Evaluation

Media Evaluation

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

The media product we have developed and constructed by researching real media products and comprised to the style of them. We had further developed them as we continued research. We used Photoshop to produce the movie poster and film magazine cover; we had to follow conventions of researched real media products and apply them to the poster and cover in our own way and style. I had taken pictures appropriate for the genre of the film trailer and applied them to the ancillary text and trailer. We had trouble with choosing actors as their schedules weren’t right for when we were planning to film, but managed to find our final actor for the footage and have used them for our poster and magazine cover, we originally chose to use a year 10 student but couldn’t because of his timetable so we used my brother who is year 8 he wasn’t as mature and as big as the original actor but has been cooperative and sensible whilst we’ve been filming and has listened well and done what he has been told to do, and has been successful in our filming of the trailer.

Poster

For our movie poster we stuck to using conventions of real life media products. The conventions I had to consider were sound, voiceover, music, shot types, transitions, plot (chronological), use of actors, costumes, props, locations and title. The movie poster that we chose as a group followed these conventions in the construction and finalisation of the movie poster. 
The image we used had to grab the audience’s attention as well as the colour theme and billing block. The image we used was a large central image of our main character we used for the trailer, we considered costume and effects when we used the image and manipulated it to suit the theme of the poster. We used a mid-shot for the picture as it shows enough of his costume which was school uniform whilst showing the expression and effect on the face of the character. 
The title that was used is bold and stands out. The font that was used was simple and white but an effect was added to it which was blood, this helped the title stand out and apply to the genre of our project. 
We used a simple colour theme which was white and red font on a black background and then we added background effects such as blood and then the brighter cloudy effect around the image. Additional changes were made such as the addition of stars, quotes, and a tagline which is big and red and is under the title.

Final Movie Poster




Magazine Cover

We again had to follow conventions of real life media products and apply them to our ancillary texts. Our group movie poster followed a specific colour scheme of red and white similar to the movie poster. The masthead that we used was big and bold and white and was a simple font. 
The masthead stands out on the cover therefore grabs the audience’s attention, we had considered different mastheads and picked our final one which looked the best and suited the scheme of the cover. The other font we used was for the left hand side third and the right hand side, these were subheadings and text for what would be inside the magazine, the text that we used for these were simple and alternated from white and red to suit the theme of the cover. 
The main image that was used was similar to the one that we used for the poster; it wasn’t as manipulated for the magazine cover as it didn’t have to show the characteristics of the person but what was in the magazine and who it was. We again considered costume for the character, and this was school uniform so we used this costume on the front cover. 
The effects used on the magazine cover were blood effects scattered around the cover behind text to make it stand out more, the background that was used was a dark background which was one colour and made the covers content stand out.

Final Magazine Cover




Trailer

For the trailer we again stuck to conventions of our researched trailers and used these to apply it to our genre which was horror. We used effects and shots that were suitable for this genre. We had used fake blood for one shot for our trailer which was a useful prop and our only prop. We had recorded all of our footage on camera but had to change the background actors several times as we had trouble getting them out of their timetables and we had finished our drafts and final trailer with actors who were suitable for the part and were very cooperative and trustworthy. 
We used different software to test our trailer but our final choice was FinalCut as this was easier to use and was effective. Like real trailers we used effects in our trailer like close ups, background effects, transitions and text, whilst using text we considered the font and style so it would suit the genre. A storyline plan was created and we followed it during the planning of the trailer, we decided to use a school related horror, as it was in school that we did filming and the actor was in school uniform, and because he is in year 8 we chose an innocent looking character which we got the idea from our researched trailers (‘The orphan’ and ‘Let me in’). We looked at these trailers in general and followed their conventions in order for our trailer to follow the horror theme. For the trailer and from our research we used additional conventions such as credits for the trailer and the company logo which was created in Adobe AfterEffects and added to the trailer.

Final Trailer

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

I combined my ancillary text with my trailer which both applied to the horror genre. The text and the trailer were aimed at our target audience which we chosen from our audience research. The ancillary text applies to the horror genre that I chose for the trailer and theme of the Photoshop work. I had tried different fonts and images for the ancillary text and chosen my final decision which ensembles the horror category. In the cover and poster I decided to stick to the theme to make it stand out and presentable, I didn’t alternate colours too much and used the same colours but assorted them around throughout the cover and poster. The magazine cover and poster both follow the same theme and are similar in relation to font, colour scheme and the image used. The trailer then had to follow the theme of the ancillary text, which was the costume and the genre and the actor that we used for the movie poster and magazine cover. The magazine cover and poster are effective as they anticipate the audience for the trailer which is good and what works with real life media products. The way in which we used a tagline was useful as it also anticipated the audience for the trailer, the tagline we chose was “Death Follows him”, we chose this as it would lead the audience into wanting to know the character and the story therefore they would watch the trailer and would be drawn into the ancillary text.

