A2 Media Blog - Emma Small

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

My media products consisted of a horror trailer, movie poster and magazine front cover. These all used conventions from existing horror trailers, movie posters and magazine front covers. My movie poster used conventions of existing movie posters in that it had the production logo and credits in the middle bottom of the poster. This is so that it does not take attention away from the main image and title of the poster. There are also reviews on either side of the photo from existing magazines such as Empire and Total Film. This will encourage the audience to watch as it has been reviewed highly by trusted magazine reviewers. These reviews are also right and left aligned so that it corresponds with conventions of cover lines on magazines. In addition to these reviews, there is also a tagline for the film which is ‘Karma always comes back around’. This uses conventions as most horror posters use a tagline to ensure that the audience remembers the film just through this one line. Furthermore, I have used a dark red, the same colour as the blood drops, on the ‘Coming Soon’ as it connotes horror and blood. This has also been typed in capitals so that it stands out against the rest of the poster. The title of the movie also follows conventions as it is in the same font all throughout the three media products, especially the magazine front cover. However, it also develops conventions as there are blood drops coming from the ‘O’ in the word Forgiven. This develops conventions, as these blood drops are not shown anywhere else throughout the media products on the titles. I have also used a variety of fonts and sizes of text, which follows conventions and I have also manipulated photos. I have manipulated the photos in that the original photo was a necklace on a folder and I have removed the background and brightened the photo to make the necklace shine. This ensures that the photo is up to the best standard possible allowing the poster to look professional. The photo that I have used has challenged conventions in that it does not display a person or character. This does not induce fear in the audience as it is supposed to seem innocent which tricks the audience into thinking that it is not scary.

My magazine front cover uses conventions in that it uses the masthead follows conventions of real magazine such as ‘Empire’. The masthead has been written in the common colour of red, which also connotes horror. The date, issue number and price of the magazine also follows conventions as it copies real products such as ‘Empire’ by sitting in the title between the ‘M’. The website also copies real products by sitting below the title in a small, different coloured font. I have used a variety of fonts and sizes, which allows the audience to be attracted to the magazine but also follows conventions of real products. The sub-headings follow conventions in that they are the same font as the tone cards in the trailer but also because they are a smaller and a different font than the title. Throughout quite a few Empire magazines, there are cover lines within circles that imitate stickers. To connote horror but also follow conventions, I have changed the circle into a blood splatter in a bright red colour so that it follows the theme of horror. This therefore develops conventions so that it fits the theme of the main article within the magazine. The barcode of the magazine is placed in the bottom left hand corner so that it is inconspicuous in the magazine and does not draw any attention away from the cover lines and main image. My magazine challenges conventions by using the main image as half a face and only on one side of the magazine. This challenges conventions as majority of the time, there is a medium close up face on the front cover whereas I have a medium close up but it is only possible to see half of the character. However, we have used mise-en-scene in that we have covered the characters/villain’s face with a balaclava to hide the identity. We have also used complete black costumes that also connote mystery and horror. Moreover, I have used additional photos on the bottom of the magazine, which follows conventions of real music magazines. This gives and insight into what is in the magazine therefore attracting the audience. These images and also the main image have been manipulated so that only important features of the photo have been shown. For example, the additional photos have been cropped to the same size and have also placed an inverted shadow to ensure that no attention is drawn away from the main image. I have also challenged conventions in that the cover lines are only placed on one side of the magazine. In majority of media products, cover lines are placed on both the right and left side of the magazine and are then left and right aligned. However, my magazine has only cover lines on the left side of the magazine due to the main image being placed on the right side.

