2. 1. In what ways does your media
product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real
media products?
3. We have challenged the typical Sight
and Sound conventions by using a This indicates that it is a
different masthead in comparison to new issue that will be
the typical conventional mastheads coming out soon, visible
used on other magazine covers. This by the barcode and date
masthead shows modernity within the shown.
‘Sight and Sound’ front covers. We
went for one of the modern front cover
labels as it matches with our poster. We used a black and
The colour we used was mainly red and white image as it stands
black allowing the label to stand out out more as it has more
more. of a horror concept in
comparison to bright
For this part of the magazine, we used colours. The actor
our own knowledge of the horror film connotes mystery which
genre, to our advantage. Kim Newman is presented through the
is a man that Sight and Sound readers eye where we have
would recognise. Using typical incorporated a ghostly
language for this magazine cover figure into Radiya’s eyes.
relates to forms and conventions of We got this from the
Sight and Sound. Kim Newman, Twilight saga novel.
accomplished writer of the horror
genre would write for a magazine like
Media text usually
this.
mentions the main
characters in the film. We
decided to make it relate to
the type of genre our trailer
A close up was used as the main would fit in.
image for our cover. This is
dominate on any other cover of
Sight and Sound; this is common
depending on the type of film Main title which usually
and the image that is more has a tag line on some
suitable for it. covers.
Our group wanted a modern layout with a typical magazine convention, as we thought this would be best in order to make our magazine
cover look realistic. When doing this we made sure we did not go against the typical ‘sight and sound’ convention as we felt that this image
suited the typical ‘sight and sound’ convention that is more likely to be seen.
4. This modern sight and
sound cover we can see that
a simple modern layout has
been used. This is visible in We wanted our cover
the title, font, date and to be simple but not
barcode compared to the too plain we used this
normal covers we are as an example as it is
familiar with. very simple. This cover
is a conventional ‘sight
and sound’ due to its
Looking at the colour of the simplicity.
cover in general we can see
that they are clear to see. We
used similar colours to this
cover and also added the grey
colour in our text the reason
The main difference with
for not wanting to use the
our magazine and this
colour red as much is because
magazine is our image
we felt as a group that it will
being a close up and this
stand out more than our
one being a mid shot of
image. We replaced the colour
someone. The reason for
red with grey so that it would
us wanting to use a close
stay within the colour scheme.
up is because it relates to
our trailer when we get a
close up of Radiya who is
It is very rare for ‘Sight and haunting the other
sound’ to use pugs or characters. We used the
banners on the front cover long shot in our poster
of their magazine, but on where she is posing in
this cover are shown one the woods where
that is being used. The everything takes place.
reason for us adding a pug
on our cover is due to it
making our cover stand
more.
5. This is another modern sight
and sound cover we used as
an example due to it being
simple. We liked the way
the title, font, date and
barcode stands out a lot
more due to the picture The main text on our
being black and white. cover is in bold which is
similar to this the text on
this cover. However we
Our main cover image was used a font that would
originally from this photo have some form of
however we challenged it even association with our
more by having Radiya’s face actual trailer and our
covered up more. The colour horror theme.
of the cover is clear to see
even with the different colour
text. Like this cover we can see
that there is not much red
texts used as it would
juxtapose the image and On this ‘Sight and
almost take all of the attention sound’ cover the extra
away. magazine issues have
been written below
Although it is rare for ‘Sight rather than on the left
and sound’ to use pugs or hand side mainly
banners on the front cover because it would take up
of their magazine, this cover more space. We decided
also has one. This was to put this on the left
another reason for us to add hand side having our
a pug on our cover because title underneath where it
our main examples have would be more clearer.
one.
6. On our poster, we Again, our image is
didn’t heavily in black and white as
manipulate the this creates a sense
photograph itself. of mystery, which
We felt that automatically makes
everything should our poster look as
stay black and simplistic as
white except any possible.
writing in case it
was needed. We We came to the
done all our editing conclusion that we
on both Picnik and wanted only the text
Photoshop due, to in colour as it would
the programs not work well with the
supporting poster hence why we
something specific have our tagline in
that we needed. For the colour red.
example,
Photoshop did not
provide us with the
font we were
looking for.
This main photograph has been used to connote the subject matter and how
she comes across in our trailer. By using this we felt that it worked better as
a narrative of our trailer. By only using Radiya in the image without the
victims, we felt it was more stronger and shows her dominate and over
protective she is over her forest. With her being placed in the centre, it
suggests that she is the most powerful character within the trailer.
