Evaluation Of Film Trailer

1. In what ways does your media product use develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our media product follows many conventions that are typical of a horror trailer. Firstly the length of the trailer is conventional, we carefully selected scenes not to reveal to much to the audience. The opening scene is extremely conventional it establishes the equilibrium as everything is normal and the characters seem happy. The equilibrium is disrupted in the trailer when the newsreader reports on the death of a young girl, as the female character has already had a dream about the situation. An attempt to fix the problem is then apparent as the female protagonist is then reffered to a psychiatric unit. The layout of our trailer is a conventional narrative structure, drawn up by the theorist Todorov, this showing that our media product is well structured and organised. However in this case a reinstatement of the equilibrium cannot be achieved as it is a trailer and we didnt want to reveal to much detail.
The trailer also meets conventions as most lighting is dark which creates effect and eerieness. It has also been edited very quick, leaving the trailer with a very fast pace this is conventional as it emphisises confusion and also action in the scenes. We also used transitions of fade to black and dissolves which are also conventional, they leave the idea of passing of time and act as an elypsise of things missing. Another convention is the code of enigma in the trailer as the main characters actions are not explained or clear to the audience leaving them to work out what is going on, her role as the victim or monster is neither realised as we do not know the full extent of the story unrevealing, this leaving the audience intrigued and wanting to go and watch the film.
The music too is also conventional, it changes pace and compliments the scenes it plays with and also adds effect and tension to the trailer. We have also used dialogue in our trailer which is conventional.
The use of titles in our trailer is also conventional, it gives the audience an idea of the narrative, however we decided to be slightly different and use a poem instead of just merely statements, I think this works well too. However I do think that the poem's language is quite sophisticated, therefore targeting the middle class, although we have not purposely done this the stereotypical audience for a horror genre is the middle class.
Our trailer challenges forms and conventions in two ways with the target audience and the main female character, these two challenges are linked as stereotypically it is young males who are targeted by horror films as they are seen to be more thrill seeking than women. Therefore usually the main characters are stereotypically male as young males like to see action. In our trailer we have decided to go against conventions and use a female protagonist, targeting young thrill seeking females as they can relate to and empathise with the main character.

2.How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
I personally feel that my three products work well with one another. I have ensured that the genre is clearly portrayed throughout my products as well as a consistence of setting. As the trailer is shot largely in the forest I thought that this would be the significant setting in which I would carry through in all of my products, in my poster the picture of the female protagonist is blended with a tree and a noose, in my front cover the the female protagonist is also in a forest setting and the tree is clearly visible. I also feel I have kept a consistent colour scheme throughout my products, as I felt that black,white,grey and red complimented the genre and added effect and eeriness to the products. I also have made sure that the female character has been the main concentration throughout as I feel she symbolises the product as a whole.

3.What have you learned from your audience feedback?
With audience feedback we selected a group of eight people who we thought the film would appeal too, we set up an seated area and handed out a questionnaire containing the following questions below. We showed the audience our trailer and asked them to fill in the questions as honestly as they could:
Is the genre of the film easily identified?
Are you able to follow the narrative of the trailer?
What do you think the target audience would be for this film? (female/male/young/old)
What age classification do you think this film would be?
Does the title of the film appeal to you and relate to the films content?
Does the music compliment the narrative and genre of the film?
Do the titles help your understanding of the narrative?
Is the pace of the trailer conventional and effective?
Does the editing of the shots create fluidity?
Would you go and see this film after viewing the trailer and why?

Our audience feedback was complimentary on the whole, everyone agreeing that the genre of the film was easily identifiable from the trailer,as well as stating that they were able to follow the narrative of our trailer.
When they were asked about the target audience most answered that they thought we were targeting young females and males, most stating that they though we were targeting young females, this was pleasing as this was in fact our chosen target audience.
The age classification question was answered with mostly fifteen certificate but a couple of people put that they thought it would be an eighteen certificate, this shows that the audience were able to see from the horror apparent from our trailer.
Everyone stated that the title appealed to them and it related to the films content too.
When it came to the music question most people thought the music complimented the scenes and the genre of the film however one person disagreed, he thought the music went well with the paces of the scenes but did not go well with the genre of the film, I feel that this is a fair comment as we had to use copy right free music and our resources were limited as we did not have the funds to buy songs we had to make do with the music we could find on the freeplay site. During the filming stages we did find a perfect song which went extremely complimented the trailer, however as it was copyright we were un able to use it.
The last question gave the audience the chance to right their views on the film and give reasons why they like it, most people answered that they wanted to watch the film as it engaged their interest and made them want to find out more.
Some people answered that they didnt like the genre of the film so wouldnt go to see it to due to that fact,this was understandable however as horror films target specific niche audiences and purposely do not appeal to evryone, another person said that they would go and watch the film as they liked the fact that the monster was a person.

Our audience feedback on the whole was very complimentary, giving us confidence that our product was a success.


