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

There are various different common codes and conventions that are associated with the horror movie genre. Some are vital to include in your own horror movie but others can be challenged or developed. Within our media I believe that we found a healthy balance between the two.

Firstly, the genre of movie we were making a trailer for was a horror movie and we wanted to make that fact obvious to the target audience. During our research period of production we discovered that there are a few codes and conventions that nearly every horror movie trailer adopts. One of these things is the use of Iconic objects like knives, guns or torturing equipment. This is seen in ‘the strangers’ trailer that I analysed where one whole shot of the montage (50 seconds in) is dedicated to a close up of a knife. This therefore represents the knife as a significant object within the movie and chosen genre. This is a very effective way of clearly highlighting your chosen genre and also creating fear among the audience. This is one code and convention that we decided to adopt within in our own media. We used the iconic object of a knife covered in blood to create enigma and suspense within our horror trailer and also our film magazine front cover where we used a knife as our main image . This image is also associated to a ‘stereotypical’ slasher horror movie which communicates to the audience that this movie will include the things that make horror movies enjoyable like attractive characters, fun new murder techniques and an isolated environment. One strong example of an existing media product that reflects this is the ‘scream’ films which have been well received, consequently meaning the films include what people (the audience) want to see.

Although we did use some common codes and conventions within our media, we also took some risks regarding challenging and developing them also. Through our trailer we wanted to challenge the idea that a film trailer cannot include two conflicting genres. For example in our film trailer we used soft romantic music as well as painful screams to represent the two different genres of romance and horror .Two genres and representations not normally seen in the same Film trailer. We wanted to falsely lead the audience to think that the film was in fact a romantic comedy and as a consequence let them relax. This then means that the audience are more shocked and surprised when they soon discover that the movie is in fact a horror. On the other hand, most horror movie campaigns make the genre very clear when promoting their media. For example the poster for ‘saww 5’ which I analysed uses a graphic main image to represent the horror genre. This is a code and convention that we also decided to adopt within our own poster by using blood which is commonly associated with horror to spell out the number ‘19’. We also incorporated common codes and conventions of a romance film within our trailer. For example low key lighting and typical love songs are both things that an audience will automatically associate with a romantic movie. But when we add an ambient effect to the soundtrack and dim the lighting further we managed to catch the audience off guard and now create a tense sinister mood.

Camera shots and camera angles are two more things that are commonly similar within horror movie trailers. For example the majority of horror movie trailers begin with some kind of establishing shot. For instance in the ‘Haunting in Connecticut’ trailer I analysed as part of my planning and research the very first shot is a bird’s eye view establishing shot showing the audience the state of Connecticut. This type of shot is commonly used within horror movie trailer for two reasons; firstly is simply allows the audience to understand where this film/trailer is set, and secondly is normally informs the audience that the place is isolated meaning the characters are on their own and far away from help. We used this common code and convention within our own film trailer as our first shot is a low angle wide establishing shot of a large isolated house. This type of shot highlights the house as where the action will be set and the low angle also means the house looks large, intimidating and predominant.

In conclusion our media product does adopt important codes and conventions of real life media products as well as largely challenging them. Horror movie trailers are always trying to find new ways to scare and frighten an audience and that is what we have also tried to do. For some people their biggest fear is that one minute they feel relaxed and comfortable and then within seconds they can be on edge and vulnerable. we have simply tried to exploit this fear.

2.How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary text?

Within in our main product and ancillary text we really wanted to link the three together. We hoped that somebody could watch out trailer and then see our poster or magazine and understand how they complement each other. I believe we did create an effective link between them by using various different marketing techniques.

