How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

I have used a great variation of new types of technology to not only plan and research, but also in the construction and evaluation process. In my earlier research I used the website freeonlinesurveys.com which helped me create a survey, in order to gain accurate audience opinion on the horror genre. I asked questions on the expectations of horror movies, what the audience enjoy abour horror movies and also what they would not like to see in a horror. This technology helped me to find out what my target market expected and wanted in my horror teaser trailer.

My blog also featured another poll that asked what the viewers thought was the most scariest thing to have in a horror movie. This was a multi-choice question and enabled the audience to choose only one answer. This helped me in deciding what to base my horror teaser trailer storyline on. This was created on http://www.snappoll.com/.

In my research, the internet was my main source of information. Google images helped me with my ancillary tasks and I was able to view popular horror movie posters to gain an insight on the main themes. Youtube was also used a lot throughout the process, when researching other different horror trailers and also was a great help in the construction stage. I uploaded my updated trailer to Youtube each week, where my class friends would then be able to view it and make notes on what they liked and what they didn't.

At first I edited my trailer on IMovie for Apple Mac which I thought was a quick and easy program to use, however I had to use Windows Movie Maker in the end as I didn't have continious access to IMovie. However they are both very similar to each other and this is where I tried different techniques of editing and different effects and transitions to make the trailer flow and also to accomplish its main purpose, to scare.

For the evaluation stage I used social networking sites to gain audience opinion, to fit the target market. I used Facebook a lot to upload my trailer and also to ask for help when deciding on what picture I should use for my horror poster (ancillary task). Twitter was also used and I sent out a link to my trailer and asked for peoples views. I think this was the most successful new technology as it helped me the most for ideas and also influenced me when faced with difficult decisions.

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

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts? on Prezi

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

What have you learned from yo...

More PowerPoint presentations from charlotte green

In case the powerpoint doesn't work, here is a link you can click manually to see my evaluation answer:
http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/charliegreen-944368-what-have-you-learned-from-your-audience-feedback/

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? on Prezi

Magazine cover

This is my original picture below:

I then added a black and white effect on the image but faded it slightly, so the image would look washed out and faded. I then added a 'ghost effect' to give it a paranormal feeling, she looks like she is dead or possessed.

This is my first draft of my magazine.

This is my final magazine cover.

This is my first draft of my magazine which I created on PosterForge (Poster Designer) which is a software program for design and printing of media custom posters. You can create posters from scratch or design your own poster templates.

Poster feedback

Positive

"I love the effect of the eyes, it is very spooky as it feels like you are being watched by lots of people."

"It feels like the eye is looking straight out at you and that it is directly addressing you which makes me feel uncomfortable. However I think that is a succesfull feeling a viewer should have when looking at a horror movie poster."

"The font is very eye-catching and it looks like it has been drawn with blood, it is very powerful."


Negative

"I think the red is too bright and should be darker to create the effect of blood."

"You can't really see the bottom writing, which distracts your attention."

"Some of the picture is too distorted and looks a bit unprofessional."

Poster Analysis

I used the photo editing website Picnik.com to create my poster image.

Below is the original picture I took.

I have decided to use this as my final poster picture. The technique I have used to change the colour of the eyes is using a 30% harshness brush and going over the eye colour and then reducing the opacity. Then I used a technique called 'multiply' which allowed me to create the eye effect. I like this tool as I think it matches with my title 'The Unnerved' as it feels as though lots of people are looking at you. I also maximised the brightness, almost to a harsh level so to give a paranormal feel.

I like the font used, which I downloaded from dafont.com for the main title, however I think the way in which I have conducted the layout for my text doesn't look very good. The image is bombarded with writing and so doesn't have the desired effect of simplicity yet spookiness.

Final posterI like how there is no mise on scene and just the picture of the actors face as this creates mystery and makes the reader want to watch it as it doesn't give away any of the films storyline or plot. The writing which I got from dafont.com inspired me from “The uninvited” poster, which uses similar font. I decreased the opacity of the picture, apart from the eye, to make the eye the main focus.

