EvaluationQuestions 2, 3 and Question

4(i)

Eleanor McKeown

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

I would say that as a combination my main product and ancillary texts work effectively at a glance. Subtle details such as the frequent use of similar fonts- such as my staple ‘Trajan Pro’ worked well to create a sense of continuity between the products. The similarity within the slashed out texts for the film title in the cover, poster and final credit all works well in providing a recurring image of the film name, whilst the repetition of the font/colour/size would effectively stick in the audiences mind for them to memorise the film name. In addition to this, I would say that the frequent use of close-ups of the dead friends face effectively adds to the motif of death and revenge whilst being haunting to the audience – I used similar camera angles and shots for both the magazine cover and poster, whilst within the trailer a similar close-up of the actresses face is used as she appears in the mirror.

The filter I used for both of the images were similar and of a cold, dark hue which added to the horror sense of the print texts whilst adding a sense of continuity between the texts. Despite this, I would argue that I could have made a further effort to make the ancillary texts look more similar to the final main product by creating a more blue/white hue to the poster and magazine image, as this is the colour film used within the trailer on top of the footage. This continuity between the pieces is crucial for creating an effective product on a whole as it portrays a sense of professionalism and realism to our tested audiences. In addition to this the similarity throughout the texts of the colour scheme added to the overall realistic and professional feel of the pieces whilst it also suited the genre well, as I frequently used colours such as black red white and grey as they immediately evoke connotations of death, blood and danger, all important elements if the trailer.

Question ThreeWhat have you learned from your audience feedback? For my audience feedback I made a questionnaire for a sample of 10 students opinions of our trailer, magazine cover and poster.

1) What would you rate the trailer out of 10?2) Did you think the trailer looked professional if so what made it look realistic?3) What would you rate my poster and magazine out of 10?4) Would you be enticed to go and see the film?5) Overall what areas of improvement would there be for all the pieces?

Question ONE: Question TWO:

• In response to my questions, the response was varied.

Question Two: “ The camera shots and angles gave the appearance of professional filming which made the trailer look more realistic” to “The transitions and straight-cuts, and variation within scene lengths allowed the trailer to fasten towards the end and climax of the trailer as often seen within real trailers, giving a professional finish” whilst some argued that the trailer did not look that professional due to the “amateur acting that jeopardised the realism”.

Question Four: “I would be enticed to see the film because the end of the piece leaves you wanting to know what happens after the girls encounter one another” to “I wouldn’t want to see the trailer as I think the clip could have given a bit too much away” to “The dramatic score really put me on edge throughout the trailer, and as I like the horror genre this would make me want to see it at the cinema as well as the creepy poster”

Question Five: “I think a scarier image should have been used for the poster whereas I liked the use of image for the magazine cover because it suited the uses of plugs and cover-lines without being too scary and hard to look at”

Question Four (First part)

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages? IMOVIE/FINAL CUT:

Within my construction of my trailer I used various software's available on the Apple Macs. I first started off with using iMovie to edit and cut the footage we used for our original draft. After we had collected our final footage, I continued to use iMovie for the editing process as I found it accessible within easily selecting and trimming footage. We then went on to experiment with Final Cut Pro to broaden our skills and adapt to new, more complex technology. After successfully creating some clips through Final Cut Pro after a lengthy period of time, we made the decision to continue using iMovie instead as we found it more manageable for use, but still used Final Cut when it was needed for more complex effects such as the jumpy effect within the car crash scene.

Question Four (First part)

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages? LIVE TYPE / AFTER EFFECTSFor the inserts between the clips, I was responsible for creating the plot details. I firstly created a smoke screen background on After Effects I used after watching a tutorial on Youtube. This was a great piece of technology I found with a bit of direction easy to use and effective in creating a professional finish to the moving background image. To ensure I used a variety of software and technologies, I imported the moving background into LiveType and created the text on top, making sure I stuck to the staple text we had used throughout of ‘Trajan Pro’. I really liked my use of LiveType because I think the technology enabled me to create a good looking text as I could easily create a ‘stroke’ and ‘glow’ effect which worked well against the smoke screen background. PHOTOSHOPI used Photoshop for the construction of my magazine front cover and poster. Photoshop is a software I had the most confidence within working with as I had used it a lot last year. The skills I collected last year were transferable to those demanded by this years work so I found it fairly easy to create my own magazine cover and pick up where I left off with the abilities I attained last year. I used Photoshop as a technology as I believe It provides a great selection of tools to enable you to create a realistic media product. I used Photoshop for both ancillary texts and found I transferred a lot of techniques between the two, such as colour correction, the clone stamp tool and the selection pen tool to create various effects. A great use of this technology was the pen tool as it allowed me to almost re-create the makeup upon the actresses face in ways such as whitening her skin, enhancing her grey lines and creating dark blood injuries within an instant.