The document discusses how new media technologies were used at each stage of creating a movie trailer and posters for a horror film coursework project. Photoshop, InDesign, iMovie, and PicMonkey were used to construct and design the theatrical poster and trailer. YouTube and research of other horror trailers helped in planning the project. An online questionnaire and InDesign assisted with audience research. The trailer and posters were uploaded online for feedback during the evaluation stage.

1. How did you use new media
technologies in the construction,
research & planning and
evaluation strategies?

2. Construction
The construction of our movie trailer and posters
consisted of computer programmes like
Photoshop, InDesign, iMovie, iPhoto, dafont and
picmonkey, as well as other devices like video
cameras and smart phones. These all enabled us to
create the image and effect of our horror film that
we were hoping for.

3. We used Photoshop for the final effects of the
theatrical poster where we were able to create
a paranormal ambiance
suiting our selected genre. We were able to import a
picture of the spirit onto the original image of Durlock
grounds making it look eerie and more relatable to the
film, attracting and drawing the in the attention of the
audience. We also added a misty effect to the title which
made it blur into the background image creating the idea
that the spirit is from the ‘unknown’ and that the story is
centred around Durlock House. A few other things that we
did was add text onto the poster, change the colour and
temperature of the pictures and create layers that allowed
us to move selected items to where we wanted them to be.

4. PicMonkey is a website that allows you to
upload and edit your photos with creative tools
so that you can create your own style and
design. For us, it was the equivalent to a life saver as it
was so easy to use, unlike Photoshop which we had great
difficulty when using. We were able to change the colour
and temperature of our uploaded photos, add text to it,
crop the image and more. It was a great to use, however
once you had edited something, for example I added some
text onto the image and saved it, once doing this and
trying to open it up in another lesson, I could not change
the position of the text or the font/design of what I had
done previous, which caused a few problems leading to
me having to start again.

5. We used iMovie to patch our trailer together
using clips that we had recorded on the video
camera. When using iMovie
we were able to add filters to some of the clips to make
them look older compared to the rest of the footage
which worked well with the horror conventions. We also
added a few sound effects which helped with the
ambiance of the trailer making it spookier to watch, for
example, thunder and rain, footsteps, a creaky door
opening and a high pitched scream at the end. iMovie
also allowed us to add music from iTunes which was
great as we were able to use a creepy music box melody
as the backing track to the trailer.

6. Research and Planning
When doing research for our coursework, we went on
YouTube and watched some well known horror trailers
like Insidious, The Conjuring, and Sinister so that we
could get an idea of how to create one to a quality as good
as those. We each studied and analysed one of the trailers
so that we had a detailed idea of what we had to do
ourselves. We also got some official posters for these
horror films and annotated them pointing out what had
caught our eye. One of the first things we did was go on
YouTube and search for creepy tunes from music boxes
(relating to our production name) and luckily enough we
found one straight away.

7. Research and Planning
We used InDesign to search for a font that would work
well with the conventions of our horror film and managed
to find one that suited our expectations. Then we
researched our target audience by creating a questionnaire
for 16-18 year olds asking questions like what’s scariest in
a horror film, favourite sub-genres and more. This led to
our decision to create a horror film targeted at teenagers,
as they are most likely to go to the cinema and watch it as
well as recommend it to their friends. Other things we
researched were filming locations, so that we could find
eerie places to film in the dark to perfect the effect that it
had on the footage.

8. Research and Planning
We decided to create a production schedule so that we
would stay on top of filming and creating our posters,
however due to personal reasons it was quite difficult to
stick to it.
We created a list of props that were needed for our trailer
and wrote down the make up and costume that each
character needed.
A lot of research and planning was put in to our
coursework and we are very happy with our final editions
of posters and the trailer.

9. Evaluation
Once we had finished creating our trailer and editing our
poster & magazine cover, Kate and I uploaded them to
Facebook and YouTube so that we could get some
audience feedback to see that their opinions were. The
outcome was very successful and a few people said that
they wanted to see the full film! We created a YouTube
account under Twisted Carousel Productions so that it was
open to public viewing, the theatrical poster to Facebook
and Instagram also.

10. Here are a few comments that the trailer got
on Facebook showing how we used new
media technologies in our evaluation stage.
These comments gave us confidence and
helped us with any possible changes that we
could make when finalizing our work.

11. By uploading our
trailer to YouTube,
it has allowed a
global audience to
watch it and give
feedback as well as
like and share,
publicizing our
work. Hashtags on
Instagram can also be
searched meaning that my
poster can be easily found.

12. Evaluation
Without the help of new media
technologies, the making of our trailer
and posters, design, research and
planning and evaluation would have been
next to impossible to create due to them
being so inventive, clever and easy to
use.