Q4 Evaluation

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

In conclusion, i created a video stating what my audience and I personally thought I had done well, but also what I didn't do so well on for my A2 Media Coursework of creating a poster, magazine front cover featuring my film along with a film trailer for 'Hear My Cry', also what my personal thoughts on my target audience's findings and lastly what I'd do differently in the future if I was to do another production. Below is a video of me explaining...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfkMnfs7ZGQ&feature=youtu.be

I created a mood board from comedies that inspired me and influenced me strongly if i was to create a comedy in the future. 'Step Brothers' by Adam McKay released in 2008 i find effective as it contains the convention of a 'man child' played by Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, the narrative of the two boys being marginalised males from the theory of Connell empathises the idea of a stereotypical hegemonic male. Will Ferrell is well-known for comedies like 'Elf' by Jon Favreau. I believe comedies that i personally find effective contain strong language and sexual scenes as it's adult humour which is it's main target audience.     

Q3 Evaluation

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

While completing my A2 Media coursework i recieved feedback on my work throughout. The first piece of coursework i recieved was on the idea of the basic plot of my film and my blog. recieved mainly positive feedback about the layout and idea, also how they feel i could make it effective towards my target audience. However, that i could need to do more research on horror and thriller films to get an more in-depth idea of how to improve my idea itself.

I also recieved various feedback on my ancillary tasks from both my peers and lecturer, i found this overly helpful as i feel it helped me improve massively. Firstly i created the poster on the left hand side of the screen, how're the feedback i recieved was mainly negative due to the title, 'Hear My Cry' being too small therefore it wouldn't stand out to my target audience and other horror posters, also the colour scheme is dull and looks unprofessional. However, i then modified my poster into the one on the right hand side of the screen. I opted to completly change it and go with a dark background with a beam of light to represent the light the young girl is trying to reach for which is the after life but can carry on till she gets justice. Posters usually contain a main model at a medium/close-up point of view shot to catch the audience eye, therefore i resulted in following this particular convention and using dark makeup to empathize the horror genre for the audience, i also modified the style of the title to a hand written one to make it feel more scary for the audience to look at when viewing my poster. I also created a basic colour scheme of mainly black, white and red. i done this so people are able to easily regconise my film but also to make it look professional. I recieved mainly positive feedback on this particular poster, like they thought the colour scheme was overly effective and the layout was appropriate as it is basic and stands out. Alternatively i did recieve some negative feedback on the image as it was cut out on photoshop they believe the edge of the model is sharpe and looks unrealistic. Taking into accord all of the feedback i recieved i then modifed my poster for a final time into the final product. I reieved all positive feedback about how effective the image and concept behind the main image was, also that it looked very professional and they would want to go and see the film at the cinemas. This made me feel happy and proud of myself as i tried extremely hard.

I also created a magazine front cover featuring my film, 'Hear My Cry'. The first product i created was the image on the left hand side of the screen. I again, similar to my poster recieved mostly negative feedback as i opted to use the same image as my poster and especially my lecturer thought this was uncommon on a film magazine front cover as they often change the image, also they thought the image wasn't very effective towards the target audience, i did recieve some positive feedback about this specific piece which was the layout of the front cover looked rather professional. After taking into account both the positive and negative feedback i modified my magazine cover into the one on the right. I changed the main image into a close-up point of view shot so the audience feel threatened in a way, but also like she is looking directly at them for help, giving them an indicating of the basic plot of the narrative. I chose a black and white effect as it relates to the horror genre and make it feel more scary to look at. Everything else like the colour scheme, layout and sub-heading i kept the same as i recieved positive feedback on those. Once i done the changed my feedback was again all positive as they found it looked very realisitic and effective, saying they would want to buy the magazine itself. I particulary recieved positive feedback on this specific image as it creates suspense and tension for the audience.

