Friday, 23 April 2010
Notice
All posts below here are included in the links above which are there for easy navigation of the blog.
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
Rules and Regulations for use of Copyright Material
Any use of music in this film complies with 'Fair Dealing' under the 1988 Copyright Designs and Patents Act (UK), Sections 6(i) and 6(ii);
Fair dealing is a term used to describe some limited activities that are allowed without infringing copyright. Briefly these are as follows:
Section 6
i. Research and private study
Copying parts of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or of a typographical arrangement of a published edition for the purpose of research or private study is allowed under the following conditions:
· The copy is made for the purposes of research or private study.
· The copy is made for non-commercial purposes.
· The source of the material is acknowledged.
· The person making the copy does not make copies of the material available for a number of people.
ii Instruction or examination
Copying parts of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or a sound recording, film or broadcast for the purpose of instruction or examination is allowed under the following conditions:
· The copying is done by the student or the person giving instruction.
· The copying is not done via a reprographic process.
· The source of the material is acknowledged.
· The instruction is for a non-commercial purpose.
Fair dealing is a term used to describe some limited activities that are allowed without infringing copyright. Briefly these are as follows:
Section 6
i. Research and private study
Copying parts of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or of a typographical arrangement of a published edition for the purpose of research or private study is allowed under the following conditions:
· The copy is made for the purposes of research or private study.
· The copy is made for non-commercial purposes.
· The source of the material is acknowledged.
· The person making the copy does not make copies of the material available for a number of people.
ii Instruction or examination
Copying parts of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or a sound recording, film or broadcast for the purpose of instruction or examination is allowed under the following conditions:
· The copying is done by the student or the person giving instruction.
· The copying is not done via a reprographic process.
· The source of the material is acknowledged.
· The instruction is for a non-commercial purpose.
Progress Report - Editing part 2
Over the last couple of weeks my group has been editing the trailer for our coursework. After completing the initial cropping and ordering of the shots in order to get the correct continuity we then had to start matching the sound to it. This was all planned in the dual column script and so all we had to do now was create it and add it.
The first piece of sound was fairly easy as all we needed was the beat of a bass drum which we could then repeat at certain intervals throughout the clip. The second layer of sound was the dialogue. We recorded this in the recording studio last week with our actress. This stage caused a few more problems than expected. I was given the task of choosing the best takes of each line of dialogue and then breaking up the dialogue into lots of different sound files. I used Adobe Audition to do the editing on the dialogue.
I had never used this software before and so it took a bit of time to get a feeling for it. We had recorded several takes of the script and so at first I tried to chose the best take of each line and match them together, however what I soon came to realise is that the volume levels and clarity were different on each take. Due to this I scrapped that method and chose the complete take that I thought sounded best and then went through the process of braking that up into the 20 seperate files we needed.
Once the audio files had been separated I then gave them to our editor to put on the trailer edit on Adobe Premiere. They all sounded ok and matched to their planned shots pretty well.
The only problem we found was that as the last two lines of dialogue are said in a piece to camera by the actress rather than in the recording studio they sounded different. In fact the quality of the one where she talked to the camera was very poor and so we arranged a re-shoot of this shot as soon as possible with a camera and a good quality microphone in order to get the two sections to match.
The re-shoot didn't take long and with the better quality audio we placed this new clip onto the trailer and the continuity in sound quality was much better. The final thing we had to do was put the non-diegetic music onto the trailer.
We were originally told we could not use pre-recorded music and so created our own. We used a keyboard in the audio suite just to create a gradually increasing tone to run throughout the trailer. Once it was placed on Adobe Premiere with the rest of the trailer we merely faded it from start to finish so that it would build towards a climax which in our case was a final beat of the bass drum right at the end of the music. This is all planned to work towards increasing the tension throughout the trialer.
The first piece of sound was fairly easy as all we needed was the beat of a bass drum which we could then repeat at certain intervals throughout the clip. The second layer of sound was the dialogue. We recorded this in the recording studio last week with our actress. This stage caused a few more problems than expected. I was given the task of choosing the best takes of each line of dialogue and then breaking up the dialogue into lots of different sound files. I used Adobe Audition to do the editing on the dialogue.
Once the audio files had been separated I then gave them to our editor to put on the trailer edit on Adobe Premiere. They all sounded ok and matched to their planned shots pretty well.
The re-shoot didn't take long and with the better quality audio we placed this new clip onto the trailer and the continuity in sound quality was much better. The final thing we had to do was put the non-diegetic music onto the trailer.
Progress Report - Radio Advert Editing
The radio editing stage has been a fairly quick and easy process. We used Adobe Audition for this task which I had already used before in order to edit the voiceover for the trailer. This meant that when I had to edit the trailer voice over I was already familiar with the software and could get things done fairly quickly. First I had to split all the takes of the script into separate sound files and then choose the ones that the group felt were best. There were two sections to this with the first being the film’s main male protagonist’s speech and then a narrator for the legal blurb at the end. Therefore I saved the files with the different voice artists names and then 1a, 1b, 2a etc. for the different takes. Keeping them well noted and ordered like this made the next part of the editing process a lot quicker.
The clips were chosen on both sound quality and appropriateness of the tone of the voice artist. We were looking for a serious tone in the actor’s voice in order to meet the codes and conventions of thrillers. I learnt from my research into the ‘Tell No One’ trailer that the tone and tempo of speech on a thriller’s radio advert are important sign systems for the audience. Having a slow tempo with a serious tone provides a kind of suspense and tension which is precisely what we were looking for. Once they had been chosen I simply had to put the two segments onto Adobe Audition and put them together. This software is pretty easy to use and has definitely helped me to create a good quality product in this case.
After completing the main two segments of speech we had to add a couple of sound effects. It was decided at the planning stage that we would not use music on the radio advert as we felt the silence would provide the tension we desired. For the sound effects we decided to include the bass drum beat that we had used in the trailer at the beginning and end of the advert. This provides some continuity in the campaign by linking the two products. We also decided to use a heartbeat on the radio advert. This sound effect was not on the trailer but we decided to run it as an undertone to the riddle as ideologically hearing a heartbeat is associated with fear or tension and hence it fits the thriller codes and conventions.
The clips were chosen on both sound quality and appropriateness of the tone of the voice artist. We were looking for a serious tone in the actor’s voice in order to meet the codes and conventions of thrillers. I learnt from my research into the ‘Tell No One’ trailer that the tone and tempo of speech on a thriller’s radio advert are important sign systems for the audience. Having a slow tempo with a serious tone provides a kind of suspense and tension which is precisely what we were looking for. Once they had been chosen I simply had to put the two segments onto Adobe Audition and put them together. This software is pretty easy to use and has definitely helped me to create a good quality product in this case.
After completing the main two segments of speech we had to add a couple of sound effects. It was decided at the planning stage that we would not use music on the radio advert as we felt the silence would provide the tension we desired. For the sound effects we decided to include the bass drum beat that we had used in the trailer at the beginning and end of the advert. This provides some continuity in the campaign by linking the two products. We also decided to use a heartbeat on the radio advert. This sound effect was not on the trailer but we decided to run it as an undertone to the riddle as ideologically hearing a heartbeat is associated with fear or tension and hence it fits the thriller codes and conventions.
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Progress Report - Website Production (part 2)
After talking with my lecturer about my original website front page layout I decided to make some changes. The layout was almost too organised with an item top left (title and date), bottom left (photo of actors), top right (tagline) and bottom right (Weymouth College sign). Websites rarely seem follow this perfectly synchronised format unless placing their content in the centre of the screen. Also the idea of choas fits the thriller genre more than that of organisation. The final influencing factor which brought me to the decision of chsnging my layout was the focus of my campaign.
In the marketing of a film, companies will generally either use the title or the date as main branding tools. I had originally planned on using the title hence the larger font on my first draft. In my revised version I have made the date the largest font size and the title the second largest. I have also placed the date in the middle of the screen to show its importance. I then moved the title to the top centre and made it the second largest font size. This shift in focus from the title to the date comes from the trailer and radio advert having some prominent focus on the date being the 21.6.10 (a.k.a. Midsummer's Day).
I also decided to disorganise the lettering and move the tagline in to an off central position in order to provide the feel of chaos. I still wanted it to look professional but feel this layout is more appropriate for a film of the thriller genre.
Finally once all of the main production was completed I decided to make it a real webpage. I placed my front page onto 'Macromedia Dreamweaver' and then put it into a webpage. Following this I had to 'print screen' the top and bottom of the of the page as it needed to scroll down and then put them back together on 'Photoshop'. It was for this stage that I had faded the main image of the college building out using the feathering tool on Photoshop previously as now it blends into the black background used on Dreamweaver and looks professionally done, like it fits.
In the marketing of a film, companies will generally either use the title or the date as main branding tools. I had originally planned on using the title hence the larger font on my first draft. In my revised version I have made the date the largest font size and the title the second largest. I have also placed the date in the middle of the screen to show its importance. I then moved the title to the top centre and made it the second largest font size. This shift in focus from the title to the date comes from the trailer and radio advert having some prominent focus on the date being the 21.6.10 (a.k.a. Midsummer's Day).
I also decided to disorganise the lettering and move the tagline in to an off central position in order to provide the feel of chaos. I still wanted it to look professional but feel this layout is more appropriate for a film of the thriller genre.
Finally once all of the main production was completed I decided to make it a real webpage. I placed my front page onto 'Macromedia Dreamweaver' and then put it into a webpage. Following this I had to 'print screen' the top and bottom of the of the page as it needed to scroll down and then put them back together on 'Photoshop'. It was for this stage that I had faded the main image of the college building out using the feathering tool on Photoshop previously as now it blends into the black background used on Dreamweaver and looks professionally done, like it fits.
Website Front Page - Final Draft
This is the final draft of the website front page before I put it onto Macromedia Dreamweaver so that it was in a proper web format.
Friday, 9 April 2010
Main Evaluation
My main focus throughout this year’s A2 media coursework has been on progressing from last year’s A/S coursework. This year I had to create a viral campaign for a film which included a trailer, magazine cover, website front page and radio advertisement. Last year I just had to create the opening sequence of a film so radio, magazines and websites were new areas for me.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
With the experience gained from my A/S coursework I decided to predominantly use the current forms and conventions for teaser trailers, magazine covers, website front pages and radio adverts.
