evaluation - TRANSCRIPT

1.    

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

I have created a promotional package for the release of the new horror film ‘Visions’ which consists of a magazine, trailer and poster. In order to see what fitted the horror genre I researched the conventions of real media products. For example, before creating the trailer I researched a range of films such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Don’t Breathe. I particularly chose these films because it allowed me to look at a range of conventions rather than just one genre type. Therefore allowing my three products to be sucessful.  When it came to creating the magazine I also researched into both independent and mainstream magazines which helped me to decide on the conventions and features needed such as having a consistent colour scheme. When it came to designing the poster, I researched psychological film posters such as The Black Swan to get an idea of the imagery that I should use. For example, this poster emphasises the main character’s face, it has been slightly edited to show the psychological factor of the genre. Therefore, portraying the hybrid genre to the audience.

My research for print was carried out through many image platforms/products, I found out the basic conventions and how to make these products effective and engaging for the target audience as an addition to the trailer. From this research I gained a better understanding of the mise-en-scene.  I found that the sound, props and iconography were important elements in horror films.  They were likely to have ghost symbols as well as other unusual things for example I noted this in a trailer I analysed called don’t breathe. The magazine cover evidently deployed the horror theme and this was shown through the use of the red and black colour scheme which further attracts an audience, similarly this occurs to the poster as colour is used to emphasise the horror genre. Audiences have a common understanding of this colour code.

I referred to the Todorov’s narrative for the overall narrative structure of the trailer and this encouraged me to follow a conventional structure.  Through following this structure, it enabled a clear understanding of what was going to happen at each stage of the trailer. Furthermore, by using this structure I was able to make the story understandable to the audience through simple sequences again following audience expectations and engaging the horror fans through the common codes.  I have widened by understanding of the conventions of the horror genre and broadened my knowledge of horror conventions through exploring the genre.

The horror genre has many conventions which are very generic such as blood which is commonly used in slasher films as shown in the film Halloween. Also horror films tend to make use of dark scenes and close up shots which help in emphasising emotions and what the characters feel therefore emphasising the horror genre as a whole. I also researched genre theories and this gave me a wider understanding of genre and how audiences are attracted. The trailer can be classed as an ‘experimental product’ because it is a hybrid genre, therefore seen as an evolving piece to the public. 

This theory relates to genres changing over time. My trailer fits this change as it is a hybrid film and therefore can be seen as a contemporary style.  An example of clear evolved media product is Psycho. the remake in 1998 had evolved into a classical horror film. This is clear as they do tend to show the more graphic scenes therefore making the audience more aware. Therefore, there are many things my teaser had in common with the contemporary version as it is also a hybrid which especially at that time period was something new therefore also seen as an evolving piece. I believe that my piece is an evolved hybrid of psycho even though there were similar in terms of the convention it had a more modern approach. One convention which is similar to psycho is where they showed that something bad was going to happen but not shown the graphic scenes. We also did this for example we showed the blood on the bathroom wall but didn’t show where it came from or what caused it.  

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

My A2 media studies coursework required my group to make a film trailer together with an ancillary task of a film poster and magazine cover for the feature film. Therefore, in order to make these products effective I researched the basic horror codes and conventions from classic films such as Psycho and The Conjuring. Through this I got an understanding of the basic conventions such as supernatural activity and ghosts which could be shown as shadows to show the suspense effectively therefore being able to capture an audience. I also carried out the same research for magazines through looking at film magazines such as Empire where I began to understand the layout similarly done for the poster. Through this research, the chances on creating effective products was high due to the level of research.

My main product is the trailer produced my group.  We used basic codes and conventions which I had picked up from my research through films such as ‘Lights out’ which emphasises the convention of lighting. Controlling the lighting can impact the mood which is created for the theme itself. For example, in our trailer its starts off with cold colours which show mysteriousness which intrigues and audience then later on we experience lighting of warm colours. Warm colours can connote a range of things however in this case it meant danger as it was in the process of showing Jenna’s Vision and the monster she could become. Therefore, through my research I was able to understand the importance of basic conventions which led to us being able to produce an effective trailer.

