Monday 14 May 2012
Research: Horror Magazine Front Cover Research
For my research, I have selected 3 horror magazine and will analyze the front cover of these magazines. By understanding common traits of horror magazine, I am then able to use these techniques when making my own front cover for a horror magazine to make my design fit the trends of a typical horror magazine.
Thursday 10 May 2012
Final Post
Candidate Name - Justin Balagot
Candidate Number - 7018
Centre Number - 17131
Centre Name - John F. Kennedy RC School
Friday 4 May 2012
Evaluation: Question 1 - In what ways does your media product, use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
There are
many ways my media product use, develop or challenge conventions of real media
product. During the research and planning process, I analysed typical
conventions which currently trend on media products, e.g. mise-en-scene and
different types of editing, along with looking at some theories which are
applied on films and trailers. I based my research around the horror genre as
my products will attempt to develop current conventions. An example of where I
have used a current convention is through the use of Todorov’s theory which is
often the structure of many films. This theory highlight’s how at the beginning
of many films there is a sense of equilibrium which is then disrupted as the
film progress. By the end of the film, a new equilibrium is established as the
disruption is resolved. This can be seen from my trailer as I use different
techniques to present the disruption of the equilibrium during the trailer
without revealing the overall plot of the film. Although my trailer doesn’t show
the overall structure of Todorov’s theory, I have shown the audience of the
equilibrium and disruption of the equilibrium but not of the new equilibrium
achieved at the end so that the audience are attracted to find out how the
disruption is resolved. This can be a selling point of the film as the audience
will want to see how the film ends. This is a typical feature of many trailers
which I have watched and I have used these techniques as there are some
evidences that it leaves the audience wanting to see more. There are 6 main
areas which I will explore to see if I’ve used, developed or challenged forms
and conventions:
Mise en scene
The mise en
scene of the film portrays the characters to be casual and thus leaving the
idea that the plot of the film is realistic. The film revolves around
teenagers, which can be seen by the audience through the speech they say, along
with their personal clothing. In the screenshot above, it is clear that these
two characters portray a short of ‘villian’ or ‘bad’ characters as their hood
is up and are hard to identify. This gives the effect that they are looking for
a ‘fight’ or trouble.
Another way
in which my trailer presents its genre of being a horror is through the use of light
and shadow. My trailer begins with a distinctive figure in front of a
television. The fact that the natural light of the TV is the only light, the
effect this makes is major as it makes the character unidentifiable because
none of his features such as his clothing are revealed. In addition, the composition
of this shot gives a sense of mystery as the audience are wondering who the
character is.
Location
By choosing
a location such as an alleyway to present a fighting scene, my trailer uses
typical setting in which the audience may expect to see a fight. From the
screenshot above, it is clear that the setting suits the scene because it
portrays a rural-like setting where fights may often take place. The alleyway
also shows how the two victims have nowhere to escape as the alley-way is a
confined space. This shot clearly develops fighting scenes within films as the
audience may able to relate further with the scene as alleyways are a frequent
features of our surroundings.
Intertitles
Another way
my trailer uses typical conventions of a horror film is through the use of
intertitles. During my research, intertitles were a frequent feature many films
had to give the audience some clues of what is happening or what is the film
about. In my trailer, the intertitles reveals that the film will be about “a
game” and it asks the audience “what happens if a game turns into reality?” By
asking the audience this question through the use of intertitles, I am able to
present some key aspects of the plot to them as they now know that the film
will revolve around a game and it becoming reality. A way in which I have
developed this typical convention is that, in typical horror movies, the horror
titles are often just one word and did not frequently interrupt the trailer.
However, my trailer over flows with intertitles, to bring about that sense of
disruption and to break up the trailer itself. This effect presents the
disruption of the equilibrium in the film to be quite frequent as it is seen in
the trailer.
Speed
The speed of
my trailer uses typical trailer conventions. In my research, it was clear that
many horror trailer, change the tempo of their trailer through editing. I
imitated this feature in my trailer as my trailer begins slowly, but changes
tempo and gets faster as intense scenes such as the ‘fight’ and the car scene
takes place. I changed the tempo of these scenes to make them look exciting and
exhilarating. However, throughout the trailer, I disruption is often created by
the TV static which made slowed the speed of my trailer. By doing this, I
wanted to create a fragmented trailer to suggest the disruption of the
equilibrium. This made my film unpredictable as the static will broke up each
scenes.
Characters
A way in
which my trailer differs and challenges conventions is through the use of teenager
characters. Most film in my research often were based around older characters. However,
my trailer may directly attract young adults and teenager into watching the
film as they may be able to engage with the character used. Although this may
limit my target audience, by using a specific age group to be the characters,
my film is different from typical conventions which can act as its own selling
point.
