Link to Storyboard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFX_IhDHd88

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

Our media product challenges forms and conventions of real media products by using various techniques within the media product itself.
For example, in our media product we use a strong foreshadowing enigma. This captivates the audience and therefore produces competition in the producing industry for horror films. There’s a hidden aspect. You don’t know what’s going to happen, you can only wonder and imagine. This technique attracts the audience’s attention to the film.
Our media product also uses and challenges the way in which professional media products are edited. In our film we superimposed two scenes. One, gradually revealing the look of the villain; and the other of a first-hand running shot. Superimposing these two scenes creates a relation; and as our film uses a strong foreshadowing enigma, it is almost vital that we can identify where there is a relationship, or connection, to prevent confusion. Also, at the beginning of our media product, we achieve the desired effect of an old home video, with the aid of special effects. These included draining the colour from the clips, as well as adding an old film effect, which enabled effects such as hair lines and instability to appear on the clip.
From our original storyboard we have developed our product quite a lot; the villain of the film has now been added into the chase scenes, but his presence is revealed gradually body part by body part, and the scenes are unstable and inconstant motion, disabling a clear view and this disables him from being identified.

Evaluation question 2:
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Our trailer, combined with the magazine cover and poster is effective in the way that it builds an overall picture of what lies in the trailer and the main events that are to occur but are not seen (the foreshadowing enigma). The repertoire of elements within the trailer links to the magazine cover and poster as certain shots that are viewed in the trailer are used for the ancillary texts. This relation adds to the continuity as these products all join in some way shape or form. Similar shades of colours are used within the trailer and the two texts adding to the effectiveness as it keeps the connection stronger than if a variety of different shapes and colours were used. There is consistency. The wooded area is viewed in all three texts adding to its importance, therefore making this an establishing shot for the audience, as they can see that the trailer and other two texts are all associated with the same background. However the ancillary texts do not give you anymore information than the trailer provides which ties in well with the mystery of the trailer for example there is no release date or dialogue. However the texts do allow the audience to have a proper look at the girl’s kidnapper.

Evaluation question 3:
What have you learned from your audience feedback?

You can learn a lot from audience feedback and within the following paragraph is what we have learned from our own target audience. They said that the use of music was very successful at affecting people’s emotions. For example the piano music used throughout, made people feel sad and feel sorry for the girl. Also, when the scene cuts to a black canvas and writing appears, it breaks up the action of the running and flashbacks. They also mentioned that the constant cutting between the action, kept them interested. This is because breaking up the action makes the audience want to see more. This builds suspense. It also gives the audience a little more information each time, and gives them an insight into how a certain character may be feeling about the situation.
The use of flashbacks, breaking up the action, also gives the same effect as when the scene cuts to a black canvas and writing appears. Creating suspense. Also, as it is not immediately obvious that the kidnapped girl and the child in the flashbacks is the same person but younger, this kept the audience interested. This technique captured the audience from the start as we found out. It also made the audience think about the trailer long after they had seen it, and create a little confusion about the connection between the children in the flashbacks and the kidnapped girl. Due to there being no release date, if people were drawn to our trailer, this would make people want to know more about the film and would create even more mystery regarding what the film is about. There being no dialogue in the trailer means that that the audience is not being given the whole story. They didn’t know how a certain character was feeling and it took time to realise that the flashbacks, and the kidnapped girl, were the same person. Nobody within the trailer states that the name of the girl shown is “Eleanor-Rose”. This created a sense of wonder and kept the audience intrigued.

Evaluation question 4:
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

In the construction of planning our trailer we used Microsoft Movie Maker, which translated our trailer from a drawn storyboard to a more realistic design accompanied by a timeline, which allowed us to estimate the amount of time required on each scene. We transferred our drawn design onto this computer programme by taking photos of each scene using a digital camera and uploading them onto our computer drive before copying them into each allocated storyboard space. For our poster design we used Photobucket, (an online photo editing site), which allowed us to edit and modify our photos, by making them look more professional and adding the necessary effects, and then copied the finished photo onto our poster. We used a cartoon effect on the picture which gives the photo a slight blurred effect that restricts your view adding to the suspense as you are unable to see the full picture, other than the main mask adjusted at the front of the poster. We also tried to highlight the mask, by bringing it out of the dark background. By doing this we have pinpointed a reoccurring theme, keeping consistency and tension. The writing used on the poster was uploaded from www.myfonts.com; a website specialising in different font styles. For our magazine cover we used the Microsoft Publisher programme. Publisher supports the requirements needed for creating a professional-looking magazine cover, and therefore was our prime choice in software to use for the cover.

