EVALUATION

BY CATHLEEN GUINEY

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT

USE DEVELOP, OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL

MEDIA PRODUCTS

Question One

Tagline

Masthead

Billing Block

Background Image

Age Certificate

Movie Company Logos

Critic’s Review

Main Conventions of a Movie Poster

CASE 39 MOVIE POSTERClick icon to add picture

1. The background image is the entire poster. The girl is on the

first third of the image. She looks very frightened, and the use

of light casting over her head like an open door adds to the

horror of the poster

2. The writing is white and has a glow around it giving it the

effect of a candle light or being illuminated from behind

3. A typical convention of teaser movie posters is the use of a

release date, tagline, and no billing block, although that is a

main convention of official movie poster.

4. The tagline for this poster says ‘some cases should never be

opened’ this adds to the fear factor of the film making it look

appealing to the audience and making them want to see the

film.

5. The only reference to cast members on the poster is

Hollywood celebrity Renée Zellweger, the use of her name

could be enough to entice the audience to see the film, as

most of her films have been award winning, high rated films.

6. Although there is no billing block on the poster, there is a

small ‘Paramount Pictures’ logo at the bottom of the poster,

this is a world wide known film company and all of its

productions have been a huge success adding to the credibility

of the film

A TALE OF TWO SISTERS POSTER Click icon to add picture

A tale of two sisters is a highly successful Japanese horror film which

inspired the American horror ‘The Uninvited’.

1. The background image looks like a typical family photograph

except the children are covered in blood. It is this oxymoronic

image that creates interest and makes the audience want top

see the film. One of the girls is slouched and looks very upset,

unlike her other sister who is being held by the ‘mother’ figure

in the image, this girl is isolated in this image.

2. The tagline above the girls says ‘Every family has its dark

secrets’, This tagline is intriguing and very typical of a horror

poster as it has keywords ‘dark’ ‘secrets’, these buzzwords will

convince the audience to go watch this film

3. The title is in the lower centre of the image, this makes it the

main attraction of the poster other than the image itself. The

title is in a creamy colour writing making it easy to see, and is a

simple font, making it understated and adds to the intensity of

the image.

4. This movie poster has a small billing block a main convention of

movie posters, above the billing block ‘a KIM Jee-Woon Movie’,

this lets the audience know who was behind the making of the

film, and the use of this famous Japanese director’s name adds

to the credibility of the movie.

DEADLY VINTAGE POSTERClick icon to add picture

In my movie poster I used the tagline at the top to make it

clear, and stand out. I used a rhetorical question to make

the audience think about my movie and wonder what it is

about.

My main image shows all my characters, with the main

female character in the middle, to show she is the main

character.

My title is at the bottom of the movie poster, in white with a

deep red shadow, I felt the use of colours red white and

black were effective and in keeping with the conventions of

a horror genre.

I added three different positive reviews on my poster, to

give it credibility and make my audience want to see my

film.

I created film logos to make my film poster realistic, and

add credibility to my film.

My poster also has the conventional billing block, at the

bottom centre of the poster.

Barcode

Masthead

Date/Issue Number

Feature

Exclusive

Price

Tagline

Main Image

Main conventions of a Magazine cover

EMPIRE MAGAZINE COVERClick icon to add picture

The masthead is at the top of the magazine, in the biggest

text. This makes the reader know immediately what

magazine it is.

The tagline is not specific to the magazine, rather talking

about a film it is reviewing. The tagline says ‘Batman vs.

The Joker – Summer Just Got Serious’, the use of this

comedic line will attract the reader to the magazine and

went to see what the article is about.

The Feature of the magazine is about famous

actor/director Clint Eastwood. The magazine states ‘12

Page special’ this makes the reader feel like only the

empire magazine will have the information in this article

and will entice them into buying and reading the

magazine.

The other articles mentioned on the cover are all film

related, talking about movies yet to be released such as

‘The Hobbit – Del Toro’s plans for Middle-Earth’, the

mention of famous Spanish director intrigues the

audience, and the fact that the Hobbit, is a prequel for the

famous trilogy Lord of the Rings, makes the magazine

more attractive to its readership.

The image is the full size of the cover. It is related to the

feature of the magazine ‘The Dark Knight’, The Joker, is

starring at the camera, in a sinister way, making it

apparent that he is the antagonist of the film. The use of

dark make up around the eyes adds to the sinister

appearance of the joker.

MOTION REVIEW MAGAZINE COVERClick icon to add picture

I placed my masthead at the top of the page, and placed the tagline under

Neath saying ‘Best movie review magazine of 2011’, I felt that this tagline

adds credibility to my magazine.

I challenged the conventions of magazines by placing my barcode in the top

left corner of my magazine, I felt that this made my magazine look better, and

gave more room to place features exclusives and images along the bottom.

For my feature article, and exclusive I added a transparent coloured rectangle

to make my writing easier to read.