7. The idea of our Lost Soul poster came from the
poster of the “Blare Witch Project” with the
lighting and the trees of the poster. We also used the inspiration of the “Haunted
Forest” poster with both the position of the
possessed girl in the centre of the poster and then
with ours – Radiya is at the centre of the poster.
Additionally, we were also inspired by the tag line of
“only the trees can hear you scream” and decided to
also include that in our poster.
8. Our inspiration came from the twilight saga eclipse
poster where there is a figure of Edward in Bella’s
eyes. We then incorporated this and used an image
of Jade and faded it into Radiya’s eyes.
We grabbed our magazine idea from The
Twilight Saga: Eclipse book cover.
9. In our trailer, we were able to develop and challenge the typical forms and conventions of a typical
horror genre trailer by many factors:
Firstly, we started to research what our target audience was and what story was about. Various
Youtube clips and previous films inspired the ideas that we eventually came up with in the
end. For example, we used an idea from the American sitcom Pretty Little Liars. We were
interested by the storyline from this TV show; a mysterious person stalking a group of friends.
The Blair Witch Project inspired our style of film making, as a documentary style of a hand-
held camera was used. It also added to our ideas to base our trailer within a forest, having
each character shown to be scared within each shot. This fuelled our narrative, as we wanted
many typical horror elements such as a haunted place, torture, running, revenge etc. We used
characters which included the vulnerable character, the villain, and the followers. Our
research in the forms and conventions of horror films helped our knowledge in the creation of
our teaser trailer.
We also had typical iconography in our trailer through the use of costumes and props i.e. our main
“villain” was wearing a white dress with bloody stains, connoting that she is wearing the same
clothes that she was murdered in. We, the four friends wore casual outfits to make our
audience believe that it was unexpected. Our clothing choices also related to our target
audience, giving the viewers a sense of empathy for our characters. This is a feature used
within horror films that have a teenage cast.
10. Following the conventions of a trailer, we had to mix and change all of
our shots and put them in the mixed order, therefore not having
continuity. This was to ensure that the shots did not follow each other
in the correct order as this would not have been a typical conventional
trailer. The order in which we put all of our shots also played a big
part to our trailer. All throughout the trailer the shots are quite fast
cut/paced, although towards the end of the trailer we decided to
fasten up the shots in order to build suspense and save the last shot of
the trailer to the end. With this being done, we are drawing attention
to the audience who would want to see more of what happened so
that they could then understand the shots.
11. In terms of iconography, we included shots that fitted within the theme
of a supernatural horror. For example, we used black and white for
certain shots showing our main character Radiya. This was to show
the viewers her role within the trailer as the “scary/evil” character.
The use of black and white related our poster and magazine together
with our trailer. We wanted to keep this link to show the audience
why we chose black and white as a recurring theme within our media
products.
12. In addition, at the end shot of the trailer of Radiya, we added the edit called ‘invert’. We
found this by playing around with the technology to find different styles which could
help match some typical conventions of horror. The invert effect is similar to The Blair
Witch Project poster style; it presents the audience with a ghostly, mystery effect which
is what our trailer focuses on.
Non-diegetic sound is anything heard but does not naturally belong In the environment.
We placed a non-diegetic sound in the beginning of the trailer to create a typical creepy
eerie sound which is usually found in horror films. The non-diegetic sound this helped
the trailer to flow and build tension and suspense. Added to this, half way through our
teaser trailer, we added our own whispers to the soundtrack. This was to create an
additional eerie atmosphere for our shots within the trailer. The whispers related to the
sense of paranoia for our characters, as if the main “evil” character was saying it herself.
This was inspired by the recent A Nightmare On Elm Street film trailer, which used
children’s singing voices as the base of the soundtrack. For that trailer it created a
creepy atmosphere – something that we were trying to create with the whispers.
Overall, we think our trailer uses the conventions of horror trailers very effectively in order
to frighten the audience and also adding a suspense filled atmosphere. However we also
develop these conventions in order to create a modern, found-footage style that will
appeal to our chosen target audience of the horror film genre.
13. 2. How effective is the
combination of your main
product and ancillary
texts?
14. All three of our media products have the same consistent style and this is mainly demonstrated through
the use of font and colour, for example we chose the colour theme of red black and white with both
our poster and magazine but also with the inter-titles of our trailer.
