Film poster

Magazine front cover

Evaluation

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

Our media products follow and challenges many paradigms of real media products.

For example ‘Toderov’s theory of narrative’ shows a period of equilibrium, point of disequilibrium, moment of disequilibrium and the new equilibrium. We have chosen to follow this theory, as most real media products conform to this. We think that out product shows a clear definition of each of these [shots]. For the period of equilibrium, we have chosen to use long, slow shots as this is appropriate for the mood of the trailer at this point. As the trailer progresses to he moment of disequilibrium, we used faster jump cuts which reflect the disposition of the trailer.

Moment of Equilibrium:

Moment of disequilibrium:

Disequilibrium:

  

We have also followed numerous other theories, for example, Carol Clover’s’ final girl’ theory. Although we did not follow this in the literal sense, we used the idea in our own way. We chose to have a group of final girls, instead of just one [shot].this is shown in the film trailer “The decent” (2005) 

In our trailer, we have also used the ‘SEX/ALCOHOL=DEATH’, and differentiated this clearly from the other characters.

 The mise-en-scene (costume) also shows this, as we have chosen to put the main character in a short skirt, a convention of a ‘party girl’. This is presented in “Halloween” (1978)

We thought that by doing this, it would put more focus on out main character, which follows the opposite convention.

Another convention that we have followed is the ‘mystery of the killer’. A common paradigm of real media products is that the audience cannot see the face of the killer like in “Scream” (1996).

 This conforms to the fear of the unknown, something which is a fear factor in horror films. We chose to follow this as it added a sense of fear to our trailers. The killer is also dressed in a black outfit, something else which is apparent in real media products. Black is often associated with death, and so we thought that it would be appropriate to put our killer in black costume.

Additionally, we used the paradigm of ‘the motive of the killer’ in out trailer

.

 In real media products the killer has often been provoked to kill/kidnap like in “All the boys love Mandy Lane” (2006). We chose to follow this convention as it showed that anyone could be a victim, something else that adds an element of fear to the audience.

For out location, we chose to set it in busy environments, such as a school, house, and a pub.

  We thought that this would be effective in our trailer as a pub is often considered a safe environment to be in when there are other people around, and so to put this in a horror film, we thought it would challenge the conventions of the setting being in a desolate environment

 as shown in “Cherry tree lane” (2010). This adds fear-factor to our trailer, as the audience may then think that it cold happen to them in a ‘safe’ environment.

However, in our torture scene, we have conformed to media conventions, as it is set in an isolated location

like in “Eden lake” (2008). This adds suspense to our clip as the victim cannot get help, which is frightening for the audience.

The final convention that we have chosen to follow is that our media product doesn't show any of the characters being killed, only tortured 

 as shown in “The Texas chainsaw massacre” (1974). By doing this we have shown the audience that the character is in need of help, but we do not show the outcome, something which is more likely to want our target audience want to see it.

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

When watching the trailer (main product) I feel you get a sense of darkness, and night time but I think it bring across the idea of it being in a urban setting and being quite modern, we used a lot of different transactions to make the trailer flow better and to make it seem more dramatic. When setting out the do my Magazine front cover and Poster (Ancillary texts) I had to think about how I could make them all tie in together without them looking completely similar, I used a brick wall as the back on both the magazine cover and poster this I thought represents the idea of urbanisation within the trailer, I had to add a shadow on the brick wall to make it look more grimy and scary, I decided against using the same image for both the magazine front cover and the poster as I thought it would show more about the trailers character and the killers appearance even though we should not let to much away but using different images makes it easier for the audience to relate. Also on the images I used inner and outer glows this I thought ties in well with the fade to blacks and dip to colours that appear within the trailer. I decided to use the same fonts throughout all of my products this I thought would bring it all together of the posters and the magazine I used red glows to show blood and danger I didn’t make the glows to strong as I wanted them to blend in within the products. When deciding what text to use on the magazine front cover I look at pervious magazines like empire and total film to get an idea of what to include, I used a lot of review and interview ideas to be included on the front cover, also getting some ideas for my layout. I used black banners on the cover I thought this made the magazine look more contemporary it also highlighted some of the more important text. On the poster I used the production credits form the trailer on more poster I feel that this makes it look much more professional. I also decided to give critics reviews, this gives the idea that it has been reviewed, make it seem more realistic. When showing my audience all three products on Facebook I got a lot of good feedback and a lot of people said that all three flow and go together very well without them looking like I just used the same Ideas. Some people said I should have been a little bolder with my colours but they were unsure whether it would make it look to glrarish so they understood why I keep them simple. Over all I think that all three go together and there may be small things that I could improve to make the link between all three 100% but overall im happy with my products.