A major contributing factor to an effective combination between a main product and ancillary text is a strong unique selling point (USP). A USP is something that should be present on all of the marketing material as it helps combine the three products. Most existing media products adopt a USP to help market their movie. For example the movie ‘Haunting in Connecticut’ uses the fact that it is ‘based on true events’ as its USP and therefore features the phrase on all of its media text including movie trailer and poster. This helps the audience to therefore combine the individual products. The USP for our marketing campaign was the highlighted importance of a ‘date - 19-11-11’. Through our three media we tried to communicate that ‘something’ is going to happen on this date which should therefore intrigue a wide audience to question, what is going to happen? This factor makes our marketing campaign unique as it is all majorly based around this date. One way in which we achieved this was by always allowing the date a predominant space on the media. For example in the trailer it has a whole shot to itself and in our magazine it covers the majority of the knife image. We also made sure that the date always had its own colour pallet associated with it. For example in all three of my media products ’19-11-11’ has mostly been in a dark bloody red. This colour is not only commonly associated with the horror genre but it also means it stands out within the media. By doing all of this this it forces the audience to notice it more which consequently means they are more likely to remember it when they see another one of our media products.

Another effective way in which we combined our main product with our ancillary text was through the use of images, videos and fonts used. For example the title of our film ‘The Last Date’ was edited in the same font throughout all of our media. Although it seems like a simple thing to do it subconsciously allows the audience to link the three products together. We also used this technique further by using the same font for the taglines in all three media also. Once again this just reinforces the idea that they are all combined. A similar effect is achieved by using similar images and shots on all three products also. We wanted to make sure that an audience member could link the two ancillary texts to the main product. We did this by using images in our magazine and poster that an audience have seen in the trailer. For example the knife in our trailer features in our magazine front cover also. This then allows an audience to understand that the two are combined.

Furthermore, another way in which we insured all of our three media texts combined was by actually using the ancillary text in our main product. For example within our film trailer we used the same image that we used for our film poster. We dedicate 3s of our media trailer to a quick montage of the same image both edited and non-edited. By doing this we are directly linking our ancillary text to our main product and establishing our own marketing strategy. It also means that an audience member can easily identify the link between the three products if they fail to notice the other subtle factors that combine them.

3.What have you learnt from audience feedback?

As you can see from my blog, my movie trailer, poster and magazine front cover have all developed and changed dramatically from initial plans. After we showed some audience members first edits of our trailer and rough drafts of our poster and magazine front cover we felt these changes were necessary. We showed our media class (17-18 year old) our first edited media trailer and they commented mainly on two areas. They stated that firstly some shots where too unsteady and that it would look better if some shots where still. We took this audience feedback on board and reshot these. After we had reshot them we then once again showed our media class and teacher our film trailer with the new shots. The response was positive as they stated that the film trailer now looked more professional and easier to watch. Also through audience feedback we discovered that our film trailer didn’t build enough suspense or scare an audience enough. To overcome this we added some shots of a mysterious face along with some stingers and an increasing heartbeat. After we had added these shots we were pleased that our trailer now felt more like a horror trailer and more audience feedback suggested they agreed with us. As you can also see from our blog, we created first drafts of our movie poster and magazine front cover. We uploaded these drafts to a social network site and asked people to comment on the effectiveness of them. From audience feedback we discovered that main image of our poster was too large and mislead the audience to believe the film was called ‘19’. Furthermore it was also commented that our magazine front cover was too bright and pastel in colour. We once again took this feedback on board and made sufficient changes showing that audience feedback had a direct effect on our final media products

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We also gained audience feedback throughout the research and planning phase of production. We conducted a questionnaire where we asked specific audience types what they like to see in a horror movie trailer, poster and magazine. (To view questionnaire see previous post). From this questionnaire we gained an in depth insight into what an audience expect to see in a new horror movie. For example we found that an audience like a complicated narrative that engages them as well as featuring the common novelties of a typical horror like a last girl, an isolated setting and loud scary sound effects.

From this research we were then able to tailor our film to audience requirements. This particularly helped with the development of our film trailer as it meant we had a clear goal we wanted to achieve from it. The questionnaire also helped the development of our ancillary text as we found from audience feedback that people where more intrigued by simplistic posters and magazine front covers. This requirement has of course been identified before in existing media products like the ‘Saww’ poster and certain issues of ‘Fangoria’ which also adopt a simplistic nature. To insure we were keeping on track regarding audience feedback and requirements we made sure that we identified what we were trying to achieve from each and every shot of our film trailer, poster and magazine. If we matched the desired effect , we felt the shot or image was successful but if we did not we made sure extra attention was applied.

