Wednesday 3 January 2018

Left Behind Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcpeNIXzwfk&feature=youtu.be


Left Behind Poster


For my final poster I double exposed the hand under the bed so it looks as if it's reaching out to grab the person's legs. I ensured that the text was at the bottom of the poster so it doesn't take complete focus away from the main image. The actors names are presented in a line at the top to create star power.

Left Behind Magazine Cover


When making this cover I was referring to my research on existing psychological thriller magazine covers. The red and white font being repeated creates synergy all over the cover, whilst linking to psychological thriller genre conventions. I edited the silhouette so it appears dark to create an eerie and mysterious mood that comes under known psychological conventions. 

This magazine's composition is entirely traditional as the image is centred. Magazine covers have their main photograph centred as it's the first thing the viewer is drawn to look at. I have used this image of the main female character because it is synergetic with our trailer. Also, I used a close up of a character because the characters would be recognisable enough to be associated with the film. In addition, this cover photo has the conventions of a psychological thriller as it has ominous visual effects. 

I have included pugs and gratifications as well as issue date, magazine price, website and a barcode. These are all features from known magazine covers that I have researched previously.

Sunday 31 December 2017

Evaluation 4

How Did Your Use New Media Technologies in the Construction, Research, Planning and Evaluation Stages?


Saturday 30 December 2017

Evaluation 3

What Have You Learnt From Your Audience Feedback?

Draft One Feedback
After creating our first draft of our trailer we were told to add;
  • Sound effects for impact
  • Suspense building music that continues throughout
  • Quicker shots which give glimpse of narrative
Draft Two Feedback
When we had adjusted our trailer to meet all of the feedback from our first draft, to improve we were told to;
  • Add visual effects to the trailer
  • Intersperse shorter clips with longer ones
  • Ensure the focal points are clear
Draft Three Feedback

For draft three of our trailer we took on board all the previous feedback and were told that quickening the clips and splitting up the footage more will allow us to have a final draft. Also, one student was confused about why the trailer is called 'Left Behind' so we added a clip of a hand written note on a chalkboard that reads 'you've been left behind'. This is to ensure that our trailer links to it's title.     

Draft Four Feedback





For some audience feedback I posted our trailer on Facebook which is a social media platform used by millions of people worldwide. Zoe was able to share my post so we could gather even more feedback from as many people as possible. I have print screened all of the comments to post it on Blogger, the bottom image is feedback from Zoe's share. All comments from people were positive like, " Very good trailer. Brings up a lot of suspense especially towards the end. Nice use of threat space". We intended to stick to psychological thriller conventions and tried to steer away from the horror genre as much as possible. One comment tells us we were successful at doing so, "Music creates great tension it had me on edge.. I want to know more! The pills! the drink! WHAT'S GOING ON". Also, we tried our best to include a lot of miscellaneous shots from our inspiration from 'The Snowman' research. It appears that we were successful at not giving away too much of the narrative, "it is a beautiful video and captivates you without giving away the plot like most trailers tend to do nowadays, love it x".

These positive comments aid us to know that we were successful in achieving what we aspired too. Facebook was a really good way to present our trailer as we can see statistics of who liked/commented and shared it. In under 24 hours we received 80+ interactions on our Facebook posts and over 350 viewed our trailer altogether. Audience feedback has taught us how to directly address our target audience of young adults. We have appealed to our demographic as well. Facebook was really helpful as it got interactions from people who fit our audience specification. 
 
Final Draft Feedback
For our finished product we were told that;
  • Build up of suspense is good
  • Enigma code is well established
  • Effective ending
  • Quick cuts work alongside music
  • Intrigues audience to see complete film
  • Makes audience 'glued' to the screen  
If we were ever to create a psychological thriller trailer again, we would;
  • Add more voiceovers
  • Include more inter-titles

Friday 29 December 2017

Evaluation 2

How Effective is the Combination of Your Main Product and Ancillary Texts?

https://youtu.be/6flBnBXtajk 

I've made a voiceover for this task, which will play over the top of my trailer. Included within this video will be images of my final magazine cover and poster. I have given detailed explanations about how my three finalised products have a synergetic link. My final products were proved to be successful in portraying the psychological thriller genre, I know this through feedback from peers.

