New Print Products

Improved final trailer

Improvements list

To do list:

1. Alternative ending to trailer
2. Take photographs with other characters and more variety with Ihsaan (hitman)
3. Editing in trailer - shorten briefcase part, less chronological, more close-ups
4. Add more text to DVD cover
5. Add a completed 'location release' form

Trailer shots needed:

1. Gun behind hitman's head - pan around the back to see the person holding the gun
2. Kick/stamp - high angle shot
3. The hitman sitting on a chair inbetween the gang members - establishing shot
4. Cloth bag over hitman's head - close up of it being pulled off 
5. Hitman being on other assignments 

Completed

Almost completed

Needs to be completed 

Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Created with Padlet

http://padlet.com/clairehlewis10/cf44g18xh7vp

My directors commentary

Question 2 - How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Script for video

I have created a theatrical and teaser trailer of the film ‘Infraction’ which is a hitman movie and follows the crime thriller genre conventions. A brief overview of the film is that a woman is assaulted in her home by a burglar, unknown at this point the woman’s wife is a boss in charge of a hitman business. So the boss arranges a young male, who seems like an ordinary school boy, to track down the attacker and kill them. However trouble arises when the burglar seems to be part of a gang and the members hunt down the hitman in revenge.

It is important that my theatrical and teaser trailer portray this narrative in a clear way so the audience doesn’t find it confusing. I have also created print products, which consist of a billboard; poster, movie magazine cover and DVD cover which should all link together so the audience can associate each product with one another.

I have purposely used the same three house colours in each product of black, white and red which ties them together in a simple but obvious way so that the same theme runs through them all rather than them being disconnected by using a range of different colours. This gives the ancillary and trailers some continuity which is important for their identification and promotion.

In this part of the trailer, the hitman looks through the briefcase and finds a gun and a target sheet. This is a vital scene because it is the first appearance of the gun which is then evident in all of the ancillary products. This is the object of significance therefore it must have attention brought to it in the trailer as it’s the main focus in the print products as seen in this billboard. There is also a red display behind the hitman in this scene which matches with the house colour; red tends to represent blood, anger and anguish. The hitman is wearing a dark costume which is the same in the ancillary products because he is shown to be mysterious and dangerous, this similar in each product to maintain his ‘bad’ persona and so he is recognisable to the audience.

The very ending of the trailer is the hitman in a low key lighted room, with someone pointing a gun at his head, he says ‘I will never die’ which creates a cliff hanger  as the audience do not know whether he is killed or whether he escapes. This is a medium close up shot which I use in my poster because it allows the audience to see the hitman’s facial expressions and can connect with him. This means that the trailer and poster link as the audience can identify this shot in two products; they can become familiar with the character. The gun is used as a prop again in the poster because it is the weapon that is used to cause the disequilibrium therefore it becomes distinguishable and associated with the film. It also portrays the genre visually and the audience can make assumptions about the narrative and they can assume the film will be action-packed and thrilling.

There are a few parts in the trailer where the hitman has his hood up which is a negative representation typical of teenagers often suggesting that they are troublesome. This has become a stereotype in TV and films therefore I have decided to use this in my film to follow Stanley Cohen’s idea of ‘demonised’ and ‘marginalised’ groups in society which have these negative representations that cause moral panic meaning they are feared. This links to the magazine cover as the main character has his hood up making him intimidating and threatening. He is holding the gun next to his face showing that he is dangerous and fearless of a challenge, he is resting his finger on the trigger showing that he is used to killing and ready for his next target. His facial expressions on the front cover of the magazine are slightly different to the other products as his face isn’t as serious, he is smirking slightly which is quite menacing.  

In this intense part of the trailer, the hitman draws the gun from his pocket while he is running up to his target. This suggests that he tried to be discrete until he reached the alleyway, showing that he is sly but uses his expertise and skill to complete the assignment. This part of the trailer links to the DVD cover as on the front the hitman is shown to be putting his hand in his pocket and only part of the gun can be seen. This suggests that the hitman is always alert and guarded because of the risk of his job. Also the part of the trailer where the gang members appear behind the hitman builds up the tension and links to the DVD cover again as there is a gang member with his back to the hitman but looking over his shoulder. His body language suggests he is angry and devious; this gives the audience the impression that he could be a threat to the hitman; this is confirmed in the trailer as they begin to attack the hitman. 