A/S main exercise - opening sequence of a film
I learnt from last year’s coursework that using current forms and conventions helps in creating a product which the audience can fully understand. The fact that I had already created two video productions last year was a great help in each stage of the trailer’s production. I analysed the teaser trailers for ‘Cloverfield’ (Matt Reeves, 2008), ‘Inception’ (Christopher Nolan, 2010) and ‘Inglourious Basterds’ (Quentin Tarentino, 2009) in order to get a full understanding of the forms and conventions they used. I wanted to create a trailer that set up an interesting enigma for the audience to decipher and learning from three professionally produced teaser trailers was one of the best ways to do this. Probably the best use of the enigmatic style was shown in the ‘Cloverfield’ teaser trailer and proof of this came from the massive online buzz that it initiated.
The main problems that arise from trying to use the conventions of real media products are lack of time, money and expertise. Due to this, creativity and initiative became vital parts of the project. The titles were kept simple so that a professional look was maintained and they were placed beginning and end as my research advised this.
For the structure of the trailer I decided to follow ‘Inglourious Basterds’ example with regards to having dialogue run throughout the trailer and then matching the visual elements to this. I then attained my music idea from ‘Inception’ by having an ever increasing tone run throughout and a series of bass drum beats at specific intervals to imitate a slow heartbeat both of which help to create tension. ‘Cloverfield’ provided some camerawork ideas such as point of view shots in order to engage the audience fully with the text. By using a mix of the forms and conventions from real media products my teaser trailer has a structure that the audience should understand.
The forms and conventions that go towards creating an enigma were drawn from all my example texts with my main conclusion being that less is more. Within the trailer my group decided not to disclose the identity of the main antagonist in order to ‘tease’ the audience. This technique has real world backing as it was also used by ‘Cloverfield’. Unlike ‘Cloverfield’ however and one of the ways in which we developed the forms and conventions of real
media products was to imply the antagonist’s presence through point of view shots. As our film idea is a thriller forms and conventions dictated we had to develop tension and fear in order to attract our target audience. The elusion to the antagonist’s presence helps provide this alongside the music, bass drum and script. All of these elements were designed to start slow and build to a climax which ended with the camera and male protagonist colliding. Everything then stopped just to leave a shot of the female
protagonist answering a question which was posed at the beginning in an enigmatic fashion. The trailer for ‘Inception’ is the best real world example of this technique I have from my research.
The research based style I used in the trailer I followed throughout all of my production pieces in order for real world forms and conventions to be a running theme. This helped me with one of the most important aspects of my viral campaign, to create four cohesive parts for a synergistic whole. If I had tried to challenge the forms and conventions of real media products it would have been difficult to organise each part of the campaign into an effective whole.
To identify the forms and conventions for my magazine cover I researched Empire and Sight & Sound as these are two of the biggest film magazines in Britain. I decided to base my cover on Empire as I felt their readership was most like my target audience. After analysing three Empire issue covers there were a variety of conventions both from Empire and thrillers which I identified and used. Empire’s conventions included the size of font correlating with the importance of the text, the colouring of the text having limited range so as not to overpower the picture, using a mid-shot photograph of the main character(s) as the focal point about which the text is placed and using right align, left align and centering depending on the text’s position on the page.
Also Empire place the issue date and price in the dip of the ‘M’ of Empire and have the cover model’s head protrude into the lower half of the magazine title. These forms and conventions are part of Empire’s branding and are fairly general however there are some that vary depending on the film being promoted.
For example, they usually establish a theme which will dictate such things as colour schemes and font styles. The colour scheme for my film campaign was black and red. I made the film’s title a dark red and designed a background with a mixture of these two colours as part of the film’s branding process. I then used Photoshop to create a cloud effect which was to promote the chaos and disruption within the film.
Thus some of the underlying features of the films plot and genre are in the magazine which should help to attract the target audience and link it to the other parts of the campaign. A good real world example of using the background colour and style as part of the branding comes from the Iron Man issue I researched.
I found creating the website front page more difficult than the magazine cover. This is because once a brand of magazine has been chosen you have a template already laid out which just requires a different interpretation, whereas with websites there is no monthly issue to analyse. Due to this I relied heavily on my research. A few months ago I did some basic magazine research into five film websites, but more recently I did an in depth textual analysis into the website for ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’.
I identified and used some basic thriller codes and conventions from both sets of research such as having a dark colour scheme. My background was black and the main picture on the page was taken at night. Simplicity was a major part of A Nightmare on Elm Street’s website as they merely had a picture, the title, a box for the trailer, links and credits/legal blurb. As part of my quest to adhere to the forms and conventions where possible I also included these elements on my website front page. However I included a photograph of the protagonists rather than antagonist as part of the enigma within the viral campaign was to not give away the identity of the antagonist. Other websites which used this approach include ‘The Dark Knight’, ‘The Matrix’ and ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’.
Other film website forms and conventions I followed include the main picture being of a focal
point from the film, using thin grey lettering for the credits, including a BBFC classification certificate and including links to social networking sites. This last one is a more recent convention and it has been developed with the viral campaign style as film
companies have realised the below the line marketing potential of the social networking sites. Most of the film websites I researched included links to fan pages on some or all of the major social networking sites. I also used Macromedia Dreamweaver in order to put my website front page onto an actual internet page.
This makes it look like an actual working website and as far as forms and conventions go it really finalises the website.
The final product I had to create for the viral campaign was a radio advertisement. Before the coursework I’d had no previous experience at radio so I first had to learn the forms and conventions of this particular media. As I was screen writer for the trailer I also assumed the equivalent role on this task which meant writing the script both for dialogue and music/sound effects was my responsibility. My lecturer explained to me that like with video it still via semiotics but just without the visual element. I carried out a detailed textual analysis for the ‘Tell No One’ radio advert in order to better inform my product.
My main focus whilst writing the dialogue for the radio script was to keep the enigmatic theme that was running throughout the campaign. My first attempt was based on my Tell No One analysis which was to use a narrator to just give the name, date and form of release and tag line of the film with some diegetic sound from the trailer such as screams running as an undertone. This is a very conventional form for radio adverts but it was later decided this may be stereotypical to the point where it was boring and unimaginative.
Due to this I decided to develop the conventions and write a type of riddle for the male protagonist to say and just use a narrator for the date and form of release and the age classification at the end. Riddles are a great way to create enigmas and so this fits in with the campaign style, I eluded to the date of release and genre of the film within the riddle in order give the audience a starting point from which to try and solve the riddle (by watching the film). Also as part of the radio forms and conventions for thriller film adverts I used voice artists that I believed had a serious tone in order to the tense thriller feel. For the narrators section I used some conventions such as the form of release being given and the age classification being read quickly at the end but I also developed some in so far as the date was not given in the usual fashion of numbers but by the name of the day (Midsummer’s Day) as this was one of the parts of the riddle and so continued the enigma through to the end of the advert.
Alongside the dialogue for the trailer my group also used a couple of sound effects. We included the beat of a bass drum at the beginning and end of the radio advert in order to link this part of the campaign with the trailer due to use of the same sound in the trailer. A new sound effect we used solely in the radio advert however was the beat of a heartbeat. This was placed as an undertone to the first speaking part of the trailer and we set it to fade in. This definately conforms to the conventions of thrillers as a loud heartbeat is normally associated with tension, adrenaline and fear.
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
I have tried hard throughout the advanced production to create a synergistic relationship between all the parts of my campaign. The trailer is the focal point of the campaign as this is where the audience is most able to get a feel for the film’s content and nature. Several key elements from the trailer were also used in the other parts of the campaign in order to create continuity. For example, the release date is a big part of the campaign and it is mentioned in the trailer, on the website and on the radio advert but as it is not part of Empire’s codes and conventions I did not include it on my magazine cover.
The tag line ‘Some truths are better left in the dark’ is also an important part of the branding. It is said at the end of the trailer and I included it both on my website and magazine cover though on the magazine cover I modified it into a question for enigmatic purposes.
The title was a contentious point within our group. We were not sure whether to follow Cloverfield’s lead by not including it anywhere in the campaign so as to try and create an online buzz, or to follow the conventional method by having it as one of the main branding tools. When we originally designed the trailer we left the title off due to the Cloverfield research however as my partners and I began to create our other products we decided this was not right for our campaign. The basis of Cloverfield being able to not include the title was the fact that it had a fairly well known director
which they could use for branding instead. As I was the director and clearly don’t have any past films or fan base we could not effectively execute the same strategy. We decided therefore to use the title ‘Lost Retribution’ and date ‘21/06/10’ alongside the tag line as the main branding tools.
In this coursework the magazine and website were individual tasks whilst the trailer and radio advert were group tasks and in my complete campaign I had at least two of the three main branding tools mentioned above in each of my four products. A couple of other areas in which the separate parts of the campaign were designed to link include the use of a base drum in both the trailer and radio advert and placing the main protagonists in the trailer, on my magazine cover and on my website front page. The fact that all four elements of the campaign will be available online also adds to the effective combination of my main product and the ancillary texts. Using all of the techniques mentioned above I feel I have created a synergistic campaign in which each part works towards a greater whole.
How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
One of the main progressions from the A/S to the A2 coursework has been the extensive use of new media technology in the planning and research stages. All of my coursework this year is available to view online whereas last year a fair amount was paper based. This was done through a combination of the web 2.0 sites ‘Blogger’ and ‘Google Documents’ which allowed me to upload and store all my work on the web from the initial
ideas through to the evaluation. Any work that was completed on paper such as the storyboards and initial ideas drafts were then scanned into the computer so that they could also be uploaded onto either Blogger or Google Documents. Google Documents was mainly used for the group tasks as we needed to be able to share the work between all group members. Therefore by using this online storage system we could all access and edit any of the paperwork and then merely had to put the link into a page on Blogger so that it could all be accessed with
the rest of the coursework. I used Blogger for my individual pieces as it looks more professional than Google Documents and it allows me to add links, pictures and videos more easily.
The Blogger site was set up very early on in this academic year and my lecturer has been getting myself and the rest of the group to continually add to it as the year has gone on. Therefore the blog provides a view of the process I went through to complete this coursework in a way that is organised and looks professional. Making it look professional has been a conscious effort as I didn’t want it to be filled with pages of just bland text. Therefore I have added pictures where appropriate, links to my sources and
have even embedded ‘Youtube’ videos on it to support my research material.
During the research stage of my trailer I used Web 2.0 sites such as Youtube in order to access examples of real world texts to better inform my own production. I also used the internet as part of my research into magazines, websites and radio adverts so new media technologies have played a big part in my coursework this year.
