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

The aim throughout the entire duration of our A2 project was to create a successful promotional package consisting of; a film trailer, magazine cover and a film poster. We wanted to ensure that there was an evident link between all three products, and that each product was winning enough to meet our target audience requirements/expectations.  Due to deciding to centre our promotional package on the genre; thriller, we had to make sure that from each product we had followed the conventions which are often observed from views. We specifically focused our time on the following attributions; fonts and texts, content, emotion/expression, lighting and body language. Evidently, all of these features are significant as they build on the excitement that each product contains. Fern and I wanted our promotional package to aim to a mass target audience- and from the decisions that we had made through our products it is clear that we fulfilled these aims. Due to wanting to achieve this major aspiration, Fern and I had to ensure that we had used familiar features, which give the impression that they have been highly successful and replicate real media products.

Font/Text- We wanted to ensure when deciding on a particular font for our products that we would instantly reveal the genre to the audience. Fern and I had to consider the style of the font, the colour and the structure- ultimately these features were incredibly important simply because they build up the final interpretation for what the audience will obtain. We had also felt it was significant that our ancillary products both presented a similar use of fonts throughout- this was imperative simply because consistency creates professionalism, which evidently was one of our main aims that Fern and I had set for ourselves. We had attempted to do this by selecting a font which was rather basic yet narrow. Unfortunately it was difficult to divulge our genre of film through the style of the font because of this Fern and I had specifically focused on choosing the correct colours for what we aimed to achieve. The continuous use of the colours; red, black, grey and white were all very successful, they give the audience the implication of danger and follow the elements of a thriller genre; anxiety, uncertainty, darkness etc. We felt that the colour red helped to symbolize the fear that our film had contained, giving the audience an insight of what the narrative may consist of.  This was a very successful decision that we had made as it was certain that from just using this colour that our thriller genre was already being portrayed. The colour black was another common colour that we displayed in all of our products. We had used this behind the background of the text that we had included; we had done this simply because it connotes power, which obviously our antagonist Jason has. An audience would also associate this colour with evilness and mystery- which positively impacts upon our products as it reinforces the thriller genre that we wanted to inflict. Throughout the exploration of researching thriller conventions it was stated from many sources that the conventional colours are- black, grey, red and white- evidently Fern and I have achieved this by applying these specific colours. A successful feature of ours is the contrast between innocence and evil, we had used both of these colours together on all three of our products, I feel the main reasoning for this simply was to impose that the antagonist is able to control the protagonist. Overall- Fern and I had fulfilled the aim of consistency as there was a huge connection between all of the fonts that included.

Posing/Body Language- In both ancillary products, and film trailer Fern and I wanted to imply vulnerability. Due to the main actress being the victim we felt inflicting the sense of susceptibility would engage an audience instantly, it would create sympathy from an audience’s perspective which ultimately would make them want to watch the entire film. When photographing Fern, I had directed her to pose on the group whilst looking up, I had simply demanded for her body to pose in this way as I knew it would reinforce the idea of her being isolated and unable to escape the one who is in more power; Jason. I feel this had successfully impacted on our film poster especially as it looks as though Fern does feel this way; therefore Fern in character was also an achievement. Additionally, Fern and I wanted the mise-en-scene to potentially lure an audience’s attention, for this reason we had decided to use tape over her mouth and rope to situate her body, this looks as though she is ‘caged’ in which is following another thriller element as also meeting the narrative that we had called our film title. Throughout our film trailer Fern and I had made sure that when Fern was acting she wouldn’t look as though she had power-we had chosen to create her construct to be weak simply because it reinforces a typical protagonist in a thriller film. For instance; her being dragged up the stairs and having no control, undeniably shows how we had used binary oppositions between the protagonist and antagonist- which evidently is a successful feature. I feel that the posing and body language of the characters within our trailer and ancillary task didn’t disadvantage our products in the slightest- I feel that this was one of our main advantages of our products purely because we ensured that the characters they were playing were conventional so that an audience could commonly familiarize their role within the narrative.

Lighting- The lighting that we had used in our ancillary products was artificial. We had gained a source of light through professional lights provided from a studio.  The aperture of the lighting was extremely high meaning that a lot of light was being exposed- luckily this light reflected on Fern (the protagonists face) with the background being rather dark and mysterious, this had positively impacted on our images for our poster and magazine cover simply because it shows that she was the chief focus, who in which was ‘caged’ in a dark isolated area. This strengthened our products; the images that we had developed identified the girl’s part of the narrative, again reinforcing thriller conventions.

For the trailer, the lighting that was exposed was either through natural sunlight or simply from a natural source in a house (no artificial light included) we intentionally done this because we wanted to emphasise upon the darkness that the narrative contains. Nevertheless, once we reviewed the material that we had captured it had become evident that we definitely needed to apply an effect which would make the lighting more enhanced. The different effects that we had applied would give the audience the impression that time has changed, contrasting between past and present- also reflecting on the non-linear narrative that film trailers typically use. Overall, I feel that the effects we had applied to our film trailer had highly impacted our product, nevertheless- I believe certain scenes should had been re-shot in a different area so the lighting wasn’t as dark for example- when Fern is being dragged up the stairs, if it was a little bit lighter then the audience would have been able to identify clearer the fear of the girls face.

