Evaluation Question Four: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

These are the media technologies i used in my research

Throughout my research process I used a lot of Google to find the information I was looking for. I found that Google was extremely useful as it helped me to gain my needed information quickly and in enough detail.

For my research into other real media teaser trailers I used the website for IMDb, this website allowed me to view and then analyse different clips of different teaser trailers.

I used Microsoft Word to create all my work at every different stage. I like using word as it is simple and allows me to set out my work and make sure it is how I want it to be before I post it onto my blog.

Blogger is the internet website I used to show all my work. I like having my work on blogger as it allows me to present everything I have done throughout the project in a neat and tidy way which is easy and clear for people to read and look at.

These are the media technologies i used for my media production

I used Adobe Photoshop CS5 to edit all my images to create the effect I wanted them to have on the audience. I also used Adobe Photoshop CS5 to create both my movie poster and my movie magazine front cover. I chose to use this programme as I am familiar with it and am confident that I can produce good work using the software.

I did all my editing for my teaser trailer with Adobe Premiere Pro. I was able to edit all my film clips from colour to black and white; I also slowed clips down and sped them up depending on my desired effect. I hadn’t used Adobe Premiere before but I found it easy to get the hang of and was able to produce good quality work using it.

I took all my images for my entire project using my Canon SLR EOS digital camera. This hardware I found easy to use as I am able to use my camera properly in order to produce good work. I liked using my camera as it enabled me to take high quality images which in return made my work seem more professional and more like real media products.

I used my Sony Handycam for all my filming. I found that using the Handycam was simple and as it read straight onto a SD card it was also easy to upload my desired clips onto the computer and to then import them into Adobe Premiere Pro. The only downside to using the video camera was that the qualities of the clips were lower than I expected.

These are the media technologies i used during my planning

Throughout my planning I used my digital camera a lot as I had to take photos of props, locations and costumes. The advantage with having a good quality camera is that the images are to a high standard and the images are able to show colours properly.

When I planned my soundtrack for my teaser trailer I used this website ‘freesound.org’. it was easy to navigate and offered me a lot of different sounds all copyright free. This was beneficial as I needed to find the right copyright free track that would go with my trailer.

These are the media technologies i used in my evaluation

I used Microsoft Paint to edit my print screens from my teaser trailer. I used paint to create stills from my teaser trailer to so I could then analyse them. This programme is easy to use and it benefitted me by enabling me to make my trailer still shots.

I used Google to find a movie magazine cover that showed the conventions I was describing and also I googled my desired movie poster which contained horror conventions that I was describing. Google helped me to show evidence to back the point I was making within my work.

Evaluation Question Three: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Audience Research: http://a2mediaevieb.blogspot.com/2011/12/audience-research-results.html

From doing my audience feedback I learnt what my target audience were expecting in my media product. This meant that I needed to create my media products to meet the expectations of my audience to satisfy their needs. I learnt that my highest audience that were interested in teaser trailers were 16-20 year olds which was what made my decision to rate my film at a 15 instead of a 12a.

My audience feedback impacted my production process as I went back and re-edited parts that my potential consumers weren’t happy with. This meant that the time my production took was lengthened but also improved my production.

These re-edits included things such as the re-edit to make my rocking horse in the teaser trailer rock faster. I then excelled on parts that my audience feedback had commented positively on such as my draft movie posters where I first came up with my editing idea for the images with the image of the little girl within the characters eye. I then used this idea from my digital drafts of my movie poster and used it for my final movie magazine front covers main image.

I gained continuous audience feedback throughout my project, this helped me gain new ideas to develop and better my work. My audience feedback helped me to target key points that needed additional work to improve within my work as a whole. Getting audience feedback at every stage of production was vital as It meant I could improve my work to meet my audience expectations straight away so that my work was at the best quality for my audience overall.

Audience feedback helped me to meet audience expectations as it allowed me to find out what the audience wanted and therefore helped me to improve my work to meet their standards that they would be satisfied with. Overall my work is better because of audience feedback as it is catered to what the audience wants in a horror teaser trailer, movie poster and movie magazine front cover

Evaluation Question Two: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

I tried to create the story of my movie within my three media products, my movie poster, magazine front cover and teaser trailer. My movie poster creates a mystery for the audience which is then supported by my movie magazine which is then explained within the teaser trailer. The image of my movie poster is startling to a viewer which is attention grabbing; my movie poster then explains more of the story by the image of my character with the other character within her eyes, the movie teaser trailer then explains the storyline further. I kept my black and white theme continuous throughout my products editing and colour images and movie clips to black and white. I also used the same font in all of my products; this is to keep a continuous theme which makes the products work well together and also makes them recognisable to the audience they are targeting.

From researching into horror movie posters, movie magazine covers and teaser trailers I knew that there had to be certain genre conventions to portray the genre properly. I used the photo manipulation programme Adobe Photoshop CS5 to edit my images to make them appeal to my horror genre audience; I made the images black and white and then edited them to make them darker and creepy. For my movie magazine I edited the eyes of my character to show the little girl within her eye to show that she is possessed, strong, starling images like these are a frequent convention used to portray the genre of the product, and this is why I used such startling images. For my teaser trailer I edited my film clips to make them black and white to give them an old time feel. I slowed some of my clips down to build suspense in the audience, this is a common convention for horror media products as the whole purpose of the horror teaser trailer to build suspense within the audience to make them startled by the outcome. I then used a variety of short, fast paced clips, this is another convention used a lot within horror genre products as this also build tension in the audience.

