Evaluation

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

For my A2 media production I had to produce two alternate ancillary products as well as my main film production, the ancillaries were designed as a means of exhibiting and advertising my film. The two ancillary products were a film magazine front cover and a film, those tasks also contributing to the film trailer we created. Before we began to design our products it was essential that we researched existing products from the same genre, during this research we analysed a vast range of different products, which included scripts, magazine front covers, storyboards, posters and existing film trailers. By looking at existing products we were able to assess and choose what aspects and conventions would be most suitable to be included in our products it was essential to include elements of the conventions used in existing films of the same genre to ensure that the audience are able to easily comprehend and interpret the film in the way that it is designed to do. Take for example the research into existing film trailers, I focused predominantly on trailers that fall into the category of crime or comedy (which is the chosen genre of my media production) and assessed the range of camera, editing, sound and mise en scene techniques, due to research into this area I was able to get an impression of what aspects of setting, acting and costume would be best suited to be included in my own film, by using conventions generally associated with films of the same genre it meant the audience were able to decipher the genre and purpose of the product with relative ease. For example, in my own film production we tried to produce an authentic office area in which to film my trailer, this would add to the verisimilitude of the production and ensure the audience gains information and opinions of the characters on their surroundings and behaviour within the aforementioned surroundings. The sound aspects were also an imperative aspect in my trailer as music and sounds effects are essential in creating an atmosphere within the film, generally being used to emphasise a particular emotion from a character, or to establish the formality of a certain situation, for example the fight scenes within my trailer when the tempo of the background music increases and intensifies in order to convey action or danger. The usage of camera angles and editing techniques are also heavily present in my own trailer, during my research I looked closely at angles and movements which had been used in existing products to gain an understanding of the genre and its conventions, Take for example the extreme close ups in trailers from “Johnny English Reborn” they have been used to convey concentration and possibly arrogance from within the character, which is contrasting to his very foolish behaviour and the fact that he is prone to accidents, we tried to include basic camera shots such as that to create a successful and realistic production.

  During my research into the variety of alternate film posters and magazines for the ancillary production, I believe it was a good idea to assess the colour schemes, formats, layouts and language use which was present in those existing products to ensure the audiences attention was captured and maintained. When looking at existing film magazines they ensured that the colour schemes were altered so that it is fitted to the genre and subject of film that is the main bulk of the magazine front cover, ensuring that that we could use a specific colour scheme that would be relevant and support the film and look presentable, which would in turn ensure that audiences see the cover and are intrigued by the well organised and formulated magazine. By including the same colours present for the poster I created I was able to create something which in a way was like a ‘brand’ which comes with its own image. A prime example of this would be the magazine front cover advertising a James Bond movie, the imagery and colour scheme is all completely relevant to the topic of the movie and creates the idea of realism, therefore intriguing audiences, which in turn will make them pay to view the film. To ensure we made our products to the highest quality and that it met audience demand I created a questionnaire distributing it to people falling into the age range of our target audience to see what conventions we should incorporate into our own posters and magazine covers, examples of questions were revolving around colour scheme and font, this helped us design products which will be eye-catching and professional looking poster and magazine productions, this in turn means my magazine cover and film poster used the existing conventions to help make my products look well designed and formatted.

                      
In my opinion my trailer is has followed suit with similar existing trailer productions by credible film companies, due to the use of generic conventions of spy/comedy film trailers. This is predominantly because of the locations and costumes used, to ensure the trailer maintains an enigma and mystery to intrigue audience members, but it also follows the forms and conventions of the same genre of film because I have incorporated comedic aspects into our film so that it appeals to a selection of audiences, this meaning that our film could possibly be placed into a sub-genre.

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

 In my personal opinion the effectiveness of the combination of our main product and our ancillary texts has been a resounding success, due to other films of the same genre, the protagonist is the one character from the film that appears in the poster and the magazine front cover, I decided to include this element to ensure that audiences are able to assess what the films subject might be and give them a basic idea of what the film regards. By presenting the protagonist as a generic 'spy' character with conventions from research I had carried out on previous products, but also ensuring my products were original. I did this by using his dress sense and mannerisms to convey an impression of the main character to the audience, establishing personalities and generic stereotypes. To ensure all products were affiliated I used the protagonist in all of the ancillary products as well as the trailer, in turn this would mean that audiences viewed the ancillary products they would realise that they are associated with the actual film trailer, this is an imperative aspect of ensuring that audiences would be able to somehow view one of our products and purchase it, with all products being linked together it broadens the products and ensures each ancillary supports the actual main film trailer production. Another aspect that effectively combines the magazine front cover and the trailer is the costume of the protagonist being similar, if not the same, in both of which the main characters is wearing very formal clothing which is conventional for a man in his position and employment status, which adds to his professionalism which is very contrast to his behaviour.  The poster is also linked with the trailer, but in a somewhat more discrete manner, for example it does not include any aspects (apart from costume) present in the trailer, this has been done to create an enigma surrounding the mind-frame and behaviour of the protagonist. Although I did try to maintain a similar font styling with the poster and magazine front cover which again establishes a brand for the film.