All three products clearly link and show the same style, this was done by showing the same main
character (Radiya) in our magazine, poster and trailer. The reason for us doing this was so that the
audience would be able to recognise and familiarise themselves with Radiya so that they could feel
part of the trailer and personally attached to her as they are seeing different sides, images and traits
of her.
As a group, we decided how we wanted both our magazine cover to look like, although we didn’t know
whether we wanted our magazine cover to be an Empire magazine or a Sight & Sound magazine.
However with the colour scheme, image and storyline we thought that the magazine best suited a
Sight & Sound magazine.
Our products have the same representative elements for example the black and white background , the
red coloured font to emphasise any danger or curse and the colour white for the writing. The red is
used to connote and emphasise on danger, curse and mystery. For example red is used on the poster
tagline “only the trees can hear you scream” and on the a “curse” on the inter-titles in the trailer.
16. House-style for our trailer
To make sure our poster, trailer and magazine had a consistent house-style we
had to make sure that we had features that were similar throughout all three
of our medias.
Our poster and magazine both have a consistent font
style and colour scheme which help link our different
media products together.
Our intertitles have the same font and colours as our other media products. We
used the same colours which are seen on our magazine and our poster. This was
successful as it established our ‘theme’ to our audience. The audience would be
familiar with our different media’s as they have similar features that relate to one
another which the audience would be able to recognise for the ‘lost soul’ campaign.
For example, the audience would be able to notice the similarities from the poster
and see it in the trailer.
17. All three of our media products have a clear link between them and show that they are all from
the same film.
There are various links between the products and these include;
The colours – black and white, red in both the magazine and poster
The poster is subtle and does not give away too much to the audience, this is similar to the
magazine as there is not much on display but the front of Radiya’s face. Additionally, this is
comparable to the trailer as we also see a close up of Radiya’s face/eye at the end
We used the same main character, mainly to show a link and not to give anything away about
the film and who is going to be starring in it. This is why we chose to not show Radiya’s full
face to the audience so they have a suspense feeling about who she may be or what she may
be about.
Both the poster and magazine are in black and white with the same lost soul font In white at
the bottom of the page.
18. The teaser trailer grabs the audience’s attention and teases them with the
suspense of the storyline. The trailer shows key shots that puts the story into
perspective and also uses the three main act structure by first of all laying out
the premises of the story, in our case by establishing that four friends have a
day out and enter a forest which they do not know is cursed. Secondly by
driving the story further, having a dramatic climax, again in our case by
knowing that the forest is now cursed and now the young girl who died in the
forest is going to haunt us. Lastly having a visual montage of powerful and
emotional moments of the film which is where we had a voice over of
whispers and fast pasted shots of us slowly getting tortured.
The trailer links in with both the magazine and poster as it used the same main
character and also the use of the black, white and red inter-titles in the trailer
gives the same atmosphere as the other two products, all three always linking
back to Radiya.
The use of black and white in the poster and magazine was also done to create a
misty eerie atmosphere.
19. The Magazine portrays Radiya as being hidden as we never really get to see her
face in both the poster, magazine and trailer. This is significant as it gives out
the effect that we never really get to find out about her which creates
suspense.
The poster which was inspired by the Blair witch project, is also significant as it
also states where the scene is set which is in the forest .
The poster also establishes in the character Radiya, we never get to see or find
out about her because her face is always covered and is never displayed. In
addition, we decided to come up with the name Lost Soul which also links
with the poster as Radiya is a character who is always alone and seems to be
lost in the forest and doesn’t seem to have a soul.
The magazine and poster are both very similar as you can easily see a clear
distinctive link between them as we used the same style of font and colours
and idea.
20. 3. What have you learned from your audience
feedback?
21. Trailer Feedback
For our audience feedback we got some sixth form students to view our
trailer, they were between the ages between 16-18 and also to the
media department teachers.
The reason that we selected this specific sample group is because they
are our main target audience. Horror films are specifically for
teenagers and young adults.
For this reason we thought it would be more suitable to get feedback
from these specific types of audiences that match our real target
audiences, as they are the audiences we are trying to attract. The
reason for picking media and film teachers to give us feedback on our
trailer is because we see them as having a level of critical perspective
where they would be able to judge our trailer the way the judges
would.
