Media Media Coursework Coursework EvaluationEvaluationFilm trailer, poster and magazine

front cover for sweet dreams.

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

Real Media Products- Real Media Products- Conventions of a posterConventions of a poster

To be eye catching To have a focal picture that will be intriguing To display a large title that is easily read Suggestion of the film genre May use famous actors to promote the film Will attract a target audience A tagline is usually evident on the poster Age certification is usually displayed Release Date Directors and Production Company Displayed

Real Media Products- Real Media Products- Conventions of a poster Conventions of a poster exampleexample

The main image is of the main character. This

helps to introduce her to the audience. Her facial expression reflects her

feelings

The title is bold and stands out

and helps to introduce the name of the

film.Information about the production company and the

director etc.

The border of the poster is brightly coloured to catch the eye of the audience.

The name of the main actress

allows the audience to

recognise who she is.

A tagline helps to give a little bit more

information about the film.

A background image of some of the other characters helps the audience to see who else is in it and what

they are like.

The date of release shows the audience

when they can expect to see the film.

The poster overall has a bright appearance. Some of the images and the background appear to have been edited

to look bright. This will attract the audience more.

My Media Product - Conventions of my PosterMy poster aims to fit the conventions of an authentic movie poster. I have an intriguing focal picture of the main character Annabelle. This will help the audience recognise the main character. She is in a pose where she is resting her head on her arms (as if sleeping) but she is awake and smiling. Her happiness will attract the audience. She is wearing blue pyjamas with yellow stars on them which helps to connote the theme of the film. The genre is suggested with the use of a female as the main image. Originally I also wanted images of the two other main characters but I felt that by just showing the protagonist the audience would sympathise/like this character more than the others. There is a large title below her in capitals which makes it stand out from the other text. The use of the dark blue and light blue makes it stand out from the other text and as it is a little darker this is what the audience should look at first. I put the actresses name in bold in the top left corner of the poster as according to the principle of thirds this is the first thing the audience will look at. I have also included the names of the other ‘star’ as the audience would recognise this too.

My Media Product - Conventions of my Poster continuedI also have a tagline which says “Start living your dream”. This is in a bright pink colour which stands out well against the white background. It is above the image of the main character so that the audience will associate this with her. There is a light image of a cloud and stars behind it. I did this because I thought it would make it more interesting to look at and it also fits with the theme of the film. The tagline fits with the title, the storyline and is also inspirational towards the target audience (young, teenage girls.) There is an age certification in the bottom left corner (U) and a release date next to the main character. This informs the audience that the film is suitable for their category and also that the film will be “coming 2010”. This gives the audience a sense of tension as they do not know when exactly the film will be released. I have displayed the directors and production company to inform the audience who made it. This is small to keep the audience attracted to the main aspects of the poster. The fonts used remain consistent all the way through.

My Media Product - Conventions of my Poster

There is a tagline at the top which is catchy and

inspirational. I think it is a good thing to have at the

top above the main character. The dark pink

makes it stand out.

The title is below the main image. The colour blue

makes it stand out from the rest of the poster. It has also been placed over the image

of a cloud which makes it more interesting to look at,

and to stand out.

There is the name of the main actress and actor so the audience can

familiarise with them. Their first names are small and the surnames big. In the

film industry, actors are often better recognised by their surnames so

these will stand out more. They are also in different shades of pink to stand out. There are stars around

them as a decorative feature.

The main image is of the main character so the audience knows what she looks like and can identify that the film will be about her. Form her pose and the smile the audience can also tell what the film might be about and what sort of character she is.

The release date is on there so the audience knows when the film is coming out. It is underneath the title as I intended the top half of the poster to promote the film and the bottom bit shows any information that the audience might like to know.

At the bottom is information about the production company

etc and an age certification so the

audience can recognise who made it and that the age is

suitable for them

Real Media Products - Conventions of a Magazine Front Cover The magazines name is clearly displayed The cover has to be noticeable to the audience Famous actors/images generally used as a

focal point Images on the front target a certain audience Graphics and colours are used to create a

mood for the magazine Font size, shape and colour are creatively used

to suggest different ideas Several cover lines dotted around the page

indicating a good content inside Price and barcode are displayed

Real Media Products - Conventions of a Magazine Front Cover

A bold title to draw the readers in. It is red so

it stands out.