What have you learned from audience feedback?

When we presented out first draft of our media product to our focus group, there was aspects that we needed to change, and others that we decided to keep. For example, in out first draft of the trailer, we had one piece of music that was continuous throughout.

After showing this to our focus group, they commented that the music we had chosen did not match with our torture scene, and so we had to choose two different pieces that would match.

Our focus group also mentioned that the whole product looked more like a short film, rather than a trailer. To improve this, we added lots of jump cuts in the torture scene and editing of the party scene.

By doing this we managed to achieve a product that looked more like a trailer and less like a film that showed individual and separate stages.

After showing the developed trailer to our focus group, they agreed that the trailer had been improved and looked better with the changes.

During our planning process, we came up with a questionnaire that we handed out to our target audience.

 From this we were able to distinguish what our audience would like to see in a horror film, and base our trailer around these findings. For example, the feedback suggested that our target audience would relate more to a group of teenagers in distress than an elderly person, and so we decided that we would use a group of teenagers in our film trailer. 

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

We used lots of different media technologies in the process of creating our media product. During our planning stages, we used social networking sites, such as ‘facebook’, ‘twitter’ and ‘blogger [shot] to distribute our questionnaires. This helped us reach a wider quantity of our target audience as a lot of young people use social networking sites to communicate.

When creating our media products, we used numerous programmes to construct them; we used ‘final cut express’ to produce our trailer. This took practice to get used to, as we had never used it before but after a few attempts, we managed to use it correctly. When creating our ancillary products, we used ‘Photoshop’ to edit our photos and generate our magazine covers and posters. This was considerably easy to use, as we had practice from our AS coursework. After we had finished our media product, we used ‘quicktime converter’ to change the file from a ‘PSD’ format, to an ‘AVI’ format.

To film our media product, we used digital camcorders that we then uploaded to ‘Final cut express’. We also used digital cameras to take shots for our ancillary tasks which we uploaded to ‘Photoshop’.

We found that using the internet to construct research was the most useful way of creating a basis for our film trailer. We used search engines such as ‘Google’ and ‘Yahoo!’

This is the song we are thinking of using for the end of the trailer.

Music for the trailer

We are thinking about using this song  to open the trailer with, i like the fact it is upbeat but still quite heavy.

Moment of equilibrium

This is the clip we are thinking to use as the moment of equilibrium. we got really good feedback people thought it worked really well and the tone cards are good and explain what is happening so the audience do not get confused.

First opening idea

This is one of our ideas for the opening of the trailer, we sent it out on Facebook to see what the response was, overall people liked it but said we need to put some establishing shots before hand, so we are going to take that in to consideration and try to add establishing shots.

Test edit 1

This is one of the edits that i played around with, i wanted to make a statement with the knifes and the weapons that we used to make it seem more dramatic, i repeated the shot that i took a number of times adding a dip to colour transaction to make it look faster, i think that with the white dip to colour it looks like someone has been turning the lights on and off and i think this creates a more scary effect.

Using the camers No.2

Again we have just tryed out different angles and shots just messing around to see what looks good!

Using the Cameras

This was one of our first couple of shots, we were just seeing how easy it was to create god shots and using the editing equipment. and finding our way around final cut express.

