Evaluation Question 4 - How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

My filming and editing skills were much more developed than before due to the use of watching tutorials and practicing on iMovie. This enabled me to be more confident which helped me produce my final product quicker than expected. I wanted my trailer to be much better than my film opening so I tried much harder to make it more realistic. As I had full control over the editing, unlike with my film opening, I was able to style it how I wanted. I took advantage of technological features on the software such as adding text; which offered a variety of different style, also the recording ken burns effect. 

Another critical use of digital technology I had to use during my A2 portfolio was the internet. My internet knowledge was already quite complex as it is something I have been using everyday since I was six. I took this knowledge to my advantage, especially on social media to help me gain feedback on my products. By posting links on Facebook to surveymonkey.com with a specific questionnaire linked to my product which allowed me to see where I can improve, this being for the concept of Web 2.0 showing that I am a producer, in this specific case, a questionnaire. Social media also came into use when organising filming etc, especially when I needed to contact my actors about filming times. The use of social media made it more organised and easier to communicate. Blogger was a key part as it was what I used to present all of my research, planning, set backs, final pieces and evaluations. I also looked at exemplar blogs to help me get a feel for how to lay out my blog and good points to post about my filming processes etc. 

I used youtube a lot to obtain copyright free music to use over my trailers. It was difficult as most of the copyright free sounds didn't go well with my piece until I finally found one. I learnt how to legally convert the sound of the song using youtube-mp3.org into an mp3 file which can easily be uploaded from iTunes to iMovie by clicking the music icon. 

With my ancillary tasks where I had to create a film poster and a magazine to help market my film, I had limited knowledge of the softwares I had to use.  For my magazine cover, I used Adobe Photoshop to create it. I used features such as the opacity tool to give a contrast between the gloomy grey background and a forest. I also used the magic wand tool to crop the photo of my actor, Harry, out of the background. I took the pictures of him for my ancillary task with my iPhone 6 as it is a familiar device, it has an HD camera and is also easy to transfer to my computer, which I did via email. Using the photoshop tools I mentioned above, this has helped developed my understanding of how to create a professional outcome. 

Evaluation Question 3 - What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I created a video to present what I have learnt from my audience feedback. I created the video using iMovie and I felt it was a better way to present my findings. The type of video is basic but still highlights the key areas of feedback I received including positive and negative feedback.

Evaluation Question 2 - How effective is the combination of your main products and ancillary texts?

For this question, I created a presentation to present my answer.
Here is the link:
http://www.slideshare.net/dandaly77/evaluation-que-46141058

Evaluation Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Still from Hunger Games

Establishing shot from my trailer

Before I produced my trailer, I had already carried out a lot of research on existing film trailers to help me get to grips with the typical codes and conventions of action/thrillers. I used sites such as youtube to help me do this. A main convention of thrillers I found was an establishing shot on what seem to be mysterious places. At 1.03 in my trailer, I filmed a panning shot of a field in black and white, the eerie effect it gives helps to create a mood. I also synced this shot with the music to help emphasise this effect. An existing example of this is in ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ trailer at 2.20. (https://www.youtube.c

om/watch?v=hmVi-GPUpy8). The shot is shorter in length and is more broken up but I think it still gives off an effect which draws the viewer in, giving a sense of unfamiliarity. 

Extreme close-up shots were also a classic convention so help convey emotion. At 1.20 in my trailer there is a ECW of one of my characters. The slight blur along with the downwards move of the camera  helps show his feelings as he is being beaten and is close to death and also to show him becoming unconscious. I got this idea from the season five trailer of ‘The Walking Dead’. Similar shots are used at 0.15 - 0.20 https:

ECW from my trailer

ECW from The Walking Dead

E
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgg656Z0ekE). This shot conveys personal feelings of a character which can help establish a character profile in the eyes of a viewer.

