Goodbye

Over the last 2 years of studying Media Studies at A Level, I have thoroughly enjoyed learning new things and developing my skills further in order to achieve the best possible outcome. Doing Media has helped my develop my creativity skills in my other subjects such as Art. I think this would most definitely help me next year as I plan to go to UCA to complete a foundation year to then go on to university. I am proud to say that the work that I have produced, particularly this year such as the film trailer, poster and magazine, I am proud of myself and my group in what we have achieved.

I am going to miss media, however, am grateful for being part of it and being able to take others on my journey through the work that I have produced.

Goodbye,
Brandy X

Question 1A - Practice

Describe how you develop your skills in the use of digital technology for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to your creative decisions making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time.
 

I have developed my knowledge and skills throughout my two ears of studying this course. For my AS production, I had created a two minute film opening which I chose to based on the horror genre. It was based on a girl who had been spirited in some way and she had hunted and attacked what looked like an innocent boy in the woods. For my A2 production, I had created a film trailer which was about a family that looked 'normal' and it shows the girl grown up where she is attacked at her own home. We chose to base this also on the horror genre as we were familiar with the codes and conventions of a horror and so were aware with what we needed to do in order to make it successful.






I believe I have developed my digital technology skills through the use of camera. This shows when I reflect back on both of my productions and see a huge difference in the quality of the final productions. For AS, I used camera phones to record my footage and so when it came to editing everything together, some of the footage was facing the opposite way and so it was hard to cut in and out of shots to fit it all together. This led the final production to look unprofessional and so it looked low budgeted. Also, the sound was all muffled when listened to through a camera phone. However, I developed my skills of using a professional camera which was a Nikon and decided to use this in my A2film trailer. Due to this, the footage was very clear and so the lighting and shots was picked up really well and so the final production could look like how I had planned. I also used a tripod to ensure the shows were straight and not unbalance which is not something that I had access to at AS. Also, due to me using a professional camera, it had picked up all the necessary sounds that we needed and so we could fade these in and out of the soundtrack. This is effective as it gave the whole final outcome a much more effective and professional look.






Another way that I had developed my skills in the use of digital technology is through the software that I had used. At AS, I used Adobe Premiere Elements 10 which was useful, however, the transitions and edits were basic and did not included as many sophisticated and effective transitions such as when creating the production titles for the opening two minutes, I used simple effects such as fading in and out the image and then the same for the titles underneath the images. I believe this improved at A2 as we decided to use Premiere Pro which was a much more updated transitions , allowing up to have more choice into what works well and what doesn't. This was extremely effective when creating the production titles for the film trailer as we included different effects such as we used an image of a dog in black and white in which we then made it flash and appear in colour. We then had a second image in colour and added an additive dissolve over the top to make it appear more dynamic for the audience to watch. We also made it short and snappy and so the audience could get into watching the trailer. These transitions were not available to Adobe and so I had to experiment on Premiere Pro to find what suited best throughout the whole trailer and what fit the conventions of a horror genre.




Another way that I have improved is the amount of footage that I had recorded and the quantity of the shots between AS and A2. At AS, the number of shots taken was very limited to due to the phone battery running out or the lighting was not good. I had overall not filmed enough and so when it came to cutting down shots and fading different shots in and out, I had run out of shots and so had to end up padding out the opening two minutes to meet the necessary length and so resulted in it appearing more like a trailer than the opening two minutes. This made it look unprofessional and not like what the task asked. To improve this at A2, we ensured that we double filmed each shot and so we had more than enough footage to edit in the final making of the production. This resulted in us having a better outcome but also made bloopers out of the footage that didn't work or were not used.

Audience and Genre

Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratification model looks at how the media appeals to its audience's need's. Some of these needs are to inform and educate, to identify with characters, to escape from reality, for entertainment or for social interaction. As our trailer is an thriller horror genre, it is important for our audience to connect with the characters in order to empathize when they get into trouble. We made our victim, a young female in order to appeal to the target audience. This gives the audience an escape from reality as they are absorbed in the story. Additionally, we have created a great deal of suspense and fear, this creates an entertainment for the audience while also allowing them to escape from the boring everyday life. We created suspend by adding tense music and cutting the shots with the music. We also added dip to black to create an eerie atmosphere and creating a climax for the final scene when the victim gets taken. When audiences watch films such as horrors, often they want to go back to friends and the them about it and fit in tot he norms of youth culture. therefore if our film connects the audience members, they are more likely to interact with others,, sharing their opinions on the film

In our trailer we did not use Male Gaze as a key feature; this is based upon our story line being a horror of us using a vulnerable young girl. Opposed to her appealing to the male eye due to her young age and innocence, the audience instead feel the need to protect her. We felt it wasn't necessary and wouldn't affect our audience because the percentage of boys are only risen because it is a stereotypical date, where the girl and boy attend to watch a horror so the girl can cuddle up to him for protection. Therefore, even though our film may not directly appeal to males because they are more interested in action for example, we still have a general audience of viewers.This is shown by in the movie 'The Conjuring' 54% of viewers were female, followed closely by 46% of 

