1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Film
I believe my film follows the conventions of a typical suspense/ thriller film. Although, I have firmly made sure that the audience understands the storyline, I have created suspense by not giving the audience many ideas of what is coming next which creates drama. The film meets conventions through the way I have developed the characters in the film – it is clear that Matthew is detached from the group in the opening scene which becomes more apparent why towards the middle of the film when it is made clear he has a connection with the gang that attacked the girl. I have also followed conventions in the interview scene. This is because I have edited the film to switch between characters (as seen in Where’s the money Ronnie?) to help narrate the storyline and create drama and suspense surrounding the event.
Poster
The poster conforms to professional conventions for posters. This is because I have one main image in the centre of the page which is of my main character. I believe this image is very effective as it has been edited to show two sides of the character (shown through the darkness and coldness on one side of his face) which helps to convey the storyline without giving away too much information. I have also included a banner on the right hand side of the page which is of police tape. This brightens the poster which makes it more visually attractive and also suggests complications within the film.
The poster sticks to the conventions in terms of giving the film a rating however, it has been suggested to add comments from critic such as "The best film since the Football Factory" which will give the reader a bit more information about their views rather than a star rating which varies from person to person.
I have also included a "banner" of text at the top of the page which is important as the audience would want to see who is in the cast. This is featured below the title, which is large and brightly coloured to ensure it is visible. I believe the colour red is very effective in terms of comparing it against the plot and has an ominous undertone as it is a similar colour to blood.
I have intentionally used the same sort of layout for the poster and the article to keep the same style. I have also kept the style, as I believe the images are effective in creating suspense and text (title and cast list) suits the poster in terms of its colour contrast against the white and the blue.
Article
My article uses the conventions of the reviews that I had researched in the sense that I have used the same structure by summing up the plot, reviewing the film and including amplifying the plot followed by an overall summary of the film, including a verdict.
In the research phase, I had decided not to write about the plot in detail as I thought it would spoil the film. However, this is the main style of review that I have looked so have decided to keep with the convention rather than go against it. This is because the convention clearly works and is successful as it is still being used in popular film magazines such as "Total Film 50".
The layout of the article uses the conventions of professional reviews as I have included a banner underneath the title which gives raw facts about the film which is informative for the reader. I have also included star rating which is located in the middle of the "facts" to immediately show the reader the opinion of the film. I have included these two features as I believe most readers would look for the rating and would want to find out who the director and cast are before reading the review.
Furthermore, I have included bright colours in the images used to make the article visually attractive. Most of the reviews that I had looked at only included one image of the main character but I have included an image of the main character and one of the newspapers which is featured in my film as it helps to inform the reader of the storyline at a first glance.
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
I believe that the combination of the film, the poster and the review article are a success. This is because I have used the same layout and style for the layout of the film and the article. The poster and article are successful in giving an insight into the film and the mise en scene from the article and poster convey a sense suspense and danger which is present throughout the film.
I have linked the three products through the colour of the title as I have got the same colour for the title in the two ancillary products and a similar colour red in the film. Another link for the three products is the character -although we don't see Matthew looking as he does in the ancillary products actually in the film, the traits of character created in the edited image, are seen in the "real life" character in the film. Another link between the three products is that I have used newspapers in each to help narrate the story.
3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?
The user feedback is good in telling me what the audience think of my film and express strengths and weaknesses of the three products. To complete this task to a high standard, I have intentionally created my question to include all three products and asked numerous people, in different age groups.
The questionnaire can be found by following the link below:
http://20036163a2mediacc.blogspot.com/2011/05/evaluation.html
Film
The first question was to get a rating of the film. All of the results I got were between 3 and 5 which are positive and reflect the success of the film.
- The entertainment was rated generally high along with the making the audience aware of the situation which is positive as it shows that the audience understands and enjoys the film.
- The storyline is rated between 3 and 4 which suggests I could make some improvements to the storyline and making the film more interesting and exciting - this could be done by creating more suspense. For example, the attack scene would benefit from being darker which would create more suspense. Also, my making the scene darker, there will be shadows over the characters faces which will make the scene more ominous.
- Overall, my feedback for the camerawork and editing was positive with the main response being 4's and 5's. However, it has been suggested many times in the feedback that I could use more camera shots to make the film more effective. Taking this on board, I would include more close up and extreme close up shots which would help to create suspense which would add to the overall effect of the film.
- There has been a range of comments for the favourite aspects of the film which have included Matthew shooting Felix, the interview scene and how the newspapers are used to narrate the story.
- The negative feedback I have received for this task is that the gun shot is out of sync. This was an aspect which I tried to change in iMovie but I wasn’t able move it to the place that I wanted as it caused it to be too late in the sequence which is less effective. Another criticism is the Felix was arrested when she clearly wasn't a suspect. An improvement for this would be to make the storyline more prominent around that aspect of the storyline.
