A2 MEDIA STUDIES

ADVANCED PORTFOLIO

RESEARCH & PLANNING

CENTRE NO: 11049

ST FRANCIS XAVIER COLLEGE

My name is: Michael Makinde

Candidate No:1413

My main portfolio project is:My main portfolio project is:A Film TrailerA Film Trailer

with 2 ancillary projects:with 2 ancillary projects:Film Magazine CoverFilm Magazine Cover

Film PosterFilm Poster

The genre(s) of my main project is:

• Urban Horror

• The title is ‘Retribution’

• The target audience are Teenagers 18 -19 from the urban background

So I have researched as follows:• Model 1 • Model 2

What I learned from this was…..

• I learnt about the speed of trailers especially of this genre (horror)as it would need to have an effect on the audience. I also learnt about the narrative story’s or plots that these films have and how it is used to persuade the target audience in a film trailer. The trailer also follows a narrative structure. This film taught me about the villains which are used in this genre and how they have an effect on the rest of the characters in the film as well as the audience

• On this one I learnt more about the mise en scene of films from the genre of horror and what iconic elements can represent the genre, especially things that go on at night time. What I also gained from this was the sounds used in this and how selective sounds are often used to reinforce the feelings onto the audience such as crashes and bangs. Also common conventions of horror movies which I found out through research such as doors opening supernaturally or people appearing from nowhere etc.

For my main project….

• the target audience are teenagers 18-19:

• I believe that teenagers are a main audience for horror films as they are the most likeliest generation to be attracted to the fright and excitement of horror films and as they are the most social they can watch it with many others because people don’t really watch horror films by themselves. I also chose this because this is the age where people would go to the cinema with their girlfriend or partner and use the film as a way of getting closer to their partner. Also I used the sub genre of urban horror as a way of appealing to my audience even more.

Target Audience

• Their characteristics are:

• Young• Rebels• Sociable• Excited• Friendly• Rude

What I learned from audience feedback about planning my main task

From audience feedback about planning my main task I learnt a lot. One thing I learnt was that in a trailer people want to see something that makes them jump out a chair or something that will leave a memory in their head. So basically they said that even if I follow all the common conventions of a horror movie with some elements of urban in it, it wouldn’t mean a thing if I didn’t make it as effective unto the audience by changing their mood or making them feel a certain way. Also audience feedback said that my sound shouldn’t be secondary when making the final product but I should treat them all as if they were on the same level because sound could have a bigger effect or even same effect on the audience rather than just imagery.

Here are 4 original photographs for the newspaper or storyboard……

I modified each photograph; here is the original next to the final version:

• Raw 1 • Final 1

• I changed the photograph by adding a more tint affect to it and a more darker mood so I was able to have a more effect on my audience due to the genre of it

And the second one:

• Raw 2 • Final 2

• Like the previous picture I tinted it again so I would be able to have more of an effect on the target audience through my genre

And the third one:

• Raw 3 • Final 3

• Like the previous images I tinted this picture again so I would be able to have a more effective horror film trailer

And the last one:

• Raw 4 • Final 4

• I again tinted the image to darken the mood of the scenery in order to have an effect on my audience

What I learned from audience feedback about my main task

For my main task I learnt from audience feedback about things such as the speed of my trailer which I was already aware of but for some reason I did not incorporate it into my trailer. I also learnt that the narrative storyline was not clear to everybody as some people would get it but it probably takes more than common sense to get it or you would probably have to watch it more than once or twice to get the storyline which is not good for a film trailer as the audience should want to watch it from the get –go but if they don’t get it they wont be attracted. Another thing I learnt from audience feedback is that even though I’ve got a variety of shots and shot sizes it is sometimes better to keep the cats to a minimum as the audience can easily get very confused as they are seeing so many people within a minute.

Professional Model 1 for Ancillary 1

From this model I have learnt about how the mise en scene of a magazine cover is important as it suggests the scenery of the film even though it might not feature in the film. For example the mise en scene of this magazine cover just represents the storyline and will suggest that film may not be set in the dark but has a darkened mood to it or a cold mood which is represented by the snow. I have also learnt that if the main image contains something then we can easily identify what type of person or character they are

Professional Model 2 for Ancillary 1

In this model I have learnt about the main images or should I say characters. The main images have an effect on the actual magazine as they can tell the audience a little bit about what will go on in the film. For example in the model on the left you can tell there is conflict between some of the characters without even having to watch the trailer or anything so I learnt that even from a still image you can tell a lot about a film.

