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

3.What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Throughout my the making and production of my trailer and ancillary tasks, I constantly asked many people for audience feedback so I was able to make products that would best suit my target audience, and would appeal to them the most. Because my target audience is mature at the age of 17/18+ which is my age i was able to ask my friends and people in my year what they thought.

At the beginning of my coursework I decided to do psychological horror and so I did a questionnaire and put together a focus group to find out what my target audience liked about them and what they found appealing in the trailer to make them want to watch it. Doing this meant i was able to analyse the data i found and gain genre feedback, which in turn enabled me to get ideas of what i needed my trailer to look like and what i needed to included in order for it to appeal to my target audience ad what would gratify them. The main reason for psychological horrors and horrors in general is to scare people and people watch them because they want to be scared, gain this audience feedback meant i was able to discover a range of techniques an ideas that would intensify tension when watching the trailer.

Another time i got audience feedback was when i was making my poster, i had to make the decision on what picture to use, this enabled me to find out what my target audience would appeal to and what could be improved. I was able to get tips and suggestions on different editing techniques to make the best poster i could for my trailer by taking their opinions on board and incorporating them within my ancillary tasks. Knowing what the best bits of my poster were i was then able to develop them and focus on them even more. When it comes to pictures for both my poster and magazine cover i had many drafts and examples of them in order to give the audience as many options as possible to choose from, that is one factor i have learnt is that it is important to have many drafts, so you can get as much information and feedback on as many pictures as possible.
Editing techniques i used:

• Back and white
• Different saturation levels
• Brightening up certain parts to make them stand out.
• Only using colour on certain parts to draw attention

Whilst filming and editing my trailer i would ask people from my target audience what they thought of it and what could be changed to make it better, this then gave me the chance fresh eyes on my trailer and spot details or mistakes that i myself could not, simply because i had been working on it for so long and after a while found it quite difficult to judge certain aspects of my trailer. I have shown my final trailer to my target audience and asked them what they thought of it. I have received positive feedback which has pleased me very much. I even interviewed some of my friends and asked them to give their honest opinion on it.

"I really like the fast pace nature of it because it really gets your heart racing"

"I absolutely love the heartbeat just before the big clips happen because it really creates suspense and tension which is a main apart of horror and is a massive part of why i like them"

" Its dark, fast, got the eerie music and is simply scary and jumpy, which are all main aspects of horror and psychological horror. It really appealed to me and now i want to watch the film"

Audience feedback has played a massive role in the production of all my media text products. if i had not asked my target audience opinion then the quality may have been the same but it may not have appealed to my target audience the way it should have. Other people have also noticed mistakes in previous drafts which i myself had not noticed, so asking for feedback allows someone else to evaluate your work and see things you may not have seen because of the length of time you have been working on it. Audience feedback has allowed me to make successful media tasks that have meet my expectations and make something that my target audience would watch or read.

One main question i asked my peers was if they understood the storyline to which they answered yes, this shows that i have made my trailer clear and able to interpret.

I gained audience feedback through a number of ways such as face to face, questionnaires, interviews and social networking sites such as facebook and tumblr. Dong this has allowed me to understand further the importance of audience feedback and how it can influence the level of its success. With out my peer group my trailer, poster and magazine front cover may not have turned out the way they did and essentially not be as appealing to my target audience as it is now. The people is asked for feedback can be seen as a 'production team' as there opinions influenced greatly on the result of my media texts.

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

When creating my media products, i was always making sure that they link and ensure continuity was visible throughout the trailer, poster ad magazine cover. To do this I took a scene from the trailer that held significance and included it within my ancillary tasks. The scene in question is the candle clip at the end of my trailer the spirit is seen surrounded by candle saying a mantra, which happens to be the title of the film.

Because of the pictures i used for my poster and magazine cover were so different i was worried that people may not be able to recognise that they are for the same trailer, so to cement that idea i used the picture used on the poster and incorporated in the magazine cover by putting it in the circular 'sticker' part of the magazine.

