Q2 What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

For the audience feedback I used social media Facebook. I have uploaded my trailer on the news feed, but also created a page for it BFFL. I wanted the people to watch it and leave comments, so I can analyse them.

Looking at this response, the person wanted a more dramatic ending and the repeat of the eye scene. Reading this and picturing it, I think this is something I could have done and this would of made the trailer look more effective. The ending needs to be really on the edge and as I used the eye shot during the editing a lot, it would have been perfect for the ending as well.

The person recommends to make quicker cuts between the eye and other shots, I tried to increase the speed as much as I could during editing, but I didn't want them to be to quick, especially in the beginning, so the audience understands what is going on. Stopping and starting the music without fading it, may give the sharper edge to the trailer, but I have tried both ways and without fading it sounds very rough and unprofessional. I could of faded it in a sharper way perhaps. I do disagree with disaturation, because I actually had to increase it so some cuts are sharped and seen better, because of the dark lighting.

According to these comments people liked the name "Squirrel Pictures" and thought it was original. They also liked the eye shot, as they think it makes the trailer come together well. I agree with the comment about suspense building and faster pace, but I couldn't increase the pace in the beginning, as the first half of the trailer had to appear more peaceful. I could of kept suspense and mystery by revealing less in some shots I think or making them look more gloomy. I appreciate the comment that the trailer keeps people wanting more and that the music choice was good, because this was the aim when making it.

Overall I can say that according to the audience feedback, we have made a successful trailer that is creepy and interesting and has a good key point with the eye shot. The suspense could have been improved by faster and more covered shots and the ending could have been more dramatized. The approval made me feel like I have done well and the criticism made me think about what I can improve in future projects.

Q4 How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

•My evaluation had to be creative and use Media in it, rather than only text.

•I typed up answers to the questions.

•I included images  of different working stages of making the trailer, poster and magazine cover to give more evidence of what I did.

•I also used Youtube videos to show different inspirations for my trailer and sounds to show what I have chosen for my trailer.

•I used social media Facebook for feedback and we created a page for our film.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/BEST-Friends-for-LIFE/308147595957420

•I uploaded everything to my blog and divided it into questions. Some had more posts, because they needed more detail.

•I wanted my evaluation to have a lot of information, but at the same time look creative so it is interesting to review.

Q4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

•Poster and Magazine:

•As well as making a trailer me and Irena had to make a poster and a magazine cover each using photoshop, the programme I had never used before.

•I knew several people who are really good at it, so I asked them to tutor me on weekends, so I can understand how different tools work.

•I have taken several images, as I had poster and magazine cover draft ideas and I picked out the ones that I thought will look the best in terms of working with background and lighting.

•Firstly I made the poster. I took the image of the main character Kylie to be the background, but I decided to take only half of her face to represent how she had split personality disorder.

•My friend downloaded several templates for me, so I have chosen a retro looking template and then adjusted then brightened and faded some parts to improve the image. My eye and lip make up were dull, so I used a tool to sharpen them up and increase the white in the eye and the blacks in the eyes and the lips. I selected and slightly raised and moved the area of the mouth to give the character an evil face expression. Then I used the adjusting tool which corrected all the lines and made the image natural.

•I created a title, billing block, date of the film, the tag line and film reviews in different fonts and colours. For the title I used Microsoft and Handwritten styles to draw attention and to have part of it look like it was written with blood. For the tag line and reviews I used century and that made them fit with the poster, but not draw as much attention as the title.  I then had the trouble of moving them around the poster. Firstly I wanted the title to be at the top, but when I moved it down, it gave the layout more space and made the poster look more realistic.

•  For the magazine cover I found an interesting Total Film magazine cover online that inspired my work.

•As my image is a big close up and Kylie’s character is the main person in the film, I decided to have her with the knife as the background for the cover. I enlarged the image according to the page and the result was her face with the knife, which looked scary and effective.

•I then needed to change the colour of the image, so it looks black and white. I also sharpened, the image and increased the saturation so it looks more brighter. By adjusting the shadows and whites further, I added a nice flick of white light to the knife top and the hair.

•I had to make the title for the film, which I decided to make similar to the bottom writing, as it talks about my film, the main point in the issue. I used one of the Microsoft fonts, because they are really neat and make the title look professional and realistic. I also made other small texts about other articles included in the magazine. For them I used Bookman font as it is not as bold, but still looks straight and accurate. I included the date, issue number and the website and of the magazine, as well as the barcode to make it look more realistic.

Q4 How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

•Editing.

