Evaluation

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

These images strongly display how my media product uses, developed and challenges forms and conventions of real media products as they highlighted and emphasize the key elements and ideas which surround these products.

Analysis of Film Magazine

Analysis of First Poster

 

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

In this blog entry I shall be explaining how I tried to and successfully achieved to convey a brand identity with consistency across my three piece of work throughout A2. I first began analyzing and evaluating other popular horror and thriller movies, along side with their posters and trailers. This helped me to gain a stronger insight into how promotional packaging, and continuity, can be achieved successfully further helping the audience to understand the themes of the film and make links between the trailer and promotional packaging. As a group we personally decided to create two posters along side our trailer and magazine cover, one being darker than the other. This in turn gave us more of a chance to display the themes within our trailer and the generic conventions which surround it, without giving too much of the plot or film ideas away. We used a more Gothic and generic horror/thriller looking font for our promotional package, illustrating in text the genre of our film and making the title very identifiable without just the use of images of the actress. Our unique selling point was a simple yet effective one of "based on true events", thus our film gained more depth and realism which enhances the sense of fear and terror before much more is known about it. This fear is then reinforced by the tag line of "If dreams can come true, so can nightmares" which further establishes what the film is about and how the audience are meant to perceive the film, genre and what the basic plot is. The colour schemes we used were predominantly quite dark, further emphasizing the elements of horror and Gothic and the key images used are that which are quite menacing and intense.

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

In order to gain essential audience feedback, we conducted focus groups for both our draft and final teaser trailer, helping us to gain a strong level of audience feedback and critical perspectives towards our work. In the beginning of our A level in Media our audience research and feedback skills were very limited, to things such as questionnaires and open interviews. However, by the time we reached A2 we have gained more knowledge and insight into the professional Media world, further enhancing our skills and allowing us to hold focus groups with more than one person, allowing our audience to feel more comfortable and able to say their true opinions. Essentially our Draft Teaser Trailer helped me to gain the depth and insight to successfully change and establish a stronger Teaser Trailer.

 Click the image to view our first focus group!

This is our final focus group recording.

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

Throughout my AS and A2 course in Media Studies I have been able to use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages of my coursework. My initial in AS research was done by watching DVDs with David Hepworth talking about his contributions into the Music Magazine world and how the media industry had been effected over the past few years, this in turn helped to give me more of an insight into the real media industry and how things have progressed over the past few years. I also conducted research into magazines such as Mojo, Q, NME and Kerrang! via the internet, helping me to gain vital statistics about sales and which was the most popular and unpopular magazine over the years. I then later used these research skills in A2 whilst we watched the construction of the film poster for Goal!, which helped us to understand more thoroughly the process behind creating a successful and effective poster for any film. I also conducted institutional research into specific areas of the media world to achieve a greater knowledge of what companies would be involved with my film to give my work a stronger sense of realism. Without completing this area of research using new media technologies I would've been unable to successfully complete my course and understand the full extent of my work.

After conducting vital and important research using new media technologies I was able to begin my planning of my AS and A2 coursework, my planning was mostly conducted through Microsoft Word and PowerPoint as these allowed me to create successful plans and creative ways of presenting my work. Without these new media technologies I wouldn't have been unable to display my work in a new, creative and positive way which helped to contribute to my work overall.

Once all research and planning was completed using new media technologies I was able to begin the actual construction and creation of my film teaser trailer and promotional package, which it wouldn't have been possible to successfully create these without my access to new media technologies. I used still cameras to capture most of the essential shots which I used for my music magazine in AS and my A2 promotional package, and later in A2 I then used the Sony HD1000 camera to film all footage for my teaser film trailer. Access to these new media technologies gave me the best chance of successfully achieving good quality images and footage, which I may have been unable to obtain if I wouldn't have had access to these. Once the initial process of capturing the footage and taking the images I was then able to use new media technologies such as PhotoShop, PremierPro and AfterEffects. These pieces of new media technology further enabled me to produce the most effective work to the best of my ability using new media technologies.

