Evaluation Question 4

2. Research & Planning
I used the online presentation
tool Emaze to collate my initial
research on teaser trailers and
film trailers. This enabled to
me to make my research more
creative and visually engaging.
In the research and planning stages of my work, I used numerous websites and
online applications to help us gain ideas for our media products. We took full
advantage of the media available to us and aimed to use as many different
medias throughout our work. These are some examples of the different
applications we used in our work.
YouTube allowed me to research a range of different teaser
trailers such as 'Cloverfield' and 'Warm Bodies' so that I had
the best knowledge of existing media products. I then
analysed them to understand the conventions used and the
elements that were the most effective. I also used YouTube to
compare teaser trailers and theatrical film trailers to
understand the difference so that I could ensure I had a clear
knowledge and understanding of teaser trailer conventions.

3. I also used another online presentation tool in the
research and evaluation stages of my work. Prezi
enabled me to present my work in an interesting
and visually appealing way, combining the use of
images and text to create the presentation. I used
Prezi when collating my initial genre research so
that I could support my research with images and
so that the presentation was animated. I then
used Prezi to explain my target audience research
that I gathered from the Pearl & Dean website.
We used Pearl & Dean to research film similar to
ours with the same genre; teen drama. This
website allowed us to compare audience profiles
and understand the composition of each film’s
audiences. Finally, I used Prezi to evaluate our
audience feedback because it is visually engaging
and allowed me to present the photos of our
feedback alongside my evaluation.

4. When researching our target audience, I also used
IMDB.com to look at the same films as my previous
Pearl and Dean target audience research, using
instead the IMDB website to find the viewer ratings
and age classifications for the films. This website
enabled me to understand the age groups on the
films and the way that film audiences rate these
films.
I also used ThinkBox, the marketing
body for commercial TV in the UK, to
understand more about the media
consumption of young people and the
results of surveys about TV
consumption and how it impacts on
young people. This website allowed
me to comprehend the data collected
from numerous different surveys and
to consider how these could affect our
media products.

5. The survey was effective for giving us a
better insight into our target audience
and their opinions. SurveyMonkey itself
was easy to use and allowed us to
analyse the data once people had taken
part. Whilst using the website there were
no technical problems but we had to
ensure that we were asked effective
questions in order to get useful
responses.
As another part of our target audience
research, we used SurveyMonkey to conduct
our primary research and to create a survey
that we could use to collect the most data
possible. This application enabled us to send
the survey to a large group of people so that
we could understand their opinions on our
ideas. We also used this to develop
and improve our ideas, taking into
consideration the responses we collected.

6. We used Google Docs and Google Slides in our
planning stages to create our screenplay and pitch
presentation. We also created our Location Call
Sheet, Shot list, Risk Assessment and Schedule
using Google Docs because it allowed us to share
our work between the group so that we could all
access and edit the documents at the same time.
It also enabled us to be able to edit the
documents anywhere because they were saved to
an internet drive rather than onto a computer.

7. When creating our final teaser trailer, we
used FreeSound to download free music
tracks to use. The website allowed us to
browse through thousands of different
sound effects and music tracks that we
could download quickly and easily before
installing them to iTunes. We then just had
to use Final Cut Pro X to add them to our
teaser trailer. In addition, we downloaded
the ident sound effect from FreeSound
because it linked to our ident and was easy
to access and download. Overall, the
website was easy to use and we did not
experience any technical problems.
For use on our poster and magazine cover, I
used Dafont to download fonts as I was able to
quickly browse through a wide range of fonts.
This website allowed me to choose the best
fonts to use on our products to create a strong
brand identity across them. Once I had chosen
the fonts I wanted to use, I downloaded them
and installed them into Adobe Illustrator to
use on our marketing materials. I also installed
the fonts in Final Cut Pro X so that I could use
them for the film titles. Furthermore, I used a
similar website, Fonts2u, to download the font
for the poster billing block.