My main product, the horror trailer, uses conventions of real horror trailers as we have used many different camera shots such as medium close ups, long shots and also three shots. This allows the audience to immerse themselves into the situation. These shots have also been controlled, as the camera is focused and steady by being placed on a tripod. We have also used shot transitions such as fades and jump cuts. We have used the fades to the start of the trailer to show a relaxed environment and then jump cuts more and a lot quicker towards the end to build tension. This is also used in many different trailers such as ‘The Quiet Ones’. We have also used tone cards, which break up our trailer into separate parts allowing the tension to build but also to explain to the audience in more depth what our trailer is about. We have followed conventions of other existing horror trailers as we have placed them in parts where they break up the action but are needed to understand the situation of the trailer. However, they also challenge conventions in that they are plain for a horror film. In trailers such as ‘Jessabelle’ they are extremely in depth tone cards with a lot of detail with the fonts and background. However, our tone cards are plain with plain white writing that fades in on a black background. I believe this to be effective as it does leave mystery as to the film. In addition to the tone cards, we have also created age ratings, production logos and credits cards which follow conventions as they are placed in majority of trailers. Furthermore, we have used existing sounds that create suspense to our equilibrium period and then we have used a dramatic music from the film ‘Silent Hill’ for the chase scene. This creates tension along with the jump cuts, which should therefore induce fear into the audience. Our trailer also follows conventions in that it uses theories such as Todorov’s, Propp and feminist theories. Our horror trailer uses Todorov’s theory of equilibrium as at the start of the trailer, there is a period of normality and then there is a period of disequilibrium which allows the rest of the trailer to change and turn into a horror trailer. Our trailer also uses Propp’s character theory as we have a villain, geek (Ingrid), promiscuous girl (Lola), innocent girl (Elizabeth) and an insignificant character (Harriet). As our trailer shows, we follow the theory of the promiscuous girl being killed first and the most innocent one being left until last. This follows conventions of other horror films such as ‘Halloween’ as the promiscuous girl dies first and the most innocent girl survives. We have tried to also include a feminist theory within our trailer as we have kept an all-female cast and have therefore used the ‘Final Girl’ theory. We have tried to use an all female cast as it allows women to relate to them but it has also been said that men find it easier to relate to a girl in distress, therefore we thought to use an all female cast. However, this also challenges conventions in that we have a female villain whereas most horror films such as ‘Halloween’ have a male killer. To show the audience which character is which, we have used mise-en-scene. Our most innocent character is shown as an innocent girl as she is always wearing covered up clothing and does not show much flesh. This contrasts our promiscuous girl who wears quite revealing clothing such as bodycon dresses that show off her figure. Also within the trailer she is always in the front of the group to show that she is the leader and believes to be the most important. We then have our geek that turns into the villain. She is originally wearing quirky clothing with glasses, which allow the audience to determine her as a geek. Our insignificant character is then the most normal dressed in jeans, a jumper and boots that allows the audience to see her has a boyish-normal character.

Therefore, I have used, challenged and developed many different conventions throughout all three of my media products allowing me to expand my knowledge and create a realistic horror trailer, magazine front cover and movie poster.

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

When creating our main product and ancillary texts, we tried to ensure that they would link together and it would be possible to tell that they were all about and were all made by the same people. We have tried to do this through the use of mise-en-scene, fonts and icons from the film. This is then shown throughout all three media products allowing the audience to make a link.

Firstly, when creating the three media products, we have tried to include the icon in all three. The icon of our trailer is the circular necklace that the killer wears. This is the icon as it makes it easier for the audience to make the link between the geek (Ingrid) and the killer. I have included this as the main image on the poster as it makes the poster seem innocent like it isn’t a horror poster until you see the blood drops off of the title, The Forgiven. This makes the combination of my trailer and poster effective as it shows the main icon of the film in both. However, only the necklace chain is shown in the magazine meaning that it is harder for the audience to make the link between them.

I have also tried to make the combination of the three media products effective as I have used the main prop in both the magazine front cover and trailer. The hammer is shown in the trailer with the killer trying to kill them but also on the magazine font cover and the killer is also featured on this. This also links with the theme of our trailer, which is slasher as we have used the hammer as the main prop and the killer does not run after the victims, she walks slowly to seem more menacing. However, we have not used the hammer in the poster, as we believe the poster needed to seem innocent as to not give anything away about the film but highlights that there are important themes such as the necklace. Having the hammer on the magazine highlights the main theme of the film and this is also done on the poster with the blood dripping from the title.

