The document provides an analysis of a student's media project trailer for a horror film. The student summarizes how their trailer uses, develops, and challenges conventions of real horror movie trailers through elements like a green band rating, company logos, camera angles, lighting, true story basis, common horror elements, and song choice. Audience feedback was positive and helped the student learn. A variety of media technologies were used at different stages, including for research, production, construction, and evaluation.

1. MediaEvaluation
1) In what ways doesyour media product, use,develop,or challenge formsand conventions
of real mediaproducts?
My traileruses,developsandchallengesformsandconventionsof real mediaproducts.Atthe
beginningof mytraileriswhatiscalleda Greenband –this showsthe certificate of the filmasrated
by the MotionPicture Associationof America(MPAA).A greenbandratingcardisan approval for
appropriate audiences.Mytrailerusesthisasa form of a properhorror trailerbutdevelopsitby
editingthe endof itintothe trailerto give a supernatural feel. Anotherformmytrailerusesatthe
beginningisthe companylogotitles –these show the companiesthathave investedandhave been
involvedwiththe productionof the film.
Typical camera anglesusedinahorror trailerinclude low angle andhighanglesshots,cantedangles,
handheldcamera shot,establishingshotandPOV shots.WithinmytrailerIusedhighangle shots
and lowangle shotstoshowthe changesinstatusand power,an establishingshottoestablishto
the audience where the filmisgoingtobe setanda handheldshot to allow the audience tosee in
the eyesof the character.
AnotherformI have usedfromhorror trailersisdarklighting.Iusedthisformas itcreatesan eerie
settingforthe trailer.Idevelopedthe use of darklightingbyshootingascene inthe woodswiththe
sunshiningoverthe background – thisemphasizedthe darknessof the woodsandthe lightfromthe
“outside world”showedthe normalityvsthe horror. Italso signifiedsome formof opportunityfor
help,showingthe audience thatnotall isas it seems.
By basingmytraileron a ‘true story’I am both followinganddevelopingahorrortrailerconvention
as some horror trailersare basedontrue storybut not all.Ibasedmy trailerona true storyas from
my researchandaudience feedback,foundthattheyaudiencewere more scaredbya filmsbasedon
a true storyas it has an elementof truthand essentiallycouldhappentothem.
WithinmytrailerI usedmanycommonconventionsof ahorror trailersuchas the use of weapons,a
victimanda un-sub. These all contributetothe storyline asthe weaponshowswhatcouldand most
likelywill be usedinaviolentattackinvolvedduringthe horror,the victimisclearlyshownthrough
innocence andunknowinglybeingwatchedandanunsub can by clearlyidentifiedasyoucannot
true to the name youcannot identifythe person.
I alsousedpatheticfallacyinmytrailerthroughthe use of the woods,thisisa conventionIhave
usedfromothertrailers.The woodsare dark and gloomygivingthe audienceaneerie feel. The use
of a rural areaalso contributedtothe eerie,isolatedfeeling.
The textcards throughoutthe trailerhave beendevelopedastheyeachhave an editingtwiston
themwhichallowsthe audience tostayengagedwiththe trailer.Italsofitsinwell withthe horror
theme throughout.
As a traileroverall there are littleamountof clarity,thismakesthe audience wanttoknow more and
lookup the filmonthe internetorsimplyjustwaitandgo see the full film.
In termsof challenginghorrortrailerconventionsmytrailerisslightlylongerthanmostteaser
trailers,thisisbecause Istruggledtofitenoughfootage intogainthe same effect.Idonot believe
howeverthatthiswasan issue asthe timingwasstill anappropriate lengthandenabledthe teaser
trailertobe more effective. The backingtrackto mytrailerwasunusual fora horror trailer.Ichose

2. the song Born toDie – Lana del Ray as it didchallenge the typical conventionsandtherefore would
standout. I do feel howeverthatthe songhada greateffectonthe trailerinbuildingsuspense and
beginningthe climax tothe action. Iwasunsure of usingthissongfirstof all but afterreceiving
positive audience feedbackIfeltconfidentthatthe songwascreatinga goodeffect. Another
conventionIhave challengedisthe amountof charactersinvolvedinthe teasertrailer.Ihave only
shownthe victimandglimpses of the unsubto emphasize the feelingof isolationandvulnerability,
the majorityof teasertrailersforthe horror genre show a range of charactersevenif justbriefly.
Teasertrailerswhichhave influencedmymediaproduct:
The Conjuringhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoccomrK1J0
2) How effective isthe combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?
Whilsteachproducton its ownholdsbothpositivesandnegativescombinedtheycanachieve more
than standingalone.
The posteris effective asitcan be placedanywhere allowingittobe placedstrategically suchas
aroundcinemas,onthe sidesof busese.t.cplaceswhere theycanbe easilyseen. Visibilityof posters
can be large allowingawide range of people toview the posterasitstandout and persuadespeople
to researchthe film. Postersalsoallowforanactive response e.gnotingthe release date,visitingthe
website.Postersare cheaperthanprint,radioandtelevisionallowingmore moneytobe spentof
the productionof the filmthanthe advertising. The combinationof the posterandtrailermeansthat
the filmgetsextraadvertisementandwillgainpopularity.Havingseenthe posterpeople are likely
to thengo and viewthe trailer.Whilstthe trailerisonlyeffective before youhave seenthe film, the
postercan be keptby fansto be placedonwallse.t.c
The magazine coverdrawsa lotof attentionandispresentedtoawidervarietyof audience thana
poster.A magazine coverattracts fansof the magazinesaswell asthose whowill be drawnto the
actual filmcoveraswell. A magazine holdsgoodcommunicationwiththe audience asalongwiththe
coveris a sectionof the magazine inside withinterviews,behindthe scenese.t.cBybeingthe front
coverof certainmagazinesyouare able to targeta specificaudience. Magazinesalsohave alonglife,
unlike posters,astheycanbe foundindoctors,dentistse.t.ca longtime afterthe magazine is
released. Thiswill thenadvertisetopeople evenafterthe filmsrelease. Magazinesalsoholdpasson
readershipwhichwill againadvertise toawidervarietyof audience. Statusisalsoimportantin
advertisinginamagazine asthe higherstatusof the magazine the more likelythe readersare to
trust inthe film. The magazine combinedwiththe trailermeansthatawide varietyof audience hear
aboutthe filmandare encouragedtoview it.
Magazine/Poster Trailer Film