A list of what is featured inside to

inform the audience

Main image to show what is featured in the magazine and to

attract the audience. She is wearing a cheerleading outfit and

has blood on her hand which suggests the type of film she

might be in. She is also a big star and the audience will recognise

this.

Barcode for the

sale of the magazine.

Smaller images show what else is featured in the content of the

magazine but as these are smaller they are aimed to be less

attractive to the audience.

My Media Product – Conventions of my Magazine Front Cover

The magazine has a large bold title so the audience can recognise the name. The use of lexis also fits with the genre as ‘The Spotlight’ is a term often associated with the media. This has a light yellow background behind it to make it stand out. The main image is of the main character of my film but in a different context so the audience recognises her but will want to know what she is like rather than the character. She is looking away from the audience which gives a sense of mystery. Assuming she is a new star and this is her first magazine article, if the audience cannot see her face, they will be interested to see who she is. This helps to attract the target audience. On either side of the image is a list of the content so that the audience can see what is featured inside. The important words in the list are highlighted in bright, bold colours to stand out and attract the audience. At the bottom of the page is a barcode, website, price and date as extra information for the audience and for sale reasons.

My Media Product – Conventions of my Magazine Front CoverThere is a bold title to grab the attention of the readers. The background adds extra

emphasis and makes it stand out. It is in a ‘bar’ so it separates it from the rest of the content and will be the first thing that the audience

sees.

Price, website, date and barcode for sales

reasons.

A list of content shows the content of the magazine so the audience can find out what is inside. The use of colours makes words such as ‘HOTTEST’ stand out. The font is consistent bust some words are in italic or

bold to stand out and give it a more diverse appearance.

The three films at the top show what is featured in the

magazine, this includes mine.

Image is of the main character of my film to attract

the audience and stay consistent with my other

texts. It is in the centre so it stands out. It is a wide shot as I wanted to create and

element of mystery. I didn’t want the audience to

recognise her straight away as she is a new star so they

would want to read more about her.

The white background makes the rest of the

content stand out so it will catch the eye of the

audience easily.

Real Media Products - Conventions of a Trailer Introduce the main character Introduce the actors/actresses Inform the audience who made the film Attract the audience using humor/the

best clips from the film Use narration to tell the story

My Media Product – Conventions of the Trailer

My trailer was made to be humorous. I wanted to attract the audience through laughter as I believe, from experience that this will make them want to see the film. It starts slowly with the character waking up. I thought this fit with the theme of the film as it is called Sweet Dreams and it starts with her in bed waking up from a dream. The film is narrated by text rather than voice as I think this makes the audience watch the trailer closely. The music used in the trailer all the way through is quite upbeat to give it a ‘fun’ feel . When I was making it I thought that I should use guitars, drum and bass as the main instruments and I think it fits in with the trailer. It introduces the characters well and individually (apart from the boy). Annabelle is the focal point of the trailer as she is the protagonist.

My Media Product – Conventions of the Trailer continuedThe use of pinks and whites in the

trailer helps to maintain the girly them that is seen on the poster. The funny clips which include the bumping heads when kissing, the trip and the dance at the end are the clips which I wanted to use to make the audience laugh. They are set in a sequence that helps to show the audience what the story is about and make them want to see more.

Stills of the trailerStill 1 is the opening scene of Annabelle waking up. It is very light which shows that it is morning and the fact she is in bed shows she has just awoken. She is wearing an eye mask which adds to the humour as it is bright pink and says Leave Me Alone. She sits up, rubs her eyes and falls back down to sleep. This scene aimed to attract the audience into watching more of the trailer.

Still 2 is an image of the main character reading her work and a boy about to knock into her, this is another scene that I intended to be humorous. It also shows the change of location, from home to school and the audience can recognise where the film is set.

Stills of the trailerStill 3 is to show some of the transitions from scene to scene. This particular one is a repeat of the clip shown in still 2 following a clip of her getting paper thrown at her. I wanted the scenes to cut back and forth and thought that using this effect would make it look like each scene was sliding into place. Other transitions that I used included dissolve, blur and fade.