Question 3 - What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

I have had positive responses from my audience regarding how my products link with each other due to the house colours of red, white and black which is the style carried on throughout my poster, billboard, magazine front cover, DVD cover and inter-titles in my trailer. I have been able to determine what the strong points of my products from my audience feedback and also the weaknesses that could be improved upon. This will allow me to make adjustments where necessary so that the editing is faultless and so my audience feels even more intrigued and excited about it.

What sort of positive feedback did you receive? 

The positive feedback has enabled me to see what stands out the most to my audience as whether I intentionally added a particular feature so that it would be noticed. For example, I added an effect onto the main photographs of my poster and billboard so they were unique, I then maintained this theme throughout my other products by using the reflective, shadow effect on an inter-title in the trailer and on the DVD cover to draw an outline around the main character.  The audience picked up on this which suggests that linking the products together has been quite successful and they recognise that they are all advertising the same film. 

What sort of negative feedback did you receive?

The negative feedback has acted as constructive criticism as it is important that I take into account features that didn't work out as well, this could differ between audience members as everyone has their own opinion. Age and gender may also be large factors in this because a teenager may like something that an adult doesn't, or a male may like something that a female doesn't. Therefore I will make changes as I see fit by using audience feedback. I need to alter a few parts of editing as one criticism was 'where the girl gets shot, there's a pause in the middle where he doesn't run past, didn't flow as well' this can be changed easily by cutting one clip shorter so that continuity editing is maintained.

How did your feedback change the work you were doing? 
The feedback I received changed the work I was doing because I kept gaining regular feedback from my target audience throughout the planning and production stages. I asked which production company and film name they preferred and used an online survey so my audience could decide which designs and logos they liked, I went with the majority vote as they were the most popular. If I did not consider my target audience opinions then the final products may not appeal to them, this could result in negative feedback. By getting their input they are offering me advice on how to make my products better, people of their age range are likely to agree and suggest similar things.

What would you change if you could do this project again now that you have this feedback?

If I were to do this project again now that I have this feedback, I would add more reviews and quotes onto each of my products as I only included this on my DVD cover. This may attract more people because they would be encouraged by positive star ratings or quotations from popular newspapers, magazines or websites. I would also make the magazine cover more exclusive to the leading film 'Infraction' by having more cover lines and information about how it's a brand new film. If I had more time I might have re-filmed specific parts so that the dialogue was completely clear and found or bought imovie effects, especially for the gun shot to create a sense of realism. 

Significance of audience feedback 

• Gives the production direction
• Enables the audience to have input 
• Makes it appealing to the targeted age range 
• Gave regular feedback throughout the construction
• The audience can say what they like and dislike
• The audience will have certain expectations 
• They will be encouraged to watch it if it intends to meet their needs
• Real media productions will have test screenings to gain input from the audience
• Helps to fill a gap in the market
• Helps to focus on particular aspects which are attractive to the audience
• If the majority of the target audience disapprove of certain elements, they should be taken out
• If reoccurring recommendations are made by the audience, they should be incorporated 
• The audience determines whether it will be successful or not

Question 4 - How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Media Technologies

Final Products

THEATRICAL TRAILER

TEASER TRAILER 

POSTER

BILLBOARD

DVD COVER

MAGAZINE COVER 

Magazine Cover

Infraction Theatrical Trailer

Infraction Teaser Trailer

Music permission

I have left a comment on a 'Cinematic Movie Trailer Sound Effects' video on YouTube because I am interested in using the sound clips in my trailer to build suspense. Usually users allow you to download the link to use the sounds as I will be using them for a non profitable, educational purpose. 





















I really like the track 'Vengeance' by Zack Hemsey so I have contacted him via email to ask for his permission to use this particular song as it links to my narrative. I have explained my intentions and have summed up what I have been working on so that he understands it will only be used in my coursework to enhance the trailer. 