The film genre is shown in all three products through my choice of horror conventions used to portray the genre. In my movie poster the text across her eyes and the darkness of the images makes the audience build a negative emotion which is the purpose of the horror genre, this is used in other horror genre products which helps mine to show what genre my product is. The movie poster shows the shocking image which I created to startle the audience which will also mean they will remember the image and make them want to see the movie and find out more about it within the magazine. The image is also dark and the characters facial expression being blank builds tension for the viewer. In my teaser trailer I used eerie music which matches the action within the shots; this then builds tension for the viewer. I also used fast cut shots which are frequently used in horror teaser trailers. Within the shots themselves I’ve shown my character showing abnormal behaviour which stands out to the viewer as strange. The added clip at the end of my teaser trailer’s purpose is to make the audience feel the shiver down their spine. This shows the horror genre as these are conventions I found to be in a lot of other horror genre products.

I have represented my characters the same way in all three products. My main character being the possessed teen is shown in all three products as being possessed, I done this to show more of what the story is about to the audience. The other character being the little girl is also shown as a ghost like, scary presence as she seems to be quite innocent but looks unsettlingly scary to viewers.  

I targeted the same audience throughout each product by making all my products similar, this is to show that they are part of the same movie campaign and marketing. I kept my products at the same level of intensity for the viewers as to not get confused with different target audiences.

I created a theme between all three products by keeping the same font used for text consistent throughout each product. I also used all black and white images and film clips to make them all work well together and give them a scary feel. I used all the same characters shown in each product which helps the audience to be able to link each product together and to not get confused with any other horror media products.

Evaluation Question One: In what way does your media product use develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I wanted to create tension within the audience by having my actress walk up the stairs slowly. By just showing a close up shot of her feet and calves I gave the audience a sense of mystery. From my research of teaser trailers I learnt that in the horror genre they use a lot of mysterious techniques to create suspense for the audience, the action shown is usually accompanied by eerie music to match what is going on. Therefore for my teaser trailer I used music that started off mimicking footsteps to create a link to what the actress is doing. Using a close up shot of the actress’s feet is also commonly used in real horror media products as it makes the audience intrigued as to where the character is going to take them, this then makes them interested and therefore they view the movie.

I used the rocking horse for the next part of my filming as old style children’s toys such as rocking horses are used in real horror media products to create an unsettling atmosphere for the audience. As the rocking horse is rocking by itself it also makes the audience endure even more suspense as they await the outcome of the rest of the trailer.

I again used a close up shot and panned to the left as my actress walked across the landing, this is to create tension. I didn’t edit my shots to fade into each other or use any other type of transition between shots as a horror convention used in real media is to have short fast clips, these clips need to intrigue the audience and make them want to view the film. They also need to inform the audience of the basic plot of the storyline and also give them a slight scare or send a shiver down their spine to remember, these are conventions that are vital in a horror teaser trailer as they are needed to attract the appropriate horror audiences that are looking for the horror films.

For this shot my actress walks into a dark doorway, this is used in horror media products to create more mystery for the audience as they do not know what the supernatural happenings are yet to be. By using a tilt on my camera and following the actress from her feet and tilting up to watch her whole figure enter the door way, this is the first view of the main character which is important in teaser trailers as the main character can be the USP to some audiences as they may want to view a movie just because of who is starring in it.

Showing the actress standing static with a blank expression gives the audience more of an understanding about the plot of the movie. When the actress is shown closing the door slowly that is when it becomes apparent to the audience that the character isn’t quite sane.

The following scenes from this shot are fast and quick cut with a half a second blackout in between each one, this is seen in a lot of horror teaser trailers as it all leads up to one big ending that will shock the audience. In a lot of horror media products the deranged character shows a lot of strange behaviour which makes the audience feels uneasy. I chose for the actress to be scribbling on paper at speed but looking straight down the camera to make the audience threatened by her character. The main purpose of showing he strange behaviour is to make the audience scared.

The actress is then sitting in the shower in a dress, this is to show the change that she is going through but also further strange behaviour. This builds further tension within the audience.

The shot of the character looking up into the camera is meant to shock the audience as it is the first time they can see the characters face up close with her eyes staring into the camera.

 

 

The title then appears, this is to tell the audience the name of the movie and for my teaser trailer it tells them a lot about the clips they have just seen. The title is always seen in every real media product and is a very important real media convention. I also used a consistent font throughout all my media products, this is a real convention used in media products.

I then added this extra shot in-between my two titles, this is to give the audience the shivers down their spine effect. I used a child as this is a common convention in real horror media products. Using children creates a negative emotional reaction from the audience and it helps to startle the viewer.

For my film magazine I researched many real media products which helped to produce my movie magazine with real media product conventions. I edited my image to make it stand out more by editing the actress’s eyes to give her a ‘possessed’ look this is because a main image is an important convention used, the main image is always relative to the main feature of the magazine, and the star in the image will be the star of the movie. I then looked at what articles were used frequently in other movie magazines, things like ‘behind the scenes’, ‘first looks’ and 'world exclusives' were used constantly this is why I chose to use them in my move magazine front cover. I also noticed that the main image always is in front of the masthead of the magazine therefore to make my magazine relative to a real media product I edited my image and my text to fit in with convention.

Through my research of movie posters I learnt that using less text made the poster stand out more, especially in horror movie posters. For a horror movie poster to stand out the image has to be eye-catching and has to startle its viewers. By putting the text over the actress’s eyes I have made a seemingly innocent image seem a lot scarier for its audience. I edited the child’s eyes to make them darker and made her hands look grubbier; this is to give her a startling edge that will stand out to horror audiences. The horror convention of possessed or ghost like children is frequently used with real horror media products, therefore i chose a child to be the main image of my movie poster to startle audiences just like the movie poster for 'insidious'.

Final Teaser Trailer

Final Film Poster

Final Film Magazine