How Did You Use Media Technologies In The Construction And Research, Planning And Evaluation Stages?

The use of media technologies have been used throughout our media products mainly within our research, planning and evaluation. We have produced real media conventions from a horror film trailers and other media produces to define ours to be just like a horror trailer. Our media product follow the straightforward conventions within a film trailer such as it introduces the main characters who is going to be in the actual film, and it also distinguishes to the audience clearly the antagonists and protagonists which is also a convention of the Horror Genre. Throughout constructing our media product we shows continutiy from creating a film poster and magazine front cover which reflects upon marketing our product in order to attract our target audience. Trailers are used to advertise the film and to attract the audience with a 'hook' before the film is release so that the audience will want to go and watch the film in cinema.

Firstly when constructing our media project, we needed technology the most, as this involved edits, cuts, sound etc. Our projected included constructing a film poster, magazine front cover, and film trailer. I feel that the technology used for our A2 was better of from the technology used for AS this is because, in AS we used pinnacle studio 12, whereas for A2 we used power director 9. After filming our trailer we had to put it together, this was with the use of power director 9, and we had to cut some of the clips to make them shorter and to enable the overall project flow more efficiently. We also added in transitions and included music instead of a voiceover for the trailer. Constructing our film trailer is the most technology dependant area as a lot of construction was to be made such as editing techniques. However the film poster and magazine cover also included the use of a lot of technology as we had to incorporate similar images along all three projects. The whole of our media project wouldnt have been successful without the use of technology, so was very dependant upon it, in its construction involving camera use, tripod's, and video camera. The camera was useful for our still images for our magazine cover and poster and the video handy camera was useful for our actual film trailer. The tripod enabled us to have more steady shots, insteady of handheld which would have made it more shakey and less useful to our storyline. We used photoshop to help handle the use of images for the ancilliary tasks, this program allowed us to layer photo's over one another if neccessary to give a better impacted outcome.

Our research was produced from the use of internet programs such as Youtube. Furstly I watched video clips such as trailers to research into existing trailers to give ideas for my final piece. Youtuube was a useful tool as it allowed me to gather other peoples idea's from the feedback tool. This allowed us to put other peoples thoughts into consideration. Furthermore, the internet also enabled us to use sites such as google images to help research into different magazine covers and posters to gather a insight to what would be the best for our tasks.

Technology was used a lot in our planning as we had to take different shots to see which would be the best for our ancilliary tasks, this was produced with the use of cameras, we were also able to use handy cameras to film and choose parts of filming for better shots. Other technology programs such as microsoft word, powerpoint and excel also was useful to help produce scripts for the team to follow, graphs and pie charts to show audience feedback in a different form rather than worded. I also used slideshare which was a internet sight which enabled me to upload images, wright about the images, and upload to by blogger, this was a useful technology tool as it gave a different view of findings and information rather than being all simplistic. Email was another source of technology as it allowed us as a group to transfer picures through attachments, as we needed images of one another for identity of job roles.

We finally uploaded all our project including, research, planning, and finally evaluation up to web 2.0 blogspot, this helped us gain user feedback from peers and teachers, which could in theory be our possible audience.

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

To firstly make our film trailer appeal to a wider target audience, we decided to produce questionnaires for people to fill in so we could therefore incorportae there answers when producing our film, this would be relative as our trailer would then appeal more so than just using our own ideas.

To gather audiences feedback overall I asked selected people from diufferent age groups and different gender to watch my main product, (my trailer). I firstly got a boy and a girl of the same age group to watch my video to see how there opinions differed. The feedback which I recieved was quite positive as I was told I used various shots/angles/movements, and the sortyline was quite clear, from the use of flashbacks and different lighting techniques, such as high key and low key. The different use of shots such as match on action, high angle, low angle, close up, and medium shots help gather a storyline that matches on a trailer.

The male feedback however was positive but not as much as the females, I personally put this down to the storyline, as it revolves around female emotions, this is because it is a female mental patient living in a institution. There are no male characters in our product so therefore doesnt appeal to males so much. However they do note that they enjoy the use of weapons, blood and gore, it helped build up tension, excitment, and effective as nobody knew who who the patient was going to kill if she was going to kill anybody.

The female feedback was positive completely, as the storyline portrayed many female emotions and hormones, however the way they are expressed are very outrageous. The females also enjoyed the tension built up and stated that this made it a lot more exciting.

