Media Evaluation Questions

 

Media Evaluation on Prezi

Final Project Audience Feedback

I produced a audience feedback questionnaire in which to find out what I could improve, 

to gain more marks and what I would need to do better if I was going to make another  Film trailer in the future. I was able to find out what went well and what I needed to improve. The audience which fillled out the questionnaire were told to be very honest in their answers so that the best possible feedback answers were received and analysed.

1. What would you rate my film trailer? (10 being the higgest) 2. Do you think my film trailer has every feature to fit a horror genre film trailer? 3. Does my film trailer present lots of different camera shots and techniques? 4. How bad was the camera shake? (10 being the worse)

5. Do you believe using the heading shots of headings over a black background was successful or unsuccessful?

6. What do you think of the time length of the film trailer?

7. What would you like to see more of in the film trailer? Explain

8. Do you believe my film poster and magazine tell the audience that my film trailer will be horror genre based?

9. What would you rate my film poster? (10 being the highest and bestest)

10. What would you rate my film magazine? (10 being the highest and bestest)

Final Film Trailer

This is my Final Film Trailer which i firstly uploaded onto YouTube and then linked it into my blogger.

The film trailer that I have created and constructed will also be provided on a DVD, which will then be sent away to the exam board to view.

Editing Film Trailer

To video the scenes and action needed for my film trailer I used my own camera/video recorder which was the Canon EOS 1100D. With this being my own, it enabled myself to record and film when in my own time and when it was relevant to me. It being my own also meant that i was using a product and equipment that i was familiar with. 

Once the scenes and acting needed for my film trailer was recorded, I then needed to edit and put all of the separate scenes and acting together. To do this i used the software on Mac called 'iMovie'

Once uploaded on my computer, I was then able to open up iMovie and begin uploading them onto the software and then start editing the scenes which had been filmed. I needed to edit the scenes to make them the correct length of time and enable that every scene and acting would flow and fit with the scene that followed. I needed to create an introduction also. 

Once the film footage was all on the computer, uploaded onto iMovie and put in place and edited to run smoothly. I had to start thinking and finding sound affects for each scene and the overall footage, this would enable my film trailer to be a complete package and at its best affect. I found suitable and scene relevant sound effects on 'iLife' and 'Garageband'. Sound effects used was a police siren, a women's scream and a mysterious opening sound.

iLife sound effects

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Garageband logo

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Throughout the film trailer, I used different Title pages consisting of 'Pitcher Production Presents', 'Payback Is Imminent', 'In Cinemas Soon' and 'Not To Be Watched Alone'. These title pages all had black backgrounds for a spooky and dark effect with Red writing to relate with the colour of blood and horror. As the title pages became evident on the screen different effects were used to present them such as zoom, drifting, pull focus and credits effect. All of these small effects make the film trailer more presentable and effective in the audiences eyes satisfying and meeting their needs or wants in a film trailer.

Final Magazine Cover

Editing Magazine Cover

The first magazine cover which I created below, I placed a picture of footage from my film trailer and made it the main picture for the magazine template of a famous horror film magazine FANGORIA. This was a rough idea, in which it enabled myself to see what a film magazine should look like and what it should consist of.

This is my second magazine cover below, which i have created, this consists of a still picture from my film trailer of an important part of it, this lures and gives away a little bit of footage which will be shown in the film trailer giving the audience a taster of the film. I created the Magazine cover using the software Adobe Photo Shop, this enabled myself to size, add affects, add details and finalise and produce the magazine effectively and as good as possible.

I also used the software 'Paint' to crop and create sub titles to be put onto the film magazine, I was then able to create the positioning, colour and font of each sub title to enable that it fitted and was at best effect for my Film Magazine.

Another technique and tool used making this poster was on the website called 'piZap', this allowed myself to add photos, change the brightness, fade picture in with it, insert text, and many more effects were available if I wanted to choose them.

Existing Magazine Cover ideas

This is an existing Film Magazine Cover for -TOTAL FILM, promoting and advertising the film Max Payne (action)

This is an existing Film Magazine Cover for -FLAVOUR promoting and advertising the film Anuvahood (comedy)

This is an existing Film Magazine Cover for- FANGORIA promoting and advertising the film Motel Hell (horror)

Final Poster

I created this film poster by merging a picture of a house in one of the scenes in the film trailer, with the murderer and abandoned sons face to create a scary and spooked image in which this will hopefully draw the audience in into watching the film.I was able to produce this poster by using the software on mac called 'photoshop', once the two pictures were merged and contrasted in with each other, having the picture of the killer faded in with house in one of the scenes.  I then needed to create a title and credits, this was completed and I put them in affective and appropriate positions on the poster. Lastly i stretched the picture and made it the correct size and shape of existing film posters. Once this was done, the film poster was  complete. 

