Sophie-Liddle-x

Evaluation

In year 12, I created a music magazine which included a front cover, an advert and a two page spread. I used skills such as Photoshop and camera skills.

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

At A2 level, I worked with Nicolle Kelly and produced a horror teaser trailer as part of my media production. The teaser trailer last for approximately two minutes and needs to capture the attention of my target audience15-30 young adults. We chose the genre horror as we thought we were more familiar with the conventions used in these types of films.

On watching my teaser trailer, I have seen that my media project uses forms and conventions of real media products. There are many conventions that are included in my horror teaser trailer that would be found in other horror trailers, for example my trailer doesn’t give a lot away to the audience as it builds up the suspense making them wanting to know what will happen, making them go and see the film. Another feature in my trailer which is common with horror films is the sight of a chase sequence, which builds up suspense for the audience making them engaged in the film. I have also conventionally used attractive girls which are a common convention in horror films as you always see attractive, vulnerable girls as the main victims within a film of this genre.

I have also created a poster and magazine cover to advertise the horror film, this will attract the audience and make them want to see it once it is released.

The poster uses conventions of other horror posters for films, such as a dull dark background making the main person stand out , in my case the character on my poster is the ghost. It also includes other things a poster should have such as a bold title, actors, barcode and the date the film is released, once again this is the main advertising for the film. When producing the poster, I looked at other horror posters such as Quarantine :

The last house on the left:

And The Orphanage:

This helped me design and create the poster. When producing the magazine cover, I used what you would see on the film, the model of the ghost/villain

and the creepy mise-en-scene which will create an intense atmosphere for the audience. As I have already mentioned, I have had practice making posters and magazine covers before in my A level project, so I have used the same skills to produce my A2 project.

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

When publicising my film, I will advertise it using the poster and the magazine cover, appealing to both audiences. Two distribution companies that would help promote my film; these are Lions Gate films and Twisted Pictures. I have used these as the public are familiar with both companies and they have produced amazing horror films before. Twisted Pictures are known for their brilliant creation of horror films, this fit perfectly with my film as the genre I have chosen was horror. Also, the public know the company Twisted Pictures and the films they have produced such as “Saw”; this will appeal to the audience as they use shots and scenes to build up suspense to the audience, and make them come and see the film. There would be a website that has been created to advertise the film, this is shown on the poster, this will show that there is more multimedia used in my A2 project. The website will consist of song samples, trailers, video extracts, photographs, interviews, features, competitions and opportunities for fans of the film to give their opinion about it. This could help sell the film as this could show that they have some kind of ownership of the film as they are giving their opinion about it. The film trailer will also be uploaded to YouTube

which is seen as a global platform, which will also promote it showing most of the world the trailer. It will also be uploaded on mobile phones and social networking sites to target the audience my film is aimed at. My film is aimed at 15 and over as its certificate is 15, however, in my opinion I think the age range of the film is 15-30 which is seen as quite a young age range. However, with the film being promoted virally on the internet and other technologies it will favour this age range as they will be more likely to use technologies like this, for example mobile phones. I think a good idea would be that the horror teaser trailer would be released to a popular horror site such as www.bloody-disgusting.com which is one of the leading sources of everything horror on the internet. My film had a low budget, but other successful films were also made based on a low budget, for example “Paranormal Activity”

which was a low budget film, the budget was 17,000, which was placed on YouTube for the public to see. This is how they got their audience and how the film was a success. If releasing my film onto YouTube would get me the same kind of publicity like “Paranormal Activity” received and word spread around the internet it could make my film a major success, however, what I am doing would only constitute part of a larger campaign. However, many films do not make a profit the marketing of the film is a vital part of the process in order to reclaim funds.

When watching the film trailer, you will be able to see a variety of different camera and angle shots that I have used. In particular, making the characters look as vulnerable, for instance there is a high shot of the vulnerable victim, this makes her look small and represents her being powerless, which is perfect for the characters situation. Another camera angle used would be a low shot, which is used on the villain making her look as though she has more power over the victim and is in control. These certain camera angles are perfect when creating a horror film as it gives the film an effect. Other camera angles are also used in the teaser trailer, such as close ups, I am able to get a reaction shot of the victim which emphasises what she is feeling, that she is scared. The close up on the ghost shows her looking dominant, that she is the one in control. Long shots are also used including the surroundings and the character, possibly creating and effect. The panning of the camera is also used showing motion and zooming which would also show reactions and give more of an effect on the trailer. Over the shoulder shots are also used which makes it look as though the victim is being followed by someone and that the ghost is behind her, this may build suspense on the audience whilst watching it. One of the final shots I have used is having the camera at the side from a distance through the trees, this makes it look as though something is hiding watching the victim, by doing this it creates suspense.

Mise-en-scene emerges as a vital technical code in immediately establishing meaning. Certain locations I have used in my teaser trailer are conventional locations in horror films. For instance I created a chase scene in the woods in part of the trailer which is common in horror films, creating an emphasis on the audience and building up suspense. Another location I have used is a spooky abandoned house which is ideal for my film as it is called “The Abandoned” by filming this it helps setting the perfect scene for my film. One of the final important scene I have used is the library scene. This was a perfect location for the film as it was an old library, looking dark and gloomy setting a good atmosphere to film the horror teaser trailer. I searched around for good locations that would fit well within the teaser trailer.

