Evaluation - Question 4

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

The start of the coursework began with the research and planning stage where i had to find out as much information on the products that I will be creating. I looked at different trailers from some of the main genres to help decide in which genre i prefer the most and then once decided, I concentrated on my chosen gene. I also looked up and analysed the similar products of the ancillary tasks which helped in getting a bit better insight of what I need to do. This was all research found mainly on the internet however I also looked at some magazines and posters that I found lying around the house too.

The filming and editing part of the project was much easier and simpler this time round as I was already experienced with it. Though we did try to research up on the different location spots and settings on the internet, it was important for us to actually go to these places ourselves so that we could see if it would fit our criteria. Clothing and props were all researched up on the internet as well as real life experience. As youngsters ourselves, we also know what the audience would prefer the most and which factors attract them more. We used different program mes on the Mac to create the various features on the products such as Photoshop when creating and manipulating the images.

Evaluation was mostly based on the audience feedback and my own opinion and experience of the whole project.I had to personally gather round my audience and get them to write what they liked and disliked. I then analysed and made a final comment on the overall feedback.

Evaluation - Question 3

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Audience feedback was an important task to do because it help me in knowing whether or not I  succeeded in being able to carry out and produce the products to the effect that I wanted. This also helped in knowing whether I had progressed over the last year in the skills that I picked up last year.

I gathered around a few people from my target audience and put in front of them the products that I produced. I then asked them to write comments down on what they thought about the products. It was quite interesting to see how people's opinions varied between the products. Some preferred the one product better than the other even though the similarities between them were recognizable from afar. However its certain features that attract different people with some saying they liked the colors and some liking the images

In general, the feedback I got was positive and it also helped me in knowing where I have been able to grow with my techniques and what knowledge I have been able to gain this year.

Evaluation - Question 2

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

The combination between my main product and the ancillary tasks is quite distinctive and unique. While creating all three products, we had to ensure there are certain recognizable features that link them all together and make sense when put together. The main product is the trailer which in the end turned out to be intense, chilling and overall quite spooky which is the effect that we wanted to create so that the audience knows the genre of the film. To link the trailer to the ancillary tasks, we had to create the same effect in the two tasks to bring out the same effect but also so that the audience know they are one piece. The same effects in the tasks such as the font of the title and the color schemes are also shown in the trailer. The effect of it creepy and intense needs to be portrayed in all three products and so using the same recognizable features does that not only to link them but highlighting the danger, the suspense and the overall mood of the atmosphere.

The three tasks together look quite good and is a great combination between them. This is because the first task is a poster which emphasizes on the movie through visual effects with the color scheme and the title of the film. It then leads on to the second task which is a magazine cover which has more writing and talks and hints things not only about the film but other factors which is inside the magazine. Finally onto the trailer which is not only being shown but we can hear it as well in front of us in a video. Each task has the same colors used, the font title and background image. However each time a little more is added to create more suspense and to bring forward the spooky scary impact a little bit closer each time.

Evaluation - Question 1

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

In the start of my trailer, I started with the shots of the location so that my audience can get to know the area of where the action will be taking place and as its a significant part of the trailer and its necessary for it to be put into the audience's mind. Other trailers use this technique as well such as Wrong Turn which as soon as the trailer starts, its in the main location of the film e.g. the woods. I also wanted to use this technique ion my trailer so that the audience get a feel of the atmosphere from the start.

The way the characters are introduced is always significant so that the audience is mentally able to decide who plays what role in the film which helps them get closer to them mentally. In nearly most of the trailers, the main actor is introduced straight away so the audience know who the film is about. This technique is also shown in the trailer of Scream 4 when the main actresses voice is the first to be heard and her been shown herself.

The title of the film was important that it matches the mood of the overall trailer. Our title is in a sort of cracked up font where it seems to be falling apart and old. This effect is quite spooky and highlights the whole scary, dim and chilling-ness of the trailer. We chose to put it at the end of the trailer and in a sudden way so that it blows up in front of the audience's eyes and sticks in their mind. Many other trailers also do this as its a perfect way to stick it into the audience's mind. The overall image of it tells a bit about the trailer as the color of it is pure white and it stands on a black background which is very common as this attracting.

Many horror films edit their trailers to start off with a calm pace and then suddenly go into a quick, fast cuts sequence with little time to take in everything before the next scene starts. this builds up adrenaline and encourages the audience to get into it. This is the same effect we wanted to create and therefore we also did the same by adding fast cut scenes running at a quick pace however we wanted our audience to intercept whats happening therefore didn't rush it too much.

The music was one of our best features which we got from Royalty Free Music sites. It was intense and quite chilling which is the effect we wanted to create.

