Evaluation Question 4

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

Technology has been very influential and crucial throughout the making, planning and evaluation of my trailer and ancillary tasks. I used such technologies like a Film camera, TV, internet, Adobe Photoshop, Corel Draw and Premier Pro.

During the planning section of my task I needed to research the film industry for inspiration for my own product, the internet was a very beneficial source of information; I researched film trailers and their theories; codes and conventions and media theories. The internet also gave me access to such websites like the British Film Institution and the British Film Council for background information whilst also giving me insight on information about successful previous film trailers. The internet gave me an opportunity to use such websites like ‘Youtube’ and ‘Google’ to explore film trailers to increase my knowledge on the content of them and what is needed to  make them successful. ‘Youtube’ was very influential through my planning progress because it gave me opportunities to watch and analyse any given film trailer of any genre and style in order to create an idea of my product. Television also helped me during my planning by the advertising big blockbusters would present between TV programs and films.

Creating the official film trailer was very difficult no matter the planning and information the internet had given me. To film our trailer we used a Canon hand held cam – recorder to create different scenes and shots. The hardware for our trailer was very simple as the camera that was provided by school had good resolution and a voice recorder therefore sound and image were of good, useable quality that made things very simple. Production of the trailer only included the hand held as technology as a tripod or anything else was unnecessary as we wanted ragged looking shots to represent our genre. The handheld being portable allowed us a lot of versatility when it came to the range of shots and location we could use and its easy navigation buttons allowed us to have a smooth transition between the filmed shots to get a better idea of what we were doing wrong and right. Lastly the camera was propped with the charger and the right cables to get it working and to ensure us a smooth upload of our videos from the Canon to Premier Pro.

The internet gave me a lot of information once again about different film posters and magazines out there in order to help me with my ancillary texts. It showed me the codes and conventions of both ancillary tasks and the kind of things I needed to include to represent my genre. I also used an SLR to shoot the pictures for both of my products to have photos for the creation of the poster and the magazine cover.

To edit my photographs that were taken by an SLR I used ‘Adobe Photoshop’ to create visually attractive photos. As my genre was horror I used the lighting tool on this software to bring down the lighting and make it gloomy and horrific. This software helped me in the making of my ancillary task because it gave me the opportunity to edit photos in any way that I wanted to ensure that my decoders received the right connotations from my products and to make sure they linked with my trailer. To create my magazine cover i used 'Corel Draw' as it allowed me to create a professional looking product.

To edit our film trailer we used 'Premier Pro' this helped use create a smoothly edited product with captions and effects.

To present our film trailer to the class to receive audience feedback for our evaluation we used an interactive whiteboard and a desktop computer that was connected to it. For my evaluation is also used the social networking website ‘Facebook’ in order to communicate with my peers and present them my products for audience feedback. I also used the program ‘Paint’ in order to create print screens of me using different software’s for evidence and presentation for my evaluation.

Lastly ‘Blogger’ gave me a place to put all of my work together to help me in the creation of my evaluation. This website being a place where everything can be put in once place was very beneficial as it makes everything easy to see therefore helping my audience find my work.

Evaluation question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

The gain of audience feedback is critical when creating successful media texts because it is crucial to get information of what your decoders want and what they can fully understand. My trailer and ancillary task changed a great amount through the audience feedback I received, this helped me grow as a media creator and improve my products to something more accepted by the public.

When pitching our film trailer we created a PowerPoint presentation to show in front of our media class for audience feedback on the plausibility of our trailer idea. After presenting the pitch we then chose a few individuals to give us feedback on it that we recorded for our blogs; the feedback we received was mixed between the positive and the negative, such comments like ‘a creative, entertaining idea’ and ‘too complex for a simple trailer’ were mixed together therefore our group had to decide whether or not to go through with our idea, we gave it the go ahead. Our second dose of audience feedback was received when we presented the first 30 seconds of our trailer, the feedback was very negative therefore we decided to change our overall concept, this truly showed me the importance of audience feedback.

My trailer concept changed to something more simple, a horror trailer based on a recently watched, inspirational ‘Youtube’ video series called ‘Marble Hornets’ and this received a better audience reception. By learning what people thought about this new idea we were able to develop our planning and create a piece of film worth watching that would be positively received by our target audience. I learnt that there wasn’t enough range in my camera angles and this helped me be more creative and be able to shoot scenes in more interesting, visually attractive ways. My audience feedback also told me that the protagonists weren’t clear therefore I learnt that I had to assign costumes and clear roles within the trailer for the understanding of the audience. Our second trailer concept got a better audience reception than our first one therefore through this we were learnt what we were doing right, therefore we were able to experiment and continue pushing boundaries as they were being accepted by our audience in the correct way. The audience feedback we received helped us greatly in choosing the right type of trailer that would be successful to present for a plausible film pitch, making our product more effective.

