Below is the final improved magazine front cover:
Monday, 26 April 2010
Final improved magazine front cover
This is our final magazine front cover because we're not allowed to use copyright images we have replaced the original images with posters from other A2 Media production's and our own AS Media production Lost in Love and War as a feature in the magazine.
Below is the final improved magazine front cover:
Below is the final improved magazine front cover:
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Draft of improved magazine front cover
After collecting audience feedback for our magazine front cover that we developed we decided to improve it in several different ways.
Below is a draft of the new magazine front cover. This is what the magazine would look like if we were able to use copyright images and these are the films that would feature in the magazine:
Below is a draft of the new magazine front cover. This is what the magazine would look like if we were able to use copyright images and these are the films that would feature in the magazine:
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Improved teaser trailer - influenced by 500 Days of Summer teaser trailer
It was useful to look at the 500 Days Of Summer trailer as it was a teaser trailer so therefore more similar to what we were trying to achieve than The Time Traveler's Wife trailer. There were aspects of the teaser trailer that we have tried to incorporate into our teaser trailer although there were also aspects that wouldn't work in our trailer due to the difference in genres - our film is a period drama and 500 Days of Summer has aspects of comedy.
We decided that we wanted to adapt the original beginning of our teaser trailer with a variety of different shots, we found inspiration from this teaser trailer. At the beginning of the trailer the audience sees the two main protagonists however there is a shot from the viewers right hand side (the male protagonists point of view) then this is followed by a shot from the viewers left hand side (the female protagonists point of view.) The shot is of the same senario but just from different angles. We liked how this worked as it sign
ified to the audience that they were seeing the situation from both characters points of veiw. We incorporated this strategy into the beginning of our teaser trailer as be believed it worked well.The main inspiration we got from this teaser trailer was to incorporate a split screen into our teaser trailer. We wanted to do this as we believed it would add something different and unique to it and also let the audience see a situation (in this case the main male protagonist with his fiancee) and the reaction the main female protagonist has to it, side by side. This is what has been done in the 500 Days Of Summer trailer.
We also liked one of the shots in this trailer of the main female protagonist. She is in the background and there is an object in the foreground. The camera focuses on her then slowly focuses on the object in the foreground, meaning the background (the female protagonist) is blurred. We wanted to incorporate this into the first shot through the tree branches however after research we discovered it had to be done with the camcorder not the editing process. We therefore used two shots of the same scene and just used a filter on FinalCut Express to blur the first shot and then leave the second shot clear. This created a similar look.
Although, as mentioned previously, there were aspects of this teaser trailer that wouldn't work for our teaser trailer. One of these is the titles. In this trailer the titles are brightly coloured and eye catching, this wouldn't suit our trailer due to the traditional/classic style of it. Also, although effective, this trailer uses cartoon graphics. This again wouldn't be suitable for our teaser trailer because of the time setting.
However this teaser trailer did reassure us that we could produce an effective trailer with enough anchorage without having diegetic dialogue, which was a concern of ours before viewing this trailer.
Improved teaser trailer - influenced by The Time Traveller's Wife trailer
Although The Time Traveler's Wife trailer isn't a teaser trailer we still gained inspiration from it when we were looking at how to improve our original teaser trailer. We decided to look at this trailer as the genre is similar to the genres of our film (except for period drama) it is a romantic drama.
One aspect of t
he trailer we liked was how one location appears throughout the trailer. It appears to be a meadow that links all the scenes into the trailer. This is what we have tried to do towards the end of our trailer with the running scene and the rotating shot in the same location.The trailer also uses two soundtracks which is what we have incorporated into our trailer. However it is slightly different on this trailer as the first soundtrack isn't music it is more of a 'twinkling' affect which ties in with the genre of magic time traveling theme.
We also gained inspiration from the way the titles are presented in The Time Traveler's trailer. The main titles are shown over a moving background. This is what we have done with a moving background of tree branches in the wind. We have also used the idea of having the actors names over an individual shot of the actors themselves.
The main part of this trailer that inspired us was one of the last scenes seen in the trailer. This is where the two main protagonists are running into each others arms. We have incorporated this kind of setup into our teaser trailer, however we have broken it up into two separate scenes and distributed them separately towards the end of the trailer.
Friday, 5 March 2010
Locations for improved teaser trailer
We kept most of the scenes from the original and incorporated them into the new trailer. So the Ghyll Royd School and the woods are still featured. However for the new footage we had to use two other locations.
These were:
Lawn at the front of Ilkley Grammar School - we used the lawn here as we could film without there being any modern day features in the background. The trees in the background also helped to signify a country garden and the tree branches were used for affective framing of one of the shots.
Path to Ilkley Moor - we used a path that leads to Ilkley Moor for filming the running scenes. This location was useful as again there were no modern day features and the trees added to the scene. By the path there was a small hill which meant we were able to stand on the hill and film them running so we could get a high angle shot.
We filmed at these two additional locations on the same day and we were lucky that it had snowed on that day. We believe that the snow scenes work really well as snow is sometimes seen as a signifier of romance.
This podcast below has information about all the locations that feature in the teaser trailer.
These were:
Lawn at the front of Ilkley Grammar School - we used the lawn here as we could film without there being any modern day features in the background. The trees in the background also helped to signify a country garden and the tree branches were used for affective framing of one of the shots.