Script

Stereotypical conventions of a psychological thriller were used when creating my trailer, and common conventions were used to make the other two main products. For example, within my poster and magazine cover the featured images used are very mysterious which makes them intriguing to my audience. Synergetic links between my products help with the promotion to audiences. My products will get recognition from how I have used the same biro font for the title 'Left Behind' on every piece of text. The reminder of the release date & plot line given in the trailer, and promoted on the poster, will increase revenue because audiences will know when the film is out in cinemas as they have the information repeated to them.    

Our target audience is between the ages of fifteen and twenty five years due to our film being certified at a rating of fifteen. This rating is suitable for 'Left Behind' as teenagers will find the psychological thriller genre more intriguing than those younger. Audiences younger than fifteen may not understand the content of our film due to the non-chronological order of the trailer that promotes it. Also, the elderly may not understand the content of the film or find it appealing as they are considered more of a passive audience.    

To create my poster, on Photoshop I used the clone stamp tool to erase unwanted things that are seen under the bed. Consequently, under the bed is empty which allows the viewer to focus on the vodka bottle and feet. Also, it creates an illusion that she's about to be grabbed by someone or something. I added text by taking inspiration from my research on psychological thriller posters. The main image is a mid shot of an unknown characters legs. Existing posters included; a billing block, release date, tagline, actor names, and title so I ensured to present all of these elements. I typed the release date in the same font as the film title to keep synergy throughout the poster. The actors names are shown in the top right corner of my poster as this is a feature used on official professional posters to create star power which gets audiences interested. The socks and the cap on the vodka bottle are both red connoting danger and enhancing the synergy of the poster. I have avoided using lots of red as the colour is associated with the horror genre more so than the psychological thriller genre. I have used white text and dark colours which links back to the research I did on existing posters. I took inspiration from 'The Snowman' poster as they use an image from straight from their film to ensure that their audiences recognise the poster from the trailer. 
  
When making this cover I was referring to my research on existing psychological thriller magazine covers. The red and white font being repeated creates synergy all over the cover, whilst linking to psychological thriller genre conventions. I edited the silhouette so it appears dark to create an eerie and mysterious mood that comes under known psychological conventions. This magazine's composition is not entirely traditional as the image is off-centred. Usually, magazine covers have their main photograph centred as it's the first thing the viewer is drawn to look at. However, I have used this mid shot image of a female looking out of a window because it is synergetic with our trailer. Also, I couldn't use a close up of a character because the characters would not be recognisable enough to be associated with the film. In addition, this cover photo has the conventions of a psychological thriller as it is ominous. I have included pugs and gratifications as well as issue date, magazine price, website and a barcode. These are all features from known magazine covers that I have researched previously. Audience will not necessarily associated the magazine cover and poster together because of how different the featured photos are. However, I purposely used very different images because conventionally film covers and posters don't match completely as this creates more intrigue.  
There is no obvious antagonist within all three products as I wanted it to be left ambiguous, so my audience are made to think about it. This emphasises psychological conventions because not knowing the antagonist creates an eerie, mysterious atmosphere that is unsettling to be a part of.

A synergetic link can be seen between all three products by how we used the font 'Biro' from PowerPoint to feature heavily on each text. On my poster, magazine cover, and trailer the title 'Left Behind' has consistently appeared in this font, meaning it would be recognisable for audiences. I believe that making a synergetic link between the three texts is very important because it has increased the professionalism of how they look, and it's an effective visual aid for marketing.