Risk assesment

What	Where	Hazards	Resolutions
Drinking scene	Lucia’s bedroom	Pets/wires- we may fall over which will cause injury if we don’t see them.	Make sure that the pets are locked away or cannot get into the room, and any objects that may cause injury are out of the way.
On the bus scene	On the 96 bus	Members of the public may not want to be in the shot. We may fall over when the bus moves. We may get in the way of the public.	Make sure the public cannot be seen in the shot and that we are out of the way when they need to get past. Try and shoot when the bus is still so that we don’t fall over.
In the pub scene	Dartford- inside the pub	Members of the public/ we may not be allowed to film inside. Make sure we are not in the way of other people in the pub.	Make sure it is okay to film our scene before. Ensure that we are not in the way of any of the other people in the pub and that we are not ruining their evening by filming.
Walking outside of the pub scene	On the street in Dartford	Getting in the way of the public again. Causing a scene in front of the public. The actor being too rough in the attack scene	Make sure we are not disturbing the public, and not upsetting anyone. To be careful with the other actors in the scene.

Production schedule

When	Where	Who	Role	Props	Costume
	Lucia’s Bedroom	The whole group minus the male actor	Mia-actress Loren- actress Lucia-camera and props Lauren-actress Emily-actress	Alcohol Music Make up Clothes	All dresses and shoes. For the female actresses. A lot of makeup.
	On the main road.	Camera person	N/A	None	None
	On the bus	The whole group minus the male actor	Mia-actress Loren- actress Lucia-camera and props Lauren-actress Emily-actress	Alcohol Phones	All the costumes form the first scene.
	In the pub	All actors and production.	Mia-actress Loren- actress Lucia-camera and props Lauren-actress Emily-actress Pete-actor	Juke box Glasses	All costumes are the same and have not changed.
	Scene outside of the pub of when she is walking home.	Only a few actors and actresses.	Mia- actress Lucia- camera person Pete – actor		All costumes same as before.

Props

1.Alcohol is one of the main props, this is a great way to show people loosing all sense and ambitions , and can make a person seem and feel very venerable

2. We will also be using a lot of knifes and sharp implements as our weapons this is because they are very east to get hold of, and within most slasher films Knifes are the main type of weapon, and with a knife you can easily act out a stabbing.

 

Location

1.    Our first location is in brooks house. We are using one of the actors house for this as it contains all the props we need and is easy to film in.

2.    Next we will be filming on the road, we need to capture an image of a red bus to make it clear in the trailer that the film is set in London and this is a very good way of doing it as a lot of people associate red buses with London.

3.    We will then be filming in a pub, our local so there should not be any problems filming there as this will be one of the main parts of our filming but it will be up to us the production team to make it look like there is an atmosphere at the pub.

4.    There will be a series of clips film all over just random places in the street and homes to try and bring the trailer more together as the film will not be set in just three locations.

Costumes

Brooke Hunter: Short party dress, heels, a lot of make up, and jewellery.

We chose this outfit for Brooke, because as a stereo typical teenager this is what is mostly worn when going out to a party and as the promiscuous one of the group we think this outfit will define her and make people realise that compared to her friends she is the more extravagant and the one that is mostly up for partying and also bring through her out going personality.

Bobby Stembaski AKA pin (the killer):  Black hooded jumper with dark combats. Hood is worn at all times.

We Chose this out fit for the killer as we don’t want the audience to see his face, and with him wearing black it is mysterious and leaves much for the mind to imagine. This is like giving the audience a blank canvas so they can use there imagination to think up what he is really like. Also in many other horror films the killer never has and individual style we will always see them in dark coloured clothing as this is not noticeable when in a crowd and will not be recognised easily.

Lucy Fisher (Brooke’s best friend): Wearing heels and a dress also but looks a bit classier.

We choose to make Brookes best friend a bit more classy and not as dressed up, this is so the audience know that she is not the main character it also shows that she is not as self obsessed as Brooke is and doesn’t try so hard for the attention. I think with any friendship that one friend always try’s more hard than the other, but I still think that this outfit still represents the typical stereotype for any 18 year old.

Chloe Smith (a close friend to Brooke and Lucy) : Wearing near another them same as the other girls but has a bit more dignity and does not show her body off as much, Wearing tights instead of bare legs and a dress that covers her assets.  

Chloe is more of the innocent one of the group, so we needed to dress her in something that reflects that and reflect her quiet side. She is also a bit individual from the others and her clothing shows her quirky side. 

