Erin Frances Machell's media product consists of a magazine, film poster, and trailer for a horror film franchise. She believes the combination is effective because it maintains consistency in font, color scheme, and the main character featured. This helps establish the corporate identity and make it more recognizable to the target audience. The product uses conventions from films like The Blair Witch Project by utilizing a similar color scheme and filming techniques. Erin learned from audience feedback during the development process to help ensure the product would appeal to its target demographic. She used various new media technologies for filming, editing, and creating music and sound effects to help the trailer appear more professional and established.

1. EVALUATION
Erin Frances Machell
Candidate Number: 9587
Centre Number: 10160
Centre Name: Sacred Heart
Hammersmith

2. How effective is the combination of your product
and ancillary texts?
I believe the combination of my completed final product is
very effective because I have used a font called Blaire caps
in my magazine, film poster and trailer. I believe this will
add to the professionalism of my corporate identity. This
would make the franchise more familiar to the audience making
it more popular. Another aspect of my final product that will
allow for the product to be more popular is the fact that the
model is the same on the film poster and magazine. This means
that my target audience will be sensitised to the face of the
protagonist, meaning my corporate identity will become more
known.
A professional aspect of my final product is that the colour
scheme remains the same on all three products. This consists
of red, white and black. Even in the trailer black screens
with red and white connotations about the film pop up. This
again allows for my corporate identity to become more
recognisable amongst my target audience.

3. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
• My final media product shares several of the same conventions of prevalent horror
films old and new, all of which are still popular today. During the development
stages of my work I sought for a film previously produced which possessed
characteristics that an amateur film maker such as myself could utilize as a bases.
This is so that throughout the entire development process I had a conventional
product which I could consistently compare my work to. When looking for a film
that corresponded with this criteria, I came across paranormal activity. Although
the franchise on the whole was criticised. This was still of interest because it was
filmed with a hand held camera, and heavily relied on special effects. I then
researched a more popular film which was The Blaire witch project. This film was
easier to use as it was filmed in a forest which is a very conventional, yet accessible
location for a horror film. Through my product I have developed the conventions
of The Blaire witch project by using Photoshop to enhance my film poster. The
colour of this shceme also develops conventions as the picture is black and white
although I have used new media technology such as Photoshop to make the eyes
of the model featured on the front red. This is a consistency of colour scheme
which also suggests to the audience that the model is distressed and blood shot
eyes is linked to this. This could be seen as enigma and the audience don’t know
what is distressing the model on the front which may engage them further.

4. My film poster develops the conventions of The
Blaire witch project because I have used affects in
order to make the main image look more ominous.
This would engage my audience more because it
would hint the sinister nature of the trailer. In
addition to this without the forestation at the back
and just a black background I belief my product
develops the isolated nature of the film being set
in the forest. Without distracting my audience
from the main image with background images I
have still linked to the location. I have done this
using mise en scene as the character featured is
wearing a hat as part of their costume. This would
indicate to the audience that the film is set outside
in a cold location which the character would have
to compensate for if they were going to be there
for a considerable amount of time, such as a
camping trip. The darkness of the surrounding also
suggests night time, which most horror films are
set in. The main image has been altered to make
the stare of the model shock the audience more.
The idea of the contrasting reflection on the eyes
with the black leering darkness adds to the
isolation

5. • The idea of the contrasting reflection on the eyes
with the black leering darkness adds to the
isolation and vulnerability of the girl featured
as the brightest form of light on the poster is
her eyes. To make sure I had developed the poster
as best I can I made some other edits as
experiments to give myself a wide range of
research, as I had already previously researched
professionally produced film posters.

6. • My magazine
• My final magazine product also shares several of the same
conventions of prevalent film magazines. I believe that due
to my high quality main image, costume, layout, and colour
scheme my magazine not only looks professional but develops
and challenges forms and conventions of real media products.
• Research has been done to show that humans naturally read
from top left down to bottom right. After researching this I
decided to put a tagline at the top, as this one of the first
things my audience will see when looking to purchase my
magazine. My tag line is The modern Bible of new film. like
the total film magazine, my magazine offers the same
professional appearance. My tag line will also make the
audience feel as though they will get modernised information
by investing in my magazine.