•I was the editor for the trailer. I have done editing for small films before, but making a trailer was new experience. I used Final Cut Pro for this purpose.

•Firstly I needed to log and capture the footage and transfer it on to the programme. Some of the clips were too short, so I had to take time to capture them manually, rather than automatically.

•Then I had to put the footage in order, which took me several tries, due to USB loss and power disconnections. I was happy with this, because my last one came out to be the most effective attempt.

•I had to carefully select parts of the shots that looked the most suitable and because it was a teaser trailer, they had to be quick and snappy. For the first part of the trailer the shots are longer, because the atmosphere is calmer and their length is slightly decreasing in the second part as the tension builds up.

•The next point was non-diegetic sound, where I found a calm soundtrack and a nervous one, again for the two moods in the trailer. I had to carefully place them on to the correct parts and adjust the volume accordingly so it goes quieter when I want the diegetic sound to be heard and towards the end as I want the soundtrack to fade out and finish. A very effective diegetic sound we recorded was bang on the staircase, which goes well with the angry mood of that shot and will make the audience jump.

•The shots still looked rough, because of the different lighting and locations used for filming, so I needed to adjust the colour scheme to make them look more film-like and professional.

•I increased some black colours to sharpen the image and increased the saturation to make some darker shots look brighter. I also adjusted some of the actual colours to make some of the shots look warmer and happier and others colder and creepier.

•Finally I had to put our production and pictures logos on to the trailer. We used the ones from last year to establish and promote our companies and so the audience who saw our previous work will be attracted to this one.

•I also put the credits with the names of all film participants, so the audience knew who worked on the film.

•Overall, using final cut pro this time I learned more about details when cutting shots. I also practiced my work with volume and colour control and using different transitions and effects, so the next time I get to use it, I will be even more experienced.

Q4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

•Filming.

•The main prop needed for filming was the HD camera, which had a microphone.

•We did have a struggle with volume for some shots, so we had to pick out the most successful ones.

•The camera person was Irena and she had experience from our last year’s project, so she used a variety of shots, angles and techniques like zoom. The zooming helped us film one of the key shots «Eye shot» for our trailer.

Q4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Planning and research:

For planning and research the use of media products was more basic

I used Youtube to analyse three trailers in terms of genre, narrative and media language, in order to learn more about making a successful one.

I made a powerpoint presentation on Thriller genre and used Scribd to upload it. This helped me bring together ideas on what a thriller film would include.

We researched personality disorder, so our film details are more realistic.

I made another powerpoint presentation to pitch «Best Friends For Life» where I put the synopsis of the film, inspiration ideas, ideas for the trailer and for poster and magazine.

I handed out printed audience response papers to see the response for the film/trailer idea. The audience were interested in the split personality and dilemma, but they wanted the film to be different to the «Roommate».

I took pictures with a digital camera of setting and props, so I know what will be used and where the filming will be.

Our group presented a story board and a shot list, so we have a rough idea of what the trailer will look like.

Finally we planned the dates for filming in different locations and editing, so we are organized and finish on time.

ALL OF THIS CAN BE EVALUATED IN MY EARLIER BLOG POSTS, AS THERE IS A LOT OF INFORMATION.

Q2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

•There are several positive ways in which my trailer, poster and magazine cover represent a unified marketing campaign.

•The key point is the extreme eye close up in the trailer and the pictures on the poster and magazine cover where the eyes stand out.

•Kylie’s mouth is also a joining factor, as it is either covered or has a creepy frown. It connotated angry mood, revenge seeking and psychotic thought fullness.

•The title Best Friends For Life is always bold and capitalised.

•There is always a line to expand on the film: in the trailer it is the text in the middle «How long can a secret be controlled?», in the poster it is the tagline «When friendship turns deadly» and in the magazine cover it is the description «The creepiest film of the year.

•High saturation and denotation of red colours also join the three: title of the magazine cover, poster, dots on Kylie’s jumper. They connotate danger, blood and murder, which are the themes of the film.

•The denotation of black colours are also important in all three: eyes, hair, clothers title of the poster.  They connotate mystery, darkness and evil and this is what Kylie’s character has turned into.

•Kylie’s look on the magazine cover connotates innocence and fear, which relates to how she is in the first part of the trailer.

•Kylie’s look on the poster dennotates madness, evilness, which relates to how she is in the second part of the trailer.

•The same weapon is used for the trailer and magazine cover picture, which is keeping continuity.

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

Magazine cover:

Magazine covers have the title in bold, neat font.

They have the main story which is also written in bold, big letters similar to the title.

There is a bold indication if it is a special issue.