3.      What have you learned from your audience research?

We have researched magazines, trailers and posters that support the horror genre as that is the genre we decided to use for our trailer and magazine and film poster, by looking at these we were able to plan what we were going to do and how we were going to construct it. We also got our storyline idea from the trailers we looked at which were ‘The Orphan’ and the film ‘Let Me In’, which gave us inspiration for the construction and planning of our final magazine cover, poster and trailer.

From our audience research we knew how to target our specified audience and what to do to keep our audience interested in relation to the trailer, the magazine cover and the movie poster. We had produced questionnaires which were completed by 10 different people and then we summarised our results to help us learn what our specific audience looks for in trailers, covers and posters for our genre; horror, and how often they would see trailers by visiting the cinema often. With our audience research we decided to follow the horror genre as it was popular, with films like paranormal activity, the ring etc. We decided to use the research to find a target market and this was teens 15+ as they are the ones who most watch horror films and attend the cinema,  and this was the age group we asked for our research and planning.

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

In these stages we used several new media technologies that were new, we used Adobe Photoshop which we are used to and used for our poster and magazine cover and for the trailer we used Windows movie maker for our first draft of filming. In order to our last version of our trailer we would have to use FinalCut on the Apple Macs which is new and we haven’t used it before.

For our audience research we used Microsoft Excel in order to do the graphs for the results of the questionnaires so we could get the results of these so we could find out how often they attended the cinema and how often they would watch trailers. Unlike our AS media we have not used Adobe InDesign as we have only created front cover for a magazine and a film poster. We have learned new techniques in Photoshop that were used on the construction of the ancillary text, these were tools such as brushes, effects and colouring tools to manipulate the images and text used on the cover and poster. We also used new cameras and tools in order to do our filming. We had created a planned shot list which was followed and we knew what shots and angles that we had to use, several shots were used including Establishing shots, two shots, midshots and long shots we had also used sound in our trailer. Adobe Aftereffects was also used for improvements to the trailer and was also used for the construction of the company logo which was added to the trailer, which is a new media technology that we used.

Interview- Liam O (Media Student)




Audience Feedback Questionnaire









 

Shotlist

I created a shotlist plan and wrote it up. I split the scenes and what shots we were going to use for our scenes. and why i then typed it up in best.

              

SHOTLIST

Scene 1: Establishing shot of school, pan round to show angle of school environment. We did this shot to show the setting of the trailer and the contrast between the location and genre.

Long Shot/High Angle: This shows students on the playground. This is to show the normality of the school and the students.

Scene 2: Long Shot/Two Shot:- Character being brought into the school by foster brother, (both characters in frame.)

Scene 3: Mid-Shot- Teacher bringing Rupert into class (both in frame).
             Mid-Shot- Students mocking him and throwing paper balls at him.
             (Shows his expression and body language.)

Scene 4: Long Shot- Rupert kicking and punching the wall. (this is to show his anger, and change in mood)

Scene 5: High Angle/Long Shot- Rupert outside of class, bullies enter onto frame.

Cutback to Scene 4: Toilet scene, kicking and punching the wall.

Midshot to closeup- Sitting at table, he lifts his head and the camera zooms into his face.

Over-the shoulder shot- Bully in toilet, two shot of rupert behind him.

Long/Low Shot- Kid on stairs, rupert behind him.

Tracking long shot- Chase scene.Handheld following kid.

Costume

We decided to use school uniform for the costume of the characters as the film is based in a school environment and suited it best. We took a few pictures of the actor in different clothes and tops that we couldve used as a casual costume, but decided to stick to uniform.

This was a casual costume we could have used, but stuck to using school uniform.

This was a hooded costume we could have used, this was a good idea to hide identity but uniform was a better idea.

This again was a casual clothing idea for the character but was the least considered and we did not use.

Casting

Chosen Actors:


Isaac Frost

We chose Isaac as we struggled to find actors and i originally chose my brother Elliot as he was older than Isaac and suited the storyline better, but due to his timetable we had to choose someone else so we chose Isaac, who is my younger brother and had a timetable in which we could organise him for filming. He was motivated to be involved in the work and was very understanding and was eager to film and be involved.

We chose other actors at random who wanted to be in the trailer and picked a few from a class, and we will have to use them at suitable times.

These are the 3 lads we used for the trailer. They played the bullies in the story and were very co-operative, they were enthusiastic and did what they were told to do. They were the right actors for the role. They each played a seperate role in the footage and will work well with Isaac, one of them who is related to him.

Non- Selected Actors

At first we had 4 boys from another age group, they were co-operative but didnt take the filming seriously, therefore we didnt use them in our trailer. They were older than the actors we used but didnt consider them for the drafts and final stages of filming.

