Evaluation - Audience and Genre

Which of the audience's uses and gratifications does your trailer appeal to? How have you constructed this?
The uses and gratifications model can be applied to our film for certain aspects. The trailer we created suits the requirements of some reasons the audiences read texts as outlined by Blumler and Katz(1970). Our trailer adheres to the idea of entertainment for the audience as it conforms largely to the expectations of the action genre and this allows the audience to be more immersed immediately. Our trailer includes various scenes which suit the idea of entertainment including fight and chase scenes which are conventional of the genre we selected. One of the main features of our trailer was the use of gun props to add to the expectations of the genre, the constant use of guns ensures the audience want to watch the full film as the guns symbolise what to expect within the trailer. The use of enigmas is also prevalent in our trailer as we don't give away too much of the narrative as to keep the audience engaged. We use questions to add this effect including "what happened in London?" to make the trailer more dimensional and dynamic. The trailer allows the audience to identify with the characters and situations through the shots we used, which included a lot of singular closeup shots to highlight the main characters through our narrative of the trailer. The protagonist is often contrasted against shots of the antagonist with the accompaniment of the narration allowing the audience to relate the characters to eachother which emphasises the relationship between the two of them. The beginning of our trailer allows for the protagonist to be relatable as we follow his story throughout the trailer as we are constantly shown shots of him chasing the antagonist through the various locations of our trailer including Iceland, Dubai and London. The enigmas in the trailer also allow for social interaction amongst the audience as they can discuss the narrative of the story as it remains largely unexplored in our trailer. The trailer can also be used to escape from daily troubles. The idea of the good guy vs bag guy film is successful in creating a false world for which people can immerse themselves in. The narrative of the protagonist travelling across the world in an attempt to stop the antagonist. The highly action-orientated style of the trailer allows the audience to become immersed in the trailer with greater ease overall.

How have you appealed to the Male Gaze in your trailer? If you haven't, why did you make this decision?
Laura Mulvey outlined the idea of the Male Gaze as the need to appeal to a predominantly male audience. Our trailer conforms in some ways to this idea. Although our trailer doesn't follow the element of objectifying women as the only female character has a small part in the overall trailer. We did however induce the idea of a male dominated cast. The idea that the protagonist and antagonist are male and fight against eachother with the use of guns and other weapons. This would appeal more to the male audience as they would prefer to follow an action movie narrative with the inclusion of male characters as they can relate more to these characters.

Evaluation - Narration of Trailer

The directors narration was helpful in letting us analyse the product post production and after audience feedback. This lets us have a much more detailed overview of the final product and helps us to reflect more when looking over the project. It is important to remember that this analysis can help someone who has never seen the film understand it a bit more. As far as marketing and distributing goes it can also help sell the product to hear the directors opinion on what is really happening therefore helping expand on ideas which may be implanted into the audiences head and settling a few debatable points if any surface.

Evaluation - Titles Used

During our AS production we found that the titles were generally of lower quality as they were rushed to an extent and so we wanted to focus on making them seem professional in comparison. We decided that we needed to allocate specific time to the creation of the titles as this would allow the trailer to be more immersing to the audience.

The titles we incorporated were all in the same font as we wanted to emphasise the action qualities within our trailer. The previous film credits were placed towards the start of the trailer to engage the audience straight away and the font stands out against the dark background and is eye catching to the audience viewing the trailer. The final title also stands out as it is a similar shiny grey but we ensured that they were animated to add greater effect overall. We animated the titles to include bullet holes to suit the genre of our trailer.

Evaluation - Characters Used

Protagonist: The protagonist generally conforms  to the expectations of our chosen genre. His attire is shown as smart throughout the trailer which highlights his supposed role within the film (a spy for an anti-terrorist organisation). He is shown constantly with a pistol as his main weapon choice which is shown through the action genre e.g. James Bond. The shirt he wears is light in colour as he represents the good side in our trailer. His smart clothing connotes power to the audience but his lack of a proper suit may suggest that he is not the leader of the organisation but rather just an agent. This is stereotypical of this sort of character as he is normally shown to have to stop the 'evil' in the movie at any means necessary.