Exploring different poster techniques

I wanted to research film posters before going ahead to create my own without any proper knowledge about the area. In doing this I researched current film posters that had previously stood out for me, received feedback about what makes a good film poster and also tried out film poster layouts on the internet.

I created these on http://bighugelabs.com/poster.php which enabled me to view how my poster would look like.

Starting my evaluation

I have started my evaluation for my project, as I know this is important and will require a lot of my time. It is worth 50% of my ovveral work, so I need to plan a lot of what I want to do beforehand. I have been told that it should not just be done in essay form, but that we should be creative when doing it. Because of this I am going to research different websites that I can create videos or online powerpoints to answer the 4 questions.

Poster Inspirations

I have researched through looking at other posters. Particularly, I have looked at posters that have a face as the main image as I wanted to create a similar message to the audience from my own poster. I thought it was great to hide the identity of the model and to create a sense of mystery to the audience, because they do not know who the killer is. These are some other horror film posters that have inspired me:

• I really like how simple this poster is, the colours are complete connotations of horror. With the red for blood and the white which creates a mystical paranormal effect.
• The face on the poster is very abstract and it makes me want to watch it because you it doesn't give away any of the plot.
• The poster is scary because if the audience stare at the face for a long time they may feel that the face is going to come out.

• I really like how the teeth are the main focus of this poster, they are right in the audiences eyeline which indicates the film could be based on vampires.
• There is also a little of red text and I found that in most of the posters, the red is only used for a few of the text.

• Most of the text is white over black which makes it stand out and it also avoids the audience getting distracted, so they only focus on the image.

Problems encountered with my trailer

The main problems I encountered with filming my trailer were getting the right shots, to capture the angle I wanted. I had to film a lot of footage of the same thing, until I was sure it was right and this took time. It would of been better if I had created a shotlist beforehand so I was certain what I needed and wanted to film.
What went well was the location, we were able to take advantage of the isolated forest to create some really spooky scenes.

Final Trailer

This is my final a2 Media horror trailer!

Here is a link if you are unable to view my trailer. http://youtu.be/_C6Lapgdx_Y

Trailer Feedback

I showed my class the progress I have made with the trailer and got them to complete a short paper based questionnaire on what they liked and didn't enjoy. Here are a few quotes that I have taken from this activity:

"I really enjoyed all the different types of shots you have used, for example when the victim is running through the woods. The variation keeps it exciting and I wanted to know what was going to happen to her next."

"I think you can improve on your transitions as they lacked consistency from one shot to the next, but this can be easily done. I think that is the main thing that lets your trailer down."

"I loved the mobile phone sequence, I think that is really original and have never seen anything like it before. Definietly keep that in as it gave it a uniqueness that most horror trailers these days lack."

"I don't like the music at all, I don't think it fits the theme of your trailer. Instead I would of used something much more eerie and spooky."

TRAILER

This  is my second attempt at creating my teaser trailer. This was particularly hard because it was difficult to condense it down to the preferred time limit. I also still haven't got to grips with how to make the transitions look professional. This is something that I will look on the internet for a tutorial for.

Blog Checklist

Embedded trailers with my own written analysis

- Embedded 7 different media texts and analysis
- Scans or photographs of sketches and storyboards
- Photographs of location and characters with writing
- Stills of filming

Filming the trailer

Today I filmed my trailer in Chichester. It didn't take as long as I expected it to do, but that may be because I created a step-by-step plan of each shots I wanted. It was hard to imagine the finished project from doing quick shots, but hopefully I have enough footage to make a good trailer. The battery of the camera ran out half way through, and then I couldn't film as it became too dark so I have two types of lighting filmed. However the programme I will be editing the material on enables me to change the lighting, so this shouldn't be a problem.