Shot list

This is our main shot list which we used for the majority of scenes including: all of the scenes within the house, the mirror scene and the victim running through a field with blood on her face. This helped us to organise our time more effectively, to see directly on paper where we had to focus our time and what scenes we had to shoot that day.
However we didn't create any other shot lists as this was our main filming session but also we as a group found that we came up with better idea's when they weren't planned. We were able to just explore with the camera in our surroundings, as it allowed us to be more creative. We also found that this created much better shots then the ones that we had planned, which we could never achieve exactly as we had planned for them to look like.

Drafts of my ancillary tasks

A rough drawing of my ideas for my magazine cover for my finished trailer. I chose the title 'Gore Mania' as it links directly to the horror film genre, and placed it at the top of the page to attract attention. I added the blood dripping effect, as it adds to the overall look of the magazine and empathises the title. I put the character of the focus film in the centre of the page to show that it is significant to the issue and the title of the focus film is directly above the characters head to show the connection between the two. I have left space around the sides of the picture to advertise to the audience the other features that are included within the magazine. I think that the film roll will make a valuable edition to the cover, as it clearly shows that the magazine focuses on films and also allows to show some stills from my trailer on the front of the magazine cover.

A rough drawing of my ideas for my promotional poster to advertise my film trailer. I want the background to the forest in which we shot some of our trailer as it shows isolation. I also want to darken this to make the woodland seem more scary and intimidating. I want a close up of the monsters face in the centre of the screen, but enlarged so it is the main focus. However I want the face faded to make it seem almost ghostly against the dark background, and also to show the supernatural elements that we portray in our trailer.

Storyboards

 

 

Analysis of existing magazine covers

Please click on the images to see my Flickr analysis of each cover.

FILM magazine cover
I chose this cover as, the centre of the cover is of a character that is distinctive and directly relates to the film that the cover is specialising on in this issue. The picture is colourful and eye-catching against a fairly dull background, which makes it much more noticable then if it had been put on a colourful background. I like the way that there is a bold, yellow banner at the top of the cover advertising a free give-away, which will directly attract the attention of any potential buyers, especially if they haven't brought the magazine and aren't attracted to magazine by the name alone.The main film in the issue is in larger writing then the other features, as to show it is the focus film and is specific to this issue. I like the colour sceme of white and yellow writing, as it is simple, but yet easy to read as it stands out from the background.

EMPIRE magazine cover
I like this cover as it is introducing the audience to a character from a new release. The banner at the top of the page advertises the focus film in this issue, which directly links to the character on the cover, as the character focused on in the picture is the villian in a classic remake of a well-known film. I like that the font is different when talking about the Joker showing it is the most significant aspect of the cover to attract an audience. I also like the graffitti effect and the red, green and white colour sceme, as it is simple but links in with what the character in the picture is wearing. The graffitti is such a simple effect but makes such a different to the overall feel of the magazine.

FANGORIA magazine cover
I chose this cover as the focus picture covers the entire page showing the main focus of this issue. It advertises the fact that there are interviews with the cast of New Moon and asks a rhetorical question to the audience to make them feel that they have a say in the magazine and to get them to read more. Again the colour scheme is yellow and white with the magazine title in red, which seems a common feature within this genre of magazine. It advertises Saw at the top above the title to make sure that this film also gets recognisition, although this isn't the main film that the issue is focusing on. It advertises other features in the magazine down either side of the picture and also exclaims how it has a 100 pages which they think will attract an audience and allow the audience to feel that they are getting alot for their money if they buy this magazine.

Original pictures used for the creation on my ancillary tasks

I used this picture for my promotional poster, because I have my head slightly down looking through my hair, which I think creates a secretive, darker effect. I cut it out from the background, using tools on Photoshop, placed it in the centre screen over my background and decreased the opacity of the picture, to make it appear ghost like.  I also made the photo darker to fit in with the overall effect of my poster, presenting the horror genre. I think this was effective because, the picture represents the topic film of that issue, making it significant and therefore should stand out, while still remaining to present the correct genre, and I think my focus photo achieves this.

