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evaluation (essay form) – how did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?.

smillerchs — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 07:53:24 +0000

I found that i have improved greatly since year 12, i feel more confident using media technologies and have developed my own ideas and concepts more. In my year 12 coursework i did not do so well, and this is partly down to the blogging devise we used last year (on the VLE). It was far too simplistic and i found it difficult to express my ideas in much detail. The lack of technology was evident. I did however, gain confidence in using photoshop when developing my music poster and magazine front cover. I learnt how to structure a believable poster & cover, by creating titles and text using different forms of fonts and titles available on photoshop. I learnt how to enlarge specific texts, such as making sure the title was large and bold - indicating it’s importance and attracting the target audience. I also learnt how to embed photographs on to photoshop and how to edit them effectively, using such tools are crop, drop shadow and blurring. In year 13 i developed this skills even further, by using different forms of media technologies, such as the introduction of filming, using youtube and the new blog. As i found last year difficult, i was apprehensive about having to learn to how to use cameras for filming – i decided to use my own camera for filming, i used a digital Kodak camera, which was benefital for me, firstly because i already knew how to use the camera – it was also useful with the fact that i needed to use a hand-held camera for my work anyway, and this was the most suitable choice. After the filming i then had to develop and edit these shots into a believable teaser trailer. I used the programme adobe premiere elements 2.0 and was relieved to find it was easy to work with. After uploading the original un-edited shots from my camera, i then had to cut shots, making sure they linked together and demonstrated a teaser trailer. Luckily in my research and planning i decided on creating a very simplistic and old fashioned trailer, so i did not have to use and devlop on any of the difficult tools on adobe premiere elements 2.0. I dragged my shots to the timeline tool, where all of the editing is done. After cutting the useless or not needed shots i decided that i wanted text in between each shot. To do this i used the tool labelled ‘title’ and selected a preferred font style, size and colour etc. To fit into my trailer i decided that simple was the best choice, that way the text would link with the genre and overall appearance of the trailer. I decided on ‘arial’ font and size ’32′ large enough to notice, but not so large it becomes overbearing. The colour of the font was white, behind a black background – the colours linked with the overall ‘look’ of the trailer aswell as relating with it’s horror/thriller genre. Putting it onto my trailer was simple enough, similar with embedding the shots i had to drag the texts onto the timeline, then selecting where i wanted each text to appear on the trailer. i wanted my text to run into a sequence, with each text following after the other. For example, the first shot including text stated ‘do you ever get the feeling?’ the rhetorical question is deliberate, by creating integrity from the target audience, resulting in tem wanting to want to watch the rest of the trailer, to see the conclusion of the text. As mentioned before i kept the shots fairly simplistic, although i did want the text to fade out as the shots appear and to get this effect i used the ‘fade in/out’ tool. I feel that this worked well. The one overall aspect i wanted from my trailer was to create an old/fashioned ‘classic’ vibe. From the beginning i knew that i wanted my trailer to be in black and white. To achieve this on adobe premiere elements 2.0 i used the ’extract’ tool to alter the colour levels and to change it to Desaturate. I however, purposely left the last few seconds of the trailer in colour – just after the hand extends towards the boy – to simply that create more effect and demonstrate the change that has occurred from the rest of the trailer – the fact that part of the stalker has been revealed. Doing this was simple, i cut the ’extract’ tool from the last part of the trailer on the timeline, and the affect was created. After some initial thought, i decided that i did want diegtic sound for my trailer instead of diegtic sound. After some research using the internet i came across a ‘sound effects’ website and find a whole category just for horror/thrillers. I wanted my sound to fit into the conventional aspects of a horror, therefore i finally decided on using a simple heartbeat that would play throughout the trailer – suddenly stopping just before the ending of the trailer – to create an eiree silence and anticipation from the audience. After importing the sound onto my ‘D’ drive i simply embedded the sound onto adobe premiere elements 2.0, then dragging it onto the second timeline labelled ‘audio 1′ then embedding it with the shots i cut/ selected where needed to. That’s what i initially liked about adobe premiere elements 2.0 , it was very easy to use when i had grasped the basic concepts. What else was new this year was using the internet engine ‘youtube’ to be able to import my trailer onto my blog. This was another new concept of technology, although similar to adobe premiere elements 2.0, it was easy to use. After setting up an account on youtube i then had to export my trailer off adobe premiere elements 2.0 and then save it to ‘pal’ and my ‘d’ drive. After that it was a simple transfer and upload onto youtube, and then embedding the URL onto the blog. Compared to last year, the new blogs on ‘wordpress.com’ was a vast improvement compared to blogs using the ‘VLE’. WordPress blogs offered so much more, from putting work into different categories such as ‘research and planning’ – this was it was much more organised and easy to read up on previous work. On wordpress.com i also got the chance to view the work from other media students, this was extremely useful, from observing how much work they have done, to using some of their ideas as inspiration for my own work. Similarly to last year, i also used photoshop for my poster/magazine front cover. This year however, i could clearly see how much i have improved from last year. I learnt how to use new tools such as the ‘magnetic lasso’ tool to select separate parts of the photograph, to then alter the level separately – as well as developing the skills learnt from last year- Being a photography student also helped, due to being on photoshop in those lessons too. The photographs (taken from the same camera/video camera as my filming – my digital Kodak -) were a huge improvement from last year, as well as being more relevant to my trailer etc. Other than that i did use photoshop in a similar way to last year, although this time having more knowledge and input when using photoshop. When researching particular posters/magazine front covers for inspiration for my own work, i found the internet to be very useful. Using the search engine google i managed to find enough research to not have to find any other media alternatives.

