NOTE TO THE EXAMINER

I believe that I have created an effective Blog that takes the reader through the process of creating my main and ancillary tasks. This blog shows a lot of the tasks I have done but it doesn’t show all of the effort I have put into this course. I took weekends off work and often stayed behind after school just to complete all the tasks to the best standard that I could achieve, which illustrates my commitment to the course.

I feel my strengths are photo editing and image manipulating as I can create media products like magazines and film posters to a high standard. This is because the software I use for image editing is one that I have been using for many years and my skills in that software have also developed too. An example of this would be the media products I made in the Foundation part of this course, in comparison to the media products I made in the Advanced part of this course.

Some of my favourite blog posts would be all the Construction sections and the analysis of Horror trailers/film posters because portray my high understanding of different codes and conventions within the Horror genre. They also portray how the skills I acquired in AS Media have developed into my A2 Media work.

Overall, this project has turned me into a sophisticated media student. Like I said in my evaluation Question 4, I am now great at creating media products or analysing current media products. All of the technologies I used last year helped me save a lot of time this year, which gave me more time to quickly learn the newer technologies. I enjoyed this project and the valuable skills I learnt will help me in the future as media technologies are always advancing.

Thank you for reading through my blog

CONSTRUCTION - Reborn trailer (Final)

Evaluation Question 4

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

This video shows me and the other members of my group filming a scene for our trailer. The easiest thing about recording scenes for the trailer was the fact that we used my own camera instead of camera that was distributed to use by the school. This meant that I already knew most of the features on the camera so we didn't have to waste time learning anything new, which also saved us time during the filming process. We used this form of technology throughout the planning and construction sections of this project.

This is a screenshot during the editing process of my horror trailer. This was the first time I had ever created a trailer using a program like Windows Movie Maker but I believe I did very good job in utilising this software. At the start of the editing process I was quite competent in using Movie Maker because I had used it in AS Media to create a simple video for my evaluation. The skills I used/acquired in this editing process was much more advanced than the Video I made last year. This is because I had to apply a lot more cuts and fades to meet the conventions of horror trailers, whereas the video I created last year only needed Raw footage that didn't really need to be edited in any way. I used Windows Movie Maker at the Construction stage of my Project, solely for editing my trailer.

Google was the main Search Engine I used in this Project. I have been using Google for many years so it wasn't really a "new technology" to me. I used it for researching film posters, trailers, film magazines, the horror genre, editing techniques and many more. It was extremely useful in giving me instant information whenever I needed it. I used Google throughout ALL the stages of this project (research/plannning/construction/evaluation) to assist me with my work.

Prezi is another media technology that I had already used last year. It is useful in creating unique presentations with a classy edge over Software like Microsoft Powerpoint. I only used Prezi through the Evaluation stage of my project, to assist me to create an effective answer for Evaluation Question 1.

Blogger is a media technology that I was introduced to at the start of this A-Level Media Course. My experience of it in AS Media, was that it is useful in uploading work onto the Internet. Throughout AS Media and A2 Media, Blogger has helped me to post all my work onto its secure website, so that it can be easily marked by my teachers. I have used blogger throughout ALL the stages of this project (research/plannning/construction/evaluation) to constantly update my work.

Youtube is another media technology that I have been using for many years now, so I am used to its features. It is mainly useful for watching or uploading videos, to be commented on, liked or disliked. I used Youtube during the Research and Construction stages of my project. I used it to watch and analyse trailer for my research and to Upload my own trailer for comments, mainly from my target audience; as this is a website that they would often use.

Ulead Photoimpact is a photo-editing software that I have been using for over 5years now. My experience in using this software allowed me to create high quality and effective designs for my Film poster and magazine in AS Media and A2 Media, which shows a growth in my ability of this software. I used this software during the Construction stage of my project when creating my film poster and magazine.

DaFont is a website of freely downloadable fonts. Fonts are categorized by theme, and can also be sorted by name, date, and popularity. The site also allows users to enter custom text when previewing fonts. It was extremely useful during the Planning & Construction stages of my project as I was deciding which fonts to use on my media products.

The camera I used for photo taking/video recording was Casio Exilim 7.2. Some of the camera shots in my Trailer were shaky as our group wanted to create this effect. We used a tripod with our camera for steady shots like pans and tilts). I have used this camera on many occasions because it is mine so I usually take it to social events. I have recorded many videos and taken pictures in the past with this camera, which benefited me a lot in this project alongside my knowledge of camera angles, shot composition, editing techniques, etc. I mainly used the camera through the Planning & Construction stages of my project to take photos for my film poster, magazine and to record all my groups footage for our trailer. 

My 16GB SanDisk USB is one of the most important media technologies in my life because it allows me to carry large amounts of documents, videos, pictures on the go. I have used my SanDisk USB throughout ALL the stages of this project (research/plannning/construction/evaluation) to constantly edit my work, from any computer possible as this device is easily portable. I also stored all my filming footage, film poster, film magazine, trailer and all my other work for my project on this USB.

