Evaluation of film trialer

*How does your trailer compare to real media outputs?

What trailer is your trailer most like and why?

Compared to real media outputs like ‘Buried’, ‘Shutter Island’, ‘Saw’ and ‘Devil’ we believe our film trailer conforms to the conventions of real media texts. Our trailer compares to Buried and Devil as they have the similarities in the narrative as both main characters/victims are in a life or death situations in a confined space and with a limited amount of time to escape. They also share technological and creative similarities as both are filmed using low lighting and a night vision technique. Saw is similar as there are life and death decision throughout the trailer with limited amounts of time to complete them. Our trailer is similar to Shutter Island as it shares the idea of the victim being the protagonist which we believe is highlighted at the end of our trailer with the medium shot of Nicole just standing facing the camera and the camera zooming into her blank expression

*Where would an audience view your trailer to see it?

An audience could view our film trailer in a multitude of different places, like at a cinema the certificate and genre of the film means that the trailer is usually shown in advertisements in similar kinds of films. The film trailer my also be shown on television on certain channels depending on the certificate and target audience, and online via computer, mobile phone, and tablet devices.

Once the film is released the trailer may also appear on similar certificate DVD’s or Blue rays.

Trying to promote across all platforms?

Radio – target specific stations, appealing to target audience,  radio1 kiss, radio Wales, Sunshine basically FM not AM

Television- show after specific times and on specific channels ‘sky horror/thriller

Internet- facebook and twitter – but how would you make sure the target age and above are only viewing the trailer! You tube

Magazines, Empire, Total Film.

 Posters, billboards, trains, personal websites, cinema.

*How successful do you think your film trailer is?

We believe our film trailer was successful and we are pleased with the professional finish due to the technological aspect of pace and sequence of shots. We used a range of transitions and effects which complimented the trailer. We also were proud of our choice of music as we used 3 sound tracks to create our finished product. The soundtrack compliments the shots very well and is in keeping with the pace of the trailer all the way through as it starts slow and rapidly increases. 8 out of 8 people agreed that the sound track complimented the shots within our trailer especially at the end where its creates emotional pleasures of heart racing due to fear for Nicole.

There are certainly aspects we could improve upon which are the special effects used on the production company at the beginning of the trailer, as we believe more animation is necessary like ‘Pixar’, however this was proven difficult as the technology was unreliable. The mise-en-scene of setting could have been improved upon at the beginning of the trailer in the past shots of Nicole being given the car. We each believe that improvements could be made on the choice of Title for the film (Illogic), this was also identified by two members of the focus group as they commented “grammatically correct and it would have made more sense if it was Illogical not Illogic”and another member of the group believe we should make it more simple and to the point. 

The film trailer was a success as all 8 people in our focus said they would want to go and see the film after viewing the trailer and know one in the group was able to identify or predict who the protagonist was.

Which part of the trailer were you most pleased with?

What part of the trailer would you improve?

*How did you identify the target audience for your trailer?

How have you used codes and conventions in your trailer?

Talk about length of trailer

Was too much revealed in your trailer?

Choosing a female lead and female protagonist meant that the two main characters were female and lead to us having a predominantly female target audience which broke conventions of real media texts, as psychological thrillers usually target a male audience.  To capture the interest of the male audience we have used male characters such as the boyfriend, the Dad and classmates. However the fact that the film is a Psychological thriller meant the trailer should attract a male audience anyway.

We decided our trailer should be around the 2 minute mark as after our research and planning stage we found that this was conventional.

We as a group were concerned about revealing too much and exposing the intellectual puzzle. However none of the focus group were able to identify the protagonist even though there were slight clues in the trailer. Also the audience did not now whether Nicole had escaped.

*How does your trailer appeal to the target audience?

Is an audience able to recognise the genre of the film that you are promoting?

What was the initial reaction of the audience feedback?