 

    What have you learned from your audience feedback?

By gathering sufficient information from audience feedback via questionnaires I was able to interpret what parts to incorporate into my productions, so that they follow suit with a particular target audience. If audience feedback was exempt from my research I don’t believe my ancillary products would have been designed to quite such a high quality, previous to the production of those texts (the ancillary products) it was necessary to carry out research, the predominant research method was a questionnaire which had been formulated to get an idea of what age groups and genders thought best to include in all of our productions to ensure the up most quality. From the information gathered from the aforementioned questionnaire I ensured that I would try to include a varied amount of different conventions (from audience preferences) when designing and producing my ancillary texts as well as the film trailer itself. By including audience’s preferences I was then able to branch out with my products, and aim for a vast range of target audiences, coupled with the sub-genre of the film trailer it ensured a variety of people would have an interest in it. Also in my questionnaire I gained information on what, format, layout and design of existing film magazine covers they would prefer, this enabled me to design my ancillary texts in a way that would look professional and realistic, with appropriate text sizes and shapes, as well as the images used on cover, which I might add, with regards to different films and genres are used to convey different opinions. Where my film trailer production was concerned I asked about numerous aspects which audiences members would prefer to have included, aspects such as the impact of music in the trailer, the opinions of the audience gathered was predominantly ‘yes, music does have I significant impact on a film trailer’, whether it be to convey a particular impression of a character or just to establish emotions, the music and sound can be essential in a films success. From this questionnaire I was able to gain significant knowledge on what to include in my own products, without the inclusion of audience research into generic conventions I don’t believe our productions would have come out as successful.
 Post-production we also gathered yet more audience feedback gain an insight into what their opinions of our finished products were, from the feedback, I was able to alter certain areas of my products in order to suit the target audience more efficiently. Prior to these changes I made, I ensured that I asked the target audience for information of the areas in which I could improve upon to maintain that it would be specifically targeted at them, and that all aspects of the production were well designed and put together to make a successful product. From the audience feedback we realised that although people may like films of the same genre, there were conflicting opinions when it cam the the layout and colour schemes of the ancillary texts, meaning I had to take a variety of audience members opinions into account when designing my products to ensure it met the requirements they desired.

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

During my coursework production I gained the use of a variety of alternate media technologies which were used to aide me in the design and production processes. Such technologies included video/still cameras, the internet and also a varied amount of computer software. The most important piece of technology was the camera in which I used to film the trailer, it played a significant role in almost every area of the research, planning, design and production of my coursework, and was used to create a range of productions which included taking still images for both ancillary texts, as well as my final production (film trailer). During the research and planning area of my coursework I mainly used the internet and computer software technology, technology imperative in gaining the information I required to design my products. The use of the internet and search engines such as ‘Google’ were significantly important to my coursework as it enabled me to view existing texts and analyse them, gathering information on what conventions they use and how they use them, within their own products, which in turn made it easier for me to design my own products and include generic conventions whilst also maintaining originality. Software such as ‘Microsoft office publisher’ and ‘Macromedia fireworks’, as well as websites such as ‘Blogger’ were three of my most frequently used in the research, planning and production processes, I used these programmes/websites to both edit images (macromedia) to be placed on to my final designs (created on publisher), then uploaded onto my blog, with a written analysis on each segment. Other technologies used included in the planning and research area of my coursework the scanner which was an important element in uploading images to my blog, which were then analysed, I used the scanner to upload images of the storyboards which I designed, these would prove useful in the filming and editing process of my trailer, so that I could ensure all areas of the storyboard are cover, and what bits I may be able to elaborate. As it was part of the coursework requirements it was essential that they be included, so the scanner therefore played an integral part in the successful completion of my coursework. I used www.workingtitlefilms.com to research a variety of different film trailers from the same, if not similar genre, this would make sure that I had a significant understanding on what aspects to include in my film trailer, from camera angles/movements to editing and sound techniques, which are all used to make a professional and successful film trailer. iMovie was the program I used to edit my film trailer, it was a vital component in creating a video which would look realistic and professional. iMovie had a selection of editing and sound software which helped me to pull together all of the separate scenes which I had film for my trailer, and compose them all together. With the inclusion of editing techniques such as fades and slow motions as well as sound techniques used to convey drama, action or humour, I was able to comprise all these aspects together and make a completed trailer. As I had no prior knowledge of certain programs, as well as not being the most I.T competent of individuals, I found it difficult at the beginning to understand all of the features of the software, however as I spent more time using the program I was able to understand it far more clearly. As the project drew to its conclusion when evaluating, the website blogger ensured I was able to record and analyse all researched and designed products with relative ease.