Though I used new media for the production stage last year this also has been developed greatly in the progression from A/S to A2. For shooting the trailer we used one of the college’s digital video cameras which were new compared to last year. The
editing software we used for the trailer ‘Adobe Premiere’ was also new to me as last year we had used ‘Window’s Movie Maker’. Therefore, though both years’ coursework productions were produced totally with new media technology this year that technology was more advanced and in depth allowing me and my group to create better quality products. As for the magazine, website and radio advert all the new media used on these was completely new to me at the start of the year.
I have used 'Photoshop'extensively this year during the production and editing stages of both the magazine and website tasks and it has allowed me to create complex and professional looking products. It enabled me to use several layers of images and text for both the magazine and website. This meant I could create 'fictional' scenes which best create the audience response desired and follow the industry codes and conventions. For the website front page I also used 'Macromedia Dreamweaver'.
Though I didn't have to create a working website with multiple pages in order to make my web page as authentic as possible I used Dreamweaver to put my web page into an internet page. I then used print screen twice and cut the page back together on Photoshop as an image. This and many other coursework tasks were only possible due to the new media technology available to me during this coursework. For the radio advert we used the
audio suite at college to record the dialogue and then used ‘Adobe Audition’ for the editing. Having high quality new media equipment and software such as that mentioned above available really broadened the horizon on what was possible at each stage of the coursework.
It is fair to say that I have used a variety of new media technology over the four tasks this year to carry out a wide range of jobs. Learning how to properly harness these technologies has greatly advanced the quality of my products this year compared to the A/S coursework. Keeping it all digital also allows easy access for my self, my group, my lecturer and the potential audience which is definitely the way it is being done in the real world environment these days.
Audience Feedback
What have you learned from your audience feedback?
Once all the products for my campaign were completed I arranged for a group of four of my college peers who were familiar with cinematic campaigns being themselves regular cinema goers to look through them and provide me with some feedback. These people were not from my media class as I was conscious their feedback may be biased or that they would not look at the products in the same way the audience normally would. Using people my age was appropriate because they fall directly into the age bracket for the target audience of my film. After I got the feedback I went through it to find the more relevant comments with something on each product and then analysed them.
The first audience member said they, "...feel the campaign as a whole links well though there is less connection between the radio advert and the other three products". They also went on to say that, "The trailer reminds me of other thriller trailers I've seen though it didn't always seem to make sense". I can understand where the comment on the radio advert was stemmed from as we did use a slightly more unconventional approach on this product. Though I do feel we linked it to the campaign I will be more conscious in the future about any mixture of conventional and unconventional approaches within a campaign. As for the comment on the trailer I again see where they're coming from but I wouldn't say I'd view it as a problem. Trailers often don't run in a continuous fashion and particularly in thrillers in order to set up an enigma completely logical narrative structures are not always the best method. Due to this particular piece of feedback
My second audience member particularly liked the magazine cover saying it "looks authentic" and they could "imagine in it in a shop". This feedback is really positive and shows that I have done what I set out to do which was make professional looking products. In terms of the campaign as a whole they said it "all of the products give the feel of a thriller and it seems like the type of film I'd be interested in". Like the last comment this shows I have achieved one of the main things I set out to do which was create a campaign that would attract the target audience to the film.
The third audience member gave mixed reviews. They thought "the products look quite professional" and they particularly liked "the fact that the website is in a browser as it makes me feel like I could just go on and use it". However, they said, "I didn't feel as much tension when watching the trailer as I normally would for a thriller movie as there wasn't a great sense of danger." We made our trailer according to the BBFC's guidelines for a 12A so that it could be aired in more places but the restrictions on content associated with this could also have affected the tension. The film itself would have been rated a 15 and so in the future I would definitely consider whether by restricting the content in the trailer I am actually moving away from my target audience.
My final audience member said, "I like the professional feel about the campaign and particularly the tag line as it makes me want to know what the 'truth' is". This piece of feedback shows the enigmatic style of the campaign does work which should entice people to go and watch the film. They also said, "The products work well together and give me a good idea on what type of film it is but I would normally want to know more about the film's plot before deciding whether or not to see it." I think this shows that there is a form of synergistic relationship working between the campaign's products and the extra information would probably have been available on the website if it had been fully functioning or in the magazine article. I couldn't help this point as I didn't have to create the full products but if I were to ever create a real campaign I would make sure enough information on the film was available.
Conclusion
In conclusion I feel my products have achieved their purpose. The trailer includes appropriate mise-en-scene, a variety of shots and sound which all work towards building tension and setting up an enigma. My magazine cover follows Empire's codes and conventions whilst also effectively marketing the film by using some of the campaign's branding tools. The website also effectively markets the film by use of these branding elements whilst also providing the audience with a way of interacting with the film in a different way. Finally the radio advert uses the riddle to create tension and an enigma whilst also giving the audience information on where to see the film. In this way the four elements work together synergistically to create a hopefully successful viral campaign which would influence the target audience to watch the film.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
With the experience gained from my A/S coursework I decided to predominantly use the current forms and conventions for teaser trailers, magazine covers, website front pages and radio adverts.
A/S main exercise - opening sequence of a film
I learnt from last year’s coursework that using current forms and conventions helps in creating a product which the audience can fully understand. The fact that I had already created two video productions last year was a great help in each stage of the trailer’s production. I analysed the teaser trailers for ‘Cloverfield’ (Matt Reeves, 2008), ‘Inception’ (Christopher Nolan, 2010) and ‘Inglourious Basterds’ (Quentin Tarentino, 2009) in order to get a full understanding of the forms and conventions they used. I wanted to create a trailer that set up an interesting enigma for the audience to decipher and learning from three professionally produced teaser trailers was one of the best ways to do this. Probably the best use of the enigmatic style was shown in the ‘Cloverfield’ teaser trailer and proof of this came from the massive online buzz that it initiated.
The main problems that arise from trying to use the conventions of real media products are lack of time, money and expertise. Due to this, creativity and initiative became vital parts of the project. The titles were kept simple so that a professional look was maintained and they were placed beginning and end as my research advised this.
For the structure of the trailer I decided to follow ‘Inglourious Basterds’ example with regards to having dialogue run throughout the trailer and then matching the visual elements to this. I then attained my music idea from ‘Inception’ by having an ever increasing tone run throughout and a series of bass drum beats at specific intervals to imitate a slow heartbeat both of which help to create tension. ‘Cloverfield’ provided some camerawork ideas such as point of view shots in order to engage the audience fully with the text. By using a mix of the forms and conventions from real media products my teaser trailer has a structure that the audience should understand.The forms and conventions that go towards creating an enigma were drawn from all my example texts with my main conclusion being that less is more. Within the trailer my group decided not to disclose the identity of the main antagonist in order to ‘tease’ the audience. This technique has real world backing as it was also used by ‘Cloverfield’. Unlike ‘Cloverfield’ however and one of the ways in which we developed the forms and conventions of real
The research based style I used in the trailer I followed throughout all of my production pieces in order for real world forms and conventions to be a running theme. This helped me with one of the most important aspects of my viral campaign, to create four cohesive parts for a synergistic whole. If I had tried to challenge the forms and conventions of real media products it would have been difficult to organise each part of the campaign into an effective whole.
To identify the forms and conventions for my magazine cover I researched Empire and Sight & Sound as these are two of the biggest film magazines in Britain. I decided to base my cover on Empire as I felt their readership was most like my target audience. After analysing three Empire issue covers there were a variety of conventions both from Empire and thrillers which I identified and used. Empire’s conventions included the size of font correlating with the importance of the text, the colouring of the text having limited range so as not to overpower the picture, using a mid-shot photograph of the main character(s) as the focal point about which the text is placed and using right align, left align and centering depending on the text’s position on the page.
Also Empire place the issue date and price in the dip of the ‘M’ of Empire and have the cover model’s head protrude into the lower half of the magazine title. These forms and conventions are part of Empire’s branding and are fairly general however there are some that vary depending on the film being promoted.For example, they usually establish a theme which will dictate such things as colour schemes and font styles. The colour scheme for my film campaign was black and red. I made the film’s title a dark red and designed a background with a mixture of these two colours as part of the film’s branding process. I then used Photoshop to create a cloud effect which was to promote the chaos and disruption within the film.
Thus some of the underlying features of the films plot and genre are in the magazine which should help to attract the target audience and link it to the other parts of the campaign. A good real world example of using the background colour and style as part of the branding comes from the Iron Man issue I researched.I found creating the website front page more difficult than the magazine cover. This is because once a brand of magazine has been chosen you have a template already laid out which just requires a different interpretation, whereas with websites there is no monthly issue to analyse. Due to this I relied heavily on my research. A few months ago I did some basic magazine research into five film websites, but more recently I did an in depth textual analysis into the website for ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’.
I identified and used some basic thriller codes and conventions from both sets of research such as having a dark colour scheme. My background was black and the main picture on the page was taken at night. Simplicity was a major part of A Nightmare on Elm Street’s website as they merely had a picture, the title, a box for the trailer, links and credits/legal blurb. As part of my quest to adhere to the forms and conventions where possible I also included these elements on my website front page. However I included a photograph of the protagonists rather than antagonist as part of the enigma within the viral campaign was to not give away the identity of the antagonist. Other websites which used this approach include ‘The Dark Knight’, ‘The Matrix’ and ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’.
Other film website forms and conventions I followed include the main picture being of a focal
point from the film, using thin grey lettering for the credits, including a BBFC classification certificate and including links to social networking sites. This last one is a more recent convention and it has been developed with the viral campaign style as film
companies have realised the below the line marketing potential of the social networking sites. Most of the film websites I researched included links to fan pages on some or all of the major social networking sites. I also used Macromedia Dreamweaver in order to put my website front page onto an actual internet page.
The final product I had to create for the viral campaign was a radio advertisement. Before the coursework I’d had no previous experience at radio so I first had to learn the forms and conventions of this particular media. As I was screen writer for the trailer I also assumed the equivalent role on this task which meant writing the script both for dialogue and music/sound effects was my responsibility. My lecturer explained to me that like with video it still via semiotics but just without the visual element. I carried out a detailed textual analysis for the ‘Tell No One’ radio advert in order to better inform my product.