Usually the fours F's should be considered when linking products of the same task together and they say that to show flow the same fonts and colour schemes are used but i decided to go against this and use different fonts and colours for my tasks, so for my trailer i used just white writing, for my poster i used, red, white and grey and for my magazine cover i used blue and white. But i did research and movie posters and magazine covers do not always use the same colour scheme and instead combined the two elements through pictures and words. this way there was variation in the two products i made and the didn't look too similar. The fonts i used are also different because a posters function is to promote and is all about the film so everything font colour and format is made the reflect that film, whereas the magazine is made to promote the film but also the magazine itself and other media texts within it, its not all about the film. So to make my magazine look like a magazine promoting a film i wanted to use font that re conventional fonts which you usually associate with magazine covers.

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

Evaluation

Nowthat i have finally finshed all of my tasks i can now start my evaluation which has the main focus on the following questions:

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

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

• What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

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

Questions

1. In which area have you seen an improvement from foundation to advanced portfolio?
Looking back at my portfolios I can see many improvements such as creativity, in the foundation portfolio I was more focused on sticking to conventions whereas in the advanced I have broken some tropes and been more creative when making my media products to make them more interesting and bold. When making my media product in the advanced portfolio I had access to better digital technology which enabled me use it to my advantage, and because I had already used most technology within the first portfolio I was already more experienced with it and knew what to do. There are clear and positive improvements from the foundation to the advanced portfolio, as I have gained more experience and knowledge within the media field which I have been able to use to my advantage and make my media products in the advanced portfolio much more professional.

2. What challenges did you face in each portfolio? (Explain how you resolved challenges or if as a result, you approached your advanced portfolio differently)

In the advanced portfolio, a problem I found was that when I uploaded some of my clips onto Final cut pro the saturation of it would become darker and as my scenes were already set in a low-lighting place some clips were not visible so to resolve that problem I firstly tried adjusting the saturation on final cut pro, if that did not work then I simply reshot the clips at a later date. Another challenge I came across in this portfolio was finding actors in my trailer, originally I had 4 people interested in doing it however during the end of my research stage where I was about to write the script and storyline the actors had found that they would be unavailable because of work they had to be doing themselves and so did not have the time, it was a challenge to find other people, I eventually found Pebz, Neha and Adam who had certain days off and were interested in shooting the trailer, I then rewrote my draft of the storyline because they were the only three I could find and so I had to edit the characters slightly to make it fit with three people not four.

3. Which area is your strength? (Please give examples and consider if this strength has developed in the advanced portfolio)

I think my main strength in both portfolios is the research; I make sure my research is always in depth and has covered many topics to do with my media text. However I can also see an improvement from my foundation to my advanced portfolio, I have not only done more research but I have also expanded the range of it. Not just researching horror itself but also researching directors, the different sub genres, the history of horror, urban legends and various theory’s and theorists. Whereas in my foundation I tend to stick to researching factors close to the main topic and not broadening the subject into different areas.

4. What would you do differently (is there an area of weakness still)

I would start producing my media product sooner, especially the filming on the advanced portfolio, mainly because I did not know when before I started to film that the days to film would be limited and so I wish I had more had started earlier so I could have had more days to film. However saying this I did manage to get most of the clips done within that time frame, but I did feel slightly rushed and nervous that I would not get it done on time. I think my weakness would still have to be time management even though I got my product finished I did not leave that much time to do my evaluation, this has happened in both my foundation and advanced portfolio.

5. What advice would you impart to prospective media student?

Make sure you have a timetable not only for what days you’re going to film but for everything such as editing, ancillary tasks and doing the evaluation. Also make sure you do a wide range of in depth research on your media text this way you can reference back to it and get inspiration from it to create a professional media product.

My Final Magazine Cover

The title of my magazine is called 'BOOM' because of a piece of film equipment called a boom mic, it is also an onomatopoeia of the sound boom, to scare you and make you jump. My colour scheme is blue grey and white, i choose this scheme because of its cold nature, the colour blue itself is associated with the cold, winter, water, ice which gives the impression of the two characters being in a cold, damp scary place environment like a cellar or attic. Even though red is the usual colour for horror because it connotes blood and danger, my trailer is a psychological horror which does not involve a lot of blood and is mainly focused on scaring someone by using peoples fears and beliefs which build tension and send chills up your spine, so i thought blue would be best to use for my cover.

