Final products

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

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

Above is my final poster and magazine cover and the last shot from my trailer. We can clearly see that the font from the trailer goes together with the text from the magazine. I have tried to repeat the style as much as possible to show a link between the two and I also think it looks proffesional as an end product. The text on the film trailer is similar to that on the magazind but not identicle. I chose not to make them the same because the text on the film trailer is hard to read on the magazine and the text on the magazine is hard to read on the film traile when the text is quick to change. Throughout the trailer the text is in the center making it stand out and identifiable to the film. This text helps us to relate the text to the film and is very effective to the audience. One thing that I have not been able to link is the magazine cover to the film. I attempted to put a shot of the blood hand at the end of the trailer but it did not fit and seemed almost too random so I left it out but the audience can see by the type of movie that they link.

Evaluation - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?



I used many different types of software to create my poster, magazine cover and trailer. To create the poster I used mainly Photoshop but also websites such as Empire and Moviesonline for ideas on how to present the poster. I also used Photoshop tutorials to help when experimenting with new ideas and to make them look even more professional.

Blogger is a blog-publishing service that allows private or multi-user blogs with time-stamped entries. It was created by Pyra Labs, which was bought by Google in 2003. To start I created my blog account in order to show my progress of creating the three products over a period of 7-8 months. I found it very easy to use. The blog allows you use a new interface for post editing, improved image handling, Raw HTML Conversion, and other Google Docs-based implementations. I used Photoshop when creating both the poster and the magazine cover. Photoshop has ties with other Adobe software for media editing, animation, and authoring. The PSD (Photoshop Document), Photoshop's native format, stores an image with support for most imaging options available in Photoshop. These include layers with masks, color spaces, ICC profiles, transparency, text, alpha channels and spot colors, clipping paths, and duotone settings. This is in contrast to many other file formats that restrict content to provide streamlined, predictable functionality. To create my teaser trailer I used Coral video studio to change edit and manipulate each clip. Corel VideoStudio is a non-linear video editor for Microsoft Windows distributed by Ulead Systems .The software allows both storyboard and timeline-oriented editing. Different formats are supported for source clips.

Above is a picture of me using all the hardware. Computor, memory stick and tripod with camera.

To create my poster, magazine and trailer there were certain items that we essential to creating all of these.

I used my own Canon 450D to take pictures for the front cover of the magazine and also for the poster. With this camera it is easy to zoom in and out when neccessary and to change the colour and lightening. I used a portrait setting when taking the pictures which enables to subject being photographed to be isolated, it gives a wide lens opening or a wide aperture to blur the background and give depth of field, thereby allowing the background to be blurred and the subject to be clear.

The video camera was essential for filming the teaser trailer,and I used the tripod for stability when filming shots and to make sure there was no hand shake or blurring.

I used the memory card to input software from the camera and video camera to the computer for editing.

I used the computer to input software from the memory card into Photoshop and Coral Movie maker to edit the software. I used the speakers the decide what music to put over the trailer and the hard drive was used to store all of the software.

Evaluation - What have you learned from your audience feedback?

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

02I asked a group of 10 classmates what they thought of my poster, magazine and movie trailer. I asked them to rate each of the products out of 10 so I am able to work out an average score for each.

Poster average : 8.1 %
Magazine Cover Average : 7.1 %
Movie Trailer Average : 8.8 %

After looking at the scores I then decided I needed to find out why they gave those scores and how they could be improved. I have found that many would like to have seen the blood hand in the movie trailer and if so would have given a higher score.
Others said they liked my use of camera angles and the filming in the reflection of the glass but thought that more characters should have been shown rather than the two main characters.
Everyone said that the music fitted really well with the timing of the scene changes to the beat of the scary music. The music is really what put the scary edge into the film.

Evaluation - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

1. 2.3. 4.5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
10. 11.