We also went the extra mile to select both male and females to watch
the trailer it would be biased if we got one type of audience.
22. Trailer Feedback Cont..
The trailer was thought out really well, although it
had some confusion in the beginning but made sense
after. Charlie – 16
The trailer wasn’t really my style but I think it was
alright. However, I personally wouldn’t go and watch
the film if it came out. – Mr Lall
23. Poster Feedback
For our poster feedback we got a few sixth former students to take a look
at our poster. The ages of the students were between the ages 16-18
and also to the media department teachers.
The reason that we selected this specific sample group is because they
are our main target audience. Horror films are specifically for
teenagers and young adults.
For this reason we thought it would be more suitable to get feedback
from these specific types of audiences that match our real target
audiences, as they are the audiences we are trying to attract. The
reason for picking media and film teachers to give us feedback on our
poster is because we see them as having a level of critical perspective
where they would be able to judge our trailer the way the judges
would.
We also went the extra mile to select both male and females to watch
the trailer it would be biased if we got one type of audience.
24. Poster Feedback Cont..
I think the image on the poster is very strong and the
effects used matched really well with film type and
the black and white effects made the image look even
better in my opinion. – Crystal 18
I really liked the poster as it has a very strong sense of
eeriness when looking at it. You can tell that the
group has worked so well to make sure there is a link
with the poster and trailer. – Mrs Farnsworth
25. Magazine Feedback
For our magazine feedback we got some sixth form students to take a
look at our magazine, they were between the ages between 16-18 and
also to the media department teachers.
The reason that we selected this specific sample group is because they
are our main target audience. Horror films are specifically for
teenagers and young adults.
For this reason we thought it would be more suitable to get feedback
from these specific types of audiences that match our real target
audiences, as they are the audiences we are trying to attract. The
reason for picking media and film teachers to give us feedback on our
trailer is because we see them as having a level of critical perspective
where they would be able to judge our trailer the way the judges
would.
We also went the extra mile to select both male and females to look at
our magazine as it would be biased if we got one type of audience.
26. Magazine Feedback Cont..
I really liked the magazine, I thought it followed all
the forms and conventions of a typical horror
magazine. The black and white effects also worked
very well for me: Laura – 16
I think the image on the poster is very strong and the
effects used matched really well with film type and
the black and white effects made the image look even
better in my opinion: Adam – 18
27. 1. Would you class our trailer as a horror?
2. Did you enjoy the trailer?
3. Do you believe that we portrayed our story line
correctly?
4. What would you rate it on a scale of 1-10. (1 being bad
10)
5. Was it easy to identify the characters and their roles?
6. What age would you classify this film?
7. Would you see this film in the cinema?
8. Do you think our trailer, poster and magazine all had
an effective correlation with each other?
28. We handed our questionnaire to ten students around the age of sixteen to
eighteen who fit in our target audience range. After analysing the results we
found that our target audience was precise as they said they would watch it
when released.
3. 9 out of 10 students said they would class the film as a horror.
4. 8 out of 10 students said they enjoyed the trailer.
5. 8 out of 10 students said our storyline was plotted correctly.
6. 9 out of 10 students rated our trailer on a scale between seven and nine.
7. 7 out of 10 students said it was fairly easy to identify the characters according
to their roles.
8. Most of them had answered that they would classify the film at a 12A or 15.
9. 10 out of 10 students answered ‘Yes’, to seeing the film in the cinema
10. 8 out of 10 students said that the poster, magazine and trailer linked very well.
29. “The storyline was typical of a teen horror but it felt like I
could relate to it”. – Sandra 17
“It felt like it didn’t make sense but the ending made it
easier to understand as it was building up tension”. –
Nathan - 18
“I really liked the fast pace idea, especially at the end but I
felt that the film wouldn’t be as interesting when watching
it if it didn’t have the montage”. – Bridget 16
“I really liked the trailer, I think the lighting, colour and
music all worked well together”. – Jack 17
“ I liked the trailer, but I think the trailer would have been
better if all of it was in black and white”. – Laura 18
30. Analysis of feedback
From the understanding of our feedback we
understood that there was some form of confusion in
the opening shot of our trailer where Radiya was
watching the four girls in the forest. Overall, the rest
of the feedback we received on the trailer, magazine
and poster was positive as our audience said that
there were strong correlation with either our
magazine or poster with our trailer.
