Rachel, Lucy, Nikki and Dale

2010-04-28T02:37:00.000-07:00

FINAL POST EVER - FINISHED BLOG

2010-04-28T01:44:00.000-07:00

This year we feel as if we have worked well as a group and we have all enjoyed taking this media A level. We found some aspects of the course challenging, especially learning to use the new technology and programmes such as adobe premiere and photoshop. However, overall we have had a lot of fun!

We greatly enjoyed editing our trailer and even though we encountered some problems, we felt that over coming them was a great achievement.

Our marketing campaign as a whole: We feel that our teaser trailer will spark an audience interest and the film poster and our magazine will further enhance this. We think that they are well linked to each other and they look like a full marketing package. Our audience feedback has been positive about our marketing campaign with many people mentioning that they would go and see the film if they had the choice.

We feel as if our hard work over the last two years has paid off as we are extremely pleased with the final products.

RACH, LUCY, NIKKI and DALE.

EVALUATION - director's commentary recording

2010-04-27T06:35:00.000-07:00

I have posted below a directors commentary script, I have made a recording of this script using my mobile phone, I then bluetoothed it to a friend so that she was able to send it to a computer, we then changed the format of the file to mp3. She then emailed the file to me. I tried to upload it onto blog spot but it said there was an error, so I tried uploading it onto YouTube but again there was an error as it was only a sound file. I then decided to make it into a windows movie-maker and tried to upload it to YouTube and the blog from that. This also didn't work because of the format. I then decided to re recorded it with a video camera, I have then changed the format to MPEG. When I got home however my laptop did not recognise that format either, I decided to try to use windows movie maker again and this time it worked! :D
Here is a link to the commentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJwt3m7p5TI

This is a link to our teaser trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P70hIAhZ5Hg

In the director's commentary, I go through the trailer chronologically and comment on the shots we have used and explain why we thought they were effective. I also mention captions, costumes and editing, including the transmissions.

Rach.

EVALUATION Of This Year

2010-04-26T01:30:00.000-07:00

Evaluation of our marketing campaign

Overall I feel that our whole marketing campaign is effective in the way in which we were trying to be. We address our target audience in our trailer, poster and magazine cover by giving clear hints of genre and showing them what our trailer is about which will attract their attention (love, death/ tragedy, good vs evil, jealousy, and the race to save the beloved girl). They show who our main characters/ actors are which could attract an audience adding a USP to our campaign. In our magazine and poster we have used subtle colour schemes of black and red to portray death and evil.

Evaluation of how we worked as a group

I feel that as a group we communicated very well with each other and coordinated what we were going to do as individuals and what we would do together as a team. We each shared responsibility for getting certain tasks done individually for the rest of the group and all shared filming and editing together. We all voiced our opinions over what we thought should be done,considering others views and then always chose a comprise to satisfy everyone in the group so they were happy with the final result.

What we did well

I feel that from last year our filming techniques have greatly improved. We used a tripod more to create a more stable and professional look. We shot our sequences many times from a variety of angles, so that we could pick and chose the best ones. The music we chose fitted perfectly in time with the action of our film, creating suspense and building a climax where needed. However had it not fit so well, we could have adjusted the audio track to make it fit. Our editing transitions are also effective in the way in which we have the 'fade-to-black' to show the transition into the evil present and the 'dip-to-white' for looking back into the good/ innocent past.

What we could be improved

I think the way in which we approached our coursework this year has dramatically improved since last year as we have learnt from our mistakes and corrected them. However saying this, I feel there is always room for improvement and there are certain things which we could have done differently.

I feel that for our flashback scenes resulted in a poorer looking quality. This is because we changed the contrast of the light of our footage and with the limitations on the programme Adobe Premier Element 7, it just makes our film look like poorer quality. As you can see below it looks very yellow, but it does show the clear difference between the past and present which is why we changed it to communicate this to the audience.

I didn't feel the sound effects we used were very realistic. The door knock sounded as though it was a wooded fence being hit, but as we lack resources to find better sound effects we had to work with what we could find. Also, the phone ring is for a mobile and we have a house phone ring, which isn't very good. If we had more time and accessibility to more resources I would have liked to of had better sounding effects.

Our trailer is a long teaser trailer and may give too much away but it is under 2 minutes and only shows two/ three characters so the audience is yet to learn about the twist at the end.

By Nikki Stock

EVALUATION - Marketing Campaign and year 13

2010-04-23T01:24:00.000-07:00

Our marketing campaign for the film Runaway had three elements; a teaser trailer, a main poster and a magazine front cover. In previous posts we have evaluated each other these individually, however we did think about the campaign as a whole when conducting our coursework. The teaser trailer gives away genre and narrative indicators but leaves the audience still asking questions about the plot of the film. We felt that this enigma was important as it was a teaser trailer. The poster is heavily linked with the trailer as we show the male character which a light and dark side - this adds enigma as from the trailer the audience will be confused about whether he is could or bad. The knife on the poster shows the genre of the film well and links with the trailer as knives are used in that also. The magazine cover draws an audience to it as it shows our male character in a tux - this relates a Hollywood image and tells the audience that it is a serious film. The font in which Runaway is written links the magazine to the rest of the campaign as it is red - this reminds the audience that there is danger in the film and makes then distrust the male character again.

We worked extremely hard with our marketing campaign and I am pleased with the results, I think the trailer, poster and magazine cover all link well together back they can also stand by themselves.

Throughout this year I am pleased with how our group has worked, we have all discussed our ideas and gave ourselves a number of options before deciding on our finale ideas. We each did a lot of research and planning to make sure we had sufficient knowledge about the conventions of teaser trailers, posters and magazine covers so that our coursework could look as professional as possible.

We did encounter problems throughout the year such as choosing a finale idea, however I think we should we could work well as a team as we were able to compromise so that everyone in the group was happy. The weather caused us to have to change scenes in our trailer, I think if we were able to still have those scenes our trailer would have more diversity as it would have more settings - I also think it would help it flow better. We had trouble finding the right sound effects, the ones which we have used are 'okay' but we would have liked the door knock to sound more menacing and the phone ring to sound more like a mobile phone. When making the poster and magazine cover we also encountered problems; I think that is we had more experience with using photoshop we could of made our products look a lot more professional and clean cut, we could of also added more effects. Also we made a mistake when filming our trailer, in all the bag packing scenes Jen has her hair down, then when she gets her passport she has her hair up. We only realised this later on in the editing stages and it was too late to re-film. Luckily when we have shown our trailer to our class mates, friends and family not one has noticed the continuity error. If I could do this product again I would find more realistic sound effects, add more settings and practise using photoshop so that our magazine and poster could look more professional.

Overall I am very pleased with what we have accomplished this year, I think we have produced an effective marketing campaign and worked well together as a group.

Rach.

EVALUATION - Further poll results

2010-04-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

As I have posted before I made a poll in facebook to find out what type of genre our target audience prefers. The choices where:
Thriller
Comedy
Romance
Western
Crime
Horror

These are the new results from poll, as it is on going the results will be slightly different to when I last posted them. These are the results I got:

Thriller --> 13
Comedy--> 8
Romance --> 5
Western --> 2
Crime --> 3
Horror --> 10

I have decided to plot these results in a pie graph and a bar graph as they show clearly which genres our target audiences favours.

Rach.

EVALUATION - A graph to show the most common way which our target audience consumers films

2010-04-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

This chart shows the most common way in which our target audience consumes film texts. As you can see the most common way is through Internet sites. This backs up the argument which shows this youthful population can be called the 'YouTube generation'. This is because most teenagers have access to computers and the Internet and use it to research films and YouTube is an excellent website for watching film trailers and interviews etc. It shows convergence of multi platforms ad how the audience can research more information about anything they want.

Nikki Stock

EVALUATION - Graph on our the audience's favourite film genre

2010-04-22T11:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a graph to what our target audience (teenagers to young adults) favourite film genre is.

We did a survey of our target audience asking them a number of questions reguarding the types of film they enjoy to watch and why, etc. These results show that thriller was the favourite genre of film to be consumed by this target audience. With an analysis of these results our group decided to produce a thriller genre teaser trailer. We found this a fun and challenging process.

Nikki Stock

EVALUATION - What I think we could have improved

2010-04-20T13:50:00.000-07:00

One aspect of our trailer which could have been improved, as mentioned by several members of our audience, is that, for a teaser trailer, ours is rather long. We had planned originally to cut it down in terms of the flashbacks, and the amount of narrative which was given away. However, as part of our brief was to include features such as taglines, it was necessary to reveal at least some of the plot. We also felt that in order to draw the audience into the narrative, the trailer needed more content than simply the bag-packing scenes.

Something else which we would have changed if we had more time was the continuity error in one of the bag-packing scenes. In one shot Jen's hair was tied up and in the next it was down. However we concluded that since it was a different period of time she could have taken it down off screen whilst packing her bag. The contrast change of our flash back scenes also makes the quality of the shot look quite bad, however there was no other way of changing the lighting of the shot, short of filming it again, we therefore decided to leave it as it was. We also wanted to add in a sound effect each time the fade to white flash transition changed the shot to a flashback, however we could not find the sound we wanted as it does not have a specific name and so was hard to find. We thought it would be better to leave out this sound altogether than have a sound effect which didn't fit.

Another aspect of our planning and research which I think could have been improved upon was our collaboration in relation to joint planning and development. Had we had more time outside of lessons to meet as a group and post on the blog our joint research, our final piece may have been more polished and professional.

However, having said that we spend a large proportion of our free time over the past few months, working together in the media rooms over the trailer, poster and magazine cover. This has been made difficult due to full timetables and extra curricular activities, however, I think we pulled together well as a team in order to ensure that everyone had their say and input even on days when some of us were not available. Much time has also been spent individually at weekends and after school in order to ensure that our blog posting has been as informative and accurate as possible.

Lucy :)

EVALUATION - Audience response

2010-04-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

Earlier we posted links which show our class mates response to our teaser trailer. In the YouTube video we were asked the following questions:

What was the idea for you film?

In your marketing campaign what ideas did you have for your trailer?

Who was your target audience and why?

What do you see as a strength of your production?

These questions were asked so that our class could understand some of the thinking behind our trailer and what we were trying to achieved. I think these questions were important as our class then knew what to look out for when watching our trailer.

After viewing our trailer our class mates were asked the following questions:

Was the editing effective?
What can you say about the use of titles?
What was effective about the mise en scene?
Can you comment on shot selections?
What shots stood out for you?
What could have made the production even better?

As shown in the video our class mates liked our editing, they thought our fade to blacks were effects and that our trailer flowed well and at a quick pace. We were very pleased with these comments as we spent a lot of time editing our trailer and focused a lot on the fade to blacks and fade to whites and what effect they would have.

When asked about our use of titles our class mates said that they were good as they helped explain what was happening in the trailer and also give clues to the narrative. They also thought that were we point each title was effective as it split up the trailer and kept the flow going. We thought about the font, size and positioning of the titles as well as their content, we were glad the class picked up on this.

It was said the knives we have used in our trailer are effective as they are a good genre and narrative indicator. Also they thought that our use of lighting was effective and it should the dark side of the characters. The props, settings, lighting and costumes we used in our trailer were carefully selected to give narrative and genre indicators and also give hints about that the characters are like.

They thought that we used a good variety of shots and the different angles we used made our trailer look professional and well made. The shot that they thought stood out to them the most was the last shot as it showed the emotion of the character and how vulnerable she was. We filimed this shot a numbers of times playing around with the position of the character and the angle of the camera until we were happy with the shot.

The improvements that were suggested we agreed with, we did originally have more settings (which was mentioned as the one of the things we could of improved) but due to bad weather we weren't able too use the other settings that we had planned. Another point that was brought up was that our trailer has to much of a story which is not a convention of a teaser trailer. Our trailer does follow a narrative and give away a lot about the narrative and the genre of the film but we wanted to have as many shots and angles as possible. Even though we have a narrative the fast pace nature of the trailer and the enigma created makes our trailer a teaser trailer rather than a theatrical one.

This is a link to the audience feedback video again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmkz_fnKilE
We are the first group to be shown (00.00 --> 04.47)

Rach.

EVALUATION - Survey analysis

2010-04-20T13:11:00.001-07:00

Most members of our target audience who viewed our trailer and completed the questionnaire were asked to give criticisms as part of their general feedback. Although most people who were questioned stated that there was little to criticise, their feedback has been extremely enlightening in terms of improving our coursework.

The survey shown below, which I took from different members of the audience to the ones who answered the questionaire, has also been enormously beneficial in order to help us learn from our work and be more audience orientated in the future. If we had more time to work on our final trailer, based on the feedback which I have received both from this survey and the last, we would spend more time on preparation in terms of lighting and props. We would further analyse the mise-en-scene used in other thriller trailers and use this information to incorporate more successful and convincing images into our work. Mise-en-scene is definitely an area on which we could have spent more time.

Lucy :)

EVALUATION - Audience Survey Graph

2010-04-20T13:06:00.001-07:00

As shown below I carried out a questionnaire on several members of our targeted audience. I recorded my data and also analysed it, as can be seen a while back on the blog. I also conducted a survey to find the strongest and weakest aspects of our trailer in relation to editing, sound, mise-en-scene etc.; in order to learn what could have been improved upon had we had more time to adapt and edit it.
Audience members where asked to choose which of these features was the most effective in our trailer …

 Editing
 Sound
 Camera work
 Costumes
 Lighting
 Setting
 Props

The following graphs display my findings.

Above can be seen my analasis of these findings as I pin-point what, in my opinion, we could have improved upon had we been given more time to work on our final piece.

Lucy :)

EVALUATION - Analysis of Magazine front cover

2010-03-31T01:43:00.004-07:00

In relation to the magazine front cover, as with the poster, we did a lot of research in order to improve our knowledge and ensure that our work was as professional as possible. We looked at a number of magazines such as Film Comment, Film Maker and Total Film, rather than just evaluating Empire, in order to ensure that our experience was as wide as possible. However, we decided to use Empire as the foundation for our own magazine cover as this is the most well known and easiest to access.

We decided not to use the image we were originally going to, as we wanted Empire to appear behind his head, however we could not achieve this with the original image as it was an extreme close up, and it obscured too much of the title. We therefore decided to use the same image as is mentioned on the poster as it was the perfect size and layout. We kept it full length in order to leave enough space at the top of the page to display the title.

We then found Empire on Google Images and consequently added a new layer in Photoshop to add the image. We then saw that on Empire magazine front covers the price and date were featured just above the 'M'. We therefore included this to our own front cover so that our work would look as professional and as genuine as possible. We also found that another common feature was the tagline: "The World's Biggest Movie Magazine." We therefore included this in our magazine cover, we were careful to try and make it the same colour as the title. We also have featured a bar code on our magazine front cover, this makes it professional. A button is also displayed in the bottom right hand corner, advertising other aspects of the magazine.

The text down the left hand side illustrates what else will be featured in the magazine. We kept the fonts the same, however we enlarged the names of the films mentioned and capitalised them, also making them a different colour (black) from the rest of the text (white). To make them stand out on a difficult background we added a glow; we did this by clicking on the tool bar 'Layers' and then selecting the 'style' option. We then chose the inner glow and outer glow effects, this made our text glow white and therefore stand out. We were going to include several other images relating to the films mentioned, however we felt that they looked out of place on the cover and that our magazine had enough already on it. At the bottom left side of the magazine we had advertised a free gift. The font is the same, however the colour is blue to make it stand out, 'FREE' is in capitals to draw the audiences attention. We wanted an outer glow on this image as well and decided that yellow would be the suitable choice as again, it would draw the audiences' eyes to the gift and so also the magazine cover.

The text on the right side of the cover relates to the image of our character. 'Runaway' is the biggest text apart from the title of the magazine. Above it was advertised a new film which would spark the audiences' interest. Below the title is information about what would be included in the article as well as the page it would be featured on. All this text is in red and therefore stands out against the otherwise neutral coloured cover. Originally, the background was white however we felt this looked too plain, so we decided to use the gradient tool again - this time with a teal blue - to add depth to the image. This makes the image stand and makes our cover more interesting and appealing to the target audience.

We found it difficult using the layers on Photoshop however after using them for a while we became accustomed to using it. Overall we feel that our magazine front cover is professional and attract the intended target audience.

RACH, LUCY, NIKKI and DALE.

MAGAZINE FRONT COVER - FINAL

2010-03-31T01:43:00.003-07:00

This is a magazine front cover advertising our film. We made this on photoshop, however, we were unable to unload the original image so this is a print screen copy. Again it is slightly enlarged, which explains any pixalation.

RACH, LUCY, NIKKI and DALE.

EVALUATION - Analysis of Poster

2010-03-31T01:43:00.001-07:00

When we got the poster task we all decided that a lot of research would be important for us to get the best result possible. We therefore evaluated a number of posters of different genres so we could learn about the generic conventions.

We started by finding a photo, because of the time constrictions we decided to use a photo from the social networking site Facebook. We had a number of photos to choose from, we decided on our final photo as we liked his facial expression. As this photo was from Facebook it had a low quality, this meant when working on it on Photoshop it was very small. We cut the photo to just below his shoulders as we thought a close up image would be more intimidating. We also zoomed into the image as his facial expression would not have had the same impact if it was further away.

We wanted one side of the character's face to be in shadow, we achieved this by using the burn tool, dodge tool and smudge tool. Although we have never used these tools before we found them to be very effective when used correctly. We also darkened one side of the background (using the gradient tool) in order to emphasise this effect. We experimented with a number of different backgrounds before finding the one which all four of us were happy with.

We then added in the names of the actors and actresses in the top right and left hand corners. However, we then decided to move Raf's name down to the bottom left hand side as we could not keep it the size we wanted where it was. Although this did not come out the way we wanted we still think it looks very effective as it mirrors the way the characters are not on the same level. We printed his name on the light side and hers on the dark in order to have the colour of the text mirroring the characters disposition. We chose to have the surname of the actors in capital letters and in a different font so as to make them stand out, and we found that all the posters which we evaluated were edited like this as it is the actors surname which is remembered.

