Evaluation Question 4

Question 4 from beckadavis

[  Within the research stages of my media products I used the search engine Google to find my research, I also used my phone internet and slideshare to research and youtube to watch example of professionally created horror trailers. Social networking sites such as facebook, twitter, and instagram allowed me to research what the target audience most liked about trailers, magazine covers and posters.  I then used blogger to upload all of my research, present what I had found and evaluate it. I focused a lot on researching recent film ‘The Conjuring’ within my initial research as I found the trailer for this film to be very effective.  

I used youtube to watch and listen to the trailer as I needed to analyse the media language, narrative, mise en scene, representations and genre aspects of the trailer.  The internet played a vital part in the research section of my coursework as it was vital to look into the common conventions of horror trailers and to establish at least a basic knowledge of everything I was doing.  

Blogger was one of the most important components in my coursework as this is where I have presented all of my work. It has allowed me to present, analyse and evaluate all in one place and keep check of what I have and haven’t done.  

Moving onto the production stage I began using [CAMERA], this was a good piece of equipment as it allowed me to film everything necessary with good quality and stability.  I opted to use natural lighting as when I timed it correctly the lighting would give the best effect. An example of this is when the wooded area is dark and the sunshine is shining through the tree’s representing the difference between the two areas e.g safe and dangerous, light and dark.  

During the construction stage I used Premiere Pro and Photoshop. I created a storyboard for the overall horror genre as well as for my movie posters on Powerpoint. All of this was new to me so I had to spend some time learning photoshop and premiere pro skills. I was able to discover how to use the system well and this allowed me to add some great effects to all three of my products. Photoshop was used to edit all images for the products. I  used a variety of layers, opacities, colours and effects to make my product the best it could be. My skills have greatly improved with photoshop as I had no experience to begin with.  

I also had no experience with Premiere Pro and feel as though my skills have greatly improved here too. I was able to include a variety of effects on my trailer such as changing the colouring of the video, adding in text, changing the speed e.t.c  

In order to gain feedback I used social networking sites to reach out to people as well as basic surveys and questionnaires. Using social networking technology allowed me to reach out to more people and saved me a lot of time in gaining the feedback. Facebook allowed me to share an image of my questionnaire and for my friends to then share it around, making sure it reaches the most amounts of people possible.  

When evaluating my feedback and final products I used Voki, blogger, prezi, slideshare, smilebox, powtoon and youtube. My final trailer was presented on Youtube as I was able to embed this to blogger, see how many times the video had been viewed, the amount of likes it had received and for the audience to add comments. It is also easily accessible for everyone. Voki, prezi, smilebox and powtoon allowed me to present my work in a different way showing my knowledge and use of a variety of media technologies. These were all fairly easy to use and presented my work very clearly.  

If I was to go back and do my coursework over again I would spend more time looking for different ways to present my work in order to fully show the variety of media technologies.  

Overall I would greatly improve my time allocation as I feel as though with other things to focus on I did not have enough time to spend on making my trailer, poster and magazine cover the best that they can be.  I would particularly focus upon the continuity within my trailer as this is where I feel as though I am going to lose marks.  ]

Evaluation Question 3

There are currently some technical problems with being able to embed from the website Empressr so the link to my question 3 can be found here