I have used the same font for the title of the film, “Lakeshore Drive“, as it makes it easier for the audience to identify with the genre but also make links between all three media products. This font also connotes horror as it is messily written with some gaps, like it was a struggle to write. This font of the title is shown in all three media products so that it is easier for the audience to know the magazine, poster and horror trailer are all linked. The subheadings of the title on the magazine front cover are written in the font ‘Charlemagne Std Bold’, which is an old fashioned type of writing that may suggest a creepy situation. This type of font is also used on the tone cards within our horror trailer and used for the tagline on my poster. This also allows the audience to make a link between the three media products even though I have used many various fonts throughout all three products.

Furthermore, when creating my magazine front cover, I had to ensure my actress which features on the front, was an important character and also looked the same throughout. For my front cover, I used the villain in a balaclava, which connotes horror and shows the audience a close up of he villain. This balaclava and actress features very closely in the trailer and is an important part of the trailer as it covers the identity of the killer.

Lastly, all throughout the three media products, I have used a colour scheme of black, white and red. The blacks and reds are horror colours and feature closely in existing media products but black can also connote mystery and darkness and red can connote blood and danger. This is important for my media products, as I need to influence fear into the audience without scaring them too much. The white is an opposite of these colours, which is like a light in darkness and could connote the good from the bad. This colour scheme runs throughout my media products, which allows the audience to realize that all three media products are linked and made by the same person.

Therefore, the combination of my horror trailer, magazine front cover and movie poster is effective in that the audience is able to see the links between all three using mise-en-scene, icons from the films but also fonts and colours used within the products.

What have you learned from audience feedback?

When planning to create my horror trailer, I decided to create an audience questionnaire on SurveyMonkey so I would be able to create an insight into what codes and conventions of a horror trailer would appeal towards my target audience. This then meant that I could implement what was discovered in my results, into my trailer. The results that I gathered from my audience questionnaire proved to have a large impact on the choices that I made throughout the production process of my horror trailer and ancillary texts. I was able to create media products that I knew would appeal towards my aimed target audience. I used a questionnaire before creating my trailer that allowed me to make informed decisions about what will be contained within my trailer and expanded my knowledge about my intended target audience. After creating the trailer and three media products, I created an audience feedback questionnaire to ensure that the previous results were implemented within my trailer.

The first questions consisted of the audience’s age and gender. This needed to be established before the audience completed the rest of the survey as it allowed me to compare the responses of different demographics, such as male 16-18 year olds and female 22+ year olds. The rest of the survey then consisted of questions based on how effective the sounds and tone cards were within the trailer and also if the combination of the three media products were clear.

From my audience feedback, I was able to conclude that majority of the target audience for my film and texts turned out to be females aged 16-18 as I had a total of nineteen female respondents and only five male respondents. The majority of male respondents also sat in the 16-18 year old age range. Our original target audience we had aimed for was both genders, mainly aged between 16-18 years old but also older therefore we achieved the age range however we may need to improve our trailer so that it appeals to both genders.

The next question was about the storyline of our trailer. From our feedback, majority of respondents understood the storyline that we were aiming for with some of the answers consisting of ‘Group of girls have a sleepover, one gets peer pressured and kills the rest’ and ‘A group of friends having a gathering and Ingrid gets upset with them, then someone is out to kill the girls and they cannot escape.’ From these responses, I can therefore be certain that the storyline of our trailer was clear for the audience to understand but majority did not make the link between the necklace and the geeky character, Ingrid. However, the storyline could also be understood as 91% of the respondents said that the tone cards within the trailer are effective. They may be effective as tone cards help the trailer to explain what is going on and also explain details within the film. Our tone cards help our trailer in that it expands on the storyline therefore this may be why the storyline was clear to the respondents.

