Evaluation Presentation

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Evaluation Questions

1)In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Before making my magazine,I researched into similar media to familiarize myself with the layout, codes and conventions and how the products are presented. After doing the neccessary research, I found it much easier to create my products as I had inspiration from other products that are on the market today. I tried to add the codes and conventions on my products that are found on the real media ones.
For example, for my trailer I used the different use of shots to resemble a professional film trailer. I was also inspired with the different techniques that are used on a trailer, like using a narrator/voiceover or the use of texr for example. All the convnentions used on my own were inspired from a particular trailers from the film entitled 'The Strangers'.
For my poster, I had to look at other film posters and anlyse the conventions that they show, depicting the ones that are more succssful. I then had to use this techniques on my own products including the magazine front cover. This helped to develop the professionalism in the tasks making them resemble to real media products today.

2) How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?

I made sure that I created products that linked together so they could be instantly recognizeable to the audience. For example, the mask in my trailer is the trademark for this movie, so I made sure that this image was found in all 3 products in order to link them together. I made the magazine front cover and the poster hold a very dark undertone which portrayed the genre of the movie. I think when combined, all three products were successful as they all conveyed the same messages.

3) What have you learned from your audience feedback?

When in the process of making all my tasks, I asked for audience feedback through surveys. This helped me to make the appropriate changes to my work in order to not only seem more professional but also be more successful. I learned to take positive criticism and use it effectively on my work. Recieving the feedback from the audience also helped to see new creative ideas to use in my work that I have not used before. This helped to explore new techniques and gain the knowledge on how to use them in further tasks.

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

For the construction of my media tasks, I used the new HD camera's that were available which made sure that my work was produced in the best quality. It also meant the clips that I filmed were easier to upload. Also to makes the ancillary tasks, I used a recent version of Photoshop which meant that my products were very easy to edit and came out the best quality that I had planned to produce.

Evaluation

The option I chose for my Year 13 Media coursework was to make and produce a film trailer with two ancillary tasks. The two tasks I chose was a film poster and a magazine front cover featuring the film. I chose this particular ancillary task as I am familar with making magazines, but by choosing the trailer, I wanted to set myself a challenge within this task.
I started by planning for my trailer to be of a horror trailer and my target audience to be over 18's. The audience for my trailer will have to be interested in action-packed movies with a lot of intensity.

The first thing I started to work on was the script and the storyboard for the movie. By doing this first, it would widen my perspective on the way my trailer is going to look and what atmosphere it would bring. I drew the storyboard first to give me a mental image of what to work with. By drawing the storybaord first, I could then write an ideal script to use and follow when making the trailer. I did follow this plan and by doing this it allowed me make appropriate changes to the storyboard to improve the narrative. Once I had finalised the storyboard and script, it then allowed to move on with my ancillary tasks.

The first ancillary task I has produced was the movie poster. Due to making the script and the storyboard first, it allowed to see what type of image would be appropriately themed. I decided that the main iconic character should be feautured on the front of the poster, although I did want to leave an idea of mystery behind it. The first plan I came up with was to draw out some mock-ups for my poster. I did this by hand.
The first idea was to have the main character dressed in dark clothing, posing a very dominant look to the audience. However, I then thought that this picture would look much better on the front cover of the magazine. When a movie comes out, the poster is supposed to act as a teaser to the audience to make them interested in going to see it. After the movie has been released, it is then featured on a magazine where the characters are more recognizable. This is when I decided that the face of the main character should not be featured on the poster.

I started to make the poster by taking shots of myself posed in the iconic mask that the main character will be wearing. I used a tripod and a HD camera of my own to take this image. I then uploaded this image on Photoshop CS3 and edited my photo to make it look a lot more dark and mysterious. I used a lot of different filters and layers on the image to create the right effect I was looking for. I edited the photo to look very dark, so much so that the only part of the image that the audience could see was a hand holding the mask loosely. Due to nothing else being in the image, I knew that it already started to raise questions as, you cannot see who or why the person is holding the mask. When the photo was edited and completed, I then decided to look at other posters to see how they are produced professionally. Once doing some research on other posters of the same genre; I knew what features on the poster I could add. The first being the title of the film. I knew that the title had to stand out from the rest of the font featured. In order to successfully acheive this, I had to use a wind effect on the writing, to make this recognizbale to the audience. The style of the writing I created did suit the thiller genre, as the writing was mysterious just like the narrative of the movie. After this I completeed, naming the main actors and actresses in the movie along with a slogan that can be associated with the narrative of the movie which can also be used on radio advertisements, posters, banners and television.

