Research and Planning: Trailer

Evaluation Question Four

HOW DO YOU USE MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES? 

BLOGGER
I used Blogger to document all my work throughout the production of my trailer, magazine and poster, as well as putting all of my planning on here, including the beginning research and ideas. I embedded  analysis' of existing trailers from YouTube, as well as audience research I carried out. 

 


GARAGEBAND
 I used Garageband for my trailer, especially when researching what sound effects I could add into the trailer. I used this technology originally to have a play around with creating new sounds, and then when it came to putting sound to the trailer, we made some of our own sounds, as well as using garageband to add some sound effects, for example "dark suspense."




ISHOWU
 I used iShowU to make podcasts and videos in order to show what progress I had made and what else I needed to do. iShowU allowed me to add a voiceover to the video of my blog.  

  


IMOVIE
I used iMovie for the editing of our film, this meant that all footage was put onto iMovie and then cut. This allowed us to add editing transitions and title pages as you would see in a real trailer.




PHOTOSHOP
I used photoshop for the production of my film poster and film magazine. Here I used many tools, including the opacity tool in order to make my products fit the genre well. 
 


SLR
I used the SLR to take shots for my film magazine. This allowed me to create a professional looking photograph in order for my magazine to look like other existing media products.
 



VIDEO CAMERA
As I was Cinematography, the video camera was something which I used throughout the whole production of my trailer. I also used this at the stages of research and planning so that I could get a feel for the camera, an example of this would be in "The Chase" scene. 



PREZI
I used prezi in research and planning stage of production in order to create a presentation which could be embeded into my blog which would help me in terms of what kinds of cover lines I would like to see on my magazine, as well as distribution information. 




WORD IT OUT
Word It Out was something which I used at the research and planning stage in order to generate some ideas, the software allowed me to put in a few words which created some sort of brain storm. This really helped me in terms of thinking of ideas and themes for my trailer. 

SOLVR
Solvr was again used at the stages of research and planning in order to help overcome any problems which I had to consider when producing my trailer. 

FACEBOOK
Facebook was very important to me throughout all stages of production, from research and planning to finding opinions on my final product. This helped me find audience feedback through social networking, as it was important to know whether the audience liked the product in order for it to work well.





TWITTER
Twitter was another method of social networking. I used this at research and planning stage to organise meetings with cast of the film, as well as social networking which I needed to gain audience feedback. 



YOUTUBE 
Youtube was a technology which was vital in the research and planning of my film, as it was used to look at existing media products in order to analyse genre and techniques used in trailers.

Evaluation Question Three

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR AUDIENCE FEEDBACK?

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Initial interviews- helped me to find out what my target audience would want from a horror film, this helped me to develop my idea much further. 
Questionnaires- here I looked much more in depth at shot types etc to see what the audience liked about current horror films. Focus also was on character, helped to develop plot and locations. 
Facebook research - asking the asking the audience what stalker films they already knew of/liked this helped me to get a better understanding of existing films which may help in the production of our trailer. 
Proposals - I added 3 film trailer proposals to my blog for which I asked my media teacher, along with the class which one they thought would work most well. 
Name ideas and tag line ideas - as a group we noted down a list of film titles which we could use and then Paige asked on facebook which one was thought to be best
Social Networking- I used social networking sites such as facebook and twitter, throughout the construction of my magazine and poster in order to get feedback on what could be changed. This worked well as the majority of my facebook friends are of the target audience anyway. 
Rough cuts - showing the class the rough cuts of our trailer was helpful as this provided  us with information as to whether they could recognise the genre, narrative etc
Teacher feedback, helped in terms of whether the trailer was keeping to conventions
I have also completed Voxpop's, which were just to see if the audience thought that the trailer, magazine and poster worked well together.  

Evaluation Question Two

HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN PRODUCT AND ANCILLARY TASKS?


Text
In the video I discuss how the text is similar throughout all productions; of the poster, magazine and trailer. The font is the same, as well as the colour.
Location
The use of the wood location throughout all productions, this is clear in the trailer when she is running away, and is also clear for the magazine as the shot was taken in the woods. I have also used a shot of the sky as a backdrop for my film poster, and so this appears to be the setting behind the window. 
Good Vs Bad
The use of a shot reverse shot as the two characters are walking through the train station shows the high contrast between the good and bad characters. Use of mask also signifies bad character. Jess looks vulnerable - making her appear the good character. 
Representation Of Characters
Use of same hair/jacket for the victim, as well as same hoodie/mask for the stalker is seen throughout the trailer, gives a clear definition of each character, making you aware of their roles throughout.
Colour & Lighting 
Low Key lighting, use of gradient on photoshopped images (magazine and poster) as well as use of blue tinge on both magazine and poster, as well as trailer. 
Also included in this video is a voxpop - my final piece of Audience Research, which just helped me to confirm whether the audience thought that the trailer, magazine and poster fitted well together. 

Evaluation Question One

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP AND CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

Evaluation question 1 from alicerebeccajones

Research and Planning: Poster Progress

Research and Planning: Magazine Progress

This is changes I have made to my Magazine, I have changed the banner along the bottom, as well as making the face of the actress a little brighter. However I still wanted to keep it quite darkly lit as this reflects the genre.

Research and Planning: Social Networking Feedback

I posted my magazine and poster on social networking website Facebook, in order to get some feedback on what I can do to improve my coursework in terms of slight changes. This has told me that I need to slightly alter the gradient on my magazine, in order for the models face to be much lighter, yet still keep the dark effect around the outside of the image. It also made me want to play around with the banner of which I have placed at the bottom of my magazine, I think I will take the rectangle away and just leave the text.