4. How did you use technologies such in the construction,research and planning and evaluation stages?

The various methods of sharing such social networking,instant messaging,forums,blogs, youtube and even smartphones means audience especially of genres such of horror are freely able to share the opinions, views and ideas to mass audiences. Horror as a genre has a very active following of audiences who pride themselves in having extensive knowledge and experience on the topic.

Research and Planning

• Using the internet extensively helped in gaining insight on the genre of horror, horror conventions, definitions of fear and methods of creating fear.
• Using online encyclopedia wikipedia.com gave me an extensive history into the background of horror and how it was first created and how over the generations its conventions constantly change and challenge the norms.
• By watching other horror trailers on youtube and also watching the television documentry “the perfect scary movie” gave a great insight in what methods create fear and what criteria is needed to create a sucessfull horror film.
• Using programmes such as microsoft word enabled me to create efficient paper form questionnaires and creating charts to visually display my results.These two main pieces of software were very usefull when it came to doing my blog.
• the survey site surveymonkey.com was one the most impressive methods of recieving audience feedback I have used. It modernizes elements of miscroft word with the efficient and simple aspects of the internet.
• Google played a major part in obtaining images of film posters and film magazines which may not of been originally accessable to me without the internet. It offered me a large amount material to create a list of criteria to meet which I would not of been able to access by hand.

Construction

• modern technologies greatly influenced the construction and quality of my products.
• Apparatus such as digital cameras were exstensively used to film our trailer and also take camera images for my poster and magazine. We were able to upload these products to a computer by using technology such as card readers and usb cables. This meant all our work was safe and easily accessible and available to adjust and edit.
• For our ancillary texts we used Adobe photoshop cs4 to build our promotional products from scratch. Even though I did find using photoshop fiddely and tedious it is worth the outcome as creates high quality products.
• For our trailer we used Imovie. This programme was very simple and easy to use which turned a usually tedcious process of editing into a more efficient one. However I felt the amount of effects and transitions that were suitable or our product’s genre were very limited and I feel this effected the quality of our work.
• Using software such as Mpegstreamclip enable us to convert music from youtube.com to use in our trailers. This software was very usefull as it was time efficient and allowed us to have  access to a wide choice of music.

Evaluation

• Technology played a prime part in gathering audience feedback. Modern technology allowed me to reach mass audiences and determine a tighter focus group.
• As I did with my research I used microsoft word to create feedback questionnaires. Also as I mentioned previously surveymonkey.com played a major part in obtaining my evaluation feedback online.
• Also uploading on sites such as youtube and facebook made my media products globally accessable.
• Technological convergences would also greatly benefit the marketing of my media products. Due to miniturization my media products would be able to be accessed not only by computers but by game consoles and smart phones. This means that the products could then find even more further ways of creating promotional material such as apps for smartphones. The ever evolving technologies of modern society leads to the increase of methods that the media can use to influence and market
• Uploading to youtube also ment that I was able to upload all video footage onto my wordpress blog.
• The high popularity of youtube and its facilities for other users comments meant that further and wider audience feedback was possible to gain.

 

 

3. What have you learnt from audience feedback?

I feel by gathering both focus group feedback also feedback from other media students helped improove my work greatly especially my ancillary texts.  By doing so it meant my products were created specifically for my target audience’s needs andmet the brief well .

Most of my feedback comments definatly led to me experimenting with different layouts of my ancillary texts which I would of never of come across alone. Also editing as group allowed me to experience different ideas and imagery that other people have and made me realise the more constructive input put into the products improoves the quality.

Using the website surveymonkey was my first experience of building and online questionnaire , I definatly preffered this method compared to the conventional paper form as I felt it was more similar to what a real production company would do to receive feedback. Its efficiency and praticality are better than that of the paper form especially when wanting to receive feedback quickly and simply. The website also analysed the results of the questionnaires which saved extensive time of me gathering the data.

 

 

Audience Feedback Footage

• From viewing audience feedback clip one on my trailer I learned from the feedback that my trailer used contrasting symbolism that met horror conventions e.g. child holding a knife in a white dress. The use of the nursery rhyme added a sinister effect.
• From audience feedback clip 2 on my poster my audeence agreed that it portrayed the horror genre and the trailer. However it was considered that the darkness of the magazine conflicted the brightness of the poster so it didnt link aswell as it could of.
• The pink colour used in my poster represented the feminity of my characters which could suggest their vulnerabillity.
• The two ancillary texts showed the girl in two different roles, and the use of red was seen as maybe too much and possibly portrayed too much gore
• From audience clip 3 I discovered that my promotional package worked well as a whole at advertising the film without giving away the full storyline.
• Its clear that all the media products are advertising the same product.
• I was stated that the poster sent a mixed message about the role of little girl in my storyline however I did not want my poster to solely focus on the little girl and give away the plot of my film. I think her expression on her face portrays her position in the film without her being the centeral image.