Film Trailer

br /> The trailer begins with writing sweeping in reading 'THIS SUMMER', fading into a close up of the protagonist, fastening his tie, this ensures the audience gain the idea that he is of an upper class background or possibly a well dressed professional, the seclusion of the characters face and lower torso are used to create an enigma surrounding the main character. This is followed by a close up of the protagonist reaching for his suit jacket, the close ups suggesting an awe of importance revolving around the characters appearance, and that what he wears is significant to the plot of the movie, or what the character must do in the movie. This is then proceeded by the camera panning up from the protagonists feet, up to his head, the camera being set at a low angle for the character to look down towards it, suggesting to audiences that this character is trying to assert dominance, an express how he is the most imperative character of the movie. As the character leaves the room (edited by a series of cuts) he proceeds to walking into the camera, although the audience may have previously thought that the protagonist would walk directly at the camera, and then it would fade to black, however as we aimed to create a comedy, we decided it would be best for the protagonist to walk directly into the camera, which adds comic appeal, but also in a way conveys the vanity of the main character. Throughout both of those scenes there was background music playing (non-diegetic), used to assist and establish certain opinions of the character, such as his suave appearance, and high opinion of himself. Other scenes such as the aggressive gear changes, suggest although the protagonist is well groomed and sophisticated, he is susceptible to aggressive tendencies and is not afraid of action, this is also supported by the concluding scenes of the film, whereby the main character punches a villain in the face the smiles to the camera, in turn conveying the idea of vanity and cockiness which is contrast to his somewhat clumsy and oaf'ish behaviour in previous scenes. One of those scenes being, in the office when the protagonist goes to stand up from his chair and accidently places his foot in the bin located beside him, it displays his lack of awareness and possible incompitence, which begs the question why he is an spy in the first place, adding to the comedic appeal of the trailer. The significant change in music types and tempo throughout the trailer are used to signify changes in location and mood, for example during the fight scenes, the tempo of the music increases and becomes more intense, which has been used to establish drama and action within the scene. The editing techniques I used when creating my trailer, were used as a way of interpreting what is about to come, for example the use of fades have been incorporated as a means of conveying the suspense within the film, whereas simple cuts have been used to sharply cut from one character to another and to establish the speed or tempo of the scene. At the trailers conclusion the use of the zoom to extreme close up was used as a method of displaying the attitudes of the characters, with some smiling, and others with sinister apperances the use of close ups can dramatically affect the audiences interpretation of the text, whether it be positive or negative.

Ancillary task 2 movie magazine: Planning and Production

This is the final design of my front cover, as you can see I have included all of the conventional aspects of Empire magazine, however added my own personal design features, such as colouring, text layout, images, and what information is to be included on the front cover. By including bright images and text with a contrasting black background, it ensures that the magazine will catch the eye, as with most front covers both the background, text and images are brightly coloured, my cover which has a dark background would possibly make it stand out more efficiently. With use of relevent images which are all movie related it will therefore appeal to the target audience (being movie lovers), and considering the movie stills i have included are movies that are highly anticipated it will in turn add more interest from the audience members. By using larger, more bold font for the main text on the cover i have ensured that this particular bit of text will have the most impact on the audience. "STONE COLD ACTION" this suggests to the audience that there will be significant drama in the advertised movie and that there is little-to-no emotions involved. The main image in the centre of the page which has been created in a silhouette format of a man dressed in a suit suggests to the audience that the main character plays a role of authority or possibly importance and that despite his clean appearance he is the one who will be causing most of the drama.