We chose to show the tagline right below the title so as to lead the audience into the narrative of the film. We thought it was important for our poster to feature a tagline as the majority of the posters which we analysed featured one. We spent a long time perfecting our tag line but we finally narrowed it down to four...

"Walking the knife's edge"

"Lock. Your. Door."

"Stop. You die. Move. He'll see you."

"learn your limits."

We liked the full stop effect of the "Lock. Your. Door." line and so we decided to edit this effect into the tagline which originally read "Stop, you die, move, he'll see you." We chose to display the tagline in white to reflect the nature of the female character in the plot-line, we also thought it stood out dramatically against the dark background.

We searched google images for credits as, again, it is a generic convention of a film poster. We specifically chose one which was white on black, mirroring the contrast of the characters natures and keeping in theme with the rest of the poster. We chose to fade the writing into black at the foot of the poster to show how the narrative holds dark secrets and the shadows conceal its mystery.

The release date is shown just below the credits in order to keep it separate from the title at the are already linked by their colour. We chose to just show the year it is released rather than a specific date as we though this would leave more mystery in relation to the film.

We have shown the knife as a background to the title to represent the violent narrative of the film, we also made it glow in order to make it standout against the dark background and emphasise its significance.

The title "Runaway" is displayed in a mismatched handwritten font to show the typical thriller genre. We spent a long time selecting the perfect shade of blood red and the exact font which we had visualised for our poster plan. We then positioned the title in the correct place on the knife in order to make the mind relate it with a blood-covered knife which we had originally planned to include, the red also signifies danger.

The main problem which we encountered when editing this poster together was the size of the image we had planned to use. We overcame this by using a print screen of the image when zoomed in on Photoshop to post on the blog, and the effect didn't turn out too bad.

RACH, LUCY, NIKKI and DALE.

POSTER - FINAL

2010-03-31T01:42:00.000-07:00

This is our 'main' poster for our film. We made this on photoshop however this is a print screen version as we were unable to upload the original. This is also slightly zoomed in which explains why some of the text is pixilated.

RACH, LUCY, NIKKI and DALE.

EVALUATION - Creativity of our piece

2010-03-31T01:21:00.000-07:00

Over the course of the two years, I feel that personally I have improved greatly in my knowledge of Media techniques and effective editing. I'd say this is partly due to the influence that Media holds over me after gaining a strong understanding of different mediums that allow me to actively analyse them. It's perhaps due to this that it's reasonable to say that creativity has improved greatly from the first project we had ever done. The evidence can be seen on my old blog where we had difficulties being effective in creating an interesting piece.

Our whole teaser trailer is composed of creative ideas from all members of the group. This is reflected in our finished piece as well as the overall marketing campaign.

Our whole mise-en-scene, editing and titles all combine together to create an effective piece of footage which I feel produces interest for the audience.

For example, the transitions that we used. We used a mixture of fade-to-blacks and flashes. These fades represented time passes and the flashes represented a change in time. To further this, these changes in time were shown in a brighter colour not only to show this contrast but also represent happier times. This is a direct opposite to the dingy colour that our female protagonist is currently in.

The music and sounds are used effectively I feel. The music slowly builds up suspense as the antagonist finally draws a knife. The editing and shot selection reflect the feel that is created through the use of music, making it seem ever more professional. As for sounds, we could have used them a little better. It's partly due to the sounds we gained from the Internet. They didn't have an authentic feel to them so they do feel a little 'slapped on'. Otherwise I'd say we utilised sound to the fullest extent.

The whole mise en scene I feel was incredibly effective. We studied locations, lighting and even costumes to ensure that our piece looked as natural and professional as possible. It all combined together to create an effective piece. Our use of lighting was exceptional I feel, especially in the home our protagonist is trapped in. If you look to the final few shots, you can see the dim lit kitchen - a reflection of our female character's feelings.

The titles were spaced conciously amongst the various shots. They flowed with the little narrative that was given, as well as the music. The font is crisp and clear with a blood red outline, giving the sense that purity is slowly become swarmed in bloodshed.

Overall I'd say we made a very concious effort to be creative in developing our media film. Despite a few aspects that could have been made better, I do feel that we gave it our all. From the location down to the costumes, we made an effort to be as effective as possible so that it generates interest and curiosity.

-Dale

EVALUATION - Tomorrow

2010-03-30T12:34:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we plan to discuss the changes that have been made with the other members of the group, when first making the changes I saved it under a different name so that if the others didn't like it it would be easily changed. We will show then the background, change in text and added bubble and tag line. I'm sure however they will like most of what we have done and will only have further improvements for us, we all talked about changing the back ground and also the text. Having the film names in a different colour and also in capitals makes them stand out which will attract an audience who likes those films to the magazine. We also had 'FREE' in capitals letters and a bigger font so that this also attracts the audiences attention. I think they will like these.

After we have discussed the changes and made sure everyone is happy with the final products we will upload the poster and magazine cover to the blog, both original and zoomed in versions. We will then post as a group what choices we made when making these texts and why, what problems we came crossed and how we over came them.

Rach.

EVALUATION - Today's progress

2010-03-30T09:42:00.001-07:00

As Rach mentioned below we spent some more time today finishing off our magazine cover as we have already finished the poster. We spent some time in some frees this morning working on it with one of our other friends who is very familiar with the use of photo shop and we made some changes to the work we had done in our previous lessons. We made the finishing touches to the magazine cover which is now virtually finished. We will spend some time tomorrow making the final alterations if there is anything which any of us are not satisfied with and we will then post both finished products on the blog.

Alterations we made today included...

a) Adding in a coloured background to add interest to the image.

b) Adding in the tagline of the magazine brand Empire which we used, "The Worlds Biggest Movie magazine." We spent some time ensuring that this phrase was shown in exactly the same colour toning as the title so it fit in seamlessly.

c) adding in a button in the bottom right hand corner with a further advertisement to add more elements of interest.

d) We adapted the size and colouring of the "FREE" advertisement in the bottom right hand corner, experimenting with highlighting effects to make the righting stand out, and using larger, capitalised lettering for the word "FREE"

e) We also changed the colouring of the articles displayed down the left hand side and removed the image we had placed there before.

All in all I think we have made great progress today, and I am looking forward to collectively reviewing our progress tomorrow so we can perfect the images and FINALLY post them on the blog!

Lucy :)

EVALUATION - Audience and theories.

2010-03-30T07:42:00.001-07:00

After learning about audience reactions to films and various other media texts, I thought about our target audience and our attempts to clarify them in our teaser trailer.

Overall I'd say that our target audience is directed towards mid-late teenagers to early adulthood. Though it may primarily be targeted at males, I imagine from our female protagonist will also attract the opposite sex. The general consensus is that females enjoy seeing their own gender in a position of power. This is however contradictory to our trailer where you can see the lead female isolated within her own home. It can be assumed that our character is easily related to, perhaps through similar situations.

The appeal behind a thriller/horror genre like this comes mainly from the interest in gore and fright. There have been theories made that suggest some people enjoy the twisted nature of seeing gore, an otherwise considerable taboo subject in the real world. Another possible reason may again be the lead character who is female. For sex-driven males, it is a selling point. Look to other such films where the overly attractive female characters usually get killed off after risqué encounters with a male counterpart. To reinforce the idea, our marketing campaign has reflected such ideas. The composition of our poster and teaser trailer are one such example through the use of subtle techniques such as editing.

Our film is very much targeted at those who are active in decoding films and creating their own meanings. This is partly due to the enigma that's shown in the trailer as well as the confusion that would be caused if it were a real film. This active audience applies to the Uses and gratifications theory. This theory suggests that the audience play an active part in a film, interacting with it in different ways. These people use films as a point of social conversation and to escape their daily troubles. It involves themselves being entertained whilst at the same time creating their own understanding of the narrative through their own experiences.

However, having said this, some members of the audience may fall under the Hypodermic Needle Model. This assumes the audience are passive members whose reactions are predictable, measurable and related to the stimulus the film gives. For example, witnessing a decapitation in a film may generate a shock from the audience as was intended. It can vary as these 'measurable' reactions do not account for their own personal experiences. This theory 'injects' the audience with ideologies. Both theories can be applied to our film, however I'd think that the Uses and gratifications theory is the likeliest one.

-Dale

EVALUATION - Today - continued

2010-03-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

The post below states what I did in one free, this post will show the progress we made in another free today.

I wanted to show what we had done in the first period - likely the new background was liked (a lot) and it was agreed that the other pictures showing the other films mentioned were unnecessary.

In this free we arranged the text some more so that it took up a lot of the cover but without making it feel over crowded. We added a yellow glow to the blue (free gift) text this makes it stand out from the other text and draws the audience to the free gift, this will attract them to the magazine. We then found a circle which is something featured on magazine front covers, it advertises something in the magazine which is separate from what has been mentioned. We wanted to find a coloured one and we were likely as the one we found was grey/blue and had yellow writing, this made it stand out from the rest of the text. We found this by search images on google, we then cut it in paint and photo shop so it had no back ground and was the right size.

I thought the top part of our magazine cover looked a bit bare and we noticed that some of the empire magazines have a tag line - The Worlds Biggest Movie Magazine - so we added this in at the top left hand corner, this makes our magazine look complete. At first we were worried that as we had changed our background the bar code (having a white background) would stand out too much and look out of place. However after looking at other Empire magazine front covers we found it to be a common feature.

I am extremely pleased with the work we have done today, we have basically finished! We even made print screen copies of our work so we could post it straight from photo shop and then a closer image so the size would not be a problem.

Rach.

EVALUATION - Today

2010-03-30T03:27:00.000-07:00

In a free period day I and one of my friends decided to work on the magazine front cover. I asked my friend - Simone - to come with me as she is doing IT and knows a lot about photo shop, I thought her knowledge and opinion would help us make our coursework look as professional as it could be.

First our group had talked about having a different background apart from white so this is what we worked on first, I thought our magazine cover needed more colour so we played around with different blue backgrounds, instead of just having a block colour we used the gradient tool to make the blue fade into white. This looks very effective and we were pleased with the result.

We then looked at other magazine front covers and rearranged our text. I added more text to the Runaway section as I thought as a main article it would have more than one line, we made this text red. We then made the rest of the text white but change the names of each film mentioned to black to make it stand out. We then added a glow to the text to make it stand out against a sometimes dark background. We chose to get rid of the picture of Avatar at the bottom as we thought it looked out of place, we chose just to hide it instead of get rid of it completely as I wanted to check with the other members of my group. I thought it look out of place and thought our magazine had enough text that we didn't need the photo.

The text which states the free gift is in blue so that it stands out from the other text. I think we did a lot in the period and I am very glad Simone helped us as it was very helpful to have an outside opinion.

Rach.

EVALUATION - Reception Theory (Inglourious Basterds)

2010-03-29T01:22:00.000-07:00

Just the other day in our media lesson, we learnt about the Reception Theory and applied it to Inglourious Basterds. In basic terms this is how the audience perceives a media text and their own opinions on it. There are three different readings that a person can have when viewing a text.

Dominant Reading - The individual agrees with the views and ideas that the film aims to bring across. In the case of Inglourious Basterds, the individual will oppose Hans Landa and the nazi opposition.

Negotiated Reading - The individual neither agrees with the views or disagrees. In the case of Inglourious Basterds the person may not necessarily oppose Hans Landa, but instead understand that it may not necessarily be the correct thing however it is his duty as Colonel and "Jew Hunter".

Oppositional Reading - The individual completely disagrees with the views the film brings across. In the case of Inglourious Basterds the person may agree with Hans Landa and his motives. The person is likely to advocate the actions of a character who isn't necessarily considered 'good'. This is oppositional to what Quentin Tarantino wanted to deliver; that the Colonel is an enemy.

Our film is similar in this regard in that it can be read in various ways. Some may choose to side with the victim, others may decide to enjoy the torment that our evil character gives her. It's dependant on the backgrounds of each individual viewing the film. Their upbringing, their personality and how they view the world all relate to their methods of decoding a film into a form whereby they can make sense of it. Some males may have a rather chauvinist attitude to women and therefore enjoy the terror that the main female character has to endure. There are other reasons to have a negative reading of our film but that is one such example. A negative reading doesn't necessarily mean the audience sides with the enemy, but it can also mean how they react to the film. For example, when Hans Landa casually murders the Jews hiding under the floorboards in such a flippant manner, it can be viewed rather comically by some, perhaps partly due to the reason that his character was instantly made humorous after taking out an obscenely large pipe.

I'd imagine our film can be taken rather seriously as the audience is likely to understand the fret that our protagonist feels. There will be some who find it comical but that's very much the same for most films. I imagine it can affect the way that a film may be produced. If the director wishes to create a scene in a particular way, he may have to create it in a particular way so that it reflects upon the narrative and tone of the scene. This should make the audience understand the reasoning behind the existence of the construction of said scene.

-Dale

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Harry Potter Posters 4-7

2010-03-28T15:40:00.000-07:00

This post shows the posters for the Harry Potter films 4 - 7.

This is the poster for the forth Harry Potter film. Like the others it has a blue tint to it, however this one is a lot darker than the other three. The sky is black signalling a storm is coming and the white mist around the characters shows that they are 'good' but is also adds mystery to them as if they or someone could be hiding behind the mist. The is the first poster in which more than the three many characters are shown. This could shown that in this film a lot more characters play a critical part in the film. Three of them are holding wands this suggests that there will be a lot of action in this film, also the gravestone like shadow shows that someone - possibly one of the characters shown on the poster will be dead by the end of the film. Harry in looking down on the audience suggesting that he is in control and that he is powerful this can be seen as intimidating and the audience may question whether or not Harry knows what to do with the power he has. The tag line is much the same as the last film this could suggest that they characters lives are constantly hectic and like a roller coaster but also perhaps that it adventure and disorder is the only common, reoccurring thing in there lives and that perhaps they need the drama. I think this is a very interesting film poster that will attract an audience to go and see the film.

This is the poster of the fifth Harry Potter film. Although Harry is in the centre of the poster he is not the biggest image this could suggest that he has to rely on his friends a lot in this film. This is confirmed as his two best friends are the largest images. Harry holds a wand which shows the genre of the film and also that there may be a battle in the narrative. The title is in the same familiar font which is not widely recognised, just seeing the P will tell they audience that they are looking at part of the Harry Potter brand. The white light around Harry suggests that even though he may stray a little in this film and need his friends support more that he is still 'good'. There is a date at the bottom of the poster, it is in the same font as the title; this makes it stand out. As Harry Potter is such a big film they can put the exact date it will be released as there will be a lot of people wanting to see it.

This is a poster for the sixth Harry Potter film. It shows the three main characters and the headmaster of Hogwarts, it makes sense that he is on the poster as (as many fans would of already read) this is the last film/book he is in. All four are holing there wands and have serious expressions on their faces, this shows that although the film will probably contain some humour, it is a serious film and the narrative of this film will have big effects on the final film. Not all of the title is some and as I have said above it is not even needed, the font of the letters that are shown especially the P are enough for an audience to recognise which film it is. The credits match the off balanced title - this could show that this film contains big changes and that the characters will be different - something very significant happens in this film and no one will be the same after it. The July 15 is as big as the tag line - this shows that the people making the poster don't really expect an audience to look closely at it - they expect an audience to release it is Harry Potter, look at which book it is and then check for a release date. This is very true in most cases this is why they are able to keep the posters so simple, they are still effective.

This is a teaser poster of the seventh Harry Potter film, this film is going to be split into two parts - however on this poster it doesn't say if this is a poster for part 1 or 2 so I am going to assume it is a teaser poster for the films as a whole. The film shows a forest - this could be the forest that is mentioned at Hogwarts as it is more famous for containing the unknown. This would add enigma as the audience would not know what to expect. There is a white stag which an audience will recognise as being a 'symbol' for Harry (or his father) - the white light surrounding the deer tell the audience that this deer is good and 'here to help' The tag line suggests that Harry (the stag) will be the hero in this film, the use of the word one suggested to the audience (if they didn't already know) that this is the last film as it is saying that there is 'one way' and 'one fate' which implies that everyone will find their 'destiny' in this film and that perhaps harmony will be restored after it. As this is a teaser poster not much information is given - there is a Harry Potter website at the bottom instead of a release date. I suspect that closer to the films release there will be more posters which give away more about the narrative for both parts 1 and 2.

Rach.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Harry Potter Posters 1-3

2010-03-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

In these posts I am going to look at the Harry Potter posters, as it is such a big brand I expect to find some similarities between the poster. The first poster will probably be the most different as although the books where huge the whole brand of Harry Potter had not been formed yet, the last poster i also expect will be different as it is a teaser poster for a film which will not be released for a while, also the last film is split into into two parts and so the teaser poster for the 'deathly hallows' so it cannot give away to much about the narrative.

This is a poster for the first film, the name Harry Potter is already well known therefore it makes sense to have it as the biggest text. There is no mention of actors of directors as they are not needed, Harry Potter is enough to attract an audience to watch the film. The poster assumes that most people who will see the film will have read the books and therefore the background will be familiar. The big castle will tell the audience that it is Hogwarts however for people who haven't read the books it insinuates fantasy and magic. The boats heading towards the castle again will be recognised by people who have read the books and it is photographed so the audience may feel as if they are traveling to Hogwarts to. For people who haven't read the books the boats might symbolise that the castle is hard to get to and only a certain number of lucky people are allowed, this again adds to the fantasy genre. 'The magic begins' as a tag line is effective as it will excite the audience who have been waiting for the film to come out for a long time. It also is another genre and narrative indicator. The poster overall does not give away much about narrative, this could be because of the books and so they feel as if they do not need to mention much about narrative also it adds enigma to the poster as the audience does not know, even if they have read the books, what parts will be included in the film and what will be left out. As the books where so big and this film has been long awaited they are able to put a date at the bottom of the poster instead of just 'coming soon'.