DVD Cover

I have developed this initial version of my DVD cover because I think that the back is minimal and needs more text. After looking at existing products, I will add a 'Special Features' column and perhaps another image to fill the space. Also, I will add a couple of positive reviews as this would encourage the audience to buy or watch it. The improved version is displayed underneath: 

To link my products together, I will implement the same effect on each print product. Therefore I have added a red outline around the main character which highlights him as being the most important character and using the red connotations to suggest anger, blood and violence. This outline means that the audience is drawn to him first and it makes better use of the house colours and adds some continuity through each of my products. 

DVD information box

Intertitles

Billboard Mock Ups

Poster Mock Ups

I need to edit the end of the gun because the orange end shows that it is a fake lookalike gun and my audience would pick up on this and question why someone would be using a obvious non genuine gun in a hitman crime thriller. This will have to be changed in each of my print products otherwise it doesn't portray the right image as I want the main character to be portrayed as mysterious and violent. I have chosen this reflection effect because in my narrative he is a normal school boy however he also has a secret side of being an undercover hitman. This effect shows that he has two sides and could be represented as two personalities (e.g. schizophrenic) which intrigues the audience and allows them to interpret it in their own way. 

Film Credits

Movie magazine title ideas

Movie Magazine Research

Movie magazines have conventions that are similar to a music magazine which I researched and constructed at AS. It is important that there is a large, bold masthead which is placed at the top in the centre so that it contributes to the visual syntax as the audience is drawn to this first. There is a house style which are selected colours that the cover will use and would be carried on through the magazine so that it's identifiable and recognisable to an audience as well as fonts, this will make it look more professional. Additional information such as a barcode and date will usually be found together, they must be clear enough to read but not too large so that it draws attention away from the coverlines. A main large image will be used on the cover so that the audience feels drawn into the actor/actresses emotions and feels connected with the character they are portraying. This image will usually be a MS or CU so their facial expressions, body language,  costume, make-up, hair style and props can be seen clearly for representation purposes so that the audience gets an idea of the type of film which is being reviewed or advertised. Sometimes smaller images are used to show other issues of the magazine which may appeal to the audience or other new films which are most likely blockbusters. Pugs/starbursts are shapes that may be used to make specific, important information stand out such as a special issue or an actors/actresses name who is particularly famous which may attract more readers/purchasers as they are fond of them. Coverlines are important to provide more information, for example 'Starring...' or 'Oscars Special!' this gives an insight into what else will be included inside the magazine which should interest the potential audience. There may be a tagline underneath the main headline which should be short and catchy  which either describes the film or sums it up in a sentence. Buzz words will catch the audiences attention, such as 'Exclusive' as they will be intrigued due to the fact it's an important issue that will contain big news about upcoming films or reviews. A banner may be placed along the bottom or top which may have a 'Plus' list of what else is to be expected inside or it may feature competitions. 

Audience Feedback

I have created a short questionnaire to hand out to my target audience so that I can get their preference on which film title logo idea is their favourite as their opinions are important as I am aiming this hitman crime thriller film 'Infraction' to men and women from the age of 15 up to around 55 years old. Therefore I will ask approximately 10 males and 10 females to get a fair result by asking both genders which logos appeal to them the most, 20 people in total. I will ask a range of ages between 15-55 as different age groups will have different opinions and preferences so it's important to try and attract a wide target audience as I expect 'Infraction' to be a mainstream film rather than having a niche market. 

This bar chart shows that logo 1 and 5 were the most popular with my potential audience as they got 5 votes each. Comments I received were that the logos were simple but bold and clear, therefore they will be more visible when it's been placed on either a poster, billboard or magazine cover. Logo 3 was also quite well liked as it got 4 votes, the audience seemed to like the small gun image above the lettering however they were not as fond of the font used. 

This bar chart shows that the audience much preferred the film company production logo 1 and 2 as they got 8 votes each where as logo 3 only got 4 votes. Many people liked the movie reel image in logo 2 as they felt it was more associated with the film industry however some said they prefer the font in logo 1. 

Infraction Storyboard

Storyboard