Our trailer fits into the genre of horror as it conforms to the main conventions within this genre. We have conveyed this to the audience through the use of sound, building tension and setting a much more dramatic atmosphere. We have done this and so the audience can get a feel of the emotion of the characters but also and so they are aware that something is going to happen. We have also made it clear of the genre through the characters such as the antagonist who is dressed in dark clothing with a hood and has his face covered and so remains a mystery to the audience who this is and what he is doing there. This also makes it exciting for the audience as they are unaware of what is going to happen but also fits into the conventions of a horror as we are aware that the antagonist is someone that we do not wish to come across but its someone that is predominant in the horror genre. Some of the camera shots that we had used hints to the audience that the genre may fit into the horror theme such as when we have the victim walking up the stairs and the camera is panning up but focusing on her feet. Although this is effective on its own, as we have paired it with the dramatic music which creates a more tense atmosphere, it makes the audience want to carry on watching the production. 

The mise-en-scene is not particularly set in the stereotypical dark forest or the haunted house as we wanted to make our idea original but still fit into the horror genre. We ended up filming in three different locations for our trailer as we felt that it was important for the audience to see the different stages of the characters and the film trailer. The first setting that we used was a family home as we wanted to express the family as a traditional happy family home. We wanted to show the family at the beginning and so the audience would understand how the characters got to where they are. this fits into the horror genre as it is effective for films and trailers to start off normally before everything starts to go wrong. The second location that we used was only a section of the stairs and the bathroom as it was something that we wanted to include but did not look as good when filmed at the 'family home'. The final location that we used in our trailer was a small studio flat that is all on one level. We used this to show the audience how the child character had grown up and the audience were able to witness this and are able to follow the characters on a journey. This fits into the genre as it makes it much more interesting for the audience to know what is going on and how the characters go from a 'good' life to one that is 'disrupted' and 'ruined'. To fit into our genre, we had the antagonist dressed in black which is typical in this genre as we don't really find our who this is until the very end.

For the costume in our trailer, at the beginning, we had the parents dressed in their everyday clothes and the child is in her school uniform and so the audience are able to see them as what they would be in their normal everyday lives. This fits into the genre as we do not want the audience to see everything go wrong from the beginning as it would take away the excitement, which also allows the audience to see the personality of the characters. Further on in the trailer when we see the youngest character grown up, she is dressed in clothes that are popular to the target audience and so a pair of jean and a coat and so they are able to relate to the characters as much as they can. This fits into the genre of horror as although it is part of their everyday lives, it tells the audience that the characters are not ready for what is going to happen as they are not expecting it. This makes it more effective for the audience to watch. 

Generic expectations have been adhered to in our A2 production trailer. This is evident through our typical story line that includes the codes and conventions of young girl. By using a young girl is effective as the audience which is mainly females, are able to put themselves in the young females shoes adding to the suspense that it creates. This is effective as when we introduce the antagonist, which again is another expectation to see in a horror. the audience are immediately aware that something bad is about to happen. With the young female we enhanced her innocence by her wearing a school uniform making her look sweet; with the antagonist he was wearing all black, creating the atmosphere of danger which the colour black connotes due to it being dark, mysterious and eerie. twas effective to use a male as our antagonist because they are known to have more power and strength, insisting that the getaway for the young girl is pretty much impossible adding to the frightening atmosphere.

We also followed the generic expectations by the location. For example, we used a deserted house in a run down area. This is effective as it does create fear and anxiety among the audience. The soundtrack links in with this as we cut from normality in one scene to the young girl grown up and alone. With this the non diegetic sound comes more upbeat, ominous in order to create a build up of tension, reaching the climax of when she is officially taken.

We have also adhered to the generic expectations with the editing of our trailer. This was achieved by researching other horrors similar to us such as Taken. This enabled us to include many fades to black and fonts which can add to the eerie atmosphere. This was effective as it allowed our trailer to look more advanced which can result in an increase number of watchers.

Our production is different from others in the same genre, as we have shown the development of the young girl from a child in to a young adult. this helped the audience understand her better as they know what obstacles she has faced during her life. It also develops a better connection for the audience. Another way in which our film is different to others, is it is set in a very ordinary middle class town. this isn't necessarily conventional for an thriller horror film as usually they are set in dark gloomy villages. This makes the film seem more naturalistic and creates more fear for the audience as they can relate to the locational settings. We decided to cast a young black male actor to be our antagonist as we believe the audience would feel the story more as it relates further to their life. Also there is a large moral panic across the UK of 'Hoodies' and therefore using the stereotypical character allows the film to have a greater effect. In Travis Dixon's archetypal stereotypes, he devised the buck character that is a young black aggressive character. this stereotype is often represented in films as the antagonist. This makes our film conform the the conventions of the genre, however giving it an edge as the antagonist is very young and is often in the youth culture today.