Antagonist: The antagonist is generally shown in dark casual attire to emphasise the evil style of his character as he acts as the rogue agent working for the terrorist organisation in our trailer. He is constantly shown with a weapon which highlights his violent nature and possible danger to the protagonist. The main role of the antagonist is to mirror the protagonist in any way possible. He acts to contrast the good nature of the protagonist throughout the trailer and is evident on the poster and magazine cover. This is conventional of the character as he is shown as the 'evil' which needs to be defeated by the protagonist and so is usually shown as the darker character.

Protagonists Boss: The boss serves to inform the audience of the plot of the story as he is the one who originally sets the protagonist on his mission. The boss is incorporated in the narration as it continues into dialogue between him and the protagonist, which suggests some sort of working relation. His smart attire helps connote power to the audience as he is constantly shown to be high up in terms of power status. This is conventional in the genre within action thrillers and spy thrillers in particular as there is normally a boss of the organisation whom sets the story to the audience.

Evaluation - Production Credits Used

to make the production credits we used Adobe Photoshop to enhance the images we had selected. We were able to roughly animate them so that they would run smoothly with the pace of our trailer though the use of a fade and flash. We decided on Photoshop as we had some knowledge on how it worked already in term of enhancing the colour or quality of the image and animating it. The software was relatively easy to use and we used relevant tutorials t help if we didn't know exactly what to do.

For our A2 production we decided on creating two production credits as we generally saw that there were two in the films we had researched of the genre. We decided on making both simple as that best represented the genre in our opinion. Triptic Films was designed to suit the locations we were using. with the picture of London being the main feature, this would serve to inform the audience of the companies location and the font helps emphasise the genre of the film.

IFM Studios (Independent Film Making Studios) was created to make it seem professional to the audience as we incorporated a fade and slight flash between the two to make it more engaging to the audience. The use of a wolf connoted danger to us and so we thought that it would be a good logo to highlight the action genre

Evaluation - Settings Used

London - We decided that we needed to include London as it was relatively local at around 40 minutes away by train so we wanted to ensure that we included a setting which is recognisable to the audience. This is conventional in an action movie as it makes it seem high budget and professional. We decided that London could be the major location within the trailer as it is a stereotypical location for spy agencies as shown in the James Bond series for example. We ensured that the scenes involving London were largely used at the beginning of the trailer to signpost to the audience of what genre film it it.

Dubai - We were able to acquire some shots in Dubai as a couple of us were able to get out there for familial reasons and this was hugely important in our trailer as it contrasted London with somewhere which is considered exotic to fit in with our idea of a global terrorist organisation. We mainly used shots of Dubai towards the end of the trailer as we didn't have an extensive amount of footage available. We had the chase scene in the desert involving cars and we thought that that was best within our montage at the end.

Iceland - We were also able to get shots from Iceland which helps contrast the hot climate of Dubai and once again showcased the idea of the movie being high budget. We used the shots of Iceland in the middle of the trailer as they were generally slower in pace and so built up tension before the music intensified. The shots were largely used to showcase the idea of the organisation going all round the world.

Scouthut - We got many shots in the Scouthut as it was the most accessible location to us when needed be. It was also away from any public interference (a problem in our AS production) which enabled us to have an extensive shots involving guns. This was prevalent with both the protagonist and antagonist. The shots were used throughout as it reminded the audience of the genre they were watching and added effect to the action qualities of our trailer.

Esher Common - We also got many shots in Esher common as it was local to us as well. It was much like the scouthut as it didn't have much interference and so we also acquired shots involving the props here. It was also used to contrast the indoor styling of the scouthut so it emphasises the plot of the story more to the audience.

Conor's House - We got some shots in Conor's house as it allowed us to have shots involving gun fights. This included the attack on a character and the break in which add to the action qualities of the film. The shots were used in the middle and in the montage as they were dynamic and so brought a sense of urgency to the trailer which accompanies the increasing pace of the music nicely.

Evaluation - Trailer with Annotations

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

 Equipment Used:

Canon EOS 500D - This was the main item we used when filming our trailer. It was very high in terms of video and audio quality which made the film more fluid to view. We used the camera in the majority of shots in the trailer, with Dubai, London and the suburbs area being the main areas we used the camera in and this led to these shots being the most professional. The camera was also relatively easy to use in terms of changing lighting or zooming in to add effect onto particular elements of the trailer. This ease of access was integral when we went filming in Dubai and London as we could set it up in a short amount of time to get the required shots.