I used buzz words such as ‘inside scoop’, and used exclamation marks, to

make the deadly vintage film seem worth watching and more reading about.

I decided to make my exclusive about the stunt doubles In films, as this is

becoming a big part of film reviews and stories now.

I placed my feature and exclusive around the image so that I would not take

away from the effect it would have on my readership.

At the b bottom of my magazine cover I added images from my teaser trailer

and the behind the scenes. I felt that this would entice my audience into

reading my magazine, and this is also a convention of magazines, as we see

images other than the main image on magazine covers to grab readers

attention.

My main image is in blac and white, and is an image from my official movie

poster. I chose this image as it was iconic from my poster, and most movie

magazines show the main image of the movie poster they are featuring.

INSIDIOUS TEASER TRAILER ANALYSIS

The trailer begins with the conventional warning, letting the audience know that this trailer has been approved for appropriate audiences, meaning the time it is shown has been approved and should not cause offense or harm to anyone who is currently viewing itThe next shot lets the audience know the company that produced the film, for Insidious this was ‘Film District’. The colours used in this shot tell the audience that this is a horror film as it is the conventional ‘blood’ red under black.

The next shot has the text ‘ from the makers of paranormal activity’, over what appears to be a blood covered wooden floor. The text starts off with just ‘from the makers of…’ and Paranormal Activity fades into the shot. The use of a bloody wooden floor adds to the fear factor this trailer should be emitting, and the use of conventional colours and imagery is typical of a horror genre trailer.

The next shot shows a worried boy looking over his shoulder, as sinister music fades in quietly. The use of soundtrack with this shot shows the audience that this boy may have something sinister about him…or following him. Also the use of a child create sympathy in the audience and creates more fear as we associated children with innocence, and feel they should never be scared or in harms way.

The shot quickly cross cuts between several images, too fast for the human eye, the most iconic images we see in this fast paced editing are a series of light bulbs and the young boy sitting in his bed. This images have inverted colour, making them appear more frightening as the appearance of eyes is highlighted and creates a more uneasy effect on the audience. This is a successful technique, and is something a horror trailer should be doing. The next image we see is of the young boy in a hospital bed. This shot confirms what the audience might be thinking, and makes them feel like there is something more to the boy. The use of pale make up to make the boy appear ill, draws sympathy from the audience as children in danger is a very hard thing to watch and creates more tension. The next shot is of what is most likely the boys mother, she is looking worried, and also has pale skin, making the audience think maybe she is also affected by what is happening. This shot establishes the relationship between the child and his mother, also showing that the film could possibly be about a family. When we see horror trailers showing families being tormented, we automatically think of successful film ‘Poltergeist’, which was very scary could maybe convince the audience of this trailer that Insidious could be just as scary.

  The next shot shows more text over a bloody floor, only this time as the rest of the words fade in, the floor becomes covered in more blood. This creates fear in the audience as it happens so fast and without any reason or suggestion as to how it happens. The scene is jumpy in time with the sinister soundtrack or low synths. The next shot is of a house at night. This sets the scene for the whole movie. The audience now knows or jumps to the conclusion that the film must take place mainly in this house. We assume that the family lives there and that it is possibly haunted, as this is typically of horror films and we were previously told this movie is by the makers of paranormal activity, a movie famous for its story of a haunted woman. This shot shows a man looking concern and perhaps mildly frightened. To the audience this man looks like the father/husband or perhaps just a boyfriend of the mother. By now using shots taking place in the house the trailer has built up tension in the audience and we are now expecting to see scary images.The next shot is of the mother on the phone. Over this shot we hear her saying ‘I want out of this house now’, suggesting that something has already happened to scare her. Her face is terrified look as she gazes above her. The audience identifies with the mother now, as the tension is creating fear among the audience, we feel terrified with her.

The use of a CU of a man’s eyes is very effective in a horror trailer as it is hard to tell which character he is from the previous characters we have seen, making the audience wonder who he is?, have we seen him before?, by creating these questions the audience is enticed to seeing the trailer.By now the audience knows that when we see the bloody floor we are going to see text. ‘Beyond your dreams, your imagination’, suggests to the audience that this is something completely unfathomable, making them more intrigued and want to see the film. The use of words of to me appears unconventional for a horror teaser trailer, as nightmares would seem more appropriate as it is a conventional association with fear and horror. The next shot is a POV shot, of someone walking slowly down a long corridor, with a grandfather clock at the end. For some reason we always associate clocks such as the grandfather clock with horror films, I feel this is because of the low chime they make, when this happens a murder or possession always happens.The two ages we associate with vulnerability are young and elderly. By having a shot of an elderly woman, this creates tension in the audience, as this is something we do not expect from a horror film. The use of both ages doubles the effect of fear and expectation of something very bad to happen, making the audience want to see the film to get answers.