Institutional information is featured at the end of the trailer and is included on my poster. This is because, it is important to give credit to everyone who was involved in making/starring in our production. I thought it was unprofessional and unconventional to include a billing block on my magazine cover so I did not do so. Release date being included at the end of the trailer is a key conventional element of advertising because it can inform cinema goers when they can view the film. Also, the release date is enlarged on my poster so that it is obvious for viewers to see.

Visual effects were used throughout our trailer to attract the attention to each individual seconds of footage. A range of close ups, mid shots, and long shots were included within our trailer so our audience intrigue increases as the variety of camera shots changes quickly. Mise-en-scene was a key element when creating our trailer because we needed to make sure that all of the clips weren't too bright, as this connotes happiness. Fortunately for us, the weather was quite dull when filming so this enhances verisimilitude. Also, we captured a variety of different angles when filming, as it is conventional for a psychological thriller trailer to be completely non-chronological. This is to exaggerate the psychological aspect of the film. For example, 'The Girl on The Train' includes a wide variety of short, miscellaneous footage.       

In conclusion, I think that I have created a successful combination of products, because I have effectively used synergy which allows audiences to recognise my text. Also, it makes my text memorable. Additionally, I have used stereotypical psychological thriller conventions in my product and ancillary tasks so consequently, I've effectively appealed to the target audience of my film. My campaign appeals to my audience, because, when collecting feedback through Facebook we received positive comments.    

Thursday 28 December 2017

Evaluation 1

In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop, or Challenge Forms of Conventions from Real Media Products?

Frame 1: When creating our psychological thriller we tried to stick to the classic conventions which we found through our research. For example, our title is typed out in a font called 'Biro' which is similar to other fonts that are commonly found in thriller genre as it can have a chilling impact. Fonts like our own are often used to create intrigue as the writing is suggestive of communication from children, the terrified, or the dead. As we are making a psychological thriller we had to avoid using fonts that connoted the horror genre, so our audience doesn't get confused. 'Biro' font looks like a child's handwriting, connoting that our characters are vulnerable and innocent, like children, yet they are teenagers. We decided on the title 'Left Behind' as it sounds intriguing and provokes people to ask questions, consequently, it suits the genre. Commonly, existing film titles are short because this allows audiences to remember film names easily. For example, 'The Purge' and 'Se7en' are both really short film titles which makes them vague enough to create intrigue from audiences. 'Left Behind' is a suited title for our production due to the content included within our narrative. In the trailer the main characters best friend goes missing, leaving her left behind. The title is said within the trailer, though, it is misleading to our audience as we have used non-continuity editing which mixes up locations. 'Left' implies that the character has no choice on what happens to her and her friend. Also, the word impacts our audience because it is an imperative verb. Furthermore, it creates intrigue for active audiences as, when analysing the details of the connotations that come with the word they discover that it is compulsory to the film.
Frame 2: Settings used are all homely and comforting at the beginning of the trailer, (like, kitchens and bedrooms) they change to more unfamiliar outdoor settings as the trailer continues. Mid short of Sophie's bedroom is shown to tell our audience that she has vanished. This is so that our audience feel uneasy as the settings change quickly. 'Left Behind' trailer is set in common locations for the audience to  influence an uncomforting feeling. We didn't use any country settings as this connotes the horror genre. Jenny's bed isn't made within the final clip which creates a hostile and uncomforting environment. Middle class locations are relatable to common cinema goers, so they are recognisable.

Frame 3: Our storyline steers away from the horror genre as we have not used any jump scares, or screaming sound effects. Also, we thought about how the trailer ended so that it left our audience confused and intrigued instead of scared/traumatised. Throughout the trailer there is not an obvious antagonist shown, so our audience are lead to believe that there is no blatant 'bad guy'. Whereas, if our trailer came under the horror genre there would be an obvious, terrifying antagonist. Conventional psychological thrillers leave the audience to think about/figure out who the real antagonist is. So, we took inspiration from our research to do the same. Our trailer ends on an ambiguous cliff  hanger that makes our audience intrigued because it leaves the storyline unfinished which will make them want to watch the whole film. Audiences can sympathise for our character Jenny throughout the synopsis because she is a teenage girl who is loosing control due to her friend vanishing.