How the poster, trailer and magazine link

In our magazine poster and our film poster, we have use the same image as the main image on both covers to show that they are advertising the same film. On the film poster, we used a long shot of the image to show the surrounding buildings around her, suggesting that she is alone which is the main story behind our trailer. We had this in black and white and so it contrasts against the image of eyes that we have positioned at the top of the poster. On the other hand we decided to do the image ion the magazine poster to be much more zoomed in and so the audience can focus on her as she is the main character throughout the film trailer. We decided to have this image in colour and fade another image of smoke over the top and so it still fits into the genre of horror but makes it aware to the audience that it is a magazine.This all links in with our film trailer as we have used the same character with the same costume on and so we can show the relevance between all three.

The name titles that we used in our film trailer were very similar to what we have used in our film poster as we think that it is important to keep the names the same to show who is in the trailer and who is involved in creating the final out come. We have presented both the names in the trailer and the poster the same as we would see them in successful media products and so the names that are not the main characters in the trailer are presented together at the end but also in the poster, the names are displayed along the bottom and so it is set out how we would see it on DVD covers. We have used the same font on both the trailer and the film poster and so we can keep it simple but effective for the audience viewing it. When creating the name and the font that we have chosen for our film name, although they are not in the same font as we found that it did not look as effective and professional on both the magazine and the trailer, we did keep the font the same for the trailer and the film as it is clear to the audience that we are advertising the same film product. 

Using Conventions from Real Media Texts

At AS, my opening two minute film did not reach the codes and conventions of a horror film as the lighting of the opening two minutes was too bright to fit the codes and conventions of a horror film,. Because we had filmed the footage on camera phones, if we tried to film it when it had gotten darker then we would not see the characters clearly and so the audience would not be able to see what is happening. It did not fit the conventions of a horror as it did not seem realistic  due to someone getting attacked in broad daylight is quite unusual and would not particularly happened in day-to-day life. However, it did meet some of the conventions such as the use of production titles at the start of my opening two minute film as I have created two to go one after the other. For the first one, I have the writing appear slightly before the image which is in black and white. This contrasts our second production title which starts off black and white but then as it appears it flashes in colour. We then had an image of a women being beaten by the ‘devil’ with a quote over the top. In our A2 work I feel that our production titles met the codes and conventions of a horror film a lot more as the music is clear to hear and its starts from our very first production titles and so when the trailer actually starts, it blends in with the person playing the piano. The music that we are using it mysterious and so makes the audience wonder what is going to happen next which is something that audiences expect from a horror genre film.  There is quite music playing over the top in the AS production which I found that when it was put all together, it does not stand out as much as I thought it would and so gives off a much more calm effect rather than being dark and mysterious like I had planned for it to be. We also had names of the main characters in the film to show their importance, however, they did not really stand out as much as I would have liked them to, they had just been placed against a black background which is something that you see in almost every film and so our opening film lacked individuality. Although we had looked at different openings within the same genre as ours, we still seemed to lack the key points that made up a horror film such as the quality of the final film when it was put all together, it should be sharp and clear for the audience to see. However, in my opening film, from the very start the quality of the camera was very low due to using a camera phone and so the final product was almost blurred and distorted.

I did not really have a director that influenced my work as I looked at Lasse Hallström which directs films that fit into thriller, romance which would not be useful to me as mu genre was horror. I think my final film may have been better and I would have come up with much better and original ideas if I had done abit more research into film directors that were part of my genre as I would have a better idea of what they think the main features of a horror film were to make it stand out more, making the audience want to carry on watching it. Most of my AS work was experimental as we had to change some of the shots and sections that we had filmed without planning it all out as when it was planned out it did not work as well as we had hoped it would have. Therefore it resulted in me not really knowing if it was going to work and how it is going to look. When putting it all together and watching it through, it was evident to see that it wasn’t well planned through and so therefore was not at as high a standard as it should have been.

I have developed in all these areas for my A2 project as I have planned out each section thoroughly and so I was sure that when I had put it all together, it was going to work. When we as a group had our first idea, it was originally going to be an action film as it was something different to what we had all done last year. I looked at other successful films within the same genre such as Taken and it was directed by Pierre Morel.  Although we had done our research in this specific area, we found that the better ideas we had fit into the horror/thriller genre more and so we went back and showed our thought process and had done research in the horror genre too. Also, I feel that the skills that we had incorporated into our film trailer are much more developed from the previous year as we are more familiar with the tools, however, we did still experiment with the different tools to ensure that we were using the best transitions and editing techniques to make the trailer stand out and from the others within the same genre.  