The third question was asking the respondents if the trailer and texts scared them. The answers of this question was very mixed with 50% saying that it did scare them, 25% saying it didn’t, 8% with not really and 17% saying that it did majority of the time. Furthermore, from looking at individual responses, the majority of the people who said it didn’t scare them were male. This is important as the male demographic was obviously not scared by our trailer. This also corresponds with the first question of the survey as the majority of respondents were female. Therefore we would definitely need to improve our trailer so that it does appeal with the male gender. However, I am very happy with the other responses as majorities are positive and say that our trailer does scare them. This also can relate to my previous survey at the start of the project as I asked the questions of what sub-genre scared them the most and which films scared them the most. Even though Supernatural and Psychological were the two sub-genres that were most popular with having 23/33 responses, slasher came in third with 12% of the response. However in the next question, quite a few respondents said that slasher films scared them the most. Some of the responses included, A Nightmare On Elm Street (several times) and Saw IV. These responses therefore made us decide to create a slasher film and include aspects of them within our trailer. This then supports why our trailer has been seen as scary with some responses saying it isn’t as it may not be their type of sub-genre. Furthermore, when creating our trailer, we asked if it would scare the respondents more if the villain was realistic or improbable such as a human or a monster. 21 out of 32 respondents concluded that it would scare them more if the villain was human and the rest said monster. Although there is only 10 respondents difference, we decided to use a human villain in our trailer as it would supposedly scare them more. However, even if the trailer was not their type of film, 23 out of 24 respondents said that it was clear that the trailer and texts was the genre horror. Again, the one respondent who said it was not clear was male, supporting that we may need to improve our trailer to appeal to that demographic. Even though the answers were mixed for the question of did our trailer and texts scare you, the majority concluded that it did scare them and this may be due to us following and aiming to please the audience with the help of the feedback from our previous survey.

The last question was about the sound within the trailer. I asked the respondents if the survey if the sound within the trailer was effective in creating suspense and tension for the trailer. I have asked this question as in the previous survey, I asked if the audience liked gore or suspense more. The response of this question was that 26 out of 32 respondents preferred suspense over gore therefore I based my trailer on chase scenes rather than blood. The response on asking if the sound was effective was the 20 out of 24 respondents concluded that the sound was effective in creating suspense. This is important as without sound within the trailer, it does not look like a horror trailer. This can also link with another question from the previous survey asking what elements of a trailer attract the audience to go and see the film. The top four responses were the actors within the film, the plot of the film, how the trailer has been edited and then the sound within the trailer. 5 respondents out of 33 concluded that sound is quite important within a trailer therefore it was important that the sound was effective.

There were two more questions on the survey which were if it was obvious that the movie poster and magazine were what they were and also if all three media products relate to one another. The answer to if it was obvious that the ancillary texts where what they were the 22 out of 24 answered that they were and they were obvious. There were two respondents which said that only the movie poster was obvious to see that it was a movie poster which tells me that I need to improve my magazine front cover so that it is obvious to all the audience that it is a magazine front cover. However, even though there were two respondents that could not see that it was a magazine front cover, 100% of the respondents said that all three of the media products relate to one another. This could be because I have used many different techniques such as the main characters, the same icon or even the same font for the fonts. Therefore the three media products were effective.

From my audience feedback, I can conclude that throughout all three media products I have used conventions which allow the audience to confirm that they are a movie poster, magazine front cover and horror trailer. I can also conclude that the horror trailer was effective in scaring majority of audience and I can also confirm that I have followed my audience research in creating my trailer in that I used all of the aspects that the audience preferred. Moreover, I have also met my target audience of age range as the majority of the audience were aged between 16 and 18 years old however, I would need to improve my ancillary texts and main product to appeal to the male demographic more.

How did you use media technologies in the construction, research and planning stages?