8. I used Pinterest to create moodboards for the
characters outfits. This allowed us to be prepared
with what costumes we would need on our filming
day. It also enabled me to visualise what the
characters would be wearing so that we could
decide if they were effective for our teaser trailer.
This website also enabled everyone in our group to
see my moodboards so that they could understand
and comment on my costume ideas.
Throughout the whole coursework process,
I used Mahara to upload all of my research,
planning and evaluations to my blog. This
enabled me to have all of my work in one
place so that I could easily access and edit
my journal entries. Mahara was easy to use
but I did come across several issues, such
as not being able to embed my Emaze
presentations. These problems were easily
overcome and I learned from my mistakes.
The application also allowed me to see
other people’s blog pages so that we could
share images among the group and so that
we could help each other when we needed
some extra guidance.

9. Throughout the whole research and planning process, I used Google
and Google images to collect numerous pictures and information
from a variety of sources. The most important use of Google was in
my poster and magazine cover research because it was important
that I did extensive research and compared numerous examples to
ensure that I understood the conventions and magazine house style.
I therefore used Google to search for a range of existing products
from a range of sources and genres. Google enabled me to gain a
deeper understanding of media conventions and how we need to
adhere to them in our media products. The website itself is
extremely easy to access and I did not encounter any issues.
When creating our teaser trailer, we used Twitter to show
the online bullying because teens from our target audience
may have experienced themselves and would definitely be
familiar with the social media. Again, we use QuickTime
Player as it enabled us to send messages whilst recording
so that they would appear on screen.
When filming our teaser trailer, we used FaceTime to allow
us to film the call between the two characters. It was quick
and easy to use and enabled us to communicate via the
webcam whilst recording the screen to use in our trailer. We
use QuickTime Player to record the screen as this was the
easiest application to use. We chose to use a FaceTime call
in our trailer because it is familiar to our target audience.

10. We sorted through our footage and favorited the
best clips as we had multiple recordings of the
same shots. We then dragged our clips onto the
timeline and began ordering them according to
our storyboards. This enabled us to begin
constructing our trailer, whilst being able to
easily differentiate between our clips so that we
knew exactly which were the best shots.
We created a rough cut teaser trailer so that could
gain feedback from our target audience. This
enabled us to understand what we needed to adapt
and improve to make our trailer more effective.
Furthermore, we used a typewriter effect so that it
looks as though the titles are being typed, adding a
typing sound effect to reinforce this. We also created
a company ident because this is a convention of a
film trailer. It enables us to tell the audience who
produced the film in a quick and simple way.
We used Final Cut Pro X to create our teaser trailer, developing on our skills from last year.
Final Cut allowed us to edit our footage so that we could make it the desired length and
enabled us to visually manipulate the footage by adding effects and transitions. We had
some issues to start off with, because our computer stopped working after we had imported
the footage. The problem could not be fixed so we changed computers and began by
importing the footage in final Cut Pro X again.

11. To finish our rough cut, we added the voice over to the
clips by detaching the audio from the clip so that we
could delete the visual and just use the audio that we
wanted. We also increased the volume to maximum on
all of the audio and then reduced the background noise
in clips with no dialogue so that there is noise but not a
lot of it. This enabled us to create a realistic and natural
trailer because there are sounds from the environment
that show it is real but do not detract attention from the
trailer. We also used Freesound.org to find instrumental
background music that we layered underneath the voice
over so that it wasn't louder than the dialogue. We also
finished cropping the clips so that they were the desired
length, however we still needed to crop some clips to
make the trailer fast-paced and effective.
We had a problem when recording the
FaceTime call because when we could only
record the visual not the audio. To
overcome this problem, I broke apart a
different clip that we filmed of the
characters FaceTiming and matched up the
audio from this clip to our screen recording.
This enabled the clip to have sound and it to
look as natural as possible. It also allowed us
to represent the character in a certain way
to manipulate how the audience perceives
them. It also helps us to show things in the
way that we want them to be seen.

12. Once we had screened our rough cut trailers,
we adapted it according to the feedback that
we received. We reduced the dialogue
volume and edited the clips more to make it
clear that it was the best friend who was
manipulating her. In addition, we added some
screen captures that we had already filmed
showing nasty tweets appearing on the victims
Twitter account as this is relevant to our target
audience and added different aspects to the
trailer to make it more interesting. This also
enabled us to specifically target our audience
as they are familiar with the social media and
use it themselves.
I also shortened the FaceTime scene so that there was
not too much dialogue and so that the important part
was left, to keep our trailer fast-paced and to build
tension. We also decided that although we had one
music track, we wanted to layer up some different
sounds, so Emma researched different background tracks
on Freesound.org and found several of tracks which she
downloaded. This enabled us to build the tension in the
trailer because we chose music that was dramatic and
tense. We also added the MPAA green screen to the
beginning of the trailer because this is a convention that
we had seen in the teaser trailers we researched. Lastly,
Emma decided to completely change our company ident
because we thought our original ident was better suited
to an action film. We therefore made a black and white
ident like most we had researched in teen drama trailers.