As well as all the textual aspects of my cover, one other important aspect that comes with almost every top quality magazine is imagery, which are use both to convey the tone of the cover as well as for entertainment purposes. As this is a movie magazine I thought it best to include images which are relevant to the genre of the magazine, therefore my images were entirely film or movie related. By using images of recent films which have been rated highly it will intrigue the audience into a particular movie and make audience members eager to find out why that film has been so successful, movie images I have chosen to include are Super 8, Harry Potter and the deathly hallows part 2 and Contagion which have all been fairly recently released therefore ensuring that not everyone has seen it, so intrige will still be present. Overall I decided to include font colouring of only red and white, the reds I have used are a method of establishing danger and violence to the audience whereas the contrasting white, which suggest purity, act as a means of supplying the audience with the idea that although there will be danger it can all be resolved. Below the images I have incorporated information on topics that will be found within the magazine, and by using elliptical construction to ensure little information is given away it will then entice the audience into reading the stories within.

When creating my movie magazine front cover I thought it would be best to follow the format of one of the most successful magazines on the market, Empire. I gathered research from various examples of Empire magazine front covers as a means of gaining and idea on how to design and structure my own cover. I decided to follow the main layout of the conventional Empire front cover in order to convey verisimiltude and therefore making it more appealling to the target audiences. Athough the layout of Empire magazine rarely alters, the font styles do change significantly with regards to what the main subject of the cover is, for example on one front cover which advertised 'Tron' the font had a glowing outline which ensured that the film be firmly conveyed as science-fiction rather than a different genre. The font style I chose to incorporate into my front cover is a very bold and plainly coloured in black and white, which I believe suggests to the audience a serious and possibley aggressive atmosphere. It is also a somewhat retro styled font which could give the audience the idea that the movie may include some old-fashioned values or traits. The colour scheme chosen for my front cover consisted mainly of dark backgrounds coupled with contrasting text colouring, I believe this will ensure that my magazine was contrasting enough from other covers and to maintain an appearance that would stand out from the rest.

Ancillary task 1 movie poster: Planning and production

This is a basic layout design of my movie poster, I began with including text in my poster as I believe that although the text may not fill up the largest proportion of the page it does have a significant impact on the audience as the meaning of the text will act as a method of intriguing them and trying to persuade them into purchasing a ticket in the cinema to view it. When designing the layout of my poster i thought it would be a good idea to produce a poster which has a main image with large text which stands out from the image but in a way supports it by including relevant information within the text as this will then help the poster to be attractive to the audience, as if the text on the poster was completely irrelevant the audience may get slightly confused. The clean-cut appearance of the text and lines behind the text act as a method of conveying formality and suggest the the movie may be serious of formal in some ways. The colour of the text has been designed in a way that would establish  somewhat old-fashioned values and suggest an idea that in the past things were simpler yet still effective.

As with the majority of most movie posters there is a central image which is relevant to the subject of the poster, some do tend to include an image of an establishing shot of a particular place, which is use as a means of conveyed mystery and suspense. In my poster however I chose to include an image of a character which have been pictured as a silhouette, usually including an image would suggest limited mystery within the story, but as it has been silhouetted it therefore adds mystery and intrigue. The image used in my movie poster presents the protagonist as a very smooth character, hence the bowler hat, which could also add an old-fashioned appeal. The somewhat basic colour scheme also supports the old-fashioned natured of the text showing that this film may incorporate old fashion values and possibly be set in the past.

This is the final design of my movie poster, as you can see from the image above. I have incorporated a background into my final design as i believe it makes the image stand out, which will ensure the audience has seen it. The image of an explosion in the background that has been used is extremely contrast to the main image used in the poster as it is suggesting drama and action, however the image connotes an alternate idea of calmness and sophistication. In my final design i chose to split the text into two separate sections, i believe this acts as a catalyst for the audience to scan over the entire poster as there is both writing at the top and bottom of the page, meaning you have to go over the whole page in order to read whats at the bottom, any other method would cause confusion (e.g. reading from top to bottom wouldn't work). Also the fonts you are alternating colours which could draw in the readers attention as well as their large, bold appearance.

