3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Here's is me reading my answers to my questionnaire on audience feedback.


Here is another opinion about my teaser trailer who gave me their thoughts about my trailer instead of a questionnaire:
"To be honest, I really like it! It's pretty interesting, and it made me wonder about all these clocks and ticking and such.. and at 11.11.11 when that kind of well, glitch thingy happens, I was like "hmm, well, I wonder what that means? what is going to happen now?" It does build suspense, and makes me want to watch the whole movie to answer my questions! I like it a lot, and the music fitted in very well, too :) it was actually really good.. I know that videos like this can be difficult to make, so well done! :)"
Genre
There were quite a few people who thought that my trailer was Sci-fi Thriller genre which is good since that's what I had intended. Although, there were quite a few people who thought that it was Pyschological Thriller which I can understand why they think that, as there are a lot of connatations of Pyschological- as it seems like people are being watched, that are paranoid. Also, there was one person who said Action/Adventure, which was unusual I thought, I think maybe the reason they thought this was because it seemed like time was running out, and maybe they thought it was an escape mission (which in a way it is-but that would be if the project was actually made into a film). But all in all, I'm happy with the feedback I got with genre!

What people liked
A lot of people said they liked it a lot, and commented that they liked the editing and thought that it was 'invisible'. There were also some comments on the music saying that they thought it made the trailer- or the match was perfect. Generally, I'm very pleased with these results!

What people didn't like
There was only one negative feedback in all of my questionnaires- although it was more constructive critism, they thought that the positioning of some scenes could be slightly different- I can understand why they've put that, since there was only one person who said that, it probably was not a unanimous agreement, however apart from that, everyone else said they liked it.

Multiplex or Small Cinema?
I think everyone said that they thought it would be in a multiplex cinema, this probably because it fitted quite a few hollywood film conventions, and although it is a bit surreal, it does not match conventions of an 'arty' film.

What rating would you give this?
As I've mentioned quite a few times, I have a mixture of ratings of the film and age ratings. With ratings of the film- the majority gave me good marks, such as 5/5! Although there were a few people who thought that the trailer was an age rating of 15, which was slightly off what I originally intended, however, at least one person said it was a 12. But I fully understand why it might have a 15 rating as because it is eerie, these people may have thought that the actual film might be a bit too scary or violent for a 12.

All in all though, I am VERY pleased with my audience feedback, i'm glad to have found out that the majority of people had agreed with what genre the teaser trailer was, proving I must have protrayed the sci-fi thriller genre pretty well. Especially as I thought it would be very difficult for people to realise it was sci-fi as well as thriller.

Target Audience: Who are they?

I thought what is the best way to explain my target audience...filming myself seemed like a good idea, although I seem a bit of a numpty! But there we go, here's my target audience!!

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

First- lets discuss my teaser trailer:

My teaser trailer is sci-fi thriller genre, it features four different characters in the trailer- two of them are antagonists and two of them are protagonists!

So.
How does my film poster relate to my trailer?
My poster- as I've said in previous posts - is one face made up of different people's faces- this is to represent there is many different main characters in my teaser trailer!

Hopefully the combination of my poster and the trailer will make people want to go see the film because I think that they are both have an enigmatic element to them- what are the masks on the poster? what are the people in masks doing on the tv?

I have used connatations of my film in both my trailer and my poster:
*Tick and Tock Masks
*Clocks
*11.11.11

This is why they both work well together, because the audience can easily remember that if they see the poster for this film, then see the trailer, they'll instantly be able to think whilst watching the trailer- 'ah! this is for that new film Glitch, the one that has a poster of mismatched faces!'. This is what I'm often like for films that I see myself. Both the trailer and Poster have given a specific date of when the film is out, they both have the tagline 'Time is Ticking' on it, and of course, the clocks and Tick and Tock!! So all together the combination of them both has proved very effective!

