Evaluation

EVALUATIONTeaser trailer, Film Poster and Film

Magazine

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and

conventions of real media products?

My media products use forms and conventions of real media products, as I have included media techniques and elements to create my products. Before setting out I decided to research the conventions of a teaser trailer, by doing this I was able to gain a deeper understanding of what a teaser trailer was. I found out that teaser trailers where released before the film to tease the audience, also that teaser trailers where shorter than usual trailers. The minimum amount of footage presented in a teaser allowed the audience to develop an idea of the film and to establish the genre. Teasers promote and advertise a film, in doing this they are supposed to cause excitement from the audience which determines the success of the film. This is also followed by the release of the poster and advertisement in a magazine.

After this I decided to look at the basic conventions of a Horror teaser trailer. What I learned was that the use of suspense was very important because this would lead to building up tension, which would then make the audience feel off edge and scared. The plot usually gave little away, however the through the imagery, music and editing elements of darkness were presented to entice the audience.

In order to construct my product I chose to look at three horror teaser trailers which were Woman in Black, Scream and One Hour Photo. By analysing these would allow me to develop an idea. From the research I found out that from Horror teaser trailers the story would start at a slow pace and then build up creating suspense and tension, this allowed the audience to come with an idea of what they thought the story was about.

I followed the conventions by using a range of camera shots to illustrate the emotion and the relationship between the characters. I used P.O.V shot to evoke feeling of shock because I wanted the audience to feel like they were apart of the scene by seeing themselves as killers. Also I used medium shots and close ups etc.

Here are some examples of the camera shot I used.

I used a software called Soundtrack pro to create sounds for my product I also used a website called Incomptech which allowed me to search for music within the genre of horror. I challenged the form and conventions by not including diegetic sound because I felt that it would be a distraction. The music suits the genre and expresses the actions and thoughts of the characters, also the music builds up as the story unfolds which builds up suspense. It was important that the music was effective because there was no dialogue for the audience to relate to.

Incomptech and Soundtrack pro gave me a variety of sounds to choose from.

The lighting often seen in horror movies are low key lighting. In my product I wanted the lighting to create a mysterious atmosphere, so I challenged the convention by setting my film at daytime instead of night time. However parts of the scenes have areas of low lighting making it dark and mysterious. My aim was to put forward that it doesn’t have to be night time for something bad to happen.

In terms of location I learned that from my research that the locations shown in horrors are usually set in isolated places or a house. I didn’t want to stray from that convention so made sure that all the bad events would occur in the scene at the house. The main character is wearing dark colours which represent her as being evil. The audience can identify that she is a dangerous person. The victim is dressed in normal clothing, so she cannot labelled.

Key props that are usually used in horror films are weapons that are likely to endanger someone, however I challenged that convention by not using any weapons for example a knife. Rather I used a verse from the Bible which says “You shall not kill” the audience will automatically read, that the character is probably thinking of killing or has killed. This causes confusion and that was my aim.

I edited my product using a software called Final cut pro on an Apple mac. I acknowledged the fact that the basic convention of a teaser trailer is to tease the audience with short but interesting shots. So baring that in mind I made sure that none of my clips were long so it wouldn’t bore the audience. I made changes to the speed in some scenes, I added some transitions such as fades and dissolves. I used the Cooltext generator to make my title and the style connected to genre very well.

These shots are all within 3seconds

For my poster I made sure that I would follow the forms and conventions of a real media product. The image I chose for my poster was vital because this had to link to the teaser trailer. I was inspired by the poster I analysed called ‘The Rite’.

I liked the fact that the image was placed as a background. The black around his face created a sense fear and danger. So I aimed to create my poster like that.

This is an edited version of my poster. (NOT FINAL)

I used the forms and conventions of a real media product, in terms of the structure of my poster. I placed the credits at the bottom of the poster, displaying information about the characters, producer and director.

I established the main characters name by placing it on top of the title. Also I kept the colour the same. This is what would appeal to the audience.

The image for the poster meant a lot in the success of my product. After filming I took a range of photos using a digital camera.

All the photos I took were close ups just at different angles. The photo I chose came from the influence of ‘The rite’ ,I liked the fact that the close up of his face allowed me to identify the sort of character he was.

I made sure that I would portray that through my image. After selecting the picture I wanted to use I then edited it with a program called Photoshop, I changed the colour to black by muting out the background.

I made her face warmer but it still revealed darkness, this contrast with the background

My magazine follows the forms and convention of a real media products. I researched film magazines using Google. I chose to analyse Total Film, Empire and Sight and Sound I chose these three because they all had different approaches. After analysing all three of the magazines I decided to follow the conventions of sight and sound.

I was intrigued by the fact that sight sound had the very sense of simplicity but still had highlights of horror through the use of colour. and I was inspired to transform this into my product.

My magazine compared to a real media product

Masthead – sight and sound.

Main cover lines – used to promote the film.

Taglines – these will attract the viewer.

Main image – Carlen Harris.

The correlation between my teaser trailer, poster and magazine is clear. By watching my teaser trailer the audience will be aware that there are religious aspects in the narrative. My magazine connects with my point closely, the image is a close up of the main character called Carlen, she has a cross in her hand and a cross on her face. This links to the bible in my teaser trailer. The poster links with the teaser trailer and the magazine because the image on the poster and magazine are both close ups, her eyes are consistent through both of those products, her eyes also reflect a shot towards the end of the teaser trailer.

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

The style of my title on my poster stands out, I wanted the title to establish the genre so instead the colour red I used grey. The audience are able to establish the genre by looking at the title. I approached my film magazine differently. The title on the magazine is white and is not the main focus, however I drew attention to the tagline “murder” this was large and red. The colour scheme of my film magazine establishes that the genre of my teaser is a horror because I have used black and red colour scheme.