Still 4 shows a close up of the character. This scene turned out darker than I had expected it to and time constraints and camera bookings meant I could not refilm it. I think it makes the trailer less attractive and does not fit in with the other scenes.

Stills of the trailer Still 5 is an over the shoulder shot of the main character Annabelle. I used a range of different shots throughout my trailer, and this is one of them. Others I used include close ups, mid shots, two shots and wide shots.

Still 6 is to show the use of text in my trailer. I used a pink colour throughout in order to maintain the chick flick theme. It is used to tell the story of what is going on, which I thought would be more effective than a voice over as the audience would pay more attention to it.

Still 7 is a mixture of film and text so the audience can see the name of the actress who plays the main character. They can associate the name with the face. In this scene I also used a dream effect as this is what Annabelle always imagines being like. I thought I should include an aspect of dream in the film in order to show that it is linked to the title.

Overall

My products use most of the conventions that are expected. I have defied some in order to make them stand out from the rest for example, the voice over on the trailer. I wanted to create something original that wasn’t like other trailers which would help to attract the audience. I created the ancillary texts to stay consistent with this.

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

My TrailerMy TrailerThe trailer introduces the main characters - Annabelle, the popular characters and the boy whom they are in competition over. It aims to show the humor and emotions and feelings felt by the character that would be included in a full length production. Concentrating on the humor is attractive to the audience and will give them an insight to what to expect from the film. I wanted the trailer to contain these elements of humor as it is a popular convention with existing films.

My PosterMy PosterThe poster introduces the main character only to emphasise the fact that the she is the protagonist in the film. Her soft appearance in the image gives a gentler feeling than the trailer. Here she is a character to relate to rather than laugh at. The text included on the poster is more inspirational than that in the trailer, for example the tagline of “Start living your dream.” This will attract the audience from a different angle. There is a lot of information about the production company at the bottom of the poster which is not seen in the trailer which allows it to be more informative about the film.

My Magazine Front My Magazine Front CoverCoverThe magazine front cover, once again,

introduces the main character but out of context of the film. As the content would only include interviews with the actors I believed the audience should see the real person not the character from the film. This allows the audience to relate to the character, like the poster. She becomes and influential role model presented in a formal context rather than a persona that does not reflect her.

My products combinedMy products combinedMy products are very consistent. They all maintain a girly theme to co-operate with the chick flick genre. The use of colours and images show the audience that the main subject of the texts are the film and that they are all in a girly context. The consistency between the poster and the trailer are compulsory as they promote each other. The magazine includes a feature on the film and still maintains the colours and fonts that link to the main text and the other ancillary text. All in all they are effective when combined as they all promote each other.

What have you What have you learned from your learned from your audience feedback?audience feedback?

Audience Feedback

For my audience research I asked 7 people. There were 5 females, as they were my target audience.Four of these were 16-19 and one was over 25.I also asked 2 males.One 16-19 and the other over 25 to get a perspective from someone who was not the target audience

The poster

All of them said they were fans of Chick Flicks apart from the 16-19 male, however all said they liked the poster and thought it was suitable for the film. Most of the comments stated that the image and the colour scheme fitted with the title and the genre of the film. I think my poster represents the film well. The audience believe that the image reflects the theme which is what I was aiming to do. The title is sweet dreams so I put the main character in her pyjamas with an eye mask. The colour scheme was also meant to be girly and bold; the audience also said that the colour scheme went well with the genre. I chose a plain background for the poster to keep it simplistic but the target audience thought a different colour would be more attractive. They also said that the writing underneath the title that contains the production details etc should be made clearer. I kept these small as they were the least important.

The posterIn terms of my poster, I think that I could have made it more attractive to the target audience. The background is plain so I could have made it a light colour to make it stand out more. I chose white in the first place as it was bright and the writing stands out on it. The production details at the bottom were made small as they were not the most important part of the poster. I think I should make them bigger though, as they are extremely hard to read. This is something I did not consider when making my it.