 

2. How effective is the combination of your main product(trailer)and ancillary texts(film poster and film magazine)?

• I think my 3 products represent horror and pyscologicalstoryline of the film clearly and well. Instead of using the convential possesion or ghost storyline to play on the theme of manipualtion using an unknown and avengefull  presense (the husband) adds a unique selling point to our storyline.
• I feel the most effective of the three was the main product as I gave a chance for us to display our technical, editing, imagination and filming skills. I feel we done this well and proffesionally which resulted in us being very pleseantly surprised by the good quality of our work.
• I feel the secound effective is my poster. I felt by not using typical conventions of horror such as gore or violence but buy displaying fear(the mother’s expression) and disturbing lack of emotion(the daughter’s face) conveys the mystery of the film’s storyline. Also the peering from behind the door suggests an unwated and dangerous presense which emphasises the danger connotation even more
• I feel the least successfull was my Film Magazine as I felt this product would not appeal to the target audience of horror films 15-25 year olds are less likely to read film magazines
• I feel my extensive research and constant focus group feedback definatly contributed to the successfullness of the promotional package. I did however find it hard to meet both the needs of the focus group while also sticking to trailer, horror,film poster and magazine conventions however I think my products managed to display a balance of both. 

Comparing my promotional package to a similar  existing package

Hide and Seek Film poster

• No film magazine featured the film Hide and Seek as a cover feature. This is due to the factor that even thoe the film starred a major hollywood name (Robert Deniro) and was successfull the film was not considered a blockbuster.
• I chose to compare my promotional package to the film Hide and Seek as it a film that represents similar storylines and themes.
• A recurrent use of the colour red and using red as a tint on backgrounds and images is shown in throught my products. I used this as a horror convention as the red connotates evil,danger and blood. Similarly this is also used in the film poster for Hide and seek.
• Both film posters use image of a cracked open door with a character stood peeping behind(my poster) and stood within the crack (the Hide and Seek poster). The image denotates fear and hiding. The image of a door connotates a domestic theme within a household. This in combination with the use of red sybolises a sinister underlying family factor.
• Both film posters use a very similar layout. With the the image as the background, small print/credits in the bottem of the page in the middle ground, and both the film title and tagline as the foreground with the tagline at the top of the page and film title towards the bottem.
• Both posters use a similar thin eerie font. This font is stereotypical of “thriller” genre films as it represents the middle ground between horror and gore.
• Both promotional packages share numerous similarities ensuring that the pyscological sinister family element is constantly represented throughout the media products.

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

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

Similarities

• Both posters use a glare of light the first around the person and in the secound on the door.
• Both use the theme of peering through a door. This connotates being watched or hiding. The first is from the view of looking in and the secound is looking out
• Both posters use “horror” style fonts for effect.
• Both consist of small print in the same “movlett”style font. They both offer cast and crew information. Both place this information at the bottom of the page.
• both used coming soon instead of a release date

Differences

• the first poster uses a close up looking into the crack of the door where as the other looking out
• the first poster uses black as a darker background where as the other uses a bright background.
• the first poster is darker where as the secound is generally brighter

Similarities between film magazine covers

• both magazines place their title towards the top of the page in bold font. Both titles are two words with the secound word of the title placed inside the first
• both use the word exclusive to describe their main feature
• Both use a horror style font for the title of the film
• Use a main character from the film as the main image
• Also on the right hand side of the page they both have a still/stills from other highprofile films advertised in a small picture.
• Both at the bottom of the page list other features of the magazine just by name e.g. film name, actor,actress name
• Both magazines advertise their main cover feature similarly with part of the suheading above the film title and then a caption underneath the title. This is so when  it’s read by the audience it uses tabloid style language.
• Red is used as a recurring colour.
• Both use shadows on the image of the person to add depth,darkness and mystery to their face

Differences

• the secound magazine has a generally brighter apperance than the first , this is due to its blue background
• Even though both magazines use bold plain fonts the secound uses the film’s title font twice.
• the secound magazine’s image has a backgrouns where as the first does not and is placed against a plain background.
• Instead of using coloured  like banners behind subheadings I have used a white stroke.I did this to keep my magazine clean and simple looking.And to ensure my fonts stood out against my dark background
• information on the cover feature is placed on the left handside of the page where as in the secound it is centerd.

