out what the codes and conventions for them are and to get an idea as to what I could include in order to make my ancillary products a success. The most interesting fact that I found out was that short films don't very often have any ancillary products as they are shown only at short film festivals. Some however did have posters to accompany them of which are shown up and around festivals. Reviews are more common within the short film industry, as they are used to explain what the thoughts behind them are, and any other information that the producers want to hear. These are included in material handed promotional books/ guides at film festivals. The fact that short films tend not to have any ancillary products or promotional material, meant that I found it quite difficult to find examples. For this reason I had to use both the few examples of short film material with material used to promote feature films. 


Throughout my film and ancillary products I have tried to use certain features that can easily link them together so that if an audience member saw the poster, they would instantly know that it was for the short film Coco & Buddy, without necessarily reading anything.

For example in both of my ancillary products I have used the same images of the protagonists. The images that I have chosen I believe reflect their personalities well, and as I have used the same images on both products, they are going to be easily recognised. This should also entice the viewer into finding out more about the film. This is a conventional feature for films and their products to include the same images.

I also chose to keep the colour scheme for my products very basic, for example using the blue from the title credits in the film, again on both of the products as the main headings. I also used the same paw print design on both my poster and magazine film review to help combine them together. This also adds to the narrative and genre as brown paw prints are iconic of a naughty dog, which would be associated with perhaps a comedy genre. All of my products use a very similar ‘bubble’/ ‘cartoon’ style font which links in very well with the narrative and style of my animation, which is similar to Roobarb and Custard.

I believe overall that all 3 products link together really well and can easily be recognized as being from the same film and would successfully grab the audience’s attention and created a buzz about my film. The audience will easily be able to identify with the characters as they appear on both products. I have tried as best I can to create ancillary products which are as realistic, and professional as possible so that my target audience can identify with all of the elements as if it were a feature film. To view which specific features I have included within my products and why, click on the images below.

double_fin1, a photo by HarrietASmedia on Flickr.

Final film poster, a photo by HarrietASmedia on Flickr.

Evaluation Question 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

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Coco&Buddy- Finished Film

After many weeks and hours, I have finally come to the end of my animation. 710+ drawings and I am left with a five and a half minute short film- much longer than I thought I could make! My next aim is to gather as much feedback as possible for my film to find out what people think of my animation and any improvements they think should be made.

Film review page feedback

Like I carried out for my poster feedback, I also printed out a hard copy of my magazine review page for people to view, read and comment on. I also posted it onto the online social networking sites Twitter and Facebook however this was less successful. People prefered to just 'like' my work rather than post any comments which meant I have to gather more first hand research.

" ‎11 sentences down on the left column. Should that say "the quest to get rid of Buddy"? Doesn't quite make sense as it is written. Otherwise, it's fab and I love it :)"

"I think thats its a really good idea having a storyboard of how the film is actually made as I found it really interesting! I didn't know there were so many processes in making an animation"

"The pawprints running across the page look really cool, like the dog had walked across the page!"

"I think maybe there should be some screen shots from within the film as in most film reviews you get to see images of the stars or parts of main events like a car chase"

"I think its brilliant and looks just like a real film review!"

"There are a few spelling and grammar mistakes but apart from that its really good!"

"In the main film title the name buddy is all in lower case and on the opposite page, the first letter is a capital, is it meant to be like this? There are also a few spelling mistakes"

Video feedback on final product

Final ancillary products

Poster feedback

To gain feedback and opinions on my film poster I printed off a copy and asked a range of people what they thought about it. The feedback I reieved was very positive which meant that my poster was quite successful as it was, however I will still make some slight alterations. Below are some of the comments that I recieved:

"I really like the way the dog is at the front of the page as it makes him look mischevous and playful"

"The dog for me is the aspect that really stands out as the bright orange draws your attention in, then you see the rest of the page afterwards"

"The puppy looks really cute, I want one!"

"I think the fonts used work really well as they are quite cartoony which fits in with the theme"

"As its for a film, maybe there should be a tag line or a quote from the film to help sell it more as the poster doesn't really give any indication of what the film is about or its storyline"

"It's really good! Definatly something I would want to see!"

"The way the page has used the rule of thirds makes it look more professional"

"The way the poster is so simple and not over done works really well especially for its target audience"

"This reminds me of Rhoobarb and Custard!"

Poster feedback

Professional feedback on ancillary products

Professional Feedback on Ancillary Products on Prezi

Gathering feedback for my ancillary products

It is always useful to gain feedback from any work that you do which is why I decided to see what people think about my poster and review. I decided that I would post these onto the social networking sites Twitter and Facebook, as here I would be able to reach a wide range of audiences. I will also record some video and written feedback as well to gain more of a variety.

Animation Almost complete with commentary

Becoming a foley artist!

Finding the right sound effects for my animation was much harder than first anticipated. Some of the sounds which I really wanted to use, were so specific it was just not possible to find them. For this reason I had to try to create the right effects myself therefore being a foley artist! I used a film camera to record a number of different sounds which I thought would be appropriate to use, then uploaded them to Final Cut Express and deleted the video that came with it so I was left with just the sound. I think some of the effects which I recorded myself are quite good and once they are in the animation, I could not really tell the difference between the ones I made and the ones I found.

Development of magazine film review

Development of film review

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Problems with the soundtrack

I had previously decided on an opening sequence and base track (playing in the background throughout the film) but had not really started looking properly for sound effects. The first few sound effects that I needed, I found quite quickly, however the further into the film I went the harder it was to try and find sound effects that are suitable. This meant that I will have to spend more time than anticipated finding these, and if I can't find any suitable, I may have to create them myself.

Working with Nadia for help and feedback

For the past few weeks I have been visited in my lessons by a student (Nadia) who is currently completiting a course in Multimedia at college. Nadia was also an ex-sixth form student from my school so knew the course that I am doing well as she had already been though it herself. Nadia has offered me help and advice on the best ways to edit and create a suitable soundtrack for my short animation. She has also given me feedback on my work on things that I could improve on which has been really useful. Her help has really been useful to me as I have learnt so many new skills in how I can produce my animation and also the best ways to edit my work.

Paw print designs

For both my ancillary products I decided that they would feature a simple paw print design running across the page. I believed this would give the products a unique and also a recognisable feature for my short film. The design which I decided to use was print 3 as I thought this would best suit the genre of the products and film but also because it is the most cartoon- like and simple. Print 1 and 2 both would have worked well however are a little to detailed as they feature the nail prints as well as the pads of the feet. Print 4 however would not be appropriate as it has too many toes to have come from a dog. 

Ancillary Product Development- Film Poster

Creation of film poster

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Drawing almost complete!

I have now almost finished the drawing for my short animated film! I have now drawn 594 drawings and only have the end sequence left to complete. The film is looking quite good from what I have been editing in FinalCut, and I am very pleased with the progress. I have now moved onto creating the soundtrack for my animation. I spent an hour on this today and feel that it will be a longer process than first aniticipated as it takes a lot of searching to find a sound effect that will really work well.