I noticed that in a lot of thriller trailers, black and white shots are used. The lack of colour helps to create tension. The use of black, white and grey is effective because they all connote with death and drama. Grey usually signifies lack of emotion as it is a very lifeless. I think I have challenged this typical convention by showing emotion in a black and white shot, containing a lot grey. At 1.10 in my trailer there is a classic example of this, especially when, as the viewer, you don’t see why the characters have surrendered, but as they've dropped their weapons, it signifies it is something very overpowering creating a lot of emotion. 

The poster I created is an image of one of the locations from my trailer. This sense of solitude works well as I don't think it gives away too much but still helps to portray to genre. An existing example of this is the poster for the film ‘Cloverfield’ http://www.dailyslandered.com/2012/11/blue-orange-actionadventure-movie-poster-trend/). Although it is not very frequent for action thrillers to do this, it is most suited for them compared to other film genres. The tagline on my poster ‘they took his brother, he took everything’ also doesn't give much away but still makes the film attractive. Once again ‘Cloverfield’ does the same with the tagline ‘some thing has found us’, hiding a key piece of information.

My magazine cover is quite different from typical thriller ones. I used an actor picture not a character one, normal for an upcoming actor who wants to promote themselves. An example of an actor based cover is this example of Premiere Magazine promoting Robert Pattison after his big break with Twilight. I added the classic necessity features such as a barcode and a price. This adds to the realism of the magazine cover. The publication reviews also add a sense of professional editing and also positive film promotion.

Film Poster

Final film poster

I decided to take a different approach with my film poster, compared to my magazine cover. I took a still image from my trailer to use as the background. The black and white effect and the wide angle used give it a mysterious effect which is what I wish to accomplish and I feel it worked well as the background of my film poster.
I came up with a slogan as I felt like it needed it to give a clearer outline of the film.

Still image from trailer

I used a slightly different font for the title as I felt as it had a better effect for a poster and it was more broken up giving it a very old, used look. I added some credits down the bottom as it is a typical feature of film posters to address the production company's etc. To add to the realism I put the main words in capitals so they stand out.
I used Adobe Fireworks as it is a familiar software and I personally prefer it to Photoshop and I am still happy with the outcome.

Magazine Cover

Final Magazine Cover

Originally I used Adobe Fireworks to make my cover but I i didn't feel as if it gave off the most realistic effect so I changed to Photoshop. I took a picture of one of my actors with a green background to help me cut him out more simply. As it is quite a dark film, I wanted to include a grey, moody background to emphasise the genre. I cut my actor out of the green background and used a background I found online at http://wallruru.com/grey-background-41-30936-backgrounds.html.
I decided to name the magazine 'YouView' as it's original, catchy and works well for a film magazine name.
I took the picture as him as the actor, not as his character to allow it to look more 'hollywood' to show the actor away from the film. There appears to be a similar style with the magazine covers that I analysed and they appear to all have the main actor(s) on the front with the magazine logo at the top.
I found a barcode from the internet to put on the magazine to add to the realism of the cover.
I merged the grey background with a forrest background by placing them on top of eachother and changing the opacity to give a more transparent effect. I finally added some critic review quotes and a price as these are typical features of a magazine cover and I want to make it look as professional as I can.

Film Poster Research: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix / The Matrix

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:
This poster has a lot of common conventions of a typical one, especially with the main characters and the classic film title print. Something that stood out to me was the fact Harry (in the middle) is surrounded by his friends as if they are protecting him which in a way, happens in the film. A very gloomy, smokey background has been chosen which represents danger and mystery which is what I think is important in a poster as it drags you in to the film. 'The Rebellion Begins' is printed at the top and this provides evidence of a lot more action that will take place and may even appeal to people who have not already seen the previous films. The classic font has been used to title the film on the poster which is important as it is great marketing and is recognised world wide.

The Matrix:
This poster; like the Harry Potter one shows many codes and conventions of a classic film poster. To start, it has all the characters, dressed in dark colours which conotes with danger. The font used for the actors names at the top has a purple outline to help make it look more lit up like a computer (like the film). Same with the main title font, it's 'glitched' as the film is about inside computers. The characters on the front are stood in a defensive stance which indicates violence in the film and so oes also the fact they are holding guns and wearing dark sunglasses.