Overall, I feel Fern and I have produced products which are effective. Our magazine and poster positively impact our film trailer simply because it gives the audience a first ‘teaser’ insight of the thriller we are displaying and what the narrative could possibly include. Our film trailer includes engaging features which I personally feel is likely to make an audience feel eager to watch the film yet also question the reasons for why particular things are occurring. Fern and I felt following the thriller conventions would be more appropriate that subverting them; we aimed to target a mass audience simply because we felt this would make our products look more official and professional as opposed to targeting a niche audience which would give the suggestion that most decisions are unusual and not typical. All three products have a connection and it is clear from an audience’s perspective that they are all advertising and supporting the same film. Throughout the progression of producing these three products Fern and I have had to overcome many things such as; re-filming, re doing edits simply because they weren’t good enough, making adaption’s to then edits we had already done to meet our target audience’s requirements etc. Nevertheless we have overcome every possible once which we were able to- unfortunately several features weren’t able to be adapted due to the limited time that we had, which could potentially have a huge disadvantage to our entire promotional package.

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

The media create expectations for an audience; throughout the eras particular shots, ideas, mise-en-scene and sound track are seen in specific genres of films. Due to these constant elements that each genre portrays, they then would be allied as ‘conventions’. This has positively impacted on a mass audience simply because an audience are able to identity a film genre by the conventions that they observe. An audience depend on the conventions that a film contains purely because they are able to build different interpretations of the film, and decide whether the media product is successful or not. Whilst creating our three media products we had to adopt and challenge conventions used in real media products. It was significant that we had replicated the majority of conventions that are often used simply because if we hadn’t then it would seem unsuccessful and odd, nevertheless Fern and I felt challenging them to an extent would show that we had materialised our ideas and were keen to develop the ‘ typical’ conventions further. Due to Fern and I deciding to centre our trailer, magazine cover and film poster on a thriller genre we had to ensure that the quantity of research we had conceded was big- when reviewing back the research that we had carried out I felt individually and together, Fern and I had succeeded in this area. We had enlightened what conventions were needed for a thriller by using different sources of research, and after collecting all of the research we had needed we had realised it was essential and useful for when developing our media products.

MAGAZINE COVER

Our magazine cover positively uses real conventions that are seen in existent real media products.  Firstly, Fern and I had deemed that all research that we had gained of magazine covers would help us to create and develop our own media product; Magazine cover. Fern and I were assured that if we had carried out a large extent of research of film magazine covers then our knowledge of the conventions would seem more widened. Reassessing the research that individually and together we had done, I feel it had benefited our finalized magazine cover massively.  Fern and I had to consider what company of advertisement we would accompany our magazine cover. We had to deem what a mass audience would be enticed by and how this would benefit them.  We had delivered a lot of research on this particular area, and had narrowed our choices down to ‘Total Film’ and ‘Empire’ Ultimately we had deliberated with the choice of ‘Total Film’ we had chosen to apply this company to our magazine cover as we felt the layout and popularity of this company was positive- due to this film company addressing a mass audience, Fern and I were certain that if we had used this for our magazine cover then it would give the impression that we have used high forms of professional conventions. I believe following this convention of including an existing film company was successful- as automatically our target audience were more lured by what we were presenting. Choosing Total Film may automatically give the audience the impression that the success rate of our film is high- meaning that the advertisement is well presented and winning. I feel that there weren’t any disadvantages of choosing this company for our magazine cover, nevertheless, Fern and I had to ensure that when applying this familiar logo to our magazine cover that we had presented it in the same way that this actual company presents it- if we hadn’t done this then it would suggest that we had subverted the typical conventions which may mislead an audience to believing that it isn’t a ‘real’ company.

There are specific elements which are always used on real magazine covers. Throughout the progression of making our magazine cover, Fern and I had ensured that these frequent elements were included on our magazine cover. These conventions are essential, despite the concept of ‘challenging’ real media conventions, Fern and I felt it was crucial that we hadn’t disregarded any of these assets simply because we wanted our magazine cover to look official. Elements that are usually included within a magazine cover are; pricing of the magazine, the date it was issued, a barcode, a website and the issue number. Successfully, we had included these conventions in our design, we had decided to do this as not only did it follow the conventions yet it made our entire product look more official and accurate.