Overall, this project has turned me into a sophisticated media student, who is great at creating media products or analysing current media products. All of the technologies I used last year helped me save alot of time this year, which gave me more time to quickly learn the newer technologies. I enjoyed this project and the valuable skills I learnt will help me in the future as media technologies are always advancing.

Evaluation Question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I asked a few members of my target audience (16-21 year olds, mainly students) what their overall view on my 3 media products, what they liked and what they would change?

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK FROM TARGET AUDIENCE (IN PERSON):

 AUDIENCE FEEDBACK FROM YOUTUBE:

YouTube is a popular social network/video viewing websites so I felt it would be suitable to upload my trailer on this site. My target audience are used to using this website and most of them even have YouTube accounts. The screenshot image below shows a few comments I received on my trailer:

LIMITATIONS OF YOUTUBE:

-       Some responses may not be critical in a positive way because some people don’t understand media terminology fully to give better responses. Only the media savvy members of our target audience will be able to give me proper constructive criticism on how to improve my work.

-       Comments can be negative and/or irrelevant to my video because anyone is allowed to comment on it

WHAT I’VE LEARNED FROM YOUTUBE:

-       -I learned that YouTube in most ways is effective in promoting a video like this to an audience as it can be accessed anywhere 24/7, 365.

-       Users can access Youtube on the go with Smartphones e.g. Blackberries, iPhones, etc. This makes it even easier to get feedback from audiences via Youtube

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK FROM QUESTIONNAIRES:

The questionnaires we gave out to randomly selected members of our target audience (back in November 2011) showed us that every 9 out of 10 Sixth Formers enjoys watching horror films in their spare time, when they aren’t doing school work. Also, the majority of people who took part in our questionnaire said that they enjoyed the 'shock factor' of horror films through unique storylines, rather than pure gore, violence and other aspects. This was a positive for my media group because our storyline was unique in the fact that it is based on a killer who’s soul possesses a young teen into recreating past murders.

This suggested to us that we should include a few shocking scenes in the trailer that will make the audience jump. The end scene in my trailer fits in with this ‘shocking scene’ that our target audience crave. Our target audience’s interest in unique horror storylines told us that we should make our storyline intriguing to our audience instead of including a lot of violence to draw them in because they want to see a good storyline.

LIMITATIONS OF QUESTIONNAIRES:

-      People can give false information because of the way a question is worded or to benefit the people asking the questionnaire

-      Time consuming collecting and processing results. Also takes the person’s time who is doing the questionnaire so their answers may be rushed, incomplete and not detailed enough to gain good feedback

-      The amount of people you hand the questionnaires to may not represent your certain AUDIENCE AS A WHOLE

WHAT I’VE LEARNED FROM QUESTIONNAIRES:

-       -The choice of open or closed questions. If you need yes or no answers then closed questions are suitable. If you need brief paragraph from the audience then open questions are suitable

-       -The more people you ask, the better research and audience feedback you will get, but also takes more time for you to process these results

Evaluation Question 2

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

The main product I had to produce was a horror film trailer alongside with a magazine front cover and film poster. The two ancillary texts go together well as they have similar layouts and colour schemes even though they are two different media products. I decided to keep the colours similar to try and develop my own house style for media products that I have created. The USP of my media products are ghosts and the Church and I believe I associate this theme in all of my 3 media products.

 My poster effectively promotes the theme of the haunted Church through the background image and the use of colours that are commonly associated with Horrors, which are red, black and grey. These same colours are used in my film magazine to create an effective combination between these two media products. The ‘Reborn’ font type and the red font colour are significant in gathering the audience’s attention, whilst the typography enhances the background image and the theme of horror connoted in the whole poster.

 My magazine effectively promotes the theme of ghosts through the image of a person’s shadow which appears to be ghostly. The red, black and grey were also used in this media product and also helps associate my magazine with the horror genre. It is easy to notice that the colour scheme between my poster and magazine are the same. As I said before I used the same colour scheme in these two media products to create a house style for my designs and so that they complement each other well. The long shot of the church on my poster and the long shot of the ghostly figure on my magazine work well together in adding an element of mystery to both media products and break the conventions of previous media products. The main feature of my magazine endorses the release of my ‘Reborn’ trailer, which is another example of how well my two ancillary texts combine.

The first link between my trailer and my poster would be the Lionsgate logo. This logo is used on my poster AND at the start of the trailer to imply that Lionsgate are helping to distribute my film poster and make it look much more professional. This is why I used the Lionsgate logo in the beginning of trailer to relate back to the poster and to keep an element of consistency between my media products

 This screenshot from my trailer illustrates that my horror trailer will be based on haunted churches. It is the establishing shot and it also relates to the image on my film poster

This screenshot also relates with my trailer’s theme of haunted churches. It can also represent the negativity surrounding the Christian religion. The nail colour of the person holding the cross implies to the audience that the Antagonist is female, which subverts the stereotype of females in horror females being weak, vulnerable and the ones who are attacked. Instead, 'Charlotte Manson' is the attacker

This final screenshot relates with our theme of the ghost (Charlotte Manson), returning from the dead and possessing one of the female characters into recreating her previous murders.

