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

We have use a range of different media technologies in the creation of our film trailer. We used a mixture of hardware and software that ultimately benefited the outcome of our trailer.

We used a HD camera and tripod to film most of the shots in the trailer. We edited all of our footage together on the Apple Mac which is another new media technology that is allowing more and more people to grasp and understand the world of filming and editing. We used standard PC's to do most of our research on, search engines such as 'Google' allow you to have any piece of information at the end of your fingertips within seconds. All of these pieces of equipment all made it easier for Ross and I to produce our film trailer.

Using a HD camera is the only way to film now. The picture quality is good for a relatively small device which means transportation is easy. Because transportation is easy it makes it easier to experiment with shots. Our film would not have the same effect if it were shot in a lower definition. The trailer works around the the angle and colours used in each shot and this is where the HD camera really helps us out.

Like I just mentioned, colours were an integral part of the trailer. By using the editing software 'iMovie' we manipulated the colours in our trailer to add a higher amount of saturation. This effect allowed us to expose the genre and add something a little unique to our project. 'iMovie' made it very quick and simple to edit together each shot that we wanted. This is a massive step up from 'crash editing' which is basically cutting up two films. The introduction of editing software such as 'iMovie' means it's quicker and easier to edit your film.

Website are becoming more and more popular and the Internet is growing at a fast pace. The amount of people on the Internet now is vast. Team this with social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook and you have a great platform in which to share media products. The Internet is a great place to promote and advertise media products. By using Twitter I promoted your film trailer in order for it to reach a wide audience.

The last thing on the list is video sharing websites like 'YouTube'. YouTube has millions and millions of users which can watch and comment on your film. By using YouTube we were able to broadcast our film trailer. The comments feature allows us to collate user feedback.

Evaluation - Audience Feedback

Audience Feedback Evaluation

After gathering the results from the feedback questionnaires (example below), I created few charts to display the results clearly. This was an example of one of the feedback questionnaires we received back, we set out a mixture of yes/no questions, with questions that needed a written response. We did this to avoid repetition for the audience, but also to give us more controlled and topical results.

These are the 3 graphs that I produced, showing the feedback we received. 20 random sample feedback questionnaires were chosen to use for the results.  



These are a few examples of the comments our trailer received;

Example Positive Comments

“A good length as it doesn’t give too much away”

“The Bird shots worked well”

“The sudden cut of sound at the end worked well”

“The camera angles created tension”

“The music created a tense atmosphere”

Example Critical Comments

“The music was a little too repetitive”

“A voice over could have been added”

 “The trailer was too long”

“A more horror looking font should have been used”

Summary

Overall the comments we received were very positive. The one of the most important statistics was that out of our 20 samples, 19 members of our audience felt that our trailer looked like a horror/thriller film, (which is good considering that’s what we intended). Also 16 members of our audience wanted to see the film after watching the trailer, and 3 of the 4 that didn’t, said that it was because they don’t like horror films. Another important statistic was that 19 members of the audience felt that the length of the trailer was perfect; as this was a concern of ours when we were making it. The main element that the audience suggestested had room for improvement was the editing of the trailer, the comments that we reiceved wanted the edits to be quicker in places, to add more drama. Looking back over at our trailer, I think that it could definetley be improved by using quicker edits, as it will also add to the genre. On the other hand, the main section of our trailer that worked well was the music and camera work. This is pleasing to see, as it took us a long time to think of differnet ways we could shoot scenes, and the music needed a lot of attention, as its one of the most important parts to any trailer; so recieved these coments was good! 

Evaluation - 9 evaluative shots

Evaluation - Voice Over

Magazine cover

Trailer in crisp HD

Film Trailer

Final Film Poster

Film Poster

The poster uses a significant shot from the trailer. We see the protagonist looking ahead at the dark figure, however both characters identity are hidden, which makes the poster creepy. The titles are white, which clashes with the contrast of the forest backdrop making some letters hard to read. This gives an eerie feel and also adds to the vagueness and suspense. An important quote is used at the bottom of the page, which again adds dramatic effect, but also it produces a link to the reader because of the use of a personal pronoun. The poster uses a high contrast and an alteration in the pictures saturation, which is used to link the poster to the trailer, as that uses it as well.

We chose to create are poster on "Gimp". This was because the software produces good,professional effects with a number of different tools to use.

Film Poster Possible Design

Production Logo

Cross Cut Production Logo

This is the production Logo for our Trailer. We made it using "Live Type", which we felt was the perfect software for this task. We chose to call our production Company "Crosscut Productions", as we felt that this was an appropriate name.

The effect was fairly simple, as we wanted it to reflect the horror/thriller genre of our trailer.

Tailer Feedback Draft

Feedback Questionnaire

1.    Did you feel that the trailer conveyed the horror genre?

YES/NO

2.    Did you feel that the editing created tension?  

YES/NO

3.    Did you like the effect of the colour saturation?

YES/NO

4.    Was the trailer too long, short, or a good length of time (circle one)

5.    Could you understand the narrative through the trailer?

YES/NO

6.    Did you feel that the music built atmosphere and tension?

YES/NO

Film Poster Planning

Production Logo

Production Logo

This is the production Logo for our trailer. It was made using Live type for the Apple Mac. We chose to call our production logo "Cross Cut" as we felt reflected our target audience and genre. 