This is the picture that I used for the background to my promotional poster. I used this because a woodland represents isolation within the horror genre and creates an eerie, creepy effect. We used clips of the woodland in our trailer as well, which connects this picture to our finished product. For my poster, I made this photo alot darker as it makes it look more scary. It also suggests night time, making the trees look like shadows, which links back to the horror genre as darkness is often used to symbolise danger. I think this looks effective combined with my focus photo as they work well together to recreate my genre and my trailer/film.

I chose this picture to be my main picture on my magazine cover as I thought that it could show the actress while still showing the darker side represented by the character. I cut this picture out from the plain background, enlarged it and slightly changed the colouring to create a lighter look, attracting more attention from the audience. I mirrored the image as I thought that it would fit better once positioned on the right side of the magazine, so only just over half of the image is present. I done this because it allows the image to be the main attention but doesn't overcrowd the page, allowing space for other featuring elements.











This image in our trailer sets up the main plot line, as  this  picture represents the murderers death due to the possession of the necklace. I used this within my film roll on my magazine, which consists of three images, to give the audience sneek peeks of what the movie is about. This is a close up image of a hand with some blood and holding the main prop of the trailer. I think that this image is key to the progression of the plot as it is the foundation for the rest of the plot. I didn't change any effects on this photo as all of the effects I would want are already present within the picture, such as darkness and close ups.

This image is the second image in my film roll on my magazine cover. I used this because it shows the fustration of the protagonist when she is trying to discover what is happening to her. I think that this image is significant as it presents the progaonist in an un-usual situation where the audience are going to be curious to what she is going through. I didn't change anything in this I didn't think it was important as the image is only small and there to spark interest in the audience.

I used this picture in my film roll as it is a close up on the murderers face. He was wearing white make-up which makes the picture look more realistic and meant that I didn't have to add any additional effects to the picture. I think that this picture is significant as it shows the effect of the necklace and the danger that it represents, setting up the plot line and also to hopefully spark some curiousity within the audience.

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Our target audience for Triquetra is males and females, between the ages of fifteen and twenty five, although we agreed that our film would appeal to the majority of age groups. The majority of feedback that we received for our trailer was from fellow classmates, between the ages of seventeen and twenty, reaching our acquired target audience. The only other written feedback that we got were two comments from YouTube through our Facebook link and from our teacher. We asked our family and friends who were impressed with our finished product, but we only got verbal feedback. We asked everyone to watch our trailer and to analysis what they liked about the trailer, disliked and what we could improve. The positive feedback has hugely outnumbered the negative, allowing us to feel that our overall finished trailer has been a success. However both compliments and criticism has to be taken on board, as if we had more time and were proper distributors then we could use the criticism to improve our finished product to make it even more successful.

Positives +

There were several aspects of our trailer that our classmates liked, both visually and on the soundtrack. We got complimented on the amount of horror conventions that we used within our trailer, for example: the ghost, woods and the moon lit night. These really helped to establish the genre of our trailer and make it more visually pleasing to watch. Other areas of positive feedback that we received were:

*The glitching on the film, when I was walking through a field- This was an effective shot as it is common within horror films that when the monster is around then the technology will glitch or go fuzzy. It makes it appear as if I have jumped for different positions in the field, creating an eerie effect.

*Establishes the relationship between the protagonist/monster and the main male character well- We achieved this by portraying that he was the main victim that the monster went after, and also with a sequence near the end of the trailer where I am walking towards him and he is pleading with me saying that he loves me. It was also said that the protagonist is set up well as it is obvious from the beginning that the protagonist is going to be.

*good locations-Our audience liked the fact that all of our locations symbolise isolation, which is a common signifier of the horror genre. The isolation factor also fits in with the witchcraft element that our trailer is set upon, as witchcraft is stereotypically known to be performed in private.

*Camera work- The audience thought that we used a good variety of camerawork within our trailer, by using shots like pan and tilt. The close up of the eye was liked as its a typical horror shot, and the fact that it’s a close up fits in with the expectations that are created when thinking about the horror genre. Our focus pull shot was liked as it showed that we used the camcorders to the best of our abilities. Our editing was also liked, which fits in with camera work as our fade from the arch of me to the moon, was seen as an effective shot. Both the monster and

the moon are seen as typical horror signifiers. They also fit together well as the monster typically comes out at night.