I have used a candle to illuminate the actors because of two reasons, one because a candle plays a significant part in my trailer at the end and so their is a visible link between my cover and my trailer. The second reason i used a candle was because i wanted a shadow effect, where half the faces are less visible and descending in to the darkness behind them. My actors are looking in different directions because i wanted to give the impression that their is an eerie atmosphere all around them, so i looks as though they are looking around, scared and wary of what might be lurking in the darkness.

Even though this links to the trailer, i had to link this to my poster as well, to do this i used the flame from the poster that i put on the certificate and put it on my magazine bar code, i then took the poster and cut out just her head so it was able to fit in the circle in the background.

Magazine Deconstruction

This Magazine is promoting the film King Kong, i choose to deconstruct this magazine cover because it shows  a man and a woman which relates to my trailer due to the fact that the two main characters are a couple. Laura Mulveys theory can be applied here, as it shows a woman helpless and scared being  protected by the man, this is such as typical trope of woman within the film industry, the conventions of a woman is that she is vulnerable and must be protected by a man. Even though i want to use a picture showing the couple i do not want to follow this convention, because i want both the characters to look vulnerable and scared to convey more fear to the audience. The picture also looks as though it is a screen shot, because the woman's hair it blown back, but they are looking  directly at audience which provide a type of interaction with the audience/reader.

The colour scheme is white and yellow, however i do not think this works well as it does not link to the film and its genre. Even though it can be seen as the colour of warnings, which you see on signs, its usually a colour linked with happiness and joy which does not link to this film at all.

There is a lot of writing on this cover which in my opinion makes it to busy and compact, there is also too much big writing, the tropes of a magazine is the title and the picture title are the two biggest texts on the page and the rest is smaller, however on this 'Ultimate Winter Preview' is as big as 'King Kong' even thought King Kong is Bright yellow the size of the other text drew my attention away slightly, when you main target is to promote the film King Kong which involves drawing attention to the title of the film. When making my magazine cover i will take a more minimal approach and follow the conventions of magazine texts.

This magazine is Entertainment Weekly. Firstly the title is in bold blue, which connotes coldness that supports the genre of the film it is promoting which is Sweeney Todd which is horror, this film involves cold blooded murder. The writing is bold and at the top of the page which instantly makes it stand out, the 'weekly' part of the title of embedded in the last four letters, meaning the main and most relevant word in the title is 'Entertainment'. the colour scheme for this entire magazine is blue red and white. this colour scheme i believe has been used to emphasis the dullness and darkness of the character (Johnny Depp) He has pale skin dark hair and clothes and has dark rings around his eyes which in itself is slightly chilling and reminds you of a vampire or ghostly figure usually seen in horror films. As i mentioned before red is also used, this colour is usually associated with horror and is the trope of horror posters/magazines, however the dominant colour here is blue with hints of red, which suggests a cold character and film with danger and blood shed.

The magazine is very minimal overall as there is not a lot of text, an so this cover focuses on the main aspects, which is the Image, the celebrity starring in it and the main other topic in the magazine. It does not involve information about other little parts within the magazines like others do. the fact that his face practically covers the entire page, this suggests dominance of the character and that he is the main character. The facial expression also says a lot, he is not smiling like you would normally see on a normal magazine cover, instead he is serious, 'moody' and mysterious which relates to the film and its storyline. There are many similarities between this magazine cover and others. Similarities between magazines is the use of eye contact, the three colour scheme and the title positioned at the top. However this cover also shows the differences, as it does not use a background which i have noticed seems to be a trope of film magazine covers. the way the writing overlaps the title is also a difference, and one that i do not like in particular, i don't like the writing structure of this magazine picture, as to me the texts looks strangely placed and unprofessional.

Magazine Pictures

Magazine photos from Paigiee

Final Trailer

Here is the finished project of my trailer for a psychological horror film.

