FINAL TRAILER

Evaluation Question 4

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

The development in my use of technologies between AS and A2 level have been significant, as I have incorporated the use of more softwares due to the construction of the poster and magazine cover.  As well as the developed use of software, I have also been allowed to develop my use of equipment, as I further incorporated a Gopro camera as well as a stereo mic, allowing me to have a range of different shots and sounds; the stereo mic proved especially effective for ambient sounds, which could not have been achieved using the directional mic, and the Gopro allowed me to achieve realistic chase sequences due to the harness it provided, allowing me to chase my actor - increasing the verisimilitude of the product, which is essential in terms of achieving an accurate depiction of a social realist film. Incorporating the use of the Gopro camera meant I had to further develop my skills in the Final Cut software as the images the Gopro captured needed to be altered in order to demonstrate continuity with the images captured by the regular camera. This was achieved by removing the natural fisheye effect which the Gopro provides, compressing the footage and matching the colour with images captured by the regular camera in an aesthetically pleasing lighting.

As well as developing my use of different technologies, my skills in softwares such as Final Cut pro and motion, which was used during my AS level, has significantly increased as I found my speed of editing was much more rapid as I developed my use of shortcuts for tools such as the blade, trim and zoom. 

The aesthetics of the trailer was further developed in the use of transitions such as fades to black, flashes of lights and fades to colour, as well as the incorporation of music and sound, as I made efforts to include sound bridges and layered ambient noises producing a far more aesthetically pleasing result than previously achieved. 

The use of key frames when fading the music in and out also proved very useful and effective, especially in terms of sound bridges. As well as building tension in the opening sequence where the music fades in out of nowhere. Key frames were also essential when incorporating dialogue, and the volume of the music had to decrease so that the dialogue would be audible. 

Including graphics from reviews also proved simple due to my previous use of the software, as well as did layering images on top of each other, which needed to be done when including awards and the title of my film. My development in the pace of my editing skills proved especially useful during the construction of evaluation question 3, which was created on Final Cut in a relatively short time space. My abilities in the use of the Motion software increased significantly as I found the use of filters on pictures produced far more professional results than attempting to create images myself using the materials provided. The use of partial generators further built on the aesthetics of my Ident.

Utilising the photoshop software for the construction of my poster and magazine cover proved especially difficult for me as I have not previously used this software before, however I recognised the importance in developing my skills in order to produce a professional result. This was achieved by using tutorials on youtube, which were used when attempting to produce effects such as the raindrop effect - which was achieved and significantly improved the aesthetics of the poster. Photoshop elements was also explored as this software was made available to me outside of school, however I found it difficult to apply my limited knowledge of Photoshop to Photoshop elements therefore it was only used as a template in which I built on during school time on the Photoshop software. Illustrator was also used in order to develop the fonts of my poster, however my limited time space did not allow me to develop my skills in the software to the extent of which it made a significant impact on either of my products.

The use of social media in the development of my production and the research and planning aspect has developed significantly as I learned to exploit websites such as youtube for the tutorials in which they offer. This was especially useful when working on new softwares such as photoshop, as I could now produce work which previously would not be possible for me. Soundcloud also allowed for me to look at different types of music which would work for my production - and the track itself was published on Soundcloud, which later allowed for me to download it onto a computer with the editing software, where it could be applied to my production. The convergence of all these different websites on Google allowed for me to access all social media on a single search engine, which proved to be very useful in terms of time efficiency. Facebook further allowed for me to publish my work and receive audience feedback. Overall the use of social medias in the research and planning of my production proved essential, as it allowed for me to access information regarding all my influences, from the trailers themselves to influences for magazines and posters. 

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 3 Poster

Evaluation Question 3 Magazine

Evaluation Question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

In order to fully understand whether I have successfully appealed to my target audience and whether the trailer demonstrates real clarity as to who it is directed at and if it is well understood, audience feedback is necessary, as this also allows me to gain a better understanding as to which aspects of the product is most appealing and who this is appealing to. By hosting an audience screening, consisting of a multitude of age groups, I can compare movies the audience have seen, such as Adulthood and Ill Manors, with the extent of which they enjoyed my product in order to witness if audiences can draw links between my product and my influences. The audience was all within my target audience range, therefore should have appealed to everyone viewing it. Questions asked on the questionnaire, given to the 17 participants of the screening are as follows:

How old are you

What is your gender

On average, how many films do you watch per week

Where do you watch the majority of your films

What is your preferred genre of film

How do you usually come across films you would like to watch

How many trailers do you watch per week

Have you seen any of the following films / trailers - circle them

Ill Manors / Kidulthood / Adulthood / Fish Tank

(ANSWER AFTER VIEWING)

What genre would you describe this trailer

What age do you think is targeted

Which part of the trailer did you enjoy most - why?

Which part of the trailer did you least enjoy - why?

How would you describe the plot of the trailer

Did any of the narrative need further clarifying

Would you watch the film after viewing the trailer

Results which have demonstrated my trailers success are as follows:

Comparing the numbers of the audience who have seen the films in which I have based my trailer around with the amount of people who would watch my film after watching my trailer suggests I have successfully reached my target audience, as audiences who have seen any of these films would be unlikely to willingly view a film in which unsuccessfully depicts the qualities of the social realism genre, as they are aware of the qualities of an accurately depicted social realist film based in South London. Therefore the fact that the audiences who have seen these films would be willing to see my film after showing my trailer means I have presented qualities which successfully reflect the social realism aspect which is also depicted in these influences. This further suggests my product is aesthetically pleasing as 95% of audiences said they would watch the full product, meaning the shots and sounds work well with the edits - thus forming a product pleasing to the eye.

The fact that no further clarification was necessary for 95.75% of my audience, all of which were above 15 therefore were part of the target age group, suggests that despite the language used and the relatively ambiguous narrative, the plot of the film is still being understood, as it was successfully summed up in 95% of responses. The variety of aspects which people considered their favourite parts of the trailer suggests the multitude of shots and sequences I used appealed to a wide range of audiences, thus explaining the positive feedback. Although previously believed that the degree of violence in my trailer may deter audiences from watching my film, the fight sequences proved to be the most preferred aspect of the trailer, meaning I am unlikely to cut it shorter as I have been suggested to do. 

The audience feedback, however, does criticise the choice of music, which suggests a different song should have been selected if more time was made available, however the negative feedback regarding the music choice could have been from those outside of the target audience, therefore will have never heard this genre of music before and will not appreciate it like many within my target audience would. However in terms of expanding to a broader audience, a more universally appreciated genre of music should be selected which still represents culture in South London such as a slower paced hip hop. Seeing as this was not available to me, and seeing how some people in the audience screening did enjoy the music, I do still believe the song choice further bolsters the social realistic aspect of the production as the producer is a 17 year old from Brixton, therefore this original piece of music is as accurate a depiction of South London culture as possible.

Feedback on the video itself on Youtube further suggests the products success I have yet to receive any negative feedback, and the comments suggests the trailer appeared to demonstrate professional qualities - which was my aim. 

Evaluation Question 1