In what ways does your media product use, develop or

challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Rachel Baker, A2 media, South Essex College

• Narrative: Our narrative for Shortcut is about a girl who tries to take a quicker route home by cutting through a forest. The girl trips and hits her head and wakes up in a deeper section of the woods where she encounters a mysterious black figure who once again knocks her unconscious. Waking up for a second time, uninjured as though it were just a dream, the girl is then followed by the mysterious figure who brings the girl to a gory ending, or is it another dream?

• Claude Levi Strauss’ theory of narrative suggests that conflicts and situations within films arise because of binary opposites and that these are the cause of the climax in the film. In the case of Shortcut, binary opposites could include; the weak & strong, known & unknown, good & evil, reality & surrealism. These are all seen between the two characters of Frankie and the mysterious figure and whether or not Frankie is dreaming or whether what she is experiencing (and what the audience is witnessing) is real. These conflicts with both ideas and characters create a sense of both fear and confusion and that is what we wanted the audience to experience with the film.

• Most horror films use Tzvetan Todorov’s theory of narrative structure which consists of 5 stages;

1. equilibrium

2. disruption of the equilibrium

3. a recognition of the disruption

4. an attempt to fix the disruption

5. a reinstatement of equilibrium

• In horror it would be

1. equilibrium & daily life

2. monster/paranormal/psychotic killer appear

3. People are aware of this and start to panic

4. Characters run away or fight it

5. main characters remain alive with the whatever was causing the disruption out of the picture because it’s been defeated.

• This is seen in other monster horrors such as Jeepers Creepers. However in Shortcut we killed off the main character, making the audience again wonder if it is the typical horror story or if it is a dream sequence they have just witnessed.

• Genre & Music: The short film is a monster-horror/thriller. The storyline itself is supposed to be tense and chilling but the music we used adds to this. We created a score for the film using Garage Band. The music created using this program is supposed to act as a parallel, adding to the suspense whereas the song we inserted at the end of the film, No Wonder I by LAKE, was used to contrast the cinematic image and make the audience feel confused about the ending and leaves it open to questions such as; Is Frankie still dreaming? Did she really die?

• In conventional horror films the music builds up to the climaxing moment. In Shortcut we built the music up from the moment Frankie awoke but then we completely dropped it with quite a soothing song to take away the fear and allow confusion to set in.

• An example of music building up to climaxes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSo9t7KKnSs

• An example of sound building up to then die out without climax would be the rocking chair scene in Woman in Black (2012), or the scene where Jennet (the woman in black) approaches Mr. Kipps from behind but he wakes up before she reaches him.

• Although we have diverted away from the typical horror film slightly we have stuck to the main features such as the secluded setting of the forest where a body would be hard to find and screams would be hard to hear, enhancing the fear factor and the “thing” lurking in the woods (Cabin in the Woods and Blair Witch Project are examples of this). Not only is the setting very typical of a horror film but the editing is too. The quick cuts used to create confusion and disorientation are the same sort of cuts seen in films such as Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield or Cabin in the Woods.

My poster & double page spread

CABIN IN THE WOODS

• My poster and double page spread can be seen to be related. They share similar images/iconography, colour and similar texts. I needed both poster and double page spread to portray the horror genre and story behind the film. I think I achieved this with the darkness, images of the setting and the character images.

• The same is to be seen with the Cabin in the Woods poster and double page spread. The designer of the DPS cleverly used a wooden panel texture (which is features on the poster) for the background and paper for the text (which is connected to the film as the films turning point is when they find a book). The paper is also shown to be nailed into the wooden paneling which gives it a very realistic effect of being on the inside of a cabin. Although the colours are different between the poster and the double page spread, the iconography clearly shows they are related. Although they are clearly related the double page spread does not look as much like a horror genre as the poster.

• Cabin in the Woods was a successful film, on Rotten Tomatoes critics 92% of critics liked the film and 73% of rated it highly too. Not only did it receive good reviews but it made $66,486,080 in box office sales alone. Monster horrors tend to do well because audiences are attracted to sensation of fear.

• I used a bold red font for my mastheads. I wanted the font to stand out and red was also the typical colour of the titles on horror posters when I did my research that is on my blog. I added a cracked effect as that was also typical.

• For the main image I used the 2 main characters in the setting the film is in. A Cabins Doom also has the sun shining through the trees from behind, making the trees and the cabin in the picture appear like shadows, making the image quite eerie and sinister.

• I placed the tagline under the title as I felt it fitted better there than anywhere else on the poster.

