Activity Four - Media Technology Used

How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Camera:Nikon D3200

We used this to film and capture all our shots within and behind the scenes of our trailer. We used this because it provided us with a high defined picture, which would make our production even more professional. This camera also has its benefits as it has many features which aided us to producing 'Betrayal'. Firstly, this camera allowed us to alter the exposure, which made our duration of filming easier as it allowed us to ensure all the lighting was the same within all shots. This meant that we didn't have to continuously return to film, therefore avoid time wasting. Another benefit to using this camera was that it had adjustable and changeable lens, which ensured consistently high resolution within different shots; as if we used the same lens for all shots it would mean that extreme close up would be blurry and not as clear. Also the Nikon D3200 is also a manual camera which means we can change the featrues to suit what we want to portray. For example we can manually

change the focus, colour saturation, exposure and attach flashes and lens to it, enabling us to capture the best shot possible. For example when the protagonist is in the foreground of the shot, blurred within the background is the antagonist. This camera also allows us to attach a tripod to the base of it so we can produce a steady and stable shot, therefore would not disrupt the continuity of the trailer. This camera also allowed us to take picture of which was perfect during the research and planning stages of this process. This is because it allowed us to take pictures of different locations and angles, so we could compare and decide which locations and shots we should use for the final production. The final advantage of using this camera was that it is lightweight, therefore easy to transport and carry. This provided us with the ability to vary our shots, for high to low, as it was easy to transport.

Computer Software- iMovie and Adobe Premiere Elements 10

At the beginning of the editing stage, we used Adobe Premiere elements 10, which we used to cut each shot to desired duration. However, collectively as a group, we decided not to use this software for further use, This is because we felt that from our AS year, iMovie was more beneficial to use as we know everything about how to use it, so therefore what would make our final production effective. This would mean that editng would not be as time consuming as if we used Premiere Elements. There are many features on this software which made our production what it is, for

example, the discrete non diegetic sound effects was part of this software. This software also alloowed us to create our own institutions so it wouls make our trailer appear professional and allowed us to show our creative abilities. In comparison with our peers, they found it difficult to produce their own as they were restriected ones they had to choose from, therefore some didn't suit their genre. However, this was not a problem for our team as we were able to design our institution the way we desired. This therefore made our trailer increasingly more professional.

Other cross platform software such as 'YouTube', allowed us to broadcast our trailer to the whole world. This software means that it would increase the popularity of our film and therefore increase our target audience. 

Activity Three - Feedback From Peers

This is our audience feedback for our trailer 'Betrayal'. This is a vital process which occurs, so we know what our audience liked, didn't like and therefore improve upon. We asked our peers to watch our trailer and inform us the strengths aspects present within our production and what we could improve on, so it would be even more professional and successful. From this process we were given many positives, which gives us confidence of what we produced. A few positives were:
-The use of sounds creates an atmospheric situation of the correct genre, horror. Therefore indugling the audience within our trailer
-The use of various of sounds, e.g the hip hop music at the beginning, would draw in the younger audience of our large target audience.
-The use of conventions were used well, instantly telling the audience it is a horror trailer.
-The variety of shots and fast paced editing creates a sense of mystery and suspense. Having the whole trailer build up to face pace editing was effctive and it created tension.

Although we have had many positives, we have also had a few negatives, in which we hope to improve on within the future. The negatives consisted of:
- A consistent appearance of characters throughout trailer. Some characters were only seen in the beginning of the trailer, could cause confusion of the importance of those characters or give certain events away, for example; audience could think they are dead.
-Could use even more camera shots, varying the juxaposition of them
-Could of drawn out the sounds more to make it flow better.

From this feedback we can pinpoint the few mistakes and weaknesses of our porduction, allowing us the ability to improve them. This would continuously aid us to develop our skills of film-making, which will be vital for our future we wish to take.

Activity Two - Commentary

This is a running commentary of our trailer 'Betrayal'. This is to show our self analysis of our production, on why we chose certain shots and the effectiveness of different aspects within it; mise en scene, camera shots, lighting...

Evaluation Activity One - Screenshots Of Final Piece

Title of our film - For our title, we decided to use a medium camera shot as we wanted to include our antagonist and location in the title to hint to the audience more about the plot. We also liked the unique idea of flashing our it with an 'inverted' effect quickly and suddenly to make the audience feel alert; building up their adrenaline for the final shot. The text was placed on the right hand side of the screen as we felt this is the area where it contrasted best against the white as the clip flashed, we also decided to put it here because it is metaphorically representing the distorted events that happen in the film. We found this shot effective as the title looks like the trees in the background so the theme is consistent.

Costumes and Props - We wanted our antagonists costumes to be simple and easy looking to achieve, this makes the audience feel on edge because it shows that anyone could be the one causing the haunting events. The masks and hoodies hide the identity of the characters creating more enigmas which leads to the audience wanting to see the entire movie to answer their questions. Our main antagonist has been put into a different mask to the other two characters, the darker coloured hoodie and mask, is meant to show that this particular antagonist is more evil and mind controlling to the other two, as the colour black connotes a more sinister character whereas the grey hoodie and white mask represents the opposite; as though the other two antagonists were possessed to act this way in the film by the main person. This shows there is still some innocence in these two antagonists even though they're committing crimes, leaving the audience to wonder. You can also see from this medium shot, the main antagonist is being followed by the other two, showing his/her dominance. 
The protagonists were put into casual outdoor clothing, this is to show their relation to the audience as they will most likely be working/middle class. The blonde hair and pink scarf will show the innocence of the characters, allowing the audience to know that they are the protagonists and will be victim to the events of the film.