From receiving information about peoples views on our media product, this helped me understand my positive points and my negative points, where I could improve next time and what to keep the same. I firstly understand that to produce a much wider audience next time round, include both male and female actors, to make it more appealing to both genders.

How Effective Is The Combination Of Your Main Product And Ancillary Texts?

All three media products; the film poster, film magazine and film trailer, I believe work very well together and portray a traditional horror image, from the use of horror conventions, micro and macro features. I also believe that each product would work well on their own and people would have a strong insight about what genre the film is. The picture portrayed on the film poster and the magazine cover gives the audience a sense of what the film is likely to be based upon, this is because of the creepy white eye contacts along with the pale skin. Ancilliary tasks working alone is very important as together it then makes a stronger package, but together is more important. We firstly started of our project by producing our trailer firstly, which helped us incorporate our film poster and magazine cover successfully, due to having different shots to choose from. The idea of producing our film trailer first allowed us to have a common theme which would run through all three products to show a connection between them. The connection was made through the use of same colours and similar shots, (being able to signify the same character in different shots enabled our products to link up more successfully). From reference to our previous AS coursework we decided to base our colour scheme on our A2 a little brighter to show more clearer images and sense of storyline. It was a lot easier to use the same colour scheme throughout all three products as the genre horror incorporate a more stronger image that relates to one another. As our film is based on a clinical storyline, there is use of soft colours such as soft green and blue, this was useful to us as our setting has these colours included within the walls. Our trailer leaves a question on the audience asking, 'who dies?' and whether they die for a reason, this leaves the audience in suspence to what has happened to the main character and why she wants revenge. This is shown throughout the trailer with the use of flashbacks to her childhood, and her life to the current day. Also the use of anger and frustration the main girl is portraying and her trying to escape from the institution. The image of her running and trying to escape we have carried on to our film poster, as it is a very clear and understandable shot along with the use of headings and rhetorical question. The rhetorical question we have carried as a tagline throughout all three of our products, this is likely to leave the audience asking themselves what will happen next, if revenge is made or is it a mystery? This is something that the audience may want to find an answer to, this involves watching the film to find out the answer. Overall these essentials work well together as it leaves the audience wanting to find out further information, leading them to watching the film which is likely to make the film successful. The use of similar images and tagline throughout all products allows the film to be more noticable for the audience, which helps broadcast it and make it more popular. All elements put together make the project work well together and help show the same themes throughout, leaving the audience wondering what the outcome will be, which I believe is extremely important as this creates bringing more people to watch the film to find out the answer.

Evaluation - In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop Or Challenge Forms And Conventions Of Real Media Products?

I first started analysing different media products, focusing on different types of genres, such as musicals, horror, action etc, this was to help give me a brief outline about what genre I wanted to focus on. Due to having a more experience in the horror genre from my AS coursework I decided this would be a better choice. I noticed the sustained use of conventions such as, scary images, blood, weapons, and dull gloomy settings. From this research I incorporated these conventions within my horror trailer, as it helps indicate the genre. I used these conventions in slightly different forms when integrating them within my own media product, as a group we firstly decided to portray a scarier image by using white eye contacts, with pale skin and dark hair, this image specifies a terryfying person out to hurt others as it is not the everyday look a person would wear. Due to our storyline, we couldnt place our setting within a dark gloomy location such as the woods, so therefore we used a school as our location, this was for the reason that our storyline is based on a the upbringing of a young girl and how it has had a major effect on her life, and driven her into a mental institution.

In our film trailer, we decided to use certain shots to reveal what the film is going to be about, however not too much, this is because from audience feedback we found they like the stryline to be 50% proven. The shots we decided to embrace was a shot of a young girl in a park, being left out by other young peers around her, this shot however is in black and white to show previous years, as it is a trailer containing flashbacks.

Our media product uses micro features and conventions of a horror genre upright in many scenes of the film. Firstly our trailer resembles flashbacks of a young girls childhood, and her life today. In our media product, to create a more daunting image and for people to signify what genre our film is, we used close up shots of the main girl, this is because she has creepy eyes, from wearing white eye contacts to portray a more negative and frightening image. We also use shots with the mental patient standing in front of the mirror looking at her appearence, this makes the audience question whether the patient is clear on what her life has tranformed into. Using high angle shots of the young girl in the park isolated from other children, makes the scene unsettling as children are usually put first, however in this case a poor childhood is portrayed. Also when recieving research back from our questionnaires it was outlined that the majority of people prefer fast pace editing when watching film trailers to help build up excitment and tension. This therefore gave us ideas to how to put together our trailer, and because of this it helped us develop skills such as including fast pace editing to help widen our audience.

