Storyboards

Shot list

Original photographs

Finished trailer

Finished magazine cover

Finished film poster

"How did you use new media technologies in the construction, reseach, planning and evaluation stages?"

Above is a diagram of the main programs we used to make our teaser trailer, 'Triquetra'. Final Cut Pro is the application which the editing of the film was done in, which was combined with effects from LiveType and the soundtrack imported from GarageBand. We used the internet for our research and Blogger to post our products, research and so on! The way we created our survey was through Survey Monkey, where we created the questionnaire, then people filled it in, and we could collect our results in an easy way.

Final Cut Pro had the biggest learning curve for me, as although we used it last year, it was more of a test to get used to it, and the different style of film we were making meant that we needed to use different editing techniques, such as a lot of cross fading and editing the speed and length of shots. I found it overall good to use, but it can be quite daunting because it's such a complex program, but as long as we stayed to what we knew and only experimented a little bit, we were okay.

I didn't really like LiveType because I found it a bit basic and it was hard to work out where the text would fit in with the video, and how it would look against the background. I liked some of the effects but most of them looked quite flash, whereas in most horror movies a simple font is used, without all the rolling and swooping effects.

I use GarageBand in my own time so I'm used to it, and thought we made a good soundtrack for our trailer using it. This is the part of the process I looked forward to a lot because we had the film finished by this point, and were able to take time to get the sound to really fit in with it.

Photoshop is quite easy to grasp and it's easy to see how everyone's products have improved since the original college magazine in AS media studies. We used Photoshop to create mood boards, the magazine cover and poster, and for other visual uses throughout the production and post-production stages.

For the evaluation stage, we are all using Blogger, which is a different way of working than a written essay. The benefits allow us to post videos, links, photos and sounds, creating a more accurate representation of the changes in technology and how media studies is an up to date subject. In the context of a film trailer, it's very fitting as we can show exactly what we mean about our product, with careful analysis and an embedded video which can be looked at. Because of the subject, it feels natural to use a blog to present our evaluations. I prefer writing on paper because I can see what I'm creating instead of staring into a text box, but I do realise that for the evaluation of this specific product, this is a much more effective way of doing it.

"What have you learnt from your audience feedback?"

The target audience for our horror trailer is 15-18 year olds, with an emphasis on the female audience but also appealing to male viewers. We came to the conclusion that this would be the best target audience to address after careful research and planning, meeting somewhere between the two to find our age range and the type of horror we would make. Film distributors would find the feedback we got useful, possibly giving ideas for a director's cut for the released version.

We spent a couple of lessons looking at the class' horror trailers, and at the end of each film we went round the tables and got feedback on what people liked, didn't like, and what they thought would improve it.

Overall, the class seemed to like our trailer and thought it reflected many conventions, such as being based in a normal neighbourhood. There were a few pieces they also thought could be improved.

Make the mirror shot faster - we have a shot where the protagonist is seen slapping someone's face in a mirror, and to keep up the pace of the trailer, many people thought speeding this scene up would make a big difference, as the length of the panning stops the trailer from moving from scene to scene very well.

The shots were a bit long and could be shortened down - the pace of the trailer is crucial to a horror in order to keep the audience on edge. We took this into account and realised that in order to make the perfect version of the trailer, the pace would need to be carefully looked at, so there are no obvious changes in the speed, other than intentional ones.

Bigger inter titles with a different font/effect - the majority of our viewers thought that the inter titles were too small, and didn't fit in well in terms of design.

There were also many things viewers liked about our trailer, especially the use of extreme close ups, the setting and atmospherics, and the shot with the zoom up the stairs because of how it looked conventional and created a feeling of entrapment.

Unfortunately we weren't able to implement many changes such as speeding up the pace of the whole trailer, because it would have been a big task and taken some time to sync the music correctly again. However, we did pay attention to the last few fast flash shots, which we made even quicker and were able to convincingly fit with the soundtrack.

