Ancillary 2

Ancillary Task 2- Soap Opera Poster

Research

Codes and Conventions
I have produced this research task so I have a clear understanding of what the codes and conventions are of a soap opera poster. I have looked at aspects such as: colours, text, headlines, taglines and images.

Conclusion
Producing this document has been really helpful when first thinking about creating my own poster as I now feel I have a much clearer idea about what I need to include in order to make my product conventional. I know it is conventional for the poster to have limited text- only including the date, time, channel and tagline. Whilst researching the above posters I have noticed that it is most important for the poster to contain a large scale, bold, eye-catching image. The images I have analysed have been different in that one of the images contains one of the characters while the other features 5 of the main characters. The first poster with the 5 characters on the front doesn't give away the storylines of the soap; however it does allow the audience to see a range of characters. This can be appealing to my target audience as it means they can develop personal relationships with these characters. The advantage to the second poster image is the use of just one character. This can foreshadow further storylines that may interest and hook the audience. This will ensure that they will watch the soap.


Soap Poster Analysis
I have completed this research task in order for me to gain a greater understanding of soap posters and so I could think about how the different aspects of the posters would appeal to the target audience I am trying to target. I have commented on aspects such as: style, layout and layout.

Poster Further Analysis

Conclusion
When producing my own poster it is essential that I make it as conventional and as appealing to my target audience as possible. Obtaining in depth knowledge on aspects such as: layout, language and style will help me to make my poster successful. When looking at the style I commented on the colours, I noticed that the colours were bright and eye catching. Particularly in the first poster analysis the use of colour was clever. There were a few colours on the poster that appeared more dominant than others. When thinking about producing my own poster I intend to include something similar to this so my mise en scene looks professional and well planned out. This is important because the colours and image on the poster are the main aspects that will interest the target audience.
I liked the concept of how both posters were laid out, for example the Neighbours poster featured a wide range of characters. I am most likely to use this on my product as it built an atmosphere for the audience. The atmosphere created on this poster was positive and happy as everybody seems to be getting along. If I was to choose this I would have to change the facial expressions of the characters as the featured storyline would be murder. However; I do feel as though this layout would fit the style of my product.
Lastly I found that the language was simple and too the point. There was no text on the poster that was unnecessary. The language was different depending on the tagline featured but it appeared to be conventional to use a tagline. The only other language featured on the poster was the channel, date and time the soap will be aired.


Target Audience Research
I have decided to conduct two interviews to two people within my target audience. I have shown them 3 posters that I have asked questions on. The idea of this task was to gather the necessary information from my target audience, in order for me to make a soap opera poster that appeals to all members of my target audience. I have asked questions such as: what features appeal to you most, what don't you like and which poster should I base my own production upon.

These are the 3 posters shown to my target audience members:

Conclusion
Conducting this research task has been really helpful as I now know what my target audience like and dislike about already existing soap opera posters. I know that their preferred soap poster was the 'Neighbours' poster, as both candidates stated hat thy liked the bright colours and additionally made them feel happy. This poster also made my second interviewee think of summer. I also know that they liked the text on the Hollyoaks poster as my first interviewee said the text stood out on the page in front of them which attracted her attention.  My second interviewee said it would depend on the genre of the production, but that she liked the use of colour in both the Hollyoaks and Neighbours posters. Some of the features found on the posters that weren't so popular were: the way the Hollyoaks poster was layout. My second interviewee said she didn't really understand what was happening in the poster and for her, this didn't appeal to her. My first interviewee stared that she felt the Eastenders and Hollyoaks posters looked a bit 'morbid' and therefore they didn't appeal to her as much as the colourful Neighbours poster. Due to this feedback I intend to try and use colour as a way of attracting my audience, this will either be done by costume and props or the use of background as both my audience members agreed that this was what attracted them most. I additionally will try to make the poster eye catching and interesting in order to make it appeal to my target audience. To do this I may choose an external location in the sun or may use the character's facial expressions as a way of drawing the audience's attention, this will hopefully decrease the chances of the poster looking morbid.

Planning

Ideas Generation
I have created a mind-map outlining what I will produce and how I will piece together my soap opera poster. I have included: composition, colour scheme, text and central image.

Conclusion
From producing this planning task I feel much more confident that I will be able to produce a poster that will appeal to my target audience and will be conventional. I know the text I will be including and as we intend to follow the conventions of an E4 poster I want to try and use a similar if not the same font. This will make my product look professional and well planned. Including the text over the image will draw attention to the images and this is really important as it is the images that are most important on the poster. The colours I intend to use are bold and eye catching and therefore will appeal to a young target audience. Producing this document will help me sufficiently when it comes to producing sketches for my planned soap opera poster.