The trailer appeals to our specified target audience as we choose a female lead and female protagonist meant that the two main characters were female and lead to us having a predominantly female target audience which broke conventions of real media texts, as psychological thrillers usually target a male audience.  To capture the interest of the male audience we have used male characters such as the boyfriend, the Dad and classmates. However the fact that the film is a Psychological thriller meant the trailer should attract a male audience anyway.

Our trailer provides emotional and visceral pleasures as it makes the audience empathise with Nicole and gets their heart racing with fear due to scary scenes. People who enjoy the intellectual puzzle within films would also be attracted to our film. 

Along with the ancillary texts, the posters and magazine front covers we believe we have successfully enabled the audience to recognise our films genre through our creativity of using a night vision technique, and low lighting using the digital technology. Creating a sense of the victim and her being followed using creativity of the medium close-up of the reflection of the figure in the car window we then used Adobe premiere 4.0 to edit adding a slow motion effect so that the image became more clear and obvious to the viewer. Our audience feed back suggested that only 3/8 people recognised that the trailer was a psychological thriller, with the remaining 5 convinced it was a horror however whilst having a discussion 4 out of the 5 agreed that due to the lack of conventions needed to make the trailer a horror such as blood and gore it actually psychological thriller. One of the member of the focus group specifically pointed out that he thought it was not a horror because there was no obvious monster/villain. However we found a pattern where the three oldest individuals recognised the genre straight away.

*Is the audience able to see who the main characters were in the trailer?

Do you want the audience to know who the protagonist is?

We have conformed to conventions written by theorist Claude Levi –Strauss as it consists of certain clear binary oppositions like, good vs evil, rich vs poor etc. The main character, victim, Nicole is easily identifiable as the main character as she appear in the majority of shots and is clearly the victim. The female lead is also the main feature in both ancillary tasks therefore she is identifiable as the main Character.

As our chosen genre is a Psychological Thriller we do not wish for the protagonist to be identifiable as this conforms to the conventions of real media texts of this genre.

The other main character would be the protagonist (mother) however this is not identifiable for the audience.  

*How did you create the characters on screen?

In what ways did your characters represent the genre of the psychological thriller?

At what point in the film does the villain get revealed?

Did your audience think the setting was appropriate for the narrative?

Do you think your trailer could be better if you could use copyright music?

What are the key themes in your trailer?

Would you or your audience like these themes?

What aspects of your critical theory could you apply to your trailer?

We have conformed to conventions written by theorist Claude Levi –Strauss as it consists of certain clear binary oppositions like, good vs evil, rich vs poor etc. We created the characters by analysing Propp’s theory of their being 8 character roles. We conformed to conventions of real psychological thrillers by having a female victim, however because we wanted to break conventions we decided to cast a female protagonist creating ‘the villian’. Our female lead was a young girl with a perfect life, we depicted this on screen with the use of different characters such as the good looking boyfriend and the generous father, we also used props such as the iphone and nice car. Our use of mise-en-scene such as the costume showed Nicole to be well-off as did the fathers attire which was a suit which gave the impression of a well off business man. The scenes of Nicole being handed a A grade paper shows her intelligence however this scene also highlights the envy of which surrounds Nicole, from both her teachers and her classmates, which leads to a numerous amount of possibilities of who the victim could be. However in the victim would not be revealed until the end of the film which conforms to conventions.

We believe the setting was appropriate for the narrative as we used conventions such as the confined space Nicole was trapped in, the creativity of the low lighting emphasised the narrative as it adds fear. We also used night vision technology to play on the emotional pleasure of our audience and to show that she is alone and has been singled out.

As our choice of music was a strong aspect of our trailer we do not believe the use of copyright music would have improved our trailer any further, as our soundtrack is unique and individual which it would not have been if we had used copy right music.

*How did you receive feedback?

Did the audience like the music for your trailer?

What did your audience think of your trailer?

we received feedback about our trailer by conducting an audience focus group, in which our selected audience of 8 people, predominantly female aged from 15 – 52 watched our trailer. After watching they then answered a questionnaire regarding our trailer. We then had a discussion on the answers they had chosen in the questionnaire and why they thought this. We then asked a serious of questions regarding to their opinions on whether our trailer would be an success if it was made into a film, and if they had constructed this project what they would do different.