My main focus whilst writing the dialogue for the radio script was to keep the enigmatic theme that was running throughout the campaign. My first attempt was based on my Tell No One analysis which was to use a narrator to just give the name, date and form of release and tag line of the film with some diegetic sound from the trailer such as screams running as an undertone. This is a very conventional form for radio adverts but it was later decided this may be stereotypical to the point where it was boring and unimaginative.
Due to this I decided to develop the conventions and write a type of riddle for the male protagonist to say and just use a narrator for the date and form of release and the age classification at the end. Riddles are a great way to create enigmas and so this fits in with the campaign style, I eluded to the date of release and genre of the film within the riddle in order give the audience a starting point from which to try and solve the riddle (by watching the film). Also as part of the radio forms and conventions for thriller film adverts I used voice artists that I believed had a serious tone in order to the tense thriller feel. For the narrators section I used some conventions such as the form of release being given and the age classification being read quickly at the end but I also developed some in so far as the date was not given in the usual fashion of numbers but by the name of the day (Midsummer’s Day) as this was one of the parts of the riddle and so continued the enigma through to the end of the advert.
Alongside the dialogue for the trailer my group also used a couple of sound effects. We included the beat of a bass drum at the beginning and end of the radio advert in order to link this part of the campaign with the trailer due to use of the same sound in the trailer. A new sound effect we used solely in the radio advert however was the beat of a heartbeat. This was placed as an undertone to the first speaking part of the trailer and we set it to fade in. This definately conforms to the conventions of thrillers as a loud heartbeat is normally associated with tension, adrenaline and fear.
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
I have tried hard throughout the advanced production to create a synergistic relationship between all the parts of my campaign. The trailer is the focal point of the campaign as this is where the audience is most able to get a feel for the film’s content and nature. Several key elements from the trailer were also used in the other parts of the campaign in order to create continuity. For example, the release date is a big part of the campaign and it is mentioned in the trailer, on the website and on the radio advert but as it is not part of Empire’s codes and conventions I did not include it on my magazine cover.
The tag line ‘Some truths are better left in the dark’ is also an important part of the branding. It is said at the end of the trailer and I included it both on my website and magazine cover though on the magazine cover I modified it into a question for enigmatic purposes.
The title was a contentious point within our group. We were not sure whether to follow Cloverfield’s lead by not including it anywhere in the campaign so as to try and create an online buzz, or to follow the conventional method by having it as one of the main branding tools. When we originally designed the trailer we left the title off due to the Cloverfield research however as my partners and I began to create our other products we decided this was not right for our campaign. The basis of Cloverfield being able to not include the title was the fact that it had a fairly well known director
In this coursework the magazine and website were individual tasks whilst the trailer and radio advert were group tasks and in my complete campaign I had at least two of the three main branding tools mentioned above in each of my four products. A couple of other areas in which the separate parts of the campaign were designed to link include the use of a base drum in both the trailer and radio advert and placing the main protagonists in the trailer, on my magazine cover and on my website front page. The fact that all four elements of the campaign will be available online also adds to the effective combination of my main product and the ancillary texts. Using all of the techniques mentioned above I feel I have created a synergistic campaign in which each part works towards a greater whole.
How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
One of the main progressions from the A/S to the A2 coursework has been the extensive use of new media technology in the planning and research stages. All of my coursework this year is available to view online whereas last year a fair amount was paper based. This was done through a combination of the web 2.0 sites ‘Blogger’ and ‘Google Documents’ which allowed me to upload and store all my work on the web from the initial
ideas through to the evaluation. Any work that was completed on paper such as the storyboards and initial ideas drafts were then scanned into the computer so that they could also be uploaded onto either Blogger or Google Documents. Google Documents was mainly used for the group tasks as we needed to be able to share the work between all group members. Therefore by using this online storage system we could all access and edit any of the paperwork and then merely had to put the link into a page on Blogger so that it could all be accessed with
the rest of the coursework. I used Blogger for my individual pieces as it looks more professional than Google Documents and it allows me to add links, pictures and videos more easily. The Blogger site was set up very early on in this academic year and my lecturer has been getting myself and the rest of the group to continually add to it as the year has gone on. Therefore the blog provides a view of the process I went through to complete this coursework in a way that is organised and looks professional. Making it look professional has been a conscious effort as I didn’t want it to be filled with pages of just bland text. Therefore I have added pictures where appropriate, links to my sources and
have even embedded ‘Youtube’ videos on it to support my research material.During the research stage of my trailer I used Web 2.0 sites such as Youtube in order to access examples of real world texts to better inform my own production. I also used the internet as part of my research into magazines, websites and radio adverts so new media technologies have played a big part in my coursework this year.
Though I used new media for the production stage last year this also has been developed greatly in the progression from A/S to A2. For shooting the trailer we used one of the college’s digital video cameras which were new compared to last year. The
editing software we used for the trailer ‘Adobe Premiere’ was also new to me as last year we had used ‘Window’s Movie Maker’. Therefore, though both years’ coursework productions were produced totally with new media technology this year that technology was more advanced and in depth allowing me and my group to create better quality products. As for the magazine, website and radio advert all the new media used on these was completely new to me at the start of the year.
I have used 'Photoshop'extensively this year during the production and editing stages of both the magazine and website tasks and it has allowed me to create complex and professional looking products. It enabled me to use several layers of images and text for both the magazine and website. This meant I could create 'fictional' scenes which best create the audience response desired and follow the industry codes and conventions. For the website front page I also used 'Macromedia Dreamweaver'.
Though I didn't have to create a working website with multiple pages in order to make my web page as authentic as possible I used Dreamweaver to put my web page into an internet page. I then used print screen twice and cut the page back together on Photoshop as an image. This and many other coursework tasks were only possible due to the new media technology available to me during this coursework. For the radio advert we used the
audio suite at college to record the dialogue and then used ‘Adobe Audition’ for the editing. Having high quality new media equipment and software such as that mentioned above available really broadened the horizon on what was possible at each stage of the coursework.
It is fair to say that I have used a variety of new media technology over the four tasks this year to carry out a wide range of jobs. Learning how to properly harness these technologies has greatly advanced the quality of my products this year compared to the A/S coursework. Keeping it all digital also allows easy access for my self, my group, my lecturer and the potential audience which is definitely the way it is being done in the real world environment these days.
Audience Feedback
What have you learned from your audience feedback?
The first audience member said they, "...feel the campaign as a whole links well though there is less connection between the radio advert and the other three products". They also went on to say that, "The trailer reminds me of other thriller trailers I've seen though it didn't always seem to make sense". I can understand where the comment on the radio advert was stemmed from as we did use a slightly more unconventional approach on this product. Though I do feel we linked it to the campaign I will be more conscious in the future about any mixture of conventional and unconventional approaches within a campaign. As for the comment on the trailer I again see where they're coming from but I wouldn't say I'd view it as a problem. Trailers often don't run in a continuous fashion and particularly in thrillers in order to set up an enigma completely logical narrative structures are not always the best method. Due to this particular piece of feedback
My second audience member particularly liked the magazine cover saying it "looks authentic" and they could "imagine in it in a shop". This feedback is really positive and shows that I have done what I set out to do which was make professional looking products. In terms of the campaign as a whole they said it "all of the products give the feel of a thriller and it seems like the type of film I'd be interested in". Like the last comment this shows I have achieved one of the main things I set out to do which was create a campaign that would attract the target audience to the film.
The third audience member gave mixed reviews. They thought "the products look quite professional" and they particularly liked "the fact that the website is in a browser as it makes me feel like I could just go on and use it". However, they said, "I didn't feel as much tension when watching the trailer as I normally would for a thriller movie as there wasn't a great sense of danger." We made our trailer according to the BBFC's guidelines for a 12A so that it could be aired in more places but the restrictions on content associated with this could also have affected the tension. The film itself would have been rated a 15 and so in the future I would definitely consider whether by restricting the content in the trailer I am actually moving away from my target audience.
My final audience member said, "I like the professional feel about the campaign and particularly the tag line as it makes me want to know what the 'truth' is". This piece of feedback shows the enigmatic style of the campaign does work which should entice people to go and watch the film. They also said, "The products work well together and give me a good idea on what type of film it is but I would normally want to know more about the film's plot before deciding whether or not to see it." I think this shows that there is a form of synergistic relationship working between the campaign's products and the extra information would probably have been available on the website if it had been fully functioning or in the magazine article. I couldn't help this point as I didn't have to create the full products but if I were to ever create a real campaign I would make sure enough information on the film was available.
Conclusion
In conclusion I feel my products have achieved their purpose. The trailer includes appropriate mise-en-scene, a variety of shots and sound which all work towards building tension and setting up an enigma. My magazine cover follows Empire's codes and conventions whilst also effectively marketing the film by using some of the campaign's branding tools. The website also effectively markets the film by use of these branding elements whilst also providing the audience with a way of interacting with the film in a different way. Finally the radio advert uses the riddle to create tension and an enigma whilst also giving the audience information on where to see the film. In this way the four elements work together synergistically to create a hopefully successful viral campaign which would influence the target audience to watch the film.
Sunday, 28 March 2010
Progress Report - Website Production (part 1)
The website production was definitely the more difficult of my two individual tasks for this coursework. With magazines I had studied them quite a lot from a theory point of view and created one on Photoshop in class for practice. The problem I had with websites is that they are far more individual products. For example, with my magazine front cover I modeled it on Empire and could draw from their codes and conventions to inform my production. There were hundreds of examples to look at in the cover archive on their website as they produce an issue each month and have done for around 30 years. For the website however there was no brand I could model it on, the whole process had to be started from scratch.
Due to this I relied heavily on the research I had carried out during pre-production. On top of the initial research I had done a couple of months prior when it came to creating mine I needed to refresh my memory on the codes and conventions of thriller websites and so I analysed ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’.
This textual analysis really helped inform my production and the main thing I learnt from it is that less is often more on thriller websites which was quite a relief on my part. This of course didn’t mean there wasn’t a large amount of thought that had to go into the design but it meant that there was less for me to have to coordinate.
I used Photoshop to create my website front page on as this allowed for a great deal of creativity. I had some experience on Photoshop by this point as I had used to create my magazine cover and had taken part in tutorials with my lecturer on how to use it. This greatly advanced the standard of the product that I could produce and was a great help throughout the coursework. I started with the main image on the screen. From both my initial and secondary research it was clear that the websites usually use an iconic image from the film whether that be a place, person or object. Another of the most important features of a thriller website is that the colour scheme is very dark. So I had my initial direction for my main image and after some thought I decided that the front of the college building which appears in the first shot of the trailer is about as iconic a feature as there is that can be related to the film. It also links the website to the trailer in terms of the overall advertising campaign. Based on the thriller codes and conventions I also decided that it should feature the college building at night time.