Poster Deconstructions

StoryBoard

This is my rough storyboard in which i created when thinking and producing my story line for my film trailer. My film trailer may consist of different scenes that what is on the storyboard however this storyboard will be roughly followed and kept to.

Classifications

Now i have come up with my final idea, it would be a right time to take the age classification into consideration and explain what age my film trailer comes into and what this consists of. 


The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) are in control of what age restriction is suitable for each movie being released in the market. The BBFC guidelines are based on public perceptions, they look at different issues and circumstances involved in a film, video etc, such as representations of sex, violence, drugs, race and language. 

My film trailer contains gore, horror, violence, and jumping footage. This therefore would be likely to fall into the age category of 15 age classification. 


The BBFC class a '15' age rating under these actions:

Discrimination- The work as a whole should not endorse discriminatory language or behavior.

Drugs- Drug taking may be shown throughout the film as a whole. Yet the film should not promote and encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily accessible flammable substances (for example, aerosols, canisters or solvents) is unacceptable. 

Horror- Strong threat and menace are permitted sadistic or sexualised

Imitable Behavior- Dangerous behavior (for example, suicide, hanging and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamourised. 

Language- There may be frequent use of strong language, (for example 'fuck'). The strongest 'cunt' may be justified by context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable. 

Nudity- Nudity may be allowed in sexual content but without detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

Sex- Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Productions which are aroused by sexual context are seen as unacceptable.

Theme- No theme is prohibited, providing the treatment is appropriate for 15 year old's. 

Violence- Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infection of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence should be discreet and have contextual justification. 

Scripting and Scenery Chosen

Scripting

There will be a limited amount of scripting as my film trailer will consist of action packed jumpy shots and will be explained and information will be delivered to the audience through the use of a voice over and on screen writing headers.

Scenery Chosen


I have shot still camera shots of the scenery used in my media task. I have chosen to do this, to explain and evaluate why we have chosen these areas and scenes and what happens at the different scenes and shots.

This is the drive of the house in which the film is set. The killer is filmed walking up the drive, this is done by using a long shot, medium shot and a close up, cutting from each shot to create tension and a jumpy atmosphere. I chose the drive for these shots as it seems as if the character is quick and out of the ordinary, using these shots and the way in which i used them tells the audience that this is the killer and the scary character.

This is the front of the house in which all of the action will take place, a similar picture but of the same object was used for my poster picture. With the green leaves and ivy at the front of the house this creates a spooky look to the house ideal for a horror trailer.

This is the front door of the house in which a over the shoulder shot will be took of the killer or someones hand knocking on the door, on the other side of the door a nervous and terrified victim will hear and wonder who it is at the door with caution.

This is the back patio door of the house. In this shot there will be fake blood put on the window sending the people who are in the house a message from the murderer, terrifying them and creating a prop and detailed affect to the film trailer.

This is the location of one of the dead bodies which is left laying on the floor in a pool of blood, this was an ideal scenery as because of the floor material being a surface that i could put down fake blood and easily be able to clear it up with no stains. This is a very common type kitchen with the oven, sink etc in the background making the film trailer very realistic and relatable to the audience.

Characters- Actors/ Actresses

The Characters will consist of the following:

Myself (Nick)- Victim
Mercedes- Victim
Sam- Murderer
Sally- Victim

The Ages of these characters will vary to enable a relation to the audience of all different ages, reaching and relating to a wide audience.

Different props and sceneries will be used to enable a wide range of effects and scenes to become available and hopefully create an interesting and affective film trailer for the audience.

Final Ideas- Film Trailer

With a lot of thought and pro's and con's to each initial idea, I then had to choose my final project idea in which i would film my film trailer. I also needed to complete and design the other two key elements of the coursework which are the Poster and the Magazine cover. Meaning that timing and planning was key for myself to ensure everything got completed in the small amount of time i had to initialize the ideas.

I have gone for the initial idea of the abandoned boy who seeks revenge of his parents and family who left him at 8 years of age. I have chosen this idea over the others as i believe this is the most realistic and capable idea to film and go ahead with: 

Payback- I have chosen this name as it is very simple and clearly indicates that this film will be about holding grudges and getting someone back. Allowing the audience to guess that the film will be a nervy and exciting film. 