After completing the first draft our our teaser trailer I was able to construct my first focus group with a few people viewing and then talking about my trailer in a constructive manner. I held this focus group in the media suite on the SmartBoard, whilst recording with the Song HD1000 cameras, this enabled me to successfully create a helpful and constructive focus group and the skills I learnt from this enabled me to further hold a more successful focus group for my final draft. Using this new media technology I was able to hold successful and effective focus groups which I could later use for my evaluation.

In both AS and A2 to present my work in a new and creative way, I hosted my work on blogger which enabled me to save my work online easily. Using this media technology allowed me to collect all work which I have completed in a manner which was productive and imaginative way, which was simpler than creating a paper portfolio. Overall, I used new media technologies creatively and successfully without losing the stronger elements which may have been difficult to obtain through other means of production and technologies.

Planning

Location shots

These shots which I took were of the locations in which we would be shooting and times of day which we may be filming.




Risk Assessment

Shot and Location	Potential Hazards and risks	Action to be taken
Outside of house	Gravel, pets & ground level	All personnel involved must be aware of all risks and ones which can be removed will.
Within house	Furniture, candles, rugs & stairs	All personnel involved must be aware of all risks and ones which can be removed will.
Church grounds	Unlevel surfaces & respect for patrons	All personnel involved must be aware of all risks and ones which can be removed will.
Graveyard	Unlevel surfaces, respect & people	All personnel involved must be aware of all risks and ones which can be removed will.
Cellar	Damp, unlevel surfaces, stairs & furniture	All personnel involved must be aware of all risks and ones which can be removed will.
Attic	Stairs, dead mice & dark	All personnel involved must be aware of all risks and ones which can be removed will.
Church Road	Road conditions & cars	All personnel involved must be aware of all risks and ones which can be removed will.

Props list



Plot synopsis

The story is based on a girl who moves into a new house and bad things start to happen. It turns out in the 1950s there was a girl who looks very similar to the character in the present day who used to live in the same house. The spirit was killed by the town because they believed she was possessed by the devil. Bad things begin to happen when the new girl moves in because the spirit girl is still around and the town realize how similar they both are. Girl begins to have weird dreams about things that happened in the past with the possessed girl and premonitions about what will happen. The town suspect this girl is to blame because she is so similar the one from the past and she has been reborn in her body. The town’s people set out to kill her because they believe she is evil as well.

USP- based on true events. 

Animatic 

 

Research

Pre-liminary Trailer Task

This was our basic plan for our Pre-liminary task, which outlines the ideas, concepts and aims of our Pre-liminary trailer.

• 1.30 seconds or less

• Horror/thriller genre

• Aimed at our peers

• 6 interior shots

• 6 exterior shots

• 1 dialogue shots

• Title of Obsession in bold, white font

• Title of Coming Soon in bold, white font; the same as the name of the trailer, which therefore adds continuity

• Closing shot

• Music is fast paced, with high pitched tones to create suspense

• Deep, ominous voice over

Synopsis

A young adult boy falls in love with a girl he sees daily, but by being continuously rejected by this girl he decides to take action to make her his own. Girl finds closet area which has images of herself within, becomes scared and is then attacked by the male who loves her so deeply. He then ties her to a chair and begins to torture her in a means of if he can't have her, then nobody can.

Prelim Teaser Trailer Review

This block is a simple yet productive way of showing and highlighting key elements from my Pre-liminary task and how I created a successful first attempt of filming and editing my work.

Trailer	Titles – font choice, size, colour, positioning, name of film	Camera shot type, composition, framing	Camera movement and angle	Voice over, dialogue, text titles	Music choice and pace of editing
Obsession	Name of film & coming soon  Bell Gothic Standard almost full screen size white with red shadow centre of the screen noise alpha over the top of the images to create a grainy video effect	Establishing shots close ups of Issy mid shots of Issy and Olly establish setting, situation, mood, atmosphere shots of empty room then room with Olly in it creates a strong sense of tension and apprehension	Tracking shots of Olly walking towards Issy Generally the camera is static to give the feeling that Olly is filming the girl he is obsessed with.	Voice over establishes motive and intent, deep monotone Titles simple state the situation and title of the movie	Fast paced music creates anticipation, dread  and apprehension pace of editing begins slow and gains speed reflecting the music

The Horror Thriller Genre
I used a new media technology called Wordle which allowed me to present some of my work and research in a creative manner.