Path to Ilkley Moor - we used a path that leads to Ilkley Moor for filming the running scenes. This location was useful as again there were no modern day features and the trees added to the scene. By the path there was a small hill which meant we were able to stand on the hill and film them running so we could get a high angle shot.
We filmed at these two additional locations on the same day and we were lucky that it had snowed on that day. We believe that the snow scenes work really well as snow is sometimes seen as a signifier of romance.
This podcast below has information about all the locations that feature in the teaser trailer.
Soundtrack for improved teaser trailer
After feedback we decided that the original non-diegetic music we chose, Clair de Lunes played on the flute, didn't have enough depth to add emotion at specific points in the trailer. We therefore chose another soundtrack for the new trailer. Also after research we identified that many teaser trailers use two different pieces of music to signify different heights of emotion. So we decided to choose two different soundtracks that complemented each other from a copyright free website: http://freeplaymusic.com/
We chose to use a dramatic piano piece called 'pathfinder.' This piece had a clear beginning, middle and end. We therefore used the beginning and the end of 'pathfinder' for out improved trailer as we believe it added drama to it. We then chose to use a piece of music called 'facing twilight' which is a gentle flute and string piece which is described as 'peaceful with a hint of sadness'. This worked well for the middle part of our trailer as it created binary oppositions in terms of the non-deigetic music and how it created a calm romantic feeling before the dramatic feeling of 'pathfinder'. These two different soundtracks help to signify the feelings of the main female protagonist throughout the trailer.
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Monday, 1 March 2010
Friday, 26 February 2010
Audience feedback for 2nd draft of improved teaser trailer
We chose three people to view and give us feedback on our teaser trailer so far.
We chose these three teenage girls as we believe they are part of our target audience.
Thursday, 25 February 2010
2nd draft of improved teaser trailer
This draft of our teaser trailer includes transitions. We plan to include our production logo after the first clip. We now have to include the voice over, soundtrack and titles.
Improved teaser trailer - 1st draft
We have pieced together the clips for our trailer. The clips are new ones we have filmed incorporated with clips from the previous trailer.
This is obviously the 1st stage of our editing process as we still have to include transitions, voice overs and the soundtrack.
We also hope to include a split screen clip and zoom in on some of the clips due to modern objects being in the mise-en-scene.
Improving our final teaser trailer
After analysing our audience feedback we decided we we needed to make some improvements to the trailer. We felt we had to address issues that were picked up on by the feedback such as there were too few setups to understand the plot of the film, also that there needed to be more anchorage to the background of each character.
There were also more technical issues with the trailer that were picked up on. One suggestion was that we needed more shot variations so the audience could see a situation from all points of views. Also the length of the trailer was an issue. The original length was about 2 minutes this therefore represents an average trailer rather than a teaser trailer so we have decided we have to address this by making the trailer shorter. This could be a problem due to the fact that we need to add more setups so this would obviously make the trailer longer. We plan however to address this by cutting the original shots so there shorter and also drop some of the scenes that don't necessarily give enough anchorage to the viewer.
Another criticism of the original trailer was the soundtrack. As it was just a flute the non-diegetic music lacked depth so therefore failed to influence the viewer. We therefore plan to use copyright free music with more depth and hopefully incorporate 2 pieces of music into the teaser trailer to add more emotion to the piece.
We're also hoping to improve our trailer through framing shots more effectively. One idea is to film a shot through branches of the gentleman with his fiancee to provide a signifier to the viewer that they are seeing someones point of view who is on the outside of this relationship. We also plan to add more pace to the teaser trailer towards the end by using faster editing and faster paced non-diegetic music. We're hoping this will keep the viewer in suspense and encourage them to see the film at the cinema. After looking at the codes and conventions of teaser trailers this is a technique they tend to use so therefore we should be considering using it too.
Also through audience feedback we found out that on average peoples views were that the title text doesn't work effectively. They pointed out that the description text is too lengthy and slows the trailer down too much. We therefore plan to drop these and use more creative ways of introducing our actor/actress's names and the title of the film.
Also mentioned earlier we also need to highlight the binary oppositions in terms of class differences in the trailer. For example we need to use stereotypes and signifiers to make the main female protagonist appear a lower class to the other 2 characters who feature in the trailer. We plan to do this by using stereotypes in terms of costume (a maids hat).
There are however aspects of the original trailer we do plan to keep. We had positive feedback about the last close-up shot of the main female protagonist and how the titles follow it so we therefore plan to incorporate this into the improved trailer. There was also positive feedback about the non-diegetic voice over so we plan to put this over the new trailer where appropriate. Most of the old shots we will still use but probably cut the length of each shot and add new shots of further set ups between the 3 characters.
There were also more technical issues with the trailer that were picked up on. One suggestion was that we needed more shot variations so the audience could see a situation from all points of views. Also the length of the trailer was an issue. The original length was about 2 minutes this therefore represents an average trailer rather than a teaser trailer so we have decided we have to address this by making the trailer shorter. This could be a problem due to the fact that we need to add more setups so this would obviously make the trailer longer. We plan however to address this by cutting the original shots so there shorter and also drop some of the scenes that don't necessarily give enough anchorage to the viewer.
Another criticism of the original trailer was the soundtrack. As it was just a flute the non-diegetic music lacked depth so therefore failed to influence the viewer. We therefore plan to use copyright free music with more depth and hopefully incorporate 2 pieces of music into the teaser trailer to add more emotion to the piece.