Location shots

 These are the pictures we took of possible locations we could use for our filming. We liked several of them but came to a final decision. We needed to pick the right location which would be more appropriate for the storyline and our plan.

This is the location we decided to use for a main part of our filming as it has good areas where some of our footage could take place. It has a hidden area away from the main buildings where one of the scenes could take place and suit the genre and storyline.



This was a good area but not suitable for our storyline as it was too open and is a big area. We decided that we would not use this location.





This was a good area to use as it a good school environment which would suit our genre, but looks too bright and colourful to suit our horror genre, so we decided to use a different more dull corridor to apply to our genre.



These locations we would use for the shots and short footage of the school and students from the start of the trailer showing the students in the playground.

Planning/Storyboards and outlines.

In a lesson we created a brief storyline plan to guide us for our filming, so we knew exactly what to film. We written up a brief plan and will follow it for our filming.

This is a written outline of the storyline which helped us as a guideline for filming. We written down the way in which we are going to film each part and the editing. This is the written copy draft in which we typed up later to be easier to read. We changed certain ideas during our planning and came up with a better planned storyline and outline for filming.

This is the final part of the storyline and has the final scenes we will shoot for the trailer. We will type this outline and make improvements as we go along.

This is the final version of our storyline plan, we typed it up and organized it into scenes and text. We made a few changes to the original written outline. This was typed as a word document.

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Storyline

1.      Screen with the company name.

2.      Shots of school showing it is quiet and peaceful (different angles and different areas of school)

3.      Text on the black background: “In a normal school”

4.      Shots of students at lunchtime (different angles and different areas of school)

5.      Text on the black background: “for ordinary students”

6.      Shot of Rupert being brought into school. Foster father says: “Have a good first day at school”.

7.      Text on the black background: “something unusual happens…”

8.      Rupert is welcomed into class by his new tutor. Mid-shot of teacher and Rupert coming into class. Rupert looks confident and happy; however he is dressed quite scruffy. His tutor says: “Please, welcome our new student to the tutor. His name is Rupert.” As the teacher says his name, mid-shot goes to one of the students who laughs and makes a joke about him saying: “Rupert? What kind of name is that?” and as he said it everyone started to laugh. He is taunted by other students because of his appearance and his weird name. Shot goes to Rupert again and his face expression changed to sad and angry.

9.   Shot goes to Rupert being in the toilet kicking and punching the wall.

10. Then the shot goes to him standing outside the classroom looking at his timetable and suddenly three boys start bullying him. One of them took his timetable and when Rupert tried to take it off him – the other two grabbed him. One of them said: “We’ve heard few stories about you”.

11.  Cutback to the toilet scene, where he keeps kicking and punching the wall. (crosscutting)

12.  Cutback to the bully’s scene. One of the bullies says: “You are a loner; even your parents abandoned you!” and another one says: “You are a freak!”

13.  The scene goes to Rupert sitting outside the classroom (or on the stairs) on his own. He is looking down the floor and as he lifts his head up – his eyes change.

14.  Text on the black background: “There is something wrong with Rupert”

15.  Scene where first kid is in the toilet and is looking in the mirror. Suddenly the lights flicker and door slams and as he looks around, he looks back in a mirror and he sees Rupert standing behind him. Sound of scream.

16.  Text on the black background: “Trouble does have a way of finding him”

17.  The second kid is standing on the top of stairs and he is on the phone and suddenly Rupert appears and when he looks up he gets pushed down the stairs.

18.  Text on the black background: “This summer”

19.  Scene goes to last kid who is running away and as he looks back (point of view) he sees Rupert who is slowly following him.

20.  Text on the black background: “revenge will have its ways”

21.  Scene goes back to the last kid who runs into a room slamming the door behind him and he tries to catch his breath. He hears a sound of door creaking as it opens slowly and as he looks back Rupert is standing next to him. No sound.

22.  Title and sound.

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Storyboard - Scene 1

This is a drawn storyboard we did as an example, we did one for scene one, as this would take us in the right direction.



 



Film Poster Draft/ Magazine Cover Draft

Magazine Cover Draft 1

The magazine cover first draft i experimented alot with the colour settings and editing. On photoshop i was able to create the image for the cover. I used the pen tool to cut the picture out and placed it on the magazine cover. I used different blending options for the text, and stuck to a colour scheme.

Film Poster Draft 1

This is the draft for my movie poster, I edited it to suit the genre and title of the project, i looked at other horror posters and used a similar technique to grab the audience. I took a picture of an eye and edited it on photoshop along with the background. The image suits the name of the film trailer. The film poster draft doesn't have Isaac on it. I used simple colours for the poster and tried to follow the horror theme. The font of this poster i decided to change.

Movie Poster Draft 2



For this draft i decided to change the tagline for the film and changed the title to a different font as it looked better and best suited the poster, i also changed the name of the actor on the billing block as we had to change actor earlier on before filming.