Evdience of Story Board Drafts

Evidence of Trailer/blogwork

Trailer

Why are trailers important?

I feel that trailers are essential to a films success in the modern day industry. Trailers are a great way of showing off the art and quality of the film. What I mean by this is that, if you've created one of the all time greats, using great camera work, casting, script etc, your able to show it off in a 2 minute slot, and show it to the vast nation. However in other cases it allows the audience to find out about the film, the genre, the content, the characters and whether it would be something that would appeal to them, that they may not of ever heard about.

However trailers can be tricky, as they are only 1 - 2 minutes long, therefore the amount of detail you are able to fit in is limited. Also you don't want to give too much away. There is a difference between telling the story, and letting the audience develop an understanding of the story - this is what separates the good trailers from the best. Also someone could argue that they were looking forward to watching a film because of word-of-mouth, however when it came round to seeing the trailer, they were immediately put off.

In summary I think that what makes a trailer important is the quality of the trailer, because if you haven’t got a good trailer, you’re not going to gain business and could/probably lose viewers, but on the other hand if you’ve got a good trailer, you better hope the films good because everyone is coming.

Short essay - Regulation of the press (topical)

Should news papers be more tightly regulated?

A big question has arisen over the last few months about whether the newspapers should be more tightly regulated. (Regulation is formed to stop harmful, illegal content being shown in media. But the regulatory system must protect and promote the rights to freedom of expression and information.)  But like all questions there are two sides and in this short essay I shall explore both sides and try to form a conclusion.

            Many believe that the newspapers should be more tightly regulated as some news articles appear to be “shocking”. For example the “Raoul Moat” story caused a lot of controversy – as it appeared that after the middle aged man went on his killing spree, the Daily Mail printed a story explaining that he had gone to care workers, the police and the press - to seek help, as he feared that he was “mentally unstable”. None of the above took any notice of “his cries” for help and it was only after his killing spree, followed by a suicidal end, did anyone admit that he was actually trying to solve his problem. This supports the claim of a tighter regulation because should the mail have been allowed to print this? If the child of one of Moat’s victims were to read this and discover that their father or mother could still be with them, if the police or press helped Mr Moat, they would be in despair. Another example is the case of former British boxing sensation Ricky Hatton, who had won many titles and was the ultimate “zero to hero” role model for children. However Mr Hatton was pictured on the front page of the News Of The World, snorting cocaine in a toilet. This story questions the regulation of papers, as should a role model for young children be shown doing something like this, as it may bring the attitude that if your hero does it, it must be okay.

            Finally in the news recently has been the News Of The World scandal. This was the main story that has questioned the regulation of papers, as it became apparent that the newspaper company had hacked into celebrities and members of the public’s mobile (personal) phones, including missing or dead victims and there families. The news paper company would then go on to publish their findings. This story is a prime example as to why newspapers should be more tightly regulated, as many believe that papers should never be allowed to invade the public and even celebrities’ private lives.  Also the press should not have that much power over the pubic, as we live in a democracy.

            On the other hand, many believe that the press should not be more tightly regulated. Some believe that the press investigates and informs the public of news, and the method of how the news is found is meaningless. In the case of the News Of The World scandal, others could also argue that celebrities manipulate the press, as they need the press when they are releasing a new DVD or and new album, however when the press finds out something about them and publish it, the celebrities make a fuss. Also you could accuse the public as manipulative as well, because when the celebrities phones were hacked the public enjoyed the gossip and the inside scoop. But when the public’s phones were hacked for instance in the Milly Dowler story, they public didn’t want to know. Therefore it could be seen as unfair that the News Of The World was discontinued because people were still buying it, because they enjoyed the gossip and knowing things that used illegal methods to obtain them.  Also many could argue that newspapers are entitled to freedom of speech. This means that they are able to say what they like.

            In conclusion I feel that the newspapers should be more tightly regulated. Looking at both sides I think that there does need to be a balance, because even though the press do print things that shouldn’t be printed, we as the public still purchase them, which says something.  The press should be allowed freedom of speech; however the things that are said must be controlled and the methods that are used to obtain the news should be monitored.

Animatic

Trailer - Music

I chose to use Garageband to make the music for the trailer. I've used this software before and so have a reasonable understanding of how it works. Its basic, but effective and I found that although it took a while, I was pleased with the music created.

The music takes a creepy tone and only uses the repetition of a few notes. I felt that this would reflect the ambiance of the trailer best. I also tried to make the music reflect the setting, therefore I feel that the music is cold, dry and eerie, like the forest.

The music was produced on an Apple Mac, using the alphabetical keys as a keyboard.

Casting Shots

Casting Shots

Ollie Miller - Main Camera-man

Ross Campbell - Second Camera-man and actor 

Matt Osborne - Actor

Although there were only three of us, I felt that we all worked well together. But because of our short numbers it meant that we had to plan well and be organised, as we shot the trailer over a few days. However we were always on schedule and didn't encounter any problems.  

Location Shots

These our the locations that we chose to film our trailer. We found a suitable location that suited the ambiance of our trailer.

StoryBoard

This is the storyboard for our trailer. It uses the 12 main shots that we plan to use, plus the fictional storyline.