Evaluation Question 3

Throughout the film industry there is constantly someone giving feedback on something; the directors, producers etc. are always gaining feedback as to what they can to to improve the quality of their film from their target audience. Audience feedback gives the producers valuable information about what was good about the film and what wasn't so good about the film. This allows them to make appropriate changes to appeal more to their target audience. In this evaluation question I will explore the feedback that I received and what I did to improve my products as a result of this feedback.

Film Pitch Feedback

At the start of the A2 course we had 6 weeks to come up with a film pitch to tell the class about a film idea that we have come up with. After the 6 weeks we had to come back and pitch our film idea to the class. This allowed me to gain feedback straight away about my film idea and allow me to make any necessary changes.

The Film Pitch

Feedback Received

Here I will be outlining the feedback I got from my class and then I am going to describe in detail what I am going to do to improve it.

Rough Cut Feedback

The feedback we received for our rough cut is, in my opinion, the most important piece of feedback. This is because we are getting assessed on our actual film that we have produced and getting feedback as to what we can do to improve it and make it better. This stage allows me to make any necessary changes to meet the needs of my target audience and make sure that the narrative is clear. 

Here is my Rough Cut

I wanted to make sure that I received some good feedback in order to create a film to the best possible standard and ensure that there is as little continuity and little mistakes as possible. 

Picture in Picture Feedback

Once I had finished my rough cut the very first audience I presented it to was my media class. Their feedback is very important because they are creating short films themselves so they know the importance of good feedback and have also received feedback on their own products so their feedback for me should be very constructive and very reliable. Also their feedback will be very reliable because they, like myself, are media students so they know the kinds of things they are looking for, they know all of the techniques, they know all of the media terminology which means I get more detailed feedback. Here is the picture in picture feedback that I received from my class. 

How the Feedback Impacted on my Final Cut

I wanted to highlight the improvements that we made to our short film as a result of the feedback that we received. Here is our Final Cut and below it will be how we improved this version from our rough cut.

Here is the Improvements that we made as a result of the picture in picture feedback that we received. 

Video of what people thought of my Film

Here I am going to embed a video of me interviewing people about my short film Grief;

Film Poster Feedback

After completing the rough cut and improving the final cut of our short films, we then had to start focusing on our very own ancillary tasks. One of the ancillary tasks that we had to create was our film poster. The purpose of a film poster is to attract your target audience to your film as well as giving them information about your film without actually giving too much away about the plot. I gained feedback on my film poster from my class on Padlet. 

Padlet Feedback

The feedback I received was on Padlet. This was put on the Mr Hoods media blog so that all of the class could access each others posters and make comments on them to give each other feedback on them. People commented on things that were good about the posters and also commented on things that needed improving. 

Improvements made as a result of the Feedback

I have created an emaze showing you a before image of the different elements of the poster, the feedback we received and then an image of the improvements we made as a result of the feedback.

Video of what people thought of my Film Poster

Here I am going to embed a video of me interviewing people about my film poster;

Magazine Review Feedback

After completing the rough cut and improving the final cut of our short films, we then had to start focusing on our very own ancillary tasks. One of the ancillary tasks that we had to create was our Magazine Review. The purpose of a magazine review is to attract your target audience to your film as well as giving them information about your film without actually giving too much away about the plot. I gained feedback on my magazine review from Mr Hood. 

Written Feedback

The feedback I received was on a PDF file. This was put on the Mr Hoods media blog so that all of the class could access each others magazine reviews and make comments on them to give each other feedback on them. People commented on things that were good about the magazine reviews and also commented on things that needed improving. 

Improvements I made as a result of the Feedback

I have created an emaze showing you a before image of the different elements of the magazine review, the feedback we received and then an image of the improvements we made as a result of the feedback.

Video of what people thought of my Magazine Review

Here I am going to embed a video of me interviewing people about my magazine review;

Conclusion

Throughout this course feedback has been a vital part of the development of my products. Without the feedback my final products would have been no where near the standard that they should be. The feedback has allowed me to recognise my mistakes and take any necessary steps to change and improve them. 