Setting/location - We decided to locate our film in a woods because of the repetitive surroundings wherever you go, leaving the idea of you feeling lost and trapped. This would leave an effect on the audience as they would all be experienced with what a forest is even if they've never been inside one; horror movies such as The Blair Which Project would give them the idea that woods are more of a negative setting choice when it comes to horror films. The way in which the trees covered the sunlight made the clips atmospheric and haunting, so we tried to film later in the day to ensure the sun was lower behind the trees. The idea of the forest was also meant to be use of mundane realism as many people that live in the suburban area or country side will most likely live near a forest, leaving more of an effect on them as they can relate and see the forest they live near as the one in the film. 

How Characters are Introduced - We decided to introduce our characters with the stereotypical idea that all teenagers have an attitude and are selfish. The clip we included of the car playing the loud music shows that the people inside must be young, as the music is created for the teen audience. The conventions of teenagers in horror films shows them as annoying kids that don't have any morals, which means the most annoying one usually dies first, leaving less sympathy for him as he isn't as likable compared to the characters that will make it through the movie. 
We introduced our antagonists by dragging an ax along the floor, causing a grating sound, this will create enigmas for the audience as they still wont be completely sure what genre this movie is as this is the first piece of evidence to them that it is a horror. It also creates an enigma on who this person will be, are they part of the friendship group? Do they know the girls?

Genre of Film - By this part of the trailer (final shot) the audience will most likely understand that the genre of this film is horror, in case they haven't we decided to add this final shot as a conclusion of suspense in which we built up through out the trailer. The close up shot of the young girl hides her surroundings creating an enigma, which already makes the audience scared to see whats going to happen as the suspense and unknown is a convention of horror and usually happens just before the jump. The sounds we used are also responsible for this buildup, as we echoed the sound of the lighter flickering in the first couple of seconds, then as the girl gets grabbed by her mouth a loud bang echoes through the end of the shot, leaving a lasting effect on our audience. All of these effects and techniques get the audience to know the genre of the film. 

Camera work and Editing - We decided to do a variety of different shots at different camera angle and views during our fast paste editing, this was to quickly give snippets of our film without giving too much away; we still made sure that the roles of the antagonists and protagonists was clear. In this screen grab, we used an over the shoulder shot to show the antagonist running towards the person in the girl while holding an ax, the aim of this was to put the audience in this persons point of view and to feel the same fear and adrenaline in which this character would feel. Each fast paste shot fades in and then out to the next one lasting only a couple of seconds each, this is to create enigmas on what happens in each shot to the characters, such as this car shot. As the audience, we don't know what happens when the antagonist gets to the car as we used a faded transition just before we would know, leaving the audience wondering and wanting to see the film to answer these questions.

For this shot, we used a low angle to show the power that the antagonists have in this movie, by using a low angled shot it shows the dominance they have over the antagonists making them stronger characters. We slightly increased the exposure on this shot to show a contrast between the darkness of the trees and then pale sky in the background. This bold background means we all of our attention goes on the movements of the foreground, as we wanted to show the how sinister the location of the film is. The diegetic sound was taken out of this clip so the audience could only hear the non diegetic sound of the heartbeat and dreary music in the background. These sound effect will build up tension more than the diegetic sound of the ax hitting what it will be hitting. 

Our Final Piece - Trailer

This is our final edition of our trailer, 'Betrayal'. 

Audience Theory Evaluation

Our movie trailer for 'Betrayal' conforms to many of the theories in which argue for the main conventions of horror.

Gratifications Theory

Blumler and Katz theory (1970's) links to our trailer as it explains how we use films for different reasons: To be informed, to escape from reality, for entertainment, for social interaction and to identify with characters and situations. In our case, Betrayal would be a way to entertain because of the target audience we have focused around (15-25 year olds). This age group enjoy the adrenaline of being scared (in particular, males) which means watching a horror would be watched for the entertainment values. Female audience members would watch is for the identification of characters as well as entertainment because we have used girls as our protagonists and antagonists, making them feel as though they can relate a lot more to the relationships between the friendship group.

Male Gaze
Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory argues that women are used in media texts to make the male audience happy, as we only used female characters her view appeals to us.Most of our female characters are blonde which shows their weaker side because the 'damsel in distress' is commonly known as a young blonde female in which needs a strong, dominant male to protect them from danger. 

The hypodermic Needle Theory
This theory suggests that media text injects messages straight into the passive audience. Horror films are rated 18+ because those messages are deemed too frightening for the younger audience, for example, The Human Centipede would be considered too disturbing for the younger ages because of the graphic themes. This means the audience is seen as a passive mass who will immediately accept the presented version of events. This links to our film as we show a group of friends in the woods which is mundane realism as this is a regular thing to do that the people watching can relate to. But the events in our film is what this theory relates to because the genre isn't suitable for ages younger than 15 due to the plot; the audience would instantly know its a negative story.