4.How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
At the start of our Alevel course we started to use the digital video camera to familiarise ourselves with different shots and angles we could create,also we got used to the buttons and settings the camera had. After taking shots with the camera we then used the editing software Adobe Premier Elements, this was a crucial stage for us as we learn how to import footage from the camera on to the computer, we learnt how to add effects and transitions such as dissolves and fade to blacks. We also learnt how to add titles and cut scenes. This stage was crucial as it was giving us key practice for our main tasks which was when we needed to already be familiar with such technology. I also used Photo shop and Photo shop light room to manipulate images and text when constructing my poster and front cover. When it came to research we had to look in to conventions of both front covers, posters and trailers to ensure that what we were planning to do would work and be a success so I used the Internet to familiarise myself with different examples of film front covers and posters. I also used YouTube to watch examples of film trailers as it was key for me to know key conventions of horror film trailers, it would also enable me to see how much was included in a trailer and how the music and pace of the scenes worked together.
We also used the internet to find music, we used youtube to find the copyright music which we decided not to use as we would have lost marks, we used freeplay.com to find music which wasnt copyright, it was hard to find music that would fit in with the genre of our film as we could not pay for music, so had to search thorugh websites which had a large amount of songs to pick from which werent neccessarily the right type, we finally decided on the best songs to fit our film which we could possibley find and we were happy with how the songs linked together in sequence and complimented the genre aswell as running in time with the pace of the trailer scenes.

Ancillary Task : Film Poster Analysis

Process

Background/ Main Image

When choosing the image for my poster I new that I wanted to create a specific look. Using photoshop lightroom I totally changed the look of the face shot of the main character, changing the colour to grey scale and adding specific effect to the white of the eye in order for it to stand out. I also intensified the blackness around the eye, this also being so the eye would be stand out a great deal more.

I used a picture of a noose too, changing this also to black and white and increasing the saturation so the image had a unique look.

I then used Photoshop to create layers to combine both images, this adding eeriness and effectto the background. I had to play around for sometime with the layers as I had to get just right the combination of the two as if one image was to strong it would make the image less effective.

Below are the two images I manipulated into my final background.

Text

The text I used on my poster is conventional to that of a film poster. I used titles from our trailer as they worked well together with the picture, I also put the title of the film in whoch the poster is promoting and when it is going to be released. When doing research into film posters I was amde aware that every poster has some sort of information on it usually really small to show that the poster is a promotional device. Although not significant and hardly redeable I thought this was vital to include in order to make the poster realistic and conventional. The colour scheme I have gone for has been black, white and red. The reason lying behind this choice is the fact that our dream sequences were black and white in our trailer so I felt I would follow this through on to my other tasks, I thought red went well with the other writing as it symbolises anger and danger.

Below is an example I found of a similar poster to my own, it is set out in a conventional way, dark lighting is used to emphisise eeriness and it follows the same colour scheme as my own.

Front Cover Analysis

When constructing my front cover I used programmes such as Adobe in design and photoshop to create a project that was realistic to that of a other real film magazines. I manipulated the text as I wanted certain information to be eye catching. I also used my poster as I had done research into film magazine covers and alot of them were giving away free posters. I chose the name 'Footage' as I think it emphisises the fact that it is a film magazine. I feel my magazine front cover follows conventions, I made sure my masthead was a significant feature on the page as I want the audience to be able to identify with it quickly, this follows conventions. The fact I have a main image which takes up the page, with the character being central also follows conventions as they are promoting the main story of the magazine, the text which I have used in the middle of the page to compliment the image also is extremely conventional for a film magazine.

The Editing Process

Editing Software

After finishing filming we then had to edit our footage. We used Adobe Premiere Software. This being a very proffessional programme which allowed use to make all the alterations to our trailer.
We first had to cut down shots and put them in to sequence ensuring they flowed, we also added transitions such as fade to black and dissolve to create a sense of elipsis.

Music
When we were in the process of filming we were also looking into music we thought would suit our trailer well, Evanescence - Bring Me To Life fitted our trailer perfectly and we were extremely happy with it, the songs tempo started slow and increased, keeping in trance with out trailer. However we were to find out that as the track was copyright if we used it, it may loose us marks. We discussed as a group that it was not worth loosing marks over, and decided to search for copyright free music.
We found a number of tracks, each not suitable on their own but combined together worked well. The first track starts off with a quite slow tempo, increasing in to a faster stonger beat, and then a quieter one at the end. It took alot of time and effort to get the music just right, as during our preliminary tasks we realised how music was key in order to get a fluid successful finished project.

Making Of the DVD
In our newsreader scene where by the equilibrium is disturbed in the trialer, we decided to film the scene, then edit it putting scrolling text, the time and a picture in the corner so that it was similar to that of a news programme, we created mise en scene in the picture by recreating our own crime scene, using tape to corner off an area. We then put the footage on to a DVD and filmed the scene with the mother and Libby characters watching it which worked well.