[ From my audience feedback I learned that I had targeted the right audience as the response I received whilst constructive was all positive in that the audience were interested in the film genre. I also learned from my feedback that I could have asked for some more in order to improve completely. Using audience feedback gives a variety of other opinions and idea’s and allows you to create something that is unique and appeals to a wide variety of people. From my own specific feedback I learned that keeping to the well known conventions was the best way to make to product suitable for the majority. When completing a questionnaire on my poster I found I should use darker colours within my poster as this is a typical convention found in many horror posters. Due to the design and pathetic fallacy I decided not include the colour red on my poster as I feel it did not blend in well with this particular poster and film. I feel as though this is a good enough reason to challenge the convention of using red/blood colours as I do not want to take away the effect of the poster. I had planned to keep my poster relatively simple and basic before retaining feedback however from now receiving feedback I am completely comfortable in my decision. By making the poster simple and basic it gives an eerier effect whilst a busy poster filled with images and information reduced the effect and takes focus away from the actual film, the feedback stated that people prefer to be more focused upon the information and company names. Originally I had planned to use a location photo but the most popular answer from feedback was a close up on the main character. This is also a popular convention within the horror genre and therefore was suitable for use. By using a close up of the main character the poster does not give the films storyline away. I also found that popular actors and actresses attract a lot of fans to seeing the film, by using a close up of the main character this will also draw attention to the actress and therefore draw fans into looking at the poster. This will then cause them to find the trailer of the film to see the actor/actress in their new film. A close up image of a character also allows the chance to show emotion. The face tends to give away how someone is really feeling and allows you to see whether the character looks frightend, scared and vulnerable or whether the character looks confident and in control, this then allows the audience a chance to guess which character the victim or the unsub. For my poster I have used the victim as my main character as I do not want to give away the identity of the unsub to anyone who has not viewed the film. I have decided to do this because this will cause the audience to want to view the film more as they would want to find out the storyline, how the storyline ends, who the unsub is, what they are capable of and why they have become the 'evil character'. As the main image is focused upon the main character (victim) I have decided not to include any other images within the poster, this also links in with keeping the poster simple and basic. If other images were to be included then too much of the storyline could be given away and the focus will be taken away from the main characters facial emotions. One audience member, in the feedback, did opt for a full body shot of the character. I decided to opt against this for the reasons already mentioned above and the fact that the poster will not have as good as an effect I think. As for the information featured on the poster there are certain features that must be included in order for the poster to be effective in what it is supposed to do. The most popular answers from the feedback were the production company, tagline, certificate, and release date. The title will be the largest featured text on the page as this is most important with the tagline located underneath in a slightly smaller font. The certificate of the film and production company will be the smallest text featured on the poster as this is the least important feature that will draw in attention. The release date is clearly stated on the poster but does not have a too large font so that it draws attention away from the actual poster main image and title. I decided against adding the certificate onto the poster as there was no suitable place to put it without changing the effect and design on the poster. Whilst it would have been good to include the certificate it is not absolutly essential to include on the poster as you would be able to look onlin or even in the trailer.
Having also recieved feedback on my magazine and trailer I always took it into account when completing my next draft and tried to suit all indivudual opinions. I learned mainly that all three products should be as simple as possible to appeal to the audience best. Having an over crowded page will distract from the main focus and ruin the effect.
Limitations of my feedback included the fact that I only asked a specific range of people, if I were to have asked more I could have generated a fairer amount of results.
All my feedback had a major impact on the production of all three products.
REFLECTION
Looking back I would have gained more feedback, evaluated the feedback in more detailed and spent more time researching and taking the feedback into account. ]

Evaluation Question 2

| Start your own Photo Books | Create custom Christmas Cards




[How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?  
Whilst each product on its own holds both positives and negatives combined they can achieve more than standing alone.  

The poster is effective as it can be placed anywhere allowing it to be placed strategically such as around cinemas, on the sides of buses e.t.c places where they can be easily seen. Visibility of posters can be large allowing a wide range of people to view the poster as it stand out and persuades people to research the film. Posters also allow for an active response e.g noting the release date, visiting the website. Posters are cheaper than print, radio and television allowing more money to be spent of the production of the film than the advertising. The combination of the poster and trailer means that the film gets extra advertisement and will gain popularity. Having seen the poster people are likely to then go and view the trailer. Whilst the trailer is only effective before you have seen the film, the poster can be kept by fans to be placed on walls e.t.c  

The magazine cover draws a lot of attention and is presented to a wider variety of audience than a poster. A magazine cover attracts fans of the magazines as well as those who will be drawn to the actual film cover as well. A magazine holds good communication with the audience as along with the cover is a section of the magazine inside with interviews, behind the scenes e.t.c By being the front cover of certain magazines you are able to target a specific audience. Magazines also have a long life, unlike posters, as they can be found in doctors, dentists e.t.c a long time after the magazine is released. This will then advertise to people even after the films release. Magazines also hold pass on readership which will again advertise to a wider variety of audience. Status is also important in advertising in a magazine as the higher status of the magazine the more likely the readers are to trust in the film. The magazine combined with the trailer means that a wide variety of audience hear about the film and are encouraged to view it.] 