Hood in Da Wood - Trailer

Audience Feedback - Trailer

Below are some comments from the audience and their ratings.

Abdullah Afsar 

"The trailer is quite effective and is intense. It builds suspense which I really like as its not putting to much detail on what the film is about. I prefer films to be like that as that way its leave mystery behind and encourages me to watch it. I would give it a 8/10."

Wahida Ali

"Was quite scared for a bit. It doesn't show gory and blood which i prefer so I would go with my friends to watch it as it seems quite interesting. 7/10"

Shazia Akther

"I really like horror films and this trailer is different from the usual ones you see which is quite persuasive. If the trailer is good, I find that most of the time, the actual film is great as well and I would definitely give this film a go. Its not got much bloodshed which is something I think stands out in horror films but what I've seen, I would watch it in the cinemas. 8/10"

Waseem Aziz 

"Not enough blood and scary scenes for me but its quite intense. Wouldn't go cinema to watch it but would watching if it came on t.v. 6/10."

Audience Feedback - Magazine Cover

Below are some of the comments that I've put down from the feedback we got from our target audience.

Aziza Ali 

"Though I don't usually read film magazines, if I walked past Gore-Mania I would most likely look back and give it a second look to it as stands out a lot. I personally if I did read them magazines, I wouldn't buy it but i would give it a quick read through in the shops. This is because I'm not a horror film fanatic."

Abdullah Afsar

"I read a lot of film magazines because I like what in them and the different stories and reviews on the films which are quite interesting. This magazine cover stands out for me and though I am a loyal customer to the magazine that I currently buy, I would buy this magazine as it seems different and quite eye catching. The overall magazine looks really cool and the color scheme is what brought my attention to it as to me it looks wicked."

Amirah Begum 

"I'm not really into film magazines nor the horror genre but looking at the cover i was quite impressed as it stood out to me and did catch my attention. I would think that this is perfect for those who love horror films. I would recommend it to my friends who like these sort of films."

Ajaz Alaf

"SICK!! WICKED!! GREAT!! WOULD DEFO READ IT!!"

Wahida Ali 

"This magazine does look real and stands out a lot. I think overall it looks fantastic and would encourage me to flip through it."

Audience Feedback - Poster

We asked several different people for their opinions on our end pieces so that we could know if they had the positive affect that we wanted. Here are some of their comments they wrote:

Wahida Ali 

"Wow!! This looks really fabulous, you can't tell that its not a real from a real film. I'm not usually a fan of scary films but this looks unique and different and I would go to check it out"

Aziza Ali

"SCARYY!! I LOVE IT! Im definitely going to go watch that."

Raheem Hussain 


"This looks like a sick movie. I would definitely watch it in cinemas. Better be as creepy and scay as it looks"

Waseem Aziz 

"The effects look sick and proper cool. The name is quite catchy too which makes me want to watch it so that I know what happens it it"

Editing the trailer

The next was to edit the shots that we took so that it would all come together to create a trailer which was the most funnest part of the project for me personally. This is because I liked playing around with the different techniques and manipulating the shots to look like the way I want. Though its quite a enjoyable task to do but it is still a very difficult task to do and took us a while to complete the overall editing of the trailer.

The trailer had to last for between 2 and 2 &1/2 minutes. We found that most trailers last this long and the shots that we took would also take this long once put together. Adding the effects was quite difficult as there were so many that we liked and felt that would work best but in the end we chose the ones that we liked a lot and preferred.

This time round we decided not to use iMovie as we felt that it dont have much tools and techniques on it. For the editing of the trailer, we used my partners Mac and due to this advanatege were able to download beter program mes which could be used for the editing process. At first we played around with the different tools and effects so that we could get used to them which we did by using unrelated shots that we took. As my parnet was already familiar with the software, we knew how to use different effects the way we wanted and play around with the audio sounds which we had trouble with last year.

Filming the trailer

Filming the trailer was one of the fun parts of the projects and the important bit as well. As we already knew how to use the camera and were more experienced with it, this time round was very simple and easy especially as most of the scenes that we shooting were from the characters point of view.

Me and my partner worked together to be able to do the filming as together we were able to work out the most efficient way to complete the filming. Most of the times, the actor had to hold the camera and so all we had to do was instruct on how to hold the camera and to move the camera according to the actions of the characters.

The use of the tripod was limited this year however there were certain parts we did use it. The tripod we had this year was much longer and would go really high which was beneficial to us.