We're also hoping to improve our trailer through framing shots more effectively. One idea is to film a shot through branches of the gentleman with his fiancee to provide a signifier to the viewer that they are seeing someones point of view who is on the outside of this relationship. We also plan to add more pace to the teaser trailer towards the end by using faster editing and faster paced non-diegetic music. We're hoping this will keep the viewer in suspense and encourage them to see the film at the cinema. After looking at the codes and conventions of teaser trailers this is a technique they tend to use so therefore we should be considering using it too.
Also through audience feedback we found out that on average peoples views were that the title text doesn't work effectively. They pointed out that the description text is too lengthy and slows the trailer down too much. We therefore plan to drop these and use more creative ways of introducing our actor/actress's names and the title of the film.
Also mentioned earlier we also need to highlight the binary oppositions in terms of class differences in the trailer. For example we need to use stereotypes and signifiers to make the main female protagonist appear a lower class to the other 2 characters who feature in the trailer. We plan to do this by using stereotypes in terms of costume (a maids hat).
There are however aspects of the original trailer we do plan to keep. We had positive feedback about the last close-up shot of the main female protagonist and how the titles follow it so we therefore plan to incorporate this into the improved trailer. There was also positive feedback about the non-diegetic voice over so we plan to put this over the new trailer where appropriate. Most of the old shots we will still use but probably cut the length of each shot and add new shots of further set ups between the 3 characters.
Monday, 4 January 2010
Improved Final Piece
After uploading the previous final piece we realised that the audio levels were too quiet so we have increased the volume levels so that the voice over can be heard more clearly.
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
Evaluation - How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stage?
I have used various new media technologies throughout the whole process of my coursework. Below I will state each one and explain how I used it and for what purpose.
Scribd.com
Scribd.com
- This is a document upload site which enables you to upload word documents and embed them onto sites such as this one.
- It's quite easy to use all you have to do is create an account on Scribd then just choose upload and select the document you want to upload.
- I've used this on my blog to break up text and make it more appealing on the eye.
- I have also used it for a genre research table that I have done as tables cannot be done on normal posts on Blogger.
- http://lornasa2bloggy.blogspot.com/2009/11/genre-research.html here's an example of the use of Scribd on my blog.
- Being able to use a new media technology on my blog like Scribd means it allows me to produce a blog that i much more appealing on the eye.
- We chose to try using this concept of a Podcast to speak about what we'd done so far in the week and the plans for the week ahead.
- We saw it as something a bit different to put on the blog compared to us just writing notes, it would be a more interesting way of communicating to viewers of our blog.
- This enabled us to be more interactive with our blog.
- Here is our first Podcast: http://lornasa2bloggy.blogspot.com/2009/11/podcast-51109.html
Facebook
- We used Facebook to get our audience feedback.
- We uploaded our final cut teaser trailer onto the networking site and asked for comments from our 'Friends.'
- It was an affective concept to use as there is a wide audience.
- By using this networking site it meant we had a variety of feedback from different people from different backgrounds and also saved us time as if we couldn't have used Facebook we would of had to ask people personally to give us feedback.
- I've used Blogger to keep an account of my process in my coursework and to keep a record
of research as well. - This is an easier way to process my coursework as it is all done in one place which can be accessed on any computer.
- You can also upload videos and have a much more interactive way of presenting your coursework.
- Using a blog to present my coursework rather than simply writing it up means that it is more appealing and interesting to viewers and it's also easier to keep a constant live log of everything I have done.
- IMDB is a movie database website which has all sorts of details on a variety of films.
- There are details such as budgets, box office
figures, actors etc... - This website has been very helpful during the process of producing my coursework.
- The most helpful details I have got from the website are the budget and box office takings for films similar to mine such as Pride and Prejudice and Becoming Jane, I have used these figures in my intertextual research.
- If I didn't have access to these sort of details I would struggle to understand the genre that I have worked in (period drama) and therefore find it a struggle to produce my final piece with a detailed understanding in terms of my target audience.
- I have used Photoshop to produce my teaser poster, magazine front cover, improved magazine front cover and film poster.
- We took pictures while we were shooting our footage then used them to make our ancillary texts.
- There are allot of different tools on Photoshop that make it possible to create a professional looking poster/magazine cover.
- This is the film poster: http://www.g324lornakennedy.blogspot.com/2009/12/ancillary-text-film-poster.html
- This is the teaser poster:http://www.g324lornakennedy.blogspot.com/2009/12/teaser-poster.html
- This is the magazine front cover:http://www.g324lornakennedy.blogspot.com/2009/12/ancillary-text-magazine-front-cover.html
- This is the improved magazine front cover: http://www.g324lornakennedy.blogspot.com/2010/04/final-improved-magazine-front-cover.html
- For the magazine front cover we used the magnetic lasso tool. This allowed us to cut the main image of the main female protagonist from the background. Then we brought the image forward so that the image was over the title of the magazine. We did this as this is how the film magazine Empire presents the front cover.
- For the improved magazine front cover we also used the magnetic lasso tool so that the head of the main protagonist was over the magazine's name. This was done by 'cutting' the main protagonists head from the main image then placing it over the text slightly.
- We also changed the bottom banner to a different colour to fit in with the main image colours and we also changed the opacity to 85% to make it less harsh on the eye.
- The images used at the bottom of the magazine front cover all had backgrounds. We therefore erased the backgrounds so that the images wouldn't look out of place on the new background.
- To get the specific layout for the magazine front cover we used the layers pallet to arrange the layers.