1. This is the order of film clips throughout my teaser trailer. Each was filmed in a different place around the house and is between 1 and 5 seconds so the scene changes are quite quick with text in between most of the clip changes. This is the beginning of the trailer. I used an image of 'New Line Cinema' as my company to start. New Line Cinema, often simply known as New Line is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner Bros. in 2008. 2. Lionsgate, as of 2007, it is the most commercially successful independent film and television distribution company in North America. It was founded in 1995 by Frank Giustra, a Canadian investment banker hoping to capitalize on the growing film industry in his home town. 3. This is the first film clip to be shown. It shows a car with bright headlights coming down the drive at night. When filming I found the lights to be a problem because they caused the camera to blur but when putting the clip onto the computer I thought this was rather effective for the mysterious look it brings. 4. This still shows the intruder standing inside the house- the fact that it is a still shot gives a feeling of the figure waiting and listening. I think this still shows to the audience that this sinister looking figure is a threat, he and not supposed to be in the house, it also leaves us wondering how he got in. 5. This shot is down a narror corridor with all doors shut except one, with a bright light behind it and the same dark figure appearing from the inside of the room. This shot is effective in the way that is leads the audience along the hallway and into the action, making us want to know where he is going and what he is doing. 6. This shot from the outside of the house shows the intruder closing the curtains in the the room which could possibly be the murder scene. The audience are left to wonder what is going on behind the curtains and what will happen once the curtains have been closed. Also we still have not seen the intruders face at this point so he is still a mystery. 7. This shot is one of my favourite shots. It is the victim unknowingly standing infront of the intruder while he looks on through a glass panel. I think this shot is effective in the way the audience know that the victim does not know he is there. This adds to the suspense throughout the trailer. 8. This clip shows the young girl unkowingly entering the room where her life may end. 9. This clip shows the intruder dragging the girl across the floor, she is not struggling, yet we have seen no violence. I chose to shoot this clip in a reflection rather than directly to add interest and increase the feeling of suspense. 10. This clip shows the intruder entering the same room that we had previously seen the girl in, he is alone, this adds to the suspense and questions the events that are about to unfold. 11. This is the last clip. It is the title of the trailer. I chose to use an old fashioned effect over the top of the text to add suit the classic style of my trailer.















This movie clip from the film scream reminds me of the shot in clip 7 with the girl unaware that the intruder is behind her. This type of suspense is what peopke enjoy when watching scary films so I have tried to make it as unexpected and spine-chilling as possible.












This is a screen print from the film when a stranger calls. It shows the house the film is set in with a figure standing at one of the windows much like my film clip 6 with a figure at the top window shutting the curtains, which is what happenes shortly after in when a stranger calls.

Creating my teaser trailer

To start creating my teaser trailer I made a story board planning how I would like the trailer to run, and how to incorporate the horror genre . I decided that to get the best horror effect I would film the actual trailer at my house maybe using the forest in the garden and the long front drive possibly at night. My initial plan was going to be called 'The Chase' as if someone was being followed through the woods, however upon filming this the result was rather disappointing as it seemed unoriginal- like other films of people being followed. The film quality was also disappointing because of the movement through the forest. I decided to try filming inside the house, looking for areas of interest where I would be able to build the feeling of suspense. I decided to use a long hallway on the first floor and a large reflective window. I used friends to play the characters, a boy as the murderer and the girl a victim who is home alone in the house The action that takes place in the film is quite conventional in its approach, it does follow the conventions of what you would expect to see in a murder trailer. You first see the victim alone and then the murderer but you never really get a full view of the murderers face, in order to add to the suspense and feeling of threat.


I also have to think carefully about the type of music that I will be using. It is important that the music is suited to the drama and suspense of the film and that it will fit in some way with the scene changes. This will require careful editing to make this successful. The music also helps to add atmosphere to the film and to create a feeling of tension and anticipation of what is to come.
I have to carefully think about how the trailer should flow planning the total length, speed , length of the clips and the time the text should be shown for during each clip change.

Conventions of a teaser trailer

Conventions

After viewing a number of teaser trailers done by other students and famous trailers on YouTube, we begin to look at the conventions of the trailer and what makes one trailer different or better than another.

The trailer normally starts and ends with credits using producer’s names and sound track names. Each trailer is roughly 50 seconds to 2 minutes long and each frame lasts about 2-3 seconds, changing at a high speed to keep up anticipation and also allowing more clips to be used throughout the trailer. The genre of the trailer should be made clear to viewers wishing to watch the film and to attract the largest possible audience.

The trailer does not necessarily have to be in order of events but cannot give too much of the story line away. The music helps to add to the atmosphere of a scene and also to show the genre of the film more clearly.
When creating a teaser trailer i think it would be very difficult to create authentic looking violent scenes without them appearing fake so I have decided to avoid them. A horror film in a teaser trailer would be easier to portray I feel that other genres and could lead viewers in anticipation of he storyline to come.

• Voice overs are used to tell the story and give credit information
• The stars of the film are showcased
• Key points are sometimes conveyed through titles
• Conversations between the characters often consist of one liners
• Dramatic camera angles maybe chosen to show events or characters
• Actors are interspersed with actor or director credits on screen
• Music plays an important role in creating atmosphere
• The film’s title may not appear until the end
• The trailer builds to a climax where it ends
• Montage- a series of shots from different points in the film, edited together. This is often used to highlight the most dramatic, humorous or fast-paced aspects of the film

Structure

All trailers tend to have a similar structure.

• Opening – Establishes setting and character
• Build-up – Relationships established and characters develop
• Problem – A dilemma or series of complications, characters may be faced with an obstacle to overcome
• Events – A series of events as the character/s try to overcome the obstacle

The conventional narrative of a film will normally adopt a classic storytelling structure.

Beginning – order is established
Middle – Order is disrupted
End – Order is restored

This is the structure for a film but not for a trailer. In a teaser trailer it is important to keep the audience guessing so the ending is always kept secret. If the end is still a mystery the audience will be interested and go to see the film.

Conventions of a movie poster

Conventions of movie posters In general a movie poster should conform to the following guidelines: - eye catching title, (and depending on the genre) bright, colourful, bold, stands out from the background - persuasive language – through reviews or tag lines etc to make people want to see the movie - promotional features like actors’ name, director, reviews etc - possibly use of the rule of thirds as a format for the layout - usually one predominant image - important to correctly represent the genre of the movie to attract the right audience Film posters are a vital aspect for the promotion of any film during the marketing process, they attract an audience as they are a major form of visual communication and are of interest to many people of all ages. The way in which the poster is constructed and what it consists of are very important for the representation of the film featured. For example if the poster was promoting a horror film but the font used for the title was smooth and elegant, the film is likely to be perceived incorrectly by an audience and maybe not seen as a horror movie. The colours used on the poster can also affect the impression given to an audience about the film, for example it is unlikely that pastel colours such as light pink and purple tones would be used for a horror film poster as pink represents love and beauty whilst purple symbolises royalty and magic. When I design my own poster to promote my horror film I will carefully consider what colours and types of font etc that I should use to ensure that my poster reflects the movie to its best advantage.

Poster ideas and conventions

‘The ring’ is a classic thriller and this poster portrays it brilliantly. Instantly we know that the genre is horror because of the type of font used but also because of the use of colours. We also know that it is horror because on other 'The Ring' posters there is a bold statement given to us at the top of the poster ‘ before you die, you see the ring’. The text inside the ring is interesting because is looks like a child’s writing and would not normally be used on a large scale world wide poster. This gives a certain edge to the poster and gives it its spooky feeling. This poster does not give away much in the direction that the film will take but the poster I find is enticing and encourages you to go and watch the movie trailer which gives the basic story line and lets the audience get a feel for the drama to come.

I also looked at this poster of 'The Midnight Meat Train' when deciding how to present my own horror poster. I particularly like the blurred effect of the image giving it a mysterious look and not giving too much of the plot away from the poster. We also know this is a horror because of the statement at the top of the poster 'The most terrifying ride you'll ever take'.

When analysing this poster of 'Shutter Island' I particularly like the contrast between the two images of the man and the daunting looking island. The poster is almost unconventional because of its style, combining two separate images within the one poster, thus providing us with more information about the film that we would normally expect. Here we are discovering who is playing the lead character as well as where the film will be set.

This poster for Batman is one of my favourite images and is where I first got the idea from of the sinister misted window with bloody hand print. The blurred effect gives a mysterious look and feel to the poster and the bloody crooked writing adds to the horror that the poster is trying to portray. Something that I noticed with this poster is that the title of the film is not even shown yet but from the 'Batman' emblem at the bottoms of the poster we instantly know who the film if about and the genre of the film.







This is the poster for the movie 'Signs'. What particularly attracts me to this poster is the use of space and unusual perspective. The image takes up the whole poster and the writing is only used at the top of the poster showing the famous actor used in the film and at the bottom where it shows us the name of the film. The genre of film is not really clear from this image, however the solitary house in the distance does convey an ominous feeling of uncertainty. The crop circles give the possibility of a supernatural element to the film and certainly raise questions and interest in the film.

This poster for Saw IV is very different to others of a horror genre. There are currently 7 Saw movies and all 7 posters are different yet all frightening in their own way. Most contain graphic images of some sort,including severed body parts. This particular poster is no less chilling even though it does not use blood or obvious horror. Instead we are left to imagine for ourselves the torture that may be implied by this image- which in some way adds to the anticipation of the film.

I have noticed that of all genres of film poster horror posters seem to be the most eye catching. We are instantly drawn to the poster and we know as soon as we see it that it represents a horror. The images on the covers are frightening but also make the audience want to find out more about the film and go and see it. When looking at the image on the movie poster, we get a sense of the mood it conveys. Grim films tend to use disturbing images intended to evoke fear or anxiety. Something else that is very important when looking at a film poster are the quotes. The quote tends to use frightening words such as ‘the most terrifying ride you’ll ever take’ and ‘before you die, you see the ring’ where as if the film was a romance the quote may be ‘sometimes when you least expect it, love happens’. It is important that leading film stars have their names clearly shown on movie posters as they can be an important draw for the audience, attracting people to watch the film regardless of its genre. I found some of the best empire movie posters on http://www.empireonline.com/features/movie-poster-mash-up/oscar-2011-nominations/ which show the 2011 Oscar Nominees Poster Gallery. This helped me because I was able to compare my poster to others that the public had created but I could also to see how I could make mine better.

To start creating my poster I first began by making a storyboard for my movie trailer and also a rough plan as to what I expect the trailer to look and how I want the trailer to link to the poster.
The idea of the bloody hand down the window came to me after filming two different scenes, one looking into the reflection of glass and the other looking up at a window. I then decided to try different techniques to create a poster using blood on a window. I think the effect was successful

Magazine cover ideas

This is the front cover of 'Empire',the biggest selling film magazine in Britain, consistently outselling its nearest market rival 'Total Film' and is also published in Australia, Turkey and Russia. In common with most British film magazines, Empire is populist in both approach and coverage unlike less irreverent and more 'serious' magazines such as 'Sight & Sound'. It reviews both mainstream films and art films, but feature articles concentrate on the former. As well as film news, previews and reviews, Empire has some unique regular features. Each issue features a Classic Scene, a transcript from a notable film scene. The first such classic scene to be featured was the "I could have been a contender" scene from On the Waterfront. The regular Top 10 feature lists Empire's choice of the top ten examples of something film-related. For example 10 Best Chase Scenes or 10 Best Movie Gags in The Simpsons. Readers are encouraged to write in if they disagree with the choices made.'- Wiki

Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features. It is one of the largest circulation English-speaking film magazines in the world. Guest editors have included Peter Jackson, Kevin Smith, and Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. - Wiki From the two front covers seen above we can see that the publishers use a similar format and layout for each issue. The focus seems to be on the actor who has the lead role in the film being publicised rather than the film in general or any other features within the magazine. This is something I will consider when designing my own magazine cover.

Costume

The costume for the intruder is a conventional 'bad man' outfit consisting of a black hooded jumper and black tracksuit bottoms. I decided to follow the conventions of this outfit because the dark clothing suited the night time filming to keep the intruder camouflaged and added to the sinister threat that his presence created. I felt that this classic approach gave me a good chance of a professional, believable looking trailer, rather than relying on 'fancy dress' style outfits

Hardware

Above is a picture of me using the hardware required for my work- computer, memory stick and tripod with video camera.

To create my poster, magazine and trailer there were certain other items that were essential.