The mise en scene we combined within our media product, helped us create a residential horror to encourage tension building up for our target audience throughout the trailer. The use of setting and location alongside the behaviour from the main acress (antagonist) helps establish that the situationo takes place in a medical looking environment such as an institution, this location does have connotations of a horror genre, however not so much as a forest. The costume and use of make - up connotes that the girl is in either a hospital or a institution, this is shown by the use of a hospital night gown, bare feet, and very pale skin, the complete image indicates that the genre could well be horror, as a hospital and the behaviour put forward by the actor is very negative.

Barthes enigma code suggests that a text, whether that being television, a film, or a poster, which portrays a mystery to grab the audiences attention, and pose questions onto the audience, for example who murder her? - using this theory as reference to my media product it is clear that our trailer asks the question who is she out to kill?

Our Final Film Poster

Our Final Magazine

Planning: Call Sheets

I produced these call sheets to help me be more organised when filming our trailer. These explain what was needed to be done on each day. On the first day we filmed the scene of the round about at the park which relates back to a lonely childhood and then we film the two nurses having a conversation about the mental patient. We decided to use a shot reverse shot to make this look more effective. We believed that by getting this shot out the way then Charlotte could then help with the rest of the filming. Then on the second day of filming we filmed the main girl Jade, this is where we used several different shots all in the same location but used different scenes from in the school and any different shots and movement. We tryed to include conventions that you may see in other horror films to make it look appealing such as the shot of the close up shot knife in her hand and we filmed a Jade banging her head against a wall looking as though she is crazy in head and by her wearing white eye contacts made her look scary and evil. By planning these calls sheets this would help us know where and when we needed to film.

Planning: storyboard

As a group we planned our film trailer by firstly drawing out a sketched diagram of a storyboard. This is the storyboard we used for our trailer. The storyboard has a sentence on each shot explaining what is going on in the shot and how long it will last for, it also explains what camera techniques we will use and what we are trying to emphasize. We will also explain on the diagram whether we are using any sound within that shot and if or not it will be non diagetic or diagetic. We also included still image diagrams as a second source of planning for a storyboard to show clear images of our trailer. Clearer images are shown and changes are able to be made.

Planning: Cast list & Job roles

Cast List & Job Roles

At this stage we know have a good idea of what our horror trailer is going to be based on. Therefore we needed to give each member of the group a job role each. We had to allocate appropriate actors to suit such roles. From previous media work we had a good idea of what each member was best at so it was wuite easy to define who would be doing what. Our film trailer will only consist of three actors, we asked a friend outside our group if they would help participate in our A2 media work, we decided that Jade Cruise would best suit the main character as she is a good confident actor and would be best suited for what our plan for the main character is going to be which is a mental patient, this is because she has pale skin and dark hair which will make her look scary. As an individual she felt that she would succeed in producing a very professional and successful trailer overall, Jade is very enthusiastic and able to portray emotions effectively.Our other two characters needed are two doctors therefore we asked another friend Sarah Lolley if she would ask a small role in our film trailer and then we decided that Charlotte Magill would be allocated the other, this is because I have more experience with the camera and Charlotte would be a better actor.

My job role was to research into the horror genre and input in the planning, (all members of the group created there own research), to make our trailer, film poster and magazine cover effective. From previous experience in our AS coursework I am very creative which helps significantly with creating a film poster and magazine cover, I am capable of outlining the best ideas to attract a audience. As a group we also decided that I would film the footage as i filmed in our previous opening for AS.

Charlotte Magill is the othe member of the group felt comfortable with acting as the doctor/nurse in our trailer. However she will not be the main acress as she didnt want to take on the main role as she didnt feel very stongly in her acting skills. Charlotte was given a very simplistic role so therefore was up for acting. Charlotte will only be needed in a shot reverse shot of a conversation between the doctors, this will only take up a short amount of time and there will not be much speech needed so this role suited her best. Charlotte didnt have a main job role but she did participate in all set tasks thats was given to both of us to complete such as group decusions, mind maps, planning a magazine front cover ect. However, Charlotte can help me out in parts of filming in taking different shots and movements in order to have a wide range when it will come to us editing.