Once these decisions had been made I made plans to go in to college at 7:30pm on a Monday evening. The college is open until 8pm and they run evening classes until this time so I knew that there would be lights on around the college. I needed enough light to make the building visible whilst still being able to see the dark element. This was not an easy task as I don’t have any formal photography training and just had to use my own experience.Due to this fact I took quite a few photos from a number of different angles on the two main college buildings that appear in the trailer. This was in order to give myself the best possible chance of getting a photograph that I could use for my website. The main problem I faced with the photos was the outside lights on the building flaring on the lens and distorting some of the image. Another problem was the low light levels, which the camera was finding it hard to work with. The last shot I took on the evening was from directly
in front of the main college building where all the lights were straight in front of me and most slightly hidden by pillars. This provided great lighting and ended up being the image I used on my website front page. (The decision process behind the we background image can be viewed here)
Once the main image had been chosen I then started looking at what else I should put on the page in terms of images. After viewing the ‘Twilight Saga: Eclipse’ website alongside ‘The Dark Knight’ website
from my research I decided it would be appropriate to have the main characters on the page and ended up using the same image that I had used on my magazine cover. This worked towards further linking all the parts of the campaign together and showed continuity as the actors were in the same clothes as on the day of filming the trailer. I placed this at the bottom left corner of the background image just to show the characters’ connection with the location. The final image I used was the college sign.
I cut this out of another photograph I had taken of the college building using the magic wand tool. As well as the surrounding background I also cut out the letters which left me with a sign that had a Halloween look to it and a haunting feel. This worked well as it acts as part of the branding of the film and alongside the dark colour scheme goes toward the overall ‘dark’ or ‘evil’ nature behind the film.
Once the images had been completed I began on the text. The main three pieces of text I planned on including were the film title, date of release and tagline. Originally I placed the film title in the most powerful place on the screen according to the rule of thirds, top left and in the largest font of any piece of text.
I then placed the release date immediately under it in the second largest font and finally the tagline of the top right corner of the canvas. These got the most powerful points on the page because they are such big elements of the branding of the film and will make the page recognisable to those who may already have been in contact with another part of the campaign.
With the images done there were a few pieces of text which I noticed were used quite often on film websites from my research. The first of these are the credits and legal blurb at the bottom. I modeled this on the example from the ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ website. I tried to recreate the style of writing that the credits are traditionally written in by narrowing the letters and the spacing between them by using the text settings on Photoshop and then made the font grey. This gave them the traditional look and conformed to the conventional credit style. I also placed the legal blurb at the bottom such as ‘privacy policy’, ‘terms of use’ and 15 classification icon. These are items which must be included by law but they are always placed near the bottom in small print as they are generally just considered formalities. Another section of text I had was for links to other parts of the website. Even though I’m not creating a working website for the coursework the front page must appear as it would if it was working and as such links to other pages such as character information, the synopsis etc, cannot be left off.
Due to this I relied heavily on the research I had carried out during pre-production. On top of the initial research I had done a couple of months prior when it came to creating mine I needed to refresh my memory on the codes and conventions of thriller websites and so I analysed ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’.
This textual analysis really helped inform my production and the main thing I learnt from it is that less is often more on thriller websites which was quite a relief on my part. This of course didn’t mean there wasn’t a large amount of thought that had to go into the design but it meant that there was less for me to have to coordinate.
I used Photoshop to create my website front page on as this allowed for a great deal of creativity. I had some experience on Photoshop by this point as I had used to create my magazine cover and had taken part in tutorials with my lecturer on how to use it. This greatly advanced the standard of the product that I could produce and was a great help throughout the coursework. I started with the main image on the screen. From both my initial and secondary research it was clear that the websites usually use an iconic image from the film whether that be a place, person or object. Another of the most important features of a thriller website is that the colour scheme is very dark. So I had my initial direction for my main image and after some thought I decided that the front of the college building which appears in the first shot of the trailer is about as iconic a feature as there is that can be related to the film. It also links the website to the trailer in terms of the overall advertising campaign. Based on the thriller codes and conventions I also decided that it should feature the college building at night time.
Once these decisions had been made I made plans to go in to college at 7:30pm on a Monday evening. The college is open until 8pm and they run evening classes until this time so I knew that there would be lights on around the college. I needed enough light to make the building visible whilst still being able to see the dark element. This was not an easy task as I don’t have any formal photography training and just had to use my own experience.Due to this fact I took quite a few photos from a number of different angles on the two main college buildings that appear in the trailer. This was in order to give myself the best possible chance of getting a photograph that I could use for my website. The main problem I faced with the photos was the outside lights on the building flaring on the lens and distorting some of the image. Another problem was the low light levels, which the camera was finding it hard to work with. The last shot I took on the evening was from directly
in front of the main college building where all the lights were straight in front of me and most slightly hidden by pillars. This provided great lighting and ended up being the image I used on my website front page. (The decision process behind the we background image can be viewed here)Once the main image had been chosen I then started looking at what else I should put on the page in terms of images. After viewing the ‘Twilight Saga: Eclipse’ website alongside ‘The Dark Knight’ website
I cut this out of another photograph I had taken of the college building using the magic wand tool. As well as the surrounding background I also cut out the letters which left me with a sign that had a Halloween look to it and a haunting feel. This worked well as it acts as part of the branding of the film and alongside the dark colour scheme goes toward the overall ‘dark’ or ‘evil’ nature behind the film.Once the images had been completed I began on the text. The main three pieces of text I planned on including were the film title, date of release and tagline. Originally I placed the film title in the most powerful place on the screen according to the rule of thirds, top left and in the largest font of any piece of text.
I then placed the release date immediately under it in the second largest font and finally the tagline of the top right corner of the canvas. These got the most powerful points on the page because they are such big elements of the branding of the film and will make the page recognisable to those who may already have been in contact with another part of the campaign.
With the images done there were a few pieces of text which I noticed were used quite often on film websites from my research. The first of these are the credits and legal blurb at the bottom. I modeled this on the example from the ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ website. I tried to recreate the style of writing that the credits are traditionally written in by narrowing the letters and the spacing between them by using the text settings on Photoshop and then made the font grey. This gave them the traditional look and conformed to the conventional credit style. I also placed the legal blurb at the bottom such as ‘privacy policy’, ‘terms of use’ and 15 classification icon. These are items which must be included by law but they are always placed near the bottom in small print as they are generally just considered formalities. Another section of text I had was for links to other parts of the website. Even though I’m not creating a working website for the coursework the front page must appear as it would if it was working and as such links to other pages such as character information, the synopsis etc, cannot be left off.
Progress Report - Magazine Production
After all my magazine pre-production paperwork had been completed it was time to get started on the production stage. I had some fairly definite ides on how the cover was going to be laid out with a couple of draft covers already drawn up. The first stage of the production came when my group was filming for our trailer. It was at this time that I took the photographs of my actors and possible backgrounds for the cover. I needed to do it at this time because our actor was leaving a couple of days later and I needed them both in the shot with the same clothes on that they wore in the trailer in order to keep a sort of continuity throughout the campaign.
Due to my previous Photoshop experience I had planned to take the photographs of my actors up against a white wall so that I could easily and quickly cut them out using the magic wand tool and then place them in front of a background of my choosing later.
Due to my ‘Empire’ (Bauer Consumer Media) magazine research I got the actors to stand close to each other and look directly into the camera lens. This is because it is one of Empire’s conventions to get the cover model to look straight at the camera in order to promote an extra-diegetic gaze with the magazine consumers to hopefully get them to buy the magazine. I took several shots, some with them standing facing each other and some with them standing back-to-back. This was because in my two draft drawings for the magazine cover I had these two poses and hadn’t completely decided which I wanted to use at this time. I also took some photos with the flash on and some with the flash off in order to test which gave the best light levels and contrast (My decision making process as to which picture I finally used can be viewed here). The final picture I chose was with my two actors stood facing each other and looking at the camera. I decided that this promoted an ‘I’ve got your back’ feeling which is their relationship in the film.
Once the main picture for the front cover was sorted I then began to focus on the background. The background was a little less well planned than the main photograph. This is because there is no real generic background for Empire magazines. I had identified a few trends in the Empire covers and decided to test these. The beginning of this was the photos I had taken during the shooting of the trailer. I took some photographs of two of the main college buildings from different angles, both of which appear in the trailer at some point and so there was continuity in this idea.
When I began to play with the idea on Photoshop I revisited the Empire magazine covers I had used in my research and realised that they generally don’t use a significant background from the film. In most the background seems to be part of a theme determined by the film being promoted on the cover in that issue. Such things as colour schemes and patterns would be linked in some way to the film. Once I had realised this I scrapped the idea of using a picture and began trying to design a background on Photoshop. (The results of this experimentation and how I got to my final background can be viewed here)
My final background was created by an effect on Photoshop called ‘difference clouds’. The idea of the cloud effect was that they promoted the idea of a storm and turmoil. I then made the clouds a mixture of black and red, and this decision was based purely on the codes and conventions of thrillers. Ideologically black is most associated with death, fear and the unknown whilst red is associated with blood and pain. Therefore at a subconscious level this background is promoting the idea of fear, pain and turmoil which is a big part of the film’s narrative and thus it should attract the target audience for the film.
Once the main imagery was complete I began to construct the rest of the magazine. I began with the title which in my case was ‘Empire’ as this is the magazine I had chosen to replicate (reasons for this choice can be viewed here). I recreated the title in the same font and colour as that on the real Empire magazines of this time. The title is probably the biggest part of Empire’s branding and so I had to make sure the title was the same in order to help make my cover as authentic as possible so that the consumer will be able to recognise the magazine as an issue of Empire.
The next stage was making the title the right size I found was to be about an inch thinner than the width of the page. As this is the biggest part of Empire’s branding the title is also given prominence on the page with regards to the rule of thirds. So I placed it on the top centre of the page as is Empire’s practice. The next piece of text I constructed was the date of the issue and the price. One of Empire’s conventions is to place the date and price in the dip of the M. I also placed it here in a column with the month and year at the top, then the price in pounds and finally the price in dollars. This information and formatting was drawn from the covers I did my research on. By placing this information in the same place every time the regular consumers will easily be able to check which issue it is. This text is the smallest font on the page as it is effectively just a formality and is not overly important in relation to other text.
