What have you learn from your audience feedback? Evaluation Task 3

1. Are the characters portrayed well? 
-I definitely think that the bad guy was creepy and the main character was good, but she doesn't speak 
-I think that the evil  character is portrayed well but the main girl could be played better
-yes
 
2. Does the mask work well to cover the killer's identity?
-You can't tell who the killer is and it makes him scary!  
-Yes, it gave me chills!!
-yup

3. Does the progression through the trailer work?
-Well it is easy to know because the beat kicks in and the trailer gets faster 
-yup 
-It builds up to a good pace without confusing the audience so yes 
  
4. Do you think the music fits the psychological/thriller genre well? (This includes the beats when titles appear etc.)
-yeah, the music was cool 
-Yes!! 
-yeep 

5. Does the editing fit what you'd expect in this genre?
-its hard for me to tell what the editing was personally, but the dark effects work for the genre 
-I like how the pace is used, but some of the transitions seem a bit unecesary 
-yeep 

6. Do you understand the plot line from what is shown?
-Yes, I liked how the girl has to outlive 12 hours to know if she's going to survive 
-I think so, killer is hunting people and gives them 12 hours to live?  
-I think so! Yep

7. If this was in the cinema, would you watch it?
-I might do, but I'm not keen on thrillers 
-If I liked this genre of film then yes
-If I liked horror movies, yeah
 
8. What did you like the most?
-i really liked the killer! It's hard to tell who the person is and I'd hate to be hunted by them! 
-The antagonist was very scary, I really liked the mask! 
-from about 0:38 to 0:45, the chase bits. Excitement and tension was good  

9. What didn't you like?
-I think the beginning scenes with the girl and mother were meaningless and I think the killer should only be shown at the end 
-I think the main actress seemed a little too old, if she was played by someone younger I feel it would be much scarier 
-Maybe the voice that the 'killer' had? It felt a little out of place  

10. Did the trailer work overall?
-I really like the trailer I think it works well and I wish I could make awesome trailers like this!
-YES! I really liked it, it looked professional
-Yeppp!

OTHER FEEDBACK:

"it was good, definitely gave me a chill down spine, um... constructive criticism add some music that gives supences, yeah........"

What have I learned from my audience feedback? 

By creating the questionnaire that we used to collect our audience feedback, this meant that we could then keep our results in a simple and organized manner, making it easier to evaluate the responses that we received.  For example, question 7 was, "If this was in the cinema, would you watch it?" This question gained a variety of responses but mostly positive. Most people responded saying that if they enjoyed this type of film, then they would go and see it in the cinemas. This helped in the post production of our film as we knew whether the trailer appeared as professional and effective, or whether we should adapt the editing to make it appear more appropriate for cinema showings. It is thanks to the questionnaire that we created that we were able to specifically identify the answers to this question, and adapt our trailer to this feedback.

My audience feedback has helped to shape the way in which my film trailer was constructed. For example, we asked our peers for their opinion on the plain white mask that we originally planned to use. The majority of the people that we asked said that the mask appeared as too cliched, and so we took this feedback and changed the mask to make it appear as more scary. Once we had painted the mask, we then asked people to give us feedback on how it now looked, including our media teachers. The majority agreed that it was now much scarier, and fit the mood of the trailer that we had planned much better than the white mask.

Another question that we asked was, "What didn't you like?" This allowed our audience to be critical, and give us some feedback as to what they thought we could change or improve on. This helped us as it allowed us to see what parts of our trailer the audience felt were out of place or did not quite work. An example of this is the voiceover of the antagonist character. One person who completed our questionnaire said that the voiceover felt out of place, and took away from the mood of the trailer. In the initial creation of our trailer, we used two distortion effects on Final Cut Pro, alien and phone, to make the voice ambiguous. However, due to this comment and another saying that the words that the voice says cannot be heard, we changed this so there was only one effect, which was alien. This allowed us to give a sense of ambiguity, as the audience cannot tell whether the voice is male or female.


One feature of my print texts that I decided to change was the layout of my magazine cover. My original poster is the picture below on the left. However, the people I showed this to all agreed that the images at the bottom of the screen for the three featured films were too large. I then returned to my magazine cover and decided that they were right, and so changed the images so they were in a much smaller scale. My final draft of my poster is below and on the right. This looks much better as the main image can take up more space on the cover, rather than the three less important images using the space. If it wasn't for my audience research, I would not have noticed this problem in the magazine cover. The audience feedback has helped me to notice features and issues within my texts that I did not notice myself.