In light of our feedback we would change the opening
part of our trailer where it caused a lot of confusion to
our audiences. However, there is nothing else we
would change in our trailer, magazine or poster.
31. 4. How did you use media technologies in the
construction and research, planning and
evaluation stages?
32. Before we began to create our ideas for our final piece we had to research into the
horror genre and look at different trailers and posters. When beginning our research
we viewed the school’s blog (www.warrencomprehensivemedia.blogspot.com) and
looked at previous work to give us ideas and to make sure we knew what to do and
what not to do. We mainly used the internet to research different horror trailers
through Google and YouTube. On YouTube we were able to pause and write notes to
what was conventional of a typical horror teaser trailer. It was easier for us to Google
search for poster ideas. We found different ideas of many ‘teen’ style horrors which
helped us decide on our final poster. Although, whilst researching we had to make sure
we noted down typical conventions of a trailer so don’t end up making an opening. We
noticed that the full theatrical trailers and teaser trailers were different to each other so
we concluded on how to layout our trailer and mark it out to make sure it looked like a
teaser trailer. Researching posters and magazine covers on the internet and through
browsing magazines enabled us to see a different variety of styles which would help us
create our own idea for both media’s.
.
33. Research cont…
By using the website www.comingsoon.net we saw the full campaign for a particular movie
which helped us to create a ‘house-style’ for our movie so it the poster, magazine cover and
trailer related to one another. We watched some horror movies such as Blair Witch Project
which influenced our final idea for our teaser trailer. YouTube was helpful as we were
offered with both full theatrical trailers and teaser trailers but we found comingsoon.net far
more useful as it offered us the full campaign so we could see how the media platforms
would relate. We watched teaser trailers for films such as ‘insidious’. ‘paranormal activity
3’, ‘sorority row’, ‘the grudge 2’ and many more. By watching these trailers we knew what
our trailer had to contain such as inter titles, jumps, non-diagetic sounds and so on. This
further additional research helped us because it allowed us to correctly follow the typical
forms and conventions to a horror trailer. We noticed that the posters related to the trailer
through the style of fonts, colours and characters. It was consistent in all three different
media’s so we knew we had to create our house style so our trailer, poster and magazine
cover related
34. To plan for our teaser trailer we needed a basic idea. After the in depth research
on the internet and using other resources we had our idea created. By typing
in keywords into Google it helped us see a variety of trailers, posters and
magazines. We used ‘YouTube’ to analyse trailers and write notes and paused
the videos in order to plan our trailer whilst using conventions. We used the
school’s intranet for posters to analyse and then looked at previous trailers
and analysed what we typical conventions we could use in ours. We kept
updating our blogger throughout our editing stage and made sure we followed
our original plan.
When planning, the internet helped us gain a clearer understanding in what had
to be achieved in order for our trailer to be a teaser rather than a theatrical
trailer. By watching these trailers online using YouTube we were able to
understand what was essential to help create our trailer. This helped us before
we could begin constructing our trailer as we were able to understand the key
elements to a teaser trailer. Before we could initially start the planning we
used comingsoon.net to help us give ideas which would help contribute to our
piece. After analysing a few campaigns of different horror movies from the
website we were able to begin to plan our trailer effectively due to our
knowledge on horror teaser trailers.
35. To construct our trailer we used the software Adobe Premiere 6.5 to edit and create
our teaser trailer. When using the software it was fairly easy as we had previously
used it in our A/S task. We noticed that it was more difficult than expected as we
couldn’t put our shots into sequence and had to put them in different places
which helped create the ‘suspense’ and make the audience intrigued enough to
watch the full movie. When editing we noticed that some shots were difficult and
couldn’t be used as the sound wasn’t clear enough as we faced difficulties with
wind. It was mostly during the voice over section where we fixed the problem by
placing a soundtrack over the top and quietening the main sound by playing
around with the volume levels. Another issue was that we un-bonded the video
from the sound because we used different shots with sound from other clips. At
first this was wasn’t a problem but further in the editing stage it became difficult if
we needed to insert more clips and move the current ones on the timeline.
36. In a/s we never experimented much on the software so we was unaware how to deal with the
problem when our sound was distorted from the original clip. However, during this process
we became familiar and improved on our editing skills which helped finish our teaser trailer.