After making the first ancillary task, I then proceeded to make the magazine front cover. The same procedure was used for this project as it was on the poster. First of all, I did research into other film magazines that feature the genre I am working with. After doing this, I work on my mock-ups which I had an idea for already. I then proceeded to take the appropriate pictures for my magazine which I also edited on Photoshop CS3. I wanted to create the same dark effect as I had made on the poster so that the same theme would run throughout both. I used the same font on the magazine as used on the poster so that both would be recognizable from the movie. After creating both items, I conducted a survey between 20 people based on their opinions of both the ancillary tasks. After taking the positive criticism, I then made minor adjustments to both and then proceeded to make my film trailer.

Due to me having all the neccessary work done, I could make trailer with ease. I had made my location accessible along with planning the costume and scenic props. I had found myself an actress to suit the genre and had tested to see whether she could play the appropirate part. Once all these details based on the trailer were finalised; I then began filming with the HD camera's. All the filming was planned so that I had enough footage to edit.
The filming was very successful and it was then time to edit on Final Cut Express Pro. At first, the editing was a little challenging but after picking up the skills fairly quickly, I managed to complete my trailer within the required time.

After completing my trailer, I also showed and surveyed the product to the same people as before to get their opinions. Although I completed my trailer fairly quickly, I did not have much negative criticism and nothing needed to be changed. I was very happy with the success of my trailer and ancilary tasks. I had put a lot of effort and planning into each product and so the work was easier to do than I once thought. The target audience and genre for the movie did change once I was in the process of making the products. The genre changed from a horror to a thriller.

I wouldn't change any large details about my products except to maybe add some more interesting effects the trailer; a little more use of creativity. I am happy with the positive reviews I had on my products and I am happy that I could complete them all in a short space of time due to me having complications with my project at the start.

My Film Trailer

Here is the trailer I have directed and produced. I have provided a YouTube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QZAVjGQPk0

Research into Similar Media

I have researched into similar media previously for my ancillary tasks, but for this post I am going to talk about movie that I have got inspiration from. My first example is taken from the movie: The Strangers

Here is the YouTube link to the official movie trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lm2hZ50sN4

This was the main movie that gave me inspiration for my own trailer:
The whole style of the trailer is what inspired me to make mine. I think the disruption was build up particularly well and left the audience with a lot of questions. This film is a thriller and that is the genre I am intending to base my trailer around. Both this trailer and the one I am making have the same target audience. It is intended to be made for young adults/adults who are interested in thriller that are full of suspense and twists/ that appear quite clever to the audience. The main codes and conventions of this trailer that I picked out included the lighting, the acting, the editing and the structure.

To begin with the lighting was very bright at the beginning, allow the audience to clearly see what's going on. This helps to establish the equilibrium at the beginning of the trailer. Towards the middle and the end of the trailer, the lighting gradually started to get darker which creating the mysterious atmosphere. This is something that I will have to create in my own trailer.

The acting in this trailer is done well as the expressions on their faces holds the most interest for the audience. This is the reason why I need to pick an actress that show expression very clearly in order to capture the right atmosphere.

The editing in this trailer is done to keep the audience interested. The equilibrium is build up enough so that the disruption seems shocking to the audience. There are many quick cuts and alot of black fades. This is a technique that I need to use in mine, the fades create the right atmosphere due to it being a subtle transition.

The structure of this trailer is done in the right way so it builds up the tension in a subtle way and then it cuts right into the action.

Advanced Portfolio Plan

Plan for the actors/actresses:
The main plan for my actors/characters in the movie was to use someone who can adapt well to a thriller genre. I had to pick someone who can have good expression but also one who can be a likeable character in forde the audience to keep interest. I was only planning to have one actress in the movie and one male actor. However, only one of the characters will reveal thier identity.

Location(s):

The location is going to be a relatively large house. I had already planned where I was going to film before I wrote the script. The house has to be quite big and not on a street with other houses next to it otherwise it wouldn't capture the deserted atmosphere I had hoped to capture. The house has to look a little creepy in the dark but it still has to look like a homely home. The house I chose happens to be one I could gain easy access to as it is in the family. The house isn't accompanied by many other houses on the road, and has a long stretch of fields in front of it so it is normlly very quiet. This particular feature to the house meant that it created a sense of lonliness. The house is quite big inside so that means that filming one actress will leave me with plenty of space. The rooms inside are pretty large in order to film and the bigger the space to use, the bigger atmosphere it will create. Also, this house happens to have many different settings and a good staircase in order to film. This house I had chosen would be perfectly suited to my movie trailer.