Where possible link to real-life products and campaigns

I handed questionnaires out to the public before I began to create my film, so I knew what the audience would prefer to see. I used the opinions of the audience to create the teaser trailer, because using the opinions of the audience would help sell the film better as more people would watch it and prefer to see what they had suggested. Once I created the questionnaires, I then posted it on my blog. The audience for my film is quite a young and identifiable as the age range is 15-30, as I think the film would suit this age range more. In my opinion, I think that feedback is important when it comes to the media industry, If you don’t receive feedback from the public, you won’t know how successful your film could actually be, and with the help of the audiences feedback you would know for next time on what you have to improve upon to make the work better.

I attracted my audience by using a theory from Laura Mulvey, who suggested that the male gaze is generic and is an important convention of horror genres.

I asked a group of people from an audience to watch the film trailer and give their own opinion about it. After giving their response, it was then posted on my blog. Overall, the audience group I asked said they would be interested to see the film by sitting and watching the teaser trailer. The group I asked were between the ages of 16 and 19.

In my opinion, I think my horror teaser trailer would be quite successful. It shows many conventions of other horror trailers and appeals to the specific audience.

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

I used a digital video camera to video my teaser trailer which is approximately 2 minutes long. I also used Photoshop to create my magazine cover

and poster to advertise my film, expanding on the skill I already had from the previous year of A level. I also used a stills camera to take photographs and the use of final cut to create my teaser trailer. When using final cut I used new materials I had never used before such as, laying and sorting all clips out into the order they were needed, audio technology and adding effects. When finding research and planning, I analysed many poster and magazine covers to understand what was needed for the conventions of horror posters and magazine covers. Once I had analysed these, I posted them on my blog. I have also analysed horror trailers to show what conventions were needed when making mine. At the beginning of the construction stage, I found it difficult getting used to the editing facilities, however gradually over time it become easy. I started off filming then setting all the clips I needed down, once I had all of this sorted, I started with the music and cutting down the shots and the music I needed. Once all of that was done, I added the effects, making the trailer come together. During all of this production, I have become a prosumer which is a producer and a consumer because I have posted it on the blog. There has been a cultural shift towards prosumerism and how it presents many challenges to the media industry. These problems consist of piracy and lots more people are creating media.

Overall, I am satisfied that my cross media production is an authentic representation of products related to the horror genre, and this opportunity has enabled me to fully realise new skills in practical media production.

I have analysed a few magazine covers in order to get ideas for my own magazine cover I will be creating for my film trailer.

This is a magazine cover of Premiere. As you can see it has coventions of a magazine cover. It contains the date, issue and price which is common in magazines. The title (Premiere) is bold and stands out. There are three different colours used in magazines (in this case there is red, black and white) this is also another convention of magazines. Different fonts are also used on the cover, this is once again a convention with magazines. On the cover there is an attractive, well known actor which will make the audience want to buy the magazine as it will appeal to them. The colour red may be used because, the actor starred in a vampire movie (Twilight) and the colour red may represent the blood and danger. The main story stands out the most on the cover, however smaller stories are shown on the cover as well, for example Iron man 2. Its also as if the actor is looking out into the audience. As you can see the title is over the models head, quite often the head is over the title, so this magazine is a bit different.

This is another cover by Premiere. Once again it has three different colours used (black, yellow and white) this is convention used in magazines and it uses different fonts. Will Ferrell is used on the cover of this magazine, he is a recognised actor and would appeal to the audience making them buy the magazine. The pose he is pulling is meant to be quite comical, this may reflect on the film that he is currently advertising on the magazine. Other stories are featured on the cover of the magazine for example '12 sundance films you'll need to see this year' this may appeal more to the audience as the main story might not attract their attention. On one side of the cover, it mentions many famous actors and actresses (Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Orlando Bloom and Tom Cruise) this might make the audience feel like they need to buy the magazine as they may be familiar with the celebrities. With '& many more' stated on the cover, it may encourage the audience to buy a copy as they will be wanting to know what else is inside the magazine. The issue and date is also on the cover.

This is another magazine cover by Premiere. Once again a recognisable actor is used on the cover to make it appeal to the audience. The date and issue is provided along side the title. Like the other magazine covers, three different colours are used, this is a common convention in magazines and more than one style of font is used. The main story (Spiderman 3) is the biggest on the cover, however, there are more stories too such as: Oscar Bonus, 10 best movies of the year and when stars collide. This will draw the audience in even more. Once again, famous names are mentioned such as Leonardo Dicaprio, Kate Winslet, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jennifer Hudson. Eddie Murphy, Jack Nicholson and Ben Affleck. The date and issue of the magazine are stated near the name of the magazine and the bar code is in the bottom corner of the cover so it doesn't draw attention away from the rest of the cover, this is another convention in magazines.