The repetitive use of a CU on eyes creates a theme in the trailer, except these eyes are wearing goggles, which look like something from the army. The uses of this raise questions among the audience making them curious and want to find out why this image would be in the film. The use of a blue tint adds to the horror as this creates a cold atmosphere and makes the movie seem more artificial and unnatural. There is a series of flashing images that are too fast to see clearly. The iconic image from these flashing images, is the shot of people surrounding a circular table. This is similar to the image of a seyonce which is a topic commonly touched on by horror films, as it creates tension, and adds to the fear factor of the film.The next two shots are conventional of any teaser trailer. They show the title of the film to create a permanent image in the audiences head and the release date of the film. The background for the shot showing ‘Insidious’, shows a distorted figure that appears to be covered in blood, by showing this the audience wil become more curious and this image will be what they remember.

At the beginning of my teaser trailer I put my production company’s name and my distribution company’s name, this is a convention of all teaser trailer, as it gives the film being advertised credibility.

My next shot was an establishing shot, where I established the relationship of the two girls, we see them running towards each in a nostalgic happy way. In contrast to the eerie music being played in the back of high pitched violins.

My next shot shows one of the girls walking into a room, with candles, this sets the time period before Victorian age. I felt that the use of candles and this time period would add the horror effect of the trailer as candle blow out easily and give an eerie glow. There is a voice over saying that the girl is her sister, ‘My sister loved me…’ the use of loved suggests that they are no longer speaking or something different? The next shot we see is of the sister lacing the mask with the white powder, cyanide, which was a common way to murder in the past. There is a close up shot of the sister looking sinister side to side, scouting for any witnesses, then she carries the poison out of the room.

There is a shot of the sisters dancing, with the masks on, this scene is reminiscent of a masquerade ball, and the audience now realises why the mask was being poisoned.The next shots are CU’s of both the sisters spinning or dancing, the shot is fuzzy, and bright, which is irritating to look at, but at the same time appears like a dream, this is to show how the sisters are now dying and the music adds to the effect.

The next shot shows the two sisters falling to the ground, dead. I feel this shot gives the shock that is conventional of horror teaser trailers.

I used a panning CU on the dead sister, to emphasise her importance in the film as she is the main character that haunts the house.

My next shot is of a girl in modern clothing using a phone, this shows the obvious time shift, and lets the audience know that the film takes place in the present time.

The next shot is a CU of a girl using the phone, she looks panicked and in trouble, but there is no answer on the phone, which upsets her more, this tells the audience that something bad has happened.‘With no one to call’, relates back to the previous shot, where the girl was not able to get an answer o nthe phone, this suggests that she is all alone in this situation.The next shot is a grainy LS of the girl running into the distance. The shot has a green tint, making it appear un natural, which is conventional of horror trailers .

The shot is intersected with a black screen and text saying ‘With no where to run…’ suggesting that the girl is not only all alone, but helpless and unable to escape whatever is following her or tormenting her. The next shot we see makes the audience jump as the music changes and become sudden louder and more extreme, and e see the ghost travelling to beyond the hill, fast and jerky.

The audience is asked a question after this shot, ‘are you afraid?’, this makes the audience think, as the jumpy scene will have built up tension, and the question makes the audience wonder what is going to happen next.

The next shot shows the girl scared with candles, suggesting the electricity has gone out, we see the ghost shuffling behind the girl and grabbing her, saying ‘you should be’, as if she is talking to the audience. This creates tension and scares the audience, making them want to see the film as it appears to be truly scary. The end of the trailer shows the name ‘Deadly Vintage’, a convention of teaser trailers as it will be the lasting image in the audiences head, reminding them what to look up if they decide to keep the film in mind.

How effective is the combination of your product and ancillary texts?I feel my product and ancillary texts are very effective together as they all connect well. The movie poster and Magazine cover are both black white and red colour scheme, also the magazine uses the long shot of the ghost character in my film. My tagline ‘are you afraid?’ connects with my film teaser trailer, where we are asked if we are afraid after seeing the girl being followed by the ghost. By showing all of my characters on my movie poster I felt this made it looked more like the movie poster of my trailer, as we see everyone involved.

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

What have you learned from your audience feedback ?

After making a facebook for my Film, I uploaded the teaser trailer to get feedback from my target audience on facebook.

I found that my teaser trailer was very successful in creating tension and scaring my audience as one person commented ‘ that freaked me out’Another person commented ‘ brilliant’ suggesting that they liked my trailer and would probably go see the film.

I also found that although p=most people did not comment on my trailer, a lot of people ‘liked’ it, which shows that they had taken an interest in watching it

How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages? For my research and planning, I found myself using the internet for researching teaser trailers, movie posters and magazine covers.

I liked using the prezi brainstorm website, as it was an interesting way to create brainstorms for my teaser trailer, and helped me stay focused on my coursework.

For construction my teaser trailer I found myself using imovie and garageband to edit my clips and music together. I was able to use effects provided on imovie to create blurred 3effects and green tints on my scenes.

I was able to use the black and white filter on to edit my photos together for my movie poster and magazine cover.