How effective is the combination of your main

product and ancillary texts? Caroline Reed

Q2

Synergy Synergy is the interaction of multiple elements in a system to produce an effect different from or greater than the sum of their individual effects. Synergy is crucial in the film industry as it allows products to be marketed effectively (how it reaches and targets an audience). The products as a whole must work better together than they would individually in order for synergy to be successful. Media synergy is often described as the way in which different elements of a media conglomerate (e.g. Universal) work together in order to promote linked products across different media platforms.

Example of Synergy A good example of synergy would be the ‘Indiana Jones’ franchise. This franchise included 4 films, several novels, a television series, various toys and games, theme park attractions and a comic book series. These products all contained common features which made them easily recognisable as being part of the franchise by the target audience.

Each product of the franchise would in turn sell another. For example, having viewed the film at the cinema an audience member may want to read the novels, which may then make them want to watch the television series, which then may promote a toy or game from the franchise etc. This logo would be used across

all media platforms, ensuring that all products part of the franchise would be easily recognisable by the target audience.

How I tried to create synergy

Character Throughout all 3 of my products I used the same lead actor as the main feature; this helped avoid confusion amongst the audience who don’t want to be bombarded with too many characters/ information (as they may forget what film is being promoted). By having one, distinct character advertised throughout the products the film is more instantly recognisable. Furthermore by promoting one character the audience are more likely to form a relationship with them and become emotionally invested in their story; increasing the chances of them going to watch the film.

Actor names Throughout all 3 of my products I have advertised the names of the main actors (apart from the magazine where I just advertise the lead actor). - Richard Weare- Alex Elliott- Lucy Blowing This is a common convention of the film noir genre which focused a lot on the actors’ starring in the films e.g. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. By doing this I was sticking to conventions of film noir whilst also creating synergy across my products.

Black and white filtering Across all 3 products I used black and white filtering on all the footage and photographs I chose to include. This is a defining convention of film noir and I felt it was very important to stick to this genre characteristic.

Being consistent across the products also helped avoid confusion. For example, if my target audience saw a poster advertising the film in colour having already watched the trailer in black and white, they may become confused about whether the actual film will be in colour or not. This would therefore make them question the genre itself as black and white is such a key convention of film noir.

Lighting In film noir productions lighting is crucial and black and white allows incredible, deep shadows to be created on the actors’ faces with the right techniques. Across all 3 products I tried to emulate this cinematic style of lighting as it intensely highlights and exaggerates the characters’ moods and facial expressions. Across all 3 products, my lighting was relatively dark and contrasted in order to create these defining shadows.

(photograph for magazine cover)

(spotlight lighting effect used on actor)

(harsh lighting exaggerates the actor’s facial expression and creates shadows around his eyes connoting mystery)

ExamplesFor this shot I wanted to create and highlight the binary opposition of good vs evil. I achieved this through clothing and lighting. The ‘good guy’ protagonist on the left is dressed in light clothing and there are no shadows surrounding him. In contrast the antagonist on the right is in a much darker suit and is in the shadows – all this indicates he’s the villain.

Video/ photo quality Across all 3 products I used the same equipment to film/ take photographs; this created a consistent quality.

The camera I used throughout my coursework was the Samsung MV800, with its 16.1 megapixels and 720p HD video capabilities it produced both footage and images I was happy with.

By being consistent with the filming equipment I used, the audience gained knowledge as to what the budget of the production was and how good the quality of viewing will be.

ClothingAcross all 3 products I have consistently used the same clothing (or at least the same style of clothing) which helped communicate to the audience the film noir genre of the production. Furthermore because the mise en scene was consistent, it helped associate the characters with the clothing and therefore the audience would make a connection between the two subconsciously.1930s/40s style of clothing is a convention of film noir and I felt it was very important to stick to this genre characteristic in my own production.

Examples of clothing in my trailer

If I were to do the products again… If I were to improve or do these products again I would definitely focus more on creating synergy through use of text. I should have created a film noir title in a font I was consistently happy with and use it across all 3 products.

For example, the text I was most happy with was the yellow font on my film poster – with hindsight I can see how the synergy of my products could have been improved if I’d used that across all my products.

Overall conclusion Overall I think the synergy of my products is quite successful, they all work together and promote one another well. Through techniques such as lighting, filtering, clothing and character I was able to promote my film/ product through various different media platforms and I made it obvious they all linked in with one another.

The main element which I believe helped combine my products together is the use of my main character – he is consistent across all 3 products. This allowed the audience to form a connection with him and his story; increasing the chances of them going to watch the film because they’ve become emotionally invested in his character.

Final productsLink to final trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=576_0ayfUxQ