- Without using Photoshop the ancillary texts would be nowhere near the quality they are and multiple images wouldn't bee able to be used.
- We edited and produced our original teaser trailer on iMovie.
- Its quite simple to use and has a variety of tools such as transitions that can be very effective.
- In one of my previous posts I have gone into more detail of the positives and negatives of iMovie: http://lornasa2bloggy.blogspot.com/2009/12/software_21.html
- Using iDVD meant we could produce a professional looking DVD.
- iDVD produces a 'start' page for your DVD so it comes up with he option 'play movie.'
- It just helps to finish off the DVD.
- We used this to record our soundtrack and our voice over.
- The recording quality is very good and is easy to use.
- Using this piece of new media technology was better than using a camcorder to recorded audio as it gives a sharper more precise finish.
- We used a Canon digital camcorder MD101 which we recorded onto a DV tape.
- It was easy to use and overall gave good results.
- The camcorder had a zoom, the footage filmed was clear and of good quality.
- However we have encountered one problem with the camcorder. After editing our final improved teaser trailer we realised there was a subtle clicking sound in the background. After testing the non-diegetic soundtrack we could rule out that the clicking noise wasn't from the downloaded soundtrack. We therefore concluded that although we have deleted the sound recordings from the footage the clicking noise was from the camcorder itself. Although the clicking noise is faint it is still a disappointing flaw with the camcorder which has affected the quality of our final teaser trailer.
- I have written further information about the camcorder on a previous post: http://lornasa2bloggy.blogspot.com/2009/12/hardware_21.html
- We used a scanner to upload our storyboard.
- Using the scanner meant that we could upload our first storyboard along with the pictures we drew to represent shots
- Here is the storyboard we scan into the computer then uploaded onto the blog: http://lornasa2bloggy.blogspot.com/2009/11/storyboard.html
- I used YouTtube to view teaser trailers for different films but especially the genre of period drama.
- I then analysed the trailers for my genre research.
- YouTube is an easy video search engine that is quick and efficient to use.
- If I hadn't of used YouTube I would of had to have searched for teaser trailers which would have taken more time.
- Although one problem was that if I wanted to use YouTube I had to use it at home as it is blocked on the school computers.
- We edited and produced the whole improved teaser trailer using Final Cut.
- By using this program rather than iMovie we could edit our final piece more effectively.
- To edit the clips we used the razor blade tool to cut the clip into parts then just deleted the parts that we didn't need.
- Another example of editing using Final Cut Express is that in one of our shots there was a mini bus in the background, by using Final Cut we were able to zoom in on the footage within the program so the mini bus co
uldn't be seen in the mise-en-scene. - We were also able to increase the brightness in two shots that were filmed at night which we deemed too dark for the viewer to see the character in the frame, this is something we were unable to do in iMovie.
- Also by using Final Cut Express we were able to incorporate a split screen into the improved final teaser trailer which was something we were unable to do in iMovie.
- This was a complex and time consuming process but I believe it adds something unique and interesting to the trailer.
- There are more details about the different techniques we used in Final Cut on one of my previous posts on Software: http://g324lornakennedy.blogspot.com/2009/12/software.html
Live Type 
- With iMovie you can produce your titles within the program where as with Final Cut Express you have to produce them in a separate program called Live Type
- We decided to upload footage that we filmed by accident of the sky and put the titles over it to create a unique way of presenting the titles.
- For the titles introducing the actors we had to upload the footage we wanted the titles on then add the titles on top of the footage, we then had to export the footage from Live Type back to Final Cut Express.
Free Play Music
- For the soundtrack for the improved teaser trailer we downloaded music from a copyright free website.
- This was fairly easy to do as we just downloaded it into iTunes then dragged it across to Final Cut Express.
Below is a podcast with details about the use of new media in our coursework process.
Below is a video of us demonstrating how to use Blogger and Final Cut Express:
Evaluation - What have you learned from your audience feedback?
We seeked audience feedback at different stages of putting our teaser trailer together. Once we had produced our rough cut we showed our teaser trailer to people in our class. Audience feedback is a vital process of editing and producing a film even big budget films. An example is Bridget Jones Diary. When a scene from the film was one where the male actor turns to face the camera and is wearing a stereotypical Christmas jumper was shown to a small American they didn't get the comical aspect. This made the producers realise that they would have to change aspects of the film to appeal to an American audience. Another example that is more specific to our genre is Pride and Prejudice. When producers showed the film to an American sample audience they didn't understand the ending of the film as their isn't a kiss between the main female and male protagonists. So from this feedback the producers filmed an alternative ending for the American audience which had the main male and female protagonist sharing a kiss to give clear anchorage that they were together.
This is some of the feedback we got and how we addressed the negative feedback:
Some of the shots are too dark.
Due to the problems with our location we were working to a tight time schedule. Therefore when we shot some of the footage it was darker than we would have liked. These are: the mid shot of the gentleman, the mid shot of the main female protagonist and the gentleman and finally the over the shoulder shot of the main female protagonist laughing. Again due to the time schedule we didn't have time to re-shoot these shots, we also considered starting to edit in Final Cut but after much deliberation we decided this wasn't an option due to time. Therefore we decided to use a 'wash in' transition so that the trailer fades from a white background to a dark shot. Doing this means that the viewers eye is adapted to the colour change slowly so that the content in the shot isn't as difficult to see.
More anchorage needed to show its a teaser trailer.