evaluation (audio) – what have you learned from your audience feedback?.

smillerchs — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 07:50:42 +0000

evalution (powerpoint) – how effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?.

smillerchs — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 07:49:30 +0000

evaluation (powerpoint) – in what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?.

smillerchs — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 07:47:54 +0000

audience feedback questionnaire.

smillerchs — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:39:17 +0000

to get a good substantial amount of feedback from my teaser trailer/ poster and magazine front cover i decided to ask some relevant questions to a family member after viewing my trailer / poster / magazine front cover in a style of an interview. i decided i wanted to ask a non-media student, to see how they interpret my work.

Teaser trailer questions.

does my trailer work as a trailer? does it make the audience want to see them?

Very much so. it works well as a trailer, it gives an insight of what the film will contain and be about, without giving too much away – for instance the missing identity of the ‘stalker’ and the question will it be revealed in the movie? yes, the trailer creates alot of questions about the movie, which is what is intended.

is the genre of the film clearly established by the trailer?

Yes, it is clear that the movie is a horror, the sound effects of the heart beating, also how it goes faster during the end is a classic example of horror. the trailer also has a subtle eireeness to it, with it being in black and white etc.

what aspects/features/shots/messages are most effective?

The shot going behind the wall and following the boy are definately most effective, as they work for a horror genre, aswell as looking professional. i like the fact that the shots are simple, they are easier to follow.

was the trailer too long/ too short?

If anything it was too short! would have liked to have seen more, although as its a teaser trailer it is the exact right amount of time.

Magazine/ front cover questions.

what features attracted the attention of the poster/magazine?

Firstly i liked the fact that it was in black and white, to me black and white posters/magazine covers look more classic and effective, much like black and white photographs.

what do audiences think about how people are represented in your images? does the representation challenge or conform with stereotypes/expectation?

Well obviously the intended audience have to be horror fans, it may also be intended for a older audience due to the simplicity of it. younger people seem to prefer more technological and special effects these days.

audience feedback comments.

smillerchs — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 08:24:35 +0000

Throughout the duration of this course i have recieved comments from both teachers and fellow media students, giving their opinion and views on my work, aswell as giving advice on how to improve and what needing altering and changing etc.

On Research and planning.

* Good bit of research – your video does not have to be this long as it is strictly a TEASER trailer – let’s see some of YOUR ideas.

* Pretty encouraging stuff but as Mr T says you need to start switching the focus to your own creative ideas.
Also, what’s the Mr Vengeance trailer for? Why no analysis?

On Draft construction.

* Good to see a more detailed plan emerging. However, would like to see much more information on how you are going to turn this plan into action. When are you shooting? How many shoots do you have planned? What’s your own timeline between now and Christmas? Also, you should be trying to add much more in the way of location shots, storyboards etc

On Teaser trailer.

* Level 3 – D/E
Very simple but just about works. Very minimal evidence of editing skills but unsteady camera just about works for this genre….Try to introduce greater variety in terms of of camera shots and try to add a level of subtlety and complexity…

On Poster and Magazine front cover.