WMJC Productions Presents our final poster - 'Betrayal'

We decided to go with this photo as we like the simplicity of it and how that made it very effective. When we first started to create our film we thought that the main mask we would use was going to be gas mask because generally they are very effective in horror films, but we enjoyed working with the white hockey mask more and therefore chose it for the film poster. The colour of mask is what we thought was most effective; light bounced off and reflected on it which meant that it caught shadows. The main reason we used this photo was because we liked how the camera only grabbed the light of half the mask leaving us with a striking eye looking straight at us but also with the other eye in the dark making the character look even creepier. We took this photo at night time which meant for this photo especially we didn't have to do much editing because we could use the dark lighting to our advantage at the time. This meant that we only really had to make the background a little dark but also fade out the jumper of the antagonist. We chose to keep the numbers on the jumper on display because they looked a bit like a concentration camp identity badge which we thought would give off enigmas to the audience. Who is this person? Where are they from? and What are they doing here?  if you look closely you can see that around the mask there seems to a ring of light, this made it look like there was a light shining just on the mask. The blood stains on the mask make it clear to the audience that this is a horror film and that killing or abuse is shown in the film.

The font we used for the title of our film is called 'Ring bearer’. We used this font because it was simple yet is still showed a hint of the stereotypical horror film font with the pieces of the letters being left out, this gave the font a distressed look. We chose the font to be white because it stands out against the black background but also matches the colour of the mask. Having a light text also means that the distressed look stands out more. We chose to have the title at the bottom of the poster because we had a lot of spare space that we needed to fill but it also meant that we were able to have it larger and more central making it stands out even more. We didn't want to go down the really stereotypical path of using a lot of red because it has started to become a bit tacky, however we used it for our slogan and for the release date but made it a very deep red rather than bright. The slogan we made up is quite evil sounding so the colour red works well with it because it the colour of the devil. We also used it on the release date because we chose to have a that in a small font but the red means that it stands out enough for the audience to notice when the film is coming out. Friday 13th is also very well known to be used in or for horror films because its supposedly an unlucky day and therefore the colour red connotes blood, fear and danger. We chose to have the slogan, release date and actor names in a very similar font to our title font because we didn't want to make it to complicated and busy.

WMJC Productions Presents our final magazine cover

This is the magazine cover that we all created together.

  

Main Picture

The picture we chose what taken whilst filming scenes for our trailer, we thought this was a good photo for a magazine cover because it shows one of our main antagonists but also lets the audience get a better idea of what this character is like. The background is of the woods were we filmed, this a great background because it conforms to creepy conventions of a horror movie. We chose to dress our antagonists in dark clothes such as the grey hoodie and black gas mask that you can see in the magazine cover because it will make them blend in more with the surrounding but also hind their identity. What we really liked about this photo is that it subverts the normal choice of photo, most people would choose a picture that is face on with the character looking straight into the audience to make it seem more personal however we thought that our choice of photo went better with the idea that the person is hiding their identity.Choosing our weapon was quite a quick choice because we thought it made the character seem dominant and scary, but it also is a clear indicator to the audience about what genre of film the magazine is promoting.

Font/Puffs

We also went with the grey/dark theme for our text as we didn't want the poster to stand out because of bright colours because this wouldn't suit our genre of film, instead we went for strong bold fonts that will make the cover stand out instead. Although most of our text is in grey/white we used different shades so they would all stand out still, for example our puff is dark grey so we put a light grey font over this so you could still clearly see the text. We would of rather of used a wider variety of dark colours such as black and dark green however the background was too dark for them to be shown clearly enough. We chose to have the 'Empire' placed because our antagonists head because it gives a 3D effect to the cover and make it look like they are coming off the page.We added the glow to the font because it gave a supernatural effect that would work well with the horror genre. We were unable to use our official font that we used in our trailer for "BETRAYAL" so instead we chose one similar enough but also one that was different enough from the other fonts so it stood out the most.

Underneath our title we added some photo's from both of our old opening 2 minutes we thought this would be a great way to incorporate both 2 years of our work but also make it seem like those films are coming out in cinema and the audience can see a sneak peak. Putting the photo's in a film roll lets the audience know that these pictures are from a film.

Essentials

Like all magazines there needs to be a price, bar-code and issue date. We added these using a standard font so it didn't stand out but made the buyers aware. We chose to price the magazine at £3.99 because from our research of film magazines we found that they were quite pricey, so we continued this to make it seem realistic.

Final Costume - Antagonist

These are our final costumes for our antagonists, of which there are three. Two of them consist of the grey hoodie and white mask, and the other consists of a black hoodie and a gas mask. These grey hoodie antagonists, act as the sidekick of the gas mask one, which creates an unnerving atmosphere as it makes them seem as they are a family- a murderous family. The use of the hoodies, creates a vibe that these antagonists could be anyone, which adds to the scare factor, ideal for a horror trailer. We used white masks, to firstly hide their identity so would create enigmas of who they are and why are they doing this. Secondly, we thought within darker shots where lighting is low, this mask would stand out and contrast so would be visible, but would create an image of darkness surrounding evil. On the white masks there is also blood smears and splatters, to illustrate that blood will be shred but from who... 

This is the leader of the antagonists, due to wearing a distinctive gas mask, contrasting from the other antagonists. We chose the gas mask due to seeing a gas mask used repeatedly in actual horror films, therefore we were following the conventions of a horror. During the editing stages we also would darken the eye holes so you could not see anything but darkness for their eyes. This would create a scary atmosphere of which would make the character effective, as these will be the last eyes you see. This mask also hides the identity of the character therefore suggesting it could be anyone behind it. The gas masked antagonist is also wearing a black hoodie, which connotes to death and murder. This connotation was to suggest that this antagonist is the ring leader and the most evil of them all.
So next time you're camping in the woods, you may not be camping on your own...