The rough cut doesn't have any non-diegetic music or title cards with text. As it is a rough cut we still had these to add however it made us consider that more anchorage was needed. So we added more title cards to signify the story in more detail and also to give the viewer a further insight into the main female protagonist feelings and emotions.
More anchorage needed to explain the story as there's no diegetic voice or non-diegetic voice overs.
When we began planning our teaser trailer we debated whether to have a non-diegetic voice over or not. We decided not to but agreed to consider adding a voice over if audience feedback suggested we needed one. This is what has been suggested that we need a voice over. We decided to use the main female protagonist's voice. Not particularly to tell the story but more to give the viewer an insight into her view of the story.
Final Piece
Although we've made changes to address the problems highlighted through our audience feedback there are still flaws in our final piece. Some of the shots we would have liked to have re-shot due to the lack of light. We would also of liked to have added some extra footage of the 'love triangle.' Regarding the soundtrack we would of liked to of had a piano accompany the flute as it would of added further drama to the teaser trailer.
Improved final piece
After producing our final product we decided that we would try and address some further issues that were highlighted through audience feedback and correct these negative aspects. After making this decision we decided to seek further audience feedback so that we could address as many flaws with the trailer as possible.
Below are some of the new points from audience feedback and how we addressed them in producing a new improved teaser trailer:
This is some of the feedback we got and how we addressed the negative feedback:
Some of the shots are too dark.
Due to the problems with our location we were working to a tight time schedule. Therefore when we shot some of the footage it was darker than we would have liked. These are: the mid shot of the gentleman, the mid shot of the main female protagonist and the gentleman and finally the over the shoulder shot of the main female protagonist laughing. Again due to the time schedule we didn't have time to re-shoot these shots, we also considered starting to edit in Final Cut but after much deliberation we decided this wasn't an option due to time. Therefore we decided to use a 'wash in' transition so that the trailer fades from a white background to a dark shot. Doing this means that the viewers eye is adapted to the colour change slowly so that the content in the shot isn't as difficult to see.
More anchorage needed to show its a teaser trailer.
The rough cut doesn't have any non-diegetic music or title cards with text. As it is a rough cut we still had these to add however it made us consider that more anchorage was needed. So we added more title cards to signify the story in more detail and also to give the viewer a further insight into the main female protagonist feelings and emotions.
More anchorage needed to explain the story as there's no diegetic voice or non-diegetic voice overs.
When we began planning our teaser trailer we debated whether to have a non-diegetic voice over or not. We decided not to but agreed to consider adding a voice over if audience feedback suggested we needed one. This is what has been suggested that we need a voice over. We decided to use the main female protagonist's voice. Not particularly to tell the story but more to give the viewer an insight into her view of the story.
Final Piece
Although we've made changes to address the problems highlighted through our audience feedback there are still flaws in our final piece. Some of the shots we would have liked to have re-shot due to the lack of light. We would also of liked to have added some extra footage of the 'love triangle.' Regarding the soundtrack we would of liked to of had a piano accompany the flute as it would of added further drama to the teaser trailer.
Improved final piece
After producing our final product we decided that we would try and address some further issues that were highlighted through audience feedback and correct these negative aspects. After making this decision we decided to seek further audience feedback so that we could address as many flaws with the trailer as possible.
Below are some of the new points from audience feedback and how we addressed them in producing a new improved teaser trailer:
- Too few set-ups within the trailer, make more of a love triangle
We addressed this by developing a new situation/set-up between the main female protagonist, the main male protagonist and his fiancee. We hope that this gives more anchorage of the plot to the viewer and adds more drama to the trailer. We also decided to make the main female protagonist appear more as a maid as this would create more drama and hopefully convince the audience to see the film. We decide to have the main female protagonist taking a letter to the fiancee of the main male protagonist with him stood beside her. We had the two main protagonists glancing at each other to signify a relationship between them.
- Not enough variety of shot types
We took this into account when we filmed the new set-ups and saw this as an opportunity to correct it. We decided to get further over the shoulder shots and varied the shots by having a mix of long, short and medium shots. We believe that adding these new shots has addressed this problem.
- It could be shorter as it is a teaser trailer not a 'normal' trailer
We took this into account and the improved teaser trailer is 1min5secs which is nearer to the average length of a teaser trailer. Although as we have added more shots to this trailer we have cut the length of each shot meaning it is a shorter teaser trailer.
- Consider using two pieces of music, it could help to emphasise emotion
Originally we had one piece of non-diegetic music over the trailer. Feedback suggested this didn't work as it was a too simple piece, also after looking again at other teaser trailers we realised they usually use two pieces of music. Therefore we decided to use two different pieces of music from a copyright free website. We believe this helps to heighten emotions in the trailer.
- Consider framing of shots
We have addressed this by shooting more over the shoulder shots which create affective framing. We framed one shot with a double over the shoulder shot which the main female protagonist can be seen through, this signifies a love triangle to the audience. We also used tree branches to frame the first shot of the the improved teaser trailer.
- Could add more pace towards the end of the trailer to add drama
We have done this by shortening the length of the shots at the end of the teaser trailer and also included faster transitions. The non-diegetic music at the end of the trailer is also faster therefore giving the impression to the audience that the pace of the trailer has increased.
- Didn't think the titles worked
We have addressed this by removing the written quote titles. After much consideration we decided that these added too much confusion to the trailer and also slowed the pace too much. We have also improved the title cards and the actors names by making them more interesting. We have put the title 'For All I Know' and 'Coming Soon' over footage of moving branches in the wind. We also placed the actors names over footage of the actors themselves. By doing this we have quickened the pace of the trailer and we hope this will keep the audience interested in the teaser trailer.