Evaluation Question 2

For this Evaluation question I will be answering this question;

The genre of our short film is drama, within that genre our film also represents a sub-genre of a psychological drama. 

There are many conventions of a drama;

Climax and Anti-climax

The use of climax and anti-climax (the building and releasing of tension) in a drama is crucial as it creates a sense of expectation for the audience, they can become very tense as they wait to see what is going to happen in the film. 

For example, in our short film Grief, the tension was built when the audience realised Carly was no longer there but the tension dropped when, in the next scene, she was there again. 

There are many other conventions of a drama including; slow-motion, freeze frames, soliloquy, mise-en-scene, typical props, typical characters, typical settings etc. 

I feel like my poster, magazine review and film really represent these codes and conventions of a typical drama. 

The Film and the Film Poster

The combination of elements in my film poster and my short film itself creates synergy. In other words, my film poster is an effective representation of my short film. 

Purpose of a Film Poster

The purpose of the film poster is for the marketing side of film production. It is done to create a large appeal to their audiences. Posters are displayed everywhere and therefore can be seen in public places, this is so that production companies can create awareness about their film. Using this information in knew that my poster had to represent elements of my film in the correct way to my target audience. Below I have explained elements of my poster that have had an effect on my film.

Text - Titles

The comparison of the text used in my short film and in my poster are very different, however, they both represent an element of the film. For example, the text that I used for the title in my poster is quite a fancy and more decorative kind of text which represents Carly and Jacks ongoing friendship, however, the text that I used in the poster contradicts this as I used block text which represents the more serious side of the story, where the audience come to the realisation that Carly has died.  

Here are the different texts we used for both titles;

Film Poster

Film

The combination of both the film poster title and the film title create synergy. The interaction of elements that, when combined, produce a total effect which is greater than the individual elements on their own. For example, both texts, when combined, create more of an effect as it tells the audience more about the different, contrasting sides of the film unlike one of the texts on it's own which only tells one side of the story.

Real Media Texts

The Avengers

After looking at real media texts I can see that they use exactly the same texts throughout their marketing. For example, the text that they use as the title on their poster, they also use the exact same style of text on their merchandise;

Avengers Film Poster

The Avengers Merchandise

This signifies the importance of the same text used throughout all media platforms. People now associate this text with the avengers and is therefore also an effective promotion technique for them. 

Colours

The comparison of colours that are used in my film is very similar. The colours that we went for represent the genre and the storyline of the film. For example, the colours that we used on the poster were dull kind of colours like grey and black. This represents the plot of the story as it ends quite badly with the audience coming to the realisation that Carly has died and Jack has lost his best friend.

Film Poster

Film

The combination of both the film poster colours and the colours we used in the film creates synergy. The interaction of elements that, when combined, produce a total effect which is greater than the individual elements on their own. For example, as you can see from the images above we have been consistent throughout both of our products with the colours that we have used. We wanted to represent the sadness throughout both of these products with the use of the dull black and grey kind of colours. It also represents the character of Marc as he always wears black and grey coloured clothing. I wanted to represent the importance in the advertising of the film by using the colours in the poster so the audience can understand the importance of the colours and the fact that both the film and poster link well together.

Real Media Texts

Harry Potter

Throughout the Harry Potter films there is a significant use of very dark and dull colours. The use of dark colours get more and more prominent throughout the film series, as the films go on the darker the colours get, this is to signify to the audience that it is getting closer to a very pinnacle moment in the film and that something bad is going to happen.

Harry Potter Poster

Harry Potter Merchandise

The colours that Harry Potter are known for have also be reflected in their merchandise.

The Images

The image that we used in our poster is very similar to an image from the final scene in our film. 

Film Poster

Film

For the main image on the poster I decided to use the image of the two characters in the final scene of the film. The scene is set in the memorial garden which is where the main character Jack comes to the realisation that his best friend Carly isn't coming back and therefore creates a new equilibrium which is a really significant part of the film. Both the main characters are standing with their backs at the front facing away form the camera. I did this to introduce the mystery element of the characters which is reflected by the scenes in the film because there is a mystery elements when we keep seeing Carly disappear from the scenes every now and again. In the poster I also have Marc (Jack) wearing a very dark outfit which again represents the sadness and the emotion of the film. 

The Actors Names

We have incorporated the actors names in both out film poster and our film itself. The layout of the actors names are different due to the different type of layout of the film poster and the film itself. For example, in the poster the actors names are displayed at the top of the poster whereas in the film the actors names are displayed at the end in the ending credits of the film.

Film Poster

Film

Actors names are a useful feature of a film poster and so I have incorporated them in my own. In my poster I have included both actors names "Marc Morrall" and "Ellie-Louise Aldridge," it indicates that they are of high importance to and in the film which is true as they are the two main characters. The actors names also appeal to the audience especially if they are well known actors and are therefore more likely to watch the film.

Real Media Texts

I am Legend Poster

As you can see in the I am Legend poster the actors name is in big letters which draws the audiences attention to it. This suggests that the actor plays a significant role in the film. The film is about a man who is the only known survivor of a man made plague and is left alone in New York City. His important role is reflected through the use of big letters in terms of the actors name on the poster.

The Teddy Bear

We have incorporated the teddy bear in both our film poster and our film itself. 

Film Poster

Film

We wanted to incorporate the teddy bear in our film poster because it is one of the main features in our film. The iconography of the teddy bear is supposed to symbolise Carly's death and how much Jack is grieving over her. The teddy bear was Carly's before she dies, she carried it around with her everywhere so it is a very important piece of the film which is why we wanted to incorporate it into our poster. In the poster, Jack is holding the teddy bear in his hand as he is standing next to Carly, this represents the fact that he will always have a part of her with him and it also represents how much he is missing her and how much he is grieving for her. 

Tagline

Here I am going to explain the link between the tagline and the narrative.

Film Poster

The tagline that we have included on our poster is "He was the soul survivor." This is a homophone which means the word is spelled differently and have different meanings but sound the same. We have used the word soul to represent the fact that his soul will never be the same again after the loss of Carly. Without looking at the poster it can also be represented as sole survivor meaning that he was the only survivor. He was the one that survived when Carly git killed by that car so it represents his inner soul and the fact that he was the only survivor.

The Film and The Magazine Review

The film and the magazine review are quite different in terms of who creates them. The film is obviously created by the production team, however, the magazine review isn't created by the production team it is created by a magazine company which means that the content cannot be controlled by the film company. We wan't to see how well the magazine review works well as a magazine review itself but also how well the magazine review represents the film.

Purpose of a Magazine Review

The magazine review allows the audience to come to a decision about whether they want to watch the film or not based on the review of the film. People aren't going to want to spend money on a film that turns out to be not very good. Below I have explained elements of my magazine review that have had an effect on my film.

The Image

Magazine Review

The image used in the magazine review isn't decided by the film company but it decided by the magazine company so the film company have no say in what the image will be, however, they know that the image cannot give too much away about the film. The image in the magazine review takes up a large proportion of the page. The image consists of the two main characters sitting in the scene that we filmed where they are at the cinemas. Marc (Jack) one of the main characters is looking a Carly, the other main character, this is going to make the audience curious as to why he is looking at her in that way and what is going to happen in the film, it leaves people guessing without giving too much away about the film. The dark colours also represent the genre and the storyline of the film, straight away people will think that it is a film with a dark or a sad ending so are more likely to watch it especially if people like those kinds of films. It also represents the dark and dull colours that we used in the film. 

We also used a secondary image in the magazine review. The image consists of the main character Jack sitting on a bench on his own. This is going to attract the audiences attention and make them wonder why he is sitting on his own because throughout the film Carly and Jack are always together so it is going to make it look suspicious as to why he is sitting on his own. It is going to leave the audience guessing. The colours we have used are brighter colours than we have used in the main image, this is because we wanted to contrast the different sides to the story and get across that the film isn't all sad and upsetting and that there are certain aspects of the film that are happy. 

How the Main Image Links to the Narrative

The main image strongly links to the narrative of our short film. In the main image Marc (Jack) is looking longingly at Ellie (Carly) but she seems oblivious to his presence. This represents the fact that Jack is still holding on to the memories that he and Carly shared when she was alive. However, the oblivious look on Carly's face represents the fact that she is there is Jack's mind but she isn't physically there herself. This links to the narrative as throughout the film Jack is clinging onto the good memories that him and Carly shared, however, he has to come to terms with the fact that she isn't there anymore. 

Mention of the Production Team

Magazine Review

In the Film

At the beginning of the review there are details about the production team that were involved in the creation of the film, such as, the directors and the cast. This is a very common feature of magazine reviews. This means that the information about the directors is easily accessible to people if they want to know this information. They might want to research previous films that this specific director has made. 

Quote

Magazine Review

The purpose of the magazine is to outline the best possible reason as to why this particular film would be the perfect film to watch. The pull quote is used to draw the audiences attention to important key elements of the film. The quote I used is one that we incorporated into our film.This makes the audience wonder what the film is going to be about without giving too much away about the film. It also creates a sense of emotion and tension as it sounds quite ominous. 

Colours

Magazine Review

Film

The combination of both the magazine review colours and the colours we used in the film creates synergy. The interaction of elements that, when combined, produce a total effect which is greater than the individual elements on their own. For example, as you can see from the images above we have been consistent throughout both of our products with the colours that we have used. We wanted to represent the sadness throughout both of these products with the use of the dull red and black kind of colours. It also represents the character of Marc as he always wears quite dark and dull coloured clothing. I wanted to represent the importance in the advertising of the film by using the colours in the magazine review so the audience can understand the importance of the colours and the fact that both the film and the magazine review link well together. We have used dark red colours in the magazine review to match the main image that we have used in the magazine which also represents the colours in the film, especially in the library and the cinema which we have incorporated the dark red kind of colours. 

The Verdict

Magazine Review

This is an important part of the magazine review as it also has a star rating and so it tells the audience straight away whether the film is worth watching or not, which is a very simple and effective marketing strategy, because people aren't going to want to spend money on a film that turns out to be disappointing. For my film I have chosen a rating of four stars which I think is perfect because a short film that is made by a student isn't going to be 5 stars, but I also want people to know that it is worth watching. 

Conclusion

Films aren't just marketed on their own, they also come with other marketing techniques like magazine reviews and film posters. I feel like i have successfully evaluated how these products can work well alongside each other to reach their target audiences effectively. 

The next post is going to be my Evaluation Question 3.

Evaluation Question 1

For this Evaluation question I will be answering this question;

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

When going into the film industry I feel that it is very important to have a good knowledge of forms and conventions . Following conventions shows your understanding of a particular genre or particular representation, it is also important to challenge these forms and conventions. Throughout this post you will see how I have used, challenged and developed these forms and conventions. 

Conventions I Have Used and Challenged

In this section I am going to be stating and explaining the forms and conventions that I have used. 

Conventions of a Short Film

• Length - The length of a short film is usually between 3 to 20 minutes, but can last up to 30 minutes. If the film is any longer it would no longer be classed as a short film and it would be classed as a feature film. In the case of our short film the specification states that our short film must last a maximum length of 5 minutes.
• Storyline - The storylines are generally simple and easy to follow and is based over a short period of time. Due to the time being condensed there is limited dialogue. A lot of short films also have a moral to the story. 
• Characters - In short films there is typically 1-3 main characters, as they don't have time to create back stories or history for the characters. This also allows the audience to relate to these characters as they are not shown lots of information or new people.
• Twist - There is commonly a twist in short films, but this isn't an essential convention for short films. This twist can tell a short story in an interesting and creative way which makes the audience engaged.
• Budget - The budget for a short film is usually low, based on the fact that most are independent, sticking to one or two locations and using a low amount of actors.
• Audience - Short films have a niche audience due to the creativity, length and plot of the film. Even though they are easily accessible, many people are not aware of short films.

Conventions of a Drama

Typical Codes and Conventions of a Drama

To further explore the forms and conventions that I used in my product, I have created a 6 key frame document, 3 showing my film and the other 3 showing examples from real media (drama) products. 

Throughout our short film we had to try and find a good underscore to use that would match the genre of our film and match the live action that was going on in the background. Here are the underscores that we decided to use.

Sad/Happy Ambient Music - "Happy Ending (Alternative)"

If you want to listen to the underscore click here.

The reason we chose this soundtrack is because there are both happy and sad scenes in our short film. Also the conventions of a drama is the climaxes and anti-climaxes. The story normally starts off happy and then something disrupts it. So we wanted an underscore to represent the change in the plot so we had this happy and sad ambient music which we felt fit really well with our short film. 

This was the underscore we used throughout the film however, we broke up the underscore with some ambient sounds like birds and and swings etc. 

Conventions I used in my short film Grief

Below I am going to embed my final cut and then explain at each stage the forms and conventions that I have used in my short film including; mise-en-scene, camerawork and editing.

Narrative Theories

Challenging the Forms and Conventions

Conventions of a Film Poster

• It must be eye catching and captivating to the audience 
• There must be a focal picture that will draw in the audiences attention
• The title is displayed in large, eye-catching font
• It clearly defines the films genre
• The poster should be designed to attract the largest audience possible 
• There is usually an indication of when the film is being released - either a date or "coming soon" 
• Information on the directors and production company is often displayed in a credit block at the bottom of the poster
• There could be reviews or titles of other films that the company have made

Harry Potter Poster Deconstruction

Here I have deconstructed a real film poster from the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Here I am going to show you how a real film poster follows forms and conventions of a poster. 

Grief Film Poster Deconstruction

Here I have deconstructed a my film poster from my short film Grief. Here I am going to show you how my film poster follows forms and conventions of a real poster. 

How I have Used and Developed Forms and Conventions

How I have Challenged the Conventions

Conventions of a Magazine Review

• Film name and year - having the film name and year of the film release is conventional to any review as it allows the audience to understand the film genre, credits, details, director, screenwriter, cast, stars, soundtrack and much more information.
• Quotes and taglines - More often than not a review will begin with a quote, a reference or a tagline from the actual film as a brief introduction to the film to grab the audiences attention, hence it is a common feature of reviews. Although it is not used in all short films as they may not have key quotations within them due to their length.
• Introduction and summary - It is very conventional for the first paragraph to contain a brief plot summary of the film, often written with the intention of leading the audience to want to see the film. The summary will include aspects of the timeline, location, narrative, cast, performance etc. 
• Characters - It is sometimes a convention for short film reviews to focus on the protagonist in the film. Explain how they are good or bad, explore their qualities and personality. However, it isn't always present in a short film because there are so little characters.
• Ratings - In film reviews it is conventional to summarise the review in a brief paragraph. Usually with a percentage or a rating out of 5 stars 
• Increased sizing of the first letter of a paragraph (drop capital)
• Image with captions
• Page Numbers
• Pull Quote
• The date
• Byline 
• Folio 
• Running Head

Deconstruction of Pirates of the Caribbean Magazine Review

Grief Magazine Review Deconstruction

How I have Used and Developed Forms and Conventions

How I have Challenged Forms and Conventions

Throughout the magazine review we haven't challenged any forms and convention. On reflection we have followed the layout of a typical magazine review which left no room to challenge any forms or conventions. I feel in doing this my magazine review look much more professional and much more eye-catching and like it would fit perfectly in a magazine. 

Conclusion

Throughout this answer I have evaluated how I have used, developed and challenged forms and conventions. While evaluating this I found that I had conformed to a lot of forms and conventions, however, I did manage to challenge some of these conventions so that I didn't create a same old drama film I wanted to create something that did conform to conventions but was also a bit different as well. Doing this helped me to understand the importance of following conventions but also challenging them as well. 

My next post will be my Evaluation Question 2.