Here is a few opinions from other people about my poster:


How does my magazine cover relate to my trailer?
My magazine front cover has the green text at the bottom, which matches the film poster style of text and colour! The magazine front cover carries on to relate to my trailer by the recurrance of the clock- except this time it is a grandfather clock to match the length of the image. There are three hands which grip around the door of the clock- this gives connatations of being trapped- you can relate this to my trailer in the last few images of the girl who is in the empty room, being watched. You also see the image of a notebook next to the girl saying leave me alone. This can also give connatations of being trapped. Also, the cover shows one of the antagonists within the clock face- Tick. The aim of this poster is so people will double take at the cover and each time will notice something new about it!

Again, the magazine front cover features the tagline- Time is Ticking- thus matching the trailer!

Overall, the combination of my main product (teaser trailer) and ancillary texts (magazine front cover and film poster)provide a clear, but enigmatic effect that will make you want to find out more about the film! They provide the balance between giving enough detail for people to want to see the film and not giving anything away. Therefore, encouraging people to go pay to watch the film!

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

Media technologies!-
What did I use for the research/planning?
Lets start with Blogger- the website I'm using to record all this work! Originally, work had to be hand written, you had to create a portfolio for yourself and it was sent separately to the examiner. Now however, you can easily record what work you've done without the paperwork! It also means you can upload pictures and videos to the assigned piece of paper- this way you show more creativity than just a hand written piece of work. Another way of expressing yourself- some people find it easier to write essays, others talk to a camera.

When it comes to media, Youtube possibly has to be the most useful website ever! Throughout my research I would go onto youtube and search for teaser trailers, normal trailers and compare them. For instance, when analysing trailers I posted videos onto blogger, then wrote about them, without youtube you wouldn't be able to have the clip accessible for everyone to see! Youtube was useful when it came to uploading your own videos as well, it meant I could just film myself talking, then send it to everyone I want to. There's not many cons to using youtube apart from sometimes the audio can be a bit out of sync with the video, but this happens rarely. The pros being that you can easily search for anything you want!!

Televisions were very useful when it came to research and planning- more importantly adverts! Even though most people think that adverts are the most annoying thing in the world, you'll be suprised when a trailer comes on during the adverts how much people are engaged to watch them- a bit like a mindless robot. But it was useful in my planning as it meant I could watch what times certain trailers came onto the TV,

for instance for a film such as Happy Feet 2, it was often shown about 4 o'clock on channels such as CITV- this captivates their audience being children who just came home from school, watching childrens TV. Whilst a film such as Sherlock Holmes 2- although it is not scary as such, it tends to be shown on channel 4/E4, at about 8 o'clock, as their audience is older teenagers, young adults.

Media Technologies I used for Construction-
Lets start by talking about the cameras I used.

For filming of the trailer itself I used:
A Sony Handycam dcr-sx30!
It's a really good video camera!
*Simple to use
*Very few buttons (adds to it's simplicity)
*Compact- so when you are filming in public places (such as when I was filming in Norwich City) it doesn't draw attention to you filming- which is always good as people will be more likely to act naturally within your film (passers-by).
*Good quality film for it's price
*Last, but not least, it has a memory card slot, which is SO much easier for uploading videos from camera to computer (especially if you have a SD slot on your pc!!)

For taking still pictures (such as Tick and Tock)I used:

Lumix G1-
Pros of this camera!
*It produces good quality pictures!
*Has a good zoom lens on it
*Many settings that you can change on your camera, e.g. grayscale, take pictures at night etc.
*Because of the quality of camera- it's really easy to edit (pictures aren't pixalated)
Here's some pictures taken with my camera (click on the photo to see the quality of them

There's hundreds more photos I could of posted...but there's a limit to the amount you can/should upload!

Cons of this camera
*You couldn't just pick it up and instantly use it- it's pretty complicated due to the fact it has many settings.
*It's compact in a way. But in comparison to newer models, it's huge. However if you like the feel of the SLRs, you'd probably prefer this model to the newer ones.
*Again, in comparison to newer models it's not quite as good (new models can film HD, this camera takes still pictures only)

All round though, it's very good! And the pros completely outweigh the cons!