Evaluation

Improvements/ Adaption’s:
We originally planned on using a locket in the trailer to symbolise the girl but we decided to completely change that idea and include a brief encounter with the murderer. We weren’t going to add the murderer into the trailer because we didn’t want to reveal too much but we have decided to use a dress code of a black long coat and a white mask, covering the whole face and black veil/hood over the murderers head. We only plan to use the character in one or two scenes, one of which he will be his perched on a branch in a tree, at the very end of the trailer. However we intend to edit the scene so this character looks slightly blurred, preventing the audience from being fully able to see him. This should therefore encourage the audience to want to know more about this mask covered man.
We have also decided to repeat a selection of all the scenes seen in the trailer at the very end but at a very fast speed, so only flashes are visible and then to finish with the murderer perched on the tree branch, to then suddenly fade to black. This will add to the suspense and finish on an enigma of the audience not knowing who this masked man is.
Another adaption we might make is to make the trailer non chronological and start at the end with a shot of part of the girl laid on the ground in the woods, slightly hidden under leaves. From here we will carry out the planned storyboard, until the end where the fast shot scenes are shown.
Referring to the home movie scenes we planned on having natural spoken dialogue from the children in these in particular scenes to make it sound realistic, but we have now decided to have no dialogue used and instead to use a piece of soft rhythmic music, which should help to engage the audience and connect the scenes with the music to predict that something bad is going to happen.

Music

For the background music over the home movie scenes we have chosen to use a Twilight soundtrack, composed by Yiruma, called River flows in you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQME-ChSwNM .We have chosen this piece of music to play as it has a soft rhythm with a calm sounding piano being played in the background and this could bring about the sadness and suspicion that something awful is going to happen to the girl. For our wood scenes, where the girl will be running we have decided to use a piece of music from Torchwood, which works in with the theme of the girl running as it almost echoes her fast beating footsteps. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfaCTe61Slk . In the background of the music there is an occasional fast heartbeat sound, which relates to the heavy breathing from the girl which will be present in the running wood scenes. We have decided to cut out the dialogue in all scenes because the above piece of music is more likely to attract peoples attention and give them more of an idea as to what sort of actions might take place later on it the trailer. The music also adds more tension and emotion.

This is our final magazine cover. We decided to include a picture of the murderer, blending in with the darkness of the woods. We wanted to make the picture darker and block out the background colour, however the programme Photoshop just made the picture look grainy. We tried to keep our magazine cover looking as realistic as possible, by including information regarding other media releases. Also noticeably on our magazine cover is a date stating when the magazine itself was released. As there is no release date included in our trailer, the magazine cover featuring our product, combined with the date the magazine itself is released, will hint as to when the finished film will be shown in cinemas.

Alternate Design: We did a preliminary design of ‘Eleanor-Rose’ written along side a bus as a form of advertisement. We decided to keep the amount of information we revealed to a minimal and agreed on only using the name of the girl to promote the trailer/film. The writing is written in white as this colour contrasts with the black and red of the bus and therefore stands out more, to attract the public and passers by. On the back of the bus we have positioned a release date of the film. This date is laid out on it’s own with no other information related to it visible. This should therefore encourage the public to research this date and find out what it is promoting. As the name of our website is the release date, when researching it the public will automatically be transmitted to the exact website for the film.

Billboard Design

As an alternative we designed a billboard and superimposed our poster onto it as another form of advertisement, to promote our film to a larger range of the public.

This billboard design is laid out in landscape as this is the original lay out for billboards. The design is in colour to make it stand out and catch the eyes on potential passers by. The repertoire of elements is very basic and only consists of the ‘missing poster’, attached to a tree, which links up to the forest scene that is to come further on in the trailer. These are both symbolic of our film/trailer. We chose to have the font coloured in white as it stands out against the background colour and is often classed as a colour of purity and innocence, which is how ‘Eleanor-Rose’, would be described. It is also ironic as it contrasts to what happens in the film.

Poster.

This is our final poster design. We wanted to keep it simple but to keep the audience intrigued, so we decided to use an identifiable object that fits in with the generic iconography of the trailer. The background woods scene is a main aspect of the trailer, so this sets the scene for the events that will take place. The masked murderer is never fully identified but this mask would instantly be associated with the murderer; the fact that the mask is just hanging and there is no face behind it is used to make the audience question his whereabouts. This poster resembles real texts as it includes elements of the trailer, such as the mask, and credits that add to make the poster more realistic. We used Photoshop to adjust the picture and to give it a scary effect. We dimmed the lighting in the background and gave it an animation effect, which makes it stand out and eye appealing. Eleanor-rose written at the top of the poster jointly promotes the name of the film and the name of the victim. The short, sharp phrase adds to the enigma and again makes the audience question the background to the phrase.

