Evaluation: Final Product

Magazine front cover







































Here is a link to my teaser trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RCiqXWlsL4&feature=player_embedded

Here is a link to my evaluation and underneath is the written verison.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muu8KgcgpjI

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
For A2 my promotional package was made of up a teaser trailer for a genre of my choice, alongside a poster and front cover of a film magazine. In order for my promotional package to be successful my conclusion was supported by my institutional knowledge which helped me understand how media produce, distribute and share real media products. When conducting research from existing media products I listed the codes and conventions for horror films, teaser trailers, horror film posters and film magazines. This would enable me to portray these conventions in my promotional package in order for my target audience to indentify the genre. However, my media products follows the existing conventions to some extent therefore it can be said that these codes and conventions are challenged.
My teaser trailer can be seen as a ‘stereotypical’ due to the similar forms and conventions used in real media products. For example the camera movement, this range from establishing shots that set the scene to close up that help build intensity and tension. This convention is supported by the face pace editing alongside the increase level of music which gradually builds up. A main convention I found in a horror teaser trailer when researching real media products is that it will slowly build up tension as the action gets faster, the purpose of this is to leave a sense of enigma in the audience head which will result in them wanting to watch the film. I tried to portray this convention to the best of my abililty however it may not be the most successful convention used within our trailer.
In order for us to develop the forms and conventions is by using both a voiceover and music. The trailer starts off with a voiceover typically seen as a males voice in a deep, husky voice which can be seen as a steortypical convention. The purpose of this voiceover was to allow the audience to have a brief understanding of the narrative. Once the voiceover is finished the music then takes over and the transitions and action becomes quicker alongside the music. All these conventions together help build up ambiguity and tension. Therefore it can be said that this convention has developed because when analysing existing teaser trailers they used a combination of Intertitles, music or a voiceover.
When analysing existing film magazines conventions it is clear to see that these conventions are shown in my magazine in order for making it look an authentic magazine front cover. The conventions which are represented in my magazine are the barcode, date, name of publication, caption, skyline, image and teasers. All these conventions work together to help my magazine look professional. The ways in which I have challenged the conventions is from my image, most of the existing media products which i analysed all showed either a medium shot or a close up image, however I used a long shot image therefore it can be said I challenged this convention. This composition is trying to show enigma and ambiguity through the camera angel used.
My poster also follows codes and conventions from existing media products. These conventions can be defined as, release date, production company logo, tagline, the name of the film, actors name and a image. My poster challenges conventions again with my image. Most of the existing posters which I have researched all focus the image around the eyes of the characters or use long shots to set the scene, however I have created enigma in my poster by using a sideward image of the character in order to create suspense. I have use the traditional colour convention red, black and white as they all contrast well together and will attract my target audience. When carrying out my audience research my findings showed that these three colours are the most popular and all give the correct connotation for a horror film poster.

How effective is the combinations of your main product and ancillary text?
The combination of my promotional package is very effective as together my main product and ancillary text both represent the horror genre. This effective combination can be due to the three predominate colours red, black and white which I have kept consistence throughout my ancillary text, together these colours give a effective connotation of the horror genre. The image used in my magazine and poster is a key element in linking my main product with the ancillary text as in the main product the character is not shown and kept a secret from the audience and this is maintained in my poster as i used a sideward composition of the character. However in my magazine a long shot is shown of the character therefore he is only revealed in the magazine.
Web 2.0 is ‘the second phase of the internet, where the focus shifts from people receiving information and services to people creating and sharing a material.’ This can be seen as an important part of my promotional package as I would have carried out a viral campaign if given more time. A viral campaign refers to a campaign for a new film which aims to attract an audience solely based on social networking sites such as ‘Face book’ and audience generates sites such as ‘YouTube’. This would mean promoting the trailer via the internet adopting a new technology mainstream approach ‘above and below the line’ marketing techniques.

How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stage?
In order for my promotional package to be successful I had to undertake a sufficient amount of research and planning, this required me to use my existing media skills alongside learning new media skills. This process of using new media technologies was vital as all our coursework had to be submitted electronically. Throughout the research stage I used the internet to find existing media products from the internet particularly search engines such as ‘Google’ and when I was analysing conventions from teaser trailer I used ‘YouTube’. For the planning I mainly used ‘Microsoft Word’ to construct flat plans, mood boards and other written elements such as character profile, narrative structure and risk assessments. Another part of the planning was to create a storyboard which as a group we draw then scanned into the computer. From this we then created an animatic using ‘Windows Movie Maker’.
For the construction stage I used ‘Photoshop’ for my magazine and poster which allowed me to manipulate my image for fit my genre. I also used the internet and the website dafont.com and 101font.com for the typeface on my ancillary text. For my teaser trailer, I used video camera and DV tapes to capture our footage and then in the post production stage I used ‘Adobe Premier’ to edit our footage adding transitions and music.