Within the creation of my three media products, I have used many different media technologies such as a computer, camera and various pieces of software. To create the horror trailer there were many pieces of media technologies needed. When planning our trailer, the first thing we did was use the Internet to research many different types of theorems such as feminist, postmodernism and structuralism, which we then wrote essays on to expand our knowledge about the film production process. Then we used a website called YouTube to research existing horror trailers. We then used Microsoft PowerPoint to make analysis timelines of four existing horror trailers and an editing analysis of a horror trailer so that our understanding of the sound, cuts and suspense was known. To further our understanding of what appeals to a horror audience and what makes a horror film, we used the website SurveyMonkey to create a questionnaire that we then handed out to people of all different ages and genders to complete. We also used social media such as Facebook and Twitter to post the link to this survey so that we were able to get a wider audience feedback from people all over the world. The website then calculates the responses of the feedback and places them into graphs and statistics that therefore made it easier for us to see the audience response. We then used Microsoft Word again to write our pitches and treatments and also create a shot schedule so that we knew when and where we needed to film each scene. The Internet was then used again so that we were able to research props and costumes for our actors to wear in our trailer. The rough images that we chose for our actors to wear were then saved and pasted on Blogger and we then explained why we had chose this clothing. After this we were then able to move on to creating our trailer. 0

When creating our horror trailer, we had to also use many different media technologies such as cameras, computer software and the Internet. Firstly, we had to use a professional camera, Canon 1100D, and a tripod to shoot our film. We used a professional camera as we needed the footage to be clear, enhanced and the sound to be clear for the trailer to look professional and real. We used a tripod along with the camera for majority of our shots so that the camera was stable when filming and the footage was steady. After we had filmed our footage, we needed to decide on tone cards to use and create. We then used the internet to research existing tone cards, age rating cards, title cards, production logos and credits cards. After researching them and expanding our knowledge on what tone cards need to look like and contain, we used Adobe After Effects CS4 to create our title card, tone cards and ‘Coming Soon’ card. This was created on After Effects as we needed movement within our tone cards to make them seem more professional rather than stable text. After creating and exporting them, we decided to use Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 to create an age rating card, production logo and credits card. This was made on Photoshop as we decided where they are stable text and images on majority of trailers, we would just use images and maybe add effects during editing if it makes it seem more professional. We then moved on to editing our horror trailer using computer software only available on Mac computers called Final Cut Pro X. We used this software to edit our footage into a trailer with transitions and additional sounds. We decided to use this software as it is professional software which is actually used on real film products, allowing our trailer to look as professional and as real as possible. After editing our trailer together with the tone cards and footage filmed, we needed to create or obtain additional sound to add to the suspense of the footage to create a fear factor within our trailer. To obtain these additional sounds, we used YouTube and copy and pasted the link into a YouTube converter. We chose sounds which we thought incited fear into the audience such as low toned, dragging out suspense music throughout the equilibrium section and a quicker more upbeat sound throughout the chase scenes. This made the horror trailer seem scarier as the sounds build up the tension within the trailer. We then exported the trailer from Final Cut Pro X so that we could upload it to YouTube, so that we could then embed the link into Blogger.

When planning my movie poster, I used media technologies in that I used the internet, Microsoft PowerPoint and Blogger. Before creating our posters we had to research previous movie posters on the internet to see the codes and conventions of them and how they are similar and different. We then chose 3 different horror movie posters from Google Images which we then placed into Microsoft PowerPoint to annotate and analyze so that we could expand our knowledge. After annotating the posters, we then placed the presentation onto our blogs on the website Blogger, powered by Google. To then create our poster, we had to take images to place onto them. I used a Canon 600D to shoot the necklace on my poster so that it was in focus and professional looking. After obtaining the image I wanted and needed, I then placed the image into Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 so I could manipulate the image and continue to create my poster. To know how to create my poster to the best standard, I used many effects and tricks on Photoshop which I learned how to do using YouTube. I also used the website DaFont.com which allowed me to obtain many different fonts to create my poster to a professional standard with various fonts.

When planning my magazine, I repeated the process for when I was planning my movie poster with the change of instead of choosing posters, I chose magazine front covers. I repeated the process of using PowerPoint to annotate the magazines and then posted the final presentation on Blogger. When creating my magazine, I also used the same process as the movie poster except for the change of instead of using a Canon 600D camera, I used a Canon 1100D instead. I again used Adobe Photoshop to create my magazine with the addition of fonts from DaFont.com and also using YouTube for help with effects and tricks. After creating all of the media products, I uploaded drafts and final versions to Blogger so that everyone can see them.