3. 3) What have you learnedfrom audience feedback?
From myaudience feedbackIlearnedthatIhad targetedthe rightaudience asthe response I
receivedwhilstconstructive wasall positive inthatthe audience wereinterested inthe filmgenre. I
alsolearnedfrommyownaudience feedbackthatI couldhave askedforsome more inorder to
improve completely.Usingaudience feedbackgivesavarietyof otheropinionsandidea’sandallows
youto create somethingthatisunique andappealstoawide varietyof people. Frommyown
specificfeedbackIlearnedthatINSERTFEEDBACKHERE
4) How did you use mediatechnologiesinthe construction and research, planningand
evaluationstages?
Withinthe researchstagesof my mediaproductsIusedthe search engine Google tofindmy
research,I alsousedmyphone internetandslideshare toresearchandyoutube towatch
example of professionallycreatedhorrortrailers.Socialnetworkingsitessuchasfacebook,
twitter,andinstagramallowedme toresearchwhatthe targetaudience mostlikedabout
trailers,magazine coversandposters. Ithenusedbloggertouploadall of myresearch,
presentwhatI hadfoundand evaluate it.Ifocusedalot onresearchingrecentfilm‘The
Conjuring’withinmyinitial researchasI foundthe trailerforthisfilmtobe veryeffective.
I usedyoutube towatchand listentothe traileras I neededtoanalyse the medialanguage,
narrative,mise enscene,representationsandgenre aspectsof the trailer. The internet
playedavital part in the researchsectionof mycourseworkasit was vital tolookintothe
commonconventionsof horrortrailersandto establishatleastabasicknowledge of
everythingIwasdoing.
Bloggerwasone of the mostimportantcomponentsinmycourseworkasthisis where I
have presented all of mywork.Ithas allowedme topresent,analyse andevaluate all inone
place and keepcheckof whatI have and haven’tdone.
Movingonto the production stage Ibeganusing [CAMERA], thiswasa good piece of
equipmentasitallowedme tofilmeverythingnecessarywithgoodqualityandstability. I
optedto use natural lightingaswhenItimeditcorrectlythe lightingwouldgive the best
Trailer Film Poster Websearch Film
Magazine Websearch Film

4. effect.Anexampleof thisiswhenthe woodedareaisdarkand the sunshine isshining
throughthe tree’srepresentingthe difference betweenthe twoarease.gsafe and
dangerous,lightanddark.
Duringthe constructionstage I used Premiere ProandPhotoshop.Icreatedastoryboardfor
the overall horrorgenre as well asformy movie postersonPowerpoint. All of thiswasnew
to me so I had to spendsome time learningphotoshopandpremiere proskills.Iwasable to
discoverhowtouse the systemwell andthisallowedme toaddsome greateffectstoall
three of my products. Photoshopwasusedtoeditall imagesforthe products.I useda
varietyof layers,opacities,coloursandeffectstomake myproductthe bestit couldbe.My
skillshave greatlyimprovedwithphotoshopasIhadno experience tobeginwith.
I alsohad no experience withPremiere Proandfeel asthoughmyskillshave greatly
improvedhere too. Iwasable to include avarietyof effectsonmytrailersuchas changing
the colouringof the video,addingintext,changingthe speede.t.c
In orderto gainfeedbackIusedsocial networkingsitestoreachout to people aswell as
basicsurveysandquestionnaires.Usingsocial networkingtechnologyallowedme toreach
out to more people andsavedme alot of time ingainingthe feedback. Facebookallowed
me to share an image of myquestionnaireandformy friendstothenshare itaround,
makingsure it reachesthe mostamountsof people possible.
Whenevaluatingmyfeedbackand final productsIusedVoki,blogger,prezi,slideshare,
smilebox,powtoonandyoutube.Myfinal trailerwaspresentedonYoutube asI wasable to
embedthistoblogger,see howmanytimesthe videohadbeenviewed,the amountof likes
it hadreceivedandforthe audience toadd comments.Itisalsoeasilyaccessiblefor
everyone.Voki,prezi,smilebox andpowtoonallowedme topresentmyworkina different
wayshowingmyknowledge anduse of avarietyof mediatechnologies.Thesewere all fairly
easyto use and presentedmyworkveryclearly.
If I wasto go back and domy courseworkoveragainI wouldspendmore time lookingfor
differentwaystopresentmyworkinorder to fullyshow the varietyof mediatechnologies.
Overall Iwouldgreatlyimprove mytime allocationasIfeel asthoughwithotherthingsto
focuson I didnot have enoughtime tospendonmakingmytrailer,posterandmagazine
coverthe bestthattheycan be. I wouldparticularlyfocusuponthe continuitywithinmy
traileras thisiswhere Ifeel asthoughI am goingto lose marks.