This is a poster for the second Harry Potter film, as you can see the font and colour of the title has been kept the same, this is so the audience can recognise it straight away especially the lightning part of the P. The title is surrounded by a blue glow, this makes it stand out and also looks like blue sky this links with the lightning on the P. The huge success of the first film started the Harry Potter brand and that meant on this poster they could show the three main characters and even without the actors names they will be recognised. Hermione with her wand tells the audience that there will be a lot of magic in this film, Ron with her broken wand and facial expression shows the comedy aspect of the film and Harry holding a sword shows the action parts of the film. the sword also insinuates that the characters are in danger and it is up to Harry to save them. The light shining behind them show that these are the good characters and the edges of the poster show part of an old wall, this would tell the audience that most of the film will be set in Hogwarts, like the last one. Again at the bottom is a date in which the film will be released, this is in white so that it stands out. The characters are all shown wearing their school uniform, this tells the audience that they should still be treated think children.

This is the film poster of the third Harry Potter film. This poster again shows the main three characters however this time they are in their own clothes, this tells the audience that they are no longer children but teenagers or young adults and also that they may be given more responsibility in this film. The tag line 'everything will change' gives away part of the narrative as well as the wanted posters. On the same side as the wanted posters is a man who is almost hidden, he is the same man on the posters, this insinuates that he is the prisoner who has escaped and that he could be the reason why everything changes. The circular background looks almost like a spiral stair case - this could show the confusion the characters will feel in this film and also that they may have to run away or that people will be chasing them. The flowers round the edge suggest that they will be outside a lot and also maybe that other settings will be used instead just Hogwarts. The hand in the left corner shows that the characters are in danger and the shrunken heads suggest that new strange characters will be introduced in this film. Harry is holding a wand which shows clearly the genre of the film, he also holds a map which people who have read the books will recognise. Again at the bottom the month and year is given for the films release this could suggest that the poster is being shown a while before the film will be released.

Rach.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Silence of the Lambs Poster Analysis

2010-03-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

The Silence of the Lambs poster immediately draws attention to Jodie Foster, the character at the front of the cover. This is due to the smaller title/credits at the bottom of the poster which is likely to be intentional. (A thing to note is that there are a lot of subtleties to the image, not only generating interest, but also indicating the genre.)

The image of the character is in black and white, with a high contrasting red to create distinct points of interest. The use of the white face signifies purity and goodness. The darker background however suggests she has gotten herself into troublesome matters as one element of good is trapped in blackness. Jodie Foster's eyes are a dark blood-red signifying perhaps a grim storyline that is likely to be filled with bloodshed. The title is also in an orange-y red, again reinforcing the genre through the indication of blood. At the center of the poster is a brown moth to contrast against the purity of the main character. Looking deeper into the image of the moth, you can see a white skull, showing not only importance as a genre indicator but also relevance to the narrative if people chose to watch the film.

Although the poster gives indicators of the genre, it does challenge the typical conventions of a horror/thriller based narrative by displaying Jodie Foster as the main protagonist. This may be appealing to not only males, but possibly females too who wish to relate to the main character in her determination and strength of will.

Just above the title are the names of the actors who take part in the film. These names are tiny compared to the credits and title. This may not be due to the actors' status but in relation to the other words it could well mean the image is more important as it is the first detail that draws attention.

Overall, the contrasting colours of white, black and red signify good, evil and blood. The poster includes subtle hints including the conveniently placed moth over the main character to relate to the title. All of these represent the genre in one way or another and the person looking at the poster should have a clear sense of what the film may be like.

-Dale

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Harry Potter Poster - further analysis

2010-03-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

Earlier on in the blog i analysed the poster shown below. Since then i have found a range of other posters for the same campaign which have been recently released. I plan to analyse these in comparison with the first poster released, and look at how much more they reveal about the characters and the plot and how they manage to successfully do this.

This was the first poster in the campaign which was released...

The poster shown below has also been released in advertisement for the first part of the 7th Harry Potter film. As it can clearly be seen it is designed to reveal much more about the narrative and characters involved. To those who have read the books it is a reminder of the content, and an indicator that the films are being true to the plot, and to those who haven't it is an indicator of genre and narrative, and so a suggestion of target audience. The way in which the title is hidden by the characters image shows that the film is already well known and the producers are assuming that the audience will know the film. The font and design of the title are also shown in the signature layout of the film series, making the film clear. The background is mainly dark with a light centre, possibly mirroring the nature of the film, this shows that it is a dark narrative with some light relief represented by the light shining in the centre of the background. The quote from the film "I open at the close" is acting as a tag line at the foot of the poster, shown just below the image of the character holding the snitch which is related to the quote. The bottom of the image fades into darkness showing that there is mystery and unanswered questions in the narrative. The credits are again shown in an unobtrusive small white font.

The poster below has also been released as part of the advertising campaign for harry potter and the deathly hallows. Again a quote from the film is used which is in relation to the image itself. A smaller less obvious image is also used above this quote, another reference for those who have read the books, and a tantalising hint for those who haven't to cause them to ask questions about the plot. The background is again blank darkness, however the tiara/diadem seems to be lighting it up, a possibly reference to the story line, of how Harry, the main character, brings hope to the world like light to darkness. The title and the words "coming soon" are shown in white and silver, a reflecting on the tiara/diadem, and to allow them to stand out against the dark background.

The following posters may not be official promoters of the advertising campaign, however, they are still being used to promote the release of the film. The one below mirrors the darkness of the narrative and also reveals two of the main characters to the audience. Within the mysterious darkness of the background is the title, shown clearly at the bottom of the screen in a light reflecting silver to stand out, possibly again representing how the character Harry brings light to the darkness of the storyline.

The final poster shown below is also an indicator of narrative, and displays the title as the predominant feature of the poster. The darkness again reflects the narrative, although this poster appears to be more of an advertisement of the book than the film.

Lucy :)

EVALUATION - Creativity and Our Trailer

2010-03-28T06:41:00.000-07:00

For our coursework in A2 in were trying to create a teaser trailer for a film along with a marketing campaign of a film poster and a magazine cover. We took the generic conventions of teaser trailers and posters, mixed them with our own ideas and incorporated them into our own production.

The purpose of this was to attract an audience and create a buzz about our film. Since year 12 our creativity has greatly improved. We have learnt to consider our production details in more depth. We spent time planning and organising where we were going to film, the shots we were going to use, the mise-en-scene needed, sound etc. We used a variety of creative camera shots and angles to portray meaning into our trailer, such as high angles for vulnerability etc. and to make it more interesting. We were creative in the way in which we only filmed with the tripod. This was because from our previous ear 12 work with our film opening 'Racket' we mostly used handheld shots which made our film look like bad quality and blurry. With the use of a tripod, our shots were steady and much better quality. We incorporated music into our trailer, as we did not do previously in year 12, which made the feel for our trailer seem more real.

Nikki Stock

EVALUATION - Reception Theory (Inglorious Bastards Opening Analysis)

2010-03-28T06:15:00.000-07:00

This can be seen as an extension of the Uses and Gratification Theory. It is more focused on the audience and their response to the text itself. This theory states that no text has one simple meaning. As the audience have their own experiences they can interpret texts in different ways, giving a single text many different meanings. The theory tries to understand how the factors such as, age, race, gender, social class etc, effects our interpretations of texts.

There are three main reading forom this theory; the dominant, negotiated and oppositional readings of text. The dominant reading is where the audience take the same view as intended by the creators of the media text. The negotiated reading is where there is mixed interpretation from the audience of what the text is supposed to mean. And the oppositional reading is where the audience takes the opposite view than intended.

We watched the opening of Inglorious Bastards by Quinton Tarrentino in class. We had to analyse this opening 10 minutes to say which reception theory reading could be taken from this sequence. The dominant reading could be -the Kernel Landy is humorous and appealing to the audience but he is a Natzi and is seeking out the Jews to shoot them. When we first meet him though he is seen as a gentlemen towards the girls. The audience may feel sympathetic towards the Farmer by the look on his face when he knows what is about to happen and a tear runs down his face. However, the second view is negotiated. This can be where the Kernel is seen as just doing his job, otherwise he would get killed himself. Or that the Farmer has put his family in danger looking after the Jewish family and shouldn't have hidden them. Lastly, the oppositional view would be siding with the Kernel seeing him as the 'hero' or not finding him funny at all, just repulsive and horrible.

Drawbacks of this theory are that everyone is unique so the theory cannot comprehend the complexity of our responses to the media. It also doesn't take into account the everyday factors, such as what time of day it is we consume the text, or what mood we are in etc. We also consume texts in different ways as well, whether we are at home in our lounges or out with friends at the cinema. These factors all change our interpretations of the media texts consumed.

Our trailer can be interpreted differently for everyone. Some may find it scary and unnerving, some may find it funny and enjoy the fact that these characters are worse off and in danger.

Nikki Stock

EVALUATION - Hyperdermic Needle Theory

2010-03-28T06:04:00.000-07:00

This is a theory which identifies the type of the audience and how they respond to the text. It suggests that the audiences responses are always predictable, measurable, and directly related to the specific media stimulus. They believe there are two types of audience; passive and active.

The passive audience are injected with ideologies. They are seen to accept the presented version of events to them. The downfall of this approach is it doesn't account for the emotional responses that may occur. This is because everyone has different life experiences and this may effect the way they see/ interpret each text.

The active audience are seen to interact with the text, ie. they question it. They don't sit and agree with the ideologies they are being injected with, they rebel and question it and create different meanings from the text.

Our trailer can be seen fit for a passive audience as some of the close up shots, along with the music dictates our audiences feelings and tells them to be scared to. At the end of our trailer, where Megan breaks down and slides down the cupboard crying, giving up, can make the active audience interact with it. They can feel sympathy for her as she is stuck or feel pity for her as she doesn't try to escape. She can be seen as either weak or vulnerable.

Nikki Stock

EVALUATION - Uses and Gratification Theory

2010-03-28T05:45:00.000-07:00

This theory suggests that the audience chooses what, how and when they consume media texts. They can actively consume text for different reasons in different ways. Blumer and Katz expanded this theory saying why the audience may consume texts. Their reasons include:

diversion- to escape from their everyday troubles and woes.

personal relationships- using the media for emotional interaction

personal identity- constructing their own identity within the characters and learning from their behaviour and values

surveillance- to gather information such as, educational values, weather, news etc.

They believe that the audience watches these texts to learn information and use it as escapism from their real lives to make them feel better. It can give them social interaction with others and give them a sense of identity if they relate to the characters onscreen. More recently there is a new argument that people watch texts to fulfill their hierarchy of needs, which was created by Maslow.

However, there have been criticisms of this uses and gratification theory. Some argue that it is too simplistic. Everyone is unique and watches media texts for different reasons and react to them in different ways, so it is impossible to analyse everyone's view, about why they decide to watch certain texts at certain times. Also, it may not be a direct need/ desire to watch certain texts. The consumers may be tired at the end of the day and just decide to passively watch what is available on television. Advertisements are slotted in the middle of the television programmes and most of the consumers may not want to consume these adverts, but have no choice as it disrupts the programme they are watching.

Nikki Stock

EVALUATION - Director's Commentary

2010-03-27T06:03:00.000-07:00

This is a link to our trailer Runaway:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P70hIAhZ5Hg
If you watch the trailer and the read the commentary or watch and read at the same time (with pauses) then you will see in this text I have tried to explain our thought processes when filming in the form of a typical Director's commentary:

We chose to start with a close up shot of a bag as we thought it would be a good narrative indicator as it shows someone bag packing. It also adds enigma as no face in shown. The varied angles which we have next used show the confusion of the character and they keep the trailer moving at a fast rate. As shown we have used fade to blacks between shot, we thought that this made the trailer flow and we could also show the difference between the present shots and the flash back sequences. We changed the colour contrast of each flash back so that they almost look like a dream as we thought this is how the character may feel about those past times; they were too good to be true. We chose the school setting from the first flash back sequence as we wanted to use everyday settings, these settings would make the audience feel comfortable at first but also scared as these are places you should be safe. This is the first time we show the male character, he helps the female character pick up her books; the audience will mostly likely be confused as these scenes are a big contrast from the panic of the last scenes. Also the music suggests he is bad or something bad will happen, but he is helping her, our aim was to have the audience feel this confusion.

We chose the caption font carefully and we liked the red glow as it symbolised danger and that there could be bloodshed in the film. The mention of dreams relates to the past flash back scene and the colour contrast. In the next scene we only use two shots, the high angle shot shows the female characters confusion and that she is in a very vulnerable situation. In the other shot she’s her getting her passport, this tells the audience clearly that she is planning to run away. To show the difference between the flash backs and the present time we have also used a fade to white instead of a fade to black before each flash back and at the end of each one. This almost looks like a flash and warns the audience that they are ‘jumping around in time’. The long shot of Eric and Megan shows them having fun and it makes the audience feel as if they are watching them, this may make them feel slightly uncomfortable even though it is a happy scene. The next caption is in the same red font as before and it again mentions dreams, the ... at the end tell the audience this sentence is not over and the ‘but’ at the beginning will make them already think that the rest of the sentence will be negative.

In the next shots we keep the editing extremely quickly as the tension builds in the trailer, the high angle shots again show how vulnerable the female character is. We chose to have a high angle shot here as it would link with the voice over, this shows to the audience that it is the male character that has power over her and it almost looks as if he is looking down on her. The audience might also feels as if they are more powerful than her and therefore that they need to protect her. Using the voice over we have linked the past and the present parts of the trailer, the bodily language of the characters demonstrates that she is hearing the voice over as well and so they audience can ask the question; is it all in her head? The next caption mentions nightmares, all of the captions have something linked to the subconscious, this correlates the genre of the film as a psychological thriller and also makes the audience ask questions about what parts in the film are ‘reality’ and what are ‘fantasy’. The costumes the audience have seen the characters in we have thought carefully about, the female character wears bright colours and is in one scene wearing white this shows she is an innocent happy character whereas the male character is always seen in dark colours. This tells the audience that he cannot be trusted.

The sound track builds to in climax as the knife is pulled out of the draw, we were careful to match the soundtrack with the shots so we could get the most dramatic effect out of the shots. The way the knife is held in front of the camera shows its holder to be calm and understand compliantly what he is doing, this may unnerve the audience. The long shot shows the female character running down the stairs, throughout the trailer the pace in which this character moves shows her panic and need to get away this is a big genre and narrative indicator. We chose to show her getting a pen knife in a similar way to the male character getting a kitchen knife as we thought it would show the audience how even thought she is trying to defend herself she cannot win. We did not use a high angle shot like we did with the kitchen knife, this shows that the pen knife she has will not have as much impact as the kitchen knife.

We found the sound effect of a door knocking, made it faster so it sounded more urgent and repeated it a number of times, we used a shot reverse shot to show the audience where the sound was coming from. The female characters reaction to the door knock show how on edge and nervous she is. We times it show at first the phone ring and the door knock did not over lap and then we repeated the door knock again for dramatic effect. There is a shot reverse shot with the mobile phone again to show the audience where the sound is coming from. We chose to have one coming from the left and one from the right as it would make the character feel as if she was surrounded. The last shot shows her at the side of the screen, we did not want her in the centre as we thought having her to the left would reflect her off balance feeling and tell the audience that something is not right. We continued the sound of the phone and we faded the soundtrack out. The font we used for Runaway is different from the captions as we wanted it to stand out. It glows white to show the innocence of the female character, it is also slanting to the right and therefore looks as if it is 'running away'. The '2011' is in the same glowing red font as the captions to remind the audience that there will be danger in the film.

Rach.

EVALUATION - Reception Theory

2010-03-26T16:08:00.001-07:00

The reception theory is an extension of the uses and gratifications theory. It is mainly based on how an audience responses to a text. The Dominant reading is what most people would think after seeing a text or how they would react. The Negotiated reading is when the review but think slightly different than the dominant reading but somethings are the same. The Oppositional reading is when the review thinks completely different to what the film was trying to achieve.

In our trailer the dominant reading would be: that they feel sorry for the female character, they do not trust the male character, they want to know if the female character will be okay, scared/tense when seeing the trailer

The negotiated reading would be: knows that female character is vulnerable but doesn't really relate to her, is not that wary of the male character has he has not done anything yet, not that scared.

The oppositional reading: hope that the girl gets heart, likes the male character -he is the 'good guy' finds the tense parts of the trailer funny.

Rach.

EVALUATION - Creativity

2010-03-26T16:07:00.002-07:00

In class we discussed creativity and we where asked the following questions:

What was the intended outcome of the production?

What was the purpose of your film?

For the first question: we looked at the generic conventions of teaser trailers and we tried to follow them but at the same time make our trailer be able to stand out on it's own. We got a lot of ideas and there was a number of ideas we didn't use but I think it is important to have more ideas than you need than not enough. The intended outcome was to make our trailer look like a proper professional teaser trailer.

For the second question: the purpose was to attract a target audience and create enigma.

When looking into creativity we looked into the shot choices we made, mise en scene, editing sound and how we have improved from our previous work. I think we were most creative with the editing as we used a lot of flash transitions and captions to make our trailer look effective. We thought a lot about shots and used a wide range of them, the shots we used told the audience about the characters (who was vulnerable, who was in control etc). We did think about mise en scene, the costumes and the settings and props etc as we think these are important parts of any production. Sound is probably the thing we have improved most, last year we didn't know how to get rid of back ground sound whereas this yea we have matched the soundtrack with the shots, used sound effects and voice overs we have also been able to fade to sound in and out.

Rach.

EVALUATION - What we did today

2010-03-26T16:07:00.001-07:00

We went to work on our poster and magazine cover in one of our free periods and also at lunch time.