Research and Planning

Planning
Script

Above is the script for our film trailer, I have incorporated all features of generic film scripts into my draft in order to ensure maximum accuracy when filming, this script will also help keep us organised and remind us what scenes must be filmed. As with most scripts there are stage directions as well as dialogue included so that the audience may gain a deeper understanding of the film itself by learning how each character acts and reacts. I have included the character names written in capital lettering above the dialogue and this will ensure that those reading the script will be able to tell who is engaging in conversation. The dialogue or monologues for these characters have gained a centre positioning on the page, whereas the stage directions have been written conventionally on the left of the page, this enables the reader to decipher which section of the text is which. I have included horizontal lines across the page so that the reader knows when the scenes change and so the story flows smoothly. Coupled with the stage directions there is signification of what music will be playing in that particular scene this is used to convey increased drama an emotions to the audience with certain tempo of music or tone.

Storyboard






Research

Existing movie trailers:

http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/features/video/id/237/first-trailer
Johnny English - This trailer starts off with a scene including the protagonist in a secluded mountain village, in which he seems to be training with monks, this environment is contrast to the norm, being in this environment suggests that he has gone away to find solace, separating himself from society in order to harness his skills and in turn becoming a more enlightened individual. In these scenes there is use of several camera angles e.g. close ups, establishing shots and mid angles. As well as camera movements and effects which included pan, tracking, effects including fade in and fade out. Dramatic music is being played throughout this scene, however the music gains a higher tempo when he returns to England giving the audience the idea that His native country is far more hectic than the calm mountain village. Then the text begins to flash on screen saying "The worlds greatest spy" after which there are various short cut scenes of scenes in the film, many of which shows him in some less than flattering situations, suggesting that his spy ability is mearly based on his clumsiness rather than his actual talent. A few more titles then appear on screen, establishing the protagonists motives and what he is setting out to achieve. And as the main character considers himself to be greatly talented and wise, his actions convey the idea that he is very much the opposite. The voice over then states the name of the film in a serious tone which gives us the impression that although the overall topic is a serious one, the addition of humour makes the trailer all the more intriguing, therefore attracting audiences which would generally enjoy action films, as well as people who like comedies, and with these two genres mixed together the broader the audience range will be. The whole point of the cut scenes of the film is so that people can get a rough idea of whats going to happen in the film, but however not giving away the actual conclusion therefore making the audience more enticed. The last thing to appear on screen is the date of release which has no other purpose other than to highlight when the film will be available for public viewing.

http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/features/video/id/240/full-trailer
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - This trailer begins by showing the main companies involved in the production of the film, it then goes on to show a variety of scenes from the movie however not giving the viewer any idea on what the actual plot of the film, ensuring that the audience would have to pay to watch it, in order to find out what its about, which is significant in attracting a variety of audiences through the method of mystery and suspense, not giving any of the plot line away in the trailer intrigues the audience greatly. There is a mixture of camera angles used which include mostly establishing shots, close ups and mid shots. The close ups have been used as a means of conveying the emotion in the characters, ensuring that their facial expressions will alter how the audience are meant to feel at particular parts of the story. After all of the scenes which are shown the scene fades to black then another scene is introduced, this is used the majority of the time throughout this trailer. Also in  certain parts between the clips the screen fades to black and instead of another scene, numbers appear then turn into writing. One example would be "Trust no one" which adds significant suspense. Along with non-diegetic music which plays over the trailer which is very dramatic and the tempo increases as it gets more intense. The misé en scéne aspects of this trailer are also of interest to me, I noticed that all of the costumes seem to be very dull with lack of elaborate colour schemes, which suggests to me that this movie has more of a sinister and dark edge rather than one of joy and happiness and in conjunction with the lighting this aspects is heightened. At  the end of the trailer the title of the film comes up, then the names of the actors and director involved in making the film appear on screen, and establishing to the audience which actors involved in the production have won awards for their achievements in the acting business, this makes the viewer eager to see the film because they will  assume it is of a better quality than others due to the high status of the people involved. The penultimate thing to appear, just like the other trailer was the date of release.