13. We re-recorded the voice over on an iPad so that
there was no background noise and the sound
quality would be sharper because one of our rough
cut feedback comments was to record the voice
over in a quieter environment. This also enabled us
to get the clearest and most professional sounding
voice over possible. The iPad was easy to use and
we did not experience any difficulties using the
software and applications. We used the simple
‘Voice Recorder’ application because it is easy to
use and we had all used it before.
Using a video tutorial to guide
us, we added key frames to the colour
effect on the film title so that the text
would transition from white to red. This
tool enabled us to link our teaser trailer
to the poster design by changing the
colour of the title text so that it fades
from white to red. This was effective
because it looks impressive and helps to
create a consistent brand identity
because of the use of the colours in our
established colour scheme.

14. As another way of tying the teaser trailer
and poster together to create an effective
brand identity, we added a black and
white effect to the opening shot like the
photos on the poster. Furthermore, the
quality of this shot was not great so to
overcome this issue, we decided to add
the effect to this shot because we didn't
want to remove it. Another method we
used to increase the quality and stability
of the shots was by using the stabilising
option so that the handheld clips didn’t
appear shaky. This enabled us to get
professional looking shots. We
also decided to add a fade transition
after the shot so that it transitioned
smoothly into the next shot.
To finish of our teaser trailer, we added black title screens
throughout to break up the shots and add more information
for the audience. We did this using one of the simple
existing title templates so that we could use the same
typewriter effect as our film title screen, and to keep the
theme consistent throughout. We added a quote relating to
friendship to make it clear to the audience that it is the
friend behind the betrayal, as one of our feedback
comments was to make this clearer. We also added our
film tag line so that the brand is consistent across the
marketing materials. We used a typing font and the same
typing sound effect as the title text to keep to the theme
that we already established in our trailer. Furthermore,
because most teaser trailers have a release date or coming
soon text towards the end of the trailer, we decided to add
ours at the end of the trailer using the same text that I
wrote on our poster.

15. To finish off our trailer, we shortened a few clips
using the blade tool so that we could cut it
exactly where we wanted. This enabled us to get
the cleanest cut so that our trailer looked as
professional as possible. In addition, we used the
sound meters at the side of the timeline to
enable us to know how much to reduce the
sound of the cat meow from our company ident
so that it is at the same volume as the rest of our
music and didn't jump from high to low volumes.
Lastly, we increased the sound of the voice over
and slightly reduced the sound of the
background music in order for the voice over to
be more powerful and clearer to hear, and
reduced the sound of the ringtone as it was too
loud compared to the rest of the sound.
The camera we used to film with was a Canon EOS
550d Digital SLR camera which enabled us to get the
most professional footage and photos possible. Before
filming we were taught how to use the camera so that
we had a better understanding of the basic features,
such as focusing the camera, zooming and viewing the
footage. This ensured that we had the knowledge
needed to get the best quality shots that we could.
Whilst we were filming, we used the functions a lot,
such as when we were filming the bus and train scenes
from the opposite pavements and platforms. We set
up the camera on the tripod and used the '*' button to
lock the focus and exposure to allow us to get a clear
long shot of the characters. We also used the manual
focus rather than the auto focus function because it
allowed us to choose which parts of the shots were in
focus and where the main focal point would be. We
did this predominantly when we were taking photos
for our poster and magazine cover. Overall, the camera
was straightforward to use and we did not encounter
any problems.