Cast list

Brooke Hunter
Student and Hairdresser part time.
Age 18
Description:  Brooke is a very loud out going girl who loves all eyes on her. She takes a lot of pride in her appearance even though some would say it is not a good look. She was never an academic student but has stayed on to study hair and beauty at college and also works at a hairdresser’s part time. She is always skint as Friday she gets paid and parties all weekend so has no money by Sunday but as she is young she thinks it is acceptable to dispose of her money on Drink and cigarettes.
Some may think she can be a arrogant person but she hates nothing more than having an arguments and will do anything she can to avoid this. Her family life isn’t very stable so she think that putting a front on will help her get through her day but inside she is not the happiest of girls.

Pros: She can be very fun to go out with and will always make you feel good about yourself

She is always there when you need to talk to her. And she will always listen to you no matter what.
Cons: She can often feel like you’re not important as she loves all the attention and no boy will ever be good enough for you as she wants them first. She is not the most reliable person in the world. When she has had a drink she can also get very emotional.

Bobby Stembaski AKA Pin (the killer)
Student, Also a part time drug dealer
Age 19

Description: This man is very quiet and keeps himself to him self and near enough no friends as the ones he does have are more like family. On the weekends he works and deals drugs, he hardly spends any money and longs for a girlfriend that will eventually become his wife but he has no idea how to socialise with people so for him the concept of dating is out the question.

Pros: there aren’t really any positives about his character as know one knows anything about him.
Cons: As he has been bullied and had a troubled childhood he thinks that everyone is out to get him. 

Lucy Fisher (Brookes Best friend)
Student
Age 18 

Description: Lucy cares about Brooke a lot and worries about her also she isn’t the most popular girl in the world but she has no problems making friends, she keeps her feeling to herself most of the time as she thinks that Brooke just wont pay attention to her at all, they have been childhood friends form the very beginning and Brookes family are like her own although Brooke does not show her compassion for Lucy at the best of times, Lucy knows that without here Brooke wouldn’t be who she is today and would still be the lonely geek that sat next to Lucy on there first day of school 6 years ago.

Chloe Smith (Close friend)
Student
Ages 18
Description:

Not as close to the others but still a good friend to both Lucy and Brooke, Chloe is somewhat different from the others  she has a different group of friends also  that are a bit different and don’t follow the stereotypes of a typical teenager.  At the weekends she spend a lot of time with Brooke and Lucy although she is different form the others and has different beliefs they all still click and make a good friendship group.

Analysis of cast, costume, props and location

Cast

We have chosen to focus our trailer on a group of teenagers (18-20) as this is the age that we are aiming it at. Our cast is made up of 6 girls, and 3 boys. Our protagonist acts provocative and promiscuous when she is out, and this follows the convention of SEX=DEATH, which is shown in films like ‘Texas chainsaw massacre’ and ‘Scream’.

We chose to have a majority of females in our cast, so we could show that all of them had different personalities in the group. For example, the shy and timid girls all survive and are unharmed because they are quiet and withdrawn from the group. We chose to have 3 boys so that our main character (Brooke Hunter) can be sexually brazen towards all three of them, which will confirm

That she is a promiscuous character.

Costume

Our initial idea for Brooke was to have her in a “slutty” outfit so that we could distinguish her out of the group as the one who would be in trouble. This is shown in films such as “All the boys love Mandy Lane” She is the most outgoing and vibrant of her friends and we decided that her outfit should reflect this. We chose this so that our audience would know she is the main character. She wears a short party dress, and very high heels; this is the way we think an 18 year old hair dresser would dress on a night out.

For the killer (Bobby Stembaski) we chose to dress him in a stereo typical way for a killer. The black means that we do not know the killers identity and so it acts as a mask like in “Scream”. This enables us to recognise that the killer is an abnormal character in the trailer, as he is dressed differently to the rest of the group.

For Brooke’s best friends (Lucy Fisher and Chloe Smith) we decided that they would be more covered up and classy. This means that we can see the difference between her and her friends, and that we can see exactly who the main character is, but at the same time we are conveying the way we think an 18 year old should be portrayed.