http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/features/video/id/162/teaser-trailer-1
Hot Fuzz- A the beginning of this trailer it displays those main companies involved in the production of the movie. From those advertisements it then fades into a scene with a dolly or tracking shot which ends when the character who is engaging in a monologue is in focus. The screen then fades to black depicting the title of a previous film that this particular company was involved in. As the camera fades back it shows an over-the-shoulder shot of the protagonist (who is a policeman) who is speaking to a group of school children, also the camera in this scene seems to be tilted or canted slightly in order for the policeman to be looking down on the children, this could suggest to the audience that the policeman has power or authority over the children. The camera then pans to the right to show a policeman sitting cross-legged on the floor with the children, conveying the idea of comedy within the film as well as establishing how unprofessional this particular policeman seems to be, possibly suggesting that this policeman hasn't experienced as much intensity and drama in his time police force, and also presenting the policeman who is addressing the group of school children as a rather stern and serious character who's years of experience have caused him to become a very secluded individual who takes his work very seriously. Immediately after this scene comes a selection of action sequences from the movie with varied amounts of gunfire, fist fighting and explosions, which I believe has been incorporated into this section of the trailer as it is very contrasting from the previous scene and comes in very suddenly which will therefore amaze the audience and capture there attention. The conclusion of the trailer comes with a final fade to black, then an animated title of the film appears on screen in silver writing, the movement of the text and the font style connotes an idea of action and drama, the silver colouring suggests weaponry and ammunition. This is all supported by the police badge located in the centre of the 'O' in 'HOT FUZZ'.

Analysis of existing script layout: 

Mission Impossible II

 ON THE ROAD - NYAH (MOVING)

     around curves, hair flying, she's free.  Her car phone rings.
     Perplexed, she lets it ring once or twice picks it up:

        NYAH
           (tentatively)
            Hola..
      ETHAN
                Hi.  Would you mind slowing down?

         NYAH
                Where did you get this number?  I don't
                even have it!

                                ETHAN' VOICE           

     Would you like it?

     She hits the End button and disconnects.  The phone immediately
     rings again.  She refuses to pick up.  Ethan pulls alongside hers.
     She looks at him.  They speak through the open cars.

              ETHAN
                Pull over and listen to me, will you?
                Just listen..
              NYAH
                Listen to what?

             ETHAN
                I need your help and I thin you can use
                mine.

            NYAH
                Your help?  What are you talking about?

             ETHAN
                Scotland Yard, Interpol, every Dutch
                authority.  I can make them go away.

              NYAH
                Oh bloody hell.  You're a spy.

     She floors it and shoots ahead of Ethan, nicking his car as she takes off.

             ETHAN
              (to himself)
                I deserved that.

For the script research i gathered examples of scripts which followed the same or similar genre to what my media project will be about. The first script i have chosen is from 'Mission Impossible II' as it fits the criteria and will ensure that i have a significant understanding of the genre and how it is conventionally filmed and also presented. Although this script is not from a movie trailer (as i was unable to find any) it does give me just as much information on how to convey drama and action to make each scene more intriguing and generally contains the same characteristics as a trailer script, with a bit more detailed information.

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

Dr. Evil runs into the street with Austin chasing him. In
               SLO-MO Austin dives for a ridiculously long time, and TACKLES
               Dr.  Evil, pinning him.

AUSTIN I'm going to kill you, you bastard!
DR. EVIL  (breathing heavily)
                         Before you do that, know this: Austin,
                         I am... your... father.

MUSIC: DRAMATIC STING

          AUSTIN  Really?

                 DR. EVIL   No. I can't back that up. I was just
                         grasping at straws. I had nothing.
                         But isn't it interesting, Mr. Powers,
                         you really have become a product of
                         the Nineties.

       AUSTIN How so?

                 DR. EVIL  You're more interested in your job
                         as glorified policeman than you are
                         in love. You won the battle, but I
                         won the war. Love means nothing,
                         you've proved it.

In my research i decided to gather existing scripts from various sources, which have a similar genre. I have chosen this particular script as we may take a route on the more comedic style, our main objective was to create a "one man on a mission" like trailer, however we decided it may well be a good idea to add humour into various sections in order to make it more appealing and entertaining. As i was unable to gather an example of the Austin Powers movie trailer script we decided to take a segment out of the actual script, a section which contained drama and a scene that could possibly be used to create a film trailer. This particular example uses both humour and emotion to ensure the audience stay captivated and maintain and entertaining value.

Analysis of existing storyboards:

This image shows part of a storyboard from a wild west action movie, this storyboard depicts a fight between several characters with the use of fire-arms. There are arrows that show the movements of the characters involved in the scenes, for example the first box shows two people with an arrow pointing forward, this shows that they are walking in that direction in that scene. Although this story board does fit the genre we are likely to pursue, it does give us several ideas with regards to action scenes and how to convey as much drama as possible, but at the same time giving us significant information on how to create a well structured storyboard.

