Friday, 23 February 2018

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


Below is the YouTube link to my question 1 response:


In case my speech is too fast or unclear, my transcript can be found below:

Trailer
The trailer uses conventions of real horror trailers because my research of the camera work, mise-en-scene, editing and sound enabled me to identify and understand them.


The trailer’s camera work is conventional of real horror film trailers because we start the trailer with an establishing shot of the group of friends walking in the forest. This portrays how they are in an isolated location which instantly creates suspicion of horror. We used close up shots throughout the trailer when showing facial expressions to give the audience a clear view of the characters’ emotion and create a close connection with them. We included long shots to show the surrounding of the character in the frame to help establish the scene. We also included point of view shots to make the audience feel as though they are seeing parts in real life as though they are part of the horror. We used the camera movement of tilts to slowly reveal parts of the scene so the audience can follow the movement themselves and feel part of the action. For example when Sylvia opens the door to find the parcel, the camera is over her shoulder and tilts down to the ground where the parcel is. This allows the audience to see what Sylvia sees at the same time making them feel part of the horror as well as building up tense by slowly revealing what is on the ground and the cause of the unexpected knock at the door. 
The trailer’s mise-en-scene is conventional to real horror trailers because typical settings are in isolated places or homely locations, both of which we included; we have scenes set in a forest, at home and at school. At home and school make it relatable to the audience which can enhance the horror by making them feel vulnerable themselves inflicting the idea that they could experience similar situations. The costumes used were basic clothing for the ordinary characters and then a white dress for the ghostly figure of Chelsie which is typical of horror films connoting the supernatural theme. The facial expressions vary throughout the trailer from basic every day expressions during ordinary events to fearful and frightened during the events of suspense and horror. We used a range of props that suggest horror like the Ouija board, animal organs and fake blood. The necklace belonging to Chelsie was used at the start as the source of horror.  Throughout the trailer we used a range of lighting of natural, low-key dark and shadowy. This helps create a spooky atmosphere because the darkness restricts what the audience can see and the shadows created an unnerving atmosphere. We used a strobe light to create the flashing effect within the intense scenes.
The ending of the trailer is conventional to real horror film trailers because the length of cuts decreases to create a faster pace. The length of cuts varies throughout the trailer; the beginning of the trailer has longer shots with fewer cuts because there is a calmer pace to establish the equilibrium. Then as the trailer progresses the length of cuts decreases to become shorter cuts with a faster pace of editing during the scenes of intense action. This creates short glimpses of what is going on to excite the audience by creating enigma leaving them with unanswered questions. Furthermore the audience only get to preview small parts of the film that intend to entice them into watching the entire film. This prevents them from seeing too much of the footage that it is too repetitive when watching the whole film. The editing of the trailer is conventional because we used varied length of cuts, and transitions of fade-out and fade-in from black. We used fade-out to black when the pace was slower, and straight cuts when we wanted the pace to be quick and intense. is commonly used, which we used in our trailer when the pace is slower, and straight cuts when we wanted the pace to be quick and intense.
The trailer includes sounds over the video footage to enhance the viewers’ experience. We layered sounds over the score to match certain actions to fit with the visuals; such as the knocking at the door and the running tap water. The combinations of sounds create a more dramatic atmosphere that excites the audience in addition to creating a chaotic atmosphere that disorientates the audience. Sounds that are unusual with a deep tempo are used with scenes of the villain Chelsie to convey her character. All of which are conventional of horror film trailers. This helps set the scene and pace of the trailer in addition to creating chaos to make the audience feel uneasy. We included variations in the tempo of music and pitch to disorientate the audience as again this is a conventional feature of horror film trailers. In addition, we included stings at parts of the trailer to signify events, such as the revealing the necklace in the bath, to make the audience fearful. We included more sound effects to build up tension and drama to create chaos for the intense action to further disorientate the audience to make them feel anxious and apprehensive.

Poster
My poster uses conventions of real media posters because the title of the film is made the largest so that it is the most noticeable. I have located it towards the bottom of the page, underneath Chelsie’s face because typically audience read from top to bottom and so the audience will see Chelsie’s expression first and then see the film title. This should enable them to visualise the image and establish that it is a horror film and then remember the film title so that they can find out more about the film. The tagline is underneath the title in a smaller font so that it complements the title but does not take attention away from it. Likewise with the release date, it is made clear by being in a simplistic font of a suitable size that is noticeable yet does not take away the main focus on the film title or poster image. The production company is made small so that it is credited but does not take up much of the poster, similarly with the credit block which are is found at the bottom of the poster. It is common for movie posters to have the credit block at the bottom of the poster in the smallest font of the entire poster because it gives credit to those involved yet does not take away focus from the main features like the title and image. All of the text elements are located centrally in the bottom rule of third segments so that the audience remember the key information like the film title and release date.
Homepage
My homepage follows the conventions of real horror homepages because the navigation bar is at the top of the page and is on all pages because this is common on existing sites and so makes it easy for the audience to navigate around as this is what they would expect to have on a website. I have included sound to enhance the horror experience as well as multimedia and social media links. Including the social media links for Facebook, Instagram and Twitter enables the audience to connect with the film by following posts and updates. This creates a buzz among them which helps build up interest and excitement among the audience. I chose these links because these particular social media sites are commonly used by the target audience and so it should reach a broader range of viewers that can have insight into the film that is likely to help sell it. This is particularly important for independent filmmakers like us who do not have an existing reputation that audiences are familiar with. Producers that have a well-built and familiar reputation are likely to have people watch new films they produce because they like previous products the producers have made. The credit block is found at the bottom of the page to give credit to those involved, like on the poster.
However my homepage challenges real media homepages because most horror film websites do not have reviews around the main image on the homepage, however I felt that this worked well for my page because the website is based upon a new producer and new film and so it is unfamiliar among audiences. This should then help to sell the film to audiences because they can be used as a form of persuasion because the casting and institutional information are not likely to manage this having been an independent film producer with unknown actors and actresses. Having reviews from film critics and film festivals informs the audience that the film has some interest to gain reviews and feedback from these specialists giving the impression that it will be worth watching. The review “Extraordinary debut film” makes it clear that the film is a debut and immediately notifies the audience that it is new. Including the adjective ‘extraordinary’ highlights how the film is remarkable and different which can help sell the film to audiences. So that I could incorporate multimedia on my homepage I animated the reviews to create some moving features alongside the soundtrack, main image, hyperlinks and trailer video.



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