2. Twitter – I used twitter to post updates about the
release of my film as well as a link to the
finished production.
YouTube – YouTube was used as a format to
release the film and also allow people to view it
and give feedback on their thoughts.
Facebook – I used this social networking site to
release images of the magazine as well as the
poster and links to the trailer. I also used it to
collect third party feedback from polls and
questionnaires.
3. FACEBOOK TWITTER YOUTUBE
Comment – Jonny @Rhys21wil Comment – Jsb23
Maddock: “ I love the “looks good, very “I like the different
trailer, makes me want creepy” camera angles”
to watch the film”
Comment – James @km1993 Comment -
Parker: “ good use of “Good effort, quite Mad_jon1993
sound and audio” hard to understand “Could do with being
the plot though” brighter”
Comment – Charlotte
Wilson: “The trailer is
too dark in my opinion
but sound is used
well”
4. Positive Points Negative Points
Camera Angles Video quality
Sound Brightness
Feed-back from my target Audience was extremely important and
allowed me to know whether it was effective and whether my target
audience were being addressed. It is also important to acknowledge
negative feedback as well as positive feedback as it allows you to
see where things went wrong and how it could be made better if this
task was repeated.
5. Media Conventions used –
In my trailer I used dark settings which did not feature any other
people, this follows the conventions I identified at the start of the
coursework where settings are used to enhance the feeling of
isolation and being alone.
I emphasised the idea that the victim is being followed and that the
victim is not aware of this. This again is a common convention used
by this genre.
I applied title screens to my trailer, from my analysis I identified
that this was used in al trailers. I applied the appropriate age “green
screen”, as well as title shots for film production & the film
title/coming soon shot.
I used my trailer to build up to an event (turning round and seeing
the attacker), from my analysis this was a common convention. I also
synchronised this with dramatic and tension building sound.
Finally used a variety of camera angles, particularly the POV shot
which again is a common feature in horror genre trailers.
6. Media Conventions challenged/developed:
I challenged the convention that many trailers have a linear
element to them i.e. they show a storyline from start to finish.
I did not want to do this with my trailer as I believe that it
would reveal a plot line and therefore discourage people to
view the film.
I also challenged the convention that most teaser trailers use
title screens to name a popular/influential actor. I chose not
to do this as my trailer did not feature a popular or influential
actor.
I developed the convention surrounding the point of view
shot, usually this is applied but only to the attacker, in this
case I used a point of view shot for both attacker and victim
to give both perspectives.
7. I believe that my combination of ancillary tasks and main product
all collaborate into something called a „House style‟
A house style is where a specific usage and editing conventions are
used to ensure a stylistic consistency in a particular publication or
series of publications.
I believe that I have successfully accomplished this with my 3 tasks
as they are all succinct and tie in to the same theme, however the
plot or storyline is not given away therefore no twist is revealed.
I believe that both of my ancillary tasks are successful at advertising
and promoting the film, as well as all three tasks being effective at
appealing to a target audience and this has been proved from my
audience feedback.
8. Audience feed-back was a key part of all three of my tasks, it
allowed me to evaluate my progress as well as allowing me to
decide whether my product was a success i.e. it appealed to
my target audience and they thought it was effective.
Its vital that the target audiences of all three products
liked/related to them as they are the people I need to buy my
products in order to be a success
Not only was audience feedback important in the post-
construction phase, it was also important in the planning and
research stages, it allowed my to find out what they thought
was most effective, why and what would inspire them to
purchase/come to view my film. This was really helpful before
constructing.
9. I also thought it was very important to correct the
„right‟ feedback from a specific criteria of people.
Therefore I sourced people by asking them if
they liked the horror genre before giving me
feedback, this is because someone who does not
like the genre will not like the product whether it
is effective or not.
As well as this I learnt that it is important to
source specific feedback, not just the whole
product. I did this by asking which areas they
thought were effective and the areas they
thought weren't effective. This allowed me to
alter and manipulate rather than just starting
again.
10. One of the things that I wish I had done
regarding audience feedback was too have
constant feedback stages throughout the
whole design and construction stages rather
than just at the end. For example I could of
sourced feedback on the storyboard and plot
before beginning filming. This would of
allowed me to ensure I was filming something
that would appeal to horror fans.
11. I analysed teaser trailers through the video
sharing site YouTube to help me understand
what the conventions are and how the trailer
can be effective. As well as this I was able to
research the use of mise-en-scene, editing,
sound and camera angles.
I also used the search engine Google to
research film posters and magazines, as well
as accessing the official websites of film
magazines, such as Total film.
12. I used the internet to find Blogs for film fans, as well as A2
media blogs to look for inspiration as well as posting for
ideas/advice on filming techniques. For example I posted
on the student room and asked what was the best low-cost
equipment to use for filming.
Finally I also used Facebook to research what conventions
people expected to see from my horror products. I did this
by simply messaging friends and asking for their ideas.
13. Filming:
Sony Xperia Mobile phone – I used this not only for some of
the still images but also for the filming process. They were
easily imported to the computer via a USB cable.
Sony digital still camera- this was used for the poster images
as this camera had the highest resolution images, these
images were saved to an SD card and transferred to the PC via
a USB adaptor
Windows movie maker – this was used for the editing stages
of the trailer, it allowed us to edit, rearrange and add audio to
the clips.
Video converting software – this was needed in order to
change the format of the videos, so they could be imported
as well as uploaded to YouTube.
14. Magazine cover and Poster:
Desktop publishing - Microsoft publisher was used to layer
and arrange the images into a poster format once they had
been sufficiently edited.
Macromedia fireworks – This was not only used for editing
and cutting out images it was also used to design and
construct the different fonts.
Adobe Photoshop – this was used so we could manipulate and
alter our photos by adding effects, filters and altering the
colour through the saturation, exposure and temperature
tools.
15. For this stage of the production the majority of technology was not
new or innovative, for example with the planning of the trailer we
simply used a hand drawn storyboard which was scanned and
uploaded to the blog, I believed this was the easiest way to set out
my ideas.
For the Poster and magazine cover, we used the Microsoft publisher
programme to map out basic plan as to the layout and structure we
wanted.
Finally, I did put to use new technology in the very first stages of
each production, I used a programme called MindMAP which allowed
me to produce a spider diagram of my ideas and thoughts.
16. For the evaluation stage we decided to use a power point
format therefore we used the Microsoft PowerPoint
programme to do so, as I believed it was easier to annotate
and edit than if it were in a word document.
It allowed me to tie together all of my work into one format
that is easily accessible.
17. Media technology has been a pivotal factor in the
construction of my A2 media and without the use of it I
simply would not of been able to create what I have, and
these tasks have taught me that.
Through this coursework I have learnt to use new
technologies that I have not previously had to use and thus it
has helped to develop my skills from the AS portfolio.
Although I believe my A2 coursework to be a success I still
met considerable problems throughout its progress, so I have
also learnt to adapt and overcome these problems.