Firstly we chose what font to have our actors names in, we chose two very simple fonts, one for their first names and one for their surnames, we also put their surnames in capitals to make them stand out, we have found that having the surname bigger than the first name is a common characteristic as, for famous actors, their fans will recognise their surnames straight away. Choosing were to put the names was harder as our actor has a long surname and his name had to be in black but it meant that put of it was black out because it overlapped with his hair. We could not make the font any smaller as it was already on the smallest. This is another problem we occurred because we can not make our image larger. We decided to have Jen's name in the top right hand corner in white and Raf's name just above the knife (middle to bottom left) we liked this idea as it looked as if Raf's name was hiding in the shadow. This would give the audience clues to what his character is like. His name is also closest to the knife, this would also hint to the audience that he is the 'bad guy' of the film. I think we did really well with this idea as we have turned a problem into a positive part of our poster.

We then spent a while getting the right font, size colour and positioning of the title Runaway. We ended up choosing a rusty red colour as we thought it looked like blood. The font we chose what slanted like the font was in the thriller, it also looked a bit creep especially as the 'y' looked like blood dripping. We played around with the positioning but ended up having the title in the middle of the knife, the 'Run' was on the black handle and the 'away' was on the knife blade. Under the credits we put '2011' to tell the audience when the film will be released, this is also in red.

We then chose our tag line, we had a lot to choose from but we narrowed it down to four and then down to two, these two were:

Walking the knife's edge
Stop. You die. Move. He'll see you.

We ended up picking the second one and we liked the impacted of the full stops and how it gives the audience incite to how trapped the character would feel: is she stops running he will kill her, but if she keeps running the he will see her and then the chase will begin. I also liked how 'He'll' looked like hell at a first glance. I think this tag line works very well with our title and the general narrative of the film. We chose a simple font and put it in white so it would stand out, we placed it just under the knife and above the credits.

We then moved onto the magazine cover, we may go back to the poster but we thought we should start the cover first. We changed the original image that we were going to use as it was too big if we wanted the title 'Empire' to go behind it. So we used the same image that we used for the poster but this time kept it full length. We added the empire logo behind it and wrote out a date and price and put these above the 'M' which we have seen is a feature in the real empire magazine. We had added text to the left side and text about our film to the right, we have also added in a bar code under the title and another image at the bottom. We will probable change the text and play around with colours and font to make it look the most professional. We plan to add on a 'sticker' this is a coloured circle with something on it mainly something like 'top 25 films of the year' or a competition. At the moment our poster and magazine only use the colours black red and white so I would like to have the sticker in a bright yellow or just a different colour.

I think we are working well and I am pleased with what we have done so far.

Rach.

EVALUATION - Today's progress

2010-03-26T13:08:00.001-07:00

Today we continued to edit our film poster and magazine cover and we have FINALLY finished the poster! :D We shall post it on the blog at some point next week along with the magazine cover once we have finished both.

We have moved the actors name down the poster slightly, as we discovered we couldn't fit it in at the top at the size we wanted without it overlapping the image. However, as though this is not what we originally planned it does look very effective, as the names are now on different levels, reflecting the characters unbalanced relationship. We also added in the title, the tag line and the release date.

For the magazine cover we have now added in the main image and have decided to use the same image as we used on the poster from a wider angle. As the one we originally planned to use did not fit in with the title as we wanted it to overlap, covering the centre of the word "Empire" however, had we used the original photo it would have obscured most of the letters. We have also added in the sub-titles down the side of the page (however we have not yet settled on a font) and have also put in the bar code. Next lesson we plan to add in a red button showing an advertisement, as is featured on many of the Empire magazines, we either plan to use one from an image on google, or create one ourselves using "paint", whichever turns out looking the most effective. We have also added in the price and release date of the magazine framed in the M of "Empire", and have placed the caption of our film image over the characters suit.

Lucy :)

EVALUATION - Creativity and Our Trailer

2010-03-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

The purpose of our film trailer was to attract our target audience, and to build suspense about the release of the film. We feel that we have managed to achieve both of these as our skills as media studies students have progressed dramatically since last year.

I feel that our most developed areas of achievement are that of mise-en-scene, camera work and also our editing of transitions and captions etc. We spent a lot more time over planning costumes this year, ensuring that they not only reflected the characters personality, but were also fitting to the nature of the scene which we were filming. We also made an effort to adapt the lighting used to reflect the mood, for example we ensured that during filming of all the bag-packing scenes the lighting in Nikki's house was low to make it appear more eerie and mysterious, and is post-production we edited the flash-back scenes by upping the contrast to make them bright and cheerful, but also to give them a surreal glow to make it clear tat they are memories. We were a lot more creative with our camera work, adapting shots to make them high or low angle depending on the character being filmed and the scene being shot. We also used close ups and establishing shots to emphasise points and make the narrative clearer. Captions which we used this time were shown on a blank black background to make them show up and give more of an impact, whilst creating a contrast between the glowing red letters and the bleak dark background. The transitions which we used also made the trailer much more affective than last years. We used fades to black to make the images run more smoothly, and to reflect the plot line, also representing character personalities and the mood of the shots. Fade to blacks representing the scary and racy scenes, whilst dip to whites represent the happy and bright memories.

Our use of music and sound effects has also greatly improved. Last year we were unsure of how to delete the original sound from the video and so didn't use any music at all, we also attempted to record our sound effects ourselves rather than finding them on the Internet which made this years piece look much more polished and professional. The use of music also added to the overall effect and made the whole piece run much more smoothly, helping to put across the right message and influence the audience in the intended way, helping it to be a dominant reading rather than Oppositional.

I think that by being a lot more creative with our ideas and planning this year we were able to produce a much more polished and professional piece.

Lucy :)

EVALUATION - The Reception Theory and Our trailer

2010-03-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

Every media text has many different ways of possible interpretation. The reception theory classifies these interpretations into three different readings. The Dominant reading, the Negotiated reading and the Oppositional reading.

The Dominant reading would be for the audience to interpret a text in exactly the way in which the writer intended. For example finding a thriller film scary, or a romance romantic.

The Negotiated reading would be for the audience to see the film in the intended way but also to denoted something else from it, for example finding something amusing in the romantic scene.

The Oppositional reading would be for the audience to completely misinterpret the producers message of the film and react in a way which was not intended, for example crying in a comedy or laughing hysterically at a gory scene in a horror film.

In terms of our trailer each of these readings could easily be applied. Our film is meant to be a thriller and so its intent is to scare, if it was effective then its reading would be Dominant, if it was largely effective then it would be Negotiated, and if it was completely misinterpreted it would be Oppositional, but the way in which the film is interpreted depends entirely on the member of the audience.

Lucy :)

EVALUATION - Audience Feedback

2010-03-26T03:32:00.000-07:00

As we have posted below, in class we participated in an audience feedback session where we explained are trailers and got evaulated by our class mates. The Youtube links below show the footage:

yr 13 audience response part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmkz_fnKilE
part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NeH8Y9ahXg

We appear in part one (the first group), the time given to answer the questions only allowed us a few sentences each. However we have a full summary of our trailer, our ideas and target audience in other posts.

The feedback we got from our class mates was very useful and we agreed with them that we should have perhaps used more locations. Also our trailer does have a narrative however we liked this as we could show the differences between the present and flashback sequences.

Rach, Lucy, Nikki and Dale.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - 3D Poster Analysis

2010-03-26T02:59:00.000-07:00

As the media technology is always being improved and updates, the new innovative way for the audience to consume films is in 3D. This is an example of a poster from a film previously released in 2D and has now been remade into 3D.

This poster is showing the characters in the film sitting as the audience wearing their 3D glasses, having a great time. The tag line at the top is designed to draw the audience to see this film again with the new innovative 3D experience. That is the USP of the poster, so it is in the largest text on the page, in a shining yellow/ gold font. At the bottom of the poster are more USP's such as 'Walt Disney' productions, the director 'Tim Burton' who is well renound for good films, the3D appeal of the film is greatly highlighted in a bright green font, and the picture of the glasses in the corner of the poster. IT also tells the audience the month it is released in selected cinemas.

Nikki Stock

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Star Trek Posters

2010-03-26T02:50:00.001-07:00

As our poster's main image is similar to the one used on a Star trek poster I thought I would analyse them. As you can see I have found two different posters therefore I will also point out the differences.

The main part of the poster is taken up by a large image of the three main characters, tow are looking straight at the camera and one (the only female) is looking over her shoulder towards the camera. The image fades into what looks like a space ship and a city sky line, there is then a long road with a man riding a motorcycle on it. There is then the words STAR TREK in a bold silver font, under this is the tag line: HE FUTURE BEGINS. These tell clearly the genre of the film, star trek has been around for a while and is very successful therefore the poster doesn't need to give away a lot about narrative or even about genre as it is so well known. However the space ship, the tag line and the familiar looking character (on the right) give away that it is a sci fi film. The poster is very blue and silver this again could be showing a sci fi, futuristic theme. The words coming soon are in bold and underneath it says that the film will be shown in the imax, therefore the audience knows that this film will be big.

This is another poster for the film Star trek, all of the text is in the same place and says the same thing as it did in the previous poster. Three characters are again shown, the order in size probable shows how big their part is in the film with the leading role being the biggest. The triangle shaped lines show that the film is set in space, either side on the lines at the top are two eyes - this person looks angry this could be telling the audience that the main characters are in danger. A space ship is also shown -this shows the genre of the film, the space ships however look as if they are fighting this shows that the film will be an action film as well as a sci fi.

Rach.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Stardust Poster Analysis

2010-03-26T02:35:00.000-07:00

This poster is a good example of many images superimposed on top of each other. It shows the different characters in different situations all together on the one poster. The two main characters are at the front, standing united as one. The other characters are then placed around the edge. The title of the film is the largest text on the page, in a bright, glowing yellow/gold text. Underneath this is a tag line to tell the audience a hint of the narrative and draw them into thins. At the top of the poster as a USP is three of the main actors names. At the bottom of the poster is the production company cast and crew etc. The colours of this poster are lighter at the top, then fade into darker colours at the bottom. In the middle of the poster is a bright orange sun which contrasts with the darker colours and stands out. The feel of this poster gives the audience a hint that it is a fantasy adventure film.

Nikki Stock

NEARLY THE END!!!

2010-03-26T02:19:00.000-07:00

WE HAVE UNTIL WEDNESDAY TO FINISH OUR WHOLE MARKETING CAMPAGIN AND EVALUATION!!!!!

EVALUATION ~ Wider Audience feedback

2010-03-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

One of the tasks which we have been along with the audio commentary of our trailer (which Rach is organising) it was suggested that we find some extra audience feed back to our trailer; this is the task which I have chosen. I have been researching feedback from our teaser trailer in the hope of being able to learn how our trailer could have been improved, and what its strongest aspects are.

I have gathered the following information...

Audience member one:

How does our trailer remind you of others you have seen?
The captions really remind me of some other trailers I have seen, I think its really clever how they sort of flash onto the screen in between the movie clips, and I think the music is really typical of a thriller trailer, its a good indicator of the genre.
What do you think are the strengths of our trailer?
This trailer really makes me want to watch the film, it kind of keeps you hooked, the camera angles were good and the music fits the theme very well.
What do you think are the weaknesses of our trailer?
The only weakness I can think of is just that its too long for a teaser trailer.

Audience member two:

How does our trailer remind you of others you have seen?
The use of the editing transitions made it look very professional, and also the other effects such as the colour contrasting etc.
What do you think are the strengths of our trailer?
I think the best bit is the way you matched the music up to the clips, like the knife bit, it looks really good.
What do you think are the weaknesses of our trailer?
The colour contrast could have been done better in the flash backs, because it makes the quality look bad, but i know that wasn't your fault it was just the programme you used.

Audience member three:

How does our trailer remind you of others you have seen?
The trailer reminded me of other thriller trailers with the same type of music and the bits with writing looked very professional, I thought the beginning with working title made it look just like other working title films.
What do you think are the strengths of our trailer?
The strengths of the trailer are how well the music worked with the shots building up tension at just the right moments. I also thought the writing shots with the black background and writing set a very good tone that ran throughout the trailer. I thought the background voice that was put over the top of the trailer worked really well making it sound like he was really near the person watching the trailer leading to a creepy effect that you wanted for a thriller film.
What do you think are the weaknesses of our trailer?
The weaknesses of the trailer could be that the fast moving shots could be confusing and you do have to concentrate to watch it, maybe another weakness could be that one shot was filmed in the school so it seemed only slightly out of place.

Audience member four:

How does our trailer remind you of others you have seen?
Good Suspense at the end...Leaves you thinking whats going to happen next!!!
What do you think are the strengths of our trailer?
The music fits in well with each scene, gives an eerie feeling about the film! The dip to white is quite funky :)
What do you think are the weaknesses of our trailer?
I think the Dip-to-White could maybe be a little bit more obvious between the flashback scenes

Lucy :)

EVALUATION - Today's Audience feedback

2010-03-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

As Rach and Nikki have mentioned in their posts below, today in our media lesson we did a group analysis of each of our trailers. This will be extremely beneficial for us as it enabled us to become aware of the elements of our trailer which were perhaps not so strong and the elements which were more successful for future reference. As well as recording our own account and analysis of our trailer to post on the blog, we also have a record of our audience feed back.

Lucy :)

EVALUATION - Evaluation task

2010-03-25T12:23:00.001-07:00

In class today we were filmed as we watched each others trailers and evaluated them.

We group was asked some of the following questions:

What was the idea's behind your film?

What does your marketing campaign plan to achieve?

Who is your target audience and why?

What are the strengths of you're trailer?

Some of the questions varied slightly but they were all based around these ideas. We were filmed answering these questions. I think our group did very well answering them, we told our class that we wanted to do a thriller genre teaser trailer that had a wider audience appeal, that our target audience although mainly male (16-25) that our film would also appeal to females as we focus on our female character in the trailer. We only mentioned one strength which was our editing, but we would have liked to say a bit more of what we liked and what we found more challenging.

The class then saw our trailer, after they had watched it they were asked the following questions:

What was good about the mise en scene?

What was good about the editing?

What did you think was most effective?

What would have made the trailer better?

The questions again varied slightly but were primarily based around these ideas. The feedback we got was mainly positive as the footage will show when it is posted, some of the comments about what we could improve where that our trailer was a bit long and that it had too much of a narrative for a teaser trailer, also our class mates thought we could of shown more settings. I think these comments are very valid.

Our marketing campaign:

One of the questions shown above was about our overall marketing campaign, this includes our teaser trailer, poster and magazine front cover. I think that overall our marketing campaign will be very effective, the teaser trailer included genre and narrative indicators which will attract an audience to our film. We plan for our poster too link closely with the trailer however as we are featuring our male character instead of our female character we think this will attract a wider audience than if we just showed one of the main characters. The way we plan to feature our male character on the magazine cover will further attract an audience as we plan to make our magazine look very professional therefore one 'good' films will be mentioned in it.

Rach.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Posters and Magazines

2010-03-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

As you can see, from these New Moon posters they show the main character Bella, with the two leading male characters, and in the one below with the other Cullen vampires as well. This shows the audience a hint of the location from the background, and who the narrative is centralised around. The title is in the same font and the largest text on the page, as it is a USP. It is placed near the bottom of the poster, with the date underneath.

As you can see from these magazines, they are similar to the poster in the fact that they again show the main character Bella with the two main leading male characters, or with either one of them. However, the pictures are taken of the actors themselves, not them in character. As with the posters as well the actors are all looking at the camera, which engages them to the consumers looking at the magazine covers. In these pictures they are not smiling, which shows they are serious about the films they are making. For the magazine covers, the pictures of the actors dominate the covers and the title of the film is also in large text and bright font to stand out and sell the magazine as a USP.

Nikki Stock

EVALUATION - Production Update

2010-03-25T10:53:00.000-07:00

Today in class we got feedback about our trailer. We got filmed answering questions about our trailer. These included:

What is the pitch for our trailer?
What are we trying to achieve in our marketing campaign?
Who is our target audience and why?
What were the strenghts of our trailer?

We shared our answers with our fellow classmates, then they watched our trailer. We asked them for feedback and they answered the following questions:

What was good about our trailer?
What could be improved?
How was the editing?
How were the shot types we used effective?
How was the mise-en-scene?
What were the questions left unanswered?

From their feedback we have learnt what we could have done to make our trailer even better and we learnt what they liked about it. This film footage will be uploaded onto our blog shortly.

Nikki Stock

EVALUATION - Our Trailer and Audience

2010-03-25T03:55:00.000-07:00

Target audience is the market segment which the film is aiming itself at. It is the group of people who would enjoy that types of film. Target audience can be defined by age, race, gender, and social class. The production company may want to know what the consumers general interests are, such as how they consume films, what they like to watch, where they buy films from etc. The production company would have to analyse the market and decide which segment they wish to aim their product at. For example a kids film at children aged 7-11 or horror film at young adults.

Our trailer is aimed at late teens, young adults. This is because it is a thriller genre, which involves romance, stalking and murder. We believe the teenagers would like our trailer as it shows the action and a reminiscent of romance. We hint the genre from the music playing from the soundtrack, as it tells the audience to feel scared and the shots of a character grabbing a large knife, with Megan frantically running around the house packing her bag, to escape. This will all appeal to the consumers and draw them into watching the whole film. It is very important to consider such elements to meet the target audiences expectations.

A production company would have to consider what techniques they would use and line of appeal to attract the audience. This includes types of editing and the clips shown, music etc. For our trailer we used quick editing and short clips of the action, ending on an enigmatic cliffhanger, to leave them wanting to solve the mystery. We used simple editing transitions, such as fade to blacks and dips to white. There are close up shots of the knife and scared facial expressions to hint to the audience that it is a thriller which they will enjoy.

There is a Uses and Gratification Theory we we have recently learnt about. This is where the audience watch trailer to be informed and educated, to be able to relate/ identify with the characters shown, to be entertained, enable themselves to socially interact with others to discuss what they have seen. And lastly, as escapism, to forget about their troubles and woes. Our trailer sticks to this theory as we do inform our audience about the narrative however, we end on a cliff hanger. They can identify with the main character Megan, by being scared of a boyfriend and the normal situations she is put in. They can escape their troubles, as Megan is in a worse position than they are in and it is entertaining as it ends with a dramatic enigma, leaving them wanting more.