Frame 4: Props and costumes used links to our research on what is conventionally shown in a psychological thriller. Our characters wear contrasting outfits as Sophie is in a lighter outfit and Jenny is in a all black outfit. We purposely chose these outfits because lighter colours on Sophie connotes that she is an innocent, positive, and hopeful character. Whereas, Jenny wears black as we believe that it connotes she is a serious, intense, and slightly mysterious character. This is due to how she is portrayed during the peculiar events that take place within our trailer. Props we used represent counter typical protagonists as J
enny consumes alcohol & drugs, which is usually what is known from an antagonist. However, we used these particular props to represent that Jenny is going crazy without her best friend connoting desperation. Also, this creates sympathy fro her as she is seen alone, looking depressed within the trailer.

Frame 5: Some of our shots were filmed using a phone stabiliser, but we kept clips that were handheld as they appeared unsteady. This creates an uneasy atmosphere and increases the verisimilitude of our trailer. Also, it makes the footage feel more realistic as if the audience are a part of the narrative. Filming companies have a budget for productions, however, we had to use our phones for filming as we did not have any form of budget.

Frame 6: We have four characters within our film which is unusual as there are commonly more in psychological thrillers, which I know from my research on existing films of this genre. Our cast is simple to avoid confusion from audiences. The antagonist is unknown which leaves our audience in anticipation. This is conventional as antagonists are rarely identified as this adds to the mystery that psychological thriller conventions include. All of the characters are important so it's quite unclear who the leading character is. Although, Jenny has the most screen time and helps the narrative develop so she could be considered most important. The audience never see Jenny and Sophie be best friends but it is implied through the scene where they are taking photos together, and through the footage where we see Jenny scrolling through the photos of them together as she is becoming unstable.    

Frame 7: Special effects included visual filters to individual clips. This is so that our footage looks professional and unique. To create the news report static Zoe used a downloaded static effect, pasted it into different places of the footage towards the end to make it look corrupt. We included a wide variation of different shots within our trailer so they go along with the music that builds up towards the end. Therefore, editing is rhythmic throughout as the pace builds with the sounds. This type of editing is used in many existing trailers of different genres, like 'The Snowman'. Non chronological placement of clips is stereotypical for the structure of generic trailers because it intrigues audiences without giving too much information away. To avoid making the frames unrecognisable, we did not distort them too much. Also, this would have decreased the verisimilitude of the trailer as a whole so, consequently would have reduced the feelings of fear and anxiety. In addition, the technique of distortion was not commonly found in existing trailers we researched so to create he news report in our trailer we used a suitable template in iMovie, then Zoe added a static effect in appropriate places. 



Frame 8: Magazine cover is unconventional as there is no face as the main image. In the magazine covers I have researched there is an obvious main character displayed in the centre. To challenge the common covers, I created a cover that is very ominous as the viewer can only see a silhouette and a window. This creates intrigue as the viewer will wonder what is outside. Also, I thought our film would not be recognisable through a characters face, as the synopsis is what people will remember. So consequently. the main photo used is quite mysterious which links to psychological thriller conventions.





Frame 9: In contrast, the poster I have created displays common conventional information one would see on a  main stream film poster. For example, the actors names are featured at the top which would create star power intrigue if my film was a blockbuster. In addition, there is an obvious release date above the constitutional information that is the billing block which includes an age rating certificate of 12. Also, I have created a tagline above the main film title to ensure my poster links back to my rese
arch on existing psychological thriller posters. Most importantly, the film title 'Left Behind' is written on a biro font that features on all of my products so there is a clear synergetic link. Furthermore, the synergetic link continues as the main photo I have used includes a vodka bottle which is a prop within the trailer, and the bedroom setting is where the hand appears at the very end of the trailer.