- Jerky shots
To ensure we didn't have any 'jerky' shots in the improved teaser trailer we cut the shots so that the 'jerkiness' cannot be seen anymore. In terms of filming our new footage we checked the tripod before we used it to ensure it wasn't faulty and then used the tripod to ensure we had a steady shot where possible. Obviously the rotating shot couldn't be shot using a tripod however the shakiness of the camera adds to the effect of the shot type.
- Some shots are too dark
This point was picked up on in our initial audience feedback. However we were unable to correct it as we were using iMovie and it didn't have the facilities for us to lighten the footage. Although when we decided to improve the trailer we also decided to use FinalCut which is a more sophisticated editing program. Therefore we were able to increase the brightness of the shots that were deemed too dark.
For our new improved teaser trailer we received audience feedback not only on the finished piece but also the drafts. We decided to film the viewing of one of the drafts and we also recorded what they had to say about the trailer so far. Here is the link to the video - http://g324lornakennedy.blogspot.com/2010/02/audience-feedback-for-2nd-draft-of.html
Below is some of the points audience feedback picked up on the improved final teaser trailer:
We also collected audience feedback for our film poster and magazine front cover as they are very important pieces in terms of a marketing strategy.
Below is a video of audience feedback. We screened the original trailer and then the improved trailer. We asked them to establish what they thought had improved and what they would do to the new trailer to improve it further.
Below is some of the feedback we received for the film poster:
- The spacing of the writing could be improved
- Consider adding the film website address
- Not enough font variation
- There are no quotes from reviews
Below is some of the feedback we received for the magazine front cover:
- Framing could be improved - consider putting the stories down the pillar
- Is the image right? The image is a bit dull
- Too many plain areas - more detail needed
- Need to add website address and issue number
After receiving the feedback for our magazine front cover we realised that our cover didn't fit with the codes and conventions of film magazines front covers. Therefore we decided to develop our magazine front cover further.
Below is the feedback we received for our new improved magazine front cover:
- The colours chosen for the text and blocks for the pictures link with the main image used, it brings all the different aspects of the cover together.
- The main image is a allot brighter than the previous main image, it attracts the eye of a passer by.
- One criticism was that the film titles at the bottom of the cover could be spaced out more effectively so that the titles can be seen more clearly.
Evaluation - How effective is the combination of your main product and the ancillary texts?
Producing a teaser trailer is in fact just another marketing strategy to make your film successful. To accompany our teaser trailer we developed a teaser poster, a main film poster and a magazine front cover.
A teaser trailer is a form of media that would typically be shown either on TV during ad breaks, in the cinema before a film (of a similar gene to that being advertised) or on websites such as YouTube. So therefore teaser trailers accommodate the interactive market.
However a film needs a presence elsewhere too. For example on Billboards and advertised in
magazines (type depends on the target audience of the film) such as Closer and Look for the genre of our film and our target audience. This is wear our main film poster would appear.
Another market that also has to be addressed is the audience with a great interest in film, those who buy specialised film magazines, our magazine front cover featuring our film addresses this audience.
It also has to be considered that a film featuring on a film magazine front cover means that the film has been publicised enough to be 'worthy' of front cover space. This means that this type of publicity confirms that your marketing strategy has been successful so far. The genre of the magazine your film is featured in is also important. For example if we were to produce a magazine front cover with copyright images we would have featured films that were of a similar genre of our film such as Remember Me and Eclipse which are romantic dramas. This again would link to reaching the target audience of the film.
The teaser trailer, main film poster and magazine front cover all have the same basic aspects that will attract the target audience. They all link together as a 'brand' for the film and if put into action would hopefully attract the target audience efficiently and effectively.
The podcast below gives more detail about the teaser poster, main poster and magazine front cover.
A teaser trailer is a form of media that would typically be shown either on TV during ad breaks, in the cinema before a film (of a similar gene to that being advertised) or on websites such as YouTube. So therefore teaser trailers accommodate the interactive market.
However a film needs a presence elsewhere too. For example on Billboards and advertised in
magazines (type depends on the target audience of the film) such as Closer and Look for the genre of our film and our target audience. This is wear our main film poster would appear.
Another market that also has to be addressed is the audience with a great interest in film, those who buy specialised film magazines, our magazine front cover featuring our film addresses this audience.
It also has to be considered that a film featuring on a film magazine front cover means that the film has been publicised enough to be 'worthy' of front cover space. This means that this type of publicity confirms that your marketing strategy has been successful so far. The genre of the magazine your film is featured in is also important. For example if we were to produce a magazine front cover with copyright images we would have featured films that were of a similar genre of our film such as Remember Me and Eclipse which are romantic dramas. This again would link to reaching the target audience of the film.
The teaser trailer, main film poster and magazine front cover all have the same basic aspects that will attract the target audience. They all link together as a 'brand' for the film and if put into action would hopefully attract the target audience efficiently and effectively.
The podcast below gives more detail about the teaser poster, main poster and magazine front cover.
The video below gives more details about how the magazine front cover, poster and final teaser trailer work together:
Evaluation - In what way does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In the process of developing our teaser trailer I have researched many different teaser trailers from horror to romance. Then as we decided to concentrate our genre on period drama I specialized my research on this genre.
