Question 2- Evaluation

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

The combination of our main product and ancillary texts (these being my magazine cover and poster) is very effective. Our media products work together very well as a promotional package for our film. This is because there is a sense of brand identity throughout our products, which would result in the audience being able to recognise our products as being part of the same package. We have created a brand identity amongst our products by demonstrating an element of continuity. We believe this brand identity has come through using the same characters in each product, so when the audience look at each of the products they can instantly link all three of them in all being part of the same promotional packaging as the same characters are in all three products. We have also used other important features such as the film title image ‘vengeance’ In all the products, as well as using the film logo/production name amongst all of the products. We also created continuity in the sense that we used the same kind of colour tones amongst the three products, we were able to use red and white as the main text colours amongst the three products. I think establishing a brand identity through the use of continuity is very important as having a brand identity will mean more consumers as they will be more aware of our product(s) on the whole, and if they purchase/see one of the products the chances are that they will purchase/see all three of the products. Brand identity will also give our products against other film products that have not been established well as a brand. We think the continuity of our Vengeance film title, the characters used, production name/logo and colour tones has effectively achieved our promotional package for our film a good brand identity and we believe if we can continue this and do more branding and still use continuity amongst our products then a lot of consumers will start to know about our product and we should be looking at getting a big number of people to watch our film trailer as a result of the continuity amongst the three products as well as branding.

　

　

Question 1- Evaluation

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

Our media product used, developed and challenged forms and conventions real media products. Forms and conventions are the ‘rules’ which make media products recognisable to audiences.

Like most trailers, we included a climax in our trailer coming towards the end of the trailer. Having a climax was crucial in our trailer, as it is arguably the most important feature to include in any trailer as this is where the audience will view various shots from across the film and these shots included into the climax will be a key factor as to whether the audience will go too see the film in cinemas or not. We think we included very good shots into the climax, the kind of shots that will influence the audience to go see our film in cinemas. We also included texts during the course of our trailer, a convention that a lot of trailers use to explain what is happening/what has happened/what will happen to get the audience interested into the trailer and to give them more of an understanding of what its about. We used texts in various parts of our trailer, at one point we even put a text saying ‘what would you do?’ after the cliff hanger of our trailer to make the audience feel part of our trailer. We also included our film production logo which I think was essential as all film trailers have a logo/picture of the production company that made the trailer, so we put in the logo not only for these reasons but also so that if the target audience like our trailer they will know that we are the ones who made the trailer, which would lead to brand loyalty and recognition we hope.
Using slow paced editing at the beginning of our trailer was important, as this is what most successful trailers do so that they can give the audience an insight into what the trailer is actually about and to intrigue them into the idea of the trailer so that they watch the rest of the trailer (the climax) and to watch the film in cinemas. For these reasons this is why we decided to implement slow paced editing into the beginning of our trailer as well. Our trailer includes key moments from the actual film, however most of our trailer is not placed into the sequence of the film, which is a convention used by many film trailers. Our film trailer also didn’t give away any crucial plot details to the audience so that the audience are left wondering and raising questions which we would hope would lead onto intriguing them in finding out what actually happens by watching our film in cinemas. We included the stars of our film in the trailer like most (if not all) other film trailers would do. It is important to include stars in your trailer as they are the most important characters in your film and are the characters that the audience look out for, so putting them into the trailer will give them an idea of who too look out for if they see the film. Without these stars, a film can not be a success. Putting in soundtracks that went with the movie was also an important feature to put into our trailer. Most trailers would have a soundtrack or soundtracks that would go well with what is happening in the actual trailer, and this is exactly the case with our trailer as we have the type of soundtracks that suit our gangster film trailer that audiences that like gangster films would instantly recognise. Another important convention that we followed was having an element of action in our trailer. This was an important convention to follow as having action in a trailer would intrigue a large audience (especially males) to go watch the actual film of that trailer, which is mainly why we chose to include action in our trailer. We know that action is keeps the audiences eyes ‘glued’ to the screen, so if we put action into our trailer then the audience will know for sure that there will be action
in the actual film, so they would be influenced to go and see what develops and happens. Like most film trailers we have established the title of our film as well as the release date of when the actual film comes out so that we have established the main information the audience need to know about during our trailer so that our audience know for the future. This is used by most (if not all) trailers, for obvious reasons, so that the audience are aware of the title of the film as well as knowing when the film comes out in cinemas.

 

 

However our film trailer also develops/challenges form and conventions of real film trailers. In our trailer we didn’t do a voiceover throughout the trailer, as some real trailers may do. We didn’t feel the need to put in a voiceover as we already have the soundtracks to go with the trailer. The use of soundtracks also blocked us from using conversations between the characters in the trailer as the soundtracks were used for more of an adrenaline rush rather than for conversation purposes. Conversations between characters is a common convention used in most real life trailers, however we decided it would not be necessary/useful for our trailer as we already have soundtracks. Giving away conversations in the trailer may give out crucial plot details, which is a risk we couldn’t take in our trailer. We also didn’t mention the stars actual real names during the course of the real trailer, which is a convention that a lot of trailers do use. We didn’t see the need for it, as it is the film storyline and the meaning behind it is more important than the actors names, although we did mention the character in the films name (the geek is called Ben Miller).