Direct eye contact in an image is vital; because of this both Fern and I had ensured that when capturing the photographs, that Fern had direct eye contact to the camera. This important element inevitably lures an audience’s attention, allowing them to question what that model may be feeling and to get a deeper insight of what the narrative of the film may involve. This was undeniably the focal point of our magazine cover as it showed the desperation in the girl’s eyes for help, it showed effectively the anxiety that she was feeling from this abduction- which evidently follow the thriller conventions that we were hoping to achieve.  When editing this photograph we had specifically focused on the eyes as we knew it would be the chief focus of the product, because of this we had enhanced the whiteness of the iris, and darkening the edges of the eyes which ultimately reinforces the thriller genre that it is. Evidently, in this ancillary product we had to certify that the model that we used to feature on the magazine cover was seen in the film trailer and on the film poster. When deciding on the mise-en-scene that we had included, we felt that situating the models face with bruises and blood would impact our products positively. It would give the impression that she is isolated, has been abducted and is unable to escape this tortured imprisonment, which unmistakably are all elements that follow the thriller genre. Fern and I had felt applying this exaggerated makeup to her face was effective and winning simply because it gave the audience a ‘teaser/preview’ of what the narrative may consist of in the film. I had captured many shots of Fern in different positions; nevertheless we had opted to use this one purely because the way her body was composed had given the suggestion that she was in a mental state. I was pleased with the outcome of the image that we had applied on our magazine cover simply because I felt it engaged an audience with the strong powerful body movement and eye contact.

Another convention that we had featured within our magazine cover was the previewing of various other films above the title of the magazine. We had added this in simply because it had made our magazine cover look official, we was influenced with this idea during the process of collecting our research. Observing this convention on many magazine covers Fern and I felt it was needed as oppose to just an extra feature, because of this we had resulted into replicating this idea and integrating the name of other films, again following the conventions. The images that we had inserted of other films were our own- we had done this to build on the professionalism that our product contained. This additional effect that we had added to our magazine cover would make an audience engaged. It also reflected on the creativity and experimentation that Fern and I had incorporated within this product.

Again, following the conventions Fern and I had incorporated phrases and cover lines in a larger font. We had seen this used in all existing real media products that we had researched upon, therefore felt this development would supplement our entire product. We had ensured that the size of font we had put these cover lines and phrases in were large enough for our target audience to easily read and understand what they were stating- as well as that, they would have to make an audience alert of oncoming films, judgements that are made of the current film, exclusive information etc, which evidently are all factors that would engage a viewer. I believe including these features had positively impacted our product; it had made our product look like a replicator of a professional magazine cover, as opposed to a magazine cover which was forcefully created in a short amount of time. If the text was at a more increased scale the audience may not be willing to read it, and therefore disregard the entire product. It could potentially put off the views from wanting to buy the magazine which then as a result would mean the entire advertisement of the film wouldn’t be successful. The larger fonts were purposely adjusted to this size, to ultimately give reassure an audience of what parts of the magazine were most significant.

The layout of our magazine cover had followed the conventions of a real media product. Fern and I had researched upon ‘Total Film’ magazine covers and had closely observed the way in which each element was composed. This appeared to be a significant factor as, if Fern and I had disregarded the ‘typical’ layout of a magazine cover then it would negatively impact on our audience’s interpretation, because of this we had used many magazine covers as a template to work from, in order to give us a high quality product.

I believe the colour choice that we had used for our magazine cover had complimented our entire product. Again, following the conventions, Fern and I wanted to achieve a ‘tense’ ‘disruptive’ overview for our narrative, because of this we had resulted into using colours which symbolized danger and isolation. Red especially is a colour which gives the audience the impression that the narrative is a thriller- involving treacherous acts which are likely to make an audience feel anticipated and lured. We had also included the colour white, the biggest reason for why Fern and I had decided to use this colour was simply because we wanted the audience to identify the innocence of the girl that had been captured, we wanted to make an audience feel sympathetic towards this protagonist, but also eager to understand the real reason for why she was taken.  One might suggest that Fern and I have successfully met these aims that we had set simply because the use of these powerful colours are emphasised over the blocked black background. I don’t feel that we had challenged any colour conventions for a thriller genre- yet I feel this was the best decision. Evidently, if Fern and I had made the decision of using colours which symbolized happiness, then our entire genre and narrative would be misunderstood.

We followed the general convention of having only one character on our magazine cover product. We had discussed this issue several times, nevertheless we had made our final decision simply because it was difficult to get hold of the other actors, although they had contributed in our film trailer, at the time of creating our magazine cover it wasn’t possible to get them.  Fortunately, Fern being one of the main characters within the trailer had meant we were able to photograph her, we had successfully produced a high quality image which identified all of the feelings that we wanted to attain.

 Overall, I feel that Fern and I had met the requirements of a successful magazine cover although there were very few conventions that we had challenged; we felt this was the best choice. We had included an image which looked professional (which the editing of Photoshop took most responsibility for this) although at first we were indecisive with this choice, and had actually took time in editing a different photograph which isn’t exposed on the final magazine cover, ultimately we had decided on an image which was most appropriate for the layout of our magazine cover. All of the attributes that we had incorporated were crucial. I feel as though from reassessing this product back, there isn’t a major issue which stands out, as all of the features seem to follow what real media products depict.