Toward the end of the trailer we also selected a sound clip of a scream from another shot and
reversed it and sped it up to lead to our ‘jump’ finale. This was different for us as we used the
software and took full advantage of what it offers to help our final product. Our trailer begins
with the opening shot of the four friends in the forest which then leads on to many other
shots with intertitles in between telling the story. There are voiceovers used, black and white
shots and then a montage sequence leading you to the jump finale. In order for our trailer to
make sense we had to follow our plan and know what shots needed to be placed where in the
trailer. Many of our shots weren’t filmed in order so it took a long process to carefully select
the correct shots and place them in the correct sequence order. We then had to cut certain
shots for Radiya’s sequence when the voice over occurs was cut from longer shots and then
edited black and white. For the montage, we cut and sped many of the shots to give the
audience the intensity they were facing.
37. During our teaser trailer we wanted to create a typical horror suspense at the end of
the trailer. For us to create this we inserted our clip and then searched and
experimented with the effects on the software. We tried many different effects but
found the ‘invert’ effect. In order to create our flickered inverted clip we placed
two inverts onto the clip and then changed the levels and when the invert would
play on top of the original clip. The scene of the eye, flickers from the effect back
to the original which is what we wanted our final finish to be. This is something
we learned during making our teaser trailer as we never experimented during A/S.
We used different techniques such as increasing the speed on our shots such as
the fast paced montage to increase the tension and then the running sequences.
We then used the ‘fade’ edit on some of our longer shots such as the girls in the
forest and then the sequence of Radiya scratching the names into the trees.
38. During our sequence of Radiya scratching the names into the forest we used a black
and white effect on the shots. We did this because it was consistent throughout
our other media’s that whenever the main character was visible she was black and
white. For example, the magazine cover she is in the black and white effect just
like on the poster. During the build up in our trailer, we used multiple shots to
create our montage. During the montage we placed our inter-titles which helped
explain the story better. For the montage we selected clips that were significant to
use and un-bonded the video from the sound then deleted the sound that wasn’t
needed. After placing specific shots of all the characters ‘attacks’ for the montage
we tidied it up and sped some clips up to help create the finish. For the sound to
match we repeated the section of whispers and chanting we recorded. Although
there is wind which was originally a problem we fixed it by lowering the levels in
the correct places. After we added echo and reverb onto our sound that was placed
during our montage. We used this to add more of a typical horror convention of
whispers into our trailer to give the sound the final finish to the section.
39. In the production work of our poster and magazine, we used 2 different types of editing software;
Adobe Photoshop and the editing website ‘Picnik’. Both editing programmes allowed us to use
various kinds of editing techniques, which helped our poster and magazine link to our theme of
trailer. To take the set of images, a digital SLR camera was used to capture the best possibilities of
what was seen on set. Certain editing techniques worked better when using Adobe Photoshop, as
we felt it allowed us to have more control over the lighting levels within the images. This linked us
back to the Horror theme our trailer, which gave us the ideas in changing certain elements of each
photo. Choosing Photoshop was the best software to use for our images because we had more
options when making the image look ‘spooky’ in the emphasis on black and white. For example,
using the ‘burn’ tool for adding depth and texture in our magazine image – or boosting the lighting
of our poster to make it seem almost abstract.
40. We wanted to create a mysterious/frightening image for both our poster and magazine, but also
thought that using two different types of images would help us keep our campaign connected,
without using a repetitive style of photograph for each. On the other hand ‘Picnik’ allowed us to put
the structure of our two medias together easily, when it came to adding elements such as text and
pugs. This was an early problem that occurred, since we first decided to use Photoshop to create the
layout of our magazine, and adding text to the poster. We found that Photoshop had limited
resources of font styles, as we wanted something to relate more to the Horror/supernatural theme
we were trying to portray throughout our campaign. Therefore ‘Picnik’ was a lot more straight
forward in adding text and other elements to both our magazine and poster. We were much more
familiar with ‘Picnik’, as we have used this website within our other media related subjects.
Nevertheless, Photoshop helped us greatly in selecting certain things from another ‘Sight and Sound’
magazine, and merging it onto our own. For example, the magazine title. Thus, both websites helped
us in the construction of both our poster and magazine in different ways. They were both useful and
effective in getting the creative end result we wanted.
41. These are the selection of photographs that were taken on the set of filming our trailer. We took the images
in landscape so we could fill up the frame with the surroundings that worked well with the subject. The
selected photograph is one that we collectively decided was the most visually appealing. The digital SLR
camera that was used had a built in ‘film grain’ effect on the camera. This was used to capture the image,
which lessened the time it would take to edit the image using any kind of software.