Final font analysis

We decided very early on the process that we wanted to use a simplistic choice of font. We found that the more simple it was the more sophisticated and grown up it looked. In the 80's a lot of horror films used very detailed and intricate fonts in a bright read to signify blood, now that's it’s become over used it has started to look incredible tacky and cheap looking. Because the film is a mix between horror and thriller it also means that we have to combine ideas from both genres. Although simple is normally portrayed as bold, we have chosen a quite thin text which makes it seem more sophisticated, but so it’s clear what genre of film our trailer is for there is a bit 'wear and tear' making it look scarier. The text is also not completely straight which makes it looks like someone may of wrote it the uneven look could signify the ups and downs in the story. Like I said earlier in the 80's they used red fonts however we have chosen very plain colours, black and white depending on what looks best with the background. Both colours go with anything however one may work better or stand out more than the other. Having the font in capital letters also means it will stand out more and make more of a statement.

Soundtrack Production

To make our soundtrack more unique and special we have decided to create our own music. The sound will be created using a ukulele and will be played by Charlotte C's brother. Making our own sound track comes with both benefits and disadvantages. The benefits mean that we are able to base our music on our plot, but making it also means that we need to right the music but also organised the time to make and edit it. The main reason we want to create our music is so that it works well with the pace of the trailer. This means we are able to finish the trailer without the music then base the music around the pace of the clips on the trailer ,if we hadn't made our own we would find it hard to find music that would match the trailer well. We are planning to make the soundtrack so it has a variation in speeds and pitch's to create tension.

Not only will we have a creepy soundtrack we are also planning to start our trailer with a typical teenage pop song. This music will be played by the protagonists, therefore is diegetic music, and will be put on over clips of the teenagers driving to the common; this will reflect their excitement and eagerness for the days ahead.

The juxtaposition between the two types of music will also put an emphasis on how they were feeling before and what's going to happen to them. It helps to make the trailer more interesting and not bland.

Final font - Producing our final font

Producing our final font

Titles are vital for trailers as help maintain the continuity of the trailer, but also broadcasts the slogan and the title of the film. This means that it is essential for them to be readable and clear so that they contrast from the background and can be read from different distances; close to far. 

The first step into making our font was finding the font we wanted to edit. We did this by using 'Microsoft Word' to find our bold font we wanted to use for our trailer. The font we chose was to use was 'Yu Mincho Light', which provided us with a block bold typeface, which was ideal for what we wanted to do with it. 

The next step we did was to copy and paste the font into 'Paint' which would allow us to add small texture into the font. We did this by adding little cuts in the lettering, by using the 'line tool', which was white, so it would match the colour of the background. This would provide texture within the font, which would create a slight eerie and old effect, connoting that it horror events may occur, therefore following the conventions of a horror film. 

We copied this image into a document in the software called 'Photoshop'. This is basically much more advanced editing software than 'Paint', as it allows you to edit it with fine detail and definition, altering images drastically by the range of advance editing tools. What we did was we used the 'select tool' on which allowed us to individually select letters. This therefore allowed us to stretch the letters to make them thinner and longer, which we thought would make the font look more ideal for a horror. We also smoothed the white gaps we made in 'Paint' as we wanted the font to look professional. As you can see from this picture, the background was white, in which would mean if we placed it onto a shot, there would be a white block background; this would not look professional and would disrupt the continuity of the film trailer. This meant we used the 'Magic Wand Tool', that you can see in image above. This allowed us to remove the background colour, therefore making the background transparent. This meant when we edited the titles onto our trailer you could see the shot behind them, therefore not disrupting the atmosphere of the film trailer.

This is our final font, on which we are using throughout the trailer and on the poster/magazine (due to making the title recognisable). It is black and bold which is ideal for our horror trailer. Having it in capitals furthermore makes it stand out but also emphasises the negativeness of the word 'BETRAYAL'. 

Overall Evaluation of Questionnaire

Evaluation of Questionnaire

The questionnaire was very helpful for us in deciding some critical decisions in the making of our film. For example, it was very useful having the audience views and opinions in what they think would be best for our film. We found out the main people who were answering our questions were between the age group of 15-24. This is good as this is our target audience for our film as we are doing a horror and studies have shown that this particular age group are the one who are most interested in horror film.

Some questions that we asked in the questionnaire was "What do you think the elements of horror should be set - daytime or night time?” the majority of the answers were in the night time.
This was initially very helpful as we were then able to make sure we timed when we went out to film correctly. This is because we were able to make sure we filmed when it was just getting dark, however not too dark that you couldn't see anything. We were also able to use torches to create the right lighting when it got slightly too dark, this meant the lighting that was created showed suspense and tension as you could only see the protagonist or antagonist depending on what the shot was.