My magazine was named the Directors cut, after researching a mix of mainstream and independent film magazines I decided to make a mainstream magazine. This is because through this I was able to be more structured with the style and layout over doing a magazine specifically based on horror films. Therefore, I decided to name my magazine ‘Directors Cut’. Through this I was able to start creating a clear psychological horror theme between the products through the uses of dark and cold colours. Looking at my magazine cover it is evident that it has been specifically made to showcase ‘Visions’. I got this idea from the ‘Empire’ magazines as when they have previously showcased films they have always related it to one specific films and followed the specific codes and conventions for that genre to attract that audience even though it is a mainstream film magazine. The ‘Visions’ text at the bottom is blue and white and the theme of that has been followed through with the text on the left as a result it has created an effective colour scheme for the magazine cover. Also, the main image which I have edited is quite dark which follows the basic codes and conventions of horror due to the dark colours and Smokey eyes. I think that the magazine displays effectiveness in combining with the other products, as it continues with the image of the girl in the middle, it adds emphasis to the psychological horror genre of the film and it gives the reader a reason to buy the magazine.

I also created a poster which supported the theory of genre being extended through a range of products. This is shown through the horror home style as shown in my magazine. This has been done through the usage of dark colours which has led to an overall effective poster. On my poster, we can see a clear theme of horror from all the products, this is evident through the use of low-key lighting as well as typical horror conventions such as blood. This therefore led to being able to create a clear message on what ‘Visions’ was about through the uses of my ancillary products. Through my research, I found that majority of posters have specific things of their posters. For example, looking at the poster for Don’t Breathe we can see that there is a main image show casing the main characters. Slogan, film title and the credits.

 I followed the typical layout as through the current time period it has shown to be affective and therefore would enable my trailer to gain publicity for the poster. Also, having it laid out in a specific way has shown to be more attractive as it shows that it has been though through which will lead to people being intrigued. I believe my poster is effective because it is simple which means that there isn’t too much going on making it have a simple focus. For example, the main image is of our female protagonist ‘Jenna’ who I have replicated three times and moved out of place causing it to look blurry, this fits the title ‘Visions’ therefore intriguing the audience to our trailer. 

I believe that the combination of our main products and ancillary products were highly effective. This is because there was a clear house style throughout for the ‘Visions’ title I made sure that the same font had been used on all three products. This meant that I was able to start building up a brand for the three products as it was clear that they were all the same thing. This is important because through doing this it meant that I was able to show a clear connection between my three products which made a clear gesture to the audience. This meant that it was easily recognisable by others which could possibly intrigue them more. Also throughout all three products it has been clearly shown that my trailer is a hybrid genre of psychological and horror through basic codes and conventions. For example, on my magazine cover it shows something going on in her eyes, the poster is blurring her showing visions and the trailer has transitions to emphasise her visions.

Through the use of cross media convergence, the 3 products I have produced can be viewed in a range of ways. For example, the trailer which we created has been put on YouTube, due to the advancement in technology YouTube can be viewed on a range of platforms from phones to game consoles. Therefore, giving audience a range of methods in which they can view the product therefore promoting my film more. Also with the magazine there is a website where content can be viewed which will be accessible on any device with access to the internet allowing more people to view it and create publicity. Finally, the poster can be shared on social media which will lead to the audience having an interest for the film therefore sharing it and publicising it. The purpose of this is that it allows the word of the film/product to be easily spread, this can also be done through synergy. For example, with SAW they created a ride at Thorpe Park where it now has its own ride however this tends to be for larger products.  