After these two conventions of Empire’s the rest of the text I used is original. The first thing I included was the title of my film. This is a fairly customary practice as it is a major part of the branding of the film. Apart from the magazine title I made the film title the second largest piece of text on the page due to its importance in the marketing of the film. When I initially wrote my text on the page I used the font ‘Arial Black’ as it used block letters like Empire and gave a generally professional feel. I was later made aware however that Empire don’t use italics in 99% of cases and this particular font only came in italics, due to this I changed to ‘Franklin Gothic Demi’. This also had block letters but came in regular as well as italics. I differentiated my title from the rest of the text partially by its size but also by its colour and pattern. The red and black theme of the film was again used here to keep with the branding of the film.
I placed it in the lower centre of the page as again this is a fairly commonly held convention of Empire’s. Once the film’s title was complete I placed my film’s tagline underneath in smaller plain white writing. This tagline appears in the trailer and on my website as well so it is an established part of the branding, though it is supposed to accompany rather than overpower the title hence the smaller more bland style of text.
The rest of the text on the page relates to other articles that would have been inside the magazine. I noticed that Empire usually include articles in films that will be released soon and other news relating to the movie industry. As such I did some research to find out what the major blockbusters of the summer were going to be and put a feature on them on the page. I also researched some of the hot topics in the movie industry at the moment and placed a title about what will come after 3-D and interviews with the oscar winners. Finally I wrote a heading for an interview with Mike Myers as the new Shrek film is being released this summer.
The formatting of these was drawn from my Empire research. There were a few things to keep in mind, first being not to cover the cover model’s head as Empire never does this out of respect for the actor as much as anything. Second was to left align the text on the left side of the page and right align the text on the right. Finally Empire often place an article heading top and bottom of the page. Most of these were in white and a fairly small font in relation to the magazine and film titles as these articles are generally not differentiated because they are not supposed to hold a great deal of power on the page. I also placed a barcode on a gap between two pieces of text as this is another of Empire’s conventions.
Due to my previous Photoshop experience I had planned to take the photographs of my actors up against a white wall so that I could easily and quickly cut them out using the magic wand tool and then place them in front of a background of my choosing later.
Due to my ‘Empire’ (Bauer Consumer Media) magazine research I got the actors to stand close to each other and look directly into the camera lens. This is because it is one of Empire’s conventions to get the cover model to look straight at the camera in order to promote an extra-diegetic gaze with the magazine consumers to hopefully get them to buy the magazine. I took several shots, some with them standing facing each other and some with them standing back-to-back. This was because in my two draft drawings for the magazine cover I had these two poses and hadn’t completely decided which I wanted to use at this time. I also took some photos with the flash on and some with the flash off in order to test which gave the best light levels and contrast (My decision making process as to which picture I finally used can be viewed here). The final picture I chose was with my two actors stood facing each other and looking at the camera. I decided that this promoted an ‘I’ve got your back’ feeling which is their relationship in the film.Once the main picture for the front cover was sorted I then began to focus on the background. The background was a little less well planned than the main photograph. This is because there is no real generic background for Empire magazines. I had identified a few trends in the Empire covers and decided to test these. The beginning of this was the photos I had taken during the shooting of the trailer. I took some photographs of two of the main college buildings from different angles, both of which appear in the trailer at some point and so there was continuity in this idea.
When I began to play with the idea on Photoshop I revisited the Empire magazine covers I had used in my research and realised that they generally don’t use a significant background from the film. In most the background seems to be part of a theme determined by the film being promoted on the cover in that issue. Such things as colour schemes and patterns would be linked in some way to the film. Once I had realised this I scrapped the idea of using a picture and began trying to design a background on Photoshop. (The results of this experimentation and how I got to my final background can be viewed here)My final background was created by an effect on Photoshop called ‘difference clouds’. The idea of the cloud effect was that they promoted the idea of a storm and turmoil. I then made the clouds a mixture of black and red, and this decision was based purely on the codes and conventions of thrillers. Ideologically black is most associated with death, fear and the unknown whilst red is associated with blood and pain. Therefore at a subconscious level this background is promoting the idea of fear, pain and turmoil which is a big part of the film’s narrative and thus it should attract the target audience for the film.
Once the main imagery was complete I began to construct the rest of the magazine. I began with the title which in my case was ‘Empire’ as this is the magazine I had chosen to replicate (reasons for this choice can be viewed here). I recreated the title in the same font and colour as that on the real Empire magazines of this time. The title is probably the biggest part of Empire’s branding and so I had to make sure the title was the same in order to help make my cover as authentic as possible so that the consumer will be able to recognise the magazine as an issue of Empire.
After these two conventions of Empire’s the rest of the text I used is original. The first thing I included was the title of my film. This is a fairly customary practice as it is a major part of the branding of the film. Apart from the magazine title I made the film title the second largest piece of text on the page due to its importance in the marketing of the film. When I initially wrote my text on the page I used the font ‘Arial Black’ as it used block letters like Empire and gave a generally professional feel. I was later made aware however that Empire don’t use italics in 99% of cases and this particular font only came in italics, due to this I changed to ‘Franklin Gothic Demi’. This also had block letters but came in regular as well as italics. I differentiated my title from the rest of the text partially by its size but also by its colour and pattern. The red and black theme of the film was again used here to keep with the branding of the film.
I placed it in the lower centre of the page as again this is a fairly commonly held convention of Empire’s. Once the film’s title was complete I placed my film’s tagline underneath in smaller plain white writing. This tagline appears in the trailer and on my website as well so it is an established part of the branding, though it is supposed to accompany rather than overpower the title hence the smaller more bland style of text.The rest of the text on the page relates to other articles that would have been inside the magazine. I noticed that Empire usually include articles in films that will be released soon and other news relating to the movie industry. As such I did some research to find out what the major blockbusters of the summer were going to be and put a feature on them on the page. I also researched some of the hot topics in the movie industry at the moment and placed a title about what will come after 3-D and interviews with the oscar winners. Finally I wrote a heading for an interview with Mike Myers as the new Shrek film is being released this summer.
Progress Report - Website Pre-Production
Part of my A2 coursework this year is to create a website front page for the viral campaign of my film. This is one of the two individual tasks I have to do in the coursework and I have had to plan the time I spent on this around my group work on the trailer and radio advert as well as my other individual piece the magazine cover. This time management has been one of the hardest parts of the coursework this year as during the A/S last year all we had to do was create one product which in my case was the opening sequence of a film.
I realised this was going to be an issue quite early on and that the individual work would have to be done out of class. Due to this I have done my planning for the website front page in small stages throughout the coursework period. The first real preparation I did towards the website in fact began a few months ago. Our lecturer gave us one lesson a week in a computer room teaching us how to use both Photoshop and Dreamweaver. I had already done some work in class on Photoshop when we were looking at how to create a magazine cover for the coursework so this stage was more just a refresher than anything. However, at this stage our teacher intended for us to create fully functioning website front pages on which all the links for our coursework would be held so that it could be externally moderated. Due to this we had to learn how to use Dreamweaver. This was a completely new piece of software to me and it took a little bit of practice before I got the hang of it. Just learning some basic things like opening tabs at the top so that I could easily switch between the pages I was working with became some of the most valuable information for me. During this practice we created a page with four links. The process is fairly simple once you’ve got the hang of it and I felt comfortable that I’d be able to use the software competently in my coursework later on.
Also around this time I carried out some research into the websites of films in the thriller genre or a subgenre of it. This is because the film that my campaign is promoting is a thriller and so I wanted to understand how the professionals create the desired responses in their audience. I looked at five websites Saw VI, District 9, The Dark Knight, The Matrix and 2012. At this time two of the films had already been and gone in the cinemas and three were waiting to be released. The three that were waiting to be released provided the most relevant information as the front page of my website will also be for a film waiting to be released. All five however gave some good insight into things such as colour schemes, the rule of thirds and what written information needs to be included.
Once the coursework officially got started and I got to the point where I was going to start planning my website front page design I went back to this initial research. The first problem I had was that the films that at the time I did that research were waiting to be released had now been released. This meant their websites had been changed and were now focusing on the DVD promotion. Due to this I decided I needed to do a textual analysis of another film in order to refresh my memory on the codes and conventions of thriller websites so as to best inform my own. I looked at 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' (Samuel Bayer, 2010) as this is a thriller yet to be released and also revisited ‘Saw VI’ (Kevin Greutert, 2009) which I had analysed in my initial research. After these extra textual analyses I felt comfortable to get started on the planning for my front page.
I started by carrying out an initial ideas blast in order to work out what I needed to include on the page. I also did a SWOT analysis on my personal strengths and weaknesses and the possible opportunities and threats of the project. Finally I did an audience analysis just to make sure that I would be focusing my design to entice my target audience. Once this had been done the production stages began.
I realised this was going to be an issue quite early on and that the individual work would have to be done out of class. Due to this I have done my planning for the website front page in small stages throughout the coursework period. The first real preparation I did towards the website in fact began a few months ago. Our lecturer gave us one lesson a week in a computer room teaching us how to use both Photoshop and Dreamweaver. I had already done some work in class on Photoshop when we were looking at how to create a magazine cover for the coursework so this stage was more just a refresher than anything. However, at this stage our teacher intended for us to create fully functioning website front pages on which all the links for our coursework would be held so that it could be externally moderated. Due to this we had to learn how to use Dreamweaver. This was a completely new piece of software to me and it took a little bit of practice before I got the hang of it. Just learning some basic things like opening tabs at the top so that I could easily switch between the pages I was working with became some of the most valuable information for me. During this practice we created a page with four links. The process is fairly simple once you’ve got the hang of it and I felt comfortable that I’d be able to use the software competently in my coursework later on.
Also around this time I carried out some research into the websites of films in the thriller genre or a subgenre of it. This is because the film that my campaign is promoting is a thriller and so I wanted to understand how the professionals create the desired responses in their audience. I looked at five websites Saw VI, District 9, The Dark Knight, The Matrix and 2012. At this time two of the films had already been and gone in the cinemas and three were waiting to be released. The three that were waiting to be released provided the most relevant information as the front page of my website will also be for a film waiting to be released. All five however gave some good insight into things such as colour schemes, the rule of thirds and what written information needs to be included.