Tripod - We used the tripod accordingly with the Canon as it allowed us to make the shots a lot less shaky (a problem in our AS production) which made it seem more high budget and professional. The tripod wasn't used when we had to resort to a phone as it was deemed not practical as the phone couldn't be fastened to the tripod.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge - We mainly used the phone when we needed shots in Iceland as the camera we had used in the previous shots was unavailable for when we got out there so we had to make do with what we had. However the footage was still high quality compared to our AS production as the phone was of much better quality overall.

Editing Software:

Cyberlink Power Director - We selected this software as it was easier to access and manipulate the shots we had compared with Adobe Premier Elements 10 which we used for our AS production. The interface of the software allows for clips to be easily cut and merged together to make the scene more professional, which with the control over the audio also makes the film seem higher budget. We learnt the basics around the editing system as a whole which allowed us to cut and edit the footage we had collected together to make the trailer engaging and more free flowing.

Adobe Photoshop - We used this software mainly in the creation of the production credits and the title  sequence as we wanted them to look proper. We learnt how to animate them in the end as we incorporated a fade into the production credits whilst the final title sequence integrated gun shots to add effect into immersing the audience.

Online Sources:

YouTube -  We used YouTube extensively in our production as it allowed us to research relevant trailers at the beginning of our course as to allow us to understand what people would normally see in the action genre. We also acquired tutorials to help us with the editing side of things as it focused on particular elements which we struggled on (incorporation of the narration over the top of the music and sound effects). We were also able to add annotations to our trailer exploring certain aspects which suited the genre and conformed to what was expected. We also uploaded the trailer along with the audience feedback as to allow us to properly reflect on the production.

Blogger - We used Blogger throughout the research and planning stage as it allowed us to acquire sufficient information on our chosen genre and ultimately shaped what we decided to add into our trailer as a whole. This allowed us to be able to easily access relevant information if needed be to ensure we stuck to the conventions in our chosen genre but also allowing us to make it unique in some aspects.

Evaluation - How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

How 3 tasks complement each other in advertising film and appeasing to target audience

The poster is very effective at advertising our film as it highlights specific aspects of the trailer which we deemed effective. The title is eye catching to the audience as its bold and stands out against the dark background. The use of characters on the poster also allow the audience to relate more to the characters before the movie is released as the prevalence of Bill's protagonist is obvious as he takes the central role of the poster, highlighting his importance to the plot which would appeal to the audience as they could relate to hi struggles. The antagonist stands directly behind him, giving a sense of contrast to his character as he seems to embody the shadow of the protagonist so emphasises him as the feature antagonist. The female character is positioned on the other side showing that the protagonist may try and protect her from the antagonist, a convention which is expected in the action genre whilst the eyes in the background connote an enigma as if someone's watching. Both allow for greater effect onto how those characters will be involved within the film and allows the audience to be more immersed into the fictional world we're creating. The prevalence of guns is also obvious as we deemed it necessary to highlight the action qualities of the trailer as its conventional to do so. We included specific ratings usually around four or five stars to give it a sense of professionalism and with the accompaniment of the credits connoting previous successes (acclaimed visionaries) enforces the need to watch it to the audience. Overall the poster conforms to the conventions of an action movie poster as it gives prevalence to the characters and the guns they use with the accompaniment of the ratings and the title making it more effective in capturing the audiences attention.

The magazine cover plays along similar lines as the poster. It places the bold titles in the middle bottom of the cover to catch the audiences attention. It also ensures that particular focus ids given to the main characters of the film. The protagonist and antagonist are once again placed to mirror one another to add effect to the battle they will supposedly have in the film. The use of guns indicates the genre straight away as the audience can assume its action qualities through the weapons. We incorporated a strip behind the characters mainly involving shots of London as its our main location in the trailer and so serves to highlight the supposed high budget of the film and makes it seem more professional. The caption "thriller of the year" connotes the importance to view the film to the audience and so directly appeals to them. It is also bold and so engages the audience to a higher degree. We tried to make the magazine cover relatively simple in design much like the poster as we found that too much elements to the cover made the qualities of the film stand out less to the audience. However we did include some advertisements to entice the audience further including mention of the Oscars and other movies of a similar genre to our one. Overall the magazine conforms to conventions usually seen in covers of our genre as it gives prevalence to the bold title of the magazine make whilst also giving prevalence to the characters of ