Screen casting (How did you use technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?)

Screen casting (What have you learned from audience feedback?)

Screen casting (How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?)

Screen casting (in what ways does your media product use develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?)

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

When researching I used a relatively small amount of technological programs in order to develop my research. I used Prezi which is an online program where you can develop a PowerPoint to a whole new level. For instance you can imbed You Tube videos having moving images, add sound effectives etc. Through this program my research becomes more media proactive. I also used Microsoft office packages to enhance my research as I was able to develop pie charts on Edexcel and create a questionnaire on word. Also a program called grabber which is seen on the mac allowed me to grab images to upload to my blog so I could show the audience what I was trying to describe.

In terms of constructing my media project I had to use a wide range of technologies in order to increase the potential of my movie trailer. I used a HD Sony camera to film my video. However this was LO-FI technology, not close to the High-Tec cameras used within the film industry. This did cause many problems. As the quality was poor, focus could not occur and the sound was low quality. Although I did meet these problems I tried my best to use it to my advantage. Once all the filming was completed I was furthermore able to edit the video on the program I-movie. I used this a great deal as through this I was able to shorten sections of my recordings, and chose the best footage I had filmed. Also I could include my non-diegetic sound over my video, first half being dingy music and the second half being a country and western song. I could edit the way the music was portrayed for instance when to start and finish playing. Besides this I could also lower the non-diegetic sound so there would be a heavier emphasis on the diegetic sound i.e. the character talking. I was to a certain degree limited with this program when it came to editing the music so I then uploaded the song to garage band, where I could further develop it to match my video.

I-movie also allowed me to edit my work in more depth. As my first major scene consisted of what the experiment was about. I was able to detach the audio of the teacher speaking then this would overlap to a slow motion shot of the audience. This leads me to my next point I-movie allowed me to put certain sections of my media trailer in slow-motion to add emphasis, my best example was when I was running down the street. The voice overs were also edited on I-movie as I made them louder than the non-diegetic sound, which would then stop once the voice over was completed. Through the program I could also include titles and transitions to give a stronger feel to what a real movie trailer is all about.

When trying to do my title sequence for the main heading (a life’s experiment) so I therefore used the program Flash. Which is a multimedia and software platform used for authoring of vector graphics, animation, games. On this I was able to make each letter appear one by one, which was not possible on I-movie. But as I wanted a sort-of type writer effect, I had to use flash to do this.

I started to use the program fireworks to produce my poster and magazine front cover however I found great difficulty in using the program, so I opted to use Photoshop instead. I fist used Photoshop to develop my production credits at the end of my movie trailer. I then created my movie poster. First I had a photo shoot with the camera Nikon D300 which was very good quality, and gave the best results as a photo.  Once I had my photo I uploaded them to Photoshop where the editing could begin.  Photoshop was a great tool in helping me achieve the best quality, in terms of realism. I understand that movie companies would use much more highly technilogical programs, but this still gave me great results. As real posters/magazine front covers are built up in stages i.e. the background, main image, font etc. This program allowed me to do this with ease, encountering no problems. The program also provided tools, for instance the magic wand; which allowed me to delete the background completely then place the image on a different background. I was also able to use the fonts provided to create my production credits for my poster and also the end of my movie trailer, this proved very effective.

In terms of my evaluation I used a small amount of technologies to complete the task. I used the Prezi to enhance the presentation, and word to complete the document. What I did use however was screen casting which is where I was able to film what is being shown on the screen, and my voice over. I did this to give the impression of a director’s commentary. This will be seen next going into a greater depth and presenting images highlighting the information I have provided.

What have you learned from audience feedback?

Audience feedback played a huge role in how my media product turned out. I personally feel my video would never have achieved its full potential if not for feedback. From the start feedback informed change in the genre of my media trailer. As at the start of my project to understand where to continue ahead, I used a questionnaire. The reason I chose this method was I was able to collect a lot of information from a broad range of people. The questionnaire allowed me to finalise my decision on the genre of what my trailer would be. I also gained the realisation of target audience trends, enabling me to understand what is needed to be put in my trailer for it to be a good one. Furthermore with the broad range of people I received answers from I was able to cross reference questions for example, from my research I could see that women would be much more drawn to thrillers than action movies (only based on my research).