Once the coursework officially got started and I got to the point where I was going to start planning my website front page design I went back to this initial research. The first problem I had was that the films that at the time I did that research were waiting to be released had now been released. This meant their websites had been changed and were now focusing on the DVD promotion. Due to this I decided I needed to do a textual analysis of another film in order to refresh my memory on the codes and conventions of thriller websites so as to best inform my own. I looked at 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' (Samuel Bayer, 2010) as this is a thriller yet to be released and also revisited ‘Saw VI’ (Kevin Greutert, 2009) which I had analysed in my initial research. After these extra textual analyses I felt comfortable to get started on the planning for my front page.
I started by carrying out an initial ideas blast in order to work out what I needed to include on the page. I also did a SWOT analysis on my personal strengths and weaknesses and the possible opportunities and threats of the project. Finally I did an audience analysis just to make sure that I would be focusing my design to entice my target audience. Once this had been done the production stages began.
Friday, 26 March 2010
Progress Report - Magazine Pre-Production
For my media A2 coursework I have two individual tasks to complete one of which is to create a magazine front page as part of the viral campaign of our film. Much of my time throughout the coursework has been spent on the trailer as this is the biggest part of the project however I have spent time now and then developing my magazine ideas.
My preparation for the magazine stage of the coursework in fact began a few months ago now when my lecturer spent a few sessions with our class going through Photoshop. During the theory stage of the course when learning for the exam we had covered magazines a quite a bit of detail and so I had some reasonable knowledge on how it should be laid out and why. The idea of these sessions was mainly to build our Photoshop skills as much of our class including myself had never used it. During these seesions I created an FHM magazine cover from scratch.
Having the ability to use Photoshop is going to be invaluable at the production stage as it will allow me to create far more professional looking products. In fact one way this knowledge has already informed my plans for the production is that I have decided to take the photo I want of my actors up against a white wall so that I can easily cut them out by just using the magic wand tool. This will save a good deal of time and allow me to choose any background I want. This is the sort of knowledge I wouldn't have had without these early sessions.
Once the coursework had been officially set the first thing I did as part of my pre-production was research into current media products. I looked at both Empire and Sight & Sound which are two of the best selling movie magazines in Britain. I carried out a detailed textual analysis on each and tried to relate them to my film. I was considering who the target audience of each of these magazines was so that I could ascertain which magazine would most likely advertise my film and whose audience would most likely be interested in it.
After my initial research into each magazine and a textual analysis of a cover of each I decided Empire was the most appropriate magazine on which to advertise my film. They tend to advertise the more generic mainstream films compared to Sight & Sound which often focus on the more social realist type films. My group’s film idea was definitely more mainstream and as such I decided to base my advert on the Empire magazine format. I then carried out a more detailed textual analysis of Empire magazine covers by analysing another two of their covers. This research gave me a solid base from which to begin designing my cover. (link to empire research)
I drew a couple of first drafts with the characters facing different directions on the page to see which would look best.
One of Empire’s conventions is that the main actor(s) of the film they’re promoting on the cover that week are stood prominently in the page and look directly at the camera lens. This acts like an extra-diegetic gaze in which the character seems to be directly addressing the person looking at the cover. According to Louis Althusser’s theory of ‘Interpellation’ this makes the viewer that the magazine is directly made for them at a subconscious level and they are more likely to buy it. I stuck with this convention closely as it is one of Empire’s most important.
Another thing I picked up from the textual analyses I did was that the extra articles Empire advertise alongside the main film promotion are always of relevant film topics and future releases. Due to this I spent some time researching current topics in the film industry such as what will replace 3-D cinema in the future and some adverts for summer releases this year. I felt it was necessary to put time into this research in order to make my magazine as authentic as possible by advertising articles Empire may actually use in their magazines.
After all this pre-production work was done I had a well planned draft page which I had drawn up. This meant that when I got to the production stage I could just get straight into it knowing that the product would be of good quality and matching Empire’s codes and conventions. It also meant I wouldn’t have to spend time messing around trying out lots of ideas because of poor planning which should lead to better efficiency.
My preparation for the magazine stage of the coursework in fact began a few months ago now when my lecturer spent a few sessions with our class going through Photoshop. During the theory stage of the course when learning for the exam we had covered magazines a quite a bit of detail and so I had some reasonable knowledge on how it should be laid out and why. The idea of these sessions was mainly to build our Photoshop skills as much of our class including myself had never used it. During these seesions I created an FHM magazine cover from scratch.
Having the ability to use Photoshop is going to be invaluable at the production stage as it will allow me to create far more professional looking products. In fact one way this knowledge has already informed my plans for the production is that I have decided to take the photo I want of my actors up against a white wall so that I can easily cut them out by just using the magic wand tool. This will save a good deal of time and allow me to choose any background I want. This is the sort of knowledge I wouldn't have had without these early sessions.
Once the coursework had been officially set the first thing I did as part of my pre-production was research into current media products. I looked at both Empire and Sight & Sound which are two of the best selling movie magazines in Britain. I carried out a detailed textual analysis on each and tried to relate them to my film. I was considering who the target audience of each of these magazines was so that I could ascertain which magazine would most likely advertise my film and whose audience would most likely be interested in it.
After my initial research into each magazine and a textual analysis of a cover of each I decided Empire was the most appropriate magazine on which to advertise my film. They tend to advertise the more generic mainstream films compared to Sight & Sound which often focus on the more social realist type films. My group’s film idea was definitely more mainstream and as such I decided to base my advert on the Empire magazine format. I then carried out a more detailed textual analysis of Empire magazine covers by analysing another two of their covers. This research gave me a solid base from which to begin designing my cover. (link to empire research)
I drew a couple of first drafts with the characters facing different directions on the page to see which would look best.
One of Empire’s conventions is that the main actor(s) of the film they’re promoting on the cover that week are stood prominently in the page and look directly at the camera lens. This acts like an extra-diegetic gaze in which the character seems to be directly addressing the person looking at the cover. According to Louis Althusser’s theory of ‘Interpellation’ this makes the viewer that the magazine is directly made for them at a subconscious level and they are more likely to buy it. I stuck with this convention closely as it is one of Empire’s most important.Another thing I picked up from the textual analyses I did was that the extra articles Empire advertise alongside the main film promotion are always of relevant film topics and future releases. Due to this I spent some time researching current topics in the film industry such as what will replace 3-D cinema in the future and some adverts for summer releases this year. I felt it was necessary to put time into this research in order to make my magazine as authentic as possible by advertising articles Empire may actually use in their magazines.
After all this pre-production work was done I had a well planned draft page which I had drawn up. This meant that when I got to the production stage I could just get straight into it knowing that the product would be of good quality and matching Empire’s codes and conventions. It also meant I wouldn’t have to spend time messing around trying out lots of ideas because of poor planning which should lead to better efficiency.
Progress Report - Radio Advert Production
My group are now well into the editing stage of the trailer for the campaign now and we have also completed the pre-production stage of our radio advert. Due to this I booked the recording studio at college about a week ago for today so that we could record the dialogue needed for the radio advert. I had asked two of the boys from our media class if they would be in the radio advert as we needed two males to say the two sections of dialogue. Part of the reason we chose these two was because they were in our class and it was convenient but they are also both competent speakers with voices our group felt would be appropriate for the advert.
We had only used the audio suite once before and so our lecturer had to just quickly refresh our sound engineer on how to use the equipment as it is fairly complex. Once this was done we got the voice artists in and began recording. There are two main sections of dialogue to the advert, the first being a riddle and the second being some information for the audience on the medium of release and the age classification of the film. Due to this we decided to get both of the guys to say both pieces of dialogue. This way we were able to decide at the editing stage which sounded better on which section of dialogue thus hopefully giving us the best quality product possible. There were a few problems such as mobile phone signal’s interfering with the equipment and outside noise occasionally getting too loud. But we sorted these problems out and took several takes of each person saying each line which has given us a high chance of getting what we were looking for.
We had only used the audio suite once before and so our lecturer had to just quickly refresh our sound engineer on how to use the equipment as it is fairly complex. Once this was done we got the voice artists in and began recording. There are two main sections of dialogue to the advert, the first being a riddle and the second being some information for the audience on the medium of release and the age classification of the film. Due to this we decided to get both of the guys to say both pieces of dialogue. This way we were able to decide at the editing stage which sounded better on which section of dialogue thus hopefully giving us the best quality product possible. There were a few problems such as mobile phone signal’s interfering with the equipment and outside noise occasionally getting too loud. But we sorted these problems out and took several takes of each person saying each line which has given us a high chance of getting what we were looking for.
Progress Report - Radio Advert Pre-Production
Now that most of the work for the trailer has been done our group has had time to start looking at the radio advertisement we need to make for our campaign. None of us had any previous experience in creating pieces for the radio. As my role on the trailer was screen writer I assumed the role of ‘sound’ writer in the radio task. Due to this I had to carry out a detailed textual analysis on a current professionally produced media product so that I knew how to compose our advert. I listened to the ‘Tell No One’ (Guillaume Canet, 2007) radio advert and used a textual analysis of this to inform how I designed the radio ad. ‘Tell No One’ is a thriller film and so it works with the same codes and conventions as our film which made this an appropriate case study to look at.
Though I don’t have any real knowledge of the radio industry apart from as a consumer I went back to basic semiotics to deconstruct the technical codes of the ‘Tell No One’ trailer. Such things as the tone of the narrator’s voice, the dialogue for the voice over and the diegetic sound from the film which was used as an undertone were all important areas in which sign systems were prominent and noticeable.
Once this textual analysis had been carried out the initial ideas blast was carried out. There were some key areas placed on the ideas blast which were how it would use thriller codes and conventions, how it would be linked to our campaign and how it would meet the general requirements of a film’s radio advert. Once this was done we also carried out research into the legal requirements for radio advertising by looking at the BCAP radio advertising codes in order to make sure we complied with the rules and regulations governing our production.
Once this had been done I looked to create the script and I began this process by first noting down the key information that should be put in a radio ad. This includes the age classification of the film for legal reasons, the medium of release (in our case cinema) so the listeners know where they can go to see the film, the date also to inform the audience and the name. All these aspects are fairly common for radio adverts to include. My first script was done with the intention that a narrator would say the main dialogue like in ‘Tell No One’ but my lecturer advised that trying to re-create the typical deep movie announcer’s voice would possibly sound a bit put on.
