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

To complete this project we used a wide variety of different technologies to create the 3 products. We used more cmplex technologies which enabled us to widen our knowledge and display our creative skills.

Google was used at the start of our project which alowed us to view different film magazine fton covers and film posters. After choosing specific posters and covers on Google images, we used Blogger to upload these images and then analysed each of them.

To analyse existing film trailers we used Youtube. We used the website to search for trailer that were associated with my target audience and my chosen genre for my own trailer.











We used blogger to input all of our our information and to write up my anaylsis of different film magazines, film posters and movie trailers. Blogger enabled me to upload sections of my coursework such as my filming timetable, upload photos of locations that were going to be used during filming and to upload my finished products (film trailer, magazine cover and poster).







We used the programme Adobe Photoshop to enable us to create the magazine front cover, the film poster and the captions within the trailer itself.






A video camera was used for us to shoot all the footage. Along with the camera itself we had a tripod which meant we could take steady shots which was sued for the majority of scenes in our trailer, but we also held the camera by hand for scenes such as the car boot.

We used the program Adobe PremierPro for us to create the actual trailer. All our footage was uploaded to this program, and we were able to choose which clips we wanted and from there we could then edit the selected footage. The timeline allowed us to put the scenes in order, it also enabled us to put the background music alongside the footage.
Using this program proved to be the most challenging as this was the first time any of us had attmepted to use this software. This software was much more complex than the others e.g. photoshop and therefore we had to take some time to get used to the arrangment of the program

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Trailer- From the audience feedack I learned that our film trailer overall was a success and enticed the target audience to want to go and see the actual film. One of the most successfull components of the trailer was the chosen music, as our audience felt that it captured the mood of the trailer, madde the trailer more dramatic and built up tension, and also the change in the tempo of the usic halfway through the trailer was a favoured featured. People liked the way the footage had been cut in a such a way to ensure it was timed well to the beat of the music. From feedback we gathered that the most favourite part of the trailer was the scene where the hitman attacks a man beside the car and throws him in the car boot, they especially liked the point of view shot when the car boot shuts on the man. The black and white effect also received positive comments as many people felt that this added a dark mood and feel to the trailer accompanied with the music.

Film Poster- The film poster recceived very positive feedback from the majority of those we asked. They felt the poster sold the film very well as all the different aspects of the poster were associated with the film itself by the use of colour, the main image used (edited to black and white) linked the effect used in the trailer, the font style and colour was the same on all products so the audience could easily associate each of them with eachother. The majority of the audience said that the poster we created looked professional as the conventions on already existing published material was used e.g. the layout of the text and the use of them main character in the image which people felt was memorable as we used a medium close up shot of the actor for the photo. Another positive feature on the poster was the fact we had the character posing with the gun which in the trailer itself is the signiture weapon for the main character and people felt this was a good way of linking the two.

Magazine Front Cover- For our magazine front cover we also received very positive comments from the majority of the target audience. People felt it looked professional due to the use of typical conventions of existing material. The colour scheme was well received as many poeple believed it followed the general colour scheme used in the trailer and the poster, and therefore people were easily capable to associate the magazine with the film.
There were not many negative comments on our magazine cover, thoe negative comments were only on minor details and nothing on the major components of the cover. People like the way the PUG was still able to stand out even though we did not use a vibrant colour, and many thought that if we had used a more vibrant colour then it would look out of place and degrade the overall look of the cover. All the conventions were well received such as the barcode, the date and price of the magazine and the layout of text and the image.

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

The combination of our media product and ancillary text is very strong and apparent, as we have used the same font style and colour in the captions within our trailer, and the titles on the magazine front cover and poster, therefore the audience is easily able to associate the 3 pieces of material with eachother. The images used for both the poster and magazine front cover are very closely linked to the trailer which enable the viewer to easily tell that all 3 different product are part of the same campaign.

Above are 3 images, one from the poster, one from the magazine cover and the other is a screen shot from a caption within the trailer. The font style and colour in each of these products is exactly the same. By doing this it aids the audience in linking the 2 different pieces of published material and the trailer together.

Above are the 2 main images that were used for the film poster and a screen shot from one of the scnes in the trailer . A link between the 2 images and the screen shot is clear to see and therefore makes it easy for the audience to associate the poster, magazine and trailer with eachother.