100% of our focus group thought that our trailer targeted both males and females equally and that 50% of people noticed the reflection of the person in the car window.   The audience believed our soundtrack for our trailer was professionally done, with all 8 people saying that it complimented the shots we used. Also, no-one noticed the fact we had used 3 different soundtracks and blended them together. Some people specifically stated that the music was very professional and it built anticipation and one person thought that the screeching at the end and the monitores with the change in soundtrack was really effective.

*What are the strengths and weaknesses of your film trailer?

Do you think the story is clear?

We believe our film trailer was successful and our strengths were the professional finish due to the technological aspect of pace and sequence of shots. Our titles and transitions were shown in the correct order revealing a little about the narrative, and help the film trailer flow. We used a range of transitions and effects which complimented the trailer. We also were proud of our choice of music as we used 3 sound tracks to create our finished product. The soundtrack compliments the shots very well and is in keeping with the pace of the trailer all the way through as it starts slow and rapidly increases. 8 out of 8 people agreed that the sound track complimented the shots within our trailer especially at the end where its creates emotional pleasures of heart racing due to fear for Nicole. We have used a variety of camera angles, transitions and editing techniques which made our film trailer interesting and unique.

There are weaknesses which we could certainly improve upon which are the special effects used on the production company at the beginning of the trailer, as we believe more animation is necessary like ‘Pixar’, however this was proven difficult as the technology was unreliable. The mise-en-scene of setting could have been improved upon at the beginning of the trailer in the past shots of Nicole being given the car. We each believe that improvements could be made on the choice of Title for the film (Illogic), this was also identified by two members of the focus group as they commented “grammatically correct and it would have made more sense if it was Illogical not Illogic”and another member of the group believe we should make it more simple and to the point. 

Due to our use of titles we believe the narrative give a clear understanding of the situation Nicole is in. The only aspect we did not fully put across was the fact she had to complete puzzles to escape as we believe our film trailer did not portray this idea. The only comment one of the focus group made was that the beginning was slightly laboured however we believe from research and planning this is conventional.

*Explain how you used technologies in your project?

Why produce an animatic?

Why produce a story board?

We used a range of technologies throughout our project, the main technological hardware we used was a Video camera and the main technological software was Adobe premiere Elements 4.0.

We have learnt how light conditions effect the filming process and how they can create a mood and atmosphere. We decided to apply night vision technology for creativity to help emphasise our genre.

We used playback, to view our progress as we were filming, however we discovered this was not as valuable as looking at the filming on the Adobe premiere software. We used a selection and rejection process of what shots to use, therefore filming sometimes needed to be reshot after viewing on this technology.

                As a group we discovered that technology can be unreliable as we unfortunately lost some of our working progress on adobe elements, which was a minor set back, however fortunately we had backed up all of our filming time.

                The use of the internet during the research stage was used to research the market area we wished to target. It also helped me construct secondary research by viewing media forms on You tube and IMDB to view similar media texts and analyse them. For example my powerpoint analysis of ‘Devil’ and my analysis of the film poster ‘Shutter Island’ processed on Microsoft word. The Internet was also used to choose our soundtrack at freeplaymusic.com.

Our storyboard gave us a guide to how the sequence of shots would flow, we also discovered ideas which didn’t work and how to change them. It gave us a visual image of what our trailer could possibly look like. From our story board we conducted an animatic, this involved taking still images in the order of the sequence of our story board.      

*What was the most enjoyable process of the project?

If you had to do anything differently what would it be?

Would you prefer to write essays or blog?

The most enjoyable process of this project as a group was the production work, filming all the shots, and editing the shots together on Adobe Premiere elements.

We would improve upon the choice of our locations for shooting so that the trailer is more effective however it was very difficult as we didn’t have a very high budget. Time management is an area in which as a group we could definitely improve as our trailer would have been produced more efficiently.

What do you think of blog spot?