16. I used both Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to create the practice poster so
that I could edit the photograph and experiment with the layout. I began by
using the magic background eraser tool in Photoshop to remove the
background from the photos and to crop some of my location recce shots to
use as the poster background. This enabled me to separate the different
elements so that I could layer them to create the poster design. I then
imported these photos into Illustrator so I could create the actual poster. I
began by placing the photos and resizing them to fill up the whole page,
before downloading a font from Dafont to add the title, tagline and actor's
names. I also used the shape tool to add some stars to make it look more like
a real film poster. To finish it off I created a simple billing block and positioned
it at the bottom of the poster, like the existing film posters I had researched.
I also created our film poster using both Adobe Photoshop
and Illustrator. I began by using Photoshop to edit some of the
photographs and change them to black and white. This
enabled me to create a consistent brand identity because we
used a black and white effect on a shot in our teaser trailer. I
then saved images and imported them into Illustrator where I
began to experiment with the layout, before adding some of
the other elements such as the title and other text. I used the
same font as our teaser trailer title (Edo SZ) to keep a
consistent theme and also used the same colours as the title
screen, adding red to add some extra colour and emphasise
on some of the poster elements. However, there was not
much room for the other elements of the poster so I had to
change the layout in order for the poster to not look crowded.

17. I decided that, as there was not a lot of room on
the poster because the pictures were so big, I
was going to reduce the size of the pictures and
have two photos as the main focal points of the
poster. This meant that I had more room to
experiment with the layout of the remaining
elements. I also added the billing block using the
font I downloaded and coloured it light grey so
that it was not too distracting but so that it could
still be read easily. However, I still thought that
there was not enough room on the poster so I
changed the page orientation to portrait to see if
this made a difference.
This is the finished poster for our film that I created using Photoshop
and Illustrator. I used a range of tools to create a professional an effective
poster that represents our characters and storyline in the way that we wanted
them to. The tools enabled me to represent the characters in a certain way to
manipulate how the audience perceives them. It also helps us to show things
in the way that we want them to be seen. For example, the specific pose that
Jaime is shown doing indicates that she is keeping a secret from Tilly and that
this will be the basis of the film narrative. Furthermore, I chose to separate the
photographs so that there are photos of Jaime in one corner and photos of
Tilly and Jaime together in the opposite corner. This shows that they were
happy and the best of friends before but things went “downhill” and Jaime
betrayed her. Lastly, the use of the colour red foreshadows that something bad
may happen and that there is hatred or anger between the characters.

18. I created the magazine cover for our chosen magazine, Entertainment
Weekly, using both Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to manipulate the
images and layout. I imported the chosen photo into Illustrator where I
began to experiment with the layout and sizing of the image. I then
used the text tool to add some basic text using a basic font so that I
could focus on the design layout before downloading more interesting
and creative fonts. I also added the magazine masthead that I found on
the internet and positioned it at the top of the magazine where it is
conventionally placed. I added an issue number and date to make the
cover look as realistic as possible, placing it where they are on existing
Entertainment magazines.
Once I had put the basic elements onto the magazine
cover, I began to experiment with the layout and
background image. I used Photoshop to manipulate the
image, experimenting with the sizing of the image and
adding a blur effect to the background of the image. As a
group, we have decided that we preferred the layout with
the larger picture but no blur effect because the picture
quality looks better and the close up image is similar to
those used on existing Entertainment Weekly covers.
I also used the shape tool to create
the “double issue” star mark, which is
a convention of many Entertainment
Weekly covers.

19. After getting feedback on my cover from the rest of my group, I
used Photoshop to increase the colour saturation of the
photograph because the original image was very dark and made
Katy look very pale and washed out. I also increased the image
brightness and reduced the exposure for the same reasons and
to create the most natural image possible. The main problem we
encountered was that the character’s heads were positioned
behind the masthead but should have been placed in front to
follow the convention of the existing covers. To solve this
problem, I used the background eraser tool in Photoshop
to remove the background of the image, leaving just the two
characters, so that I could overlap the top image over the
masthead just like other covers of Entertainment Weekly that we
researched. This enabled me to create a realistic and
professional cover. In addition, I downloaded some different
fonts from Dafont.com that matched as closely as possible to the
font used in the original covers. I chose a simple rounded font
that is easy to read and looks neat. I also decided to use the
same font as the teaser trailer and poster because it creates a
strong brand identity and this was also done on an existing cover
of Entertainment Weekly. Furthermore, like another cover I had
looked at I added a mark that tells the reader that the issue is a
2-part edition, because this is a typical feature of
Entertainment's weekly magazine. Lastly, I added more text to
the cover using an older cover as a guide of what to write and
how to structure it.