Evaluation Question 1

[My trailer uses, develops and challenges forms and conventions of real media products. At the beginning of my trailer is what is called a Greenband – this shows the certificate of the film as rated by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). A greenband rating card is an approval for appropriate audiences. My trailer uses this as a form of a proper horror trailer but develops it by editing the end of it into the trailer to give a supernatural feel. Another form my trailer uses at the beginning is the company logo titles – these show the companies that have invested and have been involved with the production of the film.  

Typical camera angles used in a horror trailer include low angle and high angles shots, canted angles, hand held camera shot, establishing shot and POV shots. Within my trailer I used high angle shots and low angle shots to show the changes in status and power, an establishing shot to establish to the audience where the film is going to be set and a hand held shot to allow the audience to see in the eyes of the character.  

Another form I have used from horror trailers is dark lighting. I used this form as it creates an eerie setting for the trailer. I developed the use of dark lighting by shooting a scene in the woods with the sun shining over the background – this emphasized the darkness of the woods and the light from the “outside world” showed the normality vs the horror. It also signified some form of opportunity for help, showing the audience that not all is as it seems.  

By basing my trailer on a ‘true story’ I am both following and developing a horror trailer convention as some horror trailers are based on true story but not all. I based my trailer on a true story as from my research and audience feedback, found that they audience were more scared by a films based on a true story as it has an element of truth and essentially could happen to them.  

Within my trailer I used many common conventions of a horror trailer such as the use of weapons, a victim and a un-sub. These all contribute to the story line as the weapon shows what could and most likely will be used in a violent attack involved during the horror, the victim is clearly shown through innocence and unknowingly being watched and an un sub can by clearly identified as you cannot true to the name you cannot identify the person.  

I also used pathetic fallacy in my trailer through the use of the woods, this is a convention I have used from other trailers. The woods are dark and gloomy giving the audience an eerie feel. The use of a rural area also contributed to the eerie, isolated feeling.  

The text cards throughout the trailer have been developed as they each have an editing twist on them which allows the audience to stay engaged with the trailer. It also fits in well with the horror theme throughout.   

As a trailer overall there are little amount of clarity, this makes the audience want to know more and look up the film on the internet or simply just wait and go see the full film.  

In terms of challenging horror trailer conventions my trailer is slightly longer than most teaser trailers, this is because I struggled to fit enough footage in to gain the same effect. I do not believe however that this was an issue as the timing was still an appropriate length and enabled the teaser trailer to be more effective. The backing track to my trailer was unusual for a horror trailer. I chose the song Born to Die – Lana del Ray as it did challenge the typical conventions and therefore would stand out. I do feel however that the song had a great effect on the trailer in building suspense and beginning the climax to the action. I was unsure of using this song first of all but after receiving positive audience feedback I felt confident that the song was creating a good effect. Another convention I have challenged is the amount of characters involved in the teaser trailer. I have only shown the victim and glimpses of the un sub to emphasize the feeling of isolation and vulnerability, the majority of teaser trailers for the horror genre show a range of characters even if just briefly.   

Teaser trailers which have influenced my media product: 

The Conjuring http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoccomrK1J0/  ]

Final Magazine

This is the final version of my magazine cover. Unfortunately the colour on the second image is not showing up but should be a black and white top and blonde hair. 

I have used the same image for the magazine cover as the poster in order to make a clear link between the two and too the trailer and the film, i also used the same fonts for the title and tagline. 