Costumes:

Since there is only one main actress in my movie trailer named Katie, (Real name: Misbah) I had plenty of time ot focus on what her costume/make-up would be like. The whole movie is based around this house so she had to be dressed casual. I had to dress Misbah in house clothes, such as a basic cami vest top and jeans or even leggings. I wanted to film in something that made her feel comfortable. The best way to get the right costume for these scenes was by asking her what she felt comfortable in when she was at home. This was done in order to set the right atmosphere. It would have been innappropriate if I filmed my thriller trailer while my actress was dressed in high heels and a dress. The theme would not have matched up to the aim of my trailer.
The make-up on Misbah had to be different to what she would usually wear for filming purposes.The make-up i put on misbah was alot paler than a look she would usually go for. I used a much paler foundation on her skin and eyeliner that was not done particularly neat. This was to capture the state she in throughout the trailer after being chased in her own house. Also the pale foundation was to capture the scared expression on her face.
For the costume of the masked man. The only tweo things I needed were the mask and black clothing. I made sure that the male actor (Justin Burns) wore a big black jacket, with a black t-shirt and dark coloured trousers/jeans. By having the actor dressed all in black, it would mean that the mask he was wearing stood out to the audience and was instantly recognizeable.


Props:

Here is a list of the props I used and what they were used for:

Mask - Main prop for the actor to wear.

Wine Glass - To be smashed on the floor (Disruption in the trailer)

Bottle of Wine - A scene where Misbah is setting down for the night and pouring herslef a glass of wine.

TV - Misbah would be watching the TV on the sofa as part of one of the equilibrium scenes.

Remote - To change the channel and know something is wrong when the TV goes to White Noise

Candles - The candles were for the bathroom scene when Misbah has just taken a relaxing bath. The plan for these candles also was to have her blow it out in a close-up shot and then let the darkness set in. This way I could use this darkness and mix it with a transition. This could be a good use of editing and creatviity.

Robe/Dressing Gown - Misbah relaxing for the night after taking a bath

Knife - Misbah was going to walking/running around te house to threaten the intruder with.

These were the main props that were featured in the trailer.

Plan for Filming....

StoryBoard

Here are the scans of my storyboard:

Trailer Inspirations...

The Intruder Magazine

Here is the original image that was tranformed into my magazine:

Here is the magazine front cover to the film The Intruder:

I decided to feature my film on Total Film Magazine. The colour scheme stayed exactly the same as the poster. This the main feature that ties the two pieces of media together. I had to edit the original image quite a lot to make it look a lot more mysterious and scary. The background featured blood steaking down the walls which was the same feature as the poster. I also created this feature around the mouth of the mask to show that this is a bloody-thirsty character. I made the name of the movie stand out by creating a wind effect on the writing. All the other strap-lines were movie themed by the main importance was that they fit in with the colour scheme. I placed the image in the centre of the magazine, of which the idea was taken from the dark knight magazine. This makes the character look more dominant and powerful along with the camera being slightly below eye-level.

Film Magazine Inspiration

Below shows the film magazine from the movie: The Dark Knight

The magazine that the dark knight features on is entitled: Empire. Although the magazine that I making is going to be featured on Total Film Magazine, the messages and values that this magazine holds is going to be very similar to me. On this particular magazine, the late Heath Ledger/The Dark Knight is the centre of attention on this magazine. He holds a dominant role in the movie and so does my character so my main actor needs to be the in the centre of my magazine. The colours on the magazine tie in with the theme of the movie, which happens to the dark knight's clothing colour. I would follow these technqiues to use on my own media production.

The Intruder Poster

Here is my film poster:

I decided that I needed the poster to be dark and mysterious just as the film trailer would be when put together. The identity of the mask was not given away so it leaves the audience with many questions surrounding the poster. The poster also features a simple slogan that is the theme of the whole movie. The colours on the poster is mainly black and red which represents the two main messages in the movie.
Black - Mysterious
Red - Danger/ Bloody Thriller

Inspirations for my Film Poster

This is a poster from a movie called Saw:

This poster is one of my inspirations in order to make mine. The reason I like this poster is because it is so simple, yet it raises a lot of questions by the audience. The picture shows somebody tied up, yet the audience does not know who it is or why they are tied up.
For my poster, I want somebody to be holding the mask, not knowing who is holding the mask or why.
The SAW poster also features a simple slogan that appeals to the audience which is a convention that I would like to hold within my media poster.

Ancillary Task: Magazine Mock-Up

Here is the mock-up for my film magazine front cover:












Before making my magazine front cover, I had to think about what famous film magazines I was going to feature my film on. The first magazines that came to mind were Total Film and Empire. I simply picked one of the two options I thought of which was Total Film.
I didn't plan to many details on the magazine apart from the layout. The main image on the magazine has to be big and eye-catching to the audience, it has to take up the majority of the magazine.
I didn't plan the colour scheme on the mock-up but I knew that the main colour would be red, black and white due to those being the colours on the mask.