What I used for photo editing (this is for the magazine cover, film poster and photos in general for media):

I used Photoshop CS2- this was used to "manipulate" photos, as you can tell in my poster- I've made lots of different parts of people's faces into one big face- this creates the effect that there are an equal importance (this is explained in more detail in my film poster). Photoshop CS2, is easy to use...when you know how, it takes a few days when you get the hang of it, but I have used it many times in the past so it didn't take half the time making my poster as it would have if I didn't know how to use it!

As a sidenote, I also used Picnik.com for my text!

What was used by my brother for music:
I don't have too much information on this media technology, but the program that was used to make the music is called Logic Pro! Here's a screenshot of the program, sometimes pictures are better explaining than words!

Last but not least! I used Sony Vegas to edit my video!!! Much like the rest of the media technologies I've used- once you know how to use it, it's simple- if not, it'd take ages!! However, I used this for my last (AS) media project, and I've had much experience before that as well.
Pros:
*It's a good quality video editing software
*Lots of different effects!
*Lots of different transitions!
*Alongs you know how to use it, you can literally make anything that you think of, want a lion in the background? Done. Green Screened!

Cons:
*Expensive!!!!
*Takes a long time to learn how to use it!

Again, pros outweigh cons!

And with that, it concludes this evaluation question!

Shooting Plan

Here is what my timetable for filming/editing etc. It actually was quite similiar to what actually happened:

*Filming in the summer- I filmed the part that is in Norwich in the summer as my cousins live in norwich.

Other pieces of film were filmed at the beginning of October

Editing by October Half term

Because I was on a group of my own, it meant that I could choose when to film, and also because I was in the film, it meant that I could just be like- it's time to film, walk into my living room and film a scene.

Locations

Since it's only a teaser trailer- there aren't many locations but here is where I filmed my trailer anyway:
In chronological order-

*Ticking clock at the beginning- my House- clock just sat on a stool against a screen for a background (makes sure nothing distorts the image)

*The next images are actually pictures not film but they were taken in my house anyway

*Scene of boy looking over city- Norwich City

*Scene of glitch (person on a bike)- Norwich City

*Scene of first clock pendulum swinging- my cousin's house

*Scene of close up on clock- my house

*Scene of close up on pendulum- my house

*Scene of clock again- my house

*Scene of girl sitting in room- my living room

That's about it, like I said - not much to comment on in terms of locations, but I guess this way it doesn't overcomplicate the trailer.

Media Questionnaire- Results

Since there were many different answers, it was too hard to process them all so instead I had to film a video of me reading out the answers, then talking about these answers...But anyway here's the results!!

Using text within the trailer

Originally my teaser trailer did not have any text in it as I thought that it was alright without it. However I realised that in a lot of trailers, to add to the conventions, they had text within it.

So I decided to add text within the gaps on my clocks that are being shown (about half way through the teaser trailer) as if I overlayed it over any of my clips it wouldn't have looked as good. This meant that I could only have three words within my text- so luckily my tagline is only three words: Time is Ticking. So that's what is within my trailer now.

However, a question might have sounded better originally, but since it could only be three words, it wouldn't have worked very well with my trailer. But Time is Ticking still creates an enigma code, as you do not know why time is ticking.

Quick brief of clothing/costumes

Protagonists costumes- for my protagonists costumes I had:

*T-shirts

*Jumpers/Cardigans/Hoodies

*Jeans/Trousers/Shorts

Average attire of teenagers


This is because the majority of my cast (and especially the people in the trailer) are 17, therefore they would be wearing casual clothes. As it's not common to see a teenager wearing a suit. This is to show that they are ordinary people which will create the verisimilitude in my film.

Antagonist Costumes- For my antagonist costumes I Had:

*Suits

*Ties

*Black Attire

*Masks

This is because they are meant to look sinister. If you are confronted by a person in a suit they often have more authority than you, therefore you tend to obey their every command and are less likely to oppose them. The masks add to their sinister look as it is always unnerving not seeing the face of someone as you cannot see their expressions/emotions.