What do you think about your front cover?

 Success, professional in terms of pace and sequence of shots. We have used a variety of camera angles, transitions and editing  such as … see question 15 on research and textual analysis.

Finished Film Poster and Film Magazine

Illogic storyboard

Illogic animatic

Analysis of Identity film trailer

Illogic poster draft

AS Brief
- Construct the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine.
Ancillary task- Create the front cover for a school magazine.
A2 Brief- In a group, construct a film trailer.
Ancillary tasks- Make a film magazine front cover featuring the film.
- Construct a poster for the film

 

AS Digital Technology

Used digital camera to take our images for music magazine Used photo shop to edit our images e.g. remove background Use adobe indesign to construct music magazine Used internet to research usual codes and conventions of real magazines to incorporate into our own Used Microsoft word to write up evaluation of our music magazine Used video camera to film our evaluation

A2 Digital Technology

Used Microsoft word to write up our own story lines for film Used digital camera to take shots for animatic Used video camera to film shots for film trailer and to film discussion on storylines Used internet to research codes and conventions of real film trailers and incorporated them into our trailer Used Adobe premiere elements 4.0 to edit our trailer together Used adobe indesign to construct film poster and magazine Used photo shop to edit our images e.g. remove background

AS Creativity

Had to create designs for front cover of school magazine Had to create designs for front cover, contents and double page spread of music magazine Had to take photos for both magazines and decide which angles to take them from were best Had to construct magazine front covers, contents and double page spread in adobe indesign

A2 Creativity

Had to come up with a storyline for film Had to put shots for film trailer in order we wanted them in Had to cast roles in trailer for the respective characters Had to come up with props for trailer and animatic Had to plan locations, settings, costume etc for animatic and trailer Had to construct animatic and trailer in adobe premiere elements 4.0 Had to create designs for poster and film magazine Had construct poster and film magazine in adobe indesign Had to improvise with some shots for trailer due to numerous circumstances

AS Research and planning

Had to research usual conventions of real music magazine front covers e.g. Mastheads, layout, price Had to research usual conventions of music magazines contents pages Had to research usual conventions of music magazines double page spread articles Used questionnaires for school magazine to find out what the target audience wanted Used questionnaires for music magazine to find out what type of music magazines are popular, which mastheads appeal to them the most etc

A2 Research and planning

Used questionnaires to find out the audiences favourite genre of film and to find out which of our select titles were most grabbing to them Had to research usual conventions of psychological films, film trailers to incorporate them into our own Had to plan when we would take the shots for animatic and trailer Had to plan what props we would use Had to plan the settings, locations, lighting etc for animatic and trailer Had to research usual conventions of film magazines e.g. Layout Had to research usual conventions of film posters e.g. Layout

AS Post-production

Had to edit images and fit them into magazines layout Had to change colour schemes to match from front cover through to contents and double page spread Had to take subsidiary photos for magazines and edit them Had to retake any photos that weren’t good enough

A2 Post-production

Had to find music that suited the genre and timing of trailer Had to re-shoot some shots which weren’t good enough or didn’t fit in with trailer Had to add titles and billing block to trailer Had to edit shots in order and timings that were planned Had to make sure that there was continuity in the trailer Had to add some sound effects to animatic and trailer Had to alter images for poster and magazine to fit into layout Had to take subsidiary photos for magazine and edit them Had to retake photos that weren’t good enough

AS conventions of real media texts

Used conventions from real school magazines to create school magazine Used layouts from real music magazines to create front cover, contents and double page article Used editing software to edit images Used digital camera to capture images Used design software to construct magazine

A2 conventions of real media texts

Used timings of real film trailers of our selected genre to create animatic and trailer Used the layout of real film magazines to create our film magazine Used the layout of film posters to create our own Used shooting schedule to plan our shoots and timings Used a video camera to film trailer shots Used video software to edit shots of film trailer and to put them in order Used digital camera for capturing images for film magazine and poster Used design software to construct magazine and poster Used music that complimented the timing and genre of trailer