In general, a teaser trailer's main aim is to purely advertise a film and its release. It is stated that the length of a teaser trailer is approximately 30 to 60 seconds long but while looking at other teaser trailers this doesn't seem to be a fixed rule. For example The Duchess teaser trailer is 1.49 minutes long. Our teaser trailer, in total is 2.07 minutes long which is possibly a bit too long so if we were to improve our trailer this is something we could look at, shortening the length.
Another factor that I discovered after researching teaser trailers is the importance of including narrative enigma's. So therefore we included some narrative enigma's in our trailer one being: does the main female protagonist end up with the main male protagonist? We hope that a narrative enigma as influential as this to the plot of the film will attract our target audience and convince them to see the film at the cinema.
Looking at teaser trailers that were of a similar genre as our teaser trailer was the most vital piece of research I did as they had the biggest impact on our trailer.
These are aspects of our trailer that were influenced by my genre research (I will also state the influence the research had on our trailer):
Editing
After looking at a variety of period drama trailers I realised that the editing is always smooth and never too fast.
Although I did realise that as the trailers develop the speed of the clips and transitions do pick up pace and we tried to incorporate this into our trailer
Another factor that I realised was that the transitions in the trailers are always fade ins and outs we also incorporated this into ours except for the dark shots when we used wash In's but this is still a subtle transition so I believe it still fits with the conventions of a period drama teaser trailer.
After looking at the trailer for The Duchess I realised the importance of framing shots, so we concentrated on this for example using the trees in the woods to frame the main female protagonist and using the pillars at the Ball scene.
When we decided to improve our teaser trailer we took inspiration from the 500 Days of Summer teaser trailer. For example the beginning scene where there are two shots of the same situation but just from different angles. We incorporated this in our trailer so that the audience felt they were seeing the situation from both characters point of view. We also took inspiration from the trailer to include a split screen in our trailer.
Lighting
In our teaser trailer we have scenes both at night and in the day time.
This seemed to be the case with other period drama trailers.
The lighting at night was important, so after viewing teaser trailers that featured a Ball scene (The Duchess and Pride and Prejudice) we decided that some outdoor lighting would be appropriate. However we would have to be careful due to the time setting of the early 19th Century. So we had to ensure the lighting was subtle, as though it were candlelight.
Characters
There are three characters in our teaser trailer.
Our main female protagonist is your stereotypical role, such as Keira Knightley in Pride and Prejudice. She is portrayed as a genuine character which will appeal to the target audience. But also she may appeal to the male audience due to the male gaze. This is the view the directors may have had in mind when they cast Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice.
The main male protagonist is a dominant force in the trailer who may split the audiences opinions. This is something we hope will attract our target audience as he is portrayed as mysterious, in the trailer the viewer doesn't get to find out that much about him. This is a similar to the role that Mr Darcy plays in Pride and Prejudice. You could also look at the female gaze as an attraction for a female audience.
The less influential character in the teaser trailer is the gentleman's fiancee. The preferred reading for her is that she is a shy young woman who is oblivious to the situation around her. This would hopefully create sympathy for her from the audience.
Representation
After looking at other period drama teaser trailers I've realized that they only seem to represent the upper class. We have challenged this convention by also showing the lower class. We show the class through costume mostly but also the mise-en-scene. For example the grand house in the mise-en-scene and the pristine countryside. The costume consists of glamorous dresses for the women and a crisp cravat for the main male protagonist.
Soundtrack
All the period drama teaser trailers have non-diegetic music which is instrumental. The music is almost always classical either piano or strings. We chose to use classical music as well however originally we used the flute rather than the piano or strings. Although we then decided to re-do the soundtrack. We decided to use a copyright free website to find the new soundtrack. We did this to ensure a professional finish. Inspired by other trailers we decided to use two pieces of music and merge them together to add more pace and drama to the teaser trailer.
Not only have we produced a teaser trailer, we have also produced a magazine front cover and a film poster to accompany it. There are aspects of these two texts that have been influenced through research.
Film Poster: http://lornasa2bloggy.blogspot.com/2009/12/ancillary-text-film-poster.html
Magazine front cover: http://lornasa2bloggy.blogspot.com/2009/12/ancillary-text-magazine- front-cover.html
Improved magazine front cover: http://http//g324lornakennedy.blogspot.com/2010/04/improved-magazine-front-cover.html
Modes of address/language choice
After looking at a variety of posters and magazines I've realized the importance of addressing your target audience correctly. Each poster and magazine adapts to its audience so it can appeal to them in every way possible. For example we have used similar colours that are featured in the main image for the text. We hope that this would attract the eye of a passer by and then rely on the featured films on the cover to encourage them to buy the magazine then hopefully entice them to see our film at the cinema.
Our film poster is a little more understated than our magazine front cover. The images on the poster signify upper class through the clothes and the mise-en-scene. The tag line 'sometimes love can't be denied' gives anchorage of the the theme of love which again will hopefully attract our target audience.
Layout
Our magazine front cover layout is very similar to that of Empire's .
Although we have added aspects that will help to attract the female more such as the layout which we have kept quite simple, not cluttered so therefore more appealing on the eye. We have also kept the layout of our film poster simple even though we've used two images however we have kept one image dominant and the other blending subtly into it so its not too harsh on the eye. Like all film posters we have kept the production detail text small in white at the bottom of the poster so it doesn't intrude on the images and distract the viewer from the main area - the title and tag line.