I interviewed various members of my target audience to get mixed feedback to represent what they found effective, how i could improve if i was to do this particular task again but also inital opinions on setting and characters. I asked them various questions like;

• What genre do you think my products are?
• What makes you think this?
• How have I met your expectations of this genre?
• Have I used archetypal characters successfully?
• How do you feel when you watch the trailer?
• How effective is the setting?
• How effective is the title of my trailer, 'Hear My Cry'?
• Was the print work relevant to the film itself?
• What was your favourite piece of my coursework the poster, the magazine cover or the film trailer?

Below is a clip of one of my target audience answering the questions I asked...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMJNpyXsDac&feature=youtu.be

I asked some of my target audience to write one word on a piece of paper to describe their personal opinions on the whole of my coursework including the poster, magazine cover featuring my film and the film trailer of 'Hear My Cry' and these were the results i received which were all positive...

Q2 Evaluation

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

For this particular evalutation i created a prezzi to explain various points about why i chose the genre horror, how i applied it to my coursework of a video trailer, a poster and a magazine fron cover featuring my film, 'Hear My Cry', but also how i incorproated particular aspects from my medium to my print work and then explained why i did so and the effects of this.
http://prezi.com/osfaqcslo86g/edit/

Q1 Evaluation

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

My media product uses various forms and conventions of a real media as i have incorporated the 'Blumler and Katz' theory, 'uses and gratifications' as i personally believe the use of personal identity and personal relationships can closely link to my horror/thriller trailer, 'Hear My Cry'.You will often find this specific theory in other horror/thriller films such as J. Miles Dale and Barbara Muschietti 'Mama' released in 2013 and James G. Robinson 'Dream House'.
The use of the conventions 'personal identity' and 'personal relationship', in my particular film it allows the audience to create relationships with various characters featuring in my film in means of an escape, but also form an identity. This may happen because of various reasons such as a viewer being able to relate and being able to sympathise, due to a personal experience that may have occurred in their life. For example a viewer who has been bullied both mentally and physically during school, will sympathise with the main character in my film, 'Hear My Cry' as she is victimised throughout her whole childhood both by her peers at school and by her drunken father back at home. However, my aim in the trailer is to promote the significance of bullying and the consequences.
 Another convention in my film is 'The (magical) helper', from 'Propp's Theory', this is a character who helps the hero in a particular quest. This is

shown by 'Jessica Chastin' in 'Mama' as she helps the hero of the film save the two young girls from the villian, Mama. In my case, it is the young girl who is murdered seeking justice by finding out and getting her murderer caught so she can finally leave to go to the afterlife. I personally find these conventions significant and effective in a horror/thriller film, as without them, the film itself wouldn't be as exciting and create thrills for the audience when watching. I also intertextually linked the two young female characters, for example the popular female (Emily) who has a wide variety of friends and is a typical 'Final Girl' which includes the characteristics such as intelligent, blonde, innocent and everyone basically loves her, which is juxtaposed to her best friend (Annie) who is bullied by her fellow peers at school due to being a social

outcast for her 'geeky' looking appearance. I also included forms and conventions from films such as 'Lovely Bones' where the villain murders the main female protagonist without targeting anyone close to her, so it is more direct  and scary as it makes the audience question why. However, this links into the name of my film, 'Hear My Cry' as she feels isolated and seeks help from her only best friend.

I took a lot of consideration while actually choosing the cast members and deciding what costume they should wear as I wanted to connote the ideology of the stereotypical characters within a horror/thriller film following the typical conventions. I resulted in using causal  everyday clothes to make the trailer feel more realistic towards the target audience, but also like the murderer is unexpected. My media product also uses forms and conventions from 'The cabin in the woods', this is when Annie is in the forest and is murdered, this occurs to the character (Anna Hutchinson) from 'The Cabin in the Woods' when she present in the forest when murdered.
The binary opposition, of (Anna Hutchinson) and (Annie) is, Anna is a stereotypical 'loved-up character' as she is
present with her partner at the scene of death, alternatively, Annie is mainly portrayed as a 'female victim' as she is presented as vulnerable and in need of protection. However, I did develop this particular convention because my scene had a path way due to the fact I was unable to find a forest without one in time for shooting, also it refers to the fact the murderer may had led her to where he wanted the crime to be committed.
I thought choosing a character who looked rather similar to the character that Anna Hutchinson plays in 'The Cabin in the Woods' wouldn't be as effective towards the audience as they play completely opposite character roles within a horror film. Below is a rough link to the clip of the scene of Annie running into the forest. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvL-8zqz02s&feature=youtu.be&safe=active