 Additionally I asked what they feel makes a good thriller; I chose to ask this as I decided my genre would become and psychological thriller, so through this question I was able to know what people are looking for. Many of the answers were "mystery", "Tension building", "hooking", "good use of music", "suspense", "twists" and "makes you think". Through these I then had the capability to understand the basic needs within my Thriller, and also it helped me to decide what I should place within my own trailer.  I also asked “Please state what you feel makes a good movie trailer?” through this I was able to understand what I should include in my movie trailer, to make it of better quality. The main answer I received were “makes me want to watch the movie", as this is the main aim of a trailer I will attempt to do this. Other answers I received was, "tension building", "hooking", "show the best parts of the movie, so it will advertise the film on a higher scale" and "good use of music". Through these answers I picked out the most relevant and useful examples and decided to use them within my trailer. For example I tried to highlight parts which were really interesting to watch like the cutting of the tongue. Besides this I also used it to help me change the editorial process by including dark dingy music at the start of my movie trailer.

 I also had different versions of feedback, for instance I got my two tutors to have an in depth study of both my trailer and also my two ancillary tasks. Through this I was able to get constructive criticisms, through this some of my filming I chose to not include. Also on my ancillary tasks I chose to change the font, and size in order to give a more realistic view, as if it was a real magazine/poster. Once I had completed my first cut I uploaded it upon my blog and then got three of my peers to watch the video , and give me their viewpoint. I filmed them doing this so this I on my blog labelled feedback. During this video my peers spoke about what they liked but also that they felt the story was not clear enough. From this feedback I had the understanding what to do next; I chose to add voice overs, in order to explain the story deeper. The once I completed this version I uploaded it to the social network Facebook, where all my friends viewed the video. I got great feedback and many people enjoyed my video. Once I had seen the good feedback I was able to finalize the project to my blog. The actors within my video and family members also gave their view on the overall project and everyone was extremely happy with the way it turned out. Overall audience feedback made the development of my work both easier and increased the standard of my video.

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

I think both of my ancillary texts have an extremely effective combination to my main product, as both complement each other. For example the poster and the trailer are both used for advertisement purposes in the movie industry, i.e. trying to sell the movie. The poster clearly shows very little, as the trailer does. Both consist of highlighting the chief protagonists within the movie; the violence is emphasized through the blood on the character just like in the trailer. The tag line highlights the confusion between who is the real villain; the scientific sum strait down the middle furthermore emphasizes the experiment. Also the title sequence at the end of my trailer shows the word ‘Life’s’ in red to put emphasis on the violence I also chose to do the same in the poster and magazine. All the details surrounding the movie, i.e. production credits, website, release date, all match completely. Also with the trailer being red band, I felt the age rating would be 18; I displayed this on my poster also. I also attempted to shows the characters personality through just the picture, the teacher all smart and posh, emotionless and the main character with the creepy twisted look. With this combined with my movie trailer then the audience continue to question who is in the right? So it is shown as my main product and my poster draw on the same images, then they are effective combination to my main product.

I continued this when creating me magazine front cover, where I wanted to advertise the movie, by talking about behind the scenes. For instance I chose to include an interview with the director of the product. Giving the audience an insight to the movie in a deeper depth, which would help sell the magazine. Furthermore within the real industry the magazine would include other features such as celebrity interviews, reviews, etc. this is what I included in order to sell the movie. I furthermore included the main character as the front cover and made the font of the title the main focus to advertise the movie. As with both other products the word ‘Life’s’ is placed in red so I stayed with this theme. I also made the background dark representing the theme within the movie and also with the background being black, the character has a stronger emphasis, I also followed these rules by having a dark and misty background.  Furthermore the main character has a blood-spattered face to also show the violence within the movie. Also as I am the central focus of my media video I made myself the central focus of both ancillary tasks. Overall the main theme which I tried to flow through all my tasks was violence and I think I did this very well, with my color scheme, pictures used, font, and the words used within the title sequences.     