The main convention that every magazine cover should have is that it is eye catching towards the target audience. The front cover is what first draws the audiences attention, so every front cover must look good in order to be able to do this. Most real life magazines have front covers that are eye catching to catch the audiences attention, and we believe that the front cover is crucial, so we also made an eye catching front cover. If a front cover of any magazine is good, there is a lot more of a chance that the audience will give up there time to read through the actual magazine. What makes the front cover of our magazine eye catching is the fact that we have a big masthead at the top (empire) which would catch the audiences attention as its in big font and bright
colour, not to mention that empire is one of the best selling magazine brands in the world, so this would definitely complement the front cover on the whole. Masthead is used by all the successful real life magazines, so we thought it was in our best interest to do the same. We also included other additional texts such as what comes inside the magazine as well as mentioning that our trailer ‘Vengeance’ will be mentioned in our magazine. These are known as subheadings. Most real life magazines will focus on one main movie/trailer on the front cover and then include other films/trailers and other news inside the magazine, which is what we have done. We also included the barcode on the front cover as all magazines include this on there front covers. We have made the barcode small so that it doesn’t divert the audiences attention away from the actual front cover itself. Putting the film star/stars on film magazines is crucial, as this intrigues the audience to buy the magazine even more as the star/stars act like ‘endorsers’ of the product, we also managed to accomplish this by putting the stars of our trailer onto the front cover of our magazine.

Form and conventions of film magazines that we challenged was the fact that we didn’t have a proper ‘house style’ which is what most film magazines have. The house style is the fonts and colours used consistently throughout the magazine. These colours and fonts are set (the same). We didn’t really follow this, as our fonts and colours are quite different on the front cover. We also didn’t put any special prizes or lucky draws on the front cover as some real life magazines do this to get the audience involved and make the feel part of the magazine. This is something we didn’t do which we really should have done. The price and date of the magazine is also other information we should have included.

We included our film logo on the front cover for brand recognition, which we thought was a development, as not all magazines include this or even have a logo.

An eye catching poster is something that is very important for all film posters. Having an eye catching film title as well as an eye catching background picture are probably the two most important forms and conventions that any film poster can follow, because without these two conventions the audience will not be interested. I think we followed this really well, as we used a bright background which includes the two stars from our film trailer, which will be eye catching for the audience. The film title is also very eye catching as it is colourful, bold and the size of the font is big, so it stands out from the rest of the poster, this convention is used so that the audience actually know what the film is called and to interest them in watching it in cinemas. Like other
successful film posters we also included persuasive language just under the film title. We used this technique in the text: “You’ll never know what’s around the corner”. I think this was an effective bit of persuasive language to use on the front cover as it will influence the audience even more too see it as it makes our film seem like there is a storyline in the film that is worth watching, not to mention that it could lead onto word of mouth as well. We also included promotional features as well which you will see on most (if not all) film posters, this includes the release date of the film, actors/directors/editors names and the name of the production company.
 

 

 

Vengeance Trailer

Poster cover

Upon discussion, we decided to alter the layout of our poster. We decided to move the 'Vengeance' title above the two actors and remove the 'Ninja Scroll Presents...'. In addition, we felt that in order to make the poster look more realistic, we shouldn't add the film 4 and PEGI logos and the bottom. Finally, we decided to take a medium shot from the front instead of from the side. This was done so that the audience can see their facial expressions, which we thought will be a useful feature.

ADULTHOOD: Trailer Analysis

ADULTHOOD: Trailer Analysis

First of all I am going to consider the genre of adulthood. Adulthood is very obviously a gangster, crime movie. It boasts several of the typically expected conventions of this genre. The way the film is shot, the editing and what is actually in the scenes shown make it quite a typical movie of this sort. For example, the use of weapons and sex in the trailer make it quite clearly seem that this is not a movie for young people.

The narrative of the trailer is quite non-linear. The scenes shown are not in chronological order. However towards the middle parts of the trailer the narrative begins to be told in a much more organised way. The use of texts to build up the story helps to add suspense to the trailer without giving too much away. This creates a sense of confusion as all the audience can see is constant action. This would appeal to those that like the genre and would attract them to go to the cinema and see this trailer.

There is no fixed location of this trailer. The scenes quickly cut to various places in London. We can see big estate blocks as well as quite posh homes in the heart of London. There are also a few scenes at an underground station, this is quite modest for a trailer and effectively represents the lives of the characters involved. In addition to this I noticed that majority of the trailer was filmed outside on the streets.

The characters of this trailer are typically quite gritty. There is maybe one wealthy character portrayed in the trailer. This is shown by the fact that he is wearing a suit and has a car. Apart from that most of the male characters are wearing tracksuits. Quite dark colours are used as well this makes them seem more sinister. The way the characters are represented makes the movie more effective at appealing to their target audience. Many of the people who would go to watch this movie are likely to dress in the same way. The representations fit quite easily with the conventions of the genre.

The soundtrack of the trailer is not too extravagant. It contains mostly rap songs. The music is quite aggressive and fits quite well with the fast paced cuts included in the trailer. The trailer does not contain many sound effects.

With regards to post- production editing. The scenes are cut together quite effectively. The trailer starts off slowly with a voiceover of one of the female characters talking. The pace of the trailer slowly builds up with many random shots of action displayed. With some of the shots, mainly the ones displaying text the colour has been intentionally distorted. This makes the text more visible whilst also creating almost a silhouette of the character.

In conclusion I feel that the trailer has been quite effectively and professionally cut together with many techniques that help it quite effectively fit into its genre of gangster/crime.

Magazine cover