The magazine front cover

The feedback for the magazine is limited but out of the 7 people I asked, all of them said it looked authentic. I used example magazine covers from Total Film. I based the layout of my own on theirs to make it look realistic which I think payed off. All of them apart from the 16-19 male said they would buy this magazine if this was a real product. This could be because he is not a fan of film magazines and prefers a different genre. It could be because the price is too high and he would not spend his money on this, or it could be that it is too girly for his taste. If I was to ask this survey again I would have asked why they would not buy it.

The trailer

All of them said they liked the trailer and that they thought it told the story of the trailer well. Most of the feedback said that they thought it was funny, comical and allowed the audience to relate to the main character. The only main changes that were stated were to include a narration from the main character and more dialogue in the trailer. They all said they would go and see this film.

The trailer

I wanted the main aspect of the film to be humorous so that it was attractive to the audience. I thought if it contained funny clips it would make the audience laugh and want to see more. I kept the narration to a minimum as I thought if the audience had to read what was going on, they would be more captivated and watch the trailer carefully. Watching it back, I think a narration from the main character would be better as it would give the audience a better insight into who she is. I think they would also relate better to her then.

Overall

Overall, I think the audience feedback has made me realise a few things that I could have done differently to make my work more attractive. These include things like a background on the poster, narration on the trailer and I also think I should have made the magazine more attractive to people outside of the target audience. Although it contains Sweet Dreams it is not supposed to be an overly girly magazine. I think my ancillary and main texts are effective in appealing to the audience.

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

Sony HD Video CameraSony HD Video CameraPrior to filming for my trailer I had no real experience of using any type of video camera. Eventually, I managed to turn it on, maintain the power and attach it to a tripod. This piece of equipment was effective in filming my trailer as it was high definition and provided an excellent quality picture. I had to use it in different locations, surroundings and at different times of the day. I needed to manage the ambience and speech, so considered the distance between the actor and the camera and where the scene took place, i.e in an empty classroom. The camera had a built in light so I was able to illuminate scenes that needed to be lighter. The Sony is quite small and light which made it easy to film handheld shots and move around for different angles e.g. high and low.

Digital CameraDigital Camera

I used a digital camera to capture the images for my poster, magazine and storyboard. It allowed me to see, on the screen, what I was taking and helped to decide which angle I would take it from. I had the advantage of a variety of flash intensities and effects e.g. black and white, and sepia. It was easy to transfer my photographs onto my laptop as the USB cable allowed direct access. This is also small, easy to carry around and use so was a great benefit to the production stages of my task.

Television and DVD player

I only used these technologies in the planning stages of the task. In order to provide myself with some background knowledge of the genre and some of the conventions of chick flicks I used this equipment to watch existing products e.g. Wild Child and Mean Girls. This gave me an insight into what I would need to include for my own trailer.

The internetThe internet was used in all four stages of creating my product. Firstly, in the planning and research. I used Wikipedia to research the conventions of well known genres. Once I had decided on Chick Flick, I searched, Google images and YouTube to find examples of existing products. I also used imbd.com to research basic storylines of existing products to think of my own based on popular topics. I wanted a different font for my ancillary texts and used fontspace.com to download ‘Caviar Dreams’. Due to copyright infringements I had to find copyright free tracks, so I used a site called jamstudio.com to easily create my own music. Once I had finished my ancillary tasks I uploaded them onto my blog, along with all of my other work so they were easily accessed. My trailer was first uploaded to YouTube and then onto my blog.

Computer ProgramsMicrosoft Powerpoint

This was the program I used to construct my evaluation which I then uploaded onto my blog.

Microsoft PublisherThis was the program I used to create my ancillary texts. I started with a blank document then added my text and images etc. It was easy to use and move things around.

Macromedia FireworksI used this program to edit a few of my images but I found it very difficult to use and opted for Paint instead. On Paint I was able to take out the background and make it white. I used Picasa to saturate some of the images as this made them look more professional and brighter.

Mac and iMovie

To edit my film I used iMovie on the Mac. I had never used either of these at first so this was another challenge for me. I uploaded my clips onto the Mac and was able to put them in the sequence that I chose. I could cut out the bits that I didn’t want and add the music in over the top.