TRAILER

The trailer that we had produced was the most significant product of the entire promotional package. Our aims were to successfully create a luring narrative; which evidently highlighted the thriller genre. We had many expectations for our target audience, the main feeling that we wanted the audience to gain was confusion, we wanted them to observe our trailer and question what may happen next, why particular things have happened, and the reasons for each disrupted occurrence. These questions were crucial, as these are what demand a target audience to watch the entire film. I feel that Fern and I had fulfilled our aims. We had include intriguing mise-en-scene, sound track and camera work, which all gave the suggestion of suspense, psychology thoughts, uncertainty and excitement. Achieving all of these features had bettered our product as it made it more visible to the viewers what genre of film we were exploring.

Fern and I had mostly followed the conventions of a real media product throughout our trailer as we had included all of the expected elements. When studying real media products, Fern and I had encountered fast paste cuts, feelings of anxiety, deep but luring sound track, and disrupted characters- and through reassessing our finished piece, I feel we have followed these conventions.

This was an extremely poor shot, unfortunately Fern and I hadn't thought about this whilst capturing the footage, nevertheless when uploading it onto imovie and realising this issue it had then became a major concern. Fern and I should of re-captured this shot, but because of the limited time that we had we were unable to do this.  We had overcome this problem as much as possible by using imovie to crop the footage slightly; this had made the poor framing not as evident to the human eye. The advantages of this image that it shows the setting- the location is obviously a crucial factor within the trailer as this could the setting of where the little girl had gone missing. This image also presents the heart necklace which becomes a chief feature throughout the entire duration of the film.

This shot undeniably presents the moving text. We had used the transition which gradually faded out simply because it creates mystery (evidently meeting a thriller convention) Using a white font against a black background appeared extremely effective as it outlined the contrast of innocence meeting evil/danger. Each text had provided a main director or where the film was from, or a tag line that acted as a give-away for the film. We incorporated text which we felt would make an audience question the narrative for instance; ‘A father is supposed to never give up’ ultimately this gives the audience a clue that Jason the main character is acting upon a tragedy which has happened in his life. It provides evidence of what the narrative consists of. I feel adding text onto a blocked black background was successful simply because it made our trailer look professional, as opposed to using a text overlay which may had distracted our target audience from focusing on what the scene is presenting. 

This shot presents a low angle. This was used to show the high authority that Jason had of the girl that he had abducted. It shows that she is isolated, and he is in power of her having full control over her actions and every movement.  The use of low angle enables an audience to identify who the weaker character is. This shot also creates suspense- almost as though an audience are eager for the girl to push her way through his abduction and escape. 

During this shot we had decided to add a special effect called ‘Flash and hold last frame’ this gives the suggestion that someone has taken a photograph of it. This shot was positively effective simply because it showed the importance of the locket to not only the audience but made the audience realise the importance from Jason’s perception. This shot was crucial as the audience would now start to make connections between the little girl from the past who was wearing the necklace, and the girl in the present who is always wearing the necklace. As a result, this shot was noteworthy as it gave more clues of what the narrative consists of. Fern and I had decided to use a close up shot simply to signify the importance of the locket. 

This shot connotes the idea that the girl is being watched. It follows the thriller conventions simply because it gives the sense of mystery and uncertainty. I feel that this shot is valuable and successful simply because it shows that Jason the abductor is cautious of who’s watching him. It gives evidence that he is evaluating things in his mind which he is soon going to act upon.  This shot follows thriller conventions as it gives the suggestion of psychological volatility- which obviously is a characteristic that Jason attains. This is a point of view shot, Fern and I was concerned from this shot that the audience may not be entirely sure of who the narrator was, and therefore this may develop slight confusion for who is actually watching out of a window.

I feel that this scene was extremely luring. It followed the thriller conventions simply because of the narrative and actions that are being shown and the use of camera movement- which is tracking (which appears to be a typical camera movement for this genre) The scenery undeniably gives evidence to our target audience that this is a thriller genre, simply because the location consists of; darkness, isolation, obscurity and creepiness. It successfully demonstrates that Fern and I had gathered various shots in order to engage our audience. 

This shot is difficult to justify- one might suggest that it is over the shoulder shot. Nevertheless, despite this, I feel this shot positively impacts on our narrative and genre. We had deliberately included a slow motion effect on this part, as we were eager for our target audience to focus specifically on what the girl is looking at. Using a slow motion effect follows thriller conventions simply because it implies that something sudden and bad is soon to occur- which obviously is what Fern and I had done. Following this scene was the abduction, I felt that this worked extremely well as it made an audience anticipated and lured with the slowness of the scene yet once she reaches to the baby carrier is when she gets kidnapped, which ultimately makes an audience feel uncomfortable and shocked. We had also gained feedback from this part of our trailer from our target audience and they had said “ It had given me shivers” this was a positive comment to receive, as it made Fern and I feel that this scene was succeeded well. 