             Horror                                                                                     Thriller

      Seminal films                                                                                              Directors

  

 Brief analysis of Teaser Trailers

Both teaser trailers employ the conventions of horror thriller trailers using suspense, tension and excitement as key elements to create unsettling movies that attempt to elicit the emotions of dread, disgust and dismay from the audiences. With powerful tag lines such as “Believe In Him” and “Bad Things Happen For A Reason” it gives the audience a clear suggestion of what the movies are about and how the plot will unfold. 

Analysis of Devil poster

Analysis of The Last Exorcism poster

The Tourist TV Spot
We watched and analysised the TV Spot for The Tourist

32seconds

Script

“It all started when I met a woman”

“Grab him”

“Why is everyone trying to kill me?”

“You were part of a plan”

“Why are you involved?”

From the producer of The Departed

“You know he will be with her”

“This is exactly why she chose him, to distract us”

“Police”

“Angelina Jolie”

“It’s going too far”

“Johnny Depp”

“Let her go”

“The Tourist” alongside title Angelina Jolie + Johnny Depp The Tourist 

The tourist is an action thriller movie, following the false identity of Johnny Depp’s character whilst been hounded by antagonists and stalked by people he is unsure about trusting, the main being Angelina Jolie’s character whom he seems to be having a love affair with. The key aspects of the film are romance, betrayal and mystery, creating a powerful and dramatic atmosphere which engulfs the audience.

Research into distribution companies


Our respect and admiration of film is formed by our knowledge at the cinema. Distribution is the third part of the film supply chain, is often referred to as 'the invisible art', a process known only to those within the industry, barely written about and almost imperceptible to everyone else. Yet questionably, distribution is the most significant part of the film industry, where finished films are brought to existence and connected with an audience. The phases of production, distribution and exhibition operate most effectively when 'vertically integrated', where the three stages are seen as part of the same larger process, under the control of one company.
Research into marketing a film


The Poster campaign

Key visual analysis of film websites


Recently I have seen Devil and The Last Exorcism, personally I feel as thriller horror films they ticked most boxes which are seen to complete them as films, however there are many plot changes I would make. For instance I would give more back story to the “Devil” character in Devil and show past events he has caused and highlight all reasons as to why, similarly in The Last Exorcism it is very similar to its predecessors and could have possibly been more successful if parts were more intense and creative. In the synopsis I would include things such as information as to why both movies came about and emphasize key pivotal moments in each. Both sites for each film emphasize the horror thriller genre and have influential, powerful images which then cause the audience to become intrigued about the methods which the directors and actors may have used in the creation of the film. The visual looks of each of the website a black, red, use of the trailer. It is clear from the sites that the age range for each film are young adults and that the gender is unisex, with no indication towards it being directly aimed at one gender. However many horror thriller films are aimed towards males due to the drastic amount of gore and fear which is included and inspired. Interactive features on each site are that of links to social network sites, competitions, locating cinemas which are showing the film, watching trailers and key moments in each film and critics opinions of the films. All of these allow the audience to participate in the films and encourage interest. The website for The Last Exorcism has the opportunity to allow you to submit an e-mail address for further information on the film, where as Devil does not have anything where to submit an e-mail address. This may have been done to raise more interest into the movie, causing the audiences to go see it to find out more. Create mystery, raise interest into the film, be memorable, clear image of what the film is about.

Shouldn’t be too confusing or long, not give away everything in the film.