There was a number of roles that myself and my two partners had to allocate each to. Each member of the group had different skills so therefore suited different roles. We have been able to outline our different skills over the two year period of the media course. As a group we identified that I was best suited for the camera work as I felt most comfortable, I also did not like being withing the eye of the camera so therefore this role suited me best, however Charlotte Magill did help with numerous shots. We was able to ask two friends of our to help us out with our filming and we decided that Jade Cruise was best for the main actress as she had more experience within the scenes and had more practice in front of the camera rather than behind it and Sarah Lolley would be a great help in order for us to shoot her in one shot.

We decided that both me and charlotte would help contribute to producing the magazine cover along with the film poster. This would mean that all members have to include creativity skills to incorporate a high standard level of work. However, due to me not taking any action in front of the camera and taking responsibility for the camera, i will take a more catered role in producing the magazine and poster. Charlotte however contributed to acting, helping with the camera, the poster and the magazine front cover. All members of the group will take credit in editing our trailer overall as will all share a range of different skills.

Overall I fell that me and Charlotte work well together an we will aim to create the best trailer we can and we have decided on which job roles best suit eachother and we will help eachother throughout.

planning: shooting script

By creating a shooting script this helped us understand what and when we were going to film each day. This will help us be organised in order for us to know what actors and costume/props would be needed and the dialogue we were going to use. However when planning our trailer we didnt have much dialogue to use so this wasnt included in our shooting script.

This shooting script shows that on the 12th March we aimed to film both locations, use various shots and angles however not all shots. We also included filming both the characters on the same day as the one acress did not have a big part. Other shooting scripts we have produced shows other shots and angles used within our trailer.

Planning: props/costume

After a group descusion we came up with an idea of what our horror film trailer was going to be based on. Therefore, we came up with a props and costume list which helped organise our film and in order for us to get everything we needed before actually filming. Props are very important in any type of film this is because it gives the identity of the characters and it enables the audience to understand the storyline. In our horror trailer there will be many props used props used for symbolism and hints for the plot. For example, a knife will be the antagonists, we chose a knife as a weapon because we believe that it keeps the plot and killing of the victims more realistic rather than using an out of the ordinary weapon. Some props we are not able to use correctly, for exmple we are not able to use real blood for hygienic reasons so therefore have to buy fake blood or summet that looks very realistic.

We decided that the main character, the antagonist will be wearing very pale make - up, although we will use little amount to make a pale ill looking image, we came up with the idea of the antagonist wearing white eye contacts in order to hide her true identity and to make her look very scary. The costume of the antagonist also portays a stong image and story as it is a hospital gown, and the whole body expressions given portray a stong sense of storyline. Body language used by the antagonist also the trailer in total helps the audience outline much of the genre. The behaviour portrayed by this character tends to be uncontrolable, and very dangerous, hence the reason living in a institution.
Other characters involved in this trailer will be the protagonist, these will be the two nurses who are working in this institution. They will wear white cloacks making them look like doctors and we will use probs such as a clip board and stethoscope so that the image of doctors is understood by the audience watching. These props will be gathered by both us in the group as some of the items we already have and are able to gather.

Planning: Shot List

This is the shot list that we came up with. We decided that in our film trailer we will use several different shots inorder for our trailer to incorprate better results. From reseach and experience in media techniques we deided to include various shots, angles and movement. Hopefully when it comes to filming by feeding back to this shot list sheet it will be clear to use on what shots need to be included in our trailer. However, as we know when it comes to filming and editing later on we may not stick directly to this shot list and may incorporate serveral other shots in which may make our product better.

From looking back to my research i noticed that in film trailers there are loads of cuts used to show parts of the storyline and several fade to black in order to move the trailer on. I looked at different shots film trailers used an this will help me when i make my final product. When watching the dark knight trailer i noticed that different shots where used on different characters in order to show their power i will try to include this when focusing on my main character as i think i could work effectivly on the audiences view of the character just by the different shots i could us. Also genre is another important issue and in the film trailer it is important that the audience understand what genre our film will be based on. I could incorporate this by using different shots and the lighting in different shots to set the mood. Close ups and medium shots are good to use in film trailers as people are in suspense of what is going to happen next, close ups help signify emotion and expression. I also noticed a strong low angle shot which also makes the audience question themselves about what is looking up at the character. The various shots and angles overall made the trailer more appealing and interesting to the audience, so including such techniques within my own trailer is very important as I aim to face the needs of the audience.

Planning: Location

After deliberation we decided that our main location for our film would be set in our school Parkhall Academy. We chose our location to be placed here because we needed to base our film with somewhere that had long empty white corridors for it to look like a mental institution and clinical. Although from the outside it does not look like a hospital but it does pull off a institution look from the inside corridors. The shots which we intent to take are isolated so it ralate to an institutional view and our storyline will be based on a girl being isolated for peers on the wider world. As our trailer is a genre of horror the school is an ideal place and the closest location we could film in as a hospital would not be appropriate for medical reasons. The location is good for us to portray images and clips of isolation and a girl trying to escape, large wide windows with no possibility of opening helps our trailer create this image.

Planning: Mind Map

For our first part of planning to get us started we created a mind map combining our ideas of what we believe would make our A2 coursework effective and ideas for what our trailer is going to be based on. These are initial ideas that we thought were liekly to come up in the horror genre after all the reasearch we done including from our AS media coursework of an opening scene to a horror.


The mind map we have created includes a variety of possible settings used in horror films such as isolated buildings, woods, deserted houses, hospitals ect. I liked the idea of using a hospital for our location. Films such as 28 days later are located in hospital however they use more than one location, as we may also use more than one, in some cases this will help attract a wider target audience. The title of the film trailer is properbly one of the most important issue especially when trying to targer your audience. The film title needs to be right and catchy for your target audience to even acknowledge your film. This is because some people prefer certain genres to others and this can be shown from a film title. Mise en scene will also need to be considered carefully, things such as the make up will give the character their identity as talked about it recent reasearch talking about the 'joker' in the dark knight. Depending on the characters role play depends on what their hair, costume and make-up will involve. For our trailer we have came up with the idea of having a mental patient in a hospital therefore, the make-up will involve the character to be pale and ill looking and portat a pale complextion.


We plan to use alot of these idea's within our trailer as we have decided to base it on a mental patient who has been abused through her childhood and has now turned 'nasty'. This is where out horror genre comes in as she is out to kill!

Questionnaire & Results

I have conducted research in to my target audience through a questionnaire. The results from my questionnaire informs me of various information relating to film trailers, age groups and personal preferences revolving music, genre, actors and storylines. Our results will be very useful to evaluating different people opinions of all different ages, genders and ethnicity's. I will take into consideration of these opinions and take action when producing our film trailer.


This is the questionnaire that we design for respondents to fill out. The results from my questionnaire into target audiences shows that the most common places an audience watches film trailers are on the internet and at the cinema and therefore this would be the best platform to release my production through. Additionally, I found that most individual's of all ages enjoy watching film trailers as they are able to see future releases, predict good films to watch and watch there favourite actors. In general the public enjoying seeing the main actors in the film as it is this they is more likely to attract them and want to pay to see the full viewing of the movie.. This is good for publicity when it is a well known star as it creates a buzz amongst the public and generates a fan base. My sample for my questionnaire said they prefer to see a 1/2 of the storyline, as it enables them to know the genre and style of the film however it allows most of the film to be a surprise when they go to watch it. The sample also felt a range of locations used in the trailer made the film more appealing as it showed diverse parts of the storyline and actors. It was also more enjoyable and exciting to watch. Additionally to this they felt the use of titles in a trailer are important in order to get the main information across such as title of the film, release date and main actors. Out of the 12 questionnaires, 8 people said that they prefer fast pace trailers as opposed to slow pace Within a trailer they expected to see the main actor, titles and a range of locations. The information they expected to gain from the trailer was the basic narrative outline, the genre of the story and additional info such as release date etc.

This results for this pie chart asked the respondents 'what do you enjoy about film trailers?' The majority of people answered to build up an insight about the film, which then encourages them to go and watch the full film. Our aim will be to produce a film trailer with a clear storyline without giving away to much so people are left in suspense and want to watch further. We need to ensure that we make our film trailer exciting to help build up insights for the audience so they want to know more about the film.

This graph asked the quesion 'who do you prefer to see in your trailer?' The majority of people said they thought film trailers are more effective when the main character is introduced. I totally agree with this as introducing the main character will draw the audience in therefore i will take this into consideration and i will follow the respondants view and will include the main character in our film trailer.

This line graph shows the respondents answers from the question 'do you prefer fast pace or slow pace trailers?' The majority of people preffered fast pace trailers which is resonable as film trailers need to build up excitment for the audience. In our film trailer we will use fast past to build up tension and excitment but slower pace in cartain shots for the audience to have a good idea of what is going on.