 

















I also decided to completely rearrange my film magazine cover, as it allowed me to create a more professional text. The original front cover that I created was very cluttered, and looked more like a poster for a film festival than a magazine cover. I asked a few of my peers what their opinion was, and they all agreed that it did not look like a magazine cover. Rather than only changing elements of the cover, I decided to completely restart, and use the same images to  advertise other films on the cover. My second draft of my cover appeared as much more professional, due to the fact that I followed the conventions of magazine covers.

I also made some changes to my poster due to my audience research. While I was creating the poster, I asked my peers and media teachers their opinions on the texts and colours that I used throughout. They advised me to use less red, and change some of my fonts into white. This made my poster look more effective, as it singled the title, "Times Up," as the only font in the red colour, therefore making it contrast against the black background and mostly white text. I kept the red glow around the website link below the main title of the film, as this connotes a hidden sense of danger that is hinted to throughout the entire campaign.

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts? Evaluation Task 2

I used the mask as a common factor that appears between the three texts I have created. In the trailer, the mask appears few times, and is only used at times of tension or climax, whereas in the poster and magazine cover, I decided to use the masked character as the main focus of the text. I did this by using an image of the masked character reaching for the camera on my poster, and the character looking at our main protagonist on the magazine cover. This draws attention to the mask and creates a sense of mystery, as the audience begin to wonder who the character behind it is. 

I chose to not include the main character, Gabrielle in the film’s poster, but she does appear frequently throughout the trailer and is the main focus of the magazine cover. Gabrielle is wearing casual clothes, a striped t-shirt and jeans. We chose this as it is a very basic outfit, and therefore does not draw attention to Gabrielle. We wanted the character to seem like an average teenaged girl, not too far from the norm. This gives the effect that the killer could hunt anyone, rather than targeting their anger towards a specific type of person. I decided not to include Gabrielle on the film’s poster, as the antagonist is reaching directly for the audience, as if we are seeing through her eyes. This also gives the effect that the antagonist could target anyone.

I also decided to use the “Times Up” logo on all three of my texts, as this is a typical synergistic feature of campaigns such as this. In the trailer, the Time’s up logo appears within the last 20 seconds of the trailer, making it one of the last things that the audience see and therefore will remember it.  On my magazine cover and poster, the Time’s Up logo is towards the bottom of the image, in a colour that contrasts to everything else and therefore making it more noticeable.

In my magazine cover, I tried to give hints to the narrative, as the antagonist is looking directly at Gabrielle. This connotes that they are interested in her, and gives the effect that the antagonist will be attempting to hunt or stalk this character. This connotes a relationship between the two characters as he is solely focused on her, never anybody else. I also used this effect in my poster, as the antagonist’s hand is the main focus, reaching out to the audience. The mask of this character can be seen between two of the fingers, connoting that the character is reaching out to grab something. This uses Barthes’ theory of enigma coding to connote that the character is hunting something, and comes close to obtaining their desire.

Using synergistic features attracts an audience as it means that they will begin to recognise certain features. For example, if a person were to see the trailer for the film in the cinema, and then see the poster advertised on Facebook and then on a magazine cover, they would recognise both the mask and the logo of the film. This allows them to feel knowledgeable, as they will recognise these features.  This will also create a sense of mystery in the audience as the more they see and recognise the mask, the more they will begin to wonder who this character is and why they are hiding their face.

One feature I carried through from my trailer to my print texts is the use of low key lighting. I used this by ensuring that all of my images had a black background, and then using the burn tool and the brush tool on Photoshop to darken the images further, and add shadows. Low key lighting is a convention of the psychological thriller genre, as it adds an effect of fear and mystery to the image. An example of using low key lighting to create mystery and fear appears on the poster for Dead Silence, where the image of a doll has a black background and has been darkened to fade into the shadows.

Overall, I believe my campaign has been successful as I used a range of synergistic features throughout. This is also due to the way that I planned my texts, as I ensured that I had images and logos that I could carry throughout my trailer and print work, as well as ensuring that there was synergy between the three texts. This means that my audience will recognise these features, and will begin to wonder what the film is about, and will want to see the film to have their answers about the characters and narrative answered.  I also ensured that the genre of the film was clear within each text that I created by including conventions of the psychological thriller genre such as low key lighting, a female main character, and the colour scheme of red, white and black.