Production logo

My production logo:

Coming up with ideas for the logo was quite fun/ At first we were going to use the one that we created last year but change the image of it so that its different but still part of the same production. However, we felt that it would best to change it to try something new and fun. This is because last year we create out logo by hand and uploaded and manipulated it on Photoshop. This year we have much more knowledge on the software and how to use the different tools and so wanted to create the image directly on Photoshop.

After brainstorming ideas, my partner came up with an idea of 'Two-Two Mirror productions' which I really liked and felt was different and unique. Though its quite simple, its really effective and stands out. As we have the used the word mirror in it, we wanted to use this in the logo to show the mirror imagery. All we had to do was decide when mirror would go. Though the different angles we came up with were also good, we liked the horizontal one the best as it had more simplicity on it.

Music

The music which will be in the trailer is very important especially in a horror film as it helps in creating suspense and various other emotions. Last year when creating our opening scene, we created our own music using Garageband which you can find on a iMac. We have decided to do the same again this year however we may also use some existing sounds that can be found on the internet. Creating your own piece of music isnt easy especially when we are trying to create sounds and then other noises in the background also get intercepted.

I think that creating our own background music was better as we can play around with the different sounds and create our own unique music. We can also get it to sound however we want and in the way we find that will fit in best with our trailer.

Props

For our trailer, the props that we needed were limited as we found that this would be best. This is because we wanted to keep the overall trailer simple and didn't want to complicate things too much like we did last year.

We needed a poster highlighting someone gone missing which we decided to do on Microsoft Word. We wanted it to be in bold writing so that it really stands out however we didn't want to emphasize much onto it so that the audience is still kept hanging and so they don't have too much knowledge on the story-line keeping it a suspense.

Though this next prop will not be actually shown in the trailer, we will be using behind cameras so crate a sound of something snapping in the background. For this, we will be using twigs which are found on trees so that we can create this sound.

Character Analysis - The Victim

The roles of the victims are very significant in horror films. The main characters usually play the victims in the films where they will be tortured both mentally and physically and many of them even die in the end. They are usually introduced at the start of the film and in many cases the story follows through their points of view as if they are telling the story. The main victim is always connected to the killer personally which is left a mystery as they don't want to reveal the full story as that usually explains why they become murderers. This is shown in the film Scream 4 where the killer turns out the main character's cousin and kills because she wants to have the same fame that her cousin receives as a victim who has survived many killings.

There are quite a few films where they don't reveal who the real victims are until they are killed off. They do this to cause panic and mystery within the film which brings suspense and creates tension for the audience, This technique keeps the audience guessing at all times and they again also try to figure out who they think is innocent and who is the killer. A perfect example of this is shown in the film Devil where all the characters are stuck in a elevator and when the lights go down, someone is killing the others. All the characters are portrayed as victims and the audience mentally tries to figure who they think is the killer amongst them. This keeps the audience entertained throughout.

Character Analysis - The Killers

In many horror films, the killer is introduced right at the start of the film with a murder happening which is done for many reasons such as the director wants to keep the audience entertained but also to allow them to get to know the killer and his skills. If there is a murder at the start of the film, more often than not they will not show the killer's face or his face will be covered with a mask. One movie that did this was Scream where the first killing happens within the first 10minutes of the film. This helped in shaping out the rest of the film but it was also where the rest of the movie started from the actual character's lives with them finding about the murder and how they get involved in it. Though its not explained why the two characters die at the start, we know that it is done to capture the audience's attention and to set the plot of the story.

The killer in the movie is most of the time who the audience least's expects and throughout the whole film they try to mentally figure out they think it will be. Film director's will often to try to throw their audience off by creating assumptions with other character's and have create scenes where other characters will get accused. This is so that killer isn't revealed till the end which is usually the main plot of the story. My Bloody Valentine also uses this technique where the killer ends up to be the one the audience thought was the actual victim. They threw their audience off by creating a suspicion that the man they thought who died at the start is actually alive and taking revenge. The other character they tried to accuse was the police man who is also one of the main actors in the film by creating some dark and dim scenes of him.

The killer always has a past and a reason of why he has become the way he is. However this is usually unraveled at the end of the film when the killer is revealed. Some films however keep their killer hidden but reveal his story throughout the film to explain the plot of the film which keeps the audience more entertained but also keeps them guessing of who they think the killer his by analyzing the possible suspects mentally.

In the majority of the horror films, the killer is always defeated by the main actor/actress in the end which concludes the film and gives it a clear ending. However there are many films who leave the ending as a cliffhanger where they show that murderer hasn't been killed but gets off. This is revealed in a shocking scene where you will least expect it. Halloween is a great example of this where the audience thinks that he has been killed however it then reveals at the end that he survived as they killed the wrong person. It finishes with him standing there suggesting that it's still to be concluded and there will be another film.