FILM POSTER

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

Throughout the making of our three products; film trailer, magazine cover and film poster, Fern and I had used various media technology programmes in order for ourselves to produce different parts of our project. When reviewing back the software programmes that Fern and I had used, I feel we had successfully mastered each programme, we had gained more knowledge from the works that we had done, and found more ways to enhance and develop our products. The range of different media technologies that we had used had given us the opportunity to improve different parts of our products. The contrast between the original material that we had gathered, and the finalized altered material was extreme, Fern and I had applied severe yet enticing changes to all assets of our products in order to fulfil the expectations that our target audience had set. Ultimately, the media technologies that we had used had advantaged our entire promotional package.

USING PHOTOSHOP

Individually and together Fern and I had used the software Photoshop. We had used this programme for a major part of our project. Fern and I had opted for using this programme to create our poster and magazine cover simply because we felt we would be able to achieve a high quality and professional product, which contains official elements that would be expected to be seen from our target audience. We had used this programme in order to explore the different conventions which are presented in both thriller posters and magazine covers. With the tools provided on Photoshop we were able to emphasise the ‘suspense’ and ‘anxiety’ that thriller films evoke. Throughout the progression of using this programme we had mastered many problems which at the time seemed impossible to overcome, nevertheless despite the successful development that we had made, we were also addressed with several problems which weren’t able to be solved. Fern and I were completely fortunate through the process of using this software simply because we were already advanced and highly educated with what the programme supplies. This had positively impacted upon our products purely because we knew which alterations would work best for the thriller genre that we were hoping to achieve. I believe that because both Fern and I were advanced with this programme, our skills had become evident through the finalized products we had produced.

The changes that we had made to our images through Photoshop were successful.  We had developed all areas of the image such as; cropping, lighting, hue/saturation, brightness and contrast. As well as these minor edits that we had completed, we had also applied other changes such as; the burn tool, adding text, re-arranging the positioning of different parts of the product, and overall bettering it to be more dramatized and exciting. I feel that each one of these changes were significant simply because it made an audience feel more drawn in, it had made the promotion/advertisement more approving, suggesting that the entire promotional package is successful and has a positive reputation. Knowing that Photoshop is professional and high skilled software which is used by real media experts, Fern and I was assured that the outcomes of our product would look proficient. Using this programme at times was very irritating, for example; once we had finished both products we had realised minor changes that could be made- unfortunately because we had already ‘merged’ all of the layers on Photoshop together we were unable to change anything that we had done before, this was a major issue as there was particular elements that could of been positioned or resized yet we were incapable of doing this. For instance; when reviewing back the film poster that I had created I had realised that the cover line could have possibly been a larger scale, unfortunately I was unable to do anything about this, and I felt it had majorly disadvantaged the entire product. Evidently, there were several alterations that were made throughout the making of our products; a huge advantage of Photoshop is that it provides the designer to possibly do anything they want; therefore the edits can be very extreme and visible.

Overall, Photoshop was a beneficial and useful programme to use. It had allowed Fern and I to construct sophisticated products; film poster and magazine cover. I felt that if Fern and I hadn’t had access to this programme then our products wouldn’t look as professional as they did. The changes that we had applied to the images that we had taken were thriving, we had followed the thriller conventions with using Photoshop simply because the decisions we had made throughout consisted of using black and red colours, and darkening particular parts of our image (evidently, all thriller conventions)

USING GARAGE BAND

In order for ourselves to add sound in our film trailer, we needed to exploit the programme ‘Garage Band’ this programme provides many sound effects for the genre you are hoping to accomplish. It allows you to create your own soundtrack, to record voices and to enhance the footage you have by making elements of your filming more realistic and surreal. Fern and I had used this programme throughout the entire duration of our project; we had used it to plan, and had used it to finalize our trailer. A massive advantage of using this programme was that Fern and I were able to experiment with a soundtrack to the extreme. We had a huge selection of sound effects to choose from- enabling us to create a deep, luring, tense sound track.

Using this programme proved that our trailer was impacted effectively. It had made the entire trailer more engaging, emphasising upon the thriller conventions that were integrated. Fern and I had found this programme beneficial, yet also simple to use. Throughout the progression of making our soundtrack/sound effects/ voice over, there were very few problems that were raised. This had advantaged the making of our trailer simply because it wasn’t time consuming, and we were able to continue with the rest of the editing that needed to be done. Fortunately, once Fern and I had finished creating the soundtrack we were easily able to export the file to iTunes and then upload it to imovie so that it was with the sequence of our trailer. I had found this programme interesting as well as useful. Part of the making had consisted of using a voice over; I had recorded my voice on this format and had then adjusted the pitch. Successfully, I was able to adapt this in order for specific parts to sound more realistic- for instance; I had recorded myself screaming ‘daddy’ evidently this would reflect on the missing part of Jason’s life as his daughter Annabelle that had been abducted, being a significant piece of sound I wanted to ensure that it fulfilled all of the ‘typical requirements’ because of this Fern and I had adjusted the pitch to make it sound more like a little girl as opposed to a teenage girl of which I am. This had proved effective, as we were always able to adjust and make changes to pieces of sound that we had created without having to go through a long process- therefore being another advantage of using garage band.