This image shows a storyboard from Rambo III it has blue arrows on all of the pictures to show the direction or movement of the camera, it also shows red arrows to show the characters actions for example in the top right picture he is picking something up, the same as the other picture the boxes show what will actually be on camera, this changes in the first picture because the camera is zooming in. Unlike the other one this storyboard also has annotations to tell you exactly what is happening in more detail than the picture does, it also shows what they are saying. This storyboard also displays examples of camera angles that could be used in the actual filming process e.g. the scene in the bottom left shows a close up of the protagonists eyes, this could be used as a method of establishing the characters feelings at that point in time.

Analysis of existing film posters and magazines:

Magazine covers                                                                        

Here we have to examples of existing magazines which have displayed the main protagonists from two separate films on each of their front covers. The images that have been used are relevant to the actual genre/plot of the story.

The 'Empire' magazine cover its main subject is Quentin Tarantino's 'Kill Bill', the main character being Uma Thurman, who has often portrayed powerful independent female characters. I believe that such a character has been chosen as it establishes the capability of women, usually in a film of this genre the protagonist would likely be a male, however the unconventional approach is an aspect of what makes this movie so successful. The blood splatter on the cover also gives the audience the impression that the female in queston is likely to go to great lengths in order to get what she wants, which is another unconventional area, as we normally associate woman with cleanliness and the dislike of dirt. very contrasting to all of this is her stance which seems to be very feminine suggesting to the audience that she is has the ability to take extreme measures, yet still maintain her femininity. Her costume which seems to be motorcycle attire suggests that she has adopted more of a masculine lifestyle as a method of intimidation, however the colour scheme seems to be an attempt to keep some sort of her feminine side to be conveyed. The font used also ensures the impression of action and possibly gore, with all fonts being written in either black or a bold crimson and suggests that although the character seems to be somewhat elaborate, the text suggests that her task will be a stern one. The text on the page is sans serif which links to the fact that it is meant to be more serious, as if there were flicks and fancy aspects to the font style it would give the reader the impression of a calm atmosphere, however it is in fact the complete opposite.

The front cover of 'Entertainment Weekly' shows an image of Daniel Craig portraying the protagonist James Bond who is essentially a very swarve and sophisticated individual. Looking at his posture and the costume I would agree with such a statement, highlighting to the audience that he can maintain his clean cut image, whilst n difficult situations. With Bond having such a calm attitude it would suggest to the audience that although there may be trouble ahead, you are in safe hands with him. Looking at the background of this front cover it seems irregular, as though you were looking through some sort of heat monitor visor, this adds to the idea that the movie will include the stereotypical spy/secret agent methods of work. Also we notice that there is a rifle target overlapping the picture, this has been used to link will the sub heading entitled 'Goodbye Bond', suggesting that this could well be the end of the James Bond film series. The text has been printed in a large bold red font which we would normally associate with danger or blood, therefore linking it in with the actual written words, the red suggesting death, in possibly more ways than one. All aspects of the page in some way connote death or danger in a method to attract the audience.

When designing my magazine front cover I will take into account all aspects of the evidence of existing covers that I have gathered and put them into practise in the creation of one of my ancillary tasks (magazine front cover).
Film Posters

The film poster on the right is for the 'The dark knight', the second movie in the most recent Batman film series. The first thing i noticed when i viewed this poster is the fire on the building which is shaped like a bat, this gives the poster something that stands out and is eye catching, but also is extremely relevant to the plot or storyline. Another thing i noticed about this poster is the writing at the top that says "Welcome to a world without rules." this is supposed to intrigue the audience and make them wonder what a world without rules would be like? Other features of this poster include the text near the bottom of the poster e.g. the text which displays the actors who appear in the film, companies involved in production of the film and the date of release at the cinema, when creating my poster these aspects would all contribute to making a realistic and successful film poster.

The poster on the left is for the film Hot Fuzz it shows the two main characters both looking at camera, however with the reflection of the town shown in their sun glasses, this is to be the town in which the film is set. Like the last poster this one also has text at the summit of the page, this time saying "Big cops. Small town. Moderate violence." giving the audience an insight as to what is likely to unfold in this film. Unlike the last poster this one does not have use a great deal of text quoting what companies were involved in the film production. Although it does not give you an accurate description of who produced the film, it does tell you what other films this particular company has produced "A new comedy from the makers of Shaun of the dead" which will make people who have seen Shaun of the dead eager to view a film which has not only been produced by the same people, but which also contains the same main characters.





Research into costumes and locations using existing trailers:
Generally, in the genre we are covering the costumes that are used tend to be more on the formal side. An example of this would be in the movie "Johnny English" his clothing consists of suits, uniforms which are used when in a specific environment e.g. Golfing attire, this is all used as a way of conveying his swarve and professional attitude during his work as a spy. By the protagonist in our film wearing similar clothing it will only promote the verisimilitude of the production, whereas if the character was wearing casual clothing it would seem less real. The locations that are predominantly used tend to be in environments such as offices, streets or possibly in a vehicle, this works as a perfect model to use when we are producing our own film, as it gives us a detailed idea of what locations would be best suited to particular scenes. The costumes for the villains would be somewhat similar to the clothing worn by the main character, but in some ways stray on the darker side, to add to the atmosphere of certain scenes and to establish drama or fear. From our research we found that most movies that include gangsters, they do wear suits similar to that of the "Good Guy", which is used as a method of showing contrast between the two characters, all be it similar in many ways. The props we would use for this film would be fake guns, cars, other fake weaponry, a cigar,and some fake drugs to promote realism and verisimilitude.
Questionnaire and results for target audience:


This is the questionnaire we created as a means of gaining useful feedback from the audience on our film ideas. The information we gathered from this survey has given us a greater impression on what to include in our movie trailer in order to suit the target audiences. The feedback we gather from the questions above will aide us in deciding upon film titles, genre of the film, and how vaguely it is presented (e.g. maintaining mystery within the trailer so is not to give away the main plot). 


This was the first question on the survey regarding the trailer itself. As we can see by the research information above, it has given us a greater insight into what genre of film the audiences prefer. The most popular seems to be comedy, followed closely by crime, by incorporating this evidence into our trailer we decided to mix the two most popular genres and create a crime/comedy trailer as it will meet the requirements of the target audience, and thus appealing to a wider range of audience, people who enjoy crime as well as those that enjoy comedy.


We designed this particular question to see which method the audience preferred, either a trailer that maintains mystery and doesn't give away the main plot lines, or a trailer that gives away a great deal about the film.  The options given in this particular question would give us the information required to decided the amount of mystery that is maintained in our trailer, the purple represents those audience members that did want the plot-lines given away and the green represents the people that wanted the trailer to be more secretive, due to the extensive amount of people voting for a more secretive trailer we decided not to give away too much of the plot and ensure that the audience is intrigued by the mystery.


In this question we analysed which movie titles the target audiences would prefer, we believed this to be an important aspect of deciding on whether or not to go see a movie and is pinnacle in attracting the audience, we did not want to make it a simplistic and obvious title such as "Snakes on a plane" as we were aiming on keeping the audience guessing. Judging by the research which has been gathered on this question we notice that A Barron of fun seems to be the most popular movie title, it incorporates a play on words which establishes it as a comedy and the word Barron suggests crime lord, which therefore conveys the crime genre, however this name doesn't give away the actual plot line and doesn't give you much information on the movie at all, apart from its genre.

G324: Ideas for media video production

Movie trailer/short film ideas

• Dramatic war-time drama (Vietnam war)

Setting: Vietnam jungle (e.g. nearby woodland area)
Props: Toy guns, plastic knives,
Costume: Conventional army attire (e.g. boots, vests etc)

• Horror parody (e.g. paranormal activity)

Setting: Dark rooms
Props: Ropes (transparent washing line/ fishing line)
Costume: Pj's or regular clothing

• Horror (Slasher, Cereal Killer)

Setting: Spooky location (e.g. dark woodland, abandonned buildings)
Props: Blunt instruments (e.g. knives, bars, spades, hammers etc), fire arms, dead bodies
Costume: Regular clothing, killers costume (e.g. cloak, hood, mask)

• Crime Drama (missing person, murder case, kidnapping)

Setting: City streets, woodland area
Props: Fire arms, police badges, varied weaponary
Costume: Ski masks, dark clothing, smart clothing for detectives

• Comedy (slapstick, parody)

Setting: Everyday environment (office, house, street etc) 
Props: Plastic disguise (moustache, nose, glasses), banana skins, humerus objects/utensils
Costume: Funny outfits, regular clothing

• Mockumentary (e.g. Bear Grylls Born Survivor spoof)

Setting: Forest, woodland, grassy terrain
Props: Camera, knives, branches (various items generally found in a forest)
Costume: Varied animal costumes, clothing suitbale for surviving in the wild