Ancillary Tasks: Poster Mock-Up

Here is the mock-up for my film poster:

Again the idea was inspired a little from the SAW movies again. The posters hold a certain factor that leaves you intrigues as to what the movie is about and what message it is trying to portray. I plan for my poster to be very simple but a hold a deeper message. The mock-up shown above shows the bottom of an arm holding the mask featured in the movie. There is no identity as to it holding or why and I think there questions that the audience are asking already makes the poster successful because questions should be asked about the movie - it means that the audience are interested in potentially seeing the film or wanting to know more about it. I plan for this poster to be quite dark, allowing the mask to be the only thing that stands out. This feature/convention is something that I also decided to do on the magazine front cover.

Characters, Characters and Setting

There are only two main characters in this movie. The girl who lives alone needs to be very independant. Most of the time she is at home so she cannot be very dressed up. She needs to wear house clothes, have very little make-up on along with her hair not being neat. This costume makes it look more realistic that she is at home when this happens. If the costume were high heels a lot of making up for something as simple as watching TV on the sofa, it wouldn't be a very realistic setting.
The costume for the other character is very dark and mysterious. The only main part of the costume that needs to be worn is the scary yet recognizable mask. Apart from that the colour of the clothing that needs to be worn is black. This does not only highlights a mysterious character but it makes the mask he is wearing stand out.
The setting I am going to use is a house that is in the middle of nowhere. I have managed to use a setting where it surrounded by fields which makes the trailer much more tense as they can see that no one can help them in any direction for a few miles out.

Ancillary Tasks

I chose to put my ancillary tasks together first as it holds inspiration for me when I have to make the trailer. The two I had chosen to create was a film magazine cover featuring the film along with a film poster. The first one I wanted to create was the magazine cover as I have been familar with making them in previous media studies lessons. Creating a magazine would be a challenge for me but also a learning experience because I have never created a film genre magazine before. Normally I tend to put together fashion and beauty magazines in which the codes and conventions ae very different. For my type of magazine I will have to think about the type of picture I will use, the type of colours I will have to use etc, in order to capture the right genre. For my genre that I have picked, I think choosing the colours and the type of image will be easier than it sounds. Since my trailer is a bloody thriller, the main use of colour I think of to use is Red. These are the types of  conventions I need to think about when putting my magazine together. However, first I had to plan my magazine drawing up some mock-ups.

Here is the mock-up for my magazine:













For this one shown above, I decided that the main character/most recognizable character for the movie needs to be featured on the front cover. The character featured in my movie has a very recognizable mask which can be used as a trademark from the film. This is similar to almost everyone knowing the mask/dummy used in the SAW movies. You could feature that mask alone on a poster and know what it is for. I would also like to use my mask for a very similar effect. The main character is just drawn as a sketch as I am not sure of the exact pose but I know that the camera should be just below eye level to give the character a more dominant effect - taking on the same role as he does in the film. I have planned for the eyes to be very powering and threatening to the audience. I also know that the main character should be featured in the centre of the magazine taking it most of the room. Because the image is recognizable from the movie, the darker it is the more scary is can look to the audience along with it looking very eye-catching.

Plot/Summary For My Trailer

The genre for my trailer will be Thriller although there can be some comic elements to it. The idea for my trailer is going to be based around a woman who has just moved into a house that was inherited from her grandmother. She has always wanted to live in this house but on the night that she finally settles in, she is robbed and invaded by a crazed murderer that just happened to be planning this raid for a few years knowing there is a hidden secret in the family.
The girl lives on her own and suddenly all types of commuication is cut off such as her phone and television: she knows that something is wrong. It is only until she spots a figure running past her window and her car alarms go off that she knows there is an intruder trying to get inside the house although she does not know who he is after. She has no idea of his identity as he wears a very mysterious scary looking coloured mask. This vengeful bloody thriller leave chills down the audience spine's as they know it is based on true events.

My Chosen Media Task

For my Year 13 Media Coursework, I have chosen to pursue task number 2. This task involves making a promotion package for a new film. This includes a teaser trailer, together with the tfollowing:

A film magazine cover, featuring the film and a poster for the new film.

I have chosen to do this task as I think I could apply my skills to a movie trailer much better than a music video or a new video game. I am familiar with movies and trailers and the techniques used by watching a lot of movies and also being a student of Film Studies. I think that by choosing this task will be easier for me to explore but also will be a learning process for me at the same time. This will be by using Final Cut Express Pro in order to edit the movie, how to add different transitions etc.