I used my own Canon 450D to take pictures for the front cover of the magazine and also for the poster. With this camera it is easy to zoom in and out when neccessary and to change the colour and lightening. I used a portrait setting when taking the pictures which enables the person being photographed to be isolated as a subject. It gives a wide lens opening or a wide aperture to blur the background and give depth of field, thereby, isolating the subject so they stand out from the background, because the background is not in focus and the subject is clear.

The video camera was essential for filming the teaser trailer,and I used the tripod for stability while filming shots and to make sure there was no hand shake or blurring. The tripod made it much easier to pan around with the camera in a smooth movement -my attempt at hand held filming while moving was unusable. Some recent films have very successfully used the motion of hand held filming to their advantage to create the feeling of actually being there behind the camera- for example 'The Blair Witch Project' and 'Cloverfield'.

I used the memory card to input software from the camera and video camera to the computer for editing.

I used the computer to input software from the memory card into Photoshop and Coral Movie maker to edit the software. I used the speakers the decide what music to put over the trailer and the hard drive was used to store all the software.

Software

I used many different types of software to create my poster, magazine cover and trailer. To create the poster I used mainly Photoshop but also websites such as Empire and Moviesonline for ideas on how to present the poster. I also used Photoshop tutorials to help when experimenting with new ideas and to make them look even more professional.

Blogger is a blog-publishing service that allows private or multi-user blogs with time-stamped entries. It was created by Pyra Labs, which was bought by Google in 2003. To start I created my blog account in order to show my progress of creating the three products over a period of 7-8 months. I found it very easy to use. The blog allows you use a new interface for post editing, improved image handling, Raw HTML Conversion, and other Google Docs-based implementations. I used Photoshop when creating both the poster and the magazine cover. Photoshop has ties with other Adobe software for media editing, animation, and authoring. The PSD (Photoshop Document), Photoshop's native format, stores an image with support for most imaging options available in Photoshop. These include layers with masks, color spaces, ICC profiles, transparency, text, alpha channels and spot colors, clipping paths, and duotone settings. This is in contrast to many other file formats that restrict content to provide streamlined, predictable functionality. To create my teaser trailer I used Coral video studio to change edit and manipulate each clip. Corel VideoStudio is a non-linear video editor for Microsoft Windows distributed by Ulead Systems .The software allows both storyboard and timeline-oriented editing. Different formats are supported for source clips.

My Magazine Cover

This is the first movie poster that I created on Photoshop. I found this image on google but only used it as a template before taking my own photograph. I decided to use this image because I though it would link well to what happens in the film 'someone being murdered' and also to the use of window reflections throughout the trailer.

I took this photograph through a glass window layering it with a plastic sheet to give a blurred effect, as well as creating a sinister feel it also handily obscured the view outside the window. I then used red paint to create the effect of blood on the hand of my model. It took several attempts of trying to capture the hand being dragged down the window pane. After each attempt I had to clean the window before trying again. It was difficult for my model to avoid her body being in the shot rather than just the hand. After taking a number of shots I chose this mid closeup to edit in Photoshop. I used a 'sumi-e' effect on the image to create a faded look which also increased the blurred, misty effect. I am quite pleased with the overall effect, particularly the contrast in dark and lightness between the top and bottom of the image. I feel that this adds strength and interest as well as adding to the feeling of threat.

My Poster

These are my movie poster so far which I have designed using Photoshop . I have worked on two different posters and then will later decide which one I prefer. I came to realise that the title for the poster didn't actually fit the trailer so I decided to change the film title. The possibilities are 'The Wanted', 'Home Alone', 'The Alone' or 'Solitary'. The photograph that I have used for the background image was only an example that I found on Google images but I want to try to re-create this picture at home using frosted glass and red paint as blood. I wanted to use this syle of photograph because it gives the obvious impression that it represents a horror but can also be used for any movie teaser trailer and is not specific to the actual film.
















































This is the process to get to the finished image that I will be using for both my poster and my magazine cover.I used a plastic sheet over a glass window to make it look blured and i then used painting on the outside of the window as the blood hand print. I have chosen to use the same image for my poster and for my magazine cover because I wanted the bloody hand to be a reoccuring theme and image that people would relate to 'the wanted'. I then used font felix titling for the text on the poster and continued using the same text for my magazine cover.