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

In order to develop my response to this question I will have to delve into all areas consisting of what actually occurs within the real media industry. In this case I shall talk about film, meaning I will have to include discussions over Genre, industry, distribution and production. All of these occur when creating a product similar to mine. I will furthermore discuss how mine challenges these forms and conventions. 

My own media product fell under the category of psychological thriller. In terms of genre my media product uses existing conventions throughout the whole clip. For example, the use of the constant questioning of what is occurring to the chief protagonist. It gives the audience a sense of unknown, which can be the main aim of a psychological thriller, a great example of a real media product which follows these conventions would be the trailer ’Shutter Island’ which was very influential to me when I was completing my media trailer. As I was able to obtain ideas, in order to follow the norms and values used within the film industry. I kept to the traditional use of Camera angles for example close-ups, pan, mid shot and long shot throughout the whole of my clip and used it to my advantage. For example my scene of violence which arises near the conclusion of my trailer, used angles to both emphasise the violence but also reveal very little. As I used a Close-up shot of the characters forehead attempting to use the scissors to cut of his own tongue and as the camera moves it reveals his hand and the scissors closing, simple but effective. I also for the beginning part of my trailer used sound to add effect, as I used a non-diegetic soundtrack to increase the tension within the audience. Furthermore to add effect I also used diegetic sound to give a mixed effect.  Transitions played a lead role in my completed media product, as movie trailers use transitions to their advantage, because the trailer is not there to reveal the whole movie just an insight, and the transitions allow the directors to highlight a change in time or even story. From this fact I decided to continue with the forms and conventions.  Additionally I conformed through what occurs at the start and end of my trailer, i.e. title sequence, production credits, production logos, release date etc. For instance I reveal the production company’s title sequence, as the trailer starts and I conclude with a title sequence, production credits and release date, with a simplistic font, and style. These can be seen in all trailers, regardless of genre which shows a clear adaption to real media products.

However there were many sections where I attempted to challenge the norms and convention of usual movie trailers. As I am aware a movie trailer is produced once a movie is completed, in order to advertise the film. Mine was a reversed process as I created a trailer first from what essentially was a ‘fake’ movie. My movie trailer as a whole challenged many conventions. For example the non-diegetic sound I used in the second part of my movie trailer was a country and western song, unlike the tension building composition at the start. This song contrasted both the violent behaviour which was occurring in the trailer and the genre I was portraying. The lighting was completely controversial to what is usual produced within that genre of a media video. A great example of this is through the use of my low angle shot of the chief protagonist attacking an unseen character. As the lighting is very bright, with the sky in the background, it gives of God like imagery. More so he is presented in white, representing purity, here a clear contrast is highlighted between lighting and imagery to what the character is preforming. I chose to do this so the audience will become confused as there is no apparent conclusion to who is in the correct situation the teacher or the main character, resulting in the audience watching the movie in order to find out. I also challenged conventions through the conclusion of my media video, as usually a trailer consists of small sections of a movie revealing very little, however I concluded with a long scene of violence, argument to this may be that it gives too much away within the trailer. On the contrary I feel it does the complete opposite, I feel it gives an insight into what the movie is about and also a questioning within the audience member, to why is he doing this? Subsequently leading a potential audience member in to watching the movie out of curiosity.

 In terms of principal photography I attempted to keep to the norms used in the media industry, for example  having a planned schedule so all my actors would have knowledge of different roles, times, location etc. I additionally used a friend to be my acting cinematographer. I also produced a script for the movie trailer. However I was unable to fill all roles, as I am aware if this was to occur in the media industry producers would be present to get money but as this was low budget, they were not needed. I do however felt I got an understanding and was able to fill certain positions. Besides the fact the movie was low budget it was hard for me to achieve angles, for example in the real industry tracks may be used of which the camera would be mounted, making movement extremely easy. So in order to achieve me chasing the car I mounted the camera in the back of a car and started chasing. Furthermore the cameras used were lo-fi technology meaning the trailer was not up to the usual highly technological standards. As production companies would be able to use CGI programs, where as I was limited in the editing process, to programs such as I-movie and garage band, meaning room to edit became tight. The actors used by myself were also non-professional, compared to the real industry which would use paid actors, min were friends and family having an effect on my end project in terms of realism.