3.what have you learnt from audience feedback

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

During the whole process of constructing my A2 media studies coursework I have used various different programmes, software and media technologies. These include:
• Blogger
• Scribd social publishing
• iMovie 09
• GarageBand 09
• Word 2011
• Photoshop
• Photo FX Ultra
• YouTube
• Search Engines
• DV Camcorder – SD Filming
• SLR Digital Camera
• Photo Mess
• Mac Computer
• MacBook Pro
• Apple iPad

To play host to all of our media coursework we used a well-known site called Blogger. This website allowed me to create my very own blog/ web page where I could upload and share with the web my production process. Blogger allowed me to do various things. Firstly I had to create my blog which means fully understanding the website and how to create a new blog. I added a theme and personalised my blog to make it easier to read and understand. After I had created my own blog I then began blogging my production process. There are various ways in which I did this. Mainly I typed a new blog entry, edit the font and style and then post it to my site. Also I uploaded images and videos to my blog showing I understand how to use all the tools available from blogger. In conjunction with blogger I also used Scribd to publish my word 2011 documents. Scribd is a website that converts simple word documents to a URL encoder. This then allowed me to imbed my documents into a new post. By doing this is shows that I can incorporate two new media technologies together effectively.

Another media technique that I used was the use of search engines such as Google, IMDB.com and Wikipedia. This technique was mainly used within the research phase of production as it allowed me to gain insight into existing horror media products. I found out about horror directors, casts and marketing strategies, all of which directly helped in developing my own trailer and ancillary text. I found using these search engines quick and easy to use. I was able to access information a lot quicker than using paper material like books. Through these search engines I used various different websites to help also. One of these websites was the video sharing sight YouTube. This site is home to thousands of different horror movie trailers which can be viewed simply and quickly. I used YouTube to evaluate existing media products in the research phase of my production. The ease I which I could do this meant I could complete my research process without it taking too much time.

The main media software that I used to construct my movie trailer was iMovie 09 which is software loaded on an Apple MacBook pro. IMovie is perfect for video editing and construction. Before we could upload our footage we needed to film it and to do this we used Sony DV camcorders. These cameras are light and versatile to enable filming in any circumstances. When filming I also adjusted camera settings as some points to change focus or zoom to make sure we gained the required shot. One example of when I used this effect was within the candle shot of my trailer. I adjusted the focus of the camera to make sure that the candle was blurred whilst the rest of the room was clear to see. When filming was completed we then transferred the footage from the SD card compatible cameras onto iMovie. This process was made simple and quick by the advanced technologies of iMovie. When we had transferred the footage we then set about editing it. Within the software we arranged and clipped the shots to gain an initial time line. After that we then carefully edited each clip. iMovie allowed us to add clip effects , manipulate lighting and add titles . To add a soundtrack we opened the application GarageBand which is also a programme on a MacBook. GarageBand allowed me to create my trailers soundtrack quickly and simply. Through the programme I could mix and adjust the volume of songs, stingers and sound effects. For example through garage band I was able to add the heartbeat effect to my trailer and furthermore adjust its tempo and volume to mirror the similar change in shot transitions and clip size.

To help with the construction of my two ancillary texts I used two main programmes. These are Photoshop and Photo FX ultra. Firstly to take the images for our poster and magazine I used a SLR advanced digital camera which allowed me to take professional photos at the press of a button. The camera also supported a SD memory card which meant I could transfer the images from the camera to the MacBook and iPad easily. Firstly for image editing I used an application called Photo FX ultra on the iPad. This application allowed me to edit my photos and add various effects to them. It was on this programme that I affect for my poster and magazine front cover where added. When I had successfully edited the image I then used Photoshop to add text to the ancillary text. This was easily done gave our poster and magazine front cover the professional touch it required.

4.How did you use new media technologies in

'The Last Date' Official Film Trailer Final Edit

'Blood Source' Magazine Front Cover Final Edit

'The Last Date' Film Poster Final Edit