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

Title

The title of our film was created in DS digital font. This is used in films such as Exam, to give a connotation of time and the limitations of being under restricted time. The title is on a plain black background, which connotes darkness. This darkness also gives a feeling of not knowing what could possibly be lurking in the darkness. Most people have a fear of the unknown, which we played on in creating the title of our film. Also, the red font we used connotes danger. By having the red glow surrounding the text and merging into the darkness, this gives the effect that the danger is hidden within the unknown.

Our title challenges the conventions of real life psychological thrillers, as it is a specialized font. In films such as Elevator and Black Swan, the title is written simply in a plain, sans serif white font, with little or no connotation to the rest of the film. We decided to challenge this convention by creating an image that connotes the main theme of our film, which is the idea of time.

Setting and Location

The setting of our trailer is the home of the female protagonist. We decided to film in this location as it gave a connotation of safety, and therefore by having the antagonist intrude this personal, safe place, the sense of comfort is broken, and the audience are left permanently in  fear.

This challenges the conventions of psychological thrillers that are already in existence, as  the typical setting for this genre is either in an office or workplace setting (Such as in Se7en) or in a large city (such as Inception or Now You See Me.) We decided to challenge this convention, as we felt that more fear would be induced in the audience by having the antagonist inside of the character's "safe place." However, some films such as Before I Go To Sleep use a home setting to create an effect of fear, and therefore our setting also develops the convention of the genre. The setting of a film will often depend on both the storyline, and the emotions that the production team are attempting to convey with their work.

Costumes and Props

We decided to use a mask for the main feature of our antagonist's costume. This is used to completely hide their identity, as well as them wearing a hooded jumper to hide their hair. This is used to make the antagonist's identity completely hidden. It is ambiguous whether the actor is male or female. We also decided that rather than having a plain white mask, which we felt would be too cliche and tacky, that we would paint the mask to create a character that we as producers would find scary. We decided to take our inspiration from the Marionette mask, featured in the Five Nights at Freddy's game series. This is because that specific character is a puppet, controlled by either another person, or in the case of our antagonist, their own mental condition.

The use of our antagonist's costume and mask is conventional of older psychological thriller films such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre and V for Vendetta used a mask to hide the antagonist's identity. However, this has now become a cliche of the genre, and so newer films such as The Captive and Non-Stop, do not use this feature, therefore meaning that our costume is challenging this convention.

Camerawork and Editing

We used a cross dissolve in between two mid shots of a male character, the first he is standing up, and in the next he is dead on the floor. We decided that alone, these shots didn't make sense, so then we added a close up shot of our antagonist in between them, and added a cross dissolve transition to help to make the cuts seem smoother. This gives the effect that the antagonist has caused the death of this character.

The cross dissolve that we used challenges the conventions of the psychological thriller genre, as often in trailers a fast, straight cut is used rather than any transitions. We decided to challenge this convention, as the cross dissolve that we used made the sequence seem more chilling, as it all merged into one another.

Title font and style

Our inter titles are created in two different font sizes. The more important text is in a larger font, connoting its importance in relation to the rest of the text. This is usually the names of the actors or production company worker, as their names are more important in advertising a film than their titles. The font we used was called Deep Glow. We decided to use this font as the letters are more widely spaced, which makes them larger and taking up more space on the screen. This makes the audience really focus on the words that are presented. Also, the lettering is in white, which connotes innocence and purity. As the trailer develops, the glow around the lettering gradually moves from being white, then to being red. This connotes that as the film develops, there will be more tension and danger.

Having a white text is typical of the psychological thriller genre, and is seen in films such as Safe Haven. This is used so that the font and colours do not give away any of the plot of the film, or the themes that run throughout. We also used a different, bolder font on "Time's Running Out," in order to build suspense and tension, as well as making this point contrast with the rest of the trailer. This is used in trailers such as Se7en, as titles are used throughout to create tension.