Film poster analysis

Film Poster Analysis

The title suggests that the number 7 is an important number within the film and that it has something to do with the two main characters depicted on the front. The main image is of two men who seem to be very focused.  I think it is multi-layered as the images of the characters are overlapping.  The questions raised from the main image is who are these two men and what connection do they have to each other and to the number 7. The main actors are both illuminated by light and partly obscured by shadow.  Both of their faces are half light and half dark which suggest good and bad or maybe there are two sides of these characters.  Brad Pitt looks very tense and focused with his eyes looking straight at you.  Morgan Freeman looks very calm, calculated and has no emotion on his face.  They seem to be opposites of each other which also link to light and dark. The Iconography on this poster is the title which is red which usually symbolises blood.  This feature is quite prominent in psychological thrillers.  I think the poster suggests that this film is more than one genre as it says “A nerve-jangling thriller with a gut wrenching climax!” This claim is put forward from a film magazine which suggests that this film is thought highly of. It also suggests the film is a psychological thriller/horror. I think this film offers visceral pleasures as it is clear people are going to be killed.  I think the target audience is predominantly male (60% male-40%female) but and is aimed at people aged 25- 40.  I believe this because the two main characters are male but Brad Pitt attracts female attention and because Morgan Freeman who is older appeals to the older generation. The film stars are Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman who are both household names and are showcased by the poster. Their names are at the top of the poster because it will be the first thing you see and they only showcase good well known actors. I believe when you see big names in the film industry it makes you want to see the film more as you know that they are very good at what they do. The movies tagline “Seven deadly sins. Seven ways to die.” This suggests that this film may have something to do with religion as it says sins which usually mean you have done something against a religion/god.  The seven ways to die suggests that each sin has a way of death that occurs when that sin is committed. I think this film has two very well known actors in Brad and Morgan Freeman who aren’t usually associated with psychological thriller films which I think is a unique selling point of this film.  Something that sets it apart from other films is that there are only two main characters as in other films of the same genre there is usually a group of people.  This is because when you have a group, they are all usually linked to each other and the intellectual puzzle is how these people are linked but with only two main characters this is much harder to do.

Critique

Illogic Animatic

Our Animatic is a collection of still images captured by a camera which were put in order from our storyboard to give us an idea of timing and if the shots we were using actually fitted together before we make our trailer.  For the completion of our Animatic we went out ten times to shoot the images we needed were at eight different locations.  The props we used consisted of an old rusty key, a clock, rope, a ribbon, a phone, a car and a load of photos.  Our main actor was within our group, and we chose her because we knew she would be reliable which may have not of been the case if we had chosen someone else outside the group.  There was one shot that we were unable to do which was of a point of view shot from the main character looking at two monitors with one of them showing her mother and the other showing her boyfriend.  We were unable to do this shot as weren’t sure how were going to get this footage onto the two monitors. We made one change which was to put a flashback image of the main actor getting good grades from the end to near the beginning after the title which showed her having a really good life.  The construction of our Animatic in the editing process was to put the shots in the order we wanted them in and we put the music in to go with the shots.  We then would adjust the shot length or music length to make it all fit together. The first title “A Girl who had everything” was chosen because we want the audience to know that this person had a great life.  She had a nice car, had good grades and was very popular in school.  This makes the situation she is in more tragic.  The next title “Trapped in a room” shows that despite all her riches she is vulnerable and has been put somewhere in which she can’t get out.  The next title “Challenged by the logic” is related to the title but it also signifies the challenges and puzzles she has to work out.  The next title “with a limited amount of time” was used to show that Nicole has a very limited amount of time to escape this place.  The titles “to win” “her” “freedom” are shown very quickly which signifies that she is in rush to get out and if she doesn’t she will be trapped forever.  The music we used makes you feel sorry and makes you have sympathy with this girl. It is slow and dark music we signifies that there is someone in the film.  Things we will improve on when we come to the making of our trailer are to make the titles shorter, and to make the music fit with what is going on a bit more.