Initial Ideas- Film Trailer

Before finally planning and setting myself on the exact film trailer i was going to produce, i thought of different plots. I needed it to be effective and original to fit the genre and create a thorough detailed trailer, it also needed to be my own and not similar to previous released movies so no copyright of any other products occurred.

My initial ideas are as follows:

No Escape

• group of teenagers/ young adults break into whats thought to be an abandoned house
• killer/ masked man lives there
• once the young adults are in the house there is no way out
• killed one by one
• audience left not knowing if anyone will escape or survive
• blood, gore
• weapons used by killer
• cruel painful detailed deaths

Payback

• Boy abandoned by original parents and family, mistreated
• Revenge wanted, Hatred for family by boy
• Crazed, unwell, neglected, dangerous
• Kills each member of the family painfully
• Blood, flashing images, jumping scenes, gore
• will he be caught or not?

Every get the feeling your being watched?

• Girl is living a normal life, when one day she notices someone following her
• Scared and confused she runs home
• Convinced by her parents she was seeing things and there is no one following her, she stops worrying about it
• The girl then starts to get newspaper letter printed letters sent to her
• She then becomes petrified to leave her house and locks herself away from everyone
• One night the girls parents go out and the girl is left at home alone
• The Stalker gets inside the house and captures the girl
• The parents do everything they can, to try and find the girl
• But is it to late? and who is the stalker?

Potential Target Audience

After completing the analysis of both the audience questionnaires and throughly looking at all the options available to me, a potential target audience for the film trailer that i am going to produce was able to be conducted.

Gender:

From looking at the results i have collected, you can see that in my audience questionnaire that half of the audience are males and half are females.

Analysing these results that i have conducted, i have noticed that there isn't much difference between the two genders, implying that i shouldn't just target a certain gender and the reactions of a certain target audience. I believe that the genre and individual aspects of the film trailer will be enjoyed by both genders, satisfying and meeting both gender audiences.


Age:

From looking at the results i have collected from question 2 from my audience questionnaire. You can see that most of the people from my sample audience who answered and filled in the questionnaire fit into the age group of '18-24'.

After analysing these results i have identified that a big proportion of people in the same size who answered my questionnaire also fit into the catogery '17 and under' and also '25-34' years old. Therefore i feel that although i will focus on aiming my film trailer at the audience of '18-24' which was the most popular. I still recognise that other age groups will still be interested in the film and we don't want to cancel out potential audiences by focusing on one age group solely. This has meant that i am targeting my film trailer at a wider audience range of people aged at '15-34'.

Conclusion


Gender: both males and females
Age Group: 15-34 years of age

Camera Angles, Techniques and Movement

Techniques:

Zooming: Is used to focus on things from further away, or examine up closely.

I am going to use the technique of zooming in my film trailer in order to create atmosphere and tension, causing it to be more successful. I will do this by showing one part of an object, subject or person and slowly reveal more and more to create this tension.

180 Degree Rule: The 180° rule is a basic guideline in film making that states that two characters or subjects in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. I could use this in my film trailer to allow the audience to see the same subject from different view points.

Camera Angles: The camera angle sets the specific location at which a camera is placed to take a shot. A scene may be shot from several camera angles and give a different experience to set the mood and importance.

Close Up Shot: In film, a close up shot tightly frames a person or an object. Close up shots are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium shots and long shots. Close up shots display the most detail, but they do not include the broader scene. Moving in to a close up shot or away from a close up shot is a common type of zooming technique.

I am going to use a close up shot in our film trailer as they expand the characters facial expression, allowing the audience to see and feel their emotion and therefore creating a bigger impact on the audience as well as creating atmosphere and tension. This will cause my film trailer to be more dramatic and successful

Medium Shot: In film, a medium shot is a camera shot from a medium distance. A medium shot is usually a shot of a person from the knees up/waist up, however in some standard texts and professional references, a full length view of a human subject is called a medium shot.

I am going to use a medium shot in our film trailer as they are relatively good at showing both the characters facial expression, and their body language - depending on where the character is placed in the shot. This again will create atmosphere and tension for our film trailer once again creating a professional and successful out coming. Using a medium shot allows the audience to see where the character is and what they are doing at a specific time.

Long Shot: A long shot typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surroundings. A long shot is very similar and sometimes referred to as a "wide shot" because it often requires the use of a wide angle lens. A long shot allows the surroundings and everything on set to be seen and shown to the audience creating a realistic atmosphere and allowing the audience to gain knowledge of the surroundings.

