EVALUATION
Trailer:
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In near enough every teaser trailer they start with their production logo, and within my very own media product I too used the same format. The main reason for a production logo is for copyright reasons, my logo only lasted a few seconds, (3 seconds) then my footage followed on after. Alongside this I started with an age rating sign, this appears at the start of every trailer and informs the audience what age is best suited for this film, this thereby prepares those under age to either watch with a parent or stop them from watching any content that may affect them. This age rating clip was edited by myself on power point, this enabled me to change the production company's name to my very own.
As my genre is sci-fi / thriller my clips were fast pasted and cut into or had a black wipe out transaction, due to my research I found that most if not all sci-fi teasers have clips that are not in chronological order, I found this typical trend to be best fitted as it brought a disjointed effect to my final piece. The theorist Tvzetan Todorov suggest narrative is equilibrium, I followed this concept alongside Vladimir Propp as I portrayed my male protagonist to be in charge and the protector, looking after his sister as to the audience she is the 'weaker' gender, this follows Lara Mulvey as women are for male gaze, however I went against this convention as my female character is not for male gaze, however she is one of the 'destroyers', this links back to Denis Mcquail seven-point theory as the female character who is the main protagonist is evil, and that proves to be the case in my trailer.
Special effects
Sci-fi is not sci-fi without special effects, as new after effects, it took me a while to grasp the software- however, once I had practiced a few times I was able to add spaceships and even a moving hud eye which I was inspired by the host and Iron man. These edited scenes helped enhance my genre and draw attention to those who are fans of sci-fi/ thriller. The text for my trailer had a card wipe effect that I added in after effects, I wanted the text to not only partly explain to the viewers what was happening within my trailer but by adding effects to the text it makes it professional and more interesting and engaging to read.
Sound
Within my teaser trailer, I used non-diegetic and diegetic sounds. I had intense music that created panic and fear, it also created a build up for the action to take place within my trailer which followed the conventions for sci-fi/ thriller genres. However at the start of my trailer alien/ robotic sounds was heard which hook my audience in adding to the element of confusing and helped create a build up towards the later action that was going to take place. The use of the alien sound gave hints to the viewers of what was to appear, however as it was a teaser I didn't show the 'destroyer' which made those watching want to carry on watching. Each selected piece of music gets louder and louder which adds the atmosphere of the unknown and fear. The use of diegetic sounds helped the audience get to grips with the plot and understand what is happening within my teaser trailer. The use of dialogue this made the viewers gain a understanding and were able to see if they liked the characters or not, this also made it interesting for the audience to find out what happens, this appears in most teaser trailers as there are only snippets. Alongside this, my very first scene has no sound. However, the audience is able to see the brother speaking, I wanted to add in an element of confusion and bring to light that both brother and sister are in hiding, therefore lip reading not only helps enhance that they are trying to not be heard, but it also helps add to the main theme of mystery, and as my next scene is with sound it contrast nicely helping the audience get to grips with what it happening.
Sci-fi genre/ Target audience
As my chosen genre was sci-fi I researched the typical age rating and the type of target audience this genre aims at. After my research was under taken I discovered that my main target audience would be 12 years old and up wards, and those who would more likely watch this genre would be those of are working class/ lower class. Alongside this, many watch sci-fi genre as is not only for a entertainment purpose, but for an escape reason also. This follows the theorist Katz and Blumler, As my teaser trailer does not require any from of violence nor strong language therefore the age rating of a 12 is best fitted for my teaser trailer.
The types of people that would more likely watch sci-fi tend to be both genders, and those that enjoy action packed and fast pasted films. Therefore when creating my trailer is was vital that I ensured that those elements were implemented within my footage. As there are both female and male characters within my trailer this brings both a male and female target audience. My actors are both within the 16-17 age mark, this alone heavy attracts those around the same age as they appear to be relate-able therefore further encouraging younger viewers. The plot helps attract different types of audiences, firstly there is elements of eerie sounds and silence this captures peoples attention for those who enjoy the mystery element with sci-fi. In contrast, sci-fi caters for those who love action and alien invasion scenes.
Magazine front cover:
With a great deal of research and planning, I was inspired heavily by a wide range of magazines that I searched for while using Google. The main magazines that I was heavily inspired for were Empire and Film. I found the reel placed at the bottom of the cover to be eye catching and cinematic, also happens to follow the typical conventions of a film magazine. Secondly, I liked the thought of the title being placed in front the model, this was to create a professional appearance and it would also fit among most magazines in terms of conventions. Lastly, I placed headings around the main image and alongside this, I planted an image at the bottom of the cover of the magazine in order promote my trailer.