The Text I Used

Just a short post to explain why I used the text I did:

I decided to use this text out of any other, mainly because it's completely plain, I thought the white text on a black background would make it stand out. Also, I thought that I didn't want to 'over-complicate' the title, and in itself it is an Enigma, because if you just saw the title, it would be difficult to decipher what the film is about, making you want to watch it and find out. The spacing between the letters is perfect as the title is seen very clearly, one of my options was with the text close together, but it was harder to actually see what it said.

The Real Thing- Glitch Teaser Trailer

Here is my finished teaser trailer!!! Hopefully you will enjoy it!

Magazine Front Cover

Here is my magazine front cover 'Captured'! (please click on it to enlarge the image)

I've decided that I would only feature one of my antagonists on this cover, as there would be different editions, much like my poster. This front cover features Tick inside the clock face, whilst the other edition would feature Tock.

So. How did I make it?- I used CS2 Photoshop

Firstly: I had taken lots of pictures of a grandfather clock (ironically...it was my Grandfather's), different parts of it, such as one just of the clock at the featured time (11.11), many of the full clock and one of the door.

Secondly: I had to mash up all the pictures to make one whole clock!

Thirdly: I took a few pictures of hands to make them look like they were gripping around something i.e. a door. As I wanted to make it look like there were people inside the clock trying to get out/escape.

Fourthly: I added the Tick mask into the face of the clock, I thought this was the best place to include the mask as it doesn't seem out of place here- which was one of the reasons I decided not to have Tick and Tock on the same cover, because with both of them, it seemed a bit tacky and not very professional.

Fifthly: I added a gradient to make the background (this matches my poster and logo- a bit of a theme really), a bar code and I added parts of my friend's- Emily - media project film poster. As I decided that if my magazine was to be real it would feature her film in it.

Then using Picnik.com (a free photo-editing website)- I added text onto my poster.

Explaining the Text
The Title- I decided to have my title in bold and red to make it eye-catching. It is called captured, as it is a film magazine, it is like capturing a film.

Glitch- I used the same text as I used for my poster, so they would match, again at a jointy angle for each letter, bright green to carry on the sci-fi theme.

Hollywood VS Britain- This is a major debate in the film industry, and since it is a film magazine, I thought it would be a nice touch to have for my magazine front cover.

Exclusive interview with Director Naomi Lewis- I thought 'Why not?', it's a magazine featuring my film, naturally they'd want to know about the director.

New film smashes onto the screen- This is a pun, as the film is called She'll break you- so I thought smashing onto the screen would be representing something breaking. And in this case, the film is a new release.

Free Glitch Poster INSIDE- It goes with the feature article, and the free poster inside is just that extra bit of advertising, people who will put up the poster are more likely going to see it.

Time is Ticking- the tagline for my film 'Glitch'

November Edition 2011- because the film is out in November 11th, the magazine would have been released a bit earlier, so people would be able to get an insight of the film, wanting them to see it more.

Win- V.I.P cinema tickets- There was a bit of extra space that was needed to be filled, and often in magazines including Film, have competitions, I thought that people would be enticed into buying the magazine more if there was a competition especially for V.I.P tickets as they are rare to come by.

That's all *I Think* there is to explaining my magazine front cover! Enjoy!

Narrative Theory

In this post, I'm going to talk about narrative theory, studying one of the Russian formalists- Propp -and applying it to my film of choice...in this case- it's the Lion King.

First! What is Narrative?- A quote from Branigan, E. Narrative Comprehension and Film (Routledge 1992)

More Specifically, narrative is a way of organising spatial and temporal data into a cause and effect chain of events with a beginning, middle, and end that embodies a judgement about the nature of the events as well as demonstrates how it is possible to know, and hence to narrate, the events.