I got audience feedback for my two ancillary texts to make sure that they went with my trailer, genre and target audience. I posted my products up on ‘facebook’ the popular social networking sight and asked people who have my account to comment on my poster and magazine cover, I received many comments with information that truly helped me in my creation of the media products. For my magazine cover I received very positive feedback from my audience, they described my product as “Professional” and “true to its genre” through this I learnt that I used the right signs to signify the horror genre. The connotations given off by my magazine cover were described as successful because they gave of the feeling of horror therefore enhancing the audience’s understanding and the connection to its trailer. The audience feedback I received for my ancillary texts really taught me a lot on what I accepted by the audience and what isn’t, making my products more successful. My poster alongside my magazine cover received positive feedback but unlike my magazine cover it also received negative comments. One comment made by most audience members was the my poster did not really combine with my other two products, through this I learnt that my colours were too light and the theme was too cheery for the horrific feel I was trying to give off. Through this audience feedback I was able to change various things on my poster and make it more horrific for a better audience reception from my decoders.

Audience feedback is truly important as it taught me a lot on what things to do and what things not to do, the feedback I received truly helped me create 3 effective media products.

Evalation question 2

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

Our main task was to create, along with our film trailer a magazine front cover featuring our film and a film poster promoting it. I have completed both tasks and they both make a good combination with our film and trailer as I used similar signs in all three. As the encoder I had to constantly refer back to my genre and target audience when creating my ancillary texts, but creating my trailer first helped me conjure a brief idea of what I wanted for the magazine cover and poster and the elements I needed to combine to anchor all three texts together. When I was creating all three products it was imperative that the film made a regular appearance in the magazine cover and poster so I kept a constant appearance of the protagonists and the name of the film ‘The Man in the Mask’ which is a great part of all three products.

All three texts must be intertextualised together through common themes and elements to get maximum satisfaction from my target audience. The advantage of creating my trailer first was that I already had protagonists and signs that I could apply to my two ancillary tasks to connect them to my film. In my magazine I decided to use a self taken photograph of the ‘Killer’ as my main image because it anchors the genre of horror that I am presenting in my trailer. In my magazine Poster I used a picture of all three protagonists found in my trailer, this intertextualises all three media products together therefore making it a clear effective combination. I followed the codes and conventions in all three texts therefore they all fit in together ensuring absolute acceptance from my targeted decoders. I included the name of the actors in both the magazine cover and the film poster to show that I was talking about the same film in both products to combine them effectively.  The film release date was mixed up in all three of my products but I corrected and now they all follow the same date therefore my target audience won’t be mislead by the wrong information and now all three products are fully combined.

The point of the ancillary tasks is to support the trailer to give the film promotion and advertising. By creating a magazine cover called ‘Drive in’ I ensured that my magazine applied to something to do with films; adding the tag line ‘Horror issue’ helped me combine the magazine with the trailer and the film it was presenting therefore it reached out to my target audience, people aged 18 -35 males and females. My magazine would be in newsstands in different shops and it would attract the right audience just by the magazine title and when they are engaged with the magazine they will encounter all horror genre signs that will encode the film and therefore back up my trailer. For my magazine cover I wanted to create a cliché mirroring of my trailer and my ancillary task therefore I used the colours red and black to signify the genre whilst using ‘Horror’ calligraphy to add to the terror I was trying to present. The codes and conventions I used in both ancillary tasks combine together with each other and with the trailer so they all present the same thing.

Overall I think my ancillary tasks and my trailer combined in an effective way, they all signified the same meanings as one another. I have used similar images, codes and conventions and themes throughout each task. I could have improved the coexisting of all three products by taking more time to create them and plan them but they are still effective.

Evaluation question 1

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

When creating any media text like magazines; trailers; films; newspapers and TV programs the encoder must refer to the code and conventions of media products to ensure that the decoder receives the preferred meaning from the media they are presenting. When creating our film trailer we followed the codes and conventions of horror by including aspects that apply to that genre like blood, darkness and weapons; we chose to present our trailer in this way so it would signify the genre we were trying to create and to attract our chosen target audience.

Horror being a common genre found in the film industry, made an easily applicable choice for our trailer; this genre is also easily received within its targeted audience therefore we wanted to create something that the encoders could enjoy and find thrilling. In some genres there can be found many subgenres which individually are not very defined, this however does not apply to horror. Horrors being such a stereotypical genre lead us to create a product based around its codes and conventions because it is something that is simplistically received by the decoders. We named our film ‘The Man in the Mask’ a name which has the connotation of the unknown, this being an element of fear means that it is found in all common horror products.