Filming Schedule

Filming Schedule
To help us organise our filming and complete shots by the deadline we compiled a schedule. So that everybody new what days they were needed and what equipment, costumes and props we needed to bring.
Below is a copy of the schedule:

Wednesday 3rd March

10 til 11

Film opening scene involving Beth/Abee/Georgia: establish normality

12:20 til 2:10

Plan night time shoot: Location/Costume

Thurday 4th March

2:10 til 8pm

Mr Jones as Newsreader ( then transfer onto DVD)Libby and Mum CharacterAll Bed scenesGeorgia front door scene "Beth's dead!"

Monday 8th March

3.15 til dark

Front door opening

8.30 til 10.30

Georgias death scenes (forest)

Wednesday 10th March

After 6 (dark)

Beths death scenes (forest)

Thursday 11th March

7.00 til late

Libby's final scene Psychiatric Ward scene

Wednesday 17th March

6pm til late

Libby watching TV sceneLibby and Mum character ( watershed of trailer)

Female Protagonist

Sleep Tight challenges conventions as in this modern psychological thriller the female character is both the victim and monster, the audience are made to feel a connection with the character, feeling sympaty towards her and empathising with her as she becomes in a state of great distress and confusion.
The modern psychological thriller/horror film 'the monster who attacks' looks like and, in some sense, is a woman and the audience are asked to believe that the woman is both victim and monster, for she is responsible for the horror tha destroys her. This is the same as Libby in Sleep Tight, Libby's horror is created in her head, she is both the monster and the victim and the audience are left to work out this.
Our trailer also has a code of enigma as the female protagonists behaviour is not explained and the audience are left questionning as the films ending contains the ultimate taboo, suicide.

Several commentators on the horror film have pointed out the role of woman as victims, a role treated with increasing visciousness as the sexual violence of recent cycles increases.
Linda Williams reintroduction of the question of the womans 'look' into psychoanalytic accounts of the mechanisms of classic narrative structure.

Horror

Sleep Tight is a film of the horror genre. The function of a horror film is to scare/horrify the viewer, being used in some cases to create messages about society. This type of genre usually has a specific age group in which it targets which is fifteen to thirty, this could be down to the rebellious nature of teenagers. Horror films are traditionally targeted at male audienced as they are stereotypically more appealed to violence. Sleep Tight challenges conventions as it targets young females as they can empathise with the femal victims/monster.

Within the genre of horror there are sub genres such as : torture porn, Zombie, Gothic Horror, Comedy Horror, Post modern horror and psychological thriller to name a few examples. Our film is a psychological sub genre, as it is a 'suggested horror' not a 'graphic horror', horror of the unseen is more horrifying rather than actually being horrified.

Charles Derry 1977 came up with subgeneric categories for the modern horror fi

• The horror of personality


• The horror of armourgedin


• The horror of supernatural (demonic)
  

Sleep Tight is in the category of ' Horror of personality' as it is knowing that a human being is capable of such things which is the scary issue.

Comparison & Repetoire Of Elements

Comparison Of Shrooms
After storyboarding our trailer we had a group discussion in class about similar real media products that we could compare with our own media product and as a group we came up with the horror film 'Shrooms'. This film shares many similar traites to our film Sleep Tight, the setting of a dark forest is apparent in both which emphisises isolation and vulnerability. The main characters in both films turn out to be the actual monsters, this challenges the typical conventions of a horror film as they are female, and are usually stereotypically male.





Repetoire Of Elements

There are eight key elements of genre, which I have discussed below and made them applicable to our finished product.

• Iconography - noose, hanging feet, dead body, screams of pain/terror


• Style- Darkness, black and white lighting to show dream situations, low key lighting


• Setting - Forest which is conventional, civilisation - home and school, contempary - bed psychiatric unit


• Narrative - monster- human with psychological disorder, audience are deliberatly misled


• Characters - monster, friends (community) , newsreader, mother (family)


• Themes - violence, isolation, threat, danger, pursuite, conflict


• Audience Response - frightened, nervous, shocked, intellectul puzzle


• Target Audience - females as they can empathise with the female victims and monster.

Titles for Trailer

All the way through the planning stages we were certain that we were going to have titles in our trailer as we thought it would subtly give the audience information without having to have a voice over as we thought this would be more of an effective way. At the beginning of the task the titles were going to be:

• She was a normal girl by day...


• But at night...


• Things change...


• What would you do if your nightmares...


• Became Reality?

We then thought that the titles were quite simple and not very original as they are what is expected from a typical horror film containing bad dreams, so we then thought that it would be different to create a poem. This giving an extra edge to the trailer as the audience will have to think about the words. This is similar to 'Sleep Tight' as it is an intellectuall puzzle the audience is kept in suspense and is left to work out the story as it unfolds. We decided that the titles in poem form were going to be as follows:

• She knew nothing but normality
• Until dreams destroyed her reality
• So awake into the dark she stares
• Posessed and afraid of her nightmares
• The rope is tight , the knot will reap
• No one knows and the worlds asleep
• GTA Productions Presents
• SLEEP TIGHT