In terms of my two ancillary tasks I also chose to conform to the conventions used in real media products. Looking at my movie poster, I completely conformed to what occurs within the real movie industry. The reason being is a poster’s key aim is to advertise the movie. So I showed the main protagonists within the movie, highlighted the science through the sums, emphasised the lettering and tag line, presented the production credits with logos, age restriction. Furthermore to match this modern society I placed a QR code at the bottom of my poster which when scanned would lead to my media A2 blog. Additionally this was equivalent when completing my magazine front cover, as again I showed the chief protagonist, bold title (which I chose based upon the hybrid camera used in avatar, highlight modern society), Sub-titles In order to help retail the magazine, also what else may be included within the magazine i.e., models, celebrities, reviews, all the typical conventions of a real media product. The only differentiation would be the business side of what to do next. For example once a magazine/poster is completed, they would be advertised at shops, cinemas, on the internet etc. But due to this being small budget and not a ‘real’ movie, I could not get a feel for this side of the industry.

Final Design

Copyright

Once i had completed my movie poster i had the realization that i was breaking copyright laws with my photo of Zooey Deschanel, because of this i could not use this photo. So i decided to change this to the photo of an attractive friend of mine, and it turned out just as i wanted.

I changed my image from the one above to the one below. 

Development

This was my first version of the poster however i went on a sort of questionnaire discussing what people liked and disliked about the image. The main concern with this version was the writing was two small, crammed, and unequal to the other side. 

I then went on to this version where i enlarged the writing, equalized the sides, and was overall better, however i felt 'Bradley and Jennifer' was two long and the character by A life's experiment ruined the main image. 

I then fixed both of those problems, but i still felt their were problems, interview special on the left was to high, blast from the past was not bold enough and the writing underneath the subheadings was also not bold enough. 

This was my final design completed, with me being entirely happy with it. The lettering is all bold, the advertisement is good and overall i feel this appeals to a potential buyer. 

Other principles needed to be included

In order to make my front cover look most realistic, i need to include the little things. These are a bar code, issue number, price,website and date.

This was the bar code i decided to use. My issue number would be 29, the date would be April 2013,the price is £3.95 $5.99 is USE finally the website would be hybridonline.com

Design Idea

This was ,y design idea for the poster the main character would be central with a blood splatter face sub heading surrounding it a misty background and the lettering at the top.

Subheadings

I also felt it was extremely important to consider the subheading i was going to use, in order to exhibit the magazine. Here are some examples:

As is seen from these images although the picture is the main protagonist of what beholds, it is not all the magazine is displaying. Furthermore it helps to sell the magazine a whole lot more. As a potential buyer may dislike the movie its showing on the front but the subheadings could hold a degree of interest for the reader, helping selling the magazine. The subheadings i decided on were 'YOU CANT HANDLE THE TRUTH ! 101 Greatest movie one liners', 'Reviews on 2012', 'Interview Special Bradly and Jennifer discuss Silver Linnings', 'Free Movie Poster','The Beauty of Zooey Deschanel', 'Interview special with directer, The Blood of the exsperiment', '10% of next issue', 'Funny people, Will Ferrel and more!' and finally 'Blast from the past, review of Born on the Fourth of July'. These including images i feel will be a great selling point for my movie magazine.