The magazine layout follows common conventions of a movie magazine. The masthead is located in the centre at the top and stands out from the rest of the magazine. I chose this font for the title because I thought it linked well with the old style cinema and worked well with the rest of the magazine. The bar code is located at the bottom right as according the 'Z rule' this will be the last place a viewers eyes will look therefore I placed the barcode here as it is least important. My cover also features sell lines that will draw audiences into wanting to view the rest of the magazine and anchorage text linking to the main image explaining what about the movie can be found inside this magazine. I have placed the font under the title in a smaller font so that the price is there so that the reader knows but does not draw attention to itself. The price however is not too small as this usually determines that a magazine is very expensive. The footerbar advertises an exclusive (the word exclusive in itself is a way of drawing in attention) interview with the star of a new hollywood film. The house style is blue and white as the two colours mix well together and stand out to draw attention. 

Final Poster

This is the final version of my poster. The majority of the feedback I received stated that they wanted the poster to mainly focus on the main image and be simple rather than busy. I included all the important information on the poster such as the film name, tagline, release date and production companies. Some horror posters included the names of actors and the certificate of the film on the poster also but I felt this was unnecessary and it would take away the final effect of the poster. The main image shows the main character who most would correctly assume to be the victim. Her facial expression looks frightened and shocked - you can see this through her mouth being slightly open and the wide eyes; both of these connote shocked and frightened emotions. The characters hair is covering a part of her face and looks unstyled and unbrushed connoting that she is away from her comfort zone e.g. home and is on the run or hiding out e.t.c 

The dark colour of her hair blends in well with the dark background and makes the facial expression really stand out to the audience. The cracked effect over the characters face connotes the supernatural side of the film but also the character of the victim. The cracks show her to be slightly broken and vulnerable, as if she is just holding herself together in a dangerous situation. 

I have challenged conventions of a horror movie poster by placing the title to the right of the page rather than placing it directly in the middle. I chose to do this because having placed the title in the middle would have blocked a part of the characters face therefore taking away focus from the image. Also due to the 'Z rule' this is the 4th place your eyes would look when looking at a poster therefore standing out but not drawing the majority of the attention. I made the title the largest font on the page also so that it stands out and draws attention to the poster, the white font also works well in doing this. I followed convention by placing the tagline under the title, by doing so the audience will read the title of the film and then its tagline, giving them a feel of what the movie is about. I felt that the release date and production companies were the least important information to stand out and draw attention so I placed them in a smaller font at the top of the poster. I felt the release date was important to have on the poster so the audience know when to expect the film for. The certificate was not needed as the audience are able to research the film online to see the age rating and naming actors/actresses in the film on the poster would have taken away the effect and made the poster look overcrowded and busy. 

I used a different font for the title than the rest of the text to make the title stand out even more. I used this font because it linked well with the horror film and the white colour contrasted well with the dark background. I felt that the font used for the tagline and other text fit in well with the poster as a whole, also contrasted well with the dark background and also had a good effect whilst still being clear to read. 

Final Trailer

This is my final trailer. My laptop unfortunately crashed and during the process of being fixed the software I was using and footage was wiped meaning that I cannot add to the trailer anymore.

