2. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR
MEDIA PRODUCT USE,
DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE
FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF
REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
3. TEASER TRAILER: INFLUENCES
Inception:
http://hannahmaxwella2media.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/inception-trailer-analysis.html
This trailer influenced me in terms of
sound. There is an absence of diegetic
sound throughout the whole of the
trailer and it’s really effective
because it forces the audience to
focus on the visuals. I did use some
diegetic sound in my product,
however, I didn’t use a lot and tried
to keep it as plain as possible so that
the audience do focus on the visuals,
as they are forced to in the Inception
teaser trailer.
In addition, I liked the way this trailer
cuts back to objects of significance,
like the spinning top/glass of water. I
used this idea in my teaser trailer,
with the blue prints and also the tin
that the stalker picks up.
4. CONTINUED...
Shutter Island:
http://hannahmaxwella2media.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/teaser-trailer-analysis.html
This trailer influenced me in terms
of editing. The edits are really
fast-paced and a lot of jump cuts
are used. They conceal a lot of the
story but reveal enough to invite
audience’s intrigue. In my trailer,
I have used some fast editing to
conceal parts of my story and also
to ‘tease’ my audience by not
showing them what they would
want more of.
The Shutter Island trailer builds
tension effortlessly through the
sound and editing and I tried to
do this too.
5. PLOT INFLUENCERS
My storyline for Hunted was influenced by The Lovely Bones. Having
read the book and watched the film I thought that it had a very
powerful theme and message. Instead of communicating the events
after the girls death, like in The Lovely Bones, I wanted my product
to be about the build up to the murder. I wanted the girls to be a
similar age because it’s controversial because of their assumed
innocence and the violation of this. However, my victim is very
different from Susie Salmon in terms of their personality, dress and
interests because I wanted to highlight the vulnerability of girls that
age as a whole and because as a society we naturally feel protective
over this age and gender.
6. FILM POSTER: INFLUENCES
I really liked the two shots in the
below images. For The Lovely
Bones I really liked the way that
the murderer was in low key
lighting and the victim was in the
light. In my poster, they are both
in similar lighting to show that he
has invaded her personal space by
being in her home. The movie still
from Halloween inspired me to
have the stalker move into the
The Lovely Bones
shot and not reveal his identity to
create a more sinister feel, which
is what I have done in my poster.
Halloween
Picture 7
7. FILM MAGAZINE: INFLUENCES
I decided to use Total Film as my film magazine because I thought that
my film would be the kind of film to be featured in it. I liked the
synergy that the magazine creates between itself and the film it’s
featuring. I captured this by making the ‘F’ into a knife point like the
film title, and by using the same house style as my film. However, I
decided to break the conventions of magazines by having my model
looking away from the camera, which follows the film ideals more than
the magazine ones, but this still fits in with the magazine’s ethos.
8. GROUPS
My media product focuses on the social group of teenage girls, because
they are stereotyped to be more vulnerable then older women or
males. More narrowly, it focuses on teenage girls who are interested
in rock music, because this is the image that my main character has. I
wanted to focus on this group of teenage girls because they do not
make up the ‘majority’ of teenagers; they fit into a niche group, which
would automatically make my victim more ostracised from society
than an ordinary teenage girl, resulting in even less protection from
harm. (Thus inviting the stalker to more easily target her).
Within the film world, stalking/murder/rape are all horrific things to
explore, but when it’s a child, like my victim, it’s more harrowing for
the audience, as people naturally feel the need to protect the people
most vulnerable in society, like children.
I took inspiration from The Lovely Bones and Leon: The Professional for
this, because of the violation of innocence in the main characters. In
Leon, Natalie Portman’s family are murdered, including her beloved
little brother and we naturally sympathise with her because she is so
young herself. In The Lovely Bones, Susie Salmon is far too young to
die, but she is raped and murdered and her innocence is spoiled, which
is the reason these types of films are so harrowing. They show a theft
of child-like innocence which is something that every adult
appreciates and values as they grow older.
9. AUDIENCE FOR MY TEASER
TRAILER
http://hannahmaxwella2media.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/concrete-target-audience.html
Hunted, is a 15. This is because it
contains child murder, strong
violence, and scenes that
audiences may find disturbing. I
used the BBFC website (
www.bbfc.co.uk) to determine
what my film should come under.
The prominent adjective for 15s
is ‘strong’, which is why I think a
15 certificate would suit my film.
Most specifically, I have targeted
my film at 15-25 yr old males and
females, but more predominantly
females because the victim is
female and so they will
empathise with her. The reason
that males will still be attracted
to this film is because of the
genre: thriller.
10. HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS
YOUR AUDIENCE?