I took inspiration from 'The Snowman' to use props from the film in my poster. Also, 'The Purge' influenced what font we decided to use for our film title 'Left Behind' because it has mysterious connotations. In addition, 'The Purge' font is impactful because it's all in bold and capital letters, whereas, we decided to make our title original by using random capitalisation.

Wednesday 27 December 2017

Initial Poster

We typed the release date in the same font as the film title to keep synergy throughout the poster. The actors names are shown in the top right corner of my poster as this is a feature used on official professional posters to create star power which gets audiences interested. 
The socks and the cap on the vodka bottle are both red connoting danger and enhancing the synergy of the poster. I have avoided using lots of red as the colour is associated with the horror genre more so than the psychological thriller genre. I have used white text and dark colours which links back to the research I did on existing psychological thriller posters. 

Initial Magazine Cover

This is my initial magazine cover for Left Behind. I asked for feedback from Mr Coulson and he suggested I...
  • Move the film title (masthead) down so it's more like a traditional cover
  • Make the smaller text closer together (so there's less gap between each line of words)
  • Change the cover lines (red text e.g. 'INSIDE!') to bold
  • Add a gradient to the top so that the tagline is clear to read
  • Re-arrange the cover lines
  • Make the barcode smaller
I will take all of this feedback on board and improve my magazine cover accordingly so I have a final outcome.

Tuesday 26 December 2017

Left Behind Film Poster Draft


This is the original image I am using for my film poster of 'Left Behind'. On Photoshop I have used the clone stamp tool to erase unwanted things that are seen under the bed. Consequently, under the bed is empty which allows the viewer to focus on the vodka bottle and feet. I will add text by taking inspiration from my research on psychological thriller posters. 

Monday 25 December 2017

Music and Sound Effects in Left Behind Trailer -Zoe Firth

This is the soundtrack we will use for our psychological thriller trailer due to it creating an unsettling atmosphere. Also, it creates tension and suits the genre. We plan to edit the clip, separate the sounds, and disperse them throughout to gradually build drama.

We found that finding royalty free music for our trailer was really difficult. So, we found the majority of these clips on YouTube because they were free to download and use. Other sound effects we used are ambulance sirens, dramatic piano music, and static.

https://youtu.be/Y62EgHvwa8k
https://youtu.be/b_96Okd3FTI
https://youtu.be/337A0Alo8UQ

In addition, all of our other sounds include within our first draft were either diegetic dialogue or re-recorded, dubbed over. For example, when Jenny was knocking at the door, the sound was added in afterwards, yet Sophie blew out the candle when I was recording.

Our trailers music has taken inspiration from our 'The Girl on the Train' research as it builds up then suddenly stops which creates a chilling atmosphere.

We want to achieve rhythmic editing throughout so we will ensure that each clips lines up with the music build ups. This requires syncing the editing pace with the beats of the soundtrack. Also, this is a common convention within the psychological thriller genre as it builds tension.

Sunday 24 December 2017

Draft Two Feedback

When reviewing our trailer we noticed that there is an error in one of the shots. I can be seen in the reflection of one of the windows. Within our next draft we will make sure there are no mistakes like this. To fix the reflection error, Zoe cropped the shots framing so I was not to be seen. Also, we are going to add a main track that runs throughout the trailer, and more sound effects to the next draft. This draft was to focus on the visuals, our next draft will have complete accurate sound.

In order to make our third draft we will respond to the feedback we got from draft two. The feedback was to;
  • Add visual effects to the trailer
  • Intersperse shorter clips with longer ones
  • Ensure the focal points are clear
One comment we received was that the visuals made the audience feel claustrophobic due to all of the close up shots. For this project we believe that this comment is positive as our intention is to make the audience feel uncomfortable. Also, within trailers we have researched close ups are a common convention as it conveys the genre successfully.