They have a picture from the film from the main story, often a close up. It is either the background or there is a picture and a background. The picture is photoshopped for effects.

There are titles of more articles, which are inside.

All of the texts have a colour scheme, which will involve no more than three colours that go well together.

There is the date and issue number.

There is a barcode.

My magazine cover has a bold neat title.

The main story is mentioned in the bottom looking similar to the title, to draw attention.

There is a bold indication that this is an exclusive issue.

There is a picture of the main character Kylie with a knife and this is the background. It is photoshopped and turned black and white and the saturation is increased.

There are titles of more articles that are inside the magazine.

I chose the text colour scheme of red and white, because they look professional and stand out on the black and white background.

There is a date, issue number and a website for the magazine.

There is a barcode.

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

Poster:

Film posters have a picture related to the film or the film idea, often of the main character/characters.

They have a title in big letters and interesting font.

The picture is photo shopped and effects are often added.

Film posters have a tagline.

They have a billing block at the bottom with information about the production companies and cast.

They have a date of the release.

They often have reviews by known sources.

My film poster has a picture of the main character Kylie, which has different photoshop effects such as darkening of the eyes and lips. Only half of Kylie can be seen.

There is a big title in varying fonts.

The poster has film’s tagline «When friendship turns deadly».

I have made a billing block with all production and cast information.

I have put the date of the film releas 21/12/12.

There are three reviews by The Times and Empire Magazine.

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

•Sound, Camera, Editing:

Sounds often from normal to haunting, eerie, creepy, bangs, jumpy noises, shooting, loud steps, piano and strings, low pitch, key.

Camera shots either steady or move a lot. Close ups, extreme close ups on important parts, medium shots in general, establishing shots for setting. Low/high angle for vulnerability and power.

Editing differentiates from slow cuts to fast pace cuts depending on action and events, fades are used sometimes for suspense and to divide scenes into parts or the film into chapters. Match on action is often used in the scenes with props, such as weapons.

We used a peaceful calm music for the first part of the trailer, which developed into an thrilling soundtrace that created crazy atmosphere and tense mood.

We had establishing shots and medium close ups for scenes with more than one character, as well as zoom on the eyes of Kylie to increase her craziness. We had a close up at the end to bring the audience straight to the scrary and nerve racking action.

Slower cuts were used in the first part of the trailer to keep the atmosphere calm and casual, the speed of cuts increased and the length of shots decreased to make the audience on the edge for the second part.

The trailer for Coraline and my trailer can be  compared for similarities in terms of non diegetic soundtrack change halfway through the trailers.

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

•Iconographic elements:

•Dark lighting, weapons, screaming, blood, casual clothing.

•We used dark lighting in the second parts of the trailer for the creepy scenes and we chose a weapon of a knife as it was more realistic for a student.

•We used screaming in the end scene to enhance the tense atmosphere, but we avoided blood to keep the intrigue for the film

•We used casual clothing, but the main girl was wearing stripy and dark colours to show mix in her personality and her mental disorder, which was also shown through props of pills.

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

•Setting:

•The settings for thrillers are urban cities, unknow locations or exotic locations.

•We chose to have our setting at the college and a house again so the audience can relate to it.

•A simple location increases the thrill of  creepy events.

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

•CHARACTERS:

•Main protagonist/s and antagonist/s. For example heroes and villains. Often they can be corrupted and by the end of the film changed to opposite. We have the main girl Kylie and her best friend Daniel, who appear protagonists in the beginning. Kylie decides to kill Daniel, so she turns into an antagonist.

•Psychos, detectives, assassins, victims, criminals, doctors, policemen, students, families. We have chosen students to be the main character, so the audience of teens to 30s, which are the most common for thriller movies can relate to them. We also made the girl a psycho to go with the conventions.

•However we have a girl and a guy as best friends, which is uncommon for thrillers or other genres, so we make a big conventional disruption and develop the idea to be unique and attract audience.

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

-Teaser Trailers are usually 90 seconds long maximum.

-They have fast cutting shots that are often in a linear narrative, summing up the film.

-They can be divided into two parts, with two opposing moods.

-They have production companies in the beginning and title of the film and release date at the end.

•Our trailer is a conventional thriller genre trailer.

•It follows a linear, chronological narrative.

•It follows a conventional idea of having first part of the trailer calm and the other disrupted, with a tagline question in the middle to seperate them.

•It has production companies in the beginning and and title and release date at the end.

•It can be compared to the trailer of the Roommate (2011), which inspired the idea.

Magazine cover for BFFL

Poster for BFFL

Teaser Trailer BFFL