Different front covers

Talk through of my Movie magazines 'The basics'

Font and Name

I decided to call my magazine 'Hybrid'. I chose to call my magazine this as it has a strong relation to the film industry in modern times, as the movie avatar was able to be filmed on a new highly technological camera which allows the director to delve into a deeper world of CGI, this camera is called the Hybrid camera. It also highlights the modern society of film and how things have changed. Finally i felt it was a great household name and the simple sound of the name add a refreshing sense to the mind overall selling the magazine. Once i decided on the name i had to decide on the font style, i want it to look both futuristic, modern, bold and hooking to a reader. These were the fonts i experimented with and found my final design:

I first looked at this one as it, showed a certain degree of enjoyment in just the font, it was bold and represented something of a fashionable lifestyle. However it was no futuristic the slightest. It showed nothing of the new modern film industry and also it did not hook a potential buyer into buying the magazine. More over i felt it looked cheap and tacky, something i did want to do.

I then looked at this font style and this was more to my taste. It was extremely modern, with the image of a technology from a simple font. Furthermore it is simplistic, which is always something that helps in many cases, as i feel trying to go over the top can spoil a product. Although i really liked this font i still felt it was not bold enough to hook someone to buy this product.

This was the third font i looked at which is evidently been as the same font used for the critically acclaimed movie 'Blade Runner'. This was much more bold and hooking as a font style, futuristic, and also a modern feel to it. However it still did not seem the correct title, it jut seemed boring, and needed a bit more.

This next font was extremely close to what I wanted my title to be. It had everything i wanted, and most of all hooked a person to read on. Although this was so close to what i wanted i still wanted a bit more.

I highly liked this next font it was slick, modern and held everything i wanted. However as a main title i felt it would not be as goo as it could be, but i did choose to use this font for my sub titles on the front of my movie magazine.

This was my final choice as the main title. It was my favourite a holds everything i want in my title. It is perfect, it hooks a potential buyer, is bold, modern, futuristic, and highlights what modern cinema is all about today. I was extremely happy with my final choice for my title.

Photo-Shoot

This was the photo-shoot, for both my poster and my magazine front cover. I thoroughly enjoyed this part, it was hard to decide how close we wanted the picture to be to the character. So i decided to take the pictures from different angles. getting closer and closer. The make up was a simple blood splatter which would match the context of my magazine sub heading. I tried to have a a sadistic look like a mad killer i.e Jack Nicholson in the Shinning or Christian Bale in America phycho 

Titles and styles

I think it is extremely important to consider both the style of the font i choose and also the name of my magazine, as if it was to go into production it would appear on all of the magazines. I think it has to be both a statement but also a household name. Furthermore i want it to have a relation to the movie industry in some way, in the way premiere does. I want my font to be bold and also interlink like total film does and premiere.

Favorite front covers

I think this is a great example for the front cover of a movie magazine. I like how all the lettering in white turns into a sort of white mist to match the background image. The red is mirrored through out the front to match the colour of the main heading; Empire. As the front  cover is supposed to sell the magazine i feel this does it very well as it shows the main movie it will be covering, its displays all the other movies they Will look at. Also it highlights other areas through the sub headings like "Tarantino the truth about Grindhouse".

 

I feel this is my favourite movie front cover i have ever seen for the Empire franchise, and the best at advertising the film. The first layer is that of the Joker the main villain in the Dark Night Rises, this is an amazing picture standing alone as it shows his features, highlights the movie with the contrast of clothes in a prison cell and shows the twisted nature of the character. Then looking at the colour scheme which also matches up perfectly with the of the character with the green and purple highlighting that of a sort of clown. The lettering is also perfect, "Meet the joker" matcher the character. At the top the famous batman symbol is advertised, and also all the sub heading highlight what else is going to occur n the magazine.  

 

 



I also think this is another great example of a front cover. The main protagonist is that of the picture, which highlights the main cast of the movie, which is a star studied cast. The bottom also shows what else will entail in the magazine from previews to interviews. The colour scheme is very bright in order to contrast the movie which has a dark tone. However i feel that the should have been more sub headings in order to sell the magazine on a bigger scale. 