Another theory is the hypodermic Needle Theory. This states that the audience responses are predictable, measurable and directly related to a specific media stimulus. There are two types of audience: the active audience who interact with the text (question it) and the passive audience who are injected with ideologies and just accept the presented versions of events the are feed. However this theory doesn't account for any complex emotional response which may occur.

Our trailer makes the audience react in certain ways from the way which we have edited our trailer together and the use of different shots. We have used close up shots of Megan's scared facial expressions which tells the audience they should be scared as well. When she gives up ad cries, the audience are supposed to feel sympathy for her. the music also tells them to feel scared as well as it builds up climaxes and our film ends with a single ring, then silence, telling the audience it is the end of something big.

There can also be a postmodern view on the audience. This is that everyone is different and we all react in different ways, so we cannot be defined.

Nikki Stock

EVALUATION - Media language

2010-03-24T14:26:00.001-07:00

We have been asked to analyse our trailer in terms of media language, I am going to write notes under the title of camera work, editing, mise en scene and sound.
Camera work:
These are notes I have made on the camera shots we have used in our trailer, I will go through the trailer, using bullet points, in chronological order and explain the choices we made and what effect the camera shots give.

• Our trailer shots with a CU of a bag on a kitchen table, a female puts an item into the bag in a rush, this already gives the impression that something in packing to go away somewhere or run away
• This cuts to a mid/CU over the shoulder shot of a female grabbing food items out of a cupboard, you can only see the back of the character, this adds enigma
• This then cuts to a mid shot looking at the character taking out food items from the right, it is also from a slightly high angle, the audience can now see her facial expression and therefore tell she is stressed, also the high angle suggests she is in some sort of trouble
• This then cuts back to the mid/CU over the shoulder shot, this is an example of a shot reverse shot
• There is then a change of setting, there is a long shot of the female character walking down a school corridor holding some books, she is walking towards the camera, at the end of the shot she drops her books
• Mid shot, high angle as the character picks up her books, a male arm comes into shot to help pick up the books – enigma as audience down not know who he is
• Mid shot over the shoulder of the female character, this shows the male characters face to the audience
• Caption – black screen
• There is then a high angle shot this shows the female character running in and out of room, this shows her confusion – she does not know where to go
• Mid shot, female character runs into shot – grabs passport then runs out again – know audience is clear she is running away
• Cuts to a long shot of female and male character having an ‘indoor picnic’
• Cuts to mid shot shows them laughing – this shows that at this point they are not taking themselves seriously – they are having fun
• Caption – black screen
• There is then two CU’s of the female character running up the stairs, only her legs are shown, this shows the panic of the character
• New setting in bedroom – CU as the characters grabs a top
• Mid shot – she puts the top into a bag – there are then other shots of her opening draws etc
• High angle shot – as voice over starts character stops moving – the voice over is like her remembering what he said to her – as the voice over is over a high angle shot it is almost like the male character is looking down on her and making her vulnerable
• Cuts to a mid shot of both characters on the sofa – female turns to male and says always – is a carry on from the voice over
• Shot of sofa from the right side – show happy couple – audience will be able to relate
• There is then an establishing shot of the bedroom to show the audience that the trailer is back there – female characters runs past the camera and out of the room
• Caption –black screen
• High angle CU of a man (audience will think it is the male character that was shown) getting a kitchen knife slowly out of a draw – he holds it for a second before taking it out of the shot
• Long shot of female character running down the stairs and into the kitchen – she puts bag down on the table- again the pace se is moving shows she is panicking
• Mid shot slightly high angle of her as she opens a draw and reaches for a pen knife – holds it for a second before moving it out of shot (like what the male character did)
• Mid shot – shows character running round the table and grabbing the bag – there is the sound of a door knock
• Mid shot of door
• Cuts back to a closer mid shot of character from the right side – phone ring – show her reaction
• CU of mobile phone
• Back to original mid shot – character at the left side of the screen – looking from door to phone – puts her hand over her mouth then sinks to the floor
• RUNAWAY 2011 appears on a black screen
Editing:
The editing is very fast pace, this shows the panic of the female character as she is running round the house, we have cut together a varied number of shots from different angles – at some points it almost looks as if someone is watch the characters this will add to the enigma of the film. Between each shot we have a fade to black, however between the present shots and the flashback sequences we have put in a fade to white – this makes the transition look like a flash and tells the audience that they are jumping around in time. When editing we changed the colour contrast of the flash back shots, this makes them look almost as if they came from a dream as they are very pale. We used three captions in the trailer each caption is on a black screen and the colour of the words are white with a red glow – the red tells the audience that the characters are in danger and that there could be bloodshed in the film. The content of the captions also give away a lot about the narrative of the film. The added working title logo at the beginning makes the trailer look more professional. The last black screen has the title of the film on it, we wanted to use a different font for this, we choose one that was slanted so the text looked as if it was ‘running away’ as this font is black but it has a white glow this makes the text stand out. The release date (2011) is in the same font as the captions. We were careful with the editing so we could make it match up with the soundtrack therefore as the soundtrack builds up so does the intensity of the trailer.
Mise en scene:
We used everyday familiar settings for our film, a family home and a school; we did this because we wanted the audience to relate to the setting. Also we found in horror films they are a lot scarier when you can imagine it happening to you, or when something bad happens in a place that you should feel safe in. The costumes we chose help the audience make decisions about the characters, the female character wears bright colours and is at one point wearing white – this tells the audience that she is a happy innocent person. The male character however always wears dark clothing this suggests to the audience that maybe he cannot be trusted. The main props we used where the bag, the books which were dropped and the two knifes. The books where used as a way of introducing the characters, the bag shows that the female character is running away (shows narrative) and the use of the knifes was a good way of showing the genre.
Sound:
We have used one soundtrack throughout the trailer; the soundtrack adds tension and puts the audience on edge. We made sure that the sound track matched the shots so for example when the male character gets the knife out of the draw the soundtrack is at its loudest. We decided to use a voice over as we thought it was a good way to link the flash back sequences with the present shots. Having it over the top of a high angle shot was very effective. We used two sound effects in the trailer, the door knock and the phone ring; we repeated the door knock a number of times and made it faster to make it sound more urgent. The phone ring and the door knock over lap each other this makes the character feel like she cannot escape, even after the shot ends and the soundtrack fades the phone ring is still present as the title of the film appears.

Rach.

EVALUATION - Audience and our trailer more detail - hypodermic needle theory

2010-03-24T14:25:00.000-07:00

As I said in a previous post I am going to look at in detail the two theories we studied in class, in the last post I looked at the use and gratification theory, in this post I will look at the Hypodermic Needle Theory:

The hypodermic needle theory includes the following points:

That we don't choose what we want to watch, we are told what to think
Passive audience is inflected with ideologies
The audience is a passive mass who will immediately accept the presented version of events

The problem with this theory is that it doesn't take into account complex emotional responses that can occur.

This theory relates to our trailer a lot as we are telling the audience to feel a certain way towards the characters. As our trailer focuses on our female character this theory will relate most to women watching it, the shots we have used, the soundtrack and the body language/facial expressions of the character tell the audience she is frightened. The shot which is looking down on her makes her look vulnerable and the fact that the voice over is put over the top makes it seem as if the male character is looking down on her. It could also make the audience feel has if they are looking down on her and that they are more powerful than she is. This might make them feel even more sorry for her and as if they should be looking after her (males and females). This concern for her well being will persuade the audience to go and see the film as then they will know what happens to her.

However women who has been in an abusive relationship might react stronger towards our trailer than women who have not, as our trailer insinuates that it is her boyfriend who is hurting our female character. This means that some are more likely to get emotionally involved than others, women who would not be able to relate to the situation may not emphases with the character as much.

Rach.

EVALUATION - Audience and our trailer more detail - gratification theory

2010-03-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

As I send in my previous post I am going to look at the two theories we studied in class in more detail. In this post I am going to discuss the Use and Gratification Theory.

The use and gratification theory has five main points these are:

To be informed and educated by the film
To be able to identify with characters and situations
To be entertained by the film
To enable themselves to socially interact with others
to be able to escape from their daily troubles and woes

In our film we have tried to have relatable settings in order to make our target audience identify with our film. The everyday settings we used were, a school/university and a family home, this will also help the audience feel more emotionally involved as these places (especially at home) are places in which you should feel safe. Women will also be able to identify with our female character, this may attract them to go and see the film. The captions we have used inform the audience about the narrative of the film and the soundtrack also informs them of the genre. Our trailer is entertaining as the soundtrack and the camera shots link extremely well together and therefore as the soundtrack builds the shots get more intense, this makes the audience more on edge and attracts them to the film is they like films of the thriller genre. I think our film can distract people from their daily troubles as this female character is probably in a worse position than them so they will emphasise with her and forget their troubles :)

Rach.

EVALUATION - Shots of our teaser trailer

2010-03-24T08:48:00.000-07:00

Shot 1 - Over the shoulder shot of female protagonist. This aims to put the viewer at the scene and be able to relate to them. The frantic packing gives the audience a sense of urgency and this close up is important to set the speed. The location isn't made clear at this time however from the cupboard door and food stuffs, it can be assumed at this point that the location is at a home. Active readers of narrative may already be questioning what's going on.

Shot 2 - Again, another over the shoulder shot, primarily used to introduce what the viewer considers the antagonist. For the same reasons above, it's to place the audience in the female's shoes. The location has differed to that in the previous shot, suggesting a time difference. This is also reflected in the light differences between the shots.

Shot 3 - The crisp white lettering with a blood red outline connotes purity against evil. The white is almost engulfed in red and acts as a subtle hint to the genre. (Genre indicator)

Shot 4 - During this scene we see that the protagonist is anxious and panicky due to the flashbacks that occur. The clothing that she wears is casual to tell the audience that she's likely to be making a quick escape. We used this scene to give a clearer understanding for the audience - that she is thinking back to happier times. These are represented in the brightly lit shots.

Shot 5 - As mentioned above, this flashback is used to create enigma. What's actually real? Is this dangerous character in the present? Between these shots of light and dark, we include a flash to signify a difference. From light to dark, dark to light. Why are the brightly lit scenes showing a sense of danger? Active audiences will question these conventions as they are different to what is usually shown

Shot 6 - Quirky, wonky-angled camera work again reinforces the sense of enigma and dystopia. Things aren't quite right. The safety of a home almost seems breached because of this.

Shot 7 - Wide shot of the kitchen with dim lights. The room has been shrouded in a dark light as we finally seen the vulnerability of the protagonist.

Shot 8 - Again, another wonky angle, this time of the door. At this scene the door is knocking and the phone is ringing to create tension and anxiety for the protagonist. The camera angle as well as the music and sound effects generate a sense of danger and claustrophobia.

Shot 9 - As the phone and door continue to make noise, the screen fades out into the title. It's at this time that the narrative is made a little clearer - the girl's aim is to runaway from home, her sanctuary. No music plays, just the frightening sounds that impede upon the protagonist. We used this to create a cliffhanger of sorts. What happens? Does the girl truly escape? These sounds act as a lasting thought, made memorable through their significance.

Overall, from just this small selection of shots, I'd say we did a very good job at creating the scene, presenting just a little narrative and already having the audience question exactly what is going on. For thriller buffs, the ending title 'Runaway' will pose questions for them with the composition and ambiguity. The sound effects continue to play, even after the video shots implying that they will continue to ring until the individual watching finally views the film for the answer. Of course, there are parts we could have edited a little better such as the trimming of some scenes. However, it's after we composed the whole film did we realise these little errors. The music matched perfectly with the shots, so it was difficult to even think of cropping those shots.

-Dale

EVALUATION - Our trailer ~ Media Language

2010-03-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

Camera work...

In terms of camera work we attempted to use it to influence the audience's view of the characters. We used constant high angle shots to show Jen as the weak and vulnerable character, and low angle shots to show Raf as being powerful and in command. This effect also helps the audience to see the villain from the victims point of view, as by viewing him from a low angle, he appears intimidating and frightening. The shots in the flashbacks are on a level view so that the characters seem to be of an equal position. They understand each other better and are both in equal power, it is only when Eric's character "changes" that Megan becomes intimidated and the camera angles change. A lot of the views on Megan running around the house packing her bag to escape are of a high angle, again to show her as weak and vulnerable and reflect her emotionally unstable state. For the shot of the knife being removed from the drawer we used a close up shot to show the significance of the weapon and to make it clear that it is him who is holding the knife. The last camera angle is positioned on an even level, however at the end of the shot Jen sinks down into the bottom of the screen, showing that she has lost any control of the situation that she had and is now completely helpless.

Editing...

In terms of editing we tried to make the transitions between shots very significant. Fade to blacks represent the cuts between shots in the bag-packing scenes, showing that they are dark times and representing how scared she is. It also mirrors the darkness of Eric's character. The dip to whites however reflect the goodness and purity of Megan's character and also mark the transitions which lead to flashbacks. The white of the flash shows how these were happier times and the fact that it appears to be an actual flash makes the flashback that much more effective. We tried to edit all of the bad backing shots together and make them shot to help it flow. Each shot is only a few seconds to keep up the pace and mirror the action of the narrative. We also edited the flashback images by changing the contrast to make them feel brighter and more cheerful.

Sound...

The music which we chose was fast paced and racy. This is to mirror the fast movement of the narrative and also of the characters as Megan is seen rushing around the house frantically packing her bag. The music adds to the tension and we specifically matched the climax of the music with the most dramatic shot, the knife scene, so as to add to the tension, the past pace cuts off exactly as the next shot cuts in, emphasising the transition. The beat of the music almost sounds like a ticking clock, adding again to the tension. The sound effects which we edited in were specifically chosen to add to the spookiness, and we emphasised the sound on the door knocking for example with the intention of making the audience jump.

Mise-en-scene...

In terms of Mise-en-scene the trailer can also be analysed in terms of several aspects. For example the lighting remains very dark for most of the shots, representing the darkness of the villain and also the darkness of the plot. The shadows created by this effect imply that there is something hiding in the darkness. We carefully chose the costumes of our characters to mirror their personalities, for example Raf's costume is very dark and overpowering, whereas Jen is dressed more in light colours and is more dressed up in the time when she is happy, and trying to impress Raf than in the time when she is scared, in which she is practically dressed in a plane t-shirt and jeans with her hair tied back.

Lucy :)

EVALUATION - Our trailer ~ The Hyperdermic Needle theory

2010-03-24T08:42:00.002-07:00

You don't choose what to watch you are TOLD what to think....

The music and shots which we used in our trailer were chosen specifically to tell the audience how to feel. The dramatic and pace building music builds tension and makes the audience feel on edge. The shots which are edited to be short and run into each other smoothly make the trailer run quickly, adding to the fast pace, this makes the audience feel as though the narrative is moving quickly and this causes an adrenaline rush, making it seem exiting. The characters reaction also tells the audience how they should be feeling as a result of the events shown to them and also causes them to feel emotions such as empathy and pity, and also hate and resentment.

The passive audience is injected with Ideologies....
This means the audience is seen as a passive mass who will immediately accept the presented version of events....

This point can be easily related to our trailer in that the audience are told to sympathise with the female character, representing her as the victim, when in actual fact after watching the film, it could be revealed that Eric is the one suffering.

Problem with this theory - it doesn't account for the complex emotional responses that can occur....

Depending on the member of the audience, everyone could react differently to the story line. Those who may have been in Megan's position may have a different reaction to those who haven't and wont understand the story line in as much detail.

Lucy :)

EVALUATION - Our trailer ~ Use and Gratifications theory

2010-03-24T08:42:00.001-07:00

We watch and view texts to be informed and educated...

Our trailer informs the audience of the narrative of our film. It lets the audience know the genre of the film and so also the target audience. This helps the audience to know if it is the right film for them. The trailer also tells the audience about the characters, their backgrounds, feelings and emotions, and also the story which they are about to tell. Our teaser represents our characters as stereotypes, helping the audience to easily understand them and relate to their situations.

To identify with characters and situations...

Depending on the person our trailer can be related to in many different ways. For example we have included both male and female leads to appeal to both genders, and have put them in relateable situations. The setting of the film is easily representative of the audiences homes, as we purposefully set it in a typical family home. We also ensured that we included a setting of a school/university as well to make it more varied and just as identifiable to anyone who could not relate to the family home situation.

To be entertained...

This feature entirely depends on the audience member. However since our trailer is specifically tailored for an audience who will enjoy thrillers we hope that this will be the only people watching, and they will therefor be entertained rather than bored/terrified.

To enable themselves to socially interact with others....

This is a film which can be easily enjoyed in the company of others. The story line, being slightly complex, is open for discussion and interpretation.

To escape from their daily troubles and woes....

The film can be enjoyable for those with a hectic lifestyle who can sit back and enjoy the narrative. It can also be enjoyed by those who also have a problem or issue as they can relate to the main character as by seeing that her trouble is worse than theirs could make them feel better and relaxed.

Lucy :)

EVALUATION - Our trailer ~ Audience

2010-03-24T08:16:00.000-07:00

I believe that the target audience of our production is generally teenagers and young adults. we specifically selected a male villain and a female victim so that the whole of the audience will have someone to relate to. Clearly our trailer is aimed at fans of thrillers, which is why a younger age group is possibly more appropriate, however i think in terms of race, gender, social class etc. our trailer is suitable for all. After establishing the target audience of our trailer we needed to make sure that we were clear of their likes and dislikes and what would be more appealing to them before actually beginning the planning of the film. We therefore conducted several surveys and questionnaires, using both Facebook and by finding volunteers and interviewing them, to find out exactly what the audience wanted. We also analysed a selection of trailers and marketing campaigns in order to get an idea of the market which was already available, look at its strongest and weakest aspects, and adapt our planning accordingly. It was also important, as well as hearing from our audience what they like/buy/watch, what they thought of films which had already been released, what they believed were the best and worst aspects of thrillers before we started filming our own.