• I did this in a smaller yet similar font. This keeps it in keeping with the masthead but shows it is less important than the title.

• The credit block contains information about contributors to the film and provides logos of some contributing companies.

• On the Wrong Turn poster, the tagline sits on top of the credit block as neither bit of information is as important as the title of the film and main image. This poster also contains an age restriction logo which mine did not. Looking back I shouldhave had an age classification logo on my poster to show who my audienceshould be.

I used a heading banner to label the section of the magazine. The yellow and black contrast each other and really stand out.

I used an “extra content bubble” to fill space on the page. It also makes the page more accessible to the young audience as it’s interactive.

I used a quote from the article to sum up the review on the first page at a quick glance for skim readers. It also makes the reader want to read on.

I created an image to almost explain the plot of the dark figure following the girl.

A by-line lets the reader know who wrote the article.

I used a red masthead similar to that on the poster. It is not the same as that could break copyright laws in a real life situation and it is unlikely that a page designer would get the font exactly the same.

I used a drop capital like other magazines to show where the article starts.

The article is split into 3 columns to look professional and organised.

I used a photo of the director next to the section of text about her. This gives the reader a face to put to the name.

I used a dashed border as this for me completed the page. Without it, the articles seemed to be floating on the page.

I used a larger font for the main parts of the article as they are more important. This makes it obvious what parts to read for skim readers.

The star rating is a quick way to see the final verdict on the film.

I used pictures from the shoot to give the reader a behind the scenes experience. I made the middle photo black and white to add depth to the page.

I used a black background so that it gave the impression of a horror film. However this was not an idea received well.

I used a section of the poster to create an association between the two medias.

I used captions under all the photos to explain what’s going on in them. I placed them in black boxes so the text was visible.

Website makes the page interactive.

Page number allows readers to reference the contents page.

Web address for magazine

Page number

By-line

3 columns

Drop capital

Quote & masthead

borderSection title

Main image of the article’s subject

Image caption

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary

texts?

• In all 3 products a dark theme occurs with similar images of the characters in the setting of the film. The posters main image is the location with silhouettes of the main characters and it’s all very dark with a bright red masthead. The double page spread’s main image at the top of page 1 is a picture of the 2 main characters with the dark figure once again lurking behind the female lead. The double page spread also includes the bright red mast head similar to that on the poster. The black background on the double page spread also reflects the darkness on the poster. The opening titles for the film are in red and white font which are also the colours featuring on the poster and double page spread.

I tried to make my media products appealing to my demographic by making the characters of similar age to themselves and using the mundane situation of getting home by curfew. I made the colours non-gender specific as to reach the wider audience.

• I think my poster and my double page spread are of equal quality as they both contain positive and negative elements. I think I have really improved my skills since my AS year however I feel my background on my DPS is too dark and therefor my images are not as clear as I would have liked them to be and the text on my poster is too bright and could possibly suggest the poster is a different genre to what it actually is. However I feel like the main image on my poster and the images on my DPS look very professional and I am very pleased with them.

My poster would be a good way to advertise Shortcut as it includes a web address that take the audience to more information on the film and it’s release date. Because I do not have money for advertising I could promote the film using social networks such as Facebook and twitter. There have been some very good advertising campaigns that lead to the films being very successful after the advertising went viral.

Lionsgate Films promoted their film The Last Exorcism by using popular online site “Chat Roulette”. It pairs 2 random webcams together for people to “chat” however it received a reputation for being full of ‘perverts’. Lionsgate Films used this to their advantage by having a girl telling young men that she was “up for a good time” and after she unbuttons her top, enticing the men, she turns into a demonic monster and lunges at the screen. After this has happened a url link for the films official website appears on the live feed camera. The film was very popular and so was the ad campaign. The reactions to the ad campaign has received over 8.6 million views.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNSaurw6E_Q#t=86

Shortcut: The FILM

• We had a lot of issues whilst making shortcut. We first planned a film called The Gorge which was similar and based in Chafford Gorge but when it came to the day of filming actors failed to show up and we had to reschedule. Not only did we have to reschedule but due to lack of funds for travel we had to choose a different location and therefore a different film title. Because of the actors failing to show up we decided to keep the actors down to a minimum so the script change too. This put a lot of planning in the bin and a lot of time had been spent and we were therefor not left with a lot of time to spend on our new attempt which was a shame because it did not turn out as well as it could have done if we’d have had the time. On the day of filming Shortcut we experienced issues with high wind and technical issues with the microphone causing the dialogue at the beginning of the film to be near to inaudible.