Moodboard
I have produced a moodboard to gather all of my ideas together. This means it will be easier for me to produce my poster to a greater quality as I will have narrowed the ideas down so my product will be conventional and will appeal to my target audience. I have include aspects such as: facial expressions, costume and props, fonts and main cover image.

Conclusion
This has been really helpful for me when thinking about my poster as I now have a much smaller range of ideas that are now conventional and will appeal to my target audience. I have a much clearer idea about my main cover image and have thought in detail about the facial expressions, costume and props needed in order to portray the characters correctly to the audience. I think the way I have planned for my poster to be, will provide the audience with the information they need in order to watch the soap as well as helping to build the characteristics of each of the characters. As the characters are going to be represented differently I feel as though at least one of the featured characters is likely to appeal to each person in my target audience.

Draft Layout
I have created two draft layouts for the production of my Ancillary Task 2. I have gained feedback from both of them and have now decided on the layout I intend to use.
I have kept the designs as conventional as possible and I have tried to gel both of my products in order to retain the attention and interest of my target audience.

This is the sketch for my first draft layout:

The main cover image on this sketch is an image of Tilly laying down on the ground surrounded by bottles. Tilly is the victim from the trailer and this is significant for the audience as they will be able to notice that the two products I have made gel. I have incorporated the tagline 'you never know what goes on behind closed doors'. The audience will be familiar with this and this will maintain the level of suspense I am intending to create.
I will use the E4 purple for the banner saying 'Memory Lane, weekdays at 8:30 on E4.

This is the sketch for my second layout

The main cover image on this sketch is my 4 main characters standing in a line. They have varied facial expressions and costumes that represent their characters in the correct way. I have included the tagline 'you never know what goes on behind closed doors' at the top of the poster to catch the audience's attention as they will be familiar with this phrase. The name of the soap will be placed across the characters, this will be appealing to the target audience as they will see this new soap being advertised on a wide scale, they therefore may assume that the soap is worth watching. Similarly to the previous design I will include the E4 colours through the use of the banner advertising the day, time and channel.

Conclusion
When looking at both the planned sketches I feel as though the bottom poster will appeal to my audience to a greater extent. Additionally I feel as though through the use of colour, costume and props I will be able to make my product more conventional. I will be able to give each character a prop that will represent their personality and additionally their clothes will represent them in different ways. Through the use of their costume they will be represented differently and additionally will help the poster be conventional as there will be a variety of different colours. This will help attract the audience's attention especially as I intend to use contemporary colours.



House Style
I have produced this document on house style in order for me to understand what guidlines I need to follow when it comes to producing my poster. I have included: the logo, font and colours.

Conclusion
This task has been really helpful as it has allowed me to find the font that I will need in order for me to make my poster conventional of the channel. The use of this font will additionally appeal to the target audience as they will be familiar with this font and will associate it with E4. Finding the colours (especially the purple) will ensure that I use the right colour purple that will support the style of my poster.
Producing this planning task will make it easier and quicker when it comes to producing the poster as I will have already decided on what the poster will look like.



Draft Written Content
Having looked at a variety of different soap posters, I know that my poster must include some written content in order for it to be conventional. It isn't conventional to include a lot of written material so I have chosen to just include: the name of the soap, details about the soap and the tagline that has been featured both on the magazine front cover and our actual soap opera trailer.

Conclusion

I feel that producing this task has been very helpful as it has helped to finalise a few details that will make it easier when it comes to actually producing the poster. The written content that I need is now final ,and I will be able to follow what I have written in order to make sure all the written content I include is relevant and conventional.

Photoshop Evidence

I have used Photoshop to manipulate the images I have taken for my poster. I have used different methods and techniques that I have outlined below:


Conclusion
I now feel as though my Photoshop skills have developed significantly. For example before having to use Photoshop for Ancillary 2 my skills were not advanced and I felt uncomfortable with using this software. I used tutorials and experimented with the software until I felt more comfortable and until my confidence developed.


InDesign evidence
Once I have edited my images and text on Photoshop I then had to add them onto the InDesign document. I used some learnt how to 'place' images, insert shapes and insert text onto the poster.

Indesign Screenshots

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Conclusion
My skills in the use of this software have increased significantly since producing my poster as I have had to use a variety of different tools. I feel as though I could complete additional documents using this software as much confidence has improved greatly. I now know how to add images onto the document as well as adding text and created backgrounds using the shape tool.


Screenshots and Analysis of Finished Poster
I have produced this document showing the progression of my soap opera poster from draft 1 to my final draft. I have additionally outlined the changes I have made to each one.




My Complete Ancillary 2
Soap Opera Poster