7. My magazine conventionally
features the main character on the
front. I believe my image in
particular develops and challenges
forms and conventions of real
products because the model on the
front is striking a glamorous
pose, and he gest is confident
whereas this would clash with the
story line. In addition the model
has blood on her face, even though
the audience don’t see this
throughout the trailer it is for
dramatic effect. This could cause
enigma as the audience wouldn’t
know what has happened to her.
This could intrigue them meaning
more people invest in my magazine
without seeing the film. In
addition the same model is on both
the film poster and the magazine.
This could sensitise my audience
and add make my corporate identity
more familiar to the public. This
would make my magazine more
popular as the model would be
recognisable to twice as many
people.

8. What have you learned from your audience feedback?
Throughout the development process I consistently asked for feedback from members of
my target audience. I did this by creating multiple surveys on Surveymonek.co.uk. I
created four which linked to my magazine, costume, trailer and film poster. I did
his because the professional quality of my work was very important to me. The fact
that members of my target audience could tell me what needed to be improved before
and after I made each development to by final products meant that I could maintain a
product which would be suitable for my audience, making sure it would still be
popular.
I have incorporated some examples above. These pie charts helped me to determine the
genre of my product for example. Initially I wanted to create a psychological horror
although my research showed there was a gap in the market for supernatural horrors,
which inevitably would mean my product would be more prevalent.
I believe the trailer to also be conventional. Throughout the complete development
process I required a conventional product which I could consistently compare my work
to. When looking for a film that corresponded with these criteria, I researched
paranormal activity. Although the franchise was generally criticised, this was still
of interest because it was filmed with a hand held camera, and heavily relied on
special effects. I then researched a more popular film which was The Blaire witch
project. This film was more practical to use as it was filmed in a forest which is a
very conventional, yet accessible location for a horror film.
We looked at shots used to make the genre of our trailer more naturally
conventional. Tilted camera shots re often used to show hint to the audience the
film is not perfect like a fairy tale, a titled camera suggests a twisted aspect to
the film, this again could intrigue the audience to see what the twisted aspect is,
as from an camera angle this would be unknown.

10. • How did you use new media technologies in the
construction and research planning and evaluation
stages?
• Throughout the development of our practical work we
looked for ways to make our trailer in particular appear
more established. As a member of my own target audience
I understand that naturally most horror films are set in
the night time although it the cameras we were using It
would have been too hard to create I high resolution and
definition at night. In order to achieve a clear night
time picture with the camera we researched filming
techniques. When researching this I discovered a filming
light that was for amateur film makers. As we had a
small set we saw this was a good opportunity to film
what we wanted, whilst it was still practical. Although
we also saw opportunity's of filming during the day.
Horror films often contrast the safety of the day time
with the vulnerability that comes with night. We wanted
to include this convention in our own work.

11. We also looked for opportunities to use
effects for professional quality. We
practiced on iMovie, power director 8 and
10. We even created a fake trailer with
sound we had recorded ourselves just to
practice creating videos. this meant we
could efficiently complete our real trailer
when it came to it.

12. We created the music through
an app called music maker
jam. We also used primary
music made by ourselves as I
can play the guitar and some
piano, although we felt this
didn’t sometimes fit in with
the story of the trailer. In
order to improve on this we
widened our research.
Supernatural horrors usually
consist of high tension
elements such as drums and a
deep bass to fill impact the
serious nature of the film.
This app also came in very
handy because I researched
another sound making/editing
software which unfortunately
branded itself every 5
seconds which sounded
extremely unprofessional.
The music editor we used
also allowed me to time when
each sound would come in.
This was also very postive
because it meant I could
time high tension sound
along with the parts of high
tension in the trailer,
which is conventional and
professional.

13. This app was very useful
with creating unsettling
notes. This is because
it allowed to choose
different depths in
pitch and tone. Horror
films often play a minor
amount of notes out of
tune within music in a
trailer. This is because
it puts the audience on
edge and helps to make
them feel uncomfortable.
This also allowed me to
choose from a range of
different sounds I could
used, although horror films
often choose a very simple
soundtrack to stop the
audience feeling at ease
with common music they would
hear on a day to day basis
just by watching adverts.
Simplistic soundtrack allows
the audience to be more in
tune with the tension caused
by the characters fear and
the antagonist.