Due to this I went away and completely re-drafted the script, this time trying to make it a little more original. I devised a short riddle for the main male protagonist in the film to say which hinted to parts of the film’s plot and its release date. As we set our film to be released on June 21st (i.e. summer solstice/midsummer’s day) I put in the trailer ‘when the night is shortest’. This indirectly hints to the release date without giving it directly. Riddles are probably the best ways to create enigmas which at the end of the day are essential for capturing the audience’s interest and getting them to go and watch the film to see how it was resolved. I indirectly put the title, date of release and some plot information into the riddle and so the audience has the essential information in there even if it’s not given to them on a plate. Viral campaigns are all about the ‘buzz’ as Cloverfield (Matt Reeves, 2008) showed spectacularly in theirs. They showed that the best way to create a buzz was by not giving the audience a great deal of information. This means they have to try and work things out and start talking to other people about it. This is possibly a risky strategy and if not done correctly could just lead the audience to lose interest but done right it almost assures a big fan base.
After the riddle was created I then added a section of dialogue for a narrator to say which revealed where it was going to be released (in the cinemas) and when (this midsummer’s day). This was followed by the age classification of the film ‘rated 15’ to satisfy legal regulations. This second attempt at the script was far more original and will hopefully capture the audience’s attention more than the first script which was quite generic.
Though I don’t have any real knowledge of the radio industry apart from as a consumer I went back to basic semiotics to deconstruct the technical codes of the ‘Tell No One’ trailer. Such things as the tone of the narrator’s voice, the dialogue for the voice over and the diegetic sound from the film which was used as an undertone were all important areas in which sign systems were prominent and noticeable.
Once this textual analysis had been carried out the initial ideas blast was carried out. There were some key areas placed on the ideas blast which were how it would use thriller codes and conventions, how it would be linked to our campaign and how it would meet the general requirements of a film’s radio advert. Once this was done we also carried out research into the legal requirements for radio advertising by looking at the BCAP radio advertising codes in order to make sure we complied with the rules and regulations governing our production.
Once this had been done I looked to create the script and I began this process by first noting down the key information that should be put in a radio ad. This includes the age classification of the film for legal reasons, the medium of release (in our case cinema) so the listeners know where they can go to see the film, the date also to inform the audience and the name. All these aspects are fairly common for radio adverts to include. My first script was done with the intention that a narrator would say the main dialogue like in ‘Tell No One’ but my lecturer advised that trying to re-create the typical deep movie announcer’s voice would possibly sound a bit put on.
Due to this I went away and completely re-drafted the script, this time trying to make it a little more original. I devised a short riddle for the main male protagonist in the film to say which hinted to parts of the film’s plot and its release date. As we set our film to be released on June 21st (i.e. summer solstice/midsummer’s day) I put in the trailer ‘when the night is shortest’. This indirectly hints to the release date without giving it directly. Riddles are probably the best ways to create enigmas which at the end of the day are essential for capturing the audience’s interest and getting them to go and watch the film to see how it was resolved. I indirectly put the title, date of release and some plot information into the riddle and so the audience has the essential information in there even if it’s not given to them on a plate. Viral campaigns are all about the ‘buzz’ as Cloverfield (Matt Reeves, 2008) showed spectacularly in theirs. They showed that the best way to create a buzz was by not giving the audience a great deal of information. This means they have to try and work things out and start talking to other people about it. This is possibly a risky strategy and if not done correctly could just lead the audience to lose interest but done right it almost assures a big fan base.
After the riddle was created I then added a section of dialogue for a narrator to say which revealed where it was going to be released (in the cinemas) and when (this midsummer’s day). This was followed by the age classification of the film ‘rated 15’ to satisfy legal regulations. This second attempt at the script was far more original and will hopefully capture the audience’s attention more than the first script which was quite generic.
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Progress Report - Voice Over Production
On our trailer the main section of dialogue is going to be a voice over from a speech one of our characters makes. As one of my roles is the screen director I wrote the script for this section of dialogue a week ago or so before this recording session and it had been put on to the storyboards and the dual column script. I booked the recording studio for one of our lessons and we also confirmed this time and date with our actress. The equipment in this studio is very advanced and so our lecturer came in at the beginning to show us how to use it.
Once this was done we gave our actress a quick briefing in order to explain how the dialogue had been designed to be read. The dialogue was planned to be spread across the trailer in sections. In order to help with this I had created a special script in which each line was broken down into the specific segments. We then asked our actress to pause a little between each line of dialogue in order to make it easier to break them up at the editing stage. We took 3 recordings where she ran straight through the script and then after briefing her again got her to repeat a few specific lines which needed a serious tone of voice.
Overall the recording session went very successfully. We met all the pre-agreed times and got all the recordings completed that we required. The only problems we met came from some interference through both outside noise and on one occasion the signal of a mobile phone. We overcame the phone problem by removing them from the area and the outside noise ceased fairly quickly so these problems were resolved.
Once this was done we gave our actress a quick briefing in order to explain how the dialogue had been designed to be read. The dialogue was planned to be spread across the trailer in sections. In order to help with this I had created a special script in which each line was broken down into the specific segments. We then asked our actress to pause a little between each line of dialogue in order to make it easier to break them up at the editing stage. We took 3 recordings where she ran straight through the script and then after briefing her again got her to repeat a few specific lines which needed a serious tone of voice.
Overall the recording session went very successfully. We met all the pre-agreed times and got all the recordings completed that we required. The only problems we met came from some interference through both outside noise and on one occasion the signal of a mobile phone. We overcame the phone problem by removing them from the area and the outside noise ceased fairly quickly so these problems were resolved.
Coursework Evaluation - Progress Reports
Development of Creativity Through Digital Technology
Continuation of My Creative Development
Trailer
Pre-Production - Part 1
Pre-Production - Part 2
Pre-Production - Part 3
Production (filming)
Production (Voice Over)
Editing - Part 1
Editing - Part 2
Radio
Pre-Production
Production
Editing
Magazine
Pre-Production
Production
Website
Pre-Production
Production
Continuation of My Creative Development
Trailer
Pre-Production - Part 1
Pre-Production - Part 2
Pre-Production - Part 3
Production (filming)
Production (Voice Over)
Editing - Part 1
Editing - Part 2
Radio
Pre-Production
Production
Editing
Magazine
Pre-Production
Production
Website
Pre-Production
Production
Trailer Research 3
Rowan Smith; 0121
Thomas Allison; 0051
Samantha Grant; 0081
Objective:
To identify the codes and conventions commonly used in teaser trailers which promote films within the genres of thriller and action.
Case Study:
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarentino, 2009)
Inglourious Basterds used a different narrative structure again when comparing to the other two trailers. Whereas Cloverfield used a short continuous sequence and Inception used various scenes from throughout the film, this trailer used a mix of these ideas. It was essentially a collage of significant scenes from the film held together by one main scene in which the main character played by Brad Pitt is talking to his men.
This tactic allowed them to establish the setting and to some degree the relationship between the men. It also revealed the nature of their quest and some of the ways in which they were going to complete it. This approach is distinctly different to the other two trailers as the audience has been given far more information and as such the enigma is not as strongly established. However, as with all trailers the resolution of the storyline remains a mystery and in some cases such as this that is enough to capture the minds of the audience.
They also edited in a pieces of text in order to further establish the setting and basic storyline. Like with Cloverfield the production companies and other credits were not mentioned on the trailer and it was in fact only the name of the director Quentin Tarentino that was mentioned within the trailer. I believe there is a certain tactical element to mentioning Taentino’s name within the trailer as he is a very well known and distinctive director with a wide fan base. His films are famous for their distinctive style of real and sometimes shocking depictions of world events, therefore putting his name in the trailer acts as an extra point of promotion from the trailer.
This film used a combination of diegetic and non-diegetic sound which was once again different to the other two trailers which either used completely diegetic (Cloverfield) or completely non-diegetic (Inception) sound. The diegetic sound in this trailer was primarily Brad’s dialogue which acted as a form of narration to outline the premise of the film. There was also a scene used towards the end in which ‘Hitler’ was shouting ‘nein’ repeatedly which was then followed by Brad Pitt closing the speech to his men. The juxtaposition of these two clips gave the impression that there is a small comical element within the film at least as far as you can make killing and war comical. The non-diegetic sound however was music which used instruments such as bass guitars and other instruments associated with some forms of heavier rock music. It provided a feeling of action and excitement which resembles the shots used to create the trailer.
Thomas Allison; 0051
Samantha Grant; 0081
Objective:
To identify the codes and conventions commonly used in teaser trailers which promote films within the genres of thriller and action.
Case Study:
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarentino, 2009)
Inglourious Basterds used a different narrative structure again when comparing to the other two trailers. Whereas Cloverfield used a short continuous sequence and Inception used various scenes from throughout the film, this trailer used a mix of these ideas. It was essentially a collage of significant scenes from the film held together by one main scene in which the main character played by Brad Pitt is talking to his men.
This tactic allowed them to establish the setting and to some degree the relationship between the men. It also revealed the nature of their quest and some of the ways in which they were going to complete it. This approach is distinctly different to the other two trailers as the audience has been given far more information and as such the enigma is not as strongly established. However, as with all trailers the resolution of the storyline remains a mystery and in some cases such as this that is enough to capture the minds of the audience.
They also edited in a pieces of text in order to further establish the setting and basic storyline. Like with Cloverfield the production companies and other credits were not mentioned on the trailer and it was in fact only the name of the director Quentin Tarentino that was mentioned within the trailer. I believe there is a certain tactical element to mentioning Taentino’s name within the trailer as he is a very well known and distinctive director with a wide fan base. His films are famous for their distinctive style of real and sometimes shocking depictions of world events, therefore putting his name in the trailer acts as an extra point of promotion from the trailer.
This film used a combination of diegetic and non-diegetic sound which was once again different to the other two trailers which either used completely diegetic (Cloverfield) or completely non-diegetic (Inception) sound. The diegetic sound in this trailer was primarily Brad’s dialogue which acted as a form of narration to outline the premise of the film. There was also a scene used towards the end in which ‘Hitler’ was shouting ‘nein’ repeatedly which was then followed by Brad Pitt closing the speech to his men. The juxtaposition of these two clips gave the impression that there is a small comical element within the film at least as far as you can make killing and war comical. The non-diegetic sound however was music which used instruments such as bass guitars and other instruments associated with some forms of heavier rock music. It provided a feeling of action and excitement which resembles the shots used to create the trailer.
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