Post Production

From looking back at my audience feedback is that one of my biggest problems is the fact that the camera changed from vertical to horizontal halfway through the film and so it looked unprofessional and not very exciting to watch. I also found that the audience watching it did not really learn anything about the characters that are in the film trailer, which left them confused when watching the opening film. Another problem that I had received from the feedback is that the lighting did not necessarily fit the genre of the film as although it was based on horror, the lighting could have been darker and so makes the audience more aware of the genre and also makes it more effective to watch for the audience. Some of the other main points of feedback that I had received for the film is that there was not enough footage in the opening film and there were quite a few titles considering it was an opening two minutes. This gave off the impression that it was more of a film trailer that I had made at AS rather than the opening of a film which was not the task that was given. When editing the film I had found that I had edited quite a lot out as it was no good to use due to the camera being shaky in many areas, however as I did not record enough footage in the first place to add into the opening film, I had to use titles instead which gave the impression of a trailer rather than an opening. Also when cutting the film, I did not use many fade tools and so the end of most of the clips were quite harsh and didn’t blend as well. This effected the outcome of the project overall as it was all over the place and did not really work to my advantage. Because of this, my final project looked messy, unorganized and unprofessional which is not how I imagined it to be at all.

I have definitely taken on board the comments from the feedback and used them towards my film trailer as I found that they were useful and valid points. In my A2 film trailer I have filmed much more clips than I need and so I have enough to cut and fade in and out from. We even went back and re-filmed some clips and so we were sure that we had enough to work with. This definitely benefited us in this way as I didn’t realised how much I would actually have cut, fade and replace sections to fit in with the music and to also make it exciting to watch as well as meeting the codes and conventions of genre of film that I am doing. At A2, one of our biggest challenges were lighting as we had to re-record some footage, however this turned out well in the end as we adjusted the lighting but also used editing tools and transitions to make our film trailer fit into the needs of a horror genre.  In our film trailer, we gave more information about the girl as a little girl and her background life and then her as a grown up person and so the audience can get a slight better understanding of the characters that were involved in the film trailer. Another thing that I have improved in my A2 work is the use of a camera that has a lot better quality and o it makes the footage clear but also picks up all the sound that we record and so the audience can hear the diegetic sound that we included in the trailer. 

Research and Planning

I looked at opening films from the same genre that I had wanted to do off YouTube which included ‘The ward, ‘Sinister’, ‘Texas chainsaw massacre’ and ‘Cabin in the woods’ and went on to analyse them and so I could see what should be included in this particular genre. When it came to using the storyboard that I had created, I found that I did not follow it like I thought I would as the shots that I had planned to use did not fit in as well as I had hoped, and so therefore had to make up a couple of shots without planning them out first. This was not the best idea as when it came to watching my opening two minutes and back at my research and planning, they did not look like they linked as well as they should have done, which was also resulted by me not recording down all the changes that I had made and why I had made them. This would result in anyone viewing my work and opening to minutes to be confused by what is actually going on in the opening as it is confusing to watch. To record some of my ideas that I had for AS, I had used blogger to create posts at different stages of the process. To see what the audience liked I had carried out questionnaires for my audience to answer which would help me to establish what the audience liked and didn’t like. This was effective to a certain point and so I could see what they had liked and disliked and so I could be aware of what I should and shouldn’t add to the trailer. However, I don’t think that I had done this the best way as I only asked people of a particular age, as it would have benefited me more to ask a range of people and gather my ideas from that. As part of my planning I researched different shots that I could add to my opening two minutes, however, these camera shots that I was looking at and added to my trailer were quite basic and so my final outcome was quite basic. Secondary research that I used in my research and planning were statistics that I used from and online film website and so I was able to see what gender and age would fit my film opening. This helped me to decide what would be best to include in my opening and what wouldn’t. However, when it came to making the opening film, I found that actually it leaned more towards a female target audience, suggesting that I had not read back over my research and had adapted my opening to the right target audience.

I have developed the way I have done things in A2 but my biggest development was ensuring my film trailer would be effective to appeal to a particular target audience that I wish it to. I had done research on the different codes and conventions on the internet such as romance, action, horror and thriller and so I could get an idea of what really appeals to me as I would have the most fun making the final trailer. For my questionnaires this year, we had created one that had an age box, a film genre perforation and a name that they would like the film to be called. This helped us as a group the build our trailer around this to fit the needs and expectations of the target audience. As part of our research and planning we had created actors interviews to show how they felt about the film but generally to get to know them better. The shots that I had included in my A2 project are a lot more complex and the levels of the camera change and so the audience is not just watching it all from one level making the trailer more dynamic to watch. When it comes to recording any ideas on blogger, I had made sure I had recorded any changes that I had made such as genre or setting and so the audience understand how I got from one point to another.