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

I think the combination of my trailer, poster and magazine cover is very effective. The teaser trailer was the first thing we produced, so it put down the foundations for what sort of style the ancillary texts would be made in. The horror is supposed to be very gritty and real, taking ordinary events and turning them into something scary, instead of a far fetched plot.

Film production companies always want to create a 'buzz' around their films, sometimes over a year before its release. To do this they will use their publicity skills. This includes releasing a teaser trailer, plot synopsis, and keeping the balance of how much of the product they hold back, and how much they show, to make demand for the film. More recently, 'viral advertising' has been used to quickly spread the word. It's a technical method, but for example, a website might be created and have hidden videos and pictures to find, often in the context of the narrative. This then becomes more popular as people try to work out as much as they can, and soon becomes an Internet phenomenon.

Another thing they will do is try to get their film on the cover of a popular film magazine, such as Empire or Total Film, giving them a platform to show their film off with. Getting the cover of such a magazine is no easy feat, but the exposure it gives the film is invaluable. The producers of the film can control what is seen about the film to extent, by the materials they supply the magazine with, such as photos, videos, interviews and more found in the press kit.

Poster

I wanted the poster to reflect this, and it fits in well with the look of the film. The poster originated as a still frame from our trailer, in which the protagonist is walking towards the camera with a flickering television effect. Using a still from the trailer creates a relationship between the two, although without any editing, it would have looked very plain and not attracted the viewing public.

To this end, I used several features in Photoshop to give it a more artistic look. The use of desaturation, halftone blending and the dash of colour in the face of the protagonist gives it a mysterious feel, leaving many questions to be asked.

Magazine cover

Obviously magazines aren't produced by the production company of the film, unless they are a promotional device. The magazine 'FilmFan' was created as I wanted to invent my own house style instead of following one by Total Film or Empire. The title alliterates and describes the magazine's target audience, fans of films - with the tagline above the masthead 'The magazine for people who ♥ movies'.

I mainly followed the conventions of magazine design, although I really wanted to create a different looking product at the same time. Many film magazines look cluttered and are full of text - I kept the layout similar to other film magazines, but with a higher quality look. The coverlines are neat and the fonts minimalist, to draw attention to the highlights of the issue, without throwing them at the readers' faces.

The idea is that the cover image would have been sent by 'Wicken Productions' to 'Film Fan', not taken on the set by the magazine's photographers. This means that the film's production company get a big say in how the film is represented, maintaining control over the 'brand image'. The grainy effect seen on the poster and in the film remains, and the slight unbalance of colour also combines to create an effective promotional campaign for 'Triquetra'.

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

Firstly, the story is based around mysterious events, leading an ordinary girl to turn mad and become a killer. This type of subgenre is very common in horrors, helping the audience to relate, as it's not too far fetched, such as a film about a giant jar of marmalade wreaking havoc in the streets of New York.

When it came to the filming and editing, we were certain that we wanted a very close, claustrophobic feel, with such shots as an extreme close up on an eye, the moon, and the protagonist's face. We used a quick editing pace in a lot of the shots to add to the claustrophobia and disorientation - such as the point of view going along the street, and the very close shot of some feet being dragged up the stairs.

For fading between certain shots, we used a very sudden white flash, again trying to keep the viewer on edge. This is another way in which we followed the conventions of horror films. We also have a shot of the protagonist approaching the camera, with jump cuts and a fuzzy television effect, emulating films such as the Blair Witch Project and other 'point of view' horrors. This makes for an eerie feeling otherwise absent from the trailer.

The music is very stereotypical of horrors, but we didn't want to change this. It works for a reason, and the use of drones, high pitched shimmers and ghost tracks goes hand in hand with the editing of the trailer.

It's hard to place my finger on how the trailer challenges the conventions of horrors. I think it mainly uses them in an effective way, but doesn't do much to challenge or develop them.