Movie magazines

Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008. It is the biggest selling film magazine in Britain and is also published in America, Australia, Turkey, Russia and Portugal. Empire organizes the annual Empire Awards which were sponsored by Sony Ericsson, and from 2009 sponsored by Jameson. The awards are voted for by readers of the magazine.

 

 

Total Film is a UK-based film magazine published 13 times a year (every four weeks) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers cinema, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features. Total Film is available both in print and interactive iPad editions. Each month, Total Film provides a range of features, from spotlight interviews with actors and directors, to making of and on-set pieces for new and future releases. Each issue always includes the Total Film Interview, which is a six-page in-depth chat with an actor or director, along with a critique of their body of work.

 

 

Premiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, Première, was established in France in 1976 and is still being published there.

 

 

Neon was a British film magazine published monthly by Emap Consumer Media from December 1996 to February 1999. It attempted to be a refreshing alternative to other UK film magazines such as Empire. Started in 1996, Neon included latest film news, previews, actor profiles, interviews and contemporary movie profiles all written with a characteristic sense of humor. Each issue featured A Monthly Selection of Ten Favourite Things with a celebrity listing a particular category for their ten favorite films, for example, James Ellroy in the July 1998 issue picked his ten favorite crime movies. What's your favourite Chevy Chase movie? featured the magazine asking various celebrities from the Beastie Boys to Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee their favorite Chase film. 100 Scenes From... was an irreverent Top 100 list that parodied the notion of such lists. Blow Up was a 12-page insert included in the middle of every issue that featured stills, promotional pictures of posters of movies and movie stars. Another regular staple was called, Flashback, a detailed, oral history of a classic movie with comments culled from cuttings and original interviews with cast and crew members. This format was later copied by another UK film periodical, Hotdog Magazine. Finally, Graham Linehan's Filmgoer's Companion took a satirical look at the entertainment industry. Neon also championed lesser known films like Mike Leigh's Naked and ran in-depth profiles of films such as Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, the magazine did not make a profit and after the original editor left, it took a more commercial direction. The circulation numbers diminished and Neon was eventually cancelled in February 1999.

 

 

Final design

Change

This was my original concept for the bottom of my movie poster. However having a closer look i realised some errors. The date was the date of my birth, me getting confused so i decided to change it back. Also the PG-13 sign is an american logo, and furthermore this is an 18 movie so i changed this and also included a QR code which would link to this blog.

Font

I looked at a variety of different fonts that would be best suitable for my media Product. The first one i chose was the one above which was used for The Lord of the Rings, and i do really like this one. Its hard edges may be a representation of the movie itself. However the letter A near the Letter L i feel is to close and looks odd in a sense, although i do like it i don't feel it would be best suitable for my product. 

At first i experimented with the fact of putting the word life of  different font, to give it a different representation compared to the rest of the lettering however i chose to scrap this idea as when its put together with the rest of the title, it does not work as a whole. 

 I then opted for a more simplistic approach, as i wanted no focus to be taken away from the image with it being the main protagonist. The title is a simple information of what the movie is called I did like this lettering however i feel its more suited to a drama or even comedy as the edges are not sharp enough.

I came to my final  decision of this title, the reason being it was both simplistic but also in your face, taking no authority over the image. It also has sharp edges with  clear representation of the movie. I felt this was the ideal choice for my movie poster.  

Tag line

In many movie posters 'tag lines' are used normally something extremely relevant to the movie. This can portray the conventions and genre of the movie but it can also help sell the movie. Because of this I wanted to include my own tag line, to highlight the genre of my movie and also put a greater emphasis on the main character. The tag line I have chosen which is also featured in my trailer is "I have a rendezvous with death, I shall not fail the rendezvous" and "What is Real?". I did go through many other ideas before i came to the main choice for example: "How far would you got protect the dead", "Look death in the eye, and grit your teeth", "There is a devil within everyone, and he as just been freed" and "Family man? Insane? Killer? Or Cleansing the system". I Finally chose my last one for the simple of the reason it showed the movie in its best, added a sadistic side and is featured in my trailer.These are some great examples of posters with tag lines: