Wednesday, 28 April 2010
evalation Q4 how did you use media technologies in the construction and research, plannin and evaluation
• We used the websites google and IMDB to research films and teasers trailers
• We then used Microsoft PowerPoint to create a PowerPoint containing information about two films of our own choice.
• We then uploaded this to slide share and were given a web link
• We created an account on blogger.com to store and view all our completed work for the project. We then took the web link from slide share and created a PowerPoint post on our blog
• Once we had chosen a specific genre to follow and had a good idea we wanted to use, we used Google and IMBD.com to research similar films within our selected genre. For our group those films were Charlie’s Angels, Chicago, The Sopranos and The Real Hustle.
• Once we had our idea fully completed we created a storyboard out of post it notes. We then filmed each post it note using a cannon video camera in the order that the trailer would go.
• Once we had filmed the post it notes we then uploaded this video of our animatics on to our blog
• After uploading this we then created a proper storyboard of how our trailer would go and a shooting script of when we would film each shot and what we would need etc
• Using a digital camera we took a picture of both our storyboard and shooting script. We then uploaded this to our blog.
Construction
• Using the cannon video camera and tripod we went and filmed all our shots
• We then uploaded all our video footage on to Ulead Editing Software, where we used various editing tools and effects to cut, fade, dissolve and slow down shots to create our film
• Our group decided we didn’t want to us any digetic sound, just a music track we had to use a music creating software called cubase to create our own piece of music
• Once we created it we then had to uploaded it on to Ulead and put it on our trailer
• We also decided we wanted to create our own promotions company logo; this had to be done on Photoshop. We filled the background in black using the paint bucket tool; we then used the shape tool to make three stars and then filled the stars in with a gold background. Then using the text tool we printed the words “Bedazzled Productions” on to the page and used the rotation tool to rotate the words at a diagonal slant. We then filled the letters using the paint bucket tool again alternatively with the colours red and white. Finally we used the shadow tool to make the stars look 3D
• For our film poster and magazine front cover, we used a digital camera and spot lights to create a photo shoot where we would use the photos as the images for our film poster and magazine front cover.
• We then took the two images we wanted to use (one for each promotional piece); we put them of face book and used the magic wand tool to remove the back ground and any other unwanted pieces of the picture. We then used the eraser tool to tidy any bits up that needed tidying.
• For the film poster we used the paint bucked tool to add a greyish black background to the poster. We then used the text tool to add the title, release date, director and producer’s names and website. We finally then imported our promotions company logo in.
• For the magazine front cover we used the paint bucked tool to add a blue background to the front cover. We then used the text tool to add the title of the magazine, film title, director and producer’s names and sell lines.
Evaluation
• For our evaluation we used our blogs to store all our posts, images, videos and PowerPoint files.
• We used slide share to upload our PowerPoint files to enable them to be able to be uploaded to blogger.com
• We also used a digital camera to take pictures of our shooting script, photo shoot and location shots and story board which we then uploaded on to our blogs
• We used the cannon video cameras to film out post it notes which we then also uploaded onto our blogs
• We used blooger.com to upload our film poser and magazine front cover
evaluation Q3 - what have you learned from your audience feedback
• Can you identify the genre?
• Does this film appeal to you as the target audience?
• What does appeal?
• What doesn’t appeal?
• It’s a teaser trailer and is designed not to give too much information away. What information did you get from the trailer?
• Does the trailer leave you wanting to go and watch the film once realised?
This audience feedback was very positive and valuable enabling use to see how our group achieved what we wanted at the end of forming our promotional package. This also helped as we asked a student, her being our target audience and receiving exceptional feedback. This has all been useful in creating the best and most accurate promotional package for our intentional audience.
evaluation Q2 - how effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts
From looking at the film poster you can see a development of ideas from the teaser trailer. We still decided to hide the identity of the female character. We used Holly (student from other group), took various shots using different poses and angles to show her as a powerful figure. This is also similar to our film teaser trailer as it still withholds the characteristics of the character, but still giving the impression of a superior female. The differences are that the poster only contains only one of the female characters, not revealing that there will be more women of different races with different intentions.
The audience can conclude the same information about the plot and characters from the magazine front cover as they can from the film poster; however you can further see the characters facial characteristic. The quotation “an example of why messing with the wrong women is a BIG mistake” enables the audience to realise that these women will be illustrating brutal and deviant behaviour. This promotes the film in similar ways with the film poster. Again you can see the character as being vigorous whilst smoking a cigarette in a pose showing her quite calm, relaxed and laid back. This promotional package doesn’t reveal too much and it is difficult to collect information from the film poser and magazine front cover. This pushes the audience towards wanting to watch the film and also to see what our film magazine involves.
evaluation Q1 - in what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions
We decided to create a colour code, each colour highlighted a word to add emphasize for e.g.
_ Black connotes – black, death and evil
_ white connotes _ wholesomeness, purity and innocence
_ Red connotes _ romance, passion, sex and love
_ Gold connotes _ wealth, material goods and glamour
These are the colours we used and referred to in our film teaser trailer, poster and magazine front cover. Our colour code was applicant to each word for e.g. 'sweet and good' was white, connoting purity. Oppose to this was 'bad', which connotes danger, evil and murder. We referred to out colour code constantly, showing conventions through props for e.g. red lipstick, blood, jewellery, red rose petals and red nail vanish on character's nails. This shows a pattern of red associations but connotations of different things. The use of these conventions has helped to construct meaning. We used props such as red lipstick, red nail vanish, jewellery, red dress, red rose petals and blood. This connotes romance, passion or danger. We also used bright, sparkly jewellery which connotes gold. Black connotes death and evil, so therefore used a black glove to show thief and a black gun to show criminal acts.
When creating our teaser trailer our intentions was to keep the identity of the characters hidden from the audience consistently and we achieved this through the use of various shots, using different angles and positions for e.g. The low angle shot of holly at the bar slowly tilting towards showing her character, but then changing the shot before reaching her. This teases the audience, giving them hope of seeing who the character really is. This also tells the audience that she is an important character in the film, showing her with a sense of power, as the camera is focused on her only. We also used an over the, hand held shot for when the blood is dropping in the sink and the male character collapses to the floor. By using the camera at a high angle still hides the characters identity but adds a real life feeling to the audience's experience, making them feel involved in what's happening.
We used the obvious conventions of any other professional film for e.g. our editing process, which we developed gradually. Once our teaser trailer was complete, we decided to give it a slow emotion effect, which we had originally planned to do, but only with particular shots such as the gun shot, where it builds suspense and anxiety. We showed a sequence of shots when changing from shot to shot to build an effect of continuity and used specific shots (not revealing too much) to add to the enthusiasm of the audience.
Due to copy right issues we decided to produce our own music for our soundtrack. We used the idea of a slow and soft start to show a sense of innocence and harmless characters but as the music progresses it becomes louder, thicker and more aggressive building suspense and tension. This then takes away the innocence of the characters and gives the impression of violence and deceit. This also adds to the initiative of the title as it is called ‘good gone bad’ hence the music beginning with a ‘good’ vibe then progressing to a ‘bad’ vibe. We decided not use any other sound effects or digetic sound as the layout of the teaser trailer corresponded well with the layout of the soundtrack.
Our film poster uses familiar conventions of other published posters to advertise films. For e.g. our company’s logo, when the film will be released, big bold lettering and the creators of the film. It also displays a website of where more information can be found. The poster also uses bright colours to draw you in and one main image, telling you everything we want you to know about the context of the film.
When creating our film magazine front cover, we looked at other front covers to get inspiration when creating our own. We wanted to follow the forms and conventions of other magazine front covers so used a big bold title at the top of our page (in black). We viewed the title of our film, also in big, bold, bright colours, still using our colour code. We used a specific image to appeal to our target audience (a photo of Holly) smoking a cigarette and holding a gun in a calm and relaxed manner. We introduce other films based around the same genre for e.g. ‘dead man running’, ‘Harry Brown’ and ‘kickass’. We also mention it’s our biggest preview ever attracting our audience even more and using the term ‘EXCLUSIVE’ gives an impression of it being new, unique and something you’ve never seen before.
In most professional, promotional packages, women aren't seen as a murder, criminal or dangerous. Oppose to our teaser trailer, magazine front cover and poster we have victimised the men and portrayed the women as dominant figures. This challenges gender stereotypes and gives our teaser trailer our unique selling point (USP). We decided to break away from the norm empowering the women, which attracts both men and women in different ways. The fact that we decided to use different races for the characters, appeals to a broader audience and shows we have taken our audience's feedback into consideration. This also shows some evidence of research into films relating to out teaser trailer for e.g the idea of using different races is from the idea of using 'Charley's angels', showing three women of different races. It also makes it harder for the audience to verify who's doing what, where and when, leaving them wanting to find out by watching the film.
forms and conventions of film magazine front cover and how we will use them
Forms and conventions:
• Eye catching title, (and depending on the genre) bright, colorful, bold, stands out from the background
• Persuasive language – through reviews or taglines etc to make people want to see the movie
• Promotional features like actors’ name, director, reviews etc
• Possibly use the rule of thirds as a format
• Usually one predominant image
• Important to correctly represent the genre of the movie to attract the right audience
• A quotation from the film or about the film from newspapers or critics who’ve reviewed it
How will we use these?
We as a group plan to:
• We plan to call our magazine “Screen”
• We plan to make our background colour blue as it as is a strong colour and have our title colour as black as most magazine usually have a darker background and brighter title, but we wanted to challenge these conventions
• Include a quotation as an overview of the film/ trailer
• Include other reviews included inside/ within the magazine
• We want our image to also be threatening and intimidating yet relaxed and different from the image we want to use for our film poster
development of film posters and magazine front cover including use of photography and photoshop
in some films they use a screen shot on the magzine front cover, but in this case we decided to use an original photo. we used digital cameras and a spot light. we took various shots to broaden our choices. Holly (from other media group) was the charcter in both our film magzine front cover and poster. we took several shots from differnt angles, using different poses and positions. we didn't want to give away Holly's charater too much but wanted to reveal a side to her that was dangerous and powerful. for our film poster we decided to use the shot of Holly holding a gun, implying she is vigorous and strong. we then had to upload the image on photoshop, experimented with various tools to neaten the image of holly and clear all around the background, leaving it as just Holly as the main image.
For our our magazine cover we decided to use the shot of Holly smoking a cigarette, showing a sense calmness but still adding the idea of intimidation, power and on top of things. we originally decided we wanted to show Holly smoking in the shot but due to the fact of us being in the building was not possible. we wanted the smoke effect, so used a photo of real smoke ,imported it and editing to make it look as real smoke was coming out of Holly's cigarette.
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
progress with editing and discussion and decisions made and difficulties
our editing process began to develop over a period of time, as we had to make sure that everything was accurate and edited to the best of our ability. through our process of editing our group decided that they were some shots that weren't a necessity in forming our teaser trailer. once we had uploaded all our shots, edited them and fix them in the right order, we still decided it was too long. As a teaser trailer is usually 30-60 seconds we found it difficult as a group adjusting the length of the whole teaser trailer. we discussed it as a group, watched it over and over again, edited it thoroughly then decided that some shots were optional and decided to remove them to make our piece shorter, as it was just over 2 minutes. we wanted the audience to identify and be aware of what the teaser trailer will entail and transmit the idea of the film, without giving too much away and once we thought we had achieved this we realized some shots weren't needed. For e.g the shot of a character stamping a cigarette out on the floor, which was suppose to illustrate the idea of women being powerful and dominant within the film, but we realized other shots had already revealed this. we decided this after we had received constructin feedback from other members in our media class. they felt that some shots were ineffective towards the audience and didint make the trailer any better or worse. once we had finalised our piece, we then recieved feedback of an idea using a slow emotion affect on specific shots in the trailer. we realised this will build an atmospheric affect, build tension, and suspense but once we had inserted a slow motion effect on particular shots, we decided as a group the whole trailer itself would look more efficient in slow motion.
we decided to create our own music piece as we couldn't use music from websites, internet etc due to copy right issues. we wanted the music to begin with a slow and soft introduction to show deception of innocence, but as the music progresses it becomes louder and and faster giving more insight into the characters, building a sense of violence and danger. whilst one person began editing we decided it would be easier if other mebers in the group focused on on other areas such as the music and developing ideas for our teaser trailer poster.