This graph asked 'how much of the narrative do you prefer to see?' Many respondants answered 50%, this means half of the storyline to be shown which is a significant amount of the story. However the audience would want to know what they are going to watch. We will use peoples opinion to help support our trailer to help it become successful, we will include a strong narrative so the audience understand what the film is going to be about and if it is there type of film they are likely to watch it, however we dont intend to include the full narrative as this gives away the film and less people are likely to go ahead and watch it as they feel they have already seen the majority.

Conventions of a horror

Above shows conventions of a horror in which out group may use some of these ideas in creating our A2 coursework.

Research: Targeting and audience & My chosen genre

TARGETING AN AUDIENCE

Films chose a target audience to help them specify who their film is going to be aimed at and how they are going to promote and market the film to get the audience drawn in. A target audience involves age, gender or ethnicity ect. By chosing a target audience it allows film makers to communicate and attract certain social groups, products such as adverts/film trailers/junkets/colours/layouts help promote a film as shown in research shown of magazine front covers and film poster. Advertisment is a main technique used for film makers as it gathers a wider audience. New technologies such as 3D is a huge francentise to attract new audiences, for example people are likely to go and watch a film at the cinema's because they are able to watch it in 3D. Films such as toy story 3D was a successful hit making the film popular and having a wide audience.

MY CHOSEN GENRE

For my A2 coursework my chosen genre for our product is 'horror'. The reason for this choise is because we previously carried out lots of research in our AS media coursework and produced a good opening scene to a horror therefore i think we could work well at completing a successfull product in this course. Horror is an easy genre to go for as conventions used in the genre are clear and easy to portray than other genres that I have researched. Horror is easy to identify as for instance mise-en-scene that can be used is simple such as the use of murder weapons (knifes ect). Also the iconography is easy to reinforxe as the use of cotumes and props such as blood is easily reffered to.

The audience of horror films are interested mostly due to the thrills and the adrenaline rush from being fearful. The usual age demographic is usually teenagers and young adults. Mostly horror films are reviewed negatively yet sell well as teenagers may find appeal in certain aspects of the film that a critic may negatively review, they might be interested solely in the terror and killings. Because of this, most horror films are targeted directly towards the teen demographic as they will accept the faults of the horror genre more so than an older audience and critics would. Horror films such as Final Destination and 28 Days Later are popular amongst teenagers because they appeal to teenagers. Though they may be targeted towards an adolescent crowd, older generations still enjoy the horror genre almost as much. Through research i have discovered that the majority of horror films have a 15 or 18 age restriction certificate.


CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HORROR GENRE
Themes: There are themes of good vs evil, normal vs abnormal, male vs female and dark vs light. Often these themes lead to the messages and values presented in the movie. Usually the basic theme for the plot will be for one character or a group of characters to overcome fear or evil an antagonists evoke to them.

Setting/location: The setting/location of the film from the Horror genre is typically set in an isolated environment. The atmosphere is usually intense and fast pace, the disturbance of peace in a quiet location.

Characters: The characters usually each play a specific role in the Horror genre. There is an antagonist which is the villain of the story, 'the bad guy' and the protagonist which is the character that tries to overcome and 'defeat' the antagonist. The role of a woman portrayed in the Horror genre is significant, usually in the beginning of a Horror plot the woman is seen as weak and feeble but then as the plot unravels she is seen to be strong and is the character that defeats evil. This follows the 'Final Girl Theory'. The heroes or heroines have different attitudes towards the antagonist than the 'Human Fodders'. The protagonists usually run away at first to either find a more destructive weapon or an effective method to overcome the antagonist. In addition the other characters that accompany the protagonist depend on them to keep them alive.

Iconography - This is what features in the film to represent that specific genre. With the Horror genre the use of props, music, camera shots and settings can signify that specific genre. The use of iconography can be heavily symbolise conventions of the Horror genre, for example the use of blood symbolises death which then can signify a theme from the Horror genre.

Sub-Genres of Horror
Haunting and Demonic Possessions - These types of films play and evoke the audience's fear of the unknown, superstition and the idea that evil forces such as ghosts and spirits exist in the world. These forces are usually portrayed in a spiritual presence of the dead such as witches, spirits, ghosts or demons. These kind of plots include the fight between good and evil by referencing religion. For example in films like 'The Grudge' which includes an American nurse being exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse.