The Last Exorcism –  

• Last hints that there’s been many before and this may be the most important or effective one

• Exorcism highlights the spiritual and supernatural elements within the film  

Devil  -

• Devil shows clearly that it’s about a supernatural demon which has malevolent purposes and only wishes to cause pain (reflecting the general idea how Devils are seen)

Each films title were very effective at selling the film to the audience, as it allows the audience to gain full understanding of the films purpose and intentions. Both titles are reflective of their film, both in capital letters and with clear images of the film displaying constant an impression of the films intent and ideas. Images such as the lift button being a V in the title emphasize where the film is set and its malicious intent. 

I would say that the key ways I would hear about a film would be through the internet, cinema, TV, radio as it’s what’s most applicable to me and interests me as a person. You can tell the quality of different cinemas through their websites, for instance cinemac has a very basic, one page black and white website which has few images and cinema listings and times.

Institutional Research

To gain successful and valid information in my research I researched studios and distribution companies using Wikipedia and IMDb, this therefore helped me to gain a vital insight which would later help me with the final production of my film.

"Blockbuster" = A movie which is a huge financial success. In common usage a "blockbuster" is a movie that has a box-office of more than $100 million upon release in North America.  -IMDb

The Big Six

Columbia Pictures Industries Inc. is an American production and distribution film company, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, which was founded by Joe Brandt and Jack and Harry Cohn. It released its first feature film in August 1922. Two years later went public Columbia then began to grow in the late 1920s.

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation is an American film studio, owned by Rupert Murdoch. Founded in 1935, after the combination of Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures, instant success was gained with its first movie star, Shirley Temple, who was one of the most famous actresses to come out of this studio.

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. is an American producer of film and television entertainment,  creator of the film series’ such as Harry Potter, which is the highest grossing film series ever, and it is also accountable for the Academy Award winning “The Dark Knight”, which is the studio's highest grossing film ever with over $1 billion.

Paramount Pictures is an American film production and distribution company, founded in 1912 and is owned by Viacom, is America's oldest active film studio; it’s also the final main film studio still in Hollywood, whilst constantly ranked as one of the biggest-grossing movie studios.

Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio, involved in Walt Disney Pictures and Television, the main production company for live-action feature films. Walt Disney Pictures is noteworthy as it is the only film studio to have three films that have exceeded the $1 billion mark (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Alice in Wonderland and Toy Story 3). Also Disney is the only major Hollywood studio which released two films in a single year, each gaining more than $1 billion.

Universal Pictures was established in 1912 by Carl Laemmle; it is one of the oldest American movie studios still in business. In addition to owning a large film library starting in the initial areas of cinema to more modern works, it also owns a lot of television programming’s due to NBC Universal Television Distribution.

Other American Studios

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved first and foremost in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the tycoon Marcus Loew took charge of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer Pictures.

DreamWorks Pictures is an American film studio which develops, produces and distributes television programming, film and video games giving it a clear sense of vertical integration. DreamWorks is one of the most influential and rapidly grown studios by producing and distributing more than ten films which have gained box-offices grosses totalling more than $100 million each since 1994, when it was created by media entrepreneurs Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen to create a studio.

British Studios

BBC theatrical features appear from the same area accountable for particular television dramas. This has long been a source of irritation for those who want the BBC to establish a theatrical section to challenge Channel 4.

FilmFour was first launched in 1982; the UK's fourth television channel is recognized with keeping the spark of British filmmaking active in the 1980s. Its aimed to cross-subsidise British film production with television money to create not only a stream of high quality film drama to help the downward spiralling British film industry.

Working Title Films was first created by Sarah Radclyffe, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner as they were all unbeaten in creating popular, British-based films of global appeal with this company. Its first film, My Beautiful Laundrette, led to an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay.

Introduction

This purpose of this blog is to outline the progress of my research & planning, construction and evaluation of my A2 Media Studies coursework. My coursework task is to create a promotional package for a new film, including a film trailer, a poster advertising the film and a film magazine front cover featuring the film. I will be working with Isabelle Byrne and Rosy Emmerich, to create a horror/thriller trailer which will challenge and conform to film trailer conventions.