2) Original Plans and Drafts of Ancillarys - Evaluation - How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts

I have gone through many different stages of planning to find the correct images for my ancillarys, especially for my film poster. Originally on the poster I wanted just Stephen on the cover, in a particular pose which would make him look thoughtful but also with a sense of anger and dispair across his face. This was due to him being the main suprise in the film and also without the factor of Stephen being the ghost the plot would have been severely lacking in terms of story-telling and character depth.

These screenshots of Stephen were originally intended for my film poster, I wanted the poster to take place at the accident at first because it is the most iconic scene in the film and the opening scene that will be most memorable to audiences. Furthermore I wanted to create a poster which showed Stephen's emotion and also his longing for revenge.


Originally I wanted the picture to show Stephen's expression and be geared only towards him as he is the shock in the film.



However I decided that being as there are two main actors in the film then surely the poster should feature both of those actors.

I considered using this image as it was a side angle, it is quirky and shows the emotion or lack of the emotion in his face. However I did feel like we should both be on the poster to promote the both of us instead of just a solo image that may not look as commited as a dual image.

I did not like this image as his expression was not right as he looks shocked instead of menacing, and he appears to be in mid-blink.

I wanted to use this image as it is full body and is keeping the connection with the film as it is showing the scene of the accident. However the posture of Stephen looks too slumped and casual for him to be a ghost and he does not appear to be very ghastly.

With this in mind I came up with my second idea to use a image with both of us in. With the next group of images I tried to get the correct setting and positioning of the models to portray a set-up that is unique but also looks like a possible psychological thriller. This was also the time when I developed my understanding further that the image has to link with the film within the mise en scene and expressions within the characters, which is why I had Stephen positioned behind me to show that he was following me and my expression would be distressed in the final product.

I liked the layout of this image as the people within the shot are correctly positioned in terms of where they are standing as the plan was to blur out the surrounding environment along with the people so there was a specific emphasis on me and Stephen, so that the idea would be reinforced that Stephen was obsessed with me and he is unrelenting in his stalking of me. However there was a prolem with this image as the teacher positioned on the right side of the image is smiling at the camera, which shows a unatural pose and would also suggest that the photo is staged.

I did like this image as it is more natural and Stephen has a evil look across his face, however I did not chose this as I did not like the positioning of my left hand as it did not look comfortable and I wanted the perfect image.



I did not use this image as it did not fit my style and is not well set up as at the time of the take, Stephen is not focused on me or his body language does not look like he is stalking me. I also did not like my expression as I appear to look like I am about to smile.



This was the first image draft for my poster, and I did plan my poster on this originally. However the reason I finally decided to change it was because of Stephen's body language, such as the positioning of his hand is not a natural place to put it as he has rested it on his thigh. Furthermore I did not like the lighting as they are too bright for the tone of the film and I needed a bleaker setting. This made me reach the conclusion of going for a more natural looking setting outside.

I had to wait for the right day to take the photo as it needed to be a dull and cloudy day to have a miserable set-up, when this day came we went to the local park and took the image which was then edited by a blurred effect on the programme "Photoshop" and that is now the poster for our film.

I used "Photoshop" a couple of times for editing of my final poster in order to blur around the actors and also make the contrast of the image a bit darker to suit the tone of the film.

In addition to the image of the poster I needed a fresh image for my film review, this was due to all the screenshots I attempted to use from my finished film being blurred, pixelated or unclear. This annoyed me as I wanted a scene from the film in my review so it would stick with the conventions of a normal magazine film review, which the majority have a screenshot from the film on them. This brought me to the choice of either having a dull and blurred screenshot from my film on the review or having a freshly made picture taken that would relate to the film and represent the film well with vibrant colours.

I did want this screenshot on my review originally but then changed my mind as it was not very eye-catching and probably would not mean anything to the reader. It was also blurred and did not have a decent light on it.

This was the second screenshot that I attempted to put in my film review but it is clear that this shot is out of focus again and it would not look professional with a unfocused screenshot on my review. Therefore I then made the decision to take a posed photo for my review and hope it would look good, I also planned it to run along with the conventions of my film, so I made it look like it could be a potential scene from within the film or a scene that was scrapped during the planning process.

Therefore I went for a posed photo that could look like it would be in our film, this did not work as it was nothing to do with our film.

The same with this one, as it had no stand-out prop that would represent the film.

With this close-up it was good as you could really see the emotion in my face and also it looked like I had things pressing on my mind. However I did not chose this image as it did not have anything iconic from the film so that the audience would immediately know what the film was about or be excited to actually see the film.

This is when it became apparent that the most iconic part of the film was the car scene so I felt it was fitting to have an image on my review of me and the car as it would support the film and imply that cars are a key object in the film. I liked the angle of this shot as it was unique and interesting as it enforced me with a dominant look, which would suggest to the readers that I held the power in the film and would be the key figure. However this was not the case so I decided to scrap this look as it did not relate to my position in the film as Stephen holds the authority for the most part of the film which reflects in the deterioration of my mental state.

This was a good image as it showed me on eye-level with the camera, therefore being on eye-level with the audience and the readers, with this image it was clear that this kind of pose was the ideal one for my review, as the car is included in the shot and also my body language is good as I am engaging the audience, however the only reason I did not use this picture was because my facial expression looked too happy to be under pressure and threatened like in the film.

Therefore I re-did this pose with a more aggressive look across my face which would be the image on the final review,  and angled my body sideways so that I looked like I was hostile.