Final Trailer

Final Poster

Final Magazine

Evaluation Question 4

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

The development within the use of technology from AS level to A2 has been immeasurable. With regards to hardware, the range with which we used the equipment we had at our disposal had increased from simple variations within shot type to a more purposeful use of shot angles, pans, blurs and other such camera techniques. Similarly, the recording of ambient sound which was then layered within final cut was also an improvement as it created a more intense level of verisimilitude, something which is entirely necessary within trailers of the Crime Thriller genre. 

It is not only hardware with which we have improved, however. Within Final Cut itself, shortcuts for the blade and pointer tool increased the speed of editing when taken in conjunction with the magnetic timeline, and then the aesthetics of the trailer was made to look better through a more competent use of effects such as "Colour Match", transitions such as "Fade to colour", and sound layering. This development in software was reflected within Photoshop, whereby the previously non existent knowledge of the programme was improved upon through regular practice throughout the year, from our original making of collages to the final pieces which are our ancillary tasks. There was however some areas with which I had previous experience, those being Adobe AE and Sony Vegas. These were utilised to a great extent within the narrative graphics and the final title, with the effects being made on After Effects various media generators, and then being exported to Sony Vegas whereby a transparent text layer that was made in photoshop was waiting, ready to be edited. This synergy between products was something that wasn't done last year in any shape or form, and as such allowed the final product of this year to become as good as it has.

Moving backwards in time, there has also been a development in digital technology to be found within our research and planning, especially concerning the aforementioned convergence of software, this time with particular reference to blogger. The embedding of SoundCloud, YouTube, Prezi and various images allowed a more comprehensive plan of our trailer and ancillary tasks to be drawn, one which not only makes our blogs looks better, but also allows for easier access to influences and as such a faster production stage.

Examples/Showcases of technologies which have been used can be found below in a presentation from myself and my two partners, and annotated diagrams showing how Photoshop, Sony Vegas and Adobe After Effects CS6 were utilised to produce the products which make up our marketing package. 

Digital Technology analysis:

Ancillary tasks analysis with regards to technology:

PHOTOSHOP IN ANCILLARY TASKS

AFTER EFFECTS AND SONY VEGAS IN TRAILER

Evaluation Question 3

The question "What have you learned from your audience feedback?" is very open ended, and as such we went about answering it in a multitude of ways. One of these was through an audience screening, photos of which can be found below, in which questionnaires were handed out asking both qualitative and quantitative questions concerning our trailer. By doing so, we were able to produce graphs of audience type and correlate them with feedback on the trailer. This can be done so regarding enjoyment of our trailer in comparison to age, but also with age in comparison to films which they have seen. If any of our main influences are regularly being viewed by our target age range (15-24) then we can be sure that we have chosen the correct target audience, and as such continue marketing to that sub-section.

Examples of the questionnaire the sample were filling out can be found below - followed by statistics referring to the quantitative side of the research.

Audience Survey - audience replies to the question, 'What was your favourite part of the trailer and why?'

1. 'Shots of London and strong, clear narrative'.
2. 'High shots of Gabriel running and sliding down banister; the shorter snapshots of film with music near the end'. (montage)
3. 'The interrogation scene, high intensity'. 
4. 'Tense Music, cuts from action to romance'. 
5. 'News shot'.
6. 'Gabriel running through London, news flash, vibrant colours'. 
7. 'Montage sequence, news flash, city shots'.
8. 'Shots of buildings with clear narrative'.
9. 'shots of the city & colouring of overall trailer - nice clear aesthetic'.
10. 'Good use of colour'.
11. 'Use of London settings e.g London eye and the use of blue colour as it established tone'.

Due to 100% of the audience saying that they would go on to watch the film after viewing the trailer (Most of which were within our target age range), and a majority viewing of films such as "The Dark Knight Rises" and "Drive" we can conclude that we have chosen the correct colour and tone for the film; one which appeals to the audience which we are attempting to target.

This, however, only had relevance to our trailer and as such further audience research took place which could relate to our ancillary tasks. Videos of Focus Groups and individual interviews can be found below, regarding all three of our magazine covers and then our decided film poster. 

It was not only through physical interviews that we obtained information, however. Through our education concerning postmodernism we realised that the development of Web 2.0 allowed an entire other audience to be opened up, expanding our marketing to social media in order to get a wider range of feedback. Comments concerning our trailer from Instagram can be seen below, which we useful as we reached out to a wider age range that was not limited to who we could find within schools and families.

From these studies, we learnt a lot which could be applied to both future products and within fine editing of our current products. The social media feedback allowed us to view what people enjoyed the footage in order to categorise our audience, while the individual Vox Pops and interviews allowed more detailed answers to be found concerning various topic areas. This mix of qualitative and quantitative data provides a detailed and useful range of feedback which has hopefully taken our products to the next level, allowing us to remove unnecessary mistakes while simultaneously providing tips for fine tuning our products.