HOW I USED MEDIA TECHNOLOGY IN THE CONSTRUCTION, RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES...

I have used many different types of technology for my research, planning and evaluation. For research and planning we decided it would be a good idea to make a blog. I have also used a blog for my evaluation. I thought it would be an interesting way to present my work and the most effective method. Blogs are good as they allow me to keep a record of all my work, in order and its easy to follow. For my research i explored the internet to find different camera angles that i could use in my film trailer and produce the best trailer possible. I also researched into what a trailer is and all the different film genres. This helped my group and i to decide which genre we wanted to do and which would have a niche market. To produce our film trailer we used apple mac computers and imovie.

We did all our editing on the apple mac computers to keep our film trailer flowing and to make sure it wasnt too long. It was the first time id ever used apple macs or done editing before so i had to play round with it abit and experiment to get to know how it works. Using the apple macs made editing easy for us as they had many effects we could use. We needed to edit our trailer so all our shots link in with each other and make it look more professional. Apple Imovie was good for us to add in sound effects. (image of imovie below)

For my evaluation we used websites such as youtube for audience feedback. I also did a question and answer session to see what people liked about my trailer and how i could improve it.

To produce my magazine front cover and film poster i used microsoft photodraw. I found it was a good way to construct both my magazine and poster as i could move round all my images and text easily and place them where ever i wanted them on the page. I took some images using a digital camera and transfered them to the computer and some images i took from the trailer to create synergy. For my poster i downloaded the correct font for the credits to make my poster more realistic. (image of photodraw below)

WHAT I HAVE LEARNT FROM AUDIENCE FEEDBACK...

I wanted to get audience feedback on my film trailer to see what they liked and disliked about it, and hear peoples views on how i could improve it. To do this my group and i thought it would be a good idea to put it on youtube. I also asked people to watch my trailer and observations of their reactions were noted. Subsequently, a short, informal question and answer session took place.

(click on the link below to see film trailer on youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HtYnfwIXkg

Questions i asked: Was the genre clear?

What did you like about it?

What did you dislike about it?

Did you think the trailer was long enough?

How could i improve it?

Generally the feedback was positive. Everyone liked the trailer however i did recieve some constructive criticism. I found that people thought the genre was clear, which is great, but they thought a little more humour could be added to make it more 'spoof' like. There wasnt anything that stood out that people did not like but thought a few more comedy stunts could be included to improve it, which fits in with the age range that my film is intended for. Everyone i asked agreed the length of trailer was appropriate. Overall the trailer was recieved with positive feedback and i therfore feel the trailer has been a success.

HOW EFFECTIVE THE COMBINATION OF MY MAIN PRODUCT AND ANCILLARY TEXTS ARE...

When creating my ancillary tasks i wanted to keep synergy between them and the main task so it was clear to audience they all link together.

POSTER: As we chose to do a British 'spoof' for the genre of our film trailer, i decided to use alot of reds, whites and blues for my poster to create synergy with the theme that its a 'British' film and matching the colours in with the title.

I looked at other film posters in the same genre such as 'johnny english' and 'hot fuzz' and tried to use some of the forms and conventions to make my own poster more realistic.

I put a review on my poster to establish synergy with my magazine front cover as my magazine is called 'premiere'.

The small print at the bottom of my poster also links in with my film trailer as the names are of the actors and directors of the film etc.

I chose to use the protagonist from our film trailer on my poster and magazine front cover to create synergy. I chose different pictures for my ancillary tasks as i wanted to show off my photopraphy skills but with the same person so my work all links in together.

MAGAZINE: On my magazine i added interesting things that i think would attract people to buy it like on a real magazine front cover. Such as an offer of a free poster inside forming synergy with my film poster. Iv also mentioned 'detective goose' and 'no.38' on my front cover which are names of other film trailers made by groups in my class.

I think the combination of my film trailer, film poster and magazine front cover is very effective as a promotional package. They all link in with each other and attract people to want to watch the film like a real promotional package would do. Therefore i think i have created an effective media product.

IN WHAT WAYS MY MEDIA PRODUCT USES, DEVELOPS OR CHALLENGES FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS...

(THE PLAY SIGN TO WATCH FILM TRAILER)

Trailers are film advertisements for feature films that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. They tell the story of a movie in a highly condensed fashion that must have maximum appeal. Trailers include the highlights from the film to entise a viewer to want to watch it. We tried to do this when making our own film trailer, putting in as much humour and comedy as possible to make the genre clear and attract people to watch it.

As our genre is 'spoof' we looked at other spoof trailers so that we could try and include as many forms and conventions from real film trailers as possible to make ours more realistic.

Whilst coming up with the plot of our story we realised it was actually alot harder to be funny than we initially thought. Spoof movies include alot of parody and satire but we found this to be challenging. We came up with idea that we would make it seem more of a serious film at the beginning. Not long into the trailer the audience is drawn into the fact that the trailer is, infact, a comedy. We thought this was effective to the audience as the trailer questioned their initial thoughts and maintained their attention throughout the trailer.

We've highlighted the star of the film because thats who the audience would pay to see like in real trailers. We havent shown the whole storyline or an ending, our trailer is just there to tease the viewer into watching the whole film as a trailer should.

In most trailers they have text appear on screen to help indicate to the audience what the film may be about, and sometimes use voiceovers for the same reason. It can also add effect to the trailer for example in a horror, you can use specific fonts to suit the genre and create a more 'horror' atmosphere. We chose to use a bold simple font, easy to read so it's quick and to the point, and to fit in with the serious theme we try to portray and the beginning of our trailer. The words 'when a school is in peril'.... 'only one man can save the day' etc appear on screen. We did this so it was clearer to the audience what was happening. We also use a voiceover to introduce the actors in our film trailer. "Rob Knight"... "Benjamin Birch"... "In valentine's day".

We use diagetic and non-diagetic sound in our film trailer as a real film trailer would have. For an example of diagetic sound, in the scene where valentine is chasing one of the 'bad guys' he shouts out "Get back here!". We needed a bit a dialogue to make the trailer more interesting and add humour. When the trailer goes from serious to comedy, the music changes. This is non-diagetic sound. We added it into the trailer during editing.

When filming our trailer we wanted to use different camera angles and play around with the camera to get the best shots possible. In one scene we attached the camera to a remote control car. We wanted to create a disorientating effect for the audience and get the camera moving round quickly and fit through small areas we wouldnt usually be able to get to. (SEE IMAGE BELOW)

When we filmed the scene where Valentine was running down the corridor we flicked the light switch on and off repeatedly whilst filming to create effect. It made the shot automatically seem more dramatic.

At the beginning of our trailer we used a long shot when Valentine was arriving on his motorbike. We wanted to give Valentine quite a dramatic entrance.

We use close-up of Valentine and have the name appear of screen to make it clear to the audience who Valentine is. When watching our trailer back before we added this, we realised it wasnt actually clear who Valentine was originally.

We tried to use as many different camera shots as possible to make our trailer more interesting to watch and look more professional.

INTRODUCTION...

This is my evaluation blog. Here i will deconstruct my film trailer, poster and magazine front cover to discover if i have made an effective promotional package.