Evaluation

Question 4: How did you use new media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?

As I chose to do the film opening for my AS coursework, none of the technology used for the construction of my trailer was new to me. However, though I was familiar enough with the technology to teach the other members of my group how to use them, I still learnt from working with the technology, as I learnt to use the technology in a more advanced way, particularly Final Cut Pro and Photoshop. Similarly, in the planning and evaluation stages, I was already familiar with the technology I used, such as Prezi and Slideshare to present my research, SurveyMonkey to conduct audience feedback, various Internet sites to conduct research and the use of a camera to both conduct market research and film our group evaluation.
Ultimately, I was able to expand my skills in filming, editing and sound to a higher level, which although was not new to me, was effectively a learning experience.

Evaluation

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

I believe that the combination of our film trailer and my film poster and magazine cover is effective because the link between the 3 products is clear; I included elements of the trailer in my 2 ancillary texts to create this. For example, the image for my poster was taken in Kiplin Hall and the mise en scene of the image shows identifiable period features, such as the costume and elaborate dresser. I positioned Frances and Peter, with Frances holding the letter and Peter looking over her shoulder. The letter is a key symbol that appears in the trailer and which I also placed in my magazine cover, with the same image of Frances holding the letter behind Sarah, who is holding the letter whilst dressed in the same clothes as she was in the trailer. Frances' expression is one of sadness as shown in the trailer, whilst Sarah's betrays no emotion towards finding the letter; an image which is shown in the trailer, which never reveals Sarah's feelings towards her finding alongside the questions "What would you do....".
Therefore, I think the combination of our main product and my ancillary texts is effective because of the clear connection between all 3.

Evaluation- question 1

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

The trailer we have made uses, develops and challenges the forms and conventions of real media products through the synopsis of the story it advertises, the editing, the sound, the mise en scene and the actors. The story combines a modern day setting with a Victorian one, which is indicated in the trailer. The concept of a flashback is used in many real media products, such as Atonement, which we researched in order to be knowledgeable in how to create a successful blend of modern and old, even if just for a trailer. Our chosen actor, Sarah, is incredibly modern looking; she has bright blue hair, various facial and ear piercings and wears bright clothing, combined with the period, Victorian aspect, the idea is unusual and different to the flashback idea in Atonement because of this. However, we believe that combining the contemporary and the period drama together, works well; we picked Sarah exactly for the reason she is so modern looking, to create such a contrast. Despite being set primarily in modern times, the editing and music we used conforms to an entirely period drama type trailer, as the editing is slow and consists of mainly fade effects and the music I made is a piano piece, as would be expected in a period drama trailer. We also believes this challenges the norm, by having entirely old fashioned music and slow editing all the way through, even with the modern aspects.

Trailer feedback and evaluation question 3

Audience feedback for trailer on Prezi

Final trailer

Unfortunately, I, like Emily and Charlotte, have been unable to improve the quality and clarity of the footage on YouTube, despite the best efforts of ourselves and our college's technicians.

Final Poster

These are some of the comments I received. The people I got feedback off were all in agreement that there has been a great improvement; so this will be the final version I will stick with."The lack of text boxes make it appear more conventional, as in typical magazines text tends to stand alone rather than be surrounded by a box.""It follows the conventions of other film magazines, as the text does not generally have a border and it is not usually written in a box either. A definite improvement!"
I have also added a 15 certificate rating, so that the poster looks more professional.

Magazine and poster feedback

Poster and Magazine audience feedback on Prezi