• Although we had these issues, the poster and the double page spread do reflect the film quite well, mainly because of the images and iconography used. However there are many elements that could be improved which will be discussed later in the presentation.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

• Poster: I used a bright red cracked 3D like font for my masthead, however it did not appeal to everyone as it overpowered the page. I should have made the font a lot more simplistic and possibly a bit darker to fit in with the main image. Simplicity is key. However my main image had positive comments made on them based on the fact that the image looks like it belongs to a horror poster because of the lighting and iconography.

• Double Page Spread: A few people commented that the standard of my double page spread was very professional because of the layout and the standard of the photos. However a lot of people that reviewed my work disliked the dark background because it meant that the images did not stand out as much as they would have liked them to. This could have been solved by adding a glowing edge to the images or a border. Although people have said this, Alex who is in the middle of my demographic said that the aesthetics of the page really appealed to him.

• Film: The pace of the film (because of the quick cut editing), the parallel music and the mystery behind the storyline were rated highly by the people who took part in my audience feedback. However some did not like the handheld camera at the start of the film as it took away from the confusion experienced by the character (and the audience) in the middle of the film. Looking back we should have used a steady cam or a tripod to film the beginning sequence. Another comment was made on the contrasting song and images at the end as it was not fully understood. Our idea when making the film was to contrast the music and the cinematic images to leave the audience wondering whether it was real or whether it was all still part of the characters unconscious thoughts. If this is not understood by a viewer then the film may not be appealing however it is a film designed to confuse people.

• I think I should have collected audience feedback before I completed my final media products. I think if I had done that my products would have been a lot more professional looking and would have appealed more to my demographic.

• Audience feedback has influenced a lot of creators and the way their media products are designed. For example in the Batman franchise, the first few films were not received well by the audiences because of how the makers had chosen to make the films “family friendly” and they therefore lost a majority of the original demographic. The film following Batman and Robin and Batman Forever was cancelled because of the bad reception. However the franchise was re-launched by a new director with an attempt to make the films darker with Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. These films had a great reception and became some of the highest profiting films of the decade and this inspired other directors to take a darker approach to action films. For example X-Men. Because of audience feedback the products were improved and were bigger successes.

How did you use media technologies in the construction

and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Tumblr

• I used this social blogging site to store all my research, planning and final products. It allows me to post text, images, audio and videos and is very accessible. Because of the varied media it allows me to post it is very useful. I can post from YouTube and add links from Slide Share and other sites.

Photoshop

I used Photoshop to practice different fonts and draft posters when researching and planning. I developed my skills on this program during my research and planning to create a professional looking final poster. I created a font and my own original main image on Photoshop and combined the 2 and other elements on this program. I managed to grasp the different effects of the brushes and how all the effects and filters appear and this program also allowed me to cut out and edit separate images to create one final piece.

InDesign

• InDesign allowed me to make a high standard double page spread. It enabled me to have guidelines and rulers so I could make the pages as symmetrical as I could and give the article a clear and well spaced layout. I could import the pictures I wanted and add borders and shapes where I wanted them.

Final Cut Pro

• Final Cut Pro is an editing software that allowed us to chop up and piece together the footage for our final film. Not only was the footage put together but music was added on, transitions were inserted and credits were made.

Garage Band

• Garage band is a program we used to create our own original score for the short film. You take different sounds and add them together to form a piece of music. We could add fades and sounds that really add to the eeriness of the film, creating the atmosphere we had hoped for. This is great because we had complete control over the sounds we used.

Online Resources

• YouTube – we uploaded the film onto this which was then linked onto our blog. This was also used to find other examples of short films and music used for short films. It can also act just as a viewing platform for other people who are conducting research into short films.

• Facebook – I used Facebook to gather audience feedback as a lot of people use Facebook regularly and a lot of people were there at my dispense.

• Slide Share – I made a presentation on Microsoft PowerPoint that was then uploaded to slide share and linked to my blog as a different form of media.

• Online tutorials – I found a lot of online tutorials for Photoshop online which contributed to my planning.

• Google image search – I used google image search to find images of posters, double page spreads and media elements (such as mastheads & credit blocks) for research into my short film and ancillary texts.

• Research – I conducted a lot of research online into theories and media conventions. The internet contains many sources of information and it’s all very easily accessed.

CONCLUSION

• A lot of work went into this project however I should have done things differently such as collecting audience feedback before finalizing my ideas. Although I tried I could not execute all the elements as well as a professional would have done but I think I could have had a slightly better result had we hadn’t have lost so much time on the previous idea. However this process has taught me how to improve next time and maybe then I will reach a professional standard.