We hope that our production will appeal to our target audience for a number of reasons. Firstly we have tried to make it very clear that this is a thriller, and have therefore indicated the age at which the film is aimed. The fact that the main characters are also teenagers/young adults suggests that this is the age of the audience we would be expecting to come and see the film. We have attempted to adapt the trailer in such a way that the techniques we use will attract the intended target audience. We have used elements from other thriller trailers which we have analysed, for example the dramatic flash-transitions and the dramatic music, as an indicator of the genre and theme, and so hopefully also an indicator of our target market. Other techniques which we have used are the shot shots which are shown, as the younger teen aged audience possibly has a shorter attention span, and the action of the flash shots adds to the drama and tension. The fade to blacks in between the shots also suggest fear, danger and mystery, mirroring the narrative and so reflecting the genre and target audience.

Lucy :)

EVALUATION - Production progress

2010-03-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we spent several hours starting of the editing of our Poster. We started by transferring the image of Raf which we had selected into Adobe photoshop before we began experimenting with it. As we already had our plans of what we were hoping it would look like it was not difficult to transfer them to the screen. However, each point takes much discussion as we wanted to ensure that we would all be happy with the final product. We are therefore spending a lot of time making the poster and have so far only managed to construct the skeleton of the poster without adding n any final modifications. We have successfully managed to darken one side of the characters face using bother the blurring and darkening/burn tools, and have also managed to adjust the background to the desired amount of shading in order to have half of the poster light and half dark as we had planned, for this we used the gradient tool. This however, took a lot longer than we had planned as we wanted to be very precise about how the overall effect would look.

Secondly we decided to edit the knife into the shot. This process went well however we had to scrap our original plan to have a glisten on blood along the blade, after making several attempts at it we eventually gave it up as a lost cause as, each effect we tried was unsuccessful at giving the desired effect and it looked better without. However, if we had more time to complete this project we would certainly spend longer over finding the right tool and following our original plan.

We then added in the credits at the bottom of the screen, using an image from Google to add in at the bottom to match the dark background of the poster, we had already decided that the background should be black and the text white. We then added in the names of the actor and actress in the top left and right hand corners, Raf's in black on the light side, and Jen's in white on the dark side. During free periods and time after school over the next two weeks we plan to make the finishing touches and complete the magazine cover.

We encountered several problems whilst constructing the poster. One, as i mentioned above, was that we had to change our original ides of adding a glisten of red to the knife edge. Another was that the image which we had chosen was only a certain size and, as we wished to cut it down dramatically, the final image had to remain very small as if we were to stretch it it would become pixalated. This means that our poster will be a lot smaller than we anticipated. However we do not need to print the poster so this should not become an issue, we will just need to ensure that it is readable and clear when printed on the blog, I believe we should do this be taking a print screen of the poster whilst we are zoomed in on photoshop, so we can paste this image onto the blog effectively. We had also planned to edit our the bow tie which he is wearing, as we did not think it was in-keeping with the genre of our film. However, using the darkening tool to do this had a strange effect on the image, and blurring it reduced the overall quality of the poster. We over came this issue by concluding to cut the image off slightly higher than originally planned, and using the gradient darkening tool to fade out the remainder of the bow tie into darkness. This gives an overall polished effect and we were all pleased with the result. We are looking forward to our next editing session.

Lucy :)

EVALUATION - Our Trailer and Media Language

2010-03-24T03:35:00.000-07:00

Here is an analysis of our trailer in terms of media language.

Camera Work:
Our trailer starts with a medium close-up of our character Megan packing food into her bag. We then have an over-the-shoulder shot of her grabbing food from the cupboard. This makes the audience feel as though they are there, watching her from behind. Our next shot is a high angle shot, looking down onto Megan, to make her look small and inferior as she is drastically trying to escape from a higher power. We cut back to an OTS shot. For our flashback sequence of Megan walking down the corridor we have a long shot, to establish the location she is in, to create a sense of familiarity with the audience. We the have a high angle shot of Megan as she bends down to pick up her books. As she meets the other main character, Eric, who bends down to her level, creating equality, there is another OTS shot. Back in the present day, we have a high angle shot of Megan, running around her house, into different rooms. We took this shot from the stairs, to gain the height necessary to portray her vulnerability and it was a long shot, so the audience can see what she is doing in the full environment. We then have a medium shot of her opening a draw, to grab her passport. With the next flashback sequence we decided to have a long shot to establish the setting and to make the audience feel as though they are an outsider looking in on the two characters date. We cut to a medium shot so the audience gets a better feel for what they are doing. As Megan runs up the stairs we thought it would be effective to have a low angle shot from within the stairs bars, to create a dramatic effect. Throughout the bedroom scene we used a variety of shots. We used close-ups to see what she was packing, and her scared reaction to a noise she hears. Long shots to show her rushing out of the room and high angle shots to show her vulnerability. For another flashback scene we used the medium shot and cut to a long shot,m to show their intimacy. When Eric goes to the kitchen draw we used a close up so the audience can clearly see the weapon he is choosing. When Megan grabs her pen-knife we use a medium shot. There is a long shot of the front door when the knock happens to show the audience what is happening. As the phone then rings we cut to a medium shot of Megan so that we can see her reaction. There is a close up of the phone ringing so the audience can see that Eric is calling her. It cuts back to the medium long shot of her against the cupboard not knowing what to do, then she gives up and slides down the side, crying.

Editing:
In our trailer we used many editing transitions of fade to black and dip to white to portray the going into the evil present and the innocent past flashbacks. The fade to black transitions make the audience apprehensive about what is about to come next, and the dip to white make the audience feel as though they are going back in time to a dream like flashback. In the trailers which we analysed we took a note of how they would cut from scene to scene and the use of flashbacks were included in a lot of trailers. From our original filming footage we had about ten minutes worth, which we had to cut down to approx 1.50 mins. This is because we took many shots from different angles in order to be able to chose from the best ones. We kept our editing simple as not to take away the focus of the action occurring in our trailer. We were able to contrast the scenes of the flashbacks to make a clear difference between the present and past.

Mise-en-scene:
Our trailer had one dominant location, which was the normal family house, to represent realism and the school corridor. This shows that our film has different settings and they are familiar so the audience can recognise them and with scary events happening in such normal settings makes the film more scary. Our characters wear normal modern clothes such as jeans, t.shirts and shorts to represent modernism. It is also easier to relate to things you recognise. The props we used were a backpack for Megan to stuff full of food and clothes. We used a passport, mobile phone, books, picnic food, knives etc, which are familiar to the audience and create realism. Throughout our filming we didn't really focus much on lighting as it wasn't too much of a problem, but whilst filming we did have to make the rooms as bright as possible as then seen through the camera it is much darker.

Sound:
For our trailer we had to find a non-copyrighted song which we went on the website Freeplay.com for. This had many non-copyright sings on and we chose one called Abducted which suited our trailers atmosphere perfectly. We were able to match it up to the actions, but it fitted so well we didn't have to. It was perfect as it started off quietly and built up a crescendo, creating the climax of the major events happening in our trailer. The music is a very important aspect of the trailer as it tells the audience how to feel an ours tells the audience that they should be scared, and apprehensive. We also used the same website to find sound effects of a phone ring and a knock at the door. We included a line of dialogue for each of our characters to show the audience how much they loved each other. Eric says "do you promise to stay with me forever?" and in another clip Megan replies "always." This creates a creepy effect as Eric whispers his lines, and Megan replies just as there is a screeching sound in the soundtrack. We built up layers of the audio track to make the trailer more interesting, scary and realistic.

Nikki Stock

EVALUATION - Audience and our trailer

2010-03-23T09:15:00.007-07:00

These are the notes we made in a media lesson relating to audience and our film:

We were asked to consider the following questions:

Who is the target audience for the production? Define by age, race, gender, social class etc
Why will the production appeal to the target audience?
What techniques and lines of appeal has the production used to attract the target audience?
What uses and gratifications will the target audience set from the production?

For the first question we thought there was other things to consider apart from age, race, gender and social class. Sexuality, occupation and general interests where the ones we thought of. By general interest we mean what hobbies the person has, what type of films do they like (which ones would they see in the cinema and which ones would they actually buy), what magazines they read, how often they watch TV etc. We thought that these things were important for a production company to consider when deciding their target audience.

Our target audience varies, if we were to generalise our audience then our target audience would be males from the ages of 16 and 25. We thought these ages are appropriate as our film is not for children and it stars young adults so they would be able to identify with the characters. We have found that generally males prefer thrillers and horror films to females and as our film is not pretending to be 'ground breaking' or a 'classic' it is probable that an older audience will be less interested especially because of the young characters. However as we have a female main character and she is what is focused on in the trailer this may attract a female audience, we also show romantic scenes which will attract a different audience as it shows a different genre. This makes our film appeal to couples also.

For the second question we considered; context, sound, costume, casting and camera shots. In our trailer the sound track is a main feature as it builds tension and shows clearly the genre of the film. The sound track also adds mystery, this is good has we have found enigma is an effective part of a teaser trailer. We chose our costumes carefully, we made sure Megan always wore bright colours and in one scene she wears white this portrays her to be a happy innocent character. Eric however is always seen in dark colours this tells the audience that they might not be able to trust him. For casting we chose Jen as she had worked with us before and we knew of her acting talent, she is able to look very afraid and vulnerable which we needed for our trailer. We asked Raf to be in our trailer as in some ways he is the perfect villain, he is a lot taller than Jen so can look dominant and he is also an actor so he is able to look menacing and do the 'sideways smile' or 'crook-ed smile' which is often seen in films when someone has done something wrong but which they are proud of. The two of them also work together a lot at school and show they were able to act brilliantly with each other. I think our casting chooses have worked out very well for our trailer. We made sure we had shots of the camera looking down on Megan to make her seem vulnerable, there is a high angle shot of her as the voice over starts, this makes it almost seem as Eric is looking down on her, he is the one making her vulnerable. I think these things will appeal to our target audience as they show clearly the genre of the film, give away some characteristics of the characters and the narrative.

For the third question the answers are much the same as the second. One main part of our trailer I think will attract our target audience is the way the soundtrack is linked to the shots, this makes our trailer flow a lot better and allows the audiences emotions to build as the soundtrack does. The captions we used also will attract an audience as they some some of the narrative but still leave a lot of unanswered questions.

The forth question relates to the gratification theory, we studied to theories in that lesson the gratification one and the hypodermic needle theory. I am going to discuss these theories is separate posts so I will be able to go over them in more detail. Both of these theories relate to our trailer.

Rach.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Magazine cover

2010-03-23T09:15:00.005-07:00

This is a rough outline of what we plan to do with out magazine front cover, we would like to have the title at the top and we think that Empire is the perfect title to choose as it is a bright colour so will stand out from the mainly black and white image. We will make the top of Raf's head go behind the title but as I said this is just a rough outline. We might change to background to grey but we have not decided yet. To the right of the image we will have text which relates to the image, this may mention an interview or the films nominations - this would link it with the characters costume. To the left would be text about what else will be featured in the magazine, we plan to mention three other films and might include articles about, for example top 25 films of the year or a competition. Underneath this will will have one or two small images relating to the films above. Lastly we will put a bar code on the cover and maybe a price under the title.

I think when this is finished it will look very effective and professional.

Rach

EVALUATION - Poster

2010-03-23T09:15:00.003-07:00

As I have send below we have come across some problems with the sizing of our poster and I also mentioned it's progress:

We first cut the image just below the shoulders, we then darkened the right side of the image by using the 'burn' tool, are next task was to change half of the background to black (or a very dark brown). We then added a black rectangle onto the bottom of the poster and added credits onto this, we blurred the edges to make it look professional. We then cut the knife out of Nikki's original image, we cropped it and played around with having blood on it. However we could not find the right sort of blood splatter what would make it look realistic. We also used a toll call gradient colour, and with this we made it look as if light was shining from behind our main character with black fading to white on the right and grey fading to white on the left.
Now we need to add in the actors names, title, tag line and release date - we will have to use the fonts and colours carefully for these.

I made this example of what we have done so far on paint, the shadow on the right side of his face is obviously more extreme and the background colours are only there to give you an idea of what we are trying to achieve. This is a very rough out line.

We will had in the actors names at the top right and left corners one will be in white and one will be in black, we would like to have the surnames larger than the first names as I have found this to be a common feature on film posters. The title will go across the knife with the tag line underneath it, we would like these fonts to have a glow to them like we had on our trailer. The release date will go underneath the credits.

Rach.

EVALUATION - What we have done today

2010-03-23T09:15:00.001-07:00

In today's lesson we started making our poster. We copied the image we had chosen into photo shop, however we did encounter a problem, as we had copied the image from face book the quality was not very could and the size of the image was very small, We are unable to enlarge the image without ruining the quality of the imagine. So we are having to work on it zoomed it and it will end up being a very small poster, but as we don't need to print it it shouldn't be too much of a problem, but we will need to find a way to copy it will it is zoomed in otherwise the text and the details may not show up.

We first cut the image just below the shoulders, we then darkened the right side of the image by using the 'burn' tool, are next task was to change half of the background to black (or a very dark brown). We then added a black rectangle onto the bottom of the poster and added credits onto this, we blurred the edges to make it look professional. We then cut the knife out of Nikki's original image, we cropped it and played around with having blood on it. However we could not find the right sort of blood splatter what would make it look realistic. We also used a toll call gradient colour, and with this we made it look as if light was shining from behind our main character with black fading to white on the right and grey fading to white on the left.

I am pleased with the process we have made so far, next time we hope to had in the actors names, title, tag line and release date - we will have to use the fonts and colours carefully for these. Then we can move on to the magazine front cover.

Rach

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - What I have learnt from analysing magazine covers

2010-03-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

From analysing a variety of different magazine covers, I can clearly see the common features used are used and that we should incorporate into our film magazine cover.

I have seen that many covers, have one dominating picture in the middle of the page, or just to the side, with text and/ or smaller pictures to the side. There is always text at the top of the cover, to sell it to the target audience, and key features of what is included in the magazine at the bottom and the side of the cover. They usually have specific colour schemes to make their USP's stand out and attract attention from the other competing magazines. The title of the magazine is the largest text on the page, and stands out by being a bright colour. It usually covers the width of the page, and may have an image covering part of it.

The bar code is at the side or bottom corner of the cover as it is unimportant from what the magazine is trying to sell. The price has to be shown on all products and the date of the issue is usually next to the bar code or near the title of the magazine, to inform the consumers when it was released.

Overall, all magazines differ in their lay out and as a group we have planned how we wish to lay out our cover.

Nikki Stock

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Magazine Cover Analysis

2010-03-22T06:27:00.000-07:00

As you can see this is a kids magazine cover. This is very different from the previous film magazines analysed as it has a montage of many different teen celebrities. The title of the magazine cover is in the corner and is in bright pick font to make it stand out. At the top of the magazine cover is an advertisement for 25 free posters, which can encourage the consumers to buy it. It has many pictures around the edge of the cover, with text underneath each, describing the key feature linked. There are captions in the middle of the cover describing what will be in the magazine. The bar code is in the bottom left of the magazine so it is out of the way of the main USP's. This magazine cover is full of vibrant colours, with a light blue background, yellow colour outlines some pictures at the bottom of the page, pink, blue and purple text. This makes the cover very attractive and eye-catching.

Overall, this is very different from the more adult film magazines, as it is aimed at a younger audience. Our magazine cover will be aimed at late teenagers so we have to layout our magazine and include different features to attract our audience.

Nikki Stock

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Examples of Magazine Covers

2010-03-22T06:24:00.000-07:00

Here is an example of many famous American magazine covers. They are all similarly layed out, with one main photo, and text along the outside.

Nikki and Rach

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Film Magazine Analysis

2010-03-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

This is another different magazine cover. As the main USP of this cover, there is a large picture of Johnny Deep, which takes up 3/4 of the page. As you can see he isn't in character. This shows that there is an interview of him as himself and this is just as attractive than him in one of his characters. However, in our magazine cover, we are going to have Raf as his character, because the audience would know him as Eric not Raf. He is engaging directly with the audience, by smiling at them. The title of the magazine is the largest text and written in bubble writing. As with many other magazines, part of the title is covered up by the picture. The text is all on the left hand side with the picture dominating the right. At the top of the cover is a tag line saying 'The movie Bible since 1950.' This can entice the audience into reading this magazine as it has been around for many years and saying it is the Bible shows that many people can look to it for guidance. The main colour scheme for this cover is blue, with the text in white, to contrast it from other magazines.

Nikki Stock

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Details... images

2010-03-22T04:11:00.001-07:00

For the images used in each of our products we plan to keep it very simple. The only images used in the poster will be that of Raf, edited for the light and dark effect, and the one of the knife, which will be cut out and placed just below the image of Raf, separating him from the credits.

For the magazine cover we also plan to use only two images. The main image will be of our male lead villain, who will take up the majority of the page, and we have also decided to position a smaller image linked to one of the other features near to the bottom of the page. This second image will not be large enough to detract from our film, but will be clearly visible to add more depth to the cover, we have discussed using an image from Avatar for this, related to the final one of our extra features shown on the cover.

Lucy :)

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Details... colour scheme

2010-03-22T04:09:00.000-07:00

For the colour scheme of our poster and magazine cover we have decided that we should keep the background of each very dark. This is because this will make the main features stand out and will draw attention to the smaller articles down the side of the page which would otherwise have blended in with the background. We are still undecided as to whether or not we will use the title of "Empire" or "Film" or whether we will simply make one up ourselves. However, if we do make a title ourselves then we will also have to come up with a tag line. The title should be displayed in vibrant and bold colours so as to ensure that it is the main focus of the page. For our Poster we plan to make the background a very dark black which will fade into the picture. This effect will hopefully make sure that the image seems more intimidating and mysterious, as part of it will be hidden and therefore be indecipherable. On the magazine cover however, since in the photo which we have chosen to use to represent our character he is wearing a black suit, we will need to make the background slightly paler in order for him to show up. We may decide to used the technique of freezing an image from the film for the setting and putting this as the background by blurring it slightly to show that he is the focus. This could also represent how our other character would see him, as she sees that the surroundings are irrelevant as her only aim is to remain focused on him. We have also discussed the idea of using a grey background around the edge of the character, possibly having a light shining from behind him to make him show up more, as used in the Harry Potter magazine cover several posts down.