Another very successful question that we asked was about the title of our film. We had seven different potential names that we showed them and got them to say which one they thought suited our film best. 'Betrayal' was the most successful title. I think that the reason for this is because the name itself comes across quite creepy and leaves an enigma to the audience before they have even watched it. For example, they do not know who is betraying who and will want to find out. Campsite 31 was another companion however was the least successful. I think this is because it is quite similar   - least amount of votes

Final Soundtrack Research

Soundtrack research

Hoodie Allan - No Interruption

 This was one of the non - copy right music that we found. We found it on YouTube which was helpful as we were able to find a rang of songs easily and able to download them quickly without any trouble.  This was the first track that stood out to us as a group. We like how it is quite Hip-Hop/ pop as this conforms to the stereotypical music that teenagers listen to and makes their age group stand out to the audience. As this song will be playing for the first few seconds in the trailer when the group of friends are in the car driving to their destination, it will allow the audience to link it into their lives as they would most likely of experienced driving in the car with their friends with loud music playing. This will allow it to be more effective towards them when things begin to go wrong as they will see it as themselves. this is mainly because of the link into mundane realism. The music is sound bridged across the three different shots that we are using in our trailer of the car driving and pulling up into the destination of the car park that is in the camping site that they are staying in. 

Soundtrack 2

This is another non - copyright music that we found through YouTube. However, although we liked the music, we didn't think it flowed well in our trailer as it didn't link into the stereotypical conventions of music that teenagers would be listening to in horror films. This therefore meant that if we were to use it, it would mean that the audience wouldn't be able to link their own lives into it as they wouldn't have listened to it as much as the conventional music that we have also looked at. Therefore making it be less effective on the audience which would make the creepy things that happen in the film not be successful as the audience wouldn't feel it the way that the characters in the film would be showing it. However, we did the the fast paste beat that was in the music, the main reason for this is because it would go with the fast driving that would be shown in the trailer as it is teenagers driving with friends in the car. This is one thing that we made sure we looked for when we did further research into finding a soundtrack that suited our trailer and all the conventions that we want to show.

Soundtrack 3

This was the third soundtrack that we found, although it could possibly link into our trailer, we decided to go against it. The main reason for this is because it had no lyrics in the music. This meant it would be harder for the audience to link and put themselves in the characters shoes as they will not be able to compare their own music into the music that they are listening to in the trailer. It also took away the scene that we are trying to create as it makes it seem as if the teenagers will be set in a club when in fact they are driving to a campsite which is completely 

Overall

We decided to choose our first sound track that we found (Hoodie Allan - No Interruption) because we thought it went well with the setting of our trailer and linked well. It also created the right atmosphere that we wanted it to create within the audience which builds on the effect and tension that we want the trailer to further show.

Institution - WMJC Productions

This is our final institution we are using for our theatrical trailer. As you can see we have used a 'Vignette' effect on the out edge of the screen, which creates a eerie daunting atmosphere due to the black shadows created. This makes the institution effective, especially for a film with the genre of horror.

As you can see, from the comparison with our AS level institution, we have changed the image, animation and the name. The name is due to having an additional person who joined MJC Productions', therefore we thought it was only right to add her to the institution. The means that the institution stands for: 'Welsh, Marskell, Jones, Clark Productions'; emphasising how we are a team.

We also changed the image from clouds to icy mountains. This was to make the institution appear more eerie, which would suit a genre of horror more effectively. From our research into trailers, we discovered that horror institution were repeated dark, which is why we changed the image into something which connotes to more danger and eeriness. We also changed the typeface we used, which is due to following conventions of a horror as they usually use bolder and white coloured font. This institution was also made by us, which involved finding the image of the mountains, adding the vignette effect and adding thr animation for the font. This didn't take to long as we used Adobe Premiere to do this section, as it provided us with all the resources needed to achieve this. We added the stars to act like a rating, which we though looked fairly professional. This institution will be within and during a our trailer, so the audience would know who made this trailer and therefore increase popularity of our company and the film.

Final Antagonist Costume

From the first screen shot you can see our three antagonists in a medium shot, the characters are wearing black jeans or leggings as it is a staple piece of clothing making their identity difficult to recognize. As you can see from the image, the middle antagonist is easily spotted as he/she is wearing a different mask to the others, this is to show that there is a leader in the bad things going on in the film. The dark hoodie symbolizes death and mystery creating enigmas because due to the oversize garment it does not reveal the gender or identity. The gas mask 

Institution - WMJC Productions

This is our final institution we are using for our theatrical trailer. As you can see we have  a 'Vignette' effect on the out edge of the screen, which creates a eerie daunting atmosphere due to the black shadows created. This makes the institution effective, especially for a film with the genre of horror.

As you can see, from the comparison with our AS level institution, we have changed the image, animation and the name. The name is due to having an additional person who joined MJC Productions', therefore we thought it was only right to add her to the institution. The means that the institution stands for: 'Welsh, Marskell, Jones, Clark Productions'; emphasising how we are a team.

We also changed the image from clouds to icy mountains. This was to make the institution appear more eerie, which would suit a genre of horror more effectively. From our research into trailers, we discovered that horror institution were repeated dark, which is why we changed the image into something which connotes to more danger and eeriness. We also changed the typeface we used, which is due to following conventions of a horror as they usually use bolder and white coloured font. This institution was also made by us, which involved finding the image of the mountains, adding the vignette effect and adding thr animation for the font. This didn't take to long as we used Adobe Premiere to do this section, as it provided us with all the resources needed to achieve this. We added the stars to act like a rating, which we though looked fairly professional. This institution will be within and during a our trailer, so the audience would know who made this trailer and therefore increase popularity of our company and the film.

Final Costumes - Protagonists

Final Costume- Protagonists

This is the final costumes we decided for our protagonists to wear within our theatrical trailer. As you can see, we chose everyday clothes which would make the protagonists relatable and realistic as this is what people would usually wear when going camping- especially when it's freezing cold!