Props

We decided to use a number of different weapons for our props, as out trailer will be based around torture. Our first weapons are pins. We decided this as it could be both a way of inflicting pain on Brooke, and a trademark for the killer too like in “Scream” where the killer’s trademark is his mask.

Our second choice of weapon is a knife. We chose this because when it used, it causes a slow and painful death for the victim. This is shown in “Scream” too.

Our other prop is alcohol. We decided this, as it is a common convention of horror films (The house on sorority row) it is a way to set up the scene to put Brooke in a vulnerable situation.

Location

We have numerous locations that we have decided we want to film our trailer in. Our first scene will be set in a house, in Brooke’s bedroom. This will enable our audience to be fooled into a false sense of security, as the home is meant to be a safe place like in “Paranormal activity”. Our second location will be on a bus. This tells us that the location is in London, but also that the group are going somewhere. This is also where we will be able to see that the killer is following them.

The main location is going to be a pub where we can see the main points of each character conveyed. The pub is also another indication of alcohol, which puts the characters in a vulnerable situation.

Scripting

Brief outline:

·         Brooke Hunter just turned 18, for the last few weekends they have been out drinking, partying and spending money. This weekend in particular they have planned for a night out in a local town.

·         They start of the night getting ready and pre drinking at Brooke’s house this is always the venue for the preparation of a night out as her parents are more lenient, allowing them to have loud music and a substantial amount of drink.

·         Following the pre-partying the girls leave the house all dress up. It is a freezing cold December evening but they cannot feel the cold as the alcohol has blocked their senses to this. When they board the bus they have a 45 minute journey but this does not bother them as they have supply’s of wine hidden in there bags. 

·         When they arrive at the pub there a atmosphere of excitement as people meet and greet each other, the juke box is then put on creating a even more lively atmosphere. The drinking and partying carries on.

·          When Brooke is at the bar talking to a mate we notice a strange man just lingering in the background all dressed in black with his hood up. When then witness Brooke rowing with the girls as they have told her to slow down on the drink, and she is refusing to. She threatens to leave and when she realises then no one seems bothered about the fact she might leave, she leaves the pub on her own and sets off home.

·         On the way home she feels scared, alone and paranoid.

·         She is taken.

·         She is bundled in the back of the car.

·         Friends try looking for her.

·          She is left to be tortured and abused.

Camera shots Scene by scene:

Scene 1:

Brooke invites her friends over to get ready for there night out on the town. We can see that they are already drinking and getting themselves all done up. Brook is drinking a tad more excessively than the others.
Camera shots:

Close ups on props such as bottles of drink and make up and clothes to symbolise the partying.

Full shot of them dancing and drinking.
Extreme close up on brooks lips as she drinks her drink.
Mid shot of her opening the door to her mates
Scene 2:

On the way to the pub they are all on a bus travelling to a pub in another town.
Camera shots:

Long shot of a London bus to symbolise that we are in London.

A couple of mid shots of them on the bus And a long shot of the man sitting on the back of the bus.
Scene 3:

When they arrive at the pub there all go over to the bar and seating area where they greet the rest of the friends but the man is still lurking in the back of the club.

Camera Shots:

Full shot of the pub.
Mid shots of them kissing and greeting friends.

A shot of brook at the pub doing the shots.
Long shot of the pub and the man standing at the back.
Scene 4:
Brooke walking to the bus stop through dark secluded areas, she then gets grabbed.

Camera shots:
A shot of her walking and a close up of her face breathing.
I mid shot of her getting grabbed and a shot of her getting put into the car.

Scene 5:
The friends then receive a phone call  from unknown when they answer It they hear the kidnappers voice threatening her friends saying if they do not find brooke within 24 hours she dies.
Camera shots:

Close up of the phone as it rings
then a close up of the friends’ faces as they are shock with disbelief.
Scene 6:

Brook is trapped in a house.

Camera shots:

Various shots of her struggling and being tortured. 
 Scene 7:

various shots of her friends running and looking.
Camera Shots:
All types of shots showing the friends looking and caring.

There will also be many tone cards displaying the time that they have lefts. As well as a series of 1 second quick cut still images.