However, there have been some difficult stages throughout my magazine. For one I changed the main image for my magazine as it felt not suitable for the front cover, alongside this, I changed from having a reel to where my image for my trailer was to removing it and simply having text placed around my main image. This made the overall appearance of my magazine appear clearer. I also used a star circle which many magazines have which had the words 'nationally the best magazine', this followed many typical conventions of a film magazine as many front covers have the circle placed around their main image. By doing this I was able to draw people's attention in as it is eye-catching and clear to read. lastly, I ensured that I kept to three colours only, therefore my front image looked uniform and professional.
I promoted my film by having an image of one of my actors, this was located at the bottom of my magazine as it captures the reader and makes them want to read on about the actors within 'Bearing the Destroyer'. This not only promotes my film, but it is more likely to attract a range of buyers as people get more for their money as their reading and discovering new talent and newly released films.
The main conventions I have used for my magazine cover are of the following:
-Masthead
-bar-code
-headlines for articles within the magazine.
-Issue number
-date
-price
Teaser Poster:
Throughout designing my teaser poster, I used and followed codes and conventions of film posters. For one, I had credits placed at the bottom of my poster like many film covers do. Within the credits, I wrote the production company, the screenwriter, photographer. However, one convention I did challenge was that I did not list the casting within my credits. As not all film posters have the same information written in the credits, some have very little writing compared to others that have a larger portion. Thought I did locate my credits at the bottom as it felt best fitted and also displayed the production logo as well as a twitter page that the fans can go on and tweet/ share their thoughts and feelings about the film. This creates a hype and spreads the word about 'Bearing the Destroyer'. The date of the movie has of not been confirmed, by simply having the words 'coming soon', again builds excitement for the film and keeps the viewers on their toes in order to find out the official release date.
For the main image for my teaser poster, it was vital that I used a close up shot- as most teasers do so. By not being able to give away too much information allows people to question what the film is based on and creates suspense. As I was heavily inspired by the 'Host' poster- I wanted to show the eye, but the eye only. As the sight of the sci-fi, eye links to my teaser trailer as it is a plot twist within my trailer.
I used Photoshop to edit and enhance the eye colour of pupil, I then created other blank sheet and created a circular shape that I would later on go and place over the pupil. In order to have the bionic coding, I need to go onto Google images and find one that felt the most effect for my poster. Once I found one I simply saved it and placed it over the circular shape that I had already created alongside the eye itself. This really helped make the eye see and feel as if it was in an actual sci-fi film. I also while on Google images used a sound wave, saved it and placed that around the edging of the eye to add an even more effective pupil.
I also included a tagline which said, 'For centuries they have been in hiding- now they are found.' Not only does a tagline tell the viewer what the plot is based around, but it also captures them and leaves them with a cliff hanger effect making them wish to see more.
In terms is positioning for my poster I ensured that the title was at the top of my cover, I did this because it follows the codes and conventions of a film poster. However the top area of my teaser poster I felt that the best place to put the title was above the image, therefore making the viewer draw attention towards the image. The font of my title was actually inspired and the very same font as the film 'Alien League'. I found this type of font to be very simple, however effective. The thinness of the lettering drew to my attention as it stood for vulnerability and being breakable. As my trailer is based on the world being destroyed I, therefore, thought that the choice of writing was appropriate and had an alien feel to it. At first, I had my title written in one line, however, discovered that it was not as effective as it could be. Therefore, by playing around with the spacing and font size I figured that the words, 'Bearing the' should be of a smaller font size compared to the word 'Destroyer'. By altering the size of the font informed the audience more on the possible plot for the film. Lastly with my poster on the right, I was still not fully happy with the overall image or text, though mentioned before I felt the chosen text was appropriate and had a professional feel, however once I edited my poster once more, I not only changed the text, but I played around with the colour, I found that white symbolizes purity and that was not the message I wanted to come across to the audience, therefore by changing the tone to red gave more of an aggressive appearance. As the 'destroyers' within my trailer have a propose to kill, the use of red made it clear and brought out the thriller side of my genre. Alongside this, I added an extra layer to the final image, this gave more texture to my poster as beforehand the black background looked flat and dull. With this misty yet crack layer helped make the poster seem disjointed and exciting.
What have you learned from your audience's feedback?
Trailer Feedback
'The music really creates a build up.'
Nicole Clements
'The sci-fi eye has a strong sci-fi feel.'
Caroline Emmett
'The acting is portrayed well, and makes the trailer look professional.'