The uses of the coat connotes to the weather being of a cold climate but also does not reveal what is underneath, which could be important within the film as they could be used to identify each character. The cold climate is also reinforced by the use of scarves and gloves. We also had them carrying props, such as the D of E bags and roll mat, as these are the items which are usually taken when camping.

Our protagonists consist of blondes and brown hair girls, which makes them come across innocent due to them both being females. Having the use of blonde hair automatically makes her seem innocent and needing protection, as this is a stereotypical view of a protagonist within horrors. The use of colours also connotes many things, the use of the white t-shirts connotes to purity and innocence which we want to continuously present as that is the stereotypical view which is portrayed in horror films. Also the use of blue connotes to sadness and despair, therefore suggesting sad events will feature within our film. Red colours would connote to death, love and blood, which could create enigmas due to two opposing connotations; blood and love. However it is the stereotypical colour of which is used within horrors, as well as the colour black, which is also used to connote murder.   Within our trailer there are other protagonist's which all have similar costumes, of everyday camping clothing.

Overall Evaluation of Questionnaire

Evaluation of Questionnaire

The questionnaire was very helpful for us in deciding some critical decisions in the making of our film. For example, it was very useful having the audience views and opinions in what they think would be best for our film. We found out the main people who were answering our questions were between the age group of 15-24. This is good as this is our target audience for our film as we are doing a horror and studies have shown that this particular age group are the one who are most interested in horror film.

Some questions that we asked in the questionnaire was "What do you think the elements of horror should be set - daytime or night time?", the majority of the answers were in the night time.

This was initially very helpful as we were then able to make sure we timed when we went out to film correctly. This is because we were able to make sure we filmed when it was just getting dark, however not too dark that you couldn't see anything. We were also able to use torches to create the right lighting when it got slightly too dark, this meant the lighting that was created showed suspense and tension as you could only see the protagonist or antagonist depending on what the shot was.

Another very successful question that we asked was about the title of our film. We had seven different potential names that we showed them and got them to say which one they thought suited our film best. 'Betrayal' was the most successful title. I think that the reason for this is because the name itself comes across quite creepy and leaves an enigma to the audience before they have even watched it. For example, they do not know who is betraying who and will want to find out. Campsite 31 was another companion however was the least successful. I think this is because it is quite similar  - least amount of votes.

Questionnaire Results - Graphs and Explanations

These questionnaire's gave us an insight and guidance on how to distribute and produce our theatrical trailer. The first graph shows us what age certificate our film should be and what age we should aim our film trailer at. From these results we found that we should aim our trailer at 15 to 24 year old partly due to these results but also to the regulations from the BBFC.

The second graph shows that the horror genre is mainly aimed at males rather than females, however they are similar results. This tells us that we should have an equal amounts that appeal to both gender. This would make our trailer more effective and increase popularity of our film as it creates a wider audience as there would be elements which appeal to both genders. For example, we could have strong masculine characters which appeal to the female audience whereas for the females we could use blood, gore, action (through fast pace editing). These first two questions are very important as it is essential to portray the film to the correct age group successfully.

 The third question is quite a broad question as to what people prefer to see in a horror. 'Jumpy' was the most popular as shown through the results. This tells us that we should have frequent jump and scary parts within the film/ trailer as it would appeal to the audience. This question is fairly weak and not that effective as there are many other options a horror film could be, such as horror thriller, psychological horror etc. However we would be editing scary shots within the film.

The location question provide us with the insight on where we should set our film trailer. The results tells us that we should have the location within the countryside or city. This is due to countrysides being a very hostile secluded area, suggesting there is no escape or help from the horrifying events which could happen to the protagonists. The city location could also be used so that the trailer would show there are different locations within the film. Also people can relate to the city locations as some of the audience would be residence within cities. Also having set a horror film within these location would make the trailer ore scary as the audience would think these events could happen to them. From this research we will be using location similar tot he results as it would make our trailer scary therefore following conventions of a horror trailer but also appealing to our target audience.

The editing question provides us with the information vital for the post production stage. In our minds as media students and from previous research, having a mixture of editing paces makes a horror trailer more frightening and appealing to horror audiences and fans. From our questionnaire results, they support our finding and therefore gives us confidence into using different editing lengths; slow pace editing and fast pace editing.

From these questionnaires the general public had a mixed response on to what is the most important factor within a horror film. The options for this was; locations, actors, characters, music and plot. Plot resulted in the highest meaning that our audience prefers to having a decent story behind the film more than the other factors. This tells us that through our theatrical trailer, we should provide a sense of a good plot to our film. Actors and music came close second which therefore important information we should consider when making our film. Good actors would lead to good characters, which would make the trailer seem professional and more realistic. This reinforces why we interview different people, so we could get an understanding of who they were and if they would fit into our production. The music is another factor we need to consider the music would emphasis the scare factor which are captured within the shots. This means would have to do a lot of research into which music would be suitable for our trailer. Location was the feature which resulted in the lowest, which could be due to the other features being more important. From our horror trailer research we discovered using everyday locations would be ideal for a horror trailer as it would be easier for the target audience to relate too. From this questionnaire, we have decided to use different locations throughout our trailer so that it would be more realistic and suggest that there is plot/story-line to the film. Also during the planning process of making our trailer also agreed that the plot and music would be vital for a successful trailer as the music would create and aid tension to the shots but the plot would entice the audience into watching our production. This questionnaire therefore has aided us into the right direction of what our trailer should consist of and what the audience would like to see.