I had found that the biggest concern that we had when using garage band was that we weren’t able to find every effect that we wanted. We were aware that we would be encountered with this problem simply because there cannot be an effect for everything you film, nevertheless it did become a dilemma for when we were eager to achieve the expectations we had set in our minds but evidently we were unable to. We had solved this problem by compromising with the voice over, although this was effective, I feel if Garage Band had already provided the sound effect that we wanted then it would create a more dramatised and official effect. For example; when we had the voice over of ‘Daddy’ I had felt that this piece of sound track didn’t sound professional or official simply because it was made out that a little girl was screaming it, nevertheless it is clear that the person that is screaming it is older.

Overall, Garage Band appeared to be a simple yet effective programme that we had used for part of the making of our project. I feel we had successfully used this format programme simply because when listening back to the sound effects that we had included in our film trailer, they all give the audience the impression of anxiety and fearful occurrences- which is something that Fern and I were keen to achieve.

USING A CAMERA

Evidently to gather the footage for our film trailer and images for our film poster and magazine cover we had to use a camera. We had used a camcorder to gather all of the material which was needed. Essentially, these cameras captured successful quality and proficient movement; therefore they were ideal for the products that we were producing.

We had used the camera throughout the entire duration of the project. Firstly we had used it for the planning and preparation that we had carried out, we had done this in order for ourselves to become recognizable with the buttons and tools that it provides, and also to create a template for the narrative of our film trailer- this is when we had created the story board. Using the camera to create a story board was successful- not only did we get an understanding of how to use the camcorder, but it also positively impacted upon our finalized film trailer simply because we were able to return back to the story board constantly, in order to ensure that we weren’t forgetting to include any crucial scenes.

Using a Camcorder appeared to be a winning decision. It was simple to use simply because it doesn’t provide a great deal of buttons- meaning that it was straight forward for when we were gathering all of our material. I feel that using the camcorder had advantaged my camera skills- I had become more advanced and confident with gathering different camera shots and movement, and understood a lot better on what shots seem most ideal for the subject that I was capturing.  I feel that when reviewing back some of the shots that we had gathered from the camcorder were that they were poor. Unfortunately, these shots had become an issue for our entire film trailer as by this time we were unable to replicate the same shots but to a better quality- because of this we had ensured that when editing the more unsuccessful shots that we took time to try and get them to the best that we can. An advantage of using a camcorder was that we were able to move it around in any way possible- for this reason we were able to use tracking shots, panning etc, which I feel worked extremely well for the thriller genre that we were fulfilling.  The biggest disadvantage of using a camcorder was that it wasn’t as high quality as the cameras that media experts use. Although it was still a professional technology, Fern and I weren’t able to achieve material which exposed every modest detail that those do in the real media. Nevertheless, despite that Fern and I weren’t able to produce high professional footage; the footage we had gathered still presented some element of professionalism.

USING THE INTERNET

The internet had acted as a significant part of our project- especially during the exploration of research and preparation. This source of technology impacted all three of our products as we were able to study what conventions are needed to create a successful promotional package of a film trailer, magazine cover and film poster. The websites that we had used from the internet had consisted of;

•  Facebook
•   Google images
• YouTube
• General websites

All of these websites were used for different uses.

FACEBOOK- We had used Facebook during the evaluation- to upload our finished products; we had done this simply because we were able to receive feedback from other users by them commenting on what was successful of our products and what appeared unsuccessful and therefore needed to be changed. Although this had become useful, we were also encountered with a disadvantage of using this website- unfortunately we hadn’t received as much feedback as we had hoped, therefore it was difficult to understand what our target audience was interested by and what they may had felt was faulting our products. The feedback we had received was mostly positive- although this was beneficial to our products; it had made it extremely hard to recognise what needed to be developed further in order for our product to be more winning and professional.

GOOGLE IMAGES- Google images was a reliable source, we had used this as a huge part of our research as we were able to gather existing examples of film posters and magazine covers and then analyse the frequent conventions that they had used. Evidently, this had advantaged our products as we had followed the conventions that we had seen from the media products that we had studied.  We were able to identity what was especially needed to be included in our promotional package. I feel there aren’t any disadvantages of using Google images simply because all of the material that it provides is reliable and sufficient.

YOUTUBE- Individually and together Fern and I had used YouTube as a huge source to gather research. We had visually observed different thriller film trailers to recognise the conventions that are used... for instance; paste of cuts, mise-en-scene, sound track and camera movement. Using Youtube was a significant way to identify how thriller film trailers flow. Fern and I had watched the sequences of thriller trailers, and had narrowed down which ones we were enticed by the most. For instance; we were extremely keen on ‘The Lovely Bones’ from watching this film trailer Fern and I had massively become inspired, because of this it was evident that using YouTube was a triumphant decision to make our final decisions. We had also used YouTube to upload our film trailer, and to then transfer onto our blogs, unfortunately this was the biggest disadvantage. During this process, Fern and I were faced with many difficulties as for some reason we weren’t able to transfer our video from YouTube to our blogs with ease. It had taken many attempts for this to work, which became extremely irritating as we were wasting time on an area of our project which shouldn’t require this much time.