- Overall, the feedback which compares the film I made to a professional product is very good with many responses saying that it compares "very well". It has also been noted that the technology used is comparative to a professionally made film.
Poster
- The first question which I asked was "Does the look of the poster intrigue you and want you to watch the film?" All of the feedback I received for this question was very positive which suggests that the audience want to watch the film as the poster has created questions in their heads that they want answered by the film.
- Generally, the feedback shows that the poster fits in with the film, however, it has been noted that it spoils the storyline as the audience immediately finds out the villain in the film.
- The poster has received very good feedback in terms of comparing it to a professional product with my audience saying "it looks professional" and is "on par" with a professional product.
- All of the people who done the questionnaire could see that the poster was for a suspense film.
- The feedback doesn't suggest any criticism or any improvements which is positive, suggesting that I have conducted the task to a high quality, professional standard.
Article
The feedback I have received for my article is very positive. All of the people that have taken my questionnaire think that it successfully reviews the film, fits in well with the poster and film and has been created to a professional standard. Furthermore, I haven't received any negative feedback which shows that I have created a successful product.
4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
The technologies that I have used in this project are:
- Computers which I have used the internet for my planning and research
- iMovie for the editing of my film
- Word processor to type up my evaluations and other typed documents for my blog.
- Celtx to create my script.
- HD camcorder for the filming of the film.
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Photoshop
- Slideshare.
I have used a combination of the technologies listed above to complete the project.
Firstly, I started using the internet to view posters and film reviews for the research phase. This was the best method for doing this task as there is so much available on the internet, covering a wide range of genres. I have also used the internet to look at videos on YouTube to look at similar products which I then analysed. This research was very useful as it helped me to determine the path I wanted to follow for my own project.
Next, I used a program named "Celtx" to create my script. This was a useful program as it helped me set out the script properly, meeting the standards of a professional product. By doing so, I have been able to create a professional looking script which is easy for the actors/actresses to understand and follow rather than try to follow a script that I had created in Microsoft Word. As I have had no previous experience of script writing, this program was very beneficial as it allowed me to learn the layout and style of scripts whilst being guided to create my own.
After creating my script, I have then used Microsoft Word to complete my production paperwork and come up with a production schedule. These documents were then published to Slideshare with the link published on the blog to ensure they are accessible.
After finishing my script and the production paperwork, I have started filming which was done over one day. For this I used a "Traveler HD Digital Camcorder" which ensured that the quality of the image would be high which would help to make the film look professional.
The next stage was to edit my film. This was conducted in iMovie over a few weeks and included sequencing the film clips, editing the length of the clips, adding in sound, the title and the cast list. I had little knowledge of using iMovie before editing my film which meant that I was learning how to use the program during the editing phase. The software was good as it allowed me to edit my film successfully; however, I did encounter some problems. These problems included not being able to slow clips down as it lengthened the duration of the film but would delete the scene and when it was played, it had disappeared. This is unfortunate, because scenes such as the extreme close up of Matthews hand would have benefitted from the clip being lengthened. Another example of where the clip would have benefitted from being lengthened is in the final scene where there is a shot reverse shot. This shot goes from behind Matthews back showing Felix opening the door to Felix's view back to behind Matthew's back, however due to the editing, the clip where we see the look on Felix's face when Matthew is holding a gun towards her is much shorter than I would have liked it to have been. If the clip was slightly longer, the suspense and danger would be heightened. Another feature, I would have liked to be able to use when editing my film, was to be able to change the scenes to have a night-time effect on them to create suspense in the opening scene.
After completing my film, I have started to create my poster and article. Originally, I had started to use Adobe InDesign which is a program I used in AS Media to create my magazine, but due to the half term and lack of remaining time, I changed to using Adobe Photoshop. This is because I did not have access to InDesign at home, where as I do have access to Photoshop which meant I was able to continue my poster and article over the half term to avoid handing the products in after the deadline. I believe that by using Photoshop, I have been able to create successful, high quality ancillary products.
The final stage of the project was to then complete the evaluation which was created on Blogger.com. Blogger is also another technology I have used in order to complete my project.
5. If you were making this product again what changes would you make and how would you improve it?
If I was to make the film again, I would film at night providing there is enough light to create a greater sense of suspense which would improve the overall atmosphere of the film. I would also ensure that in the filming stage, I would make sure then clips were long enough so I would be able make effective use of them (such as the clip of Matthews hand which is slightly too short).
For my article and poster, I do not think that I would want to change anything as the feedback was so positive.
In the planning stage of the project, I would want to increase the amount of research I would do. This would increase my awareness of media products and would help inspire me to give me better ideas for the overall products. Furthermore, if I was to create several drafts of each product, I would be able to review each draft and use the best bits of each, in order to create three very successful products.
I can now edit this template enabling me to add my own stories and images.