I will use a long shot in our film trailer so that high action shots are placed to create atmosphere and tension for our opening scene, again causing it to be more dramatic and successful. We are also going to use a long shot to establish different locations in our film trailer, which all have significant importance to the rest of the film. This will hopefully interest the audience because they will want to know why our character is in these specific places, keeping the audience interested and hooked on what will happen throughout the film from start to finish.

Two Shot: A Two shot is a type of shot employed in the film industry in which the frame encompasses a view of two people (the subjects). The subjects do not have to be next to each other, and there are many common two-shots which have one subject in the foreground and the other subject in the background.

I am going to use a two shot in our film trailer to introduce another character to my film storyline. A two shot also allows me to show the audience the relationship between the two characters and how their relationship will show great importance throughout the film.

High Angle Shot: In film, a high angle shot is usually when the camera is located above the eye line. With this type of angle, the camera looks down on and over the subject.

I will be using a high angle shot in the film trailer in order to show the main character to the audience and convey the characters presence that they have. Using this shot will enable this character to be seen as the main and most important character in which the film is based around; this could cause sympathy and emotional feelings towards this person.

Low Angle shot: a low-angle shot is a shot from a camera positioned low on the vertical axis, anywhere below the eye line, looking up on a subject.

I will be using a low angle shot in the film trailer in order to empathise on a happening or character in an important part of the trailer. The use of a low angle on the character will make them appear more dominant, powerful or, alive than the other creating affect and fulfilling its purpose.

Movement

The following are some examples of common camera movements and how they can be used to shape meaning in films.

A crane shot (animation on right) is often used by composers of films to signify the end of a film or scene. The effect is achieved by the camera being put on a crane that can move upwards

 

(A crane shot)

A tracking shot and a dolly shot (animation on right) have the same effect. A tracking shot moves on tracks and a dolly shot is mounted on a trolley to achieve the effect in the example above. This camera movement is used in a number of ways but is most commonly used to explore a room such as a restaurant. By using a tracking shot or a dolly shot the composer of a film gives the viewer a detailed tour of a situation. It can also be used to follow a character.

Panning (animation on right) is used to give the viewer a panoramic view of a set or setting. This can be used to establish a scene

(A Panning shot)

Qualitative Audience Research

For this section of my audience feedback research, i have decided the best way to retrieve qualitative data, was to ask a same of people a set of questions based on a film trailer that i have provided. This allows the sample group to express their opinions instead of choosing from a closed set of answers. I have decided to ask those questions personally to the sample I will be providing and then record and analyse the audience’s answers.

I have chose to use the film trailer 'Saw', this is due to the fact that its genre is a crime, horror and the use of mystery. All three of these genre techniques and categories, I will be hoping to use in my own film trailer. I feel that because this film trailer 'saw' has a genre that links and relates to my film trailer, the qualitative data that I receive from the questions and analysis should relate with information i may need to consider for my own film trailer. Concluding that it will develop my understanding of the types of conventions and techniques used for film trailers with these types of genres.

Below is the film trailer for 'Saw' which i have embedded onto my blog from a horror movie trailer website:

Due to time constraints and the qualitative nature of this audience research I have limited the number of responses to three people, this is because the qualitative feedback is very large and the feedback I have received from the quantitative research has given me a large amount of data that is easily analysed; where as the qualitative data takes a long time to analyse and because of this I believe there is not enough time to collate any more results.

1) What genre/s do you think this film is? Please expand on your answer

2) Do you feel this film trailer was successful or not? Please explain your answer

3) What connotations would you place with the colour of the titles and mood of the trailer; do you feel this reflects the genre of the film?

4) Do the sound effects contribute to the creation of atmosphere and the tension in the film trailer? If yes: how? and does it reflect the genre?

5)  What themes do you think are present in this film trailer? do these themes reflect the genre of the film?

Active Audience Theory:Encoding – Decoding: Active Audience Theory

Encoding-Decoding is an active audience theory developed by Stuart Hall which examines the relationship between a text and its audience.

• Encoding  - is the process by which a text is constructed by its producers.
• Decoding - is the process by which the audience reads, understands and interprets a text

Reception Theory: Active Audience Theory 

Reception theory focuses on the role of the audience in the interpretation of a text, instead of on the text itself. Therefore the theory suggests that audiences play an active role in reading texts, that each person has the ability to interpret the same text differently, and that a text by itself – without a reader – has no specific meaning.

Conclusion

Genre - The use of specific themes is evident to portraying certain genres. In order for me to portray the genre in the film trailer I am going to produce then I need to create a storyline for the film which includes themes that best reflect each genre individually.