Trailer comparison

Hide and Seek trailer

Home Sweet Home trailer

Similarities between the two trailers

• Both use traffic and a non-diagetic conversation as the opening scene
• They both then go on to show a slightly intimate conversation between a man and a woman
• Both use short flashback scenes as cut away shots
• Both use scenes of a car driving away this connotates escaping
• both use slow background music
• Both trailers show a child looking away into empytness as looking at someone or something giving the impression of a mysterious presense
• Both use a mirror to display gore in a reflection or on the actual mirror. Mirrors are used as horror convention as our eyes are beleived to be the windows of ours souls and mirrors can disort these views.
• both use a close up of a child picking up a knife from a knife block.
• both trailers end with the film’s title alongside a voice over of the little girl’s voice.

Differences

• The hide and seek trailer uses fade a majority of fade to black transitions which we only used one of
• The pace of the hide and seek trailer started slow and then built faster as it reached the end where as mine started slow and then quickened from half way within the trailer. My trailer had a shorter introduction to the story
• The hide and seek trailer had a vast amount of talking where as mine only had talking in the begining section of the trailer
• Towards the end of the trailer it began to use title scenes with the cast’s names. I only used a title page at the end to finish the trailer.
• The hide and seek trailer is 2 minites 33 secounds where as mine is only 1 and half minites hence the faster pace. However mine being a teaser trailer can be argued as being more effective

Promotional Package Feedback

To gain feedback for all three promotional products as a promotional package I created an online survey on www.surveymonkey.com. Using this enabled me to create an efficient method of collecting data by using online an online webpage. Using email I sent an email consisting of my promotional package and urls of my video and online surveys. Using the internet such as youtube.com and surveymonkey.com enabled me to reach a mass audience.

Film Magazine Questionnaire

 http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Q7ZXMWJ

Film Poster Questionnaire

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Q9LW66B

Horror Trailer Feedback

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ML8LBVL

Using suverymonkey.com it offers me the facility of collecting and analyzing my results for me.

Film Magazine feedback responses

http://www.surveymonkey.com/MySurvey_Responses.aspx?sm=borBG1ZSjKMua%2bGCCG6XDU9ihm5hyuExcvJvdq19T34%3d

Horror poster feedback results

http://www.surveymonkey.com/MySurvey_Responses.aspx?sm=DH6NoUjs3tJr6y9M%2bUaEvLQ4SsS%2f27vaOnL0mtPBE%2bY%3d

Horror Trailer Feedback

http://www.surveymonkey.com/MySurvey_Responses.aspx?sm=JIH4A6TN3kCHfjvRT2i7drYEEbNLo530Zmqd9yTw79I%3d

What my feedback results shows

On the Film Poster- my audience felt that it potrayed a horror film-and that it represented the storyline-they felt the image suited the poster and storyline and potrayed a sinister and eerie image-the moster popular feature of the poster they liked was the image-it was suggested there could of been more imagery-all replied they would go and watch this film based on the poster

Results From feedback of Horror Magazine-all my audience liked and approved of the cover-they all felt that the cover portrayed a horror film as the main feature-they all felt it portrayed the film well

Results from Feedback of Horror Trailer-all my audience liked the trailer-however only 33% of my audience didnt find it scary enough-everyone thought the storyline was clear-most of my audience favoured the music and camera shots-one person found the storyline confusing-all said they would watch it in a cinema based on the trailer.

I have learnt from my results that I could of made the trailer scarier and the storyline simpler. However I wanted to challenge stereotypical horror storylines. I think using a more advanced editing software instead of Imovie it would of been easier to make the editing of the trailer scarier by using more advance editing effects and techniques.

Film Poster construction

First draft with my own image

Using results from my research the criteria for my magazine is- film title “home sweet home”-tagline “the nigh he returned”- coming soon on the poster or release date- and extra information such as starring, written,produced etc on the bottom of the poster in small thin font.

First Draft

From all my designs I chose to use the sketch of my characters of the mother and daughter peering behind a slightly opened door.  For my draft however I used google images to creat a mock up.

Similar image taken from google images.