Propp's Narrative Theory

1.Preparation- a community or family is in an ordered state of being.

2.Complication- the villain harms a member of the hero's family.

3.Transference- the hero is given a magical gift.
The hero arrives at the place he can fulfil his quest.

4.Struggle- there is a struggle between the hero and villain.

5.Return- the hero escapes. A task is set for the hero. The hero accomplishes the task.

6.Recognition- The hero is rewarded.


Lets apply this to the Lion King!(Often Disney Films apply to Todorov/Propp's theory)

Preparation- the pack of pride rock with Mufasa as the leader.

Complication- Mufasa is killed by Scar in a stampede but Simba is the one who thinks he killed Mufasa.

Transference- Simba runs away and is found by Timone + Pumbaa.

Struggle- Simba meets Rafiki and is confronted by Mufasa (in ghost/cloud form)that Simba should return to Pride Rock.

Return- Nala finds Simba, they return to the Pride and have to defeat Scar. Simba then defeats Scar with the help of his friends Timone + Pumbaa.

Recognition- Simba becomes the new Lion King.

Propp's seven character types :

Hero- Simba- He is the one who is set out on a quest, the main character, the film is centered around his life.

Villain- Scar- Simba's uncle, he is trying to become the Lion King- does succeed until Simba defeats him.

Helper- Timone + Pumbaa- They help Simba- rescued him from the desert, taught him it was worth it to live.

Mentor- Rafiki/Mufasa- Encourages Simba to return to the pride.

Blocker- Hyenas- Henchmen of Scar.

Prize- Nala- Simba's girlfriend at the end of the film.

Dispatcher- Rafiki/Mufasa- Send Simba out on his quest to defeat Scar.

Sneak Peeks!!

Here is some sneak peaks of my teaser trailer!!!

That's all you see before I upload the trailer!!

Rough Storyboard!!

Here is my storyboard in closer detail!! Sorry that it is in inverted colours, but you could not see anything when it scanned originally! Click on the pictures to see then englarged! Also, to hear about the storyboard in more detail, please refer to my pitch post!

Trailers

Here are some short Q+As about Trailers!

What Are Film Trailers?
Film trailers are sections of a film put together into a sequence to convince people to go see the film in the cinema.

Why are they made?
They are made so their target audience will go pay to watch the film. It is a form of advertisement (instead of posters, magazine articles etc.)

Who are they for?
They are for anybody, often shown on TV and are shown at a certain time on certain channels, in order to appeal to their target audience, e.g. Horror, Late Night on E4- aimed at teenagers who like horror films- pretty convential (hollywood)

How do they work?
They show the best parts of the film to hook people in, e.g. Comedy films- show the bits that are funniest in the film.

Where do we see them?
Cinema, TV, feature websites, advertisements on internet. Can be seen repeatably on Youtube.

When are they released?
Depending on the type of film and budget, if it's a sequel, big production such as Batman, the release of the trailer tends to be a year before the film is actually out. A smaller production that has trailer advertisement, tends to be around 3 months before the film is out.

Trailers are multimodal texts- They make meaning through a powerful combination of different modes of communcation:
*Music
*Sound Effects
*Spoken Language
*Written Text on Screen
*Moving Images


What 'ingredients' make an effective trailer?
*Title Screen
*Got to apply to the genre
*Not to show everything (reveal main plot twist)
*Music Match
*Editing
*Star Factor
*Director
*Enigma Codes
*Mise-en-scene
*Icongraphy
*Narration/Voice Over
*USP

An awareness of who the target audience is and use; sound, language, recurring images, themes and symbols which are appropriate to that particular audience.

Soundtrack- Adds to and supports the narrative, also is often in sync with the fast paced editing.

What is the difference between a teaser trailer and a trailer?
A teaser trailer tends to be released ealier than a full length trailer, usually due to the fact that the film needs to be edited still, but it is often after the majority of filming is done. A teaser trailer allows the audience to want more, and will anticipate the film more, it leaves a lot of questions unanswered!!