Website Analysis #2

This website is a tribute to the disasters the Syrian population continuously endures without rest. A large background image is used to showcase two characters, presumably from the movie, interacting with each other and what seems to be the mother, or an unknown third person on the mobile. The background image itself tells a story: at first glance, the subjects can easily be interpreted as father and daughter engaging in a conversation with the mother of the household through the phone. This suggests that they are separated from her in some way, further established by the longing and anguished facial expressions they display. Perhaps the daughter lives with the father in separation from the mother after a divorce. However, considering the contest, it is also likely that they are refugees in another country after the Syrian revolution while the mother is still stuck in Syria, or vice versa. Now these characters are left on their own without her guidance to look to. The mood is quite pronounced in its gloominess.

 The colouring in the image is deliberately subdued and dark to contrast with the bright font in the foreground - light green and white. The shadows are somewhat pronounced to highlight the title of the website and film - A Syrian Love Story. The background image also opts for a minimalistic dispersion of colours, with no eye-catching range of colours or special emphasis on the highlights in it. The dark, unsaturated low lighting used for the image further emphasises the sorrowful, gloomy, melancholic mood reflected in the characters' disheartened expressions. This is the first convention the website ascribes to.

One convention it fails to adhere to however, or perhaps deliberately discards altogether to build suspense and hype, is displaying the short film on the homepage - or on the website at all. Only the trailer is provided as evidenced by the bright green button on the centre of the screen. The design of the webpage is extremely minimalistic with very few tabs shown, all in small font.

However, the typical social media links are on display, with a twitter status update bar embedded on the webpage. All the minimalism and lack of exposure captures the audience's attention due to the highly unusual method of promoting. People go on the website expecting a video of the full film or at least the trailer, however the website makes the viewers work for it - making them click the button at the centre of the screen. In this day and age of passive entertainment, viewers will find the change refreshing and intriguing. The mysterious nature of the project can be viewed as tempting - the target population now is more drawn than ever and actually want to see the product.