                                    

Mock up of poster

                                     

• I used photoshop to edit the picture and dafont.com to download fonts.
• I placed the film title slightly away from the top of the page- in black- in medium sized font-black- and in downloaded font “hopferhornbook”-the same font I used in for the film title on my magazine cover. I chose to display my title like this so it did not distract from the main image and also linked with the black and white of the image. I chose to use the same font as it makes the poster cohesive with the film magazine and also appears as a trademark of the film e.g. a logo .
• I placed the tagline in dark red with a black stroke-slightly placed on top of the film title- it gives the image the tagline is almost creeping-I put it in capital letters to emphasise the words and its importance on the poster-I used downloaded font “october crow”-and changed the font styling to bold
• I used the same font for coming soon at the bottem of the page in black however took the bold effect off so it still remained small as a usual convention of a film poster.
• Just above coming soon I put my small print in downloaded font “movlette” which is the same font used on a number of real film posters for small print. I placed in a small paragraph centred in the bottom of the page with each line indenting. I did this to create dynamics to the page withou distracting from the main image. I also put this font in red.

Feedback on poster- The title and tagline are too small- coming soon should be moved away from the small print as it seems too crowded- the font seems too dark.

 

Secound version of mock poster

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taking Pictures for Horror Poster

• As previously planned I knew already that I wanted to take images of my actresses of the mother and daughter in my trailer peeping round a door as if looking in anticipation and hiding. I wanted the mother too look frightened and vulnerable while I wanted the little girl to look directly at the camera and with a blank stern stare. This is as thoe she dosnt fear the unknown danger and also engages  the audience.
• 
•  I chose this picture out of the ones I took as thit had the best lighting that made the image clearer and easier to edit in photoshop when using the lasso tool and mask layering.

First draft using my own image

• I darkned the image as I though it was too bright to use as a background picture. I adjusted the brightness by lowering it and also increased the contrast levels to emphasise the shawdows in the picture to add more depth.
• I moved coming soon to the top of page in the centre and made it slightly larger to balance out the picture text ratio.
• I changed the title to blood red (the same as on my magazine cover)to stand out against the bright plain background and to also make my poster and magazine cover cohesive. Using the same on the both sells the title as almost like a brand logo as e.g. when audiences see this title in this particular way they would associate it to this film
• Made the title considerly larger to the previous draft so it has as much focus as the image.
• I also made the tagline larger and black without a stroke to give a more eerie apperance.

Feedback on poster- Picture is still too bright for a poster-Felt the tagline gave away the storyline- and the text on the page should be more spread out to add more dynamics to the page.

 

Final Draft of Film Poster

 

 

•  
• I further adjusted the hue levels of the image and tinted them a slight red. I did this to darken the image and also make the picture seem less plain. Also by doing this it emphasised the shadows in the image even further.The use of  red also denotates blood and danger. I have used red as recurring element as a horror convention.
• I made the coming soon a smaller font as I moved the tagline.
• I firstly changed the tagline and due to my secound round of audience feedback my audience felt it gave away my storyline. I instead changed it into one that was more suggetive and less explanitory. “she’ll always be a daddy’s girl”
• I also changed the font I used and downloaded a different font from dafont.com which was “sell your soul”. I felt it potrayed conventions of horror posters better as it more similar to ones used in real posters than the previous one. I also edited the font and horizontaly spread the lettering to give it a bolder effect.

Film Magazine construction

Using my research and planning for my Film Magazine cover I decided to use an image of the little girl from the Film as she is a main character who participates in mysterious and dangerous activity in the trailer. The image of a young girl looking eerie and haunting connotates to the audiene that she is an evil participant of the film . It also challenges the innocent convention of children. It appeals to the fear of evil overpowering innocence and family bonds.

Taking pictures for Film Magazine Cover.

I decided to take pictures using a still camera of the girl against a white background. I placed her in a white dress with her long blonde hair down and white make up on her face. The white dress and long blonde is a stereotypical image of child innocense however her haunting expression and white make up give a haunting impression and connotates evil and the undead.

Chosen image

Chosen image for front cover

First draft of film magazine

I chose to use the medium shot of the girl staring directly at the camera with a blank stare. Her expression is haunting and emotionless. This potrayal of the child is a convention of horror.

First draft of Film Magazine

Chosen image for front cover

Film magazine cover created using photoshop.