Overall, I believe the combination of my 3 media products (Trailer, poster and magazine) are effective in conveying the genre of Horror and linking the themes of ghosts and churches together. These themes are linked together mainly through the camera angles/shot compositions and colour schemes I used.

Evaluation Question 1

Q1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? on Prezi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D51QgOHrCj0 (link to Blair Witch Project Trailer as embedding is restricted for this video)

MY TRAILER IN COMPARISON TO A REAL HORROR TRAILER (THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT):

Mise en scene: My trailer is similar to the Blair Witch in terms of the build-up in the narrative. First it starts off with the characters calmly talking about the ghost of Charlotte Manson. Then as the narrative progresses there is less talking from the characters and more action, e.g. running scenes, just like in the Blair Witch Project trailer.

Sound: There is a mixture of diegetic and non-diegetic sound in both trailers. My trailer uses a lot more non-diegetic music unlike Blair Witch Project, to build up the tension for the audience and make them anxious on what will happen next. Screams from characters near the end of the trailer to scare the audience and make them feel uneasy. The non-diegetic music compliments the fast paced cuts near the end of my trailer and also making the audience fearful of what is going to happen next.

Lighting: Combination of shots/scenes in the dark and in the light in both trailers. The dark scenes in my trailer are significant in portraying the dark elements to my narrative and the horror genre as a whole. I believe the most effective dark scenes in my trailer are the scene when a character is being dragged across the floor in the dark and the scene where Charlotte Manson’s ghost moves the table in the church during the séance.

Actors and costumes: Young adults in my trailer similar to the young adults in the Blair Witch project. The characters in my trailer share the curiosity of the characters in the Blair Witch trailer in finding out about the Ghost of ‘Charlotte Manson’ and the ‘Blair Witch’. Their costumes are both casual clothing, mainly dark in my trailer but the character that gets possessed by the ghost of Charlotte Manson is wearing light coloured clothing to contrast with the characters.

USPs: My trailer: the ghost of Charlotte Manson. The Blair Witch project trailer: Blair Witch. Both unique selling points are talked about throughout both trailers and stressed by the characters. This is important because both the trailer promote the unique selling points of their narrative.

Camera angles/shots: The most common camera shot used in both trailers is the Close Up, which is used to show the characters emotion. The shaky camera effect in both trailers gives a sense of realism to the audience makes the trailer look more realistic and raw. I used an Establishing shot at the beginning of my trailer to show that my trailer is based around the church and this is where most of the action will take place, whereas the Blair Witch didn’t. Although, as the Blair Witch trailer goes on, we can see that most of the narrative is set in the woods.

Editing techniques:

Scenes near the end of the trailer are shorter and more action packed in my trailer and in the Blair Witch. This leaves the audiences in suspense and can also attract them into watching the full length horror film. I used a lot of fast paced cuts at the end of my trailer to combine a lot of the action scenes while gripping the audience’s attention. On the other hand, Blair Witch uses almost a standard theme of editing throughout, with a few short scenes; most scenes are the same length with a loud thud/bang sound as the scene changes.

Challenge/Subvert the conventions of horror trailers: One way in which my trailer subverts regular conventions of horror movies is rejecting the stereotype of women in horror films. Women are usually stereotypical represented as being weak, but in my trailer the attacker/antagonist is female and she aims to kill the males in the narrative, making the males look more vulnerable. An example of this is when a male character is getting dragged across the floor in a dark room during my trailer.

On the whole, I believe my trailer developed some conventions used in the Blair Witch but also used standard conventions of horror trailers. Due to my budget I couldn’t hire big name actors, but this suits another typical convention of horror films (not using big name actors/actresses). As you can see my trailer is quite similar to the Blair Witch Project as this trailer was my main inspiration during the creation process.

RESEARCH & PLANNING - Target Audience

Member of my Target Audience

My target audience are young people (male and female) aged 16-21. This specific member of my target audience is a 19 year old male, college student, who enjoys playing/watching football and going to watch Horror films at the cinema in his free time. He usually goes to watch horror films with his girlfriend, as he knows the stereotypical male goes to watch horror films with their girlfriend to “protect” and comfort them. He also enjoys going to house parties with his college friends. He has to dress formerly for college, but outside of school he usually wears fashionable casual clothes.

He studies A-Level in College, which is where his passion for Horror films came from. He is very confident in analysing a variety of media texts and he can understand the conventions of horror trailers, posters and magazines.

He lives in London and often uses public transport to get around. If my film poster was advertised at a bus stop he would easily notice it and possibly be interested in finding out more about it. This student also reads Film magazines (like EMPIRE) in his free time, so if I sold my film magazine in his local shop he would most likely purchase it. When he is at home on the internet, he checks on his favourite film website. This website always promotes new film trailers and teasers and they have their own Twitter page. He often uses Twitter to instantly find out information on new films coming out, so if I used this social network to promote my new trailer he would be the first to know about it.

PLANNING - Original Photography Part 2 (Filming)

CONSTRUCTION - Filming of Establishing shot

CONSTRUCTION - Film poster and Magazine frontcover (Final designs)