Planning.

Storyboard:
1. Home movie scene of a 4 year old girl in a paddling pool in the garden, with a significant looking locket around her neck. Her Mum talking in the background who is holding the video camera saying ‘smile Eleanor-Rose‘. The girl is laughing and smiling and looking happy. Shot in black and white colour to show the video clips were from the past.

2. Running through enclosed, dark woods, using track. Short and quick shot.

3. Home movie of the girls 6th birthday in her house, singing ‘Happy Birthday‘ from people in the background, again showing the locket around her neck. In black and white to show the video clip was filmed in the past but shows her gradual growth.

4. Running through the enclosed woods, the speed of the clip is increased and heavy breathing is heard in the background.

5. Holiday snap of a family photo, showing the girls‘current looking age, showing the locket again.

6. Black screen with white writing appearing on the screen saying ‘THEY NEVER EXPECTED IT TO HAPPEN‘.

7. A poster of a missing girl wearing her locket, on a lamp post, with news commentary behind speaking about the missing girl.

8. Close up of a mobile phone, lying on the leaves in the woods, the screen bright, showing ‘mum calling‘.

9. Black screen with white writing appearing on the screen saying ‘WILL THEY EVER SEE HER AGAIN? ‘Heavy breathing in the background which leads to an echoed scream as the writing fades.

10. Quick shot of a hand in the leaves embracing the locket.

11. The screen goes to black, as this happens a dead dialling tone is heard.

12. The name ‘Eleanor-Rose‘ is shown on the black screen.

With our running scenes we will use a handheld camera as it can produce a jerky, bouncy, unsteady image, which may create a sense of immediacy or chaos and this is the effect we are aiming for.

Time Plan:

Monday 7th September: Time pan and research horror films.
Thursday 10th September: Complete Storyboard.
Monday 14th September: Research techniques used in other horror films.
Thursday 17th September: Experiement filming in dark, gothic settings.
Monday 21st September: Start filming.
Thursday 24th September: Filming.
Monday 28th September: Filming.
Thursday 1st October: Filming
Twilight: Filming.
Monday 5th October: Research posters and magazine covers advertising films.
Thursday 8th October: Take pictures for poster and magazine cover.
Monday 12th: Edit film, poster and magazine cover.
Thursday 15th: Edit.
Monday 19th October: Blog work.
Thursday 22nd October: Blog work.
Monday 26th October: Editing.
Thursday 29th October: Finish editing
Monday 2nd November: Blog work.
Thursday 5th November: Blog work.
Carry on editing and blogging through to the deadline.

Predicted time lengths of each scene:
1. 10 seconds- As this is the opening scene, a ten second length scene is a decent time to give an insight into the feel of the film, and to allow the audience to become familiar with the characters.

2. 5 seconds- This scene is 5 seconds long as it is an establishing shot of the main storyline and a chain scene which we will refer back to several times to build more tension on the events that are taking place in this in particular shot.

3. 10 seconds- This is another home movie scene where the audience can become familiar with the characters and therefore ten seconds will be a reasonable time length.

4. 3 seconds- The second chase scene is less lengthy as the enigma is growing stronger and to build the tension the scene is shortened.

5. 4 seconds- A family photo to familiarise the audience with the family and to recognise the main character for a few seconds.

6. 3 seconds- This scene is short as there are only words for the audience to take in, additionally the shorter the scene the more of an enigma is added.

7. 7 seconds- This scene is slightly busier to the others and contains more action, so therefore 7 seconds is an average length of time.

8. 5 seconds- This scene is another establishing twist scene and 5 seconds enables the audience to take in and imagine what the scene will lead to.

9. 5 seconds- This scene holds the key to what has happened and allows the audience to guess what has happened, therefore after 5 seconds there will be a sense of shock, which will carry on through to the next.

10. 2 seconds- This scene is 2 seconds to add greater tension.

11. 7 seconds- This scene cuts off all the action and takes the audience away from the trailer, leaving them wondering on the exact final events that took place.

12. 5 seconds- This scene is 5 seconds as it’s the finishing scene and allows the audience to relate the girl and the film title.

Research.

