Question 2

Evaluation: Question 2

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

My products

Across my main and ancilliary products, I have established and maintained a clear brand image, carrrying out a colour scheme and house style that is consistent throughout all three of my final products.

Poster

Magazine front covers

Movie trailer

Main title

This title, made in Adobe Photoshop, was carried over across the main and the ancilliary products to establish a consistent brand image. Using the font "Cross Town", this title was made with an eroded image in mind - which connotes to the nature of the narrative as well as the sport. This font was chosen because it combined the eroded look with a sans-serif font, which caught my eye at first glance. "Cross Town" was also chosen due to its aesthetic, which conforms to the conventions of the existing logos I previously researched. Adding to the connotations of the choice of font, the choice of red was an early idea shown in the film logo drafts. A darker red was also chosen, which is a similar to shade to the colour of blood - another semantic code for the narrative. With the eroded font, the red colour helps to connote to the violence and aggression of the narrative, whilst also conforming to the conventions of the genre. Another potential metaphor for the eroded effect, is the change of personality of Harry Evans during the narrative. A drop shadow was also added behind the text, to make sure the logo stands out against all backgrounds. The only aspect which challenges the conventions of genre (and the existing titles), is the boxing glove inside the 'O'. This is used as a semantic code to echo the importance of boxing to the narrative, as well as the main characters.Out of the original logo ideas, this iteration of the logo was chosen due to its more professional aesthetic, which helped me to identify which one was best as a brand image. This iteration is the most legible as well as the most professional looking, which means that it will be able to stand out within the genre as an established movie. The other logo ideas had aesthetics that weren't compatible with either the genre or the narrative, which would eventually become a insight into the narrative for the audience. This current title, which was logo 4, was made after conducting further research into the logos used for boxing films, which then informed me in how boxing films convey their images towards their respective audiences. This logo also had the aesthetic which was more compatible with different print products; the logos conformed to a professional look across the poster, the magazine and the movie trailer. Because of the title's compatibility, the title stands out in every context it is put in; it conforms towards the house style of the magazine, provides a clear focal point on the poster and looks appealing at the end of the trailer.

Poster

Magazine

Trailer

House style and fonts

The title and credit block, as seen on the poster

Across the main and ancillary products, I utilised a range of fonts that are similar in aesthetic. From the poster, to the magazine, to the movie trailer, mostly sans serif fonts are used to construct a contemporary look across all products. The house style consists of a red/black/white colour scheme, which connote to the violence of the sport/narrative, as well as the two sides of Harry Evans and Kyle Rajpat. The only exception is the serif font used on the magazine front cover, which demonstrate the link between the movies of the past, the present and the future. A similar technique is seen on the front covers of Entertainment Weekly, which was one of the many inspiring real media texts I used. Fonts such as "Cross Town", "Built Titling" and "Hollywood Credits" allow for the house style have a professional look, whilst conforming to the conventions of each media text. The magazine cover and the poster utilise the widest range of fonts, with all of them coming from Dafont.com. To conform to conventions, the poster uses a number different tall, sans serif fonts. "Hollywood Credits" and "SF Movie Poster" were used for the credit block and cast names respectively to bring a realistic look to the poster. This was also used on the mock ups, but instead a larger number of sans serif fonts ("Built Titling") were used for conventions such as the strapline; they were eventually changed to challenge the conventions by having lighter fonts. The aforementioned house style is used across all of the products in unique ways. As seen on the right, the house style is used where text is present; mastheads, intertitles and coverlines were all used to represent and establish a consistent house style - whilst strengthening the brand identity of Shadowboxer. This primarily red house style, combined with the use of fonts, helps to portray the connotations of violence - which is a major theme in the narrative. Each product uses as different shade of red, with the magazine having the brightest shade to conform to the conventions - and as a way to attract the audience and create a uniformed association between all of the final and ancillary products.

Masthead and lure as seen on the magazine

Coverlines as seen on the magazine

Intertitles seen in the movie trailer

Image and characters

All the images of the characters are intrinsic elements to the composition of the print products. As you can see, there is progress from the mockups to the final products, with the pictures showing a greater and more effective representation of the characters. The images taken for the final products represent an essential part; all of the images taken aim to provide a clear distinction in terms of the genre of the film. For the ancillary products, the main inspiration came from promotional shots for real life boxing matches; other sources came from specific fashion or promotional photoshoots done with boxers. Taking inspiration from promotional photoshoots for the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Anthony Joshua and Muhammad Ali, the images in the ancillary products were composed with realistic mise-en-scene to provide the most professional and compelling representations of all of the characters. All of the shots were taken with medium close ups to show the characters' facial expressions as well as their costume. These were experimented with in the mockup magazine covers and posters, and was later developed to mimic the aesthetic of the real sport. The final poster demonstrates the inspiration from real promotional shoots; here, we see a medium close up Harry Evans cracking his knuckles with action shots of both Harry and Kyle in training - helping the poster define the genre of the film. In addition, the serious look on Harry's face, coupled with the filter over the image, conveys to the audience the serious and gritty undertones of the narrative. The real life inspired images were then carried over to the magazines, where we see this formula emulated again. Medium close up shots of both Harry Evans and Kyle Rajpat with their fists up help to create the illusion of a boxing match. Both characters are establishing eye contact with the audience, which creates a more personal like - encouraging them to buy the magazine. The school uniform costume is used again on the magazines, helping the violence of the sport and narrative contrast with the smart, well composed clothing. Reflecting upon the early mock up of the magazine front cover, the main image shows an ensemble picture of the cast in the setting of the school. Unlike the final ancillary products, however, the mock up does not portray any link to sport or boxing in general due to the incorrect mise-en-scene

Mockups

Final products

Images and shots

A range of different shots were included for the gym scenes, most of which included the protagonist and antagonist training.

Like the gym scenes, the school shots are varied with many different locations within the school.