We underwent a lot of research on previous horror products to help our creation of something that applied with the genre and the codes and conventions of trailers in general. There are certain elements that an audience expects a film trailer to include like a voice over, a narrative, characters, dialogue, music and on screen graphics, things that can be found within my product. The reasoning behind including all of these conventions within our trailer is to ensure maximum understanding from the decoders so they are lead to the cinema to watch the film we are presenting.  Our narrative was presented through a series of interesting camera shots, some of which were ragged and messy to signify the horror and the fear we were trying to present, we began with a dark opening scene to captivate our audiences’ attention.  The shots were anchored by suspenseful music that worked as a signifier of fear to set the right ambience for the audience and the mood of the trailer. The voice over was also used to anchor the meaning of the trailer to help the audiences’ understanding of the text. We used on screen graphics like titles to signify the narrative of the story, we used such phrases like ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer’ and ‘a curse becomes reality’ to show the reader the type of film they were going to receive. The captions also worked as advertising for our trailer as we used them to show quotes from famous reviewers and magazines to signify that our film had been positively received and reviewed, something that truly influences an individuals’ opinion to go to the Odeon. Lastly we challenged the code and conventions of trailers through our editing by making it a little different from the normal; we made it more jerky and speedy to add suspense and atmosphere into our piece.

We used the media code of stereotypes within our trailer to keep to the genre of horror; the typical ‘Killer’ and ‘Victim’ can be found within my product and they are well represented through dialogue and Mise en scene. Within our trailer the victim is presented using dialogue like ‘what do you want from me’ a cliché line that is commonly found within horror movies, this works as a signifier of the stereotype I was presenting; The killer on the hand is presented with blood on his hands and knifes to signify the stereotypical villain of a horror story. Characterisation in horrors don’t differ through time therefore no one character is represented badly in the media so negative acceptance from our audience wasn’t something that we had to worry for our target audience. We represented such characters that are found in most if not all horror films but most importantly we tried to represent such characters found in movies like ‘Scream’ and ‘Marble Hornets’ the film we were inspired by to create this product in a horrific way.

The biggest impact we received when making our product was from the theory and Encoding and Decoding model presented by Stuart Hall. We chose the codes and conventions we chose because they were the best signifiers of the type of film we were trying to present and they applied to all trailers and specially the genre of horror leading to our target audience receiving the preferred meaning intended from our text and therefore enjoying it.

Film Poster Audience Feedback

I really like the dirt on their faces, really goes well with the dark shadows and the dark background I like the colour theme of black, red and whitemajority those colours anyway. I also like the font if I were to change anything, i'd make the poster portrait instead of landscape, just because of personal preferance really. The writing at the bottom makes it look really professional last thing is the font is really good but quite harsh against the background so i would soften the edges of the title. but overall a really effective poster really really like it also like the unity/symmetry of the three hoodies. - Olivia Wigley

I like the use of colour and hue throughout the poster

dark colours including red, blacks and whites compliment each other well giving connotations of horror movies. If feedback on the actors will be used they all look really good and their costumes fit the genre. constructive criticism would be not too fond on the font of the title but its bold and the audience get the idea of it being strong and attention grabbing, so its ok - Lawrence Hutchingson

It looks like a genuine modern day horror poster.

There are no obvious improvements that I can pinpoint.

However personally I wouldn't of chosen that title font, maybe something more stumpy. The title could be half a centimetre away from the top of their heads.- Ross Livett



I think that the poster is simple yet professional looking. The bold white font helps to make it visually striking. I really like the main photo.. Although I think fading The mask could make it look more mysterious.Film posters. A simple catch phrase could have also improved it I think.. Something like " you can run but you cant hide" - Miguel Pilgrim

Film Poster

This is my finished poster to advertise my film 'The Man in the Mask' I chose to include all three main actors that are found in my trailer and the killer found in my magazine cover to make sure that all three products are intertextualised. I edited the photo to make it look gloomy to signify the genre of horror I was trying to represent. The font I used is modern yet unconventional therefore it adds a ragged feel to the poster, something found within horrors. Overall I believe it is a successful poster because it is intertextualised with the trailer and the magazine cover.

Magazine Front Cover Audience Feedback

I like the Magazine cover - strong masthead and I like the shadow cast by the car headlights (presumably)

The colours work well with the genre. Like the idea of a themed issue

Good plug at the bottom

All in all it looks professional.

MMorris


Little unsure on what to say/ whats needed. However, overall i like the magazine cover. The colours fit the genre and so does the image on the front. Both relate to the codes and conventions of the genre with the masked killer. The masthead is strong and effective. The detail of the other films on the magazine is also cool, not really much critism, if im honest.


JoshuaStokes


The high contrast image creates a bold white fearful character bringing about an enigma and lust for more information of the film. Better use of negative space would add to aesthetics of the cover overall

The bar code is too eye grabbing, inverting it would be nice.

RossLivett


A strong powerful image of a blood soaked killer anchors the genre of horror . The black edges signify the dark themes of the film and adds mystery . I like the bold red on black text as it stands out nicely and relates to the image of blood . One thing that could be improved upon would be the title of the film doesn't stand out as fully as it could.


JackWelch