* I think youve worked really hard on this today babe. well done
Really like the photograph and enjoy the simple colours but agree with robbins that you could investigate adding another x

* colour for ‘SIN’ and the tag line? – does this need to remain white in keeping with your desire for b/w cover

* I do think it is quite good, but I think on your font, you should use some edits – like drop shadows etc.. to make it more effective. Eve. x

audience feedback video.

smillerchs — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:50:01 +0000

what are the form and conventions of a teaser trailer?

smillerchs — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:06:29 +0000

Teaser trailers.

Teaser trailer’s are conventionally used to advertise any upcoming forms of media, such as a movie, television series, game etc. However, unlike the typical theatrical trailers, teaser trailers are much shorter in length (the norm is 30-50 seconds) as teaser trailers aim to give you a glimpse of what the product will contain, but only enough to get the audience interested and therefore going to buy/see the movie/game. This is why teaser trailer’s contain very little and at times it is a truncated version of a theatrical trailer, in which they are realeased long in advance of the theatrical trailer and the film, hence the name ‘teaser’ as it aims to ‘tease’ the audience. Teaser trailers are usually only made for big-budget and popularly themed movies, as these particular films attract a larger audience. Teaser trailers are usually made while the film is in fact still in production, this at times result in some scenes featured in the teaser trailers being edited and not making the final cut. Cleverly teaser trailer’s these days are increasingly focused on internet downloading, as the web is fast overtaking television, with the majority of people logging online every single day, so this way its constant advertising of the media product. The main conventions of a teaser trailer is for the genre/ plot etc of the film to be easily established and recognised, so it can attract the target audience. Main characters and settings are usually introduced in teaser trailers, all relating with the target audience, seeing what the movie entails and wanting to go and watch the full movie. Although only durating 30-50 seconds the trailer must be either funny,creative or shocking to attract the intended audience.

what are the form and conventions of a movie poster/magazine front cover?

smillerchs — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:05:03 +0000

Posters.

The typical conventions crucial when producing a movie poster are -

- big, bold titles that are eye catching and therfore attracting the target audience.

-colour of the title must be relevant with the genre of what its advertising and not too contrasting e.g red – horror.

-many posters have one main image rather than multiple smaller pictures, as this may look to cluttered and over the top. the image is usually of the main character or a main object appearing in the film.

- names of the actors always appear on movie posters. distributors are aware of the popularity some actors posess, so if the audience is aware of the ators starring in the movie, this may encourage them to go out and watch it prior to its release.

Magazine front cover.

the typical conventions magazine front cover follow-

- An eye catching title which usually makes use of a bright colour and a large size,font to attract the target audience.

- A specific genre representitive of the entire magazine, this will attract a target audience and result in the magazine gaining profit.

-Big main storyline, this entails the largest photograph which usually takes up most of the front cover, it usually is the newest and biggest blockbuster release and photograph is usually of the star of the film. movie pays money to feature on magazine as the movie will then have more advertising.

-the conventions of a magazine front cover are very simular to the ones of a movie poster – both are to advertise the movie and gain a profit.

help from the following -

http://www.ehow.com/video_4872071_basic-conventions-film-trailers.html

http://rachelsouthcott.blogspot.com/2009/11/forms-and-conventions-of-film-posters.html

and wikipedia.

Questions for audience feedback.

smillerchs — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:01:13 +0000

Initial Research

what do audiences expect from trailers/posters/magazine covers?

what makes most impact on audiences? what things are most effective in communicating with your audience? find out what makes them want to go and see a film?

Trailer

does your trailer work as a trailer? does it make the audience want to see them?

is the genre of the film clearly established by the trailer?

what aspects/features/shots/messages are most effective?

what impression of the film lingers in the minds of audience members?

what narrative sense did the audience make of the trailer? what did they ‘understand’ about the films narrative from the trailer?

was the trailer too long/ too short?

did the trailer sustain the interest of audiences?

how did audiences respond to your choices in relation to actors/mise en scene/colour/lighting?

did the music work? did it sit well alongside the text and images? did it help establish genre etc?

what do audiences think about how people are represented in your trailer? does the representation challenge or conform with sterostypes/expectation?

Poster/Magazine

what features attracted the attention of your audience?

how do the target audience feel about the mode of address..the way in which the magazine/poster ‘speaks to them’ through both language and images?

how do the audiences respond to your choices in relation to colour and mise en scene?

what do audiences think about how people are represented in your images? does the representation challenge or conform with stereotypes/expectation?

how do the target audience feel about the mode of address..the way in which the magazine/poster ‘speaks to them’ through both language and images?