00:00 to 00:05 - I have moved the greenband and company logo's to the very start of the trailer as this seems to be a more common convention in a horror trailer and was also suggested in some of my feedback. I decided to go with this feedback as meeting the needs and expectations of the target audience is important in creating the best trailer i can.
I cut down the scene from 00:08 to 00:10 as this footage was said to be, from feedback, too shaky also and would have the better desired effect it if were to be cut down slightly.
The audience were also concerned with the fact that they didn't seem to understand the trailer as some footage was either to shaky or in the wrong order. To correct this I have taken out or cut some footage to reduce a shaky camera. I then carefully reordered the footage as to not repeat myself or give away important parts of the storyline. 
The beginning walking scenes (around 00:12 to 00:18) were cut down as to save time and get to the point. A teaser trailer is very short and should give the audience as much information as possible without giving anything away in order for them to want to watch the film and find out. By cutting down the walking scenes my trailer had more time to spend on the actual point.
The Axe weapon scene at 0:21 was said to be too dark to be able to recognise that it was an axe being sharpened so I lightened the scene making it clearer for the audience.  The lighting effect on 0:24 has been used to connote the supernatural side of the film, this is also portrayed through the shot of a character disappearing at the beginning. 0:25 shows that the producers behind this film were also behind creating well known horror film 'The Ring' this would automatically draw attention to fans of these directors/producers of fans of The Ring. The hut sccene at 0:31 has also been cut shorter as to save time on showing the floor focusing the shot more on the actual hut. This gives it a significance connoting its importance in the film. This is also connoted through the use of a low camera angle. The light shining through the trees shows the light and normality of the 'normal, outside' world compared to the darkness inside the woodlands and surrounding the hut. 0:33 and 0:35 shows two reviews of the movie giving the audience an idea of how good the film is and whether or not it is worth seeing. They are both reviews by credited reviewers. Both reviews have been written in white font on a black background making it stand out. At the end of the review is the name of the reviewers company, this font has a red tint to it at the bottom to fit in with the horror/thriller dangerous theme. A fast action sequence is included in order to build up the tension of the viewer and then cut off in order to make them want more, this will draw them into researching the film and going to see it when it is released. 
I also cut down the overall length of time of the trailer to 56 seconds. This allowed the audience enough time to become interested in the trailer and the film but also leaves them wanting to see more and find out the main storyline - this is the purpose of a teaser trailer as the audience will then want to see the film in order to find this out. 
Overall my trailer used common conventions of a horror trailer and challenged some to show the individuality of my trailer and film. I challenged some conventions so that the trailer would stand out and be interesting. 
If i were to go back and improve my trailer I would spend a lot more time on the technical editing side. Unfortunately I didn't get to spend the amount of time on the trailer I would have liked which led to my editing not being as professional and significant as I would have liked it to be. 

Poster Draft 2

After recieving some feedback I found that the font of the tagline needed to be changed. This is another font that I am considering using however it doesn't fit in well with the rest of the poster. My next idea is to match the tagline font to the date and production companies to show some continuity. 

Poster Draft

This is my first poster draft. I have since decided that the tagline should be longer along the bottom and the title should be larger in order to stand out more and draw in attention. I asked a few of my target audience to find their opinion. 

1) Katie aged 22: The poster image looks great but the title is too small and doesnt draw me in at all. Also the tagline font doesnt work very well with the rest of the poster.

2) Dan aged 15: I think the tagline should stretch the whole way across the poster, the title should be larger and the fonts at the top slightly larger. The main image however really draws me in to looking at the poster and becoming interested in the film. 

From this feedback I will edit my poster before completing my final version. 

Poster Survey Results

After having some of my target audience hand fill in my poster survey I am going to look at the results in order to help me make final decisions on creating my poster.
My first question was:
'What colour scheme would best suit a horror thriller poster?'
All answers mentioned dark colours specifically blacks and reds, a few answers included greys and a dark purple. From this result I will base the colour scheme of my poster on dark colours incorporating mainly blacks, greys and reds.

My second question was:
'Would you like the poster to be simple and basic or loud and busy?'
100% of the answers were simple and basic. From this result I will try my best to keep my poster simple and basic - meaning not lots of text or an overbearing amount of images.

My third question was:
'Which would be most effective as a main image? A close up of the main character, Location shot, Full body shot of main character, All characters shown'
Everyone chose answer A which was a close up of the main character whilst one also opted for a full body shot of the main character. As a close up of the main character was most popular this is the image shot I am going to use for my posters main image.

My fourth question was:
'What information would you like to find on the poster? Production Company, Actors/Actresses name, Tagline, Certificate, Release date'
All of the answers were chosen at least once however the most popular included Production Company, Tagline, Certificate and Release Date. These are therefore what I am going to include on my poster.