Sound Effects- Sound Effects are used to help promote different emotions and feelings upon an audience, therefore sound effects effectively help to produce the needed tone and atmosphere for both a film and a film trailer at key moments. From this I can conclude that I will need to use Sound effects to promote the type of emotions I want the audience to feel during the key moments, enabling the film trailer to be more of a success.

Titles - It is evident that an audience notices the colour of titles used in a film trailer. All colours have specific connotations that an audience link to the genre of the film that they are watching. Therefore it is important that I choose a colour for the titles that best represents the genre I am using.

Quantitative Audience Research

I have created a Quantitative Questionnaire in which all the questions have closed answers to fit in with the heading, quantitative research being found. Below is the Questionnaire which i created in word document, that then got handed out to people around and in the location of whittlesey with mixed age groups answering. The results were then put into excel and graphs and analysis was able to be made from this.

Questions were asked to random people around the school and people in the town centre of Whittlesey, this ensured that the results were fair and unbiased.

Results

1. 

From looking at the results of my graph and data collected you can tell that the number of males and females who answered the questions worked out to be equal meaning that my target audience responses will be equally divided.

2.

Looking at the results, you can easily identify that most of the people who answered my questionnaire fit into the age category '18-24,' with the age category '17 and under' following closely behind. Our questionnaire was asked to all varied different age groups in order for us to prevent retrieving a biased set of results. After analysing these results, I can come to the conclusion that film trailers are most commonly viewed by people that fit into the age category of '18-24,'  this tells me, that i should aim the film trailer at the younger audience. 

3.

Approximately 2/3rds of the people in my sample believe that key points of a film should be conveyed through titles. This is a common film trailer convention used with any genre film trailers. I should definitely consider using titles to convey key points of my film in my film trailer, to ensure that my film trailer will be satisfactory to existing trailers.  

4.

The answer for this questions were mixed however the same font was the largest proportioned question answered the most, this tells me that the audience don't want to be confused with different fonts and like a smart presentation, this will be taken into consideration when creating the trailer. The fact that the answers are all spread out and nearly equal, tells me that this information is not a certain must and need for a film trailer.



5.

The results of this question tells me that the audience want to be told the name of the film at the end or towards the end of the film trailer, this seems to be, as the audience want climax and action to take place first to get them into the trailer and then the film in which all of this action or happenings are taking place will be revealed and stuck in their head at the end.




6.

This question has a narrow favourite answer which is a voice over. An internal Monologue narration from a character is then closely second telling me that the audience like both of these features in a film trailer.




7.

This answer shows me clearly that the audience want a soundtrack in their film trailer and see it as very vital and important to attracting audiences to watch the film.




8.
 
This answer is also clear for me in what the audience want, which is a basic and obvious piece of information which gives them the details of when the film is released and able for viewing. The audience see this as a key aspect to have in a film trailer.


9.

Asking this question has allowed me to see that the audience want both a soundtrack and the use of effects in their film trailers, this tells me that this would be a good feature to use in my film trailer and if i want to attract the most audience then this is what i would have to do.




10.

The results of this show the least interest in option 'their name placed over footage from within the film' and equal interest in the remaining three options. This gives myself a option of 3 different techniques, all popular with the audience. Different styles and techniques will have to analysed to choose the correct option for my film trailer.




11.

All three choices are very common techniques used in film trailers for any genre of film. From obvservation you can see that most of the people in my sample like to see a film trailer that builds to a climax where it ends, closely followed by being structured around the most appealing aspects of the film.  With all of these techniques being common conventions of film trailers, it would make sense for myself to try incorporate all three techniques into the film trailer that i am going to make. Although this will be my aim, after analysing the results from this question i feel that i should focus mainly on involving the two choices into our film trailer that were most selected.


12.

This questions results seem to suggest that people when watching a film trailer would they like to see a basic narrative structure of the film, this is so that they can enroll into the trailer and understand the basic storyline to give them a good idea of what the film will be about and after watching the film trailer, whether or not it is a film they want to see.

Conclusion:

After analysing each question from my questionnaire thoroughly, I can come to the conclusion that i now understand more about what an audience wants to see in a film trailer for any genre of film. I feel that i have a wide knowledge of what conventions are commonly used in existing media products, and which of these an audience prefers. I will now be able to consider the use of these techniques in my own media product in order for my media products to compete with what is already out there on offer, and  meet the audiences expectations of a film trailer. This will hopefully cause myself to create a sucessful film trailer that meets its purpose.