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.

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.

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.

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

• 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.

Podcasts

• 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.

Blogger

• 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

• 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.

Photoshop ELEMENTS 2.0

• 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.

Below are some screen shots that show these two processes:

• 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.

iMovie

• 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

iDVD

• 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.

Audio Recorder

• 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.

Camcorder

• 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

Scanner

• 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

YouTube

• 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.

Final Cut Express

• 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 couldn'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:

• 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.