The general public stated that they would prefer a film to be more realistic than surreal. This could be due to the genre being a horror as, they need to be relatable to provide the scare factor which they set out to achieve. If the trailer was surreal it would mean that the audience wouldn't believe or feel as if it could happen to them, which is the opposite response of what a horror film wants to do. Making our trailer realistic would, firstly attract our target audience (15-24 year old) due to it being relatable, but secondly; due to what we found in our research into horror films as they are all very realistic and could happen to people. From these results we will be ensuring that our trailer is as realistic as possible.

The next question we asked was vital as we wanted to ensure we got the right music for the correct shots but also to keep continuity within the trailer.  From our results we found out that they would prefer mixed pace; slow and fast. This was also our initial thought as it would build adrenaline if we used both. as going from slow deep toned music to a sharp fast tune. This means during our music research we should concentrate on finding fast and slow music which both flow together but also emphasis the scare factor within the shots.

The final question we asked was what name our trailer could be called. From our results 'Silent Scream' and 'Betrayal' were the most popular. These both provide enigmas which would follow the conventions of a horror film which would be ideal. 'Pitch 31' was the least popular, which could be due to connoting a sci fi like genre film. Getting information and feedback from the general public gives us an indication of what they would like to see in a horror, therefore giving us the ability to provide it as best we can.

Video Diary three

Soundtrack

To make our soundtrack more unique and special we have decided to create our own music. The sound will be created using a ukulele and will be played by Charlotte C's brother. Making our own sound track comes with both benefits and disadvantages. The benefits mean that we are able to base our music on our plot, but making it also means that we need to right the music but also organised the time to make and edit it. The main reason we want to create our music is so that it works well with the pace of the trailer. This means we are able to finish the trailer without the music then base the music around the pace of the clips on the trailer ,if we hadn't made our own we would find it hard to find music that would match the trailer well. We are planning to make the soundtrack so it has a variation in speeds and pitch's to create tension.

Not only will we have a creepy soundtrack we are also planning to start our trailer with a typical teenage pop song. This music will be played by the protagonists ,therefore is diegetic music, and will be put on over clips of the teenagers driving to  the common, this will reflect their excitement and eagerness for the days ahead.

The juxtaposition between the two type of music will also put an emphasis on how they were feeling before and what's going to happen to them. It help to make the trailer more interesting and not bland.

Scream Sound Effects

For our theatrical trailer we need music, diegetic and non-diegetic music which compliments what we capture within our shots. This means we have to research into the soundtrack in lots of depth as we don't want music which takes the audience away from the trailer, we want them to lose themselves when watching this. This blog is about finding the right scream for our trailer, so we have an idea of what scream we can produce when making our own music. 

Scream #1

This scream was the first one I researched. This could be ideal for our horror film trailer as it can be edited in during our fast pace editing as it would reinforce the tension filled horrifying atmosphere we want to create at the end of the trailer. This scream is powerful and emphasizes how frightened or in pain she is due to the strain of her voice. This tells me when producing our diegetic music, if we use a scream it should have feeling within it, so it would make the trailer seem realistic, therefore the audience actually believe this could happen to them. 

Scream #2

This is scream 2 which is a group of children screaming. This would not be ideal for our trailer as it comes across tacky and more suitable for a comedy. However, it may have been suitable for a demonic horror film as if the pitch and the tones were altered into a higher pitch it would create an unnerving noise, which does not sound human. We could create something similar to this, by using older voices which would provide us a deeper tone, as they are young adults. However, due to the plot we have for our trailer this is not suitable for our trailer, therefore we would not produce something like this. 

Scream #3

This scream is very effective due to the scream building up in power and anger. This creates many images, such as, him realising the pain he's in or it could come across as if he is going mad. This scream may be good within the fast pace editing at the end of the trailer as when the shots increase in speed, this scream can be editing over, revealing the last shot of him finally screaming. Due to the effectiveness of this scream we may create one similar to include within our production. 

Scream #4

This is one of the most effective screams I found during researching scream sound effects. This is effective because there is an undertone of a squelching of what we presume to be is flesh which would be ideal for our trailer as it is a horror therefore following the conventions of this genre. This tells me when we are producing sound effects for the diegetic music; we should involve more than one effect. 

Animated Titles - Drafts

Titles within trailers would have to suit the film's genre as they should not affect the continuity of the trailer. This explains why we experimented with different titles and transitions on how it is shown on screen, so we can avoid disrupting the atmosphere we create during the theatrical trailer. 

Title One -  We created all the titles on IMovie as we felt it had the right effects and tools to create a title we would be satisfied with. Our first idea is to incorporate the settings and location of the movie with the titles so the theme is consistent, by cropping one of photographs we took when creating the shoot for our poster, it left us with a sinister background that was good to experiment and work with. We then changed the this image to black and white by double clicking on the shot and adjusting the saturation to -100%. We then added our title on top with our chosen font; the title stands out well against the white cracks between the trees but is still camouflaged against the trees. To make the entire word stand out we decided to make the background image blurred. We then added the sound effects of the gas mask and the sound of a broken TV. The end transition we used is fading to black as it leaves an effect on the audience but also finishes the trailer in a conclusive way.