Below is a podcast explaining our research process
In general, a teaser trailer's main aim is to purely advertise a film and its release. It is stated that the length of a teaser trailer is approximately 30 to 60 seconds long but while looking at other teaser trailers this doesn't seem to be a fixed rule. For example The Duchess teaser trailer is 1.49 minutes long. Our teaser trailer, in total is 2.07 minutes long which is possibly a bit too long so if we were to improve our trailer this is something we could look at, shortening the length.
Another factor that I discovered after researching teaser trailers is the importance of including narrative enigma's. So therefore we included some narrative enigma's in our trailer one being: does the main female protagonist end up with the main male protagonist? We hope that a narrative enigma as influential as this to the plot of the film will attract our target audience and convince them to see the film at the cinema.
Looking at teaser trailers that were of a similar genre as our teaser trailer was the most vital piece of research I did as they had the biggest impact on our trailer.
These are aspects of our trailer that were influenced by my genre research (I will also state the influence the research had on our trailer):
Editing
After looking at a variety of period drama trailers I realised that the editing is always smooth and never too fast.
Although I did realise that as the trailers develop the speed of the clips and transitions do pick up pace and we tried to incorporate this into our trailer
Another factor that I realised was that the transitions in the trailers are always fade ins and outs we also incorporated this into ours except for the dark shots when we used wash In's but this is still a subtle transition so I believe it still fits with the conventions of a period drama teaser trailer.
After looking at the trailer for The Duchess I realised the importance of framing shots, so we concentrated on this for example using the trees in the woods to frame the main female protagonist and using the pillars at the Ball scene.
When we decided to improve our teaser trailer we took inspiration from the 500 Days of Summer teaser trailer. For example the beginning scene where there are two shots of the same situation but just from different angles. We incorporated this in our trailer so that the audience felt they were seeing the situation from both characters point of view. We also took inspiration from the trailer to include a split screen in our trailer.
Lighting
In our teaser trailer we have scenes both at night and in the day time.
This seemed to be the case with other period drama trailers.
The lighting at night was important, so after viewing teaser trailers that featured a Ball scene (The Duchess and Pride and Prejudice) we decided that some outdoor lighting would be appropriate. However we would have to be careful due to the time setting of the early 19th Century. So we had to ensure the lighting was subtle, as though it were candlelight.
Characters
There are three characters in our teaser trailer.
Our main female protagonist is your stereotypical role, such as Keira Knightley in Pride and Prejudice. She is portrayed as a genuine character which will appeal to the target audience. But also she may appeal to the male audience due to the male gaze. This is the view the directors may have had in mind when they cast Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice.
The main male protagonist is a dominant force in the trailer who may split the audiences opinions. This is something we hope will attract our target audience as he is portrayed as mysterious, in the trailer the viewer doesn't get to find out that much about him. This is a similar to the role that Mr Darcy plays in Pride and Prejudice. You could also look at the female gaze as an attraction for a female audience.
The less influential character in the teaser trailer is the gentleman's fiancee. The preferred reading for her is that she is a shy young woman who is oblivious to the situation around her. This would hopefully create sympathy for her from the audience.
Representation
After looking at other period drama teaser trailers I've realized that they only seem to represent the upper class. We have challenged this convention by also showing the lower class. We show the class through costume mostly but also the mise-en-scene. For example the grand house in the mise-en-scene and the pristine countryside. The costume consists of glamorous dresses for the women and a crisp cravat for the main male protagonist.
Soundtrack
All the period drama teaser trailers have non-diegetic music which is instrumental. The music is almost always classical either piano or strings. We chose to use classical music as well however originally we used the flute rather than the piano or strings. Although we then decided to re-do the soundtrack. We decided to use a copyright free website to find the new soundtrack. We did this to ensure a professional finish. Inspired by other trailers we decided to use two pieces of music and merge them together to add more pace and drama to the teaser trailer.
Not only have we produced a teaser trailer, we have also produced a magazine front cover and a film poster to accompany it. There are aspects of these two texts that have been influenced through research.
Film Poster: http://lornasa2bloggy.blogspot.com/2009/12/ancillary-text-film-poster.html
Magazine front cover: http://lornasa2bloggy.blogspot.com/2009/12/ancillary-text-magazine- front-cover.html
Improved magazine front cover: http://http//g324lornakennedy.blogspot.com/2010/04/improved-magazine-front-cover.html
Modes of address/language choice
After looking at a variety of posters and magazines I've realized the importance of addressing your target audience correctly. Each poster and magazine adapts to its audience so it can appeal to them in every way possible. For example we have used similar colours that are featured in the main image for the text. We hope that this would attract the eye of a passer by and then rely on the featured films on the cover to encourage them to buy the magazine then hopefully entice them to see our film at the cinema.
Our film poster is a little more understated than our magazine front cover. The images on the poster signify upper class through the clothes and the mise-en-scene. The tag line 'sometimes love can't be denied' gives anchorage of the the theme of love which again will hopefully attract our target audience.
Layout
Our magazine front cover layout is very similar to that of Empire's .
Although we have added aspects that will help to attract the female more such as the layout which we have kept quite simple, not cluttered so therefore more appealing on the eye. We have also kept the layout of our film poster simple even though we've used two images however we have kept one image dominant and the other blending subtly into it so its not too harsh on the eye. Like all film posters we have kept the production detail text small in white at the bottom of the poster so it doesn't intrude on the images and distract the viewer from the main area - the title and tag line.
Below is a podcast explaining our research process
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