Storyline and Plot

The storyline of our film is introduced in the trailer, with the use of a voiceover. This voicover was of a police detective character, explaining who the antagonist was and what it was that they were doing to make them this character. This was accompanied by a sequence of a male character standing up from his bed, and then an image of our antagonist, followed by the male character dead on the floor. The voiceover at this time says, "this killer is is killing victims in their own homes. If he calls you, he will hunt you, and he will kill you. All we know is that once he calls the victims only have twelve hours left. This helps to set up the storyline of our film, as it demonstrates the ongoing theme of time throughout the trailer, while at the same time giving descriptions to what could happen within the film.

A voiceover aided by clips that demonstrate the narrative is a typical convention of psychological thriller trailers. This is often used in films such as Safe Haven to give hints towards the storyline and plot of the film, to make the audience want to find out what will happen.  This links to Barthes' coding theory, as the audience like to receive hints as to what will happen in the film.

Character introduction

We chose to introduce our main character, Gabrielle, by showing her and her mother as the first shot in the trailer. This gives the audience the knowledge that she is the main focus of he trailer. Also, by showing her wearing a dress, speaking with her mother, she appears as very feminine and down to earth. This clip also shows that she is just a normal girl, and doesn't expect anything strange to happen to her. We decided to use this to evoke fear in our audience, as this could happen to anyone.

This is used in trailers such as The Last House on the Left, where the female protagonist is the first character that is shown on screen. This is used in trailers to make the audience aware of this character, as they will be on the screen for the majority of the film itself. This is also used when the character is played by a famous actress or actor, as the audience will recognize them, and therefore go to see a film simply because they are in it.

Special Effects

We used a security camera effect over the top of a midshot of our antagonist. This gives the effect that the police have been tracking this character, but yet cannot catch them. This also evokes fear in the audience as it is uncommon for the police to not be able to catch a criminal that has been committing serious crimes such as murder. This is used in films such as Se7en, where the two main protagonists are detectives, looking for a murderer. We decided to in-cooperate this convention into our film as it evoked fear and emotion in the audience.

We also used an audio manipulation on the voiceover in which the antagonist said, "You have 12 hours until you will die." The effect that we used was called 'alien.' We used this to create an effect of mystery, as it is unclear whether the character is male or female, which fits with the idea of hiding the identity of our antagonist character. This develops the conventions of psychological thriller films such as V for Vendetta, where the antagonist adapts their voice in order to create a sense of ambiguity surrounding their personality.

Use of logo

 Our production company logo is the title Chilling Entertainment in two fonts, the first is Symbiote, used on the word 'chilling.' We decided to use this font as it looks as if static is breaking up the signal of the words, therefore giving an eerie feel to the font. The second font we used it called Necropsy. This looks as if the words are dripping, and connotes an effect of blood dripping, a typical convention of titles in the psychological thriller genre. Both of these texts are in a white font on a black background, giving a polar contrast between connotations of innocence and fear. Behind the words is a white frosted handprint. We decided to use this as most psychological thrillers are based around detective or police characters, in which case a handprint would be a clue that they look for.

Our production company logo challenges the conventions of company logos, as most psychological thrillers will be backed up by a well known production company such as Paramount, 20th Century Fox or Universal. Our trailer used a niche, unknown production company rather than a well known conglomerate. Since our production company is simply based around thriller films, this means that they will produce good quality films, and this is the effect we aimed for with our logo.

Creating my ancilliary tasks - Taking the photos

Before I started to create my tasks, I decided to take a variety of pictures of different characters from the film, in different angles and showing a range of emotions. This meant that when it came to creating my poster and magazine cover, I had a wide selection of images available to me. These are some of the photographs I took.

Then, when it came to designing my poster, the first decision I had to make was which image to use. This was the image I decided on:

I chose this image because the hand is the main focus of the image, then with the face as a secondary focus. Also, due to the light being positioned behind the antagonist, the mask is distorted and darkened. I plan to remove the background from the image, as well as using photoshop to remove the hair that has fallen in front of the mask.

For my magazine, I decided to use two images, and merge them together to create the main image. These are the two images I decided to use:

 I used these images as it is more fitting to the conventions of film magazines to have a main image of just one main character looking directly into the character. Therefore, the image of Rhiannon is more fitting than the image I used on my poster. I plan on turning the picture of the mask around so it looks as if it is looking at Rhiannon, and then using it as part of the background. This creates a sense of synergy between my poster, trailer and magazine cover, as the same image of the mask is shown throughout.