For my A2 Media Studies Advanced Portfolio, I have been asked to produce
a
promotional package for a film. This included a film trailer and thirty second teaser trailer, a poster for the film as well as a website homepage design. The research I collected as
well as the planning and production process to create this work can be found on
my blog.
In what ways does your media product use, develop
or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The genre I decided to base my film trailer on was a hybrid genre of
love and action. I chose this because I am interested in
the romantic and action genre, I also wanted to add a twist to my film trailer
creating a wider audience. Existing films within this genre include 'The double
hour', 'Taken' and '12 Rounds' these films all include a loved one being taken
hostage. Conventionally these films have a wife, daughter or mother taken away
as hostage. Usually explosions, car chases and shoot outs are within the film
and also there is usually a reason behind the kidnapping, for example in 12
rounds the reason for his girlfriend’s kidnapping is for revenge on the
protagonist. When analysing film trailer I found that the sound and camera
angles were generally the same so I also wanted to re-create those camera
angles within my genre, for my sound I used the same soundtrack as the film
Taken which I felt worked well with my trailer.
My film trailer develops forms and conventions of a film trailer by
having a protagonist and an antagonist as my main characters within the trailer
it also consists of action scenes seeing the hostage and also not giving too
much away. My trailer does challenge forms and conventions of real media
products by using a female character as the heroin rather than a male playing
the hero. However the victim is also female which is conventional within a
film/trailer. I haven’t used tradition location for my trailer as usually films
are set in big cities, however mine is based on my estate which is just outside
of town, in my house and parts are filmed within college. I found that this fit
my trailer better because it is a closed, secluded place and fits better with
my story line and trailer.
What have you learned from your audience feedback?
Whilst creating my film trailer I had my friends
watch the parts I had edited to see if this worked or not, I also found that if
it didn't work I asked what they would do to change the trailer and make it
better. When starting my trailer I had to think of a target audience I did this
by researching what was acceptable in each age range of films and seeing which one
mine would fit in with. I decide to make it a 15 because the story line is a
sensitive issue that happens every day and I feel that once I had the story line
I knew what would happen if it was to become a film. Scenes of violence would
be included within the film therefore I feel that my trailer fits this target
audience. I also asked my friends of social networking sites to have a look at
my blog and give me feedback on my trailer.
I have learnt that audience feedback
is vital for creating any product; if feedback is not given it is hard to see
what has worked and what hasn't, especially if you are watching the same screen
over and over again. I found that my actresses watching each clip after
recorded helped as they could then provide something to change if needed or if
it worked well within the shot. This helped me decide which type of shot to use
for majority of my trailer and also how to use the camera to create a better
trailer for my audience. I found that using my friend’s feedback did improve my
trailer and gave me a chance to change any part of my trailer that didn't originally
work well. I also found that my poll down the side of my blog helped me create
the perfect audience even though I didn't gather a lot of responses, by asking
about gender, age, occupation, their favourite genre I was able to decide my
who I would aim my film at and also that my trailer can be aimed at bother
genders because of the hybrid genre.
How did you use new media technologies in the
construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?
My film trailer was filmed by using a handheld
digital camera, and parts were filmed using a tripod. In preparation for my
film I had to organise the location which was my estate, bedrooms within my
house, and college. For me this was the best location because it had all the
props I needed and also it was easier for me to film in my house because I am
within my house majority of the time, also because I used my sister as the
protagonist for me this was the easier option rather than using somewhere more
difficult to access. When organising the
characters costumes I found that wearing everyday clothes was appropriate
because of the story line I had created and it also makes the film look more
realistic rather than wearing clothes that wouldn't fit the genre. My initial
plans for the trailer (seen within my storyboard) were followed well as I found
that this was my set plan and I didn't want to change it too much because I felt
it would work well when filming, however I did feel that some shots were taken
more than once using different angles or providing a point of view shots for
the trailer. I found the camera very easy to use and it was fairly light so was
easier to record from rather than holding a heavy camera that would not give
the same effect if it wasn't hand held.
When I began editing I uploaded all my footage
including the outtakes onto the college editing suite. I made my own project on
Adobe Premier Pro. This software allowed me to use various tools and techniques
such as trim and the hand drag tool to place the footage I wanted to use onto
the timeline to create my final film. I also used more technical tools such as
transition edits and also using black and white functions to particular parts
within the trailer during my editing process when necessary. The sound used for
my trailer was within the film ‘Taken’, and I felt this would work with my trailer;
I had to download the song to my mobile and then upload it to the computer to
place onto the timeline under my footage so it would play instead of the sounds
picked up by the digital camera. When I started editing my work I found it
difficult to use because I have never used the software before, however once I had
edited a little of my footage I then found it easier to use and I edited my
work quickly due to other students using the same editing suite as me.
Throughout the process of this project I found it
very difficult to start off my project because I was still unsure of whether to
create a film trailer or a music video, however after thinking about what I
felt I could personally create I finally decided a film trailer would be best
for me to do because I had thought about all the shots and locations before filming
my footage, I found this helped me because I knew exactly what I was filming on
what day. I found that filming the trailer in order was easier than filming specific
parts then editing them in the correct order because it meant that all my
footage was in the correct order for the trailer and all I needed to do was to
watch which shots would work the best. I also used a variety of websites such
as YouTube, previous student’s blogs and their trailers on blogger.com and also
Facebook to gain people’s feedback. I
felt using Blogger.com was easy and makes your work look more presentable, it
also means that any YouTube clips you have found can be uploaded with the work
you may have typed about a specific trailer rather than just explaining
yourself.
Overall I feel that my final product was a success despite
me finding it difficult to plan and create. I found that the genre chosen was
the best for me as I enjoy watching this genre so as I am part of their
audience I feel that I knew what would be best to add. I researched the
conventions of media texts and applied this to my final trailer. This shows
that I have understood the research and was able to use it within my work. I also
feel my target audience was achieved and therefore I used other trailers to
create mine within the same target audience age group. If I was to change
anything about my project I would have shown more about the background to each
characters lifestyle as I feel that my trailer only focuses on the action
within the film and not the characters individually. I would have also made it
a bit shorter as I feel that 2 minutes is slightly too long for a trailer.
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