My Final Poster

Here is my final draft of my poster. While making it i was taking inspiration from various existing horror movie posters such as 'The Woman in Black', 'The Grudge' and 'Orphan'

From 'The Grudge' i liked the fact that the villain was used to promote the film, I also like the way they showed the grudge where you could only see part of there face giving mystery and darkness to the poster. So when making my poster i used this aspect of the grudge with some of my own changes, firstly i did not have a close up to just the hair and face, instead i wanted a background as you can see. To get this background i took the picture at the side of a panelled cupboard, when it came to editing i was able to burn out the previous colour of the panels to give it a more horror and dark look, i then made sure the gaps/lines in between the panels were still visable but still quite dark. I then gave her a red eye to show the target audience that she is the evil spirit, as red  along with many other words connotes danger and blood describe the horror genre.

From the Woman in Black i took inspiration form its font, it was a blurry and ghostly which is the impression i want to give of as my storyline is about a spirit. However i could not find font that was like it, so instead i found a different font i liked that i thought conveyed horror and was a trope of horror posters and i then found a picture of grey and black stripes which i placed below the writing and decreased to opacity, this then made the stripes pattern blend in with the text as though the text was distorted and ghostly. I am quite happy with the manipulation of font and believe that it works well.

From 'The Orphan' i took the portrait shot and the placement of the tagline and title and again the movie poster was a picture of the girl was is evil in the film instead of the 'good guys'. So with these three movie posters i was able to create mine with elements from them.

My colour scheme is red, grey black and white, due to the fact that they are dark, morbid and associated most with horror, also the red connotes blood and danger and matches the colour of the eye, which links everything together. I then put on an age certificate to give it professional and realistic look, in my film trailer flames play a part right at the end where the spirit is surrounded by candles and so i thought i could introduce that factor into the poster. That's when i decide to put a flame on top of the certificate. The certificate draws your attention because of the flame and it shows that i am proud it is an 18 and that younger people can not watch it. The flame signifies burning and hell that links to my trailer storyline are she is an evil spirit.

The font i have used it called AvQest which is a very Gothic and religious font, which i think fits in well because the words spoken that summon the spirit are from a passage in the bible.

Fonts

Here are three fonts, one of which i will be using for my poster, i found these font on www.101freefonts.com these particular fonts were found under the tags of old English and Gothic they are called Av Qest, Sf Gothican and Knights Quest. To narrow down my choice i did a poll, this is part of my market research as i wanted to find out which would suit my poster best and what would appeal most to my target audience.
1.Av Qest-60%
2.Sf Gothican-30%
3.Knights Quest-10%

Plan of Poster

This is a rough guide as to what i want my poster to look like and certain things arranged.

Third Drafts of poster-Decision

These set of posters and now my their set which have been improved after looking at the feedback. I will now have to choose oput of the following pictures which i want to use for my poster.

Here are two more spirit edits on these i have made her skin glow more and made the red eye stand out more. I also tried making it black and white with the red eye still in colour. however i am still unsure about this technique.

Feedback On Second drafts

I asked a variety of people of what pictures they liked best they were asked to choose two of the second drafts and 1 of the spirit photos.

Jade:
 I like these two out of the second draft of pictures, The first one looks scary as it looks as though it is in motions and the second i love the faint writing on the floor and walls as it links to the trailer of the girl doing research and writing it down. I then choose this spirit photo because of its simplicity, yet it still manages to look scary.

Holly:
My two favourite pictures out of the second drafts were these two, i choose them because the writing on the first one links well with the trailer as they are the words said by the girl in the trailer, i also love this shot as it looks like a screen cap from the trailer showing the audience what is in store for them. The second one looks a though the character is in motion so makes it quite tense, It also exaggerates the hand that it nearer the camera and really makes it look as though she is being dragged and scratching at the floor which is perfect for a psychological horror. I like this spirit photo because even though you cant see her whole face it still looks scary because of the red eye, and the blacked out background suggesting darkness follows her.

I asked many more people what pictures they preferred but two many to post on here. the two above were my favourite responses. Below are the photos that most people liked:

Second Drafts of my Poster

Here are the second drafts of my poster, i have included more of the photos i took and edited them in similar ways to the first set of draft pictures, i have also looked at new effects and played around with them, some problems did occur with some pictures the main being the photos are already dark and have a dark background so some effects did not agree with that and did not work. but i was able to adjust some settings on some effects. Here they are:

Second Drafts from Paigiee