This is my ancillary task 1This appeals to my target audience through the use of the images used as the characters in the images can be identified with the audience and therefore appeal to them more. What can also appeal to my target audience is the fact that there is something free inside and this is used as an incentive for my audience to read the magazine. A lot of young people or teenagers nowadays like doing things or getting things that are free as a lot of things nowadays you have to pay for.

This is how key concepts link main task and ancillary task 1

• Narrative: The revenge narrative is visible throughout my products as the facial expressions of characters who appear in my products show the anger within them like they are after someone.

• Genre: Being able to identify my genre in all 3 products is easy as all contain props or images which are heavily related to the genre such as a knife, a mask, a killing etc.

What I learned from audience feedback about ancillary task 1

From audience feedback from my magazine I learnt that images and text have a huge impact on the target audience. Also that a full or packed magazine cover is better than none.

Professional Model 1 for Ancillary 2

Here in this model I learnt about the mise en scene of the film poster and how there doesn’t need to be a huge amount of pictures to attract the audience depending on the audience. It seems as though this poster used the genre to attract the audience as seeing the main image on the poster is enough to enforce the horror genre. Also the mise en scene suggests that the location is going to appear in the film and is going to be a central point which is why the main figure is stood in the middle.

Professional Model 2 for Ancillary 2

• I have learnt that institutions or films would try to represent their target audience as much as possible on a film poster through the use of costume, props, facial expressions. They also try to represent the genre by colours used and the mise en scene of the poster also.

This is my ancillary project 2

This film poster appeals to my target audience through the use of the images as they would be able to identify with them. Also the mise en scene of the poster where you can see a block behind suggests the urban part of my sub genre.

This is how key concepts link main task, ancillary tasks 1 and 2

• Narrative: The revenge narrative is visible throughout my products as the facial expressions of characters who appear in my products show the anger within them like they are after someone.

• Genre: Being able to identify my genre in all 3 products is easy as all contain props or images which are heavily related to the genre such as a knife, a mask, a killing etc.

What I learned from audience feedback about ancillary task 2

From the audience feedback of this part of the ancillary product I learnt that colours contributes a lot more to a product as it gives the audience a sense of what it represents. For example a red background with the appropriate images will give the audience a sense of danger.

Changes made in the re-draft of main task

Change I made when redrafting my main task were things such as the title sequence. Audience feedback caused me to change the title sequences as they were not as effective as they could have been. I did this by making my title sequence more animated and representing my genre more through it.

I also sped up the shots by shortening the clips even though it was still not as fast enough as professional trailers.

Changes made in the re-draft of ancillary task 1

In the magazine I changed the background colour of the magazine as I wanted to represent my genre more. I changed it from orange to blue to black which I thought was a good colour as it can connote darkness or evilness.

I also changed my main image as my first brief audience feedback said that the original image which I had originally didn’t represent my genre as much as it could have. It also wasn’t as effective as it wouldn’t draw my target audience’s attention to the front cover whereas the second image had more effect.

The name of the magazine was also something that I had changed but this was due to the fact that someone else had already named the magazine the same as mine therefore due to copyright issues I changed it

Changes made in the re-draft of ancillary task 2

I changed the colour of the background of my poster from pink to blue. I originally chose the colour pink as a way of following the stereotype of women being weak and allowing pink to be a connotation of this. However I used blue to be able to represent the horror of my film. As someone being blue in the face is associated with death so I wanted to relate this.

I also changed most of the images as the images I originally used didn’t work as much in targeting my audience. So I decided to use more images which could add more horror and more enigma to the promotion of the film.

I changed the institution which stated the positive quote about my film so that it could relate more to my target audience.

How my 3 products work together to appeal to target audience

• Target audience: My three products work together to appeal to my target audience as they all use

representations of my target audience in order to appeal to them more. As it was an urban horror I tried to make my audience respond in away that interests them but also shocks them at the same time. I targeted the audience of 18-19 from the urban background as their reception to media text’s would be similar.

• Generic characteristics: All my three products show weapons which is often used in the urban films and

horror films, a knife is an important pro that is used and links all 3 of my products together. Also there are images of females being victimised which follows the conventions of women being weak.

• Representational issues (gender, age, etc): My three products all represent the audience of 18-19 teenagers in a way that

allows them to identify themselves within the text.

Links back to evaluation and blog

• Insert hyperlinks