Teaser trailer
I have used a close up on
personal artwork to attract my
audience because this could be
something that they would relate
to. At this tender age most
people have a hobby that In this shot I have used a cant to
distracts them from everything represent how her safe haven has
that bothers them. been disturbed. This would appeal
my target audience because they
I chose to have a low angled would be excited by a shot like this
long shot of the victim in her in a thriller. In addition, I have
bedroom because you can see also hidden the identity of the
all the posters on the wall, stalker. The cant also creates a
the hairspray, cans of pop sense of unease, as it is a physical
etc., which my audience representation of the
would be able to relate to as disequilibrium within the
teenage bedroom ‘decor’ is I used a close up of the victim tied narrative structure.
such a major part of up, using low key lighting, to conceal
expressing yourself at this the plot and force the audience to
age. use their imagination to fill in what
Further more, this slightly they can’t physically see. They are
low angle is a child-like view, forced to question, ‘why is this girl
which further highlights her tied up? How did she get there?’
innocence. which would evoke sympathy from
my target audience. Also, she is in
white, which connotes innocence.
11. “ Within my teaser trailer, I attracted my
audience through varying my shot styles and
lengths, using familiar mise-en-scene, with
atmospheric non-diegetic music and
stings. ”
12. In cinema history, the ‘baddie’
The stalker and the
FILM POSTER came in from the right-hand
side, and the good characters victims silhouettes stand
The use of red in the masthead always came in on the left. For out against the
connotes danger, which would this reason, I have chosen to translucent background
draw the audience because they put the stalker on the right and which draws the eye
are enticed by danger. the victim on the left. straight to them.
The tagline would
intrigue my
audience because
they would want to
know ‘why’ there
aren’t any safe
havens and also
‘who’ is making
sure your havens
aren’t safe. With
the domesticity of
the image this
would create a real
sense of unease I have chosen to split ‘safe’ The framing of the victim and the
from ‘havens’ in the tagline stalker automatically creates a sense of
which would
because the knife
definitely entice my personifies the narrative:
unease, which would make the audience
audience. the stalker literally splits want to know what their connection is,
the victims life, and safe because it is obvious it’s not positive.
haven, in two.
13. Pug: advertising the
FILM MAGAZINE film poster for the
film. My target
Magazine URL. My
audience are most
target audience are
likely to be interested
the most internet
in posters.
friendly.
The main image isn’t
Synergy has been making direct address.
created between the This isn’t conventional,
magazine and the and would attract my
film through the uses audience because, if
of knives and they like controversial
red/black colour in films, then they will
the masthead and like things that don’t
cover-line. conform.
The bottom cover-lines The background is creepy
again tie in with the and ties in with the
house style of this issue darkness of the film. I have
also used low key lighting
and offer other
which would signal to my
information about films target audience that this is
that my target audience a film with dark content. In
would like, because my addition, the background
target audience are gives off a sense of threat or
likely to like other that something is lurking,
genres too. which ties in with the
theme of stalking.
14. HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE
COMBINATION OF YOUR
MAIN PRODUCT AND
ANCILLARY PRODUCT?
15. HUNTED: A SENSE OF BRANDING
I have created a sense of branding in a number of ways. Firstly, I have depicted the
victim as vulnerable in all three products (below), as she never looks at the camera
and is wearing school uniform. I have also used subtle high angles in the teaser
trailer and on the magazine. I have also used low key lighting so that the mystery of
the plot is sustained throughout all three products.
Between the two ancillary products I have used red, black and white as a colour scheme
because red connotes danger; the danger that the girl is in, black connotes mystery;
because the audience do not know the full plot from the trailer/poster/magazine
combination, and white connotes innocence; because the girl is innocent and has done
nothing to provoke the attack that violates her innocence. I have also used red and
black in the teaser trailer for the title frames.
I have also used domesticity as a link between all three products. The poster is set in a
house, the magazine shares the tagline ‘find out why there are no safe havens’ and
the teaser trailer shows how the stalker invades her safe haven (home) and
eventually kills her.
17. QUESTIONNAIRE
The first piece of audience research that
I completed was a questionnaire. The
full results are on my blog:
http://hannahmaxwella2media.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/questionnaire-results-primary
I wanted to know what kind of films
people are into, and from that age I
determined my film certificate. I also
wanted to know what people expect
from teaser trailers.
From this questionnaire I decided that
my film would have a certificate 15
and it would be aimed at both males
and females in the 15-25 yr old
category (but mainly females). I also
determined that my teaser trailer
would be short, concise, and only give
away enough plot to entice my
audience and not give it all away.