Apocalypse - Mankind is threatened with extinction of the human race by inhuman creatures of monsters. The antagonists in plot may consist of creatures out of space or a threat of a plague or virus that can spread and wipe out man kind. Films like 'Resident Evil' or 'Rec' portray this sub-plot and the film usually ends with mankind dying out and the disturbing noises of the creatures dominating.

The Human Monster - This deals with the horror of abnormality of the antagonists personality such as psychopathology and murder or psychosis and insanity. This plot explores and takes the audience inside of the mind of the killer who appears to be insane, usually these sort of antagonists seek out revenge on innocent victims. The characteristics of this sub-pot portrays the idea that some people are born with no sense of morality therefore leading them to become a cold-blooded murderer.

Research: Campaigns (Brand Images)

Saw...

Brand image is key across all media aspects, Including film, trailer, poster, magazine and other promotional medias . The key in brand image research is to identify or develop the most powerful images and reinforce them through subsequent brand communications. Effective, powerful brand images that attract the eye are instantly evoked, are positive, and are almost always unique among competitive brands. Brand image can be reinforced by brand communications such as packaging, advertising, promotion, customer service, word-of-mouth and other aspects of the brand experience. A brand which is widely known in the marketplace acquires brand recognition.
An example of brand image is saw. The same text is shown amongst the trailer and the advertising campaigns including the posters, magazines and billboard etc. Additionally the same concept of the posters is carried on through the sequels and the sequels advertising.

Case Study

Paranormal Activity

Trailor Research

I have researched a few film trailers in order for me to create and idea about what I need to include in our film trailer. I will be able to look into depth to see what film trailers acknowledge and try to achieve for example capturing the key shots and sequences in order to attract the audiences attention.

High School Musical 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9hKOL75lGI&feature=player_embedded#at=11

Micro features:
The media conglomeration for the collection of 'high school musical' films belong to Disney. Disney is associated with children's films. HSM3 definitly lives up to the expectations of a Disney film as it connotates loads of bright colours and a cheerful atmosphere. The colour scheme for this film is bright colours such as reds (primary colours) to pull the audience in.

The film opens with a montarge of dark establishing shots of different loacations to show where the film is set.We generally get an idea of what happens throughout the film. The scenes are very slow at the beggining of the trailor, as this is the leavers year and it trys to portray an emotional atmosphere to the audience. However, as the trailor progresses the lighting becomes brighter and the past become faster to build up excitement. The emotional atmoshphere at the start of the film soon changes to happy and lively. The lighting becomes very high key as the trailor moves on. There are loads of fades of different scenes from the film used in this trailor, however, there is not much detail revealed in the film trailer as the aim is to make the audience want to watch the film.
There are many songs played throughout the film trailor, songs that are from film soundtrack. High school musical films use there own sound tracks making the audience more attracted, especially those that love musical films.

Macro Features:
The main setting for this film is in a high school, during the film trailer there are numerous edits and locations each showing snips of the parts of the film in order to make this trailer attractive and making the audience want to watch it. The locations which are shown are mainly areas within the school such as the gym. The main character of 'Troy' played by Zac Effron has become a huge fan after the first release of 'High School Musical' which was shown on the Disney Channel. The genre of High school musical 3 is a teenage romance musical as we can gather from the film title itself. There is a lot of singing and dancing involved with all 3 High School Musical films having their own soundtrack. The target audience for this film is children and teenagers, Zac Effron is a role model for many 'tweens' so this is a big advantage for people going to watch this film. The film is aimed at both genders, girls are attracted to the music and dancing in the film and the boys will be attracted to the sport scenes of basetball. The hook is a musical, involving singing, dancing and laughing. However, if they watched this film with their parents they may also enjoy the film so it can be aimed at families too. High School Musical films have become huge franchise by releasing products such as barbie dolls and toys to promote the film and musical tours for audiences to watch the film live. This is a popular successful film of Disney.

Dark Knight

Dark Knight is a 'superhero' comical action film. Based on the comic’s of Batman. It was filmed primarily in Chicago, as well as other states in the United States, United Kingdom and Hong Kong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrJL5JxEYIw&feature=player_embedded#at=20

Micro Features:
The beginning of this film trailer opens with the iconic of the makers of the film including the production and company names. The production company of this film is 'Warner Brothers', this is a successful company which has produced a majority of popular films. By showing the production company in the in the opening of the film trailer may instantly be attracted to watch the film. The other iconic is then 'Legendary Pictures' sign this appears and then fades to black which instantly shows a thriller type film to the audience.