The title on my

poster.

The title on my magazine.

The colour scheme of my poster.

I used black red and white to stick with the colour scheme of horror conventions in my film magazine. The picture was important because there had to be a correlation to the poster and the film. I chose this picture because I felt that the audience would be able to recognize the link because she has crosses in her face and she has a bible in the shot

for the image I darkened her face because I didn’t want to take away the dark effect I wanted to paint her as a vile sinister person however I didn’t entirely mute out the background.

My Three Products

Once completing my ancillary task I conducted a focus group survey. I shared my ideas for my teaser trailer with my focus group, there I was able to gather thoughts of what they liked and did not like. I was able to discuss my overall ideas and my focus group were pleased with the results of my film magazine and poster. Prior to that I showed my focus group ‘Scream’ this is what influenced my ideas.

They liked the fact that there were different stories told which created a sense of mystery, also that the text guided them through the narrative. Their feedback enabled me to incorporate their ideas into my product. For example I decided to present text on a black background.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

After completing my media product I conducted some questions from selected viewers, I played my teaser trailer before handing them the questions. The questions asked were:

• Do you think the Magazine, Poster and teaser trailer follow conventions of a real media product.

• Can you spot the links between the poster magazine and teaser trailer

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of the poster, magazine and teaser trailer

• Do you think the poster, magazine and teaser trailer would make an effective campaign for advertising a film

Do you think the Magazine, Poster and teaser trailer follow conventions of a real media product?

I think all your products follow conventions of a real media product because the information shown on each product is none other than a real media product. I understand what is being presented., Can you spot the links between the poster, magazine and teaser trailer?The eyes of the character link throughout all your products, by watching the teaser trailer and looking at the film magazine. I can tell that there are religious aspects. I can identify that the genre is horror. The colour scheme, title and image is what stand out for me.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the poster, magazine and teaser trailer.?ADVANTAGESI like teaser trailer. The story it connects well with the genre .The poster is striking and says a lot about the narrative.The magazine is good, I like the fact you used MURDER to emphasise the events in the narrative.

DISADVANTAGES: The teaser trailer could have included dialogue this would have been more effective. The poster should have included the release date of the film. The film magazine could have had more information about the story.

Do you think the poster, magazine and teaser trailer would make an effective campaign for advertising a film?

There are many links to the genre which makes it effective, through the poster, teaser trailer and film magazine. It will be successful in advertising the film

From the feedback I have learnt that my products follow the forms and conventions of a real media product. This is something I aimed to do, so I am glad that it has been recognised.

I found out that I should of used dialogue in my teaser trailer, also I should have included the release date of the film on my poster and I should have made my film magazine more detailed. I personally did not want to include dialogue because I felt that it would be a distraction, I agree with the points that u should have out the release date on the poster and made my magazine more detailed. I was following the original product of sight and sound I liked the way it was simple but had horror influence.

I have taken all the points into account so that for my next task I able to do the things I didn’t do.

What I learned from the feedback is that all my products interlinked, they could identify the connection to the narrative and the genre. I was pleased to hear this because this is something I aimed to do, I did not want to break the connection of three of my products.

How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

RESEARCH & PLANNING

I entirely depended on media technologies during the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages. For research and planning I used the internet to surf search engines like Google and a video sharing website called YouTube. This benefited me a lot because I was able to conduct research on teaser trailers, Horror teaser trailers, film magazine covers and posters. Google allowed me to search for professional film posters that related to my genre, I then could screenshot what I wanted onto a word document. I used YouTube to search for professional teaser trailers, after finding the teaser trailers that were of the genre I chose I could then start my analysis and take screen shots.

I used Slideshare which is an online slide hosting website, to present my work. I was experiencing problems with posting my poster analysis onto Wordpress, so I decided to use Slideshare which solved my problems. Wordpress was where I presented all my work, I created my own page and uploaded material onto the blog. I was able to store and upload pictures securely on my blog space which saved me time from uploading pictures over and over again.Microsoft word, PowerPoint and excel were very convenient, with these programs I was able to produce graphs for my target research, set out information and make presentations.

CONSTRUCTION: FILMING & POST PRODUCTION

Throughout the filming process i used equipment such as a tripod and camcorder. I followed the shots I set out on my storyboard, however I did film a range of shots from different angles so that I would have a variety to work with. I did not struggle with filming any of the shots because I already had these skills from my AS project. After I finished filming I had to import my recording into Final cut pro, this would then allow me edit. My recording was up 25 minutes so it took a while to import. Final cut pro is software that is available on Apple Mac. I used the razor tool to cut shots, I included transitions, fades, I changed the speed for various scenes and for a flashback in the narrative. I did not struggle using Final cut pro because I had used it in my AS media project.

I used Vimeo to upload my teaser trailer.

I used Soundtrack pro to search for music relating to the genre horror, after choosing the piece I desired I exported, then imported it into final cut pro. I used the fade out tool some the music didn't sound off key.

First I exported the sound so it could be an MP3. Then I imported the sound into final cut. I then dragged it into my timeline. In order for it to work I had to render it.

I created my magazine and film poster using Photoshop on Apple Mac. Without having previous experience with this software I struggled, however I used tutorials from YouTube to help me achieve what I wanted to do. I was able to several things like adjust the brightness and sharpen the picture etc. By using Photoshop I have learned new skills and I believe that these skills will help me in the future also I will be able to develop new skills.

Overall I am pleased with all my products, using by Apple software I have learned new skills from this task and developed previous skills from my AS task. All that I have done will help me in the future.