GENERAL WEBSITES- The general websites that we had used had assisted us of making accurate decisions. For instance; when deciding on the film company for our magazine cover, we had used a website which listed the most popular magazine companies, from this we collaborated to make further decisions- ultimately deciding on a final film company of ‘Total Film’. From studying various websites Fern and I were able to judge how significant the advertisement for a film is- we obtained a general overview of the importance of all thriller conventions and had realised the way in which they are used/presented.  An advantage of using general websites is that they are current - we were able to collect vital information which was reliable and consistent through a series of different websites. Overall using different websites meant that Fern and I were given more influence to create a successful promotional package- simply because we were being provided with what is expected to be seen.

USING IMOVIE

Imovie acted as the most essential part of our promotional package as without it the entire construction wouldn’t be a professional sequence.  Using this programme allowed us to make development to the captured footage we had gained for our film trailer, it allowed us to incorporate transitions, special effects, sound, and change the sequence of different subjects. We used this programme to operate our film trailer simply because individually and together we were aware of how to use it (especially my team partner- Fern) I feel that although it is said that Final Cut express offers more options of effects, Imovie seemed more suitable for the thriller genre film that wanted to accomplish- all of the effects that we needed were there, therefore the choice of this format was wise. Fern and I had avoided using Final Cut express simply because last year we had an instant dislike to this programme, therefore we didn’t want to waste additional time on a programme which we knew wouldn’t give us as of a successful product in contrast to Imovie.   The development that we had made was rapidly done. Fern and I were determined to complete a winning and engaging thriller film trailer which followed thriller conventions, and as a result we felt this programme offered us the best development.

Using Imovie has positively impacted on our film trailer. Fern and I have presented thriller conventions simply from using this programme. An advantage of using this programme simply was we were aware of all the tools that it provided- this had meant we hadn’t had to waste time in investigating tutorials on what effects would be most suitable for the narrative that we were revealing. Instead, we had invested time on verifying that each decision we had made was the right decision. This programme allows you to adjust almost any part of your footage that you have uploaded. For instance; during the ‘Past’ parts of our non linear narrative Fern and I wanted to make it evident to our target audience that these scenes were from the past, because of this we had experimented with all of the effects that imovie provides and as a result chose an effect called ‘Old world’ Obviously, this effect was most appropriate for what we were trying to achieve as it made it visible to an audience that the scenes were captured years ago.

A disadvantage of using Imovie is that it restricts your creative development. This had meant Fern and I wasn’t capable of accomplishing a high quality trailer which would replicate existing film trailers. Nevertheless, what we had completed was successful as we had used all of the engaging effects that it offers. Furthermore, imovie does provide many advantages. The quantity of footage that we had uploaded was a lot- if we had used Final Cut express it would had took a lot longer to complete all the editing as opposed to imovie. Imovie provides all of the transitions needed, it allowed Fern and I to apply fast cuts to our shots, which obviously we wanted, as the thriller genre we was creating had to include a feeling of anticipation from an audiences interpretation. The fundamental footage we had was dull, it hadn’t limited any exciting aspects- therefore from using Imovie we had massively developed our film trailer. We were able to add text which again is another convention that film trailers use. Another problem that had risen from using this programme was that it was always a struggle when exporting our trailer to another website. For example; it had took many attempts for ourselves to export our film trailer to YouTube. 

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Audience feedback is essential. It allows your target audience to judge which parts of your products are successful and which parts may need to be developed further in order for your entire promotional package to be more official.  It allows a product to evolve into a more professional and engaging form as opposed to simple and menial. Throughout the process of producing our three products, feedback was significant, Fern and I had gained feedback through different sources, and each source had made us alert of what elements in our products had negatively impacted our promotional package.

Last year, we had gathered feedback through directly asking our target audience of their opinions, and carrying out questionnaires. However, this year we felt it would be more useful if we had additional feedback through different technologies instead of just using these basic methods. This had resulted Fern and I into using Facebook to upload our finished products. From doing this our target audience were able to review what we had uploaded, and then comment on the decisions that we had made. Overall, I feel using Facebook as a way of collecting criticism and positive feedback, was an astute decision, it had allowed us to gather different interpretations to then make further adaptations to our products.

We had uploaded our finished trailer to Facebook, and directly asked our target audience to comment on what they visually and verbally can see/hear.  As well as our target audience, we had gathered feedback from different individuals simply because we felt it was necessary to see how a mass audience perceived our finished product.