Chris Thrope
Magazine Feedback
'The quality of the main image is really good.'
Sophia hill
'It looks a bit more feminine'
Sophie Reed
'The magazine is presented well and the colours used stand out hugely.'
Aadam Sheikh
Teaser Poster Feedback
'The main image draws in attention and has a sci-fi vibe'.
Ryan Grace
'The title looks more horror than Sci-fi .'
Sumeet Raj
'The background use of colours captures my attention.'
Hasfa Jamma
'The over all image is edited to a high standard.'
Amber lily
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
The combination of my main product to my ancillary texts is extremely effective as well as important. For one, my ancillary products, such as my teaser poster and film magazine meant that I was able to release hints about my trailer. Thereby the products that I had made beforehand were ideally made solely for promotion. This promotional method helps not only spread the word around, but it also ensures that the build up for my teaser trailer is one that is highly anticipated. Firstly, the film magazine which promoted a banner across the cover of the magazine which contained an article of the cast within the film, by doing this it meant that those who would buy the magazine would read the article as for one they are movie fans, and secondly they would get to know little facts about the up and coming film alongside the actors themselves. The title of the film is mentioned therefore those who read the magazine would know the movie's name. This method is a successful as potential fans become aware of the film, creating a wider and larger audience.
After the magazine is produced, second in line is the teaser poster. Though a teaser trailer does not advertise the release date the season to which the film will be released is displayed. This thereby creates suspense for when the film is out. A teaser poster does not give away too much about the film, or what the plot is again this grabs a larger amount of people as like many teaser posters a social media logo is located on the poster. This allows fans to collect globally and even start countdowns for the film. Once the teaser poster has been created last comes the trailer, as mine is a teaser trailer rather than a theatrical means that my trailer would simply advertise my film rather than give away the full release dates etc. Therefore, the combination of my ancillary helps build up suspense and excitement for my main product in order to create a huge success.
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research planning and evaluation stages?
There is multiple software that I used in order for me to create the magazine cover, teaser poster and the film trailer itself. Firstly, I used the basic software's on the computer at home and at school. I used the likes of PowerPoint, word, excel, and, the internet. With the use of PowerPoint, I could save files and documents that I would later need to upload onto my blog. This made the transfer easy and less time consuming. When it came to creating my mood board and style sheets, PowerPoint was the main software I used as it had all the tools I needed. I also used PowerPoint for designing production logo and again transferring my photos to my photography contact sheet
Photoshop was used heavily throughout my construction stage, one for making film magazine cover- is enabled me to edit images and place them in a professional layout. This helped my work look edgy and of a high quality. I had used this software in my AS coursework I was familiar with how to use it, however, this time round I was more aware and able to explore new avenues and learn new tricks on how to edit and enhance the shades of images, and implant additional images over photos I have taken before hand.
Excel was used for making graphs for the results of my chosen titles and with the use of excel software I was able to do so. This showed not only myself but others the percentage and a physical picture of many voted which names they preferred for my film and magazine title. I also used the word for write ups on my trailer transcript alongside my creating a diagram for codes and conventions of Sci-fi/ thriller, again it was easy to transfer onto my media blog.
Photoshop, as used before in As, meant that I was comfortable when using the software, this software allowed my final pieces to be created to a high standard especially when creating my magazine cover and my poster for my film. I used this tool throughout my coursework in order to edit photos and finalize any imperfections that needed fixing for my ancillary tasks and main pieces.
After effects was another software that I used for the texts that were used throughout my teaser trailer, this software allowed me to play around with my texts and also make me able to add movement to the words which made them appear more effective and made the text look professional. Though this was my first time when using after effective once I had practiced a number of times I was able to get the hang of the software and use it with confidence.
The main technology software I used through the course was final cut pro, it was there to cut and edit my filmed footage. I was not aware of this software beforehand, however once I practiced a number of times with the program I found it more manageable. I learnt a lot through simply using final cut pro as I did not need to use this software in my AS coursework, therefore, my skills in terms of technology allowed me to know how to use another program which increased my knowledge.
Lastly, I used canon EOS 1100 camera which allowed me to take images for my magazine cover and side images as well as my teaser poster image. The quality of this camera is of a high quality and as it was mine from home, therefore I was able to use it with confidence and understanding. When filming for my teaser trailer I used a Canon 1200D camera alongside this I also used a tripod which help my filming stay still when needed, by using a tripod it ensured that the framing for the scenes where clear, however for the rest of the scenes I hand held the camera which added realism to the trailer.
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