Sunday, 25 April 2010
research into potential target audience
Camerawork:
• Long shot
• Mid shot
• Medium close up
• Close up
• Big close up
• Extreme close up
• Two shot
• Point of view shot
• Reaction shot
• Over the shoulder shot
Lens:
• Depth of field
• Deep focus
Camera position:
• Low angel shot
• High angel shot
Camera movements
• Track
• Pan
• Whip pan
• Tilt
Lighting:
• Ambient
• Low key
• Lighting from bellow
Mise en scene:
• Weapons
• Sex
• Jewellery
• Money
• Expensive clothing
• Violence
• Murder
• Blood
Editing:
• Continuity editing
• Cut
• Fade up
• Fade out
• Wipe
Sound:
• Dialogue
• Diegetic sound
• Non diegetic sound
examples in chicago trailer
• Strong voice over
• The choice of clothing and music, show the time this film is set in as both are quite old fashioned
• The dancing shows a strong theme of the arts is used/ referred to in this film. However, through the type of dancing, on stage costumes and make up it suggests themes of sex, seduction, temptation and (through the presents of the police showing up in the club, possibly) corruption.
• The scene of a female character holding a gun and then the same character firing what appears to be a different gun, suggests themes of murder and revenge, as that industry is “dog eat dog” and people using one another for their own personal gain is common
• Certain terminology (e.g. liquor) show us as an audience that this film is set in America
• The difference between the two main characters (Velma and Roxie) e.g. hair style colour, complexion and costume and make up on and off stage and also the connection of wanting the centre spot light and attention of the public on and off stage also raises theme of competition and rivalry as the business is “dog eat dog”.
Camerawork:
• Long shot
• Mid shot
• Medium close up
• Close up
• Big close up
• Extreme close up
• Two shot
• Point of view shot
• Reaction shot
• Over the shoulder shot
Lens:
• Zoom lenses
• Depth of field
• Deep focus
Camera position:
• Low angel shot
• High angel shot
Camera movements
• Track
• Pan
• Tilt
Lighting:
• Ambient
• Low key
• Lighting from bellow
• Colour
Mise en scene:
• Jewellery
• Money
• Expensive clothing
Editing:
• Continuity editing
• Cut
• Fade up
• Fade out
Sound:
• Dialogue
• Diegetic sound
• Non diegetic sound
examples in the trailer
• Clothing and constant references to business, deals and huge amounts of money e.g. £500,000, show these characters to be very intelligent, wealthy and successful
• Choice of music shows it to be a very serious deal and raises the suspense for an audience
• The change of music suggests the characters must act quickly and that time could be running out
• Champagne (as a prop) and the negotiation of the deal create a theme of success.
• The set up of a hidden camera suggest something is out of the ordinary and that these characters may not be worthy of peoples trust
• Apart from the hidden camera there is nothing else in the trailer to suggest something dodgy is going on or that a scam may be taking place.
Camerawork:
• Long shot
• Mid shot
• Medium close up
• Close up
• Extreme close up
• Two shot
• Reaction shot
• Over the shoulder shot
Lens:
• Zoom lenses
• Depth of field
• Deep focus
Camera position:
• Low angel shot
• High angel shot
• Bird’s eye shot
Camera movements
• Pan
• Tilt
Lighting:
• Ambient
• High key
Mise en scene:
• Weapons
• Sex
• Jewellery
• Money
• Expensive clothing
• Violence
• Murder
• Blood
Editing:
• Continuity editing
• Cut
• Cross dissolve
• Wipe
Sound:
• Dialogue
• Diegetic sound
• Non diegetic sound
examples in the charlies angels trailer
• Random beginning with two characters on a plane
• The theme of action is immediately shown as an African male kidnaps one of the passengers on the plane and jumps out of the plane
• A voice over starts – smooth, calm voice
• A Female sky dives out of a helicopter and starts to interfere with the kidnapped victim’s jacket
• An explosive goes off – another reference to action
• The female lands on a speed boat (captained by another woman) with the victim, shortly followed by the African man – showing some sort of connection between them all
• African man removes his costume to reveal he is really a Caucasian woman
• Voice over is done by the narrator “Charlie” – girls boss
• “Charlie” is the main connection between the women
• Explosives, martial arts, car crashes, weaponry and violence all show and support the themes of action. Mise – en – scene like these plus the use of specialised technology, show and raise the theme of the secret service and show these women to be spies of some sort and “Charlie” as their boss
• The three female characters are shown to be quite seductive and sexy – this is shown through certain dialogue and costume choice e.g. tight spandex/ leather clothing and scenes of Cameron Diaz in small hot pants and a tight t- shirt showing off her figure and seductiveness.