18. TEASER TRAILER
For the first cut of my teaser trailer, I
received a lot of peer and teacher
feedback. I have posted on the blog all of
my results.
http://hannahmaxwella2media.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/first-cut-of-my-teaser-trailer-h
I found this really useful because people
were picking up on what I wasn’t happy
with e.g. The size of the font on the title
pages and the lack of stings. It was even
more helpful though, that people were
picking up on things that I hadn’t
thought about. This meant that I had a
long list of things to experiment with,
most of which I kept.
The positive feedback was just as good
though, because it meant that I edited
my teaser trailer with confidence, and a
fresh perspective, to make the final cut.
I did upload all 4 of my cuts to YouTube, as
a tool for feedback.
19. 1st edit
FILM POSTER
Again, I had peer and teacher feedback
for my drafts. In total I made 4 drafts
of my film poster, each time
encouraging feedback from my peers. I
was told what worked and advised on
what to change or add in. This was
really useful because it gave me a
fresh perspective on my product,
which meant I could edit it more
confidently. Looking over all 4 edits I
can see a massive improvement from
the first to the final film poster. Final Poster
Every time I edited my poster I had to
keep in mind who my audience was.
As you can see, although my first
poster wasn’t bad, it wasn’t gripping
enough for my target audience
because it’s not eye-catching enough.
By changing the colour of the masthead
and giving it more depth, that alone
made the poster more eye-catching
and much more fitting to my
demographic
http://hannahmaxwella2media.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/feedback-for-my-ancillary-products.html
20. 1st edit
FILM MAGAZINE
The first film magazine cover that I
constructed was really basic. It didn’t
demonstrate any skill and it looked
really bland. The feedback I got from
that was so useful because my peers
told me exactly how it should look and
what I was doing wrong. The
background, as you can see, was very
plain and it didn’t tie in with Total
Film who always have busy
backgrounds that are ‘film related’. Final
That is why I chose to have the creepy Magazine
forest in the background of my
magazine; to create a sense of
branding between my magazine and a
real Total Film magazine.
The feedback allowed me to have a fresh
perspective and I tried to look at my
magazine with more of an ‘audience’
mind. I had to decide what it was that
as an audience I would want to see.
http://hannahmaxwella2media.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/feedback-for-my-ancillary-products-2.html
21. “ Acting as the institution has made me realise how
important feedback is. Although my ideology for
Hunted was clear in my head, I had difficulty putting
it into practise. Feedback allowed me to interact
with my audience and have them tell me what they
wanted to see, which was actually similar to what I
was trying to do. In conclusion, from audience
feedback I have learned that my products can always
be improved and that audience feedback is
essential to a successful promotion package.
Furthermore, it gave me confidence in my editing
because I knew what my audience wanted to see. ”
22. HOW DID YOU USE MEDIA
TECHNOLOGIES IN THE
CONSTRUCTION AND
RESEARCH, PLANNING AND
EVALUATION STAGES?
23. RESEARCH AND PLANNING
I chose to do my research and
planning on a blog because I
could make full use of multimedia
technologies, such as videos,
images and hyperlinks.
I found the blog really useful for
each aspect of research. When I
researched types of shot, using a
blog meant that I could put
images up with their
descriptions. When I researched
sound, I opened a
www.soundcloud.com account,
where I uploaded the sounds and
posted the link on my blog. (
http://soundcloud.com/hannah-94)
Not only does it utilise technology
and strengthen my technical
knowledge, but it also generates
audience feedback because there
is an option for blog users to post
comments on my blog.
24. CONSTRUCTION: TEASER, POSTER,
MAGAZINE
Teaser trailer:
To film my teaser trailer, I used a digital video camera.
Although small, I managed to get the shots I wanted. I used
Adobe Premier pro to edit my shots together. I liked this
programme, because it was quite straightforward. However, if I
were to do this project again, I would use a better computer
because the software didn’t cope with the full size files. I had to
condense the size of my picture to edit my trailer together
successfully.
Film Poster:
I used Paint.Net to construct my poster. This software is very
similar to Photoshop but it more straight forward. I learnt how
to edit photos in layers to make my work more professional
looking and this also made it much easier to edit layer too.
Film Magazine:
I used a digital camera to take my main image. I used
Paint.Net and Microsoft Publisher to construct my magazine
cover. Paint.Net was brilliant for photo manipulation with the
main image, background and also the mastheads. However, I
struggled with the cover-lines on Paint.Net so I imported it as
an image in to Publisher and put all the text on in there. I’ m
really pleased with the result.
25. EVALUATION
For my evaluation I chose to use
PowerPoint because it is a
multimedia piece of software.
Similarly to the blog, I can
easily share images and links
on here to aid my meaning.
In this evaluation I have used
screenshots of my trailer,
images, hyperlinks and finally
slideshare, so that it can be
easily shared on my blog.
Using PowerPoint has further
helped me to utilise the
technology on offer.