Lucy :)

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Details... font

2010-03-22T03:07:00.000-07:00

There are several details of our poster and magazine cover which cannot be clearly seen in my rough sketches shown below. We intentionally did not add in too many specific details when constructing these examples, as we plan to experiment with the finer details when editing the poster and magazine. As you can see below Rachel has commented on my posts of the sketches mentioning that we need to find the right images which will go with our magazine cover. I have been experimenting with a variety of fonts, and these are some which i think could work well with the overall image of our magazine cover and poster ...

All three of these fonts are similar to that which we used for the title at the end of our trailer, as we have been discussing the idea of using the same image. I have also been testing what each of these would look like in red...

...as this would fit well with the image of danger related with our thriller. I think that firstly we will experiment with transferring the title image from our trailer to our poster and magazine cover, However, if we are unable to do this, we could simply retype this title in a similar font and alter its appearance with the various tools on Photoshop, the glowing effect may possibly be effective for this image. We used a glowing red effect for our release date in the trailer and this came across as very effective, mirroring the mysterious narrative of our film.

Lucy :)

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - plans :)

2010-03-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

Lucy has posted below the rough plans we have made for our poster and magazine cover which we decided in a lesson. I think these plans show clearly what we plan to do (especially as Lucy is good at art), they are also very helpful as they give us something to follow and make sure we stay on the right track. We know what we plan to do now we just need to find the right photos which express certain genre indicators for our film and make the text which will go on our magazine cover. We need to think of a tag line still, in previous posts we have put down our ideas, in our next lesson we will discuss these ideas and hopefully come up with a catching tag line with will give away the genre, parts of the narrative and which will attract an audience to come and see the film. Some magazines also have tag lines, we will have to think up a tag line for the cover too if we choose it. We may make up a film magazine name or we might use one which already exists, we are still undecided.

Rach.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Rough magazine cover plan

2010-03-21T13:24:00.001-07:00

This is the plan our our magazine cover which after much discussion a few lessons ago, I drew up as our final plan,however, This is only a rough draft as we have now all completed some further research. I suspect that, during the development of our final piece on "Adobe Photoshop", we will continuously refer back to the blog and perfect the finer details of this piece using the information I have recently summarised over a series of posts.

Lucy :)

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Rough Poster plan

2010-03-21T13:03:00.000-07:00

This is a scan of the plan for our poster which I drew up during one of our media lessons after we had concluded what the finished piece should look like. This is only a rough draft however, and final details may be altered during the editing process.

Lucy :)

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - what we should include in our magazine front cover

2010-03-21T08:44:00.001-07:00

From looking at some film magazine front covers I have come to the following conclusions:

We should have one main image, probably of one character as it is simple but effective - an audience will still be able to recognise the film

The image should be large

The body language of the character in the image should give away some of the films genre - or if it is a picture of the actor it should be still some how related to the film or the film industry

The title of the magazine should be large and stand out from the rest of the text

A bar code should be present

Although some magazines didn't have it I think it is important that our magazine advertises what else will be featured in it and also have some text relating to the image
We may also include a smaller image relating to what else is featured in the magazine

I will look at some more film magazine front covers so that I can gain more information about what our magazine cover should include.

Rach.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Our magazine cover should include ... further analysis

2010-03-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Earlier on I added a post discussing what features i have concluded that our magazine cover should include based on my analysis of many other covers. Since then i have analysed several more and have discovered several more interesting features.

Other magazines which i have analysed often include the rule of three in their covers. This is a catchy way of leaving information in the readers mind and leads facts on from one another, linking various features together.

I have also noted that some of the covers use a blurred image of the films setting as a background, this is to let the audience know more about the film and possibly give them an insight into the films narrative. By putting the character shown in a setting they add depth to the cover and make it more interesting, also making the image seem more realistic, rather than like a photo shoot.

It also may be a good idea to include several smaller images of other features on the cover. This makes the page look more busy when on the shelf and adds interest and depth to other features of the magazine, appealing to those members of the audience who may not be so interested in the main feature.

The bar code should be shown at either the side of the foot of the magazine, so as not to draw attention, and the price should be clearly visible but in a small font, possibly near to the title.

Any advertisements should be placed near the top of the page for maximum visibility when on the shelf, if they are free then this should be announced in large capital letters.

Exclamation marks should be used to add dramatic effect and interest to various articles.

Adjectives should be used to enhance film features and make them seem more exiting.

Characters costume, body language and facial expression should reflect their nature as a character in their film.

Captions related to features should be displayed in the same typography and colouring, but size may vary to indicate order of significance.

Any detail of features should be shown in a smaller font, e.g. "continued on page ..."

Striking/vibrant colours should be used for detail to stand out against dark backgrounds.

Extra information should be circled or highlighted to show significance and make it stand out.

Lucy :)

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Knife Picture

2010-03-21T07:33:00.001-07:00

Here are three pictures of the knife which we used in our trailer. From these three pictures we have to choose the best one to place in our poster. I had to take these pictures behind a plain background in order to make it easier to photo shop into our poster, superimposed in front of Eric. We were going to have him holding it in front of his face which is why I had to enlist in my brothers help to use his hands to hold the knife as Raf was not present.

I think the first picture is good as it fully shows the hands holding the knife. We placed it on the floor because when holding it against the wall we created shadows. The second picture shows the tips of the fingers holding the knife, which is good as this can represent the thin balance between the normal 'good' and the unreal 'bad'. The last picture is when we were holding it against the wall, and this created a shadow, which isn't very good but as we are photo shopping it onto another picture it may not matter.

Nikki Stock

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Production Update

2010-03-21T07:07:00.001-07:00

This weekend I am going to take a picture of the knife we used in our trailer, so that for our film poster we can photoshop it in, to have our character Eric holding it in front of his face. We have found pictures of Raf on Facebook where he has modelled, so we have chosen our favourite one which we can use. We chose one where his face is slightly tilting down, with a small smile to make him look creepy. However, as he is wearing a suit, we have to photoshop it out and enlarge his face to cover the whole page. To do this we have access to a computer programme called 'Adobe Photoshop'.

At the moment we are currently analysing film posters and magazine covers to get ideas which we can incorporate into our marketing campaign, for our own film poster and magazine front cover.

Nikki Stock

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Analysis of Empire Magazine cover ... Clash of the Titans

2010-03-21T07:04:00.000-07:00

This cover is also very effective in drawing attention to the right features. The image from the film "Clash of the Titans" is shown as the main focus of the page, again covering part of the title. This image is a suggestion of the narrative and genre of the film, as the clothing tells us the time period and setting. The prop suggests that the film contains action and violence, in indication of the target audience and rating, and the stance in which the character has posed tells us he is defensive, the grime on his face and skin also suggests violence and another era.

The title has been modified to match the theme, glowing as though it is alight, with flames licking at the edges of the letters. The background is a blur of dull colours which suggests fast paced action and also makes the image stand out clearer. The word FREE is shown in capital letters, drawing the audiences attention to it and making the magazine look more generous in general, which raises that audiences opinion of the brand. The rule of three is again used at the right hand side of the page in the phrase "Gods! Monsters! Heroes!", not only does this make the line more catchy, but it also gives the audience more of an idea of the genre of the film. The title "Clash of the Titans" is shown in large white capitals to draw the eye. Flames appear to be dancing around the edge of the letters, linking them to the image and making even the title seem exiting. The way in which they refer to the film as the UK's "Hottest blockbuster" makes the film sound even more appealing, and relates back to the flames around the words shown above.

The caption shown below of the Alien feature is again displayed in a glowing green font, mirroring the content of the feature and adding interest, the image coming out of the 30 also makes it appear more attractive and dramatic. The rule of three is used again at the foot of the page, this makes the page look more even as their is a phrase for each section of the page, one for each side and one in the centre. The constant use of exclamation marks throughout the page also dramatises everything and makes them seem much more exiting, mirroring the content of the magazine, and adding to the overall effect.

Lucy :)

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Analysis of Empire Magazine cover ... Lord of the Rings

2010-03-21T07:02:00.000-07:00

This is a good example of an Empire magazine cover, as it holds the same format of title and image. The image takes up the majority of the page in order to draw the audiences attention to the main feature. The way in which the character serenely surveys the audience without expression or reaction could be an indication of the characters nature and also the nature of the film. However the fact that he is holding a weapon contradicts this, suggesting that it is only his character which is represented by this and so the narrative of the film may be more dramatic. His costume design is also an indication of genre, as he has a suggestion of fantasy about him. This and the prop are also a suggestion of the time period in which the film is set, as swords are now a redundant weapon against modern technology. The bar code has been moved to the side of the page from its usual positioning at the bottom, in order to allow room for a caption at the foot of the page to be shown in a larger font. The titles down the side are shown in alternate colours of red and black to make them more striking to make them stand out against the beige background. The caption for the image is shown circles in a yellow bubble beside it to separate it from the other articles and show what it is related to. The tag line of the magazine is again positioned below the title to show its relevance, this promotes the magazine to the reader without them even having read it. The point in the top right hand corner is highlighted in red to standout and is overlaid across the other images to add depth to the cover, as though it is a separate piece of paper. The price and release date are again shown within the title to make them clear and to relate them to the brand. The colouring of the rest of of the magazine remains beige and white in order to make the title stand out even more as red against the pale toning.

Lucy :)

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Magazine Covers- Similarities and Differences

2010-03-21T06:37:00.001-07:00

Similarities:

As you can there are many similarites between different magazine covers. I have chosen to analyse the similarites between magazines so we can see the common features of film magazine covers and include these features on our own cover. These similarities include:

The barcode is alsways shown so the shops they are bought from can scan them through their tills. The bar codes are usually at the side of the magazine as they are not a special feature the audience really wants to look at.
The date of the issues are shown so the reader knows which month it is released. Magazines differ in their release dates, some are released monthly and some weekly etc.
The title of the film covers the whole line across, and is the largest text on the page, making it stand out, to grab the consumers attention.
They tend to have text about the features inside the magazine above the title and in columns either side along the cover, which are placed around the main images, of the actors from the main film featured in the magazine.
They have colour schemes, such as the same two colours used for all the text and they may match the title of the magazines text. Only two or three colours are used to keep it simple.
The main pictures of the actors/ characters blocs out a bit of the title of the magazine.
Capitalised text is often used to make it bold and stand out.

Differences:

As you can see, as well as many similarities there are clear difference in these magazine covers. This is because they are made by different companies, who want to make their covers unique to grab the consumers attention and interest. These include:

The amount of information crammed onto the cover. The Entertainment one has less text on it so its large picture of thw two characters in Star Trek is its main USP. Whereas, the Total film magazine is trying to sell what's inside the magazine by writting about it on the cover in bold text.
Where the text is place differs between magazines. The most important feature is placed at the top, but the rest may be placed in the bottom, or all along the sides. Some covers keep the text on one side and the main image on the other.
The size of the images used differ. The Entertainment one has the two actors taking up the whole cover, whereas the Total Film magazine has a grey background, with the two actors pushed together as a small part of this cover.

Nikki Stock

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Empire Magazine Cover Analysis

2010-03-21T06:09:00.000-07:00

This is a good example of a magazine cover as it has emphasised its USP of the Joker (Heath Ledger) from the film 'The Dark Knight' . The way his head is tilted down looking directly towards the camera, and his creepy simile is how we could like our actor to be looking at our audience. It engages them into eye-contact making the audience feel uncomfortable, which also may attract them to buying the magazine to read about the film.

The major selling point for this issue of the magazine is the exclusive look at the new Batman film The Dark Night. They have included the iconic logo of Batman at the top of the cover. This magazine constantly has the same font and text colour for the title, which stands out as a USP in itself as it is so well known.

The text for 'Meet the Joker' is disjointed and misaligned creating a 'messy' feeling as though he is a strange, eccentric character. There is a mixture of letters outlined in boxes and some written normally. In white text making it standout is 'the one on one with Batman's new nemesis.' This tag line reinforces this previous text which emphasises the Jokers crazy characteristics. Under this is a hand-written type text tag line explaining to the audience who the Joker is.

In this issue the bar code is on a different place. It is side on on the left. Staying out of the way of the rest of the features on the cover.Also, the price , in very small text is placed within the title of the magazine, with the date above. Again the convergence is here with the website address under the title, so the audience can find out more, watch videos etc on the Internet.

There is the mention of other films included within the magazine to attract fans of those film to read this magazine and find out more about behind the scenes, reviews, interviews etc, in the bottom right corner. This is in the corner as they don't want to take the emphasis away from the main feature of Batman. In the middle on the right side is a green circle with some text in about 'The Coens' who are two brothers famous at directing films.

Nikki Stock

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Magazine Cover Analysis

2010-03-21T05:39:00.000-07:00

As part of our marketing campaign for our film we have to create a magazine front cover. I am going to analyse this cover of Empire magazine as it is a special film magazine and it can help us outline how we should lay out our magazine cover.

As you can see the title of the magazine is the largest font on the page, in capital letters, to create awareness and the vibrant red colour of the text makes it stand out, from the rest of the pictures and writing on the cover. As this magazine is well-known it doesn't matter that an image of Johnny Depp is covering part of the title. In very small text underneath the title of the film magazine is its website address. This allows convergence of the audience to access this magazine and extra features on a multi platform - the Internet.

This picture of Johnny Depp, is the most predominant and it lets the audience know this issue of the magazine is about his new film 'Public Enemies'. The title of his film is again in capital letters and in a grey colour which contrasts with the grey background of this cover. There is a smaller caption in white text above saying 'Johnny Depp Steals Summer'. This shows the critics positive review of his acting in this new film.

The cover shows the audience some of the features it includes to entice them into reading this magazine, as shown along the right hand side. It shows the 'first looks' of the new film releases with emphasise on the Heroes of 2010. They have names three films with a picture to make the cover interesting and attractive. They are highlighted by a white outlined background, to make them standout. Under this is the bar code, used for the shops to scan, and the price which is £3.99. Currently our group hasn't discussed placing a price on our magazine cover, but I think we should as every magazine legally, has to have a price on it.

At the bottom of the magazine cover, are more features shown within this magazine, in the same red and white text, keeping this the main colour scheme of this cover. At the top of the poster is an 'on-set exclusive' of Harry Potter 6. With a small picture of the character Harry Potter in the corner.

As you can see, there are many features of the magazine placed in a specific layout designed to attract readers and make it standout from other competing magazines. This magazine has a running colour scheme of red, white and grey. It is full of USP's such as the movies it has reviewed, first exclusive looks at film sets, analysis's of the 2010 heroes and many more. This is a useful magazine to analyse at it is specifically for films and we should hope to produce one similar for our marketing campaign as part of our coursework.

Nikki Stock

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - film magazine front cover - film maker

2010-03-20T16:54:00.001-07:00

This magazine is different to the others I have looked at so far as instead of focusing on the films themselves it looks at the people who make them. I chose to still look at the cover though as I thought the layout would be much the same.

As before there is one main image, the main differences are that there is a lot more text on this magazine cover, including a whole paragraph under the title: 25 new faces of independent film. The amount of words show that the magazine is aimed at a well educated professional audience rather than just people who go to the cinema a lot. The magazine also advertises jobs, this shows again that it is for people in the industry. The background is white, this makes the image and text stand out, we are thinking about having a white background for our film magazine cover as we think this look is effective.

Rach.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - film magazine front cover - film comment

2010-03-20T16:52:00.001-07:00

This film magazine cover looks more 'serious' than the others, this could be because it is aimed at an older audience, it could also be aimed at a more professional audience, people who work in the film industry.

There is an extreme close up which is a still from the film being advertise. Unlike the other magazine front covers all of the text to on the left hand side of the picture, the text only goes over the background and not the character. The title of the magazine is in a separate section of the magazine at the top of the page, above the title there is comments about what else will be featured in the magazine.

The differences in the colour of the texts make each one of them stand out but they are not so eye catching that they take away from the title and the main image. This cover looks very 'clean cut' and professional.

Rach.

EVALUATION - Our magazine cover should include…

2010-03-20T13:53:00.000-07:00

From my analysis I have concluded that we should attempt to include the following aspects in our film magazine cover. However, I plan to further analyse yet more covers in order to ensure that we have enough information to base our final decisions on. We have already decided that we will use the brand of Empire for our magazine.

• The title should be large and bold, possibly displayed in a bright colour such as read to ensure maximum impact on the audience, and to enable it to stand out from our dark background.

• The bar code and price should be visible but discrete somewhere near the foot of the page.

• The main feature should have the largest and most obvious image on the cover, and should be clearly linked to the title of our film.

• Any sub-headings or further advertisements should be subtly displayed down either side of the page (preferably the right) in a clear font and bright colour which is in contrast with the background.

• Any tag lines should be easily linked with their title and should be in a bold but smaller font.

• The background colouring should remain either very dark or very light depending on the toning of the image, but be either blurred or plain so as not to detract from the image itself.

• The background should possibly be related to the setting/genre of the film e.g. dark for horror/thriller, bright for comedy etc.