Trailers: Mystery/Horror
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm4Fw2QElA4 What lies beneath
Audience: young couples- 15-35 years
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1F7hJNsi5M One missed call
Audience: 15-35 years
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXXc2QdKyqc The abandoned
Audience: 15-35 years
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz_s_UjfK84 The unborn
Audience: 15-35 years

The target audience for these films are all 15’s. Horror is mainly aimed at people between 15 and 35, but young adults aged between 15 and 24 are most likely to go to the cinema. 50% of this age group reported that they went to the cinema once a month but more in the UK, compared with 17% of those aged 35 and over. The younger generation these days enjoy the suspense and tension felt when watching a horror film and the overall adrenaline rush, however the older generation do not enjoy being scared or frightened in any way. Also, the main character is of a young age so therefore younger people can relate more than older people.
These trailers are all of the same mystery/horror genre which is the same genre we are basing our teaser trailer on, so we have looked in detail at these to give us inspiration on certain techniques that may help us to develop our trailer.

Certain techniques used in the trailers could be used to add suspense:
· Written text on the screen, some maybe asking questions? To add an enigma.
· Shots become faster as the trailer gets closer to the end.
· Lack of voice used in the text. Used to add mystery and enigmas.
· Fade to blacks to separate shots and add to suspense.
· Blurred background, to block out the complete view and prevent you from seeing the full picture.
· A main, core shot of the basis/moral/location of the film.
· Overlapping shots.
· Flash backs, using fade to blacks across the screen or from the middle and developing outwards.

What encouraged us to look at this particular type of genre?
· Mystery can be varied into horror scenes easily instead of just basing the trailer on horror which can easily turn into a cheesy, unrealistic look. However with mystery the levels of horror can be reduced and increased easily.
· Can easily add enigmas and lots of action.
· Sudden, sharp, unexpected shots can be added in.

In our research of the horror genre it is clear that horror films these days are very similar and follow a similar plot or storyline. A new horror film is released and then the generic cycle kicks in and the film is very popular to its target audience. Then there are the ‘follow ups’ and other production companies start to make their own ideas based on a very similar theme. With our trailer we intend to use a unique and individual repertoire of elements to start a whole new variation. We will keep the audience cut off a great deal to prevent them from having any understanding of what the plot will be based on.

Target Audience:

The target audience would not be aimed at a specific gender, however the majority of the characters in the trailer are female and mainly young children therefore Mothers and females may be more attracted to the trailer as they can relate more. The social grade of people that may watch the trailer would probably be middle class, lower middle class, and skilled working class, as these groups of people have a steady amount of income therefore, more than likely have a television to watch the trailer. The upper class may not find the trailer as intriguing, as they are stereotypically attracted to high quality trailers and may be more interested in operas and theatrical products opposed to going to the cinema. Those at lowest level of subsistence would not watch the trailer as they more than likely wouldn’t own a television or a TV licence or go to the cinema due to money issues. Innovators may find the trailer of some interest as they take risks and enjoy seeking new and different things and our trailer is different to any other. This is because unlike most trailers ours contains flashbacks and alternates time periods which many mystery/horror trailers don’t feature. It also has no release date or dialogue which leaves the audience wondering what the characters feelings and thoughts are and what they’re saying. This adds to the mystery of the trailer.
The ages of people who will be most interested in this trailer are between 15-50 years of age, because the trailer includes a lot of suspense which the older generation would find scary. We decided 15 would be appropriate for the trailer/film, because of the content. The British Board of Film Classification forbid it to be any lower as the trailer is not suitable for people aged 14 or below, due to the certain actions filmed that may be inappropriate for the younger generation. However this is not to say that teenagers are going to be interested in the trailer anyway, but is just a basic guideline. The age range goes up to 50 years as from research we have found that only 7% of adults over 50 go to the cinema as they stereotypically spend a lot of time at work or doing house-work therefore don’t often go out to the cinema. Cinemas are also more aimed at the younger generation and from research we have found that 80% of people who go to the cinema are under 30 years of age.

Horror films are unsettling films designed to frighten and panic, cause dread and alarm, and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time. This genre of film is mainly aimed at an audience between the ages of 15-35 and of no in particular gender.

Websites:
http://onemissedcallmovie.warnerbros.com/ One missed call
http://www.theabandonedonline.com/flash_index.html The abandoned

These two links take us to two of the websites based on two films which followed a similar genre to which our film is going to be based on. The websites both have their teaser trailers on the front page and use the repertoire of elements used in the trailer on the website to add to continuity. Colour scheme used for both websites relates to the colours used in the trailers. Most colours are all dark and gloomy as horror themes stereotypically are based around dark black, red, grey and dull colours.