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

For the pre-production stage I used Blogger again as it allowed me to note down and record anything I had learnt and what I could do due to the work which I been posting. Also, it is easy to access a blog therefore allowing others to see the information I recorded, through blogger you can have people comment on your posts which could help to improve the product. This led to being able to effectively from a teaser, magazine cover and poster. However, this year my skills \had advanced as I used the advanced setting where I chose a background for the blog to suit the horror genre, also I made the colour scheme fit the genre so that it was more effective. This clearly showed that my blog is for a horror film therefore allowing others to understand what I am doing. Through web 2.0 this was possible and it enabled me to show the packaged product that I was making as well as easily creating and distributing the product. Through doing this I was able to reach a mass audience.

The first piece of recording equipment used for the production stage was a cannon DSLR, we had all used a camera before however we weren’t all aware of the features which it had. One feature which we were aware of was the zoom however through the process we learned how to control zooming so that we could film effective shots such as a trumpet which is where you zoom in but move the camera backwards. Even though this wasn’t successful it was something new. Another feature which the camera includes an extra bit of lighting which can help increase the lighting giving what is shot an overall better effect. The something else which we learnt about the camera was just general features like how to make sure that the footage isn’t grainy, there were many advanced settings which enabled us to film better footage so that our trailer was more effective.

This year instead on using IMovie I decided to use Final cut pro for the production stage which is also more advanced. However, I had no experience at all with the programme which meant that in order to access all the features I needed to mess around with it. Through using final cut pro, I discovered a lot of new features such as making a shot translucent so it showed more than one thing at a time which helped us to emphasise out hybrid genre. First this was not smooth but through looking at the settings I was able to find a render tool which enabled us to make this smooth therefore more effective for our trailer. Also, I learned how to filter shots, change the audio style to a deeper sound which would fit that specific scene as well as speeding up a clip and making it move backwards. Through using final cut pro I was able to develop as an editor which helped my skill set.

In order to create the magazine cover and poster I had to use Photoshop where I was able to develop my skills. In order to make my ancillary products effective I needed to make sure that I had a good understanding of the programme so that I could use it to the fullest therefore being able to make them effective. For example, with my magazine cover I learned how to warp and image so that I could shape it into her eye and make it looking like she is seeing something. This helped in creating an effect on the magazine which was beneficial to the genre of the trailer. For my poster, I found a way to erase parts of an image neatly so that it has a clean finish and looks more professional which led to having a more effective poster.

4. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Throughout the process of constructing this promotional package I made sure that I was constantly showing people who were into the horror genre so that I could see what improvement could be made. This enabled me to gain feedback from my audience. For example, when the rough cut was created I showed a group of my target audience and asked their opinion. They had a lot of improvements due to the fact that it wasn’t finished and the editing itself was messy as I was still unsure on how to use final cut pro. However, from this they gave me helpful feedback on how it could be edited more conventionally better so that the storyline is clearer as well using certain sounds in certain places. This allowed me to learn how the importance for taking feedback at the first stages so that the audience understands what is happening because as the editor it will always seem clear to me as I understand every shot therefore this was beneficial. It is important to use audience feedback so that you can see from the prospective of your target audience how effective the products are.

Focus group – to get audience feedback Following the changes, I showed another group of people when it was what I believed ‘finished’ however there were still many improvements to make so that it was perfect because at this stage it only seemed to be ‘good’. There were many pieces of helpful advice which contributed to me creating a great trailer which led to it being more effective and accurate. Some feedback at this point was about construction and questioned the way I had done things which gave me a better understanding.

Finally, when I finished I showed it to a few friends and they had nothing to improve about they thought it was effective and expressed both genres. Therefore, audience feedback has taught me that you should always ask the audience what they think every step of the way. Ultimately, they will be the ones who will be watching therefore you need to make sure that you are meeting their needs which will result in having an effective product. I believe because I did this it led to creating a more effective product than I would have if I didn’t take feedback every step of the way.

Through having a focus group and feedback from my peers it enabled me to make the promotional package the best I could. These focus groups were also carried out for my poster and magazine. I showed my target audience the first time I created the magazine and they said that the image needed to be darker, after making this change I checked again, this allowed me to make sure my product the best it could be. I also carried out a similar process for my poster.