42. In the editing process of our poster, we added very little to the original image, as
most of what was the important aspects of the image, were taken in the
camera. Through Adobe Photoshop, the levels were changed to make the
black and white effect stand out more potent than the original. The shadows
and dark areas were highlighted better after this effect was added. This creates
a mysterious and spooky look to the poster, displaying to the audience what
kind of genre our trailer lies in.
We used Picnik to choose what style of text suited our trailer and poster. The
website had a wide range of font styles that may be used in horror films today.
We faced problems regarding what type of font we wanted to use for our
poster. This was because we knew that once we had picked a certain font style,
it would be used consistently. We wanted something modern, but something
that could relate to the forms and conventions of horror films. The font
chosen was called ‘all used up’; it had a ghostly effect when added to our
poster image.
We chose the colour white for our poster title because it matched the colour tone
that was presented in the image. It blended in with the background, but also
the composition of the title made it easy for the viewer to read, compared to if
it was positioned at the top.
43.
44. In the process of choosing a catchy tag line
for our poster, we wanted to grab the
attention of our audience. This was because
in our previous research, we found that a
tagline has the affect of sticking in the viewers
mind. As this is a poster for a horror film, the
tagline has a purpose to scare the audience; it
was important to embrace this within our
poster.
We faced problems in deciding on colour and
style of font for our tagline. Also, there was a
debate on where the tagline should be placed
within the frame. In the end we decided on
placing the tag line onto the tree, to make it
seem as if it had been ‘etched in’ the tree
itself. We spent time creating this look, as we
wanted it to be authentic. In our trailer, there
was a sequence of shots that related to this:
the possessed girl writing the names of her
victims on trees. This gave a great link
between the trailer and our promotional
poster for our audience.
The editing website Picnik helped in the final
decision of choosing the colour red and the
style of font. Red contrasted with the white,
which was used for our poster title. It also
helped with connoting blood and danger
through to the viewer.
45.
46.
47. Here are the series of images that were taken on set of filming our trailer. Keeping in mind that
magazine cover’s are in portrait, each photograph reflects the aim in trying to make the same effect as
the poster has on the viewer. However, we thought that the background and positioning of the subject
was too easily related to the poster. In our research, we found that the covers of Sight and Sound
magazines are usually almost similar to the poster of film, but not the exact copy. This is why we used
the digital SLR camera to capture a different twist of our main character of our trailer.
48. • As both the poster and magazine cover were shot in black and white, we felt that it was the best
thing to bring out the subject stronger through the editing process. We found the original image
not being very effective and did not connote the frightening/horror theme that we wanted to
portray. I think this was because the black and white used was too soft over the image, and didn’t
bring out a hidden mystery to it - it almost drew away from the forms and conventions we
researched. Thus we decided to over expose the subject matter through increasing the lighter levels
of the image through Adobe Photoshop. We also found the ‘burn’ tool useful in making the subject’s
hands look dirty and unclean. This linked her back to the contents of our trailer; we didn’t want our
main character to look even more unrelated to the poster, as our 2 images are different.
• Originally, we had a problem in getting the different aspects of the Sight and Sound magazine onto
our creation – as we thought about creating the elements from scratch. Adobe Photoshop helped us
to crop out the magazine heading of Sight and Sound, and paste it onto our image. It was a great
combination of our font house style and the magazine cover we used.
• However, it was a difficult task in trying to add different sized text onto the cover of our magazine.
Picnik enabled us to place the text with ease, without any complications in changing the colour and
size of the font. But a problem we faced was making the colour of grey stand out over the subject’s
face. The theme of colours presented within the image were of a dark nature, as well as some areas
being brighter than some of the rest of the image. It was difficult in making some of the words
noticeable; we overcome this by using 2 colours for one phrase. We also decided it would be best to
continue with the type of font used for our poster. This was effective in allowing the audience to
relate our poster and magazine cover together.
49.
50.
51. At the evaluation stage, ‘Microsoft Powerpoint’ is essential to us
in creating this presentation. It helped us to logically order the
information that we needed to show via the slides.
In order to
understand how we could improve next time we used the
internet to get feedback. By placing our trailer on social
networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube we was
able to get a few responses and critical comments on our trailer.
By using these different media’s it enabled to take advantage of