In this film trailer there is use of panning and tracking shots in order to add the speed of the editing this creates a sense of tension for the audience and for them to be able to see different locations and characters within this trailer giving them an insight of what happens in Gotham City. There is numerous edit and acton which carries through the trailer until it reaches a climax this creates a hook to the audience making them want to watch futher.

Camera angles that are used are very catchy and show the different status of the characters, for example when the character of Batman is shown in high angle shots giving him the most power and this continues throughout where as the camera angles used to clarify the joker tend to be low angled shots showing him as being evil and as the antaognist.

The lighting used within the trailer is very low key adding alot more tension. Dark gritty colours are used throughout making the shots seem more misterious. The characters indicate the particular colours of green, purple, brown and black in their costumes, hair and make-up of batman and the joker.

Also, voice-overs from the characters in the film are used to narrate the trailer it not only gives a brief summary of the story but creates another hook as the characters are well known from pop culture so the audience will begin to get used to these interpritations of them.

Macro Features:
Although the main setting of the Dark Knight takes place in Gotham city there are different locations shown within the trailer such as back streets, a car park and bat mans house. The locations throughout the trailer are shown in dark light in order to immediatly showing the theme of an 'action thriller'. There is a juxtapostion shot within the trailer od the Joker in prison and Harvey Dent at a upper class party which balance the good and evil characters within the film with Batman playing a grey line down the middle.

The Joker is shown as evil throughout the whole trailer however, the context of which the Joker is shown adds comedy to the film. The make up of the Joker gives him his identity, he has a huge smile painted across his face and clown expressions, his costume is very run down meanso he is a main character although this gives the insight of him being a 'joker'. Batman is also a main character and has the iconic black all in one suit and cape. This equalling to Batman clearly standing out more than the Joker and his role of the more proffessional hero is shown.

Throughout there are 69 edits, starting of with less edits at the start of the trailer to ease the audience into action then it picks up with alot more edits between the middle and ending making the audience want to see more. Fades are used within the opening of the traile these are indicative of superhero films.

The genre of the Dark Knight is a superhero action film, this has a clear sense of good and evil within the film and the motives behind it. The characters costumes add the sense of identity to their individuallity and type of their character. The superhero's true identiy is conceal with their flaws and are iconography of this genre. Batmans costume indicates his high power compared to the Joker and shows he is more moral and is the good guy. Batman is the central character and his costume is part of his superpowers.


Research into a horror film trailer

The Omen...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv2CQ4ljvDM

The omen trailer in my opinion is basic but effective. You are able to tell the main character and the genre through various macro and micro techniques used. The only camera shot used throughout this trailer is a mid shot combined with a tracking movement which is constant throughout the visual images in the trailer. The shot starts by showing a dog sitting on a step and then the tracking movement moves the shot on to a boy swing on a swing alone, it then moves the shot around the boy firstly covering his back angle which shows the abandoned scenery and tracks around to the front of the boy. The shot is then focused on the boy as he makes visual contact with the camera. The shot is then ended by a black title screen being entered. This is the only camera shot and movement throughout the trailer. The lighting is natural in the trailer as its in an outside environment, however its a dark dull day which is reflective of the genre of the film. There is only seven edits throughout the trailer which is very basic. The music used within the trailer is sound effects of the wind, and the swing swinging. Music is added towards the end of the trailer to make a dramatic ending. There was one location used throughout the trailer as the main purpose was to focus on the boys movements.
The mise en scene used was the dog in order to create a sense of danger, and the swing set to show that the boy is in fact a child. The costume fitted in with the class of the boy and the fashion at that period of time.
The titles used in the trailer were at the ends to show the release date and the tagline of the film. Additionally there was titles at the front of the trailer showing us the producers of the film which is 20th century fox. From the trailer we are able to establish that the young boy is the main character of the film and the narrative revolves around him.
From watching the trailer we are able to establish that the storyline revolves around a horror relating to the devil due to the name of the film and the titles featured at the end of the trailer relating to 6.6.6. which is commonly known as 'the devils number'.
The setting of the shot is important to the storyline as its the boys home and it adds a sense of danger as it implies the area is surrounding by land as there is no other signs of buildings which would be the perfect location for a dramatic event to occur.