*The sound and visuals worked well together-We were told that our soundtrack compliments our visuals well, as at times the soundtrack empathises what is being seen on screen, like a loud bang, which makes what is being seen on screen more effective to watch.

Negatives -

Compared to the positive feedback that we received, we had very little negative feedback. We took on board all of the criticism that we received, but unfortunately run out of time to improve our product before the deadline. Some of the criticism we received were:

*The mirror scene- We were told that this scene was liked but had the potential to be better. We could have fastened the pace as this would have had a better effect on the audience and made the scene seem scarier. This scene was quite difficult to create as we had to have the camera at a certain angle from the mirror as to not have a reflection of the camera within the shot!

*We were told that some of our shots lasted too long and became slightly repetitive- We could have shortened some of our shots to create a more snappy effect which may have had a larger effect on the audience. I think the only scene that may be slightly repetitive is where, I am walking through a field and the glitch happens, may be a bit similar to when the man is hiding behind the green building and I suddenly jump and appear almost next to him. To improve on this comment I would have maybe deleted the scene with the green building, as I think the other scene was more effective, although the green building scene did show the fear and chase between the monster and the male protagonist, which I think is an important aspect.

*The overall pace was too slow- According to our audience the pace of our shots were too slow, and didn’t quite achieve the reaction that they could have done if they were sped up and had a bigger impact.  Because of this it was hard for the audience to stay focused on our trailer while watching it and concentration was slightly lost, but this could be easily prevented. However the audience agreed this wasn’t a big problem as it was easy enough to follow, but was just something that could have been improved if we had more time.

*Intertitles- The intertitles got across the right information but were a bit boring. They had standard text and could have been enlarged and a more interesting font, to achieve a bigger impact. However they still got across the important plot information and fitted well into the visuals.

I found this feedback very useful, as after you have been working on one project for a while, you almost become blind to your work as you know what you want it to look and sound like, so don’t necessarily notice when something isn’t quite up to scratch. By having feedback these imperfections are pointed out by people who haven’t seen it before and can allow you to be able to make the overall product better. Overall our trailer received a lot more positive feedback then negative, and therefore was successful. Our audience said that they would go and see it at the cinema and look out for advertising with a release date. We reached our target audience successfully and we are all happy with our finished product.

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

These are the media technologies that I used during the duration of my project. The majority of these technologies I used for the creation of my trailer, as the only two programs that I used for the research and planning was Blogger and Flickr, as Blogger is what I recorded my findings on and I used Flickr to annotate these findings. I think that it is better to use Blogger to record work on, instead of on paper as it is efficient and easier to correct mistakes on then paper. It is also easy accessible, both by teacher and student. Garageband, the camcorder, livetype, soundbible and final cut pro were brought into the production during the creation of the trailer. The camcorder was used to capture footage, livetype was used for the creation of inter-titles for the trailer, garageband and soundbible were used to make the soundtrack and final cut pro was used to edit the footage, add the soundtrack and tie all of the different elements of the trailer together to create a final finished product. Photoshop and the camera, were used to create the ancillary tasks. We took photo's to use on our poster and magazine cover and then used Photoshop to edit, add words and change the photo's to create the finished product. Facebook and YouTube were used for audience feedback of our finished trailer. For my evaluation, I have used Blogger and Flickr for the same reasons that I used them during the research and planning part of my project. I think that all of these technologies are created to make our lives easier and more efficient. For example in other subjects, if we wanted to research something we would have to create a questionnaire, dispatch them to a variety of people, collect them in and then analysis them, which would take time and effort. In our research and planning we created a very quick questionnaire using a program called 'Survey monkey' and then put a link to the questionnaire on Facebook. These was a quick way of reaching a large audience and getting a quick response. We then analysed our results and made a pie chart to present them in a simple, easy to understand way. A lot less time was wasted due to using online resources.

Please click on the montage to see my Flickr analysis of each of the logos.