Having collected this feedback I have decided to take my original design ideas and redo them including the ideas and opinions received from feedback. I had already decided to use darker colours within my poster as this is a typical convention found in many horror posters however having looked at the feedback I will specifically look into including black, greys and reds. Due to the design and pathetic fallacy I will most likely not include the colour red on my poster as I feel it would not blend in well with this particular poster and film. I feel as though this is a good enough reason to challenge the convention of using red/blood colours as I do not want to take away the effect of the poster. I had planned to keep my poster relatively simple and basic before retaining feedback however from now receiving feedback I am completely comfortable in deciding to do this. By making the poster simple and basic it gives an eerier effect whilst a busy poster filled with images and information will reduce the effect and take the focus away from the actual film, people will be more focused upon the information and company names. Originally I had planned to use a location photo but the most popular answer from feedback was a close up on the main character. This is also a popular convention within the horror genre and therefore is suitable for use. I have now taken some photos and will gather some feedback as to what the best image to use for the poster will be. By using a close up of the main character the poster does not give the films storyline away. I also found that popular actors and actresses attract a lot of fans to seeing the film, by using a close up of the main character this will also draw attention to the actress and therefore draw fans into looking at the poster. This will then cause them to find the trailer of the film to see the actor/actress in their new film. A close up image of a character also allows the chance to show emotion. The face tends to give away how someone is really feeling and allows you to see whether the character looks frightend, scared and vulnerable or whether the character looks confident and in control, this then allows the audience a chance to guess which character the victim or the unsub. For my poster I will be using the victim as my main character as I do not want to give away the identity of the unsub to anyone who has not viewed the film. I have decided to do this because this will cause the audience to want to view the film more as they would want to find out the storyline, how the storyline ends, who the unsub is, what they are capable of and why they have become the 'evil character'. As the main image is focused upon the main character (victim) I have decided not to include any other images within the poster, this also links in with keeping the poster simple and basic. If other images were to be included then too much of the storyline could be given away and the focus will be taken away from the main characters facial emotions. One audience member, in the feedback, did opt for a full body shot of the character. I decided to opt against this for the reasons already mentioned above and the fact that the poster will not have as good as an effect I think. As for the information featured on the poster there are certain features that must be included in order for the poster to be effective in what it is supposed to do. The most popular answers from the feedback were the production company, tagline, certificate, and release date. The title will be the largest featured text on the page as this is most important with the tagline located underneath in a slightly smaller font. The certificate of the film and production company will be the smallest text featured on the poster as this is the least important feature that will draw in attention. The release date will need to be clearly stated on the poster but should not have a too large font so that it draws attention away from the actual poster main image and title. I will create and upload a draft as to where I plan on placing each of this features.

My poster survey

Click here to take survey

Questionnaire Results Comments - Questions 8,9 & 10

 

8) The front cover will be character focused rather than location - this will draw in a lot of attention not only from people who want to see the film but also those who are fans of an actor or actress that is playing the character

 

9) 71% of the target audience voted for a mix of films rather than just one. I will be focusing on the main film but also including others on the front cover. I will be doing this as this is what the target audience voted and it is also a more common convention of a movie magazine to have more than one film presented.

 

10) The magazine will be normal themed rather than a complete horror theme as the magazine is trying to draw in a variety of audience rather than just those who are interested in horror films. Having a horror film as the main film focus will particularly draw in those interested in horror but still allows for other films to be presented.

Questionnaire Results Comments - Question 7

Questionnaire Result Comments - Question 6

Questionnaire Results Comments - Question 5

Questionnaire Result Comments - Question 4

Questionnaire Result Comments - Question 3

Questionnaire Result Comments - Questions 1 & 2

 

1)

2)

 



Questionnaire Results

Tally chart results of Questionnaire - including Facebook and Instagram answers

Graph Results