Lucy :)

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Analysis of Empire Magazine cover ... Twilight: New Moon

2010-03-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

The title of the magazine is again shown in the same bright red font, capitalised and large enough to fill the whole of the line. Although the title is red in every other issue it seems even more relevant in this case as it could be seen as being related to the main feature of “Twilight”. “Twilight” and “New Moon” are a vampire series and so the vibrant red could be relate to the theme of blood-shed. Although in many of the other issues the image covers a part of the title, in this one the title overlaps the image, covering part of the character, this could be because the image is so striking in itself that they thought that the title would need more re-enforcement than in others so as not to be overpowered by the surreal character. The way in which the eyes of the character are a glowing liquid gold is, on its own, very eye catching. His pale skin stands out against his dark hair and the overall effect contrasts with the dull and dark background. The captions down the sides of each page are themed in themselves which adds to the overall effect of the cover and adds to the content. For example, the Alien feature on the left hand side of the page is green in colour and has the effect of glowing slightly, representing Alien life; it also appears as though an image is coming out of the “0”. The words “the world’s biggest movie magazine” are again featured on the right hand side, and the web page of the brand on the left, helping the audience to learn even more about the features, studying them in more detail. The dark background behind the image could mirror the dark nature of the film and the danger which it contains; this is also a reference to the genre and also the target audience. The advertisement for “FREE POSTERS” along the top of the page draws attention to the magazine by displaying the word FREE in capital letters to draw the eye, this sentences also contains the names of three very well known films, causing the reader to feel a sense of familiarity which naturally they will relate with the magazine itself. The film titles down the side also make the audience aware of other features of the magazine, meaning that it the main story does not appeal to them there are others so compensate. The cross situated above these titles is also very striking against the dark background, the colour red which is used to draw it varies from other issues as it is usually portrayed in white, this, again, could be a reference to the topic of vampires and danger, adding depth to the cover with hidden meaning and denotations. The themed phrase “Fangtastic exclusive!” as opposed to “Fantastic exclusive!” is also very noticeable among the other vampire references, if anything drawing attention to the more subtle points. The title of the main feature “Twilight: New Moon” is represented in a glowing yellow colour, this could be designed to mirror his eyes, making the image all the more striking, or it could simply be to brighten up the cover, as the rest is very dark. The line below this “Edward, Bella and Jacob interviewed”, is very interesting in that they have chosen to use the character names not actors, this could be to further convince the fans that these characters are real, adding to the authenticity of the film, or it could simply be that the names of the actors are not well known enough yet to make it worth their while including them, their choice will therefore minimise confusion and maximise consumption. The smaller images of the other two characters at the foot of the page re-enforce this statement, and attract both male and female audiences. Whilst remaining large and prominent, the bar code is displayed in the bottom right hand corner of the page so as not to detract from the main feature.

Lucy :)

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Analysis of Empire Magazine cover ... Harry Potter

2010-03-20T13:40:00.001-07:00

The title of this magazine cover is, again, displayed in large capitalised red text. Although the typography is simple so as to make it easy to read at a glance, the font is still signature to the brand, making it recognisable to those who know the magazine. The image used to reveal to the audience the main feature of the magazine is dominant, taking up the majority of the page, the characters head covering the title and overlapping the caption along the top. To anyone who is familiar with the Harry Potter films this image is easily recognisable, the main character Harry standing in a defensive stance, wand at the ready for battle. The caption atop the page, “10 years, The Icon Issue, 10 covers”, is very striking in choice of colour and layout. The way the lines have been placed between each phrase shows where the full stops would be, breaking up the sentence and making it more dramatic, whilst the colours show that the line “10 years” is linked with “10 covers” forming almost a pattern of alliteration. The release date is displayed slightly to the left of the centre of the page, directly next to the characters head. Although the font is small the way in which it is positioned to be linked with the title Empire, as it is situated in the dip of the M, shows its significance. The price can also be seen here, in plain view but still subtly hidden so as not to draw the attention of the audience, as what they should be focusing on is how much they want to buy the magazine, not the reasons for which they shouldn’t. The phrase, “The world’s biggest movie magazine”, shown just below the title, acts as a tag line for the magazine; promoting its excellence whilst putting across its theme to the audience. The web address of the magazine is shown parallel with this phrase on the opposite side of the cover in the same font and size. This is so that it can be linked with the title and the line which shows the brand in all its glory, causing the audiences view of the Empire to improve right before they become aware of a way in which they can follow up the information and learn more about the magazine and possibly subscribe. The red button shown to the left of the main image gives more detail of the picture which stands out so boldly, by also making this circle of information so obvious the editors enable the audience to learn more about the image and who the actor is, drawing them into the story still further and compelling them to purchase the magazine. On the opposite side are three phrases which are designed to promote the magazine still further. The way they have announced that this feature includes, “New interviews! Amazing Access!” and also “Exclusive photos!” makes the page seem more exciting through the use of exclamation marks. The colour scheme also adds to this effect as the black and red stand out boldly against the white. The rule of three also adds to the impact, which is enhanced by the way they are laid out one below the other, making them short and sharp. The adjectives “New”, “Amazing”, and “Exclusive” augment the features and make them sound that much more impressive and entertaining. The phrase “the 10 greatest characters of the noughties…” leads the audience into the main feature articles title, whilst also relating back to the “10 years” and “10 covers” at the head of the page. The title “ICONS” is displayed in capitals, laid-out with the phrase “…of the decade” next to it, shown in the same font but slightly smaller in order to make the main part of the sentence stand out and grab the audience immediately. These short sentences are very dramatic and the use of the “…” also adds to the striking outcome. The phrase “…and how they rocked our world” also sounds very impressive and, although it could be considered over the top, increases the impact on the reader to the maximum, leading them on from the title and into the magazine. The colour scheme of the page is all designed to work together, each item playing off the next to add to the dramatic effect. The background remains dull so as not to detract from the main image, yet the title is able to stand out so as to remain the most prominent feature of the page. The bar along the foot of the page is designed to be noticed but also to be discrete, the colours used are subtle, except for one line which is used to grab you and draw you into the fine print which is more detailed than the main headlines which are designed to draw you in. The small print of this footer then instructs you to turn to page 13 which draws you in further still, urging you to purchase the magazine.

Lucy :)

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Analysis of Empire Magazine cover ... Sherlock Holmes

2010-03-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

The action film “Sherlock Holmes” was released on the 26th of December 2009. I have chosen to study a more recent issue of the Empire magazine so as to ensure that my analysis is a relevant as possible to our coursework, the more recent the issue, the more authentic our cover will be. It is very interesting that the editors have chosen to publish the magazine with most of the title covered by the image. This suggests that the publishes are relying on the popularity of their magazine to sell it on its own, as they assume that the large red lettering, the features of the magazine, the layout, and the first and last letters of the title, will be enough for the audience the recognise that the magazine is a regular edition of Empire. The way in which the title of this magazine is always capitalised and displayed in a large red font is very eye catching, and a signature feature of this magazine. The specific title for the feature of the film “Sherlock Holmes” is displayed in large silvery-metallic letters across the chest of the character shown on the cover. As well as being situated over the top of the feature photograph, meaning that the audience cannot look at the image without reading the text, it is also positioned directly in the centre of the magazine cover, showing that this article is at the heart of this issue. The design and positioning of this title has been manipulated specially to draw the audiences attention, it is shown in capital letters, just like the title of the magazine, to make it as eye catching as possible. Robert Downey’s name is shown directly above the title of the film, displayed in the sentence, “Robert Downey is SHERLOCK HOLMES”, this gives the title even more impact as, by using this statement of fact as a main advertising point it reinforces the idea that the actor actually IS this character, making the film seem all the more real and exiting. Not only does this make the film caption seem that much more dramatic, but it also means that fans of this particular actor will buy the magazine and see the film because they know that he is good, this, along with the image of him I the centre of the page, further promote the film. Other persuasive features of this magazine cover include the fact that the page also consists of other advertisements for films, giving the audience an idea of what other articles this magazine holds. Since not nearly so much information is revealed about these films it gives the audience further incentive to buy the magazine and learn more. So as not to detract from the main photograph and headline these incites are positioned carefully around the edge of the page, to give information without drawing attention from the main piece. They are also carefully placed so as not to obstruct any key aspects of the image. These headlines have been highlighted in white so as to separate them from the image of the “Sherlock Holmes” feature, the way in which they are blocked of in their own boxes show how they are interesting in them selves and do not need the main feature to sell the magazine, making them all the more interesting as they seem individual. The line “Best preview issue ever!” written across the top of the page acts as a tag line as it is almost attached to the title. This sentence is a declarative, leading the audience to believe it instantly, and again drawing them into purchase the magazine. The words “the best” which are featured in this line, although referring only to other magazines within this brand, also seems to subtly apply to others, undermining the competition and making the brand look all the more attractive. This tag line is displayed in silver so as to link the fact that it is the “best preview issue” with the “Sherlock Holmes” film, of which the title if also printed in silver. This subtle colour also allows the font size of the tag line to be large, without the sentence detracting from the main title of the magazine. The dark blacks and blues of the background of the poster not only blend in with the image, but allow the reds and silvers of the titles to stand out. The colours have been cleverly selected to mirror the genre of the film. The dark colours show that it is not suitable for the younger audience, reflecting the more dark and evil characters, whilst the red of the title possibly denotes danger and blood-shed. The silver could also indicate weapons like swords and guns, and also possibly the cold, hard nature of some of the characters in the plot. The costume of the character on the front cover connotes a time period in which this film could be set, along with his hair and accessories. The dark glasses indicate that the character has something to hide; however, the way in which he has lowered them to survey the audience suggests that he has no secrets from them, portraying his as an honest and good character.

Lucy :)

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - film magazine front cover - empire

2010-03-20T06:11:00.000-07:00

These two front covers are from the film magazine Empire.

Both of these covers have one main image which advertises one film. From just looking at the images without the text it is clear what genres the films are from. The James Bond poster shows a man with dirt on his clothes. blood on his face and a gun in his hand. On his other hand he is wearing an expensive watch, without seeing that it is a James Bond film these things would make an audience assume that it is. The lord of the rings cover shows two main characters from the first film and then a new character is also shown. The characters costumes and the weapons they are holding show that it is a period/fantasy film which has a lot of action in it.

Each poster has a bar code and advertisement about what else is in the magazine, actors are also mentioned, DVDs videos and cinema's are also mentioned on the covers.

I think the layout of these magazine is very helpful to us as they are simple enough for us to make ours look just as professional.

Rach

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - film magazine front cover - total film

2010-03-20T06:10:00.000-07:00

The magazine front covers are from the film magazine - Total Film. Although they are from the same magazine there are considerable differences between the two:
This front cover has very little writing, there is the title of the magazine across the top, it is in a large font and the white and black writing make it stand out from the rest of the cover. The only other bit of writing on the over is to advertise the magazines website. There is one main image, this image is of Harry Potter, in a way as these films are so big the image needs no words to accompany it, the makes of the cover could also think that the film has a wide enough audience that there is no need to advertise what else is featured in the magazine. This technique would only word with films as big as Harry Potter.

The similarities to this front cover is the position of the title of the magazine and that there is one main image. However on this cover there is a lot of text to go with the image and also advertise what else is in the magazine. Six different films are advertised on this front cover, adverts for Charlie and the chocolate factory appear the most (three times) but this is a typical convention as the image is of a very well known actor who is one of the main roles in that film. The magazine has a bar code and stars are used to break up sentences, words such as 'ultimate' are also used to attract the audience. The magazine even has its own tag line to try and entice people to buy it.

I think this is a good way to set out a magazine front cover as it gives lots of information about what is inside, looks professional but still not overly serious or boring. We will keep these things in mind when we create our own magazine cover.

Rach.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - photo analysis

2010-03-20T06:07:00.000-07:00

As I have said in a previous post we plan to use this image for our poster. He it looking straight at the camera, this means that the audience will feel as if he is looking right at them, this will make them feel more involved with the film and understand how the female character feels. His head is tilted downwards slightly, this makes him appear in control, as if he is looking down on the audience, this pose also makes him look intimidating. On this photo there is already a shadow on the left side of his face, this is very good for us as all we have to do then is enhance it. The background is also could as we will not need to change the light side. When making the image bigger we will need to be careful that the image does not become blurry.

As I have suggested below the second image is a possibility for our magazine front cover, also we like the third image, we will do some more research and the decide which image we think will look most effective on a magazine front cover. The costume our actor is wearing is good as although it doesn't relate much to the film it 'speaks' Hollywood to an audience.

Rach.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Magazine cover ~ Empire

2010-03-20T06:02:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned several posts below I planned to analyse some more magazine covers in order to ensure that ours turns out looking as professional as possible.

I think that this one, which I found earlier, is a very good example of a successful page, as it portrays the right image of the films it is advertising and also manages to give information about others.

This cover is extremely effective in drawing attention to the film which it wishes to advertise. The main focus of this cover is clearly The golden compass, because of the fact that the main image is of this film and the title is shown across the centre of the page in capital letters. The caption shown below the title of the film appears to be the tag line, as it is directly beneath the title and relates to the plot line. It comes across as very persuasive, attempting to convince the audience to not only purchase the magazine, but also to watch the film. The text along the bottom of the page demonstrates what else is featured in the magazine if there is any members of its target audience who is interested in another genre or type of film. The main feature which clearly has the most coverage is "The Golden Compass". This will possibly attract a different target audience than usual as "The golden compass" comes across as being aimed at children, though the series of books are also enjoyed by man adults. The back ground colours of the magazine not only indicate that this is possibly a winter issue, but they also reflect the setting of the film. Since a large proportion of the action scenes are set in the mountains, and in the lands of "Svalbard", which is a land of ice ans snow, the mountains are a subtle reference to the plot and remind the audience of the presence of polar bears in the story. A large proportion of the background is taken up by a compass-looking instrument which relates to the title, and also reinforces the idea of the film being a fantasy. The witch flying into the image from the top right hand corner, indicates the genre also, and adds depth to the image as it appears to be flying over the title. The positioning of the main characters across the centre of the page helps the audience to get more familiar with the film before they have even started reading the feature. The red-circular stamp-like circle in the bottom right hand corner draws the audiences eye and shows us more possible content of the magazine. The bar code and price are also clearly displayed.

Lucy :)

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Analysis of our Photos

2010-03-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

Below it can be seen that Rachel has posted the photos which I previously mentioned that we had found for our poster and our magazine cover. As she mentioned, we have decided on the first image ...

... as the main focus of the poster. We chose this image as in the photo he has just the right inclination of the head which i had been visualising for the image of the poster which i had in my mind. His face is also shown very faintly with a dark and light side, which will hopefully make the editing of it easier when we edit it to make it more dramatic. We plan to darken the background, or maybe even cut out the image altogether to put on a different background, and also edit out the bow tie, possibly leaving in the shirt collar, but we may make the shirt black, even though the image will hopefully be dark enough that this part wont show anyway, as it would look best if the main focus is his face. We shall need to make a decision of where abouts we want to position the knife below his face, whether we want it covering his mouth or just below, we plan to experiment once we are using photo shop next lesson in order to discover what looks the best. We will also crop the photo so it will only show his head and a small part of his shoulders which will be faded into the darkness.

This is the photo we will possibly using for the magazine cover ...

... It is a clear close up and the expression is just right. He looks serious, and the non-committal expression creates unease as you cannot tell what he is thinking. We would possibly move the image further to the right hand side of the magazine in order to have captions of other articles down the side. However, the title would possibly be shown across the top of the image, overlapping.

Lucy :)

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Film magazine examples

2010-03-19T17:09:00.000-07:00

I have used four different magazines here: Empire, Total Film, Film Comment and Filmmaker
I think these show clearly what a film magazine cover is 'supposed to look like'

In rather posts I plan to analyse some film magazine front covers so we are able to produce a processional film magazine front cover for our coursework.

Rach.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Magazine outline

2010-03-19T17:04:00.000-07:00

This is an outline of our magazine cover, at the top we will have the title of the magazine as we have found that this is a general convention of film magazines. Then our main image which will take up most of the space is an image of the male character in the film. The to right of that image will be information about the article in which our film is mentioned. To the left will be a list of other article that can be found in the magazine and below them will be smaller relating pictures. In the bottom right hand corner will be a bar code. We think this layout is simple but it follow the conventions of a magazine cover, i think it will look very affective.

Rach

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Picture to choose from

2010-03-19T16:54:00.001-07:00

These are some pictures of our male character:
After looking at these picture we have decided we like the first one best as he is smiling 'evilly'. We do plan to however make this photo into a close up and get rid of the bow tie, we will do this by using photo shop. I think the 3rd image would be a good one to choose for our magazine front cover as it is a close up and looks professional.

Rach.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - What we did today

2010-03-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

In today's lesson we planned our film poster and our magazine front cover, as shown is previous posts where we plan to put the actors names, images, title, tag line and credits. We plan to use an image of our male character as the main focus point for our poster. We got inspiration from the Star trek poster (Chris Pine), but looking more evil and menacing. We plan to split the image into one light and a dark side to show the good and evil sides of the character. We wanted to have him hold a knife over his face to show the films genre. At the moment we are looking through which photos we are going to choose.

This is an example of the Star trek poster we took inspiration from.

Also I thought this poster showed some similar aspects to what we are trying to achieve with the light and dark concept.
This is an example of the knife we are planning to use in the poster.

Rach

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Empire film magazine

2010-03-19T14:02:00.001-07:00

All of these images follow the same pattern of layout, content, and presentation. If we follow these general rules, our magazine cover will hopefully look authentic...

Lucy :)

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Mock up of Our poster

2010-03-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

This is a rough image of what our poster will look like when it is finished, representing the layout. I used a picture from the poster of Star Trek, and the red boxes represent the positioning of the actor and actress's names, the tag line, and credits, the line down the centre represents our split between the dark and light sides of our characters face, representing his "split personality".

Lucy :)

RESEARCH AND PLANNING - Today's progress

2010-03-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

As Nikki mentioned below we have now finished planning our film poster. The main image of our poster is going to be of our male character, inclining his head towards the audience in an intimidating way, whilst holding a knife just below his eyes. The poster will show the names of our actor and actress at the top and the credits at the bottom, the tag line being positioned just below the title, which will be placed along the blade of the knife.

Today we finished planning our magazine cover featuring the film advertisement and have also decided on the photos which we will put in the poster and the cover, we will post these, and others which we were choosing between, on the blog.

Later on I will post some other magazine covers which we will take into account when making ours. I also plan to post a scan of the plan of our poster and also our magazine cover.

Lucy :)