Above are various aspects presented within my trailer for 'Hear My Cry', the nine frames represent the trailer title, which is hand written and then coloured in red to create more effective towards the target audience as it also creates tension and relates to the horror/thriller genre, the two main characters that feature in my trailer, the young girl who is mysterious murdered and her only best friend, two shots of the settings, a dark isolated forest where she is murdered and lastly two shots showing the the title at the end of the film 'Hear My Cry' but also 'Based on a true story' which will hopefully encourage the audience to want to come and get the full experience of the film at the cinema.  

My Horror/Thriller Trailer

Here is the end product of my horror/thriller trailer, 'Hear My Cry'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-kuT75-JA8&feature=youtu.be&safe=active

My Image

 Here is an image of the main model within my horror/thriller trailer 'Hear My Cry'. i particularly like this specific pose as she looks scared from her murderer however still encouraging herself to be brave like she is in the trailer by seeking justice, this foreshadows to the audience and hopefully makes them want to come and watch the film at the cinema. The effect of black and white empathises the use of positive and negative connotations within the trailer itself, good that she is an innocent child who finally seeks justice, alternatively bad that she is murdered. The dark make-up makes the image look more realistic and relate to the situation of been murdered, along with the dark eyes to show the rough process. I practised the make-up to show which one i personally thought was more effective and i do believe this one is as it isn't to intense and not realistic however she has some to support the situation.

Generic Conventions of a thriller

Generic Conventions of a Thriller/Horror Movie;

I personally believe the main significant reason target audiences watch horror/thriller movies is for excitment, by witnessing situations that don't often occur within every day life. A main generic convention that will occur within my film is investigations and 'who done it' as the target audience of my film 'Hear My Cry', will be constantly curious of who murdered the young girl, making acusations that may or may not actually be true. I aim to challenge the 'death-trap' and 'stalking' conventions as it gives a brief over view of some suspects by none to where they know excatly who the murderer is. 'paranoria' and 'obsession' will be present within my film as she is paranoid that her best friend is talking to her once dead relating to the supernatural element creating mystery, however the convention of 'obsession' will play a huge role as her and her best friend are obsessed with seeking justice by getting her murderer caugh, but is her murderer obsessed with killing?
My main aim on creating the film is to constantly create thrills and excitement for the audience to feel, again the tension will uprise when the main character is in menacing situation. Lastly, i will stick the scenes been set within ordinary subarbs.

Time Management

TIME MANAGEMENT;

I personally feel my time management is acceptable as i have completed a horror/thriller trailer for my film 'Hear My Cry', along side a poster and front page of a magazine cover featuring my actual film, all on time and in before easter half term. Now, i am able to concentrate on completing my evaluation for my overall A2 media coursework. I hope to have this done within a four week time period, May 2nd 2013. i do personally feel this is appropriate as this is all i have to concentrate on completing to the best of my ability.

Target Audience

My Target Audience;

The target audience for my horror/thriller film, 'Hear My Cry' directly influenced me as the majority of people going to get the full experience at the local cinema will be approximately 15+ therefore as they still in education they will have witnessed some form of bullying or maybe committed the crime themselves, or even been a victum. Hopefully creating a more personal relationship with one of the characters within the film as they have experiened a similar situation themselves. If a bully does watch the film, my personal aim is to modify the way they think about their actions on doing so, i aim to make them change and stop bullying innocent victums for humour or to 'look cool', but to get a insight into how the victum actually feels, but also that something more serious may be going on back at the home and you as the bully may be making it even harder for them even though they think it's funny to do so. I believe by doing this it will raise the awareness of bullying and similar situations that occur in day to day life around you as the target audience that you may not of actually noticed before watching the film.