Music
The music in
my trailer uses and develops current conventions of horror trailer. The
background music comes from “John Carpenter’s Halloween” which gives the
trailer a feeling of suspense and mystery. The classic reference to a famous
horror film can warn the audience who recognise it that the film will be a
horror. However, I way in which my trailer develops and differs from other
trailer is that there is not only one song which plays throughout. Instead my
trailer is broken up by the static sound of a TV, along with halfway through, a
‘heartbeat’ plays until the end. The
heartbeat which plays creates dramatic tension for the audience and a sense of
waiting. Before the aftermath of the car accident is revealed, a heart monitor
places a blank screen which again portrays mystery around the plot. By only
having sounds at the end, I am maximising the effects it gives to the audience
as they cannot physically see what happened and only imagine by the sounds they
hear.
Editing
The pace of
my editing is important in my trailer which is shown as I use current
conventions as there are clear evidence that they work. Current pace of editing
within horror trailers are that they begin slowly and increase their pace as
the film progresses. The speed of my editing towards the end began to increase
by shorting the clips shown to 1 or 2 seconds and cutting from one shot to another.
This effectively increased the tempo of my trailer as each clip are only shown
briefly. In addition, to make it look effective, I often cut to a blank, dark
screen which is shown for 0.30 seconds which makes the editing seem faster.
However,
along with using current techniques, I developed my trailer by constantly
fragmenting the trailer. I did this through the use of the TV statics which
often broke up each scenes. This created a sort of disrupted trailer which could
attract the audience into watching it as they want to see the whole film
without any disruption. The idea of using the TV static came from the horror
film the “Ring”.
Props
Finally, my
trailer uses current conventions of horror movies through the use of props. My
trailer uses a car as a prop which is a typical prop used in many films. In
addition, the car is used for what looks like a ‘hit and run’ but the outcome
is not revealed in the trailer.
Evaluation: Question 2 - How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
I created a video to evaluate the effectiveness of the ancillary:
Evaluation: Question 3 - What have you learned from your audience feedback?
I collected some feedbacks each of my work such as the trailer, the movie poster and the magazine cover. For each I asked for some positive feedbacks along with some negatives. I will present some of the words used to describe each work through a screenshot of a wordle which I created. Wordle is an online program which presents words in a unique and fun way. Each of the words used to describe my product can be seen in this screenshot.
Poster:
After showing the movie poster to various different people, the positive comments they gave me encouraged me as it shows that my current poster is able to challenge and fit in with current movie posters. I am pleased that some of the words used to describe the poster were "gory" and "violent" as it shows that my poster is effective as it portrays the film to be in the horror genre. In addition, most people also believed that my poster looked realistic and professional as it contained all features expected within a real/legit poster.
Magazine Cover:
Similarly, here are the feedbacks which I had for my magazine cover. The positive comments suggest my magazine was successful in portraying a movie magazine as most people said it was unique and creative. The fact that it uses similar fonts and styles found in the poster, some people described my products to be consistent. In addition, the horror background is also evident to the public as some people were able to point out that the picture may be evil and dark.
Trailer:
The overflowing positive feedbacks I gained for my trailer suggest how the trailer is successful in presenting a horror movie to the audience. Most people believed that my trailer looked legit and is outstanding. In addition, I am pleased that the public noticed many features which I included specifically to the trailer such as by consistently disrupting the flow and fragmenting the trailer, as well as increasing the speed of editing. This gave me confidence in my trailer as there are some evidence that these techniques are visible and are appreciated by the audience.
In conclusion, the positive comments/feedbacks which I have received encouraged me that my first drafts are successful. It proves to be a solid foundation in which I can only improve and work on future drafts. I found these feedback very helpful as it shows which aspect of my product is working for the audience and which I should improve. Along with gaining positive feedbacks for my work, I also asked each person for a negative or a critical feedback. I look to work on these negative feedbacks to improve my work further and improve areas which may not be working.
I will also present these negative feedback in similar format as the positive feedback through the use of Wordle.
Poster:
There are some negative feedback which I addressed for future drafts of the poster. These negative or critical feedback have been very important to me as it has given me new ideas on what to work on and how to change things as some people may have these certain opinions on the poster. I can address the tedious and boring comments by having an alternative background image.
Magazine:
Although the black and white aspect worked on the majority of the public, some people believed it was no colour and was boring. However, there are some negative feedback such as the low content which I can work on and improve. In addition, I can enlarge the font or change it's colour to make it more visible for the public.
Trailer:
The limited negative comment on my trailer suggest how my trailer has been successful. However, there are some improvements which can be made such as by shorting the trailer or by adding a voice over. By doing these improvements, I am also making trailer less confusing.
In conclusion, negative feedback was a major part in making an improvements for each of these products. They are helpful in finding out about what the public likes and dislikes. In addition, these critical comment allowed me to improve and excel from my first drafts.
Overall, feedbacks are an important aspect of producing a creative and unique piece of work. Feedbacks helped me gain insight from members of the public to get a rough and basic idea of what kinds of things they look for in each of the products.
Monday 30 April 2012
Evaluation: Question 4 - How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation?
To answer the evaluation question, I used 'Prezi' to present my work in a different and fun way. Prezi allows me to present my work as an interactive spider-diagram It is easy to use and I hope you enjoy my presentation.
Here is a screenshot of my finished Prezi:
In addition, here is a link for Prezi:
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