1. 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop orchallenge forms and conventions of real media products?
2. 2. PosterWhilst conducting my research I discovered that there were only a few conventions as they allvaried from being very busy and full to being very simplistic. As a minimum requirement thereshould be a limited amount text, an image relating to the film itself and a title. As I didnt want togive lots of detail about the film away, I thought that by sticking with this minimalistic approach Icould produce a successful and intriguing poster.As I have shown in my mind map I thought of what images I could include in my poster that relatedto the theme of the film. I chose a teddy bear as it links in with the theme of babies and providesvery little insight into the film itself.I added small print information as is seen on the vast majority of posters which details theproduction team for the film. Once I had added the title Instinct, I felt that my poster was a littletoo minimalistic and so carried out more research and looked at other pieces of text that mightappear on it. I was very conscious about the amount of text as the purpose of a poster is to draw apasser-by in, and lots of unnecessary text can be off-putting. I created a tagline for the film titlewhich I later used in my magazine front cover, and also included a release date along with thenames of actors that would appear in the film. I spread the text out, again to avoid the appearanceof too much text. I only used two fonts so the final piece looked more professional and was easieron the eye.At the bottom of the poster I used a film certificate logo which doesnt always appear on postershowever I had noted that it should be included in at least one of my products.I think that on the whole the development of my poster has followed the majority of theconventions of a good poster however I know that in some cases the lack of information given outmay prove misleading for a viewer as opposed to captivating.
3. 3. Teaser TrailerWhen looking at other teaser trailers for the genre of horror, I managed to draw lots of ideas andinspiration from them. Teaser trailers should be between 30 and 90 seconds long and not give toomuch away about the film itself. My teaser trailer is 77 seconds long, and through the use of quickediting I feel it gives just enough information to an audience. As is seen in many teaser trailers of thisgenre, the purpose of such little information is to build suspense and allow the audience to becomedrawn in and want to watch the film. In my trailer I created a tense and mysterious atmosphere byusing a shot which got closer and closer to a door with the final shot being the silhouette of an armreaching for the door handle. This leaves an audience questioning who or what is behind the door,prompting them to watch the film to find out.I discovered that teaser trailers are usually fast-paced yet my product isnt. I challenged thisconvention as the music I had chosen was slow and I felt that it wasnt befitting for such editing. I stillthink that my teaser trailer works as the slower music builds the tension and forms and eerieatmosphere.Stereotypical trailers for horror films are gory and contain lots of running or screaming. I wanted myproduct to get away from this and not appear to be clichd. My teaser trailer relies purely on theunknown, and the scare factor comes from the main character being an ordinary mother in a homelysetting - something an audience can relate to.Many trailers have small pieces of text embedded between camera footage. I liked this idea anddecided to incorporate it into my own trailer. I chose my words carefully to enhance the suspensewhilst making sure that it didnt detract from the scenes.Overall I feel that my product complies with most of the conventions of a successful teaser trailer anddespite me challenging them slightly I still think it is an effective piece.
4. 4. Magazine Front CoverThe front cover of a magazine has several features and conventions which I stuck to as I found that therewere rarely any exceptions to these rules whilst conducting my research. A left-third of a magazine isperhaps the most important as it is predominantly what is first seen by a viewer when in stores. I madesure that the left third on my magazine front cover was insightful and featured the most important parts ofthe magazine. These included part of the masthead which would be instantly recognisable to a reader; buzzwords such as free, plus and world exclusive which entice the reader; coverlines with larger brightheadings that look attractive and instantly give snippets of information about the content of the magazine;part of the skyline; and the dateline so it is instantly obvious that they are reading the most up-to-dateissue.I wanted to include as many other features of a magazine front cover as I possibly could and so I used askyline to further advertise and promote the magazine and its contents; a large main image using a mid-shot with eye contact to involve the reader; a large main coverline to accompany the image; a bright buttonto give a little more information about the magazine and its highlights; a website for the magazine to invitemore interaction and feedback from the readers; a review quote to encourage the reader to investigatefurther; and a barcode.In my first draft of the magazine front cover I attempted to challenge a convention by using a blackbackground as I did in the poster. However I found that a white background made the main image stand outmuch more and could see how much more effective it was. I kept with a set colour scheme and allowed themain image to stand out even more by adding a red shadow behind it.The main image was airbrushed as it would be for any other magazine front cover, however despite my I.Tskills developing substantially since the beginning of the project, I still find that the image could beperfected even more with other software.
5. 5. ConclusionTo conclude I am happy that each of my tasks successfully meet with many of theforms and conventions I discovered during my research. I believe that where I havechallenged or developed them, I have done so effectively and with sufficientjustification.I worry slightly that my poster may be a little vague but I feel that the symbolism of theteddy bear and the logo that accompanies it is effectual and links in well with thetheme and plot of the story as well as the other two tasks. Thank You For Watching