identification of forms and conventions of teaser trailers
Camerawork:
• Long shot
• Mid shot
• Medium close up
• Close up
• Two shot
• Point of view shot
• Reaction shot
• Over the shoulder shot
Lens:
• Depth of field
• Deep focus
Camera position:
• High angel shot
Camera movements
• Track
• Pan
• Tilt
Lighting:
• Ambient
• Low key
Mise en scene:
• Weapons
• Drugs
• Money
• Expensive clothing
• Violence
• Murder
• Blood
Editing:
• Continuity editing
• Cut
• Fade up
• Fade out
• Wipe
Sound:
• Dialogue
• Diegetic sound
• Non diegetic sound
• Sound bridge
examples in the sopranos trailer
• Choice of background song “Woke up this morning” by Alabama 3 – shows the theme of action and crime as the song has constant references to guns and murder. Also the choice of this band shows us as an audience that this film is set in America.
• The quotations from the Mafia trilogy The Godfather, by one of the characters and his choice of clothing of a designer (probably Italian) suit – raises and suggests ideas of links to the Mafia.
• These ideas are backed up as one of the characters refers to himself as the “boss” and also the respect shown to this character by everyone, especially at public events like funerals and weddings
• The constant use of guns used to threaten/ intimidate and murder people show and back up the suggested themes of action and crime
• The final song (in the trailer) sung in Italian by the character referred to as the “boss”, shows these people/ this family is from an Italian background and therefore suggests further links to the Mafia
identification and understanding of forms and conventions of genre
• Long shot
• Mid shot
• Medium close up
• Close up
• Big close up
• Extreme close up
• Two shot
• Point of view shot
• Reaction shot
• Over the shoulder shot
Lens:
• Zoom lenses
• Depth of field
• Deep focus
Camera position:
• Low angel shot
• High angel shot
• Bird’s eye shot
Camera movements
• Track
• Pan
• Whip pan
• Tilt
Lighting:
• Ambient
• High key
• Low key
• Lighting from bellow
Mise en scene:
• Weapons
• Drugs
• Sex
• Jewellery
• Money
• Saves
• Expensive clothing
• Violence
• Murder
• Blood
Editing:
• Continuity editing
• Cut
• Cross dissolve
• Fade up
• Fade out
• Wipe
Sound:
• Dialogue
• Diegetic sound
• Non diegetic sound
• Sound bridge
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
audience feedback and analysis
identification of forms and conventions of teaser trailers
research into similar films and opening sequences
in our media class we have been analyzing and looking at the different conventions of a teaser trailer. a teaser trailer is usually a maximum of 90 second, oppose to a regular trailer which is uasally longer. we also had to look at the different conventions of a film magizine front cover and also a poster, get different ideas and then make our own. our group consisted of Joy Isong, George Regan and Jordan Aloysius
we have looked at different websites and watched various films to enhance our knowledge on the conventions of a teaser trailer, getting ideas to make our own teaser trailer in our groups.
one of the teaser trailers we watched was "2012'', which created a sense of suspense and a feel of excitement. the music and the fast shots also gave an atmospheric feel towards the teaser trailer, leaving viewers wanting more. this is the purpose of a teaser trailer, sucking the audience in to wanting to go and watch the film and leaving them with not knowing what will happen next.