Our audience had articulated their admiration for the fast cuts that we had included near the closing of our trailer. They had felt that this was extremely effective for the genre that we were working with, and felt that because of how dramatic and enticing it was that it had made the narrative and genre more evident as well as luring them to want to watch the actual film. This positive feedback that we had gained was beneficial, it was also an agreement to what Fern and I had felt ourselves, as together we were both very fond of this part of the trailer. This had evidently showed that the parts which we felt were successful- were actually successful.  Another advantage that we had gained from our audience feedback was that the narrative was clear and easy to understand. This was a major concern for Fern and I, simply because we were worried that due to our trailer being non-linear then it would be difficult for our target audience to establish the real narrative of what is occurring. Yet from gaining this positive feedback, it had optimistically impacted on Ferns and I judgement, reassuring us that in fact our narrative was easily understood.

Disadvantages that were bought up had consisted of; the billing block not being clear. This had become a major issue for our product simply because it would give an audience the impression that we have not created our own billing block but had used one off of the internet- which obviously isn’t what we had done. Due to this valid point that we had gained, instantly- we returned to Imovie to try and overcome this problem. Eventually we had found a way to resolve this problem by adjusting the framing and composition of the billing block- and eventually we had a clearer and detailed billing block. This issue that we immediately came across was extremely time-consuming to get to the bottom of, moreover once we had completed this adjustment, it was worthwhile to complete. Another concern that was suggested from our audience feedback was that Fern and I could possibly consider using a voiceover. Once we were informed with this point, we had discussed the possible changes that we could make- nevertheless we decided to keep the trailer as it was. We had done as we felt that if we incorporated a voice over we would be revelling too much of the narrative that what we wanted to. Although this feedback was significant and useful, we felt it would raise the standard of our trailer if we had included a voice over or not. We wanted to give the impression that Jason the most intriguing character was ‘distorted’ ‘disrupted’ and not including speech from his construct makes this more realistic simply because it shows that his character is isolated.

Overall, using Facebook to receive feedback was beneficial; it had allowed us to act on what needed to be done to give our film trailer a more professional outcome. The only disadvantages of using his method to gain feedback was that it was difficult to get our target audience to be willing to comment on our product- due to them also creating a product it had taken time to stop what they were doing to then assess our finalized piece. Another disadvantage of using this website is the lack of anonymity- because of this Fern and I had customised who could see our product so that we wouldn’t gather any inappropriate feedback off of someone who we may not know.

The feedback that we had gained for our film poster and magazine cover simply was from the voices of others opinions. Firstly, we had decided that uploading these two products to Facebook would be useful but then we had changed our mind- we had felt uploading these two products to Facebook would  be bribing individuals to an extent just for them to comment. Additionally, those that would comment on these two products may not be aware of the exact conventions of a film poster and a magazine cover, because of this we had opted for just gaining opinion through directly asking different individuals. Their opinions that we had gained were just as significant as the comments that we had collected from Facebook for our film trailer.  It was essential that the feedback that we got was mostly from our target audience as that is what we set out to do. When asking our target audience about their opinions of these two products the feedback that we had gained was; Originally the text underneath the part of the magazine cover which says ‘TOP 100’ was positioned as ‘Align text right’ Fern and I had done this simply because we wanted to challenge the typical conventions slightly, without dramatising them to a large extent. Nevertheless, there was a frequent comment from our target audience that this part of the magazine cover had looked odd and out of place, instantly Fern and I had acted upon this issue and had transformed the text to the positioning of ‘Align text left’ automatically we felt more pleased with this transformation- reinforcing the idea that the feedback was extremely useful. Another negative comment that was bought up was that on the film poster where it says ‘JUNE 15: CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET” was that there wasn’t a question mark. This was a silly mistake that I had made during the process of creating the film poster yet I hadn’t realised this mistake until our target audience had pointed it out- automatically I had returned to Photoshop and had inserted a question mark after this sentence. This had successfully impacted on this product as it had made it look more official and professional as opposed to looking ‘slap dash/bad English’

Generally, the voiced feedback that Fern and I had gained allowed us to make improvements to our film poster and magazine cover. Our target audience had pointed out valid issues that these products contained, and straight away Fern and I had made sure that we adjusted these faults. Gathering this feedback directly was a huge advantage to us as the individuals could specify in detail the reasons for why they were addressed with these concerns. Using this method to gather responses was less time consuming compared to using Facebook, as we didn’t have to convince those to put forward their opinions, as straight away our target audience were willing.  A huge disadvantage of using this method was that Fern and I didn’t have proof that we had gained this feedback- we weren’t’ able to back up these decisions. Unfortunately, at the time Fern and I hadn’t thought to record these opinions of others, yet we believe that would have been an extremely successful method if we had done that. The feedback that we had gained was successful, although it did contain negative pointers, it was successful simply because it allowed Fern and I to better our products without having to work out the mistakes ourselves. We had gained feedback throughout the process of gathering our research, yet the feedback that we had gained from our confirmed products seemed a lot more in depth and sufficient. Fern and I have learnt a lot from this feedback- not only have we made changes to what individuals have commented on but we have realised that throughout the making we should be more exact with the development that we make, perhaps we should of carried out more research in order to make sure that an audience wouldn’t be able to comment with any negative. Nevertheless, this is a learnt lesson that we can now apply to the next work that we may produce.