Title Two - This second edit was more complicated to achieve as we decided to incorporate one of our favourite shots of the less dominant antagonists. The reason we didn’t use our main antagonist (gasmask) is so we could hide his/her identity to create enigmas on who they are, allowing the audience to question the characters and plot. The natural lighting takes away the tension from the shot as it is idyllic; however we have edited it to invert the colours to increase fear. We only used this effect for seconds at a time to create a flashing effect; this also allows the title to stand out as we didn’t show the text in the whole clip. We decided to create the flashes increase the tension as it links into pathetic fallacy as it connotes the shock of a lightning strike. We used the same sound effects for each title ending as it relates to our theme of the gas mask and hints the main antagonist without actually showing him/her on screen.

Title Three - Edit three is effective because of the simplistic visuals which makes the sounds more noticeable, creating a more lasting effect on the audience. Again we used the same sounds as the other two titles because we feel they link best with our theme. To create this title we first made the background black with no image which connotes mystery and the unknown. We then decided to make the font white as it stands out against the black and also connotes the slight innocence we see in the trailer of the protagonists. The transition of the text links to one of the sounds (the static TV) as they both show the bad communication between where the movie is located and the "outside world" because it is known that there is never any good connection when you're located in a forest especially in a horror movie. The text also zooms forward towards the audience slowly, this is to create suspense even when the trailer is over.  

Target Audience - Profiling and Stereotyping

Who would be the target audience for our media product?

Our trailer is a horror therefore we are aiming to attract teenagers and young adults, from the age of 15 to around 25 years. Having a minimum age of 15 years old allows a broad audience as if we had certificate of 18, it would exclude a large proportion of the audience for our film, which would decrease the popularity of it. This therefore means more profit for the film when our trailer is distributed. This age group stereotypically are obsessed with phones and electronic gadgets, therefore in media terminology they use hard wares with multi-platform devices. This means that the marketing campaign can target them easier as they can post trailers  and other types of advertisement of our film, on social networks and websites, such as 'Facebook', 'Twitter' and 'Instagram'. This would make our advertisement and distribution for our film through our trailer easily accessible for our target audience, therefore attracting them to watching the film.

The type of audience we will be attracting will be into a range of things. Stereotypically, they would be interested in shopping; shops such as, Topshop, Topman, River Island, Urban Outfitters, and 'Footlocker'. These are all popular shops within this age group that we are aiming for, this shows that they like to try and follow the general trends and the 'fashionable' clothes. This shows that the people that show here could be considered to conform to the majority influences which would mean that if, their friends see our horror trailer they would tell their other friends that they want to go, therefore spreading the popularity of the film. This is creates a 'Echo chamber effect'.

From research we have found out that our target audience has  range of favourite music; rock, pop, R&B. Stereotypically, the 'pop' genre of music is the more favourable within our target audience as this type of music is played non-stop on well known and famous radio stations, such as; 'Capital' and 'Kiss'. Although they do play a range of music, pop, house and occassionally rock music such as kings of Leon, pop is still the favoured genre. As our target audience listens to a range of music gneres it means we have a vast amount of soundtracks and music to choose from, to make our trailer easy to relate to and to attract a wide audience. However, as we are producing a trailer, hip hop, pop and rock music do not really apply; unless we go for the unnerving happy music approach, which the trailer 'You're Next' did, as they use a music track which contrast from the scenes on screen, automatically creating unnerving atmosphere.

The TV programmes that we would expect our target audience to be interested in would be series like; 'Breaking Bad', 'The Walking Dead', 'Friends'. This is because these programmes have amazing storylines, realistic make up, and unexpected cliffhangers and plot twists. Therefore it is a place for our target audience to escape from their everyday lives and to relax, as they allow them to relieve some stress, which they would have as they will be going through either GCSE's, A-levels or even University. Another programme they might watch is 'Ghost Hunters'. This is because it links and reflects into our genre 'horror' due to the supernatural elements as they are hunting down ghosts and visiting abandoned houses. This programme would therefore increase the audience's adrenaline, which hopefully our trailer will achieve as well.

The films our target audience would be interested in would be 'Insideous', 'Sinister', 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' and some may be into the old classics like 'The Shining' and 'The Birds'. This is because, firstly the age rating for these are within our target age; but secondly our target audience would have a love or like the horror genre. Horror genre films are known for the creepy and frightening aspects, which they cause, which would make the audience feel scared and horrifying. Having these features within our trailer, therefore, would appeal to our target audience. Also they would like films such as romance and actions, which have characters which are very relatable to. This tells me that we should make our protagonists relatable as it would make the audience want to watch the film, after seeing our trailer. This would furthermore able them to link into the characters' situation.

After researching numerous settings, we decided we wanted to set out trailer mainly within a rural setting. This is because we though it would create an eerie unnerving atmosphere which is a convention which are vital for horrors. It is very conventional having chosen a rural setting as typically, horror films use these locations, in order to make the audience relate to it. The setting of woods or forests have numerous narrow winding paths, which link to alleyways, which people find very creepy and daunting when in the dark. We decided to not jeopardize our production by going for a non conventional location  as we thought that our target audience would find it more terrifying if our trailer is set in an everyday place. We wanted to appeal to a broad audience, therefore within the ages of 15-25/30 or anyone who is deeply passionate about horrors. Through this research, it has told me we need to make our trailer relatable to our audiences' liking, as it would therefore, attract a broad audience, making our production symbolic and outstanding.