Evaluation - In what ways does your media product use develop or challenge conventions of real media products?

Trailer - When creating our film trailer there were a number of conventions from existing Thriller/Action trailers that we have included and represented in our own product. The majority of shots were short and fast paced which gets the audience on the edge of their seat as they concentate on the short clips of action scenes. I wanted my own trailer to represent true action film trailers by following the conventions of what is shown at a particular point in it, for example in most action trailers the main character is introduced almost immediately, however it does not show everything and everyone in the trailer as we want to leave the audience in suspense. One convention of action movie trailers that we did not follow however was the use of dialogue and a voiceover to aid the explantion of the film's story. We believed that it would be better if we did not make use of this as it would make the trailer look gimmcky, and therefore preferred to use captions and let the text help the audience understand the plot of the film, and allow the background music to get the audience exited.
Freytag's triangle displays the structure of a dramatic work such as films. The diagram shows that the film starts off at a slow pace in the exposition part of the triangle, in the rising action the pace quickens and draws the audience in, straight after this is the climax, then the pace of the film slows again before the conclusion. In our trailer we followed Freytag's triangle to a certain extent, however we decided to challenge this convention by not having a falling action after the climax as we did not want to slow the pace of the trailer down as we felt this may bore the audience and they would lose interest in watching the film.
We used captions in our trailer as this is a typical convention for many movie trailers. Earlier in this project we anaylsed the movie trailer for the film Pans Labrynth, and in this trailer, the use of captions were a key element in explaining the general plot of this film. The trailer for Pans Labyrinth also did not make use of any dialogue or commentary, however the use of caption was still very effective and therefore showing that dialogue is not always nessesary, therefore we decided to include this in our own product. Each of our captions consist of the same design and same font style and colour which is a recurring theme in the majority of film trailers. After studying many film trailer we noticed most of them end with a caption displaying the film name or another caption telling the audience of the release date of the film. We chose that we should also end our trailer with this convention as doing this will ensure the film name will stick in the audiences mind as it will be shown if not at the very end of the trailer, near the end.

Film Poster - Our movie poster followes the typical conventions of real media products. We made sure that we included all components that make up a movie poster such as the film title being the biggest piece of text on the page, the actors name/names displayed clearly at the very top of the page, text that included the names of people involved in the creation of the film e.g. director, producer, film editor etc, the release date of the film clearly displayed. The main image used for the poster is of the main character from the film, this is seen in the majority of film magazines as this entices the audience to see the film if they see a popular actor playing a main part in a film. The main image consists of a medium close up of the main character looking straight at the camera so that it draws the audience's attention to the poster, the majority of real advertising material uses this and we did not want to challenge this convention. As our movie trailer has been edited to create a black and white effect, I decided that the image used on the advertising poster should also be in black and white so that the audience will clearly be able to associate the poster with the film trailer.
We ensured that the font style and colour used on our trailer was the same as what was used for our magazine front page and the font style used on our captions within our trailer itself.

Film magazine
We used typical conventions of a film magazine front cover on our own product. We had a skyline at the very top of the page inside a grey border. The masthead was placed centrally at the top of the page just under the skyline, this is generally the largest piece of text on the page as this is meant to stand out to the audience, therefore we felt is nessecary to follow this convention. we also noticed while analysing magazine front covers that the magazine name normally stetches across the width of the page, this convention was also taken into account and used in our product. Sub-stories/coverlines were situated down the left hand side of the page and are of significantly smaller font which displays their lesser importance compared to the main story which the magazine is covering. The use of a PUG, barcode, date and price were also other conventional features which we felt had to be included on our front cover and as seen on many magazine front covers are all position and designed to be more discrete to ensure that the audience is not automatically drawn to these features.

Judgement Film Trailer

Audience Feedback

Once we had completed the trailer we showed the finished product to various people in our sixth form and asked for their opinions on it. We decied that we would ask 3 males and 3 females for their opinions.

1. That trailer was amazing. I loved the different types of shots and camera angles, especially the scene with the car boot.
2. The music used for your trailer was very appropriate, the scenes were cut very well so that the music and the clips were in sync.
3. This trailer looks very professional, one of the best i've seen.
4. The main actor in your trailer was brilliant, played the part excellently.
5. Loved the music, made the trailer very dramatic.
6. I liked the way you edited your trailer to make the black and white effect to the scenes, very professional.