• For my background I used a plan grey background which I adjusted the gradient and and added a radial effect so it would fade from white to black starting from the centre of the page so the white would surround the image of the girl. This was used to highlight her as the focus of the page.
• I placed the image of the girl in the centre of the page. In large sizing as I wanted the image to be eye catching and the main focus of the cover.
• I have placed my title slightly away from the very top of the page to balance the page and also so I could make it large. I put the title in large black white stroked font. I placed the word screen inside the the word preview similarly as the  film magazine “total film” does. I made these letters white to contrast the black and also link to white stroke. I used a downloaded font from dafont.com “amity jack”
• For the word screen I used the same font and also used this font for the words new releases edition under title which is also in white
• Above the title I placed an advertisement for free Vue cinema tickets in orange font with a small visual image of a ticket. I did this as an insentive for my audience to buy the magazine. I used the font “atrox” downloaded from dafont.com. I later then discovered that I could not use the cinema ticket image as it was not my own image.
• To the right of the page I have advertised another feature in the magazine of new cinema releases. I used “blockbuster explosions” as a strong emphasising statement. I placed this in dark red bold white stroked font. I used the white stroke to link with the other stylings of the other fonts.I did however use a different font “coolvectia” from Dafont.com. Under this subheading I placed small images of stills from films and placed them slanted and with a black stroke to give the impression of the photo being polaroid snapshots. However like the vue cinema ticket issue i discoverd I could not use these images as they were copywritten.
• On the lower left of the page I placed the subheading for my cover feature. I put this in the same “coolvetica”font but in black with a white stroke. I made this larger than the “blockbuster explosions” to display it clearly as part of the main feature. I put th word exclusive larger than the rest of the heading to grab attention.I placed the subheading in a slightly diagonal pattern to add dynamic to the page.
• I put my film title “home sweet home” in the lower centre of the page. In large font the same size as the magazine title. I however used a stylistic font “hopferhornbook”(from dafont.com) to portray the horror genre of the film. I placed this in a blood red to connotate horror, blood and danger,
• Underneath the film title I placed “explores bittersweet revenge” as a hint to the storyline of the film. I put  this in the same font as the above subheading.
• At the very bottem of the page I advertised extra contents of the magazine in small sized font however i made the word plus slightly bigger to draw attention to the extra contents and to advertise its importance. I put the names of well known actors/actresses to appeal to a film audience. I put these names in burgundy and light blue without the bold styling and with a white stroke to link with the other fonts.
• I put barcode in the bottem right hand corner

Feedback receieved on the film magazine cover-Too many different coloured fonts.-does not portray horror enough-positioning of “new release edition” and “free vue cinema tickets” is distracting from the Film Magazine title-film title is not bold enough and needs to stand out more.

Final Draft of Film Magazine Cover

 

• I darkened the magazine to black but still kept the white behind the image of the girl to make the background more simple but yet stylistic.
• I put a red tint on the image of the girl  and darkended the image. I did this to emphasise the use of the colour red and give the image a more evil denotation.
• I removed “new release edition” to the top left of the page so it does not distract from the main magazine title.
• I also moved “free vue cinema tickets” to underneath the title for the same purpose.Also removed the copywritten image of the vue cinema ticket.
• Blockbuster explosions I changed the font to a bolder font from dafont.com “oliJo-bold”. This font suits font conventions of film magazines more than the original one.I also changed the opacity of the font so it blended more with the page.
• Changed the images on the right side of the page to my own images and placed them in a film reel to connotate the theme of film.
• Changed the word exclusive to the same font as blockbuster explosions and made it grey so it stood out against the black backdrop but without overpowering the red of the image.
• Added a white stroke behind the film title and also adjusted the noise level of it to add a more dishevelled haunting apperance to it
• I changed the font on the bottem of the page to white so it would link with other writing on the page.
• I howeve forgot to place my barcode on the cover

Researching film title and tagline for poster

I carried out a questionnaire for my focus group to determine my horror film title and tagline. I did this so I could determine what would appeal to my target audience.

The results determined that my film title should be “home sweet home” and my tagline shoud be “the night he returned”

Film Magazine Questionnaire

To create my film magazine I carried out a questionnaire to ask my focus group which consisted of members of my target audience. I did this to  determine layout, image, fonts, titles, and subheadings, and promotions.

My results showed that magazine should.

• title- Preview Screen
• advertise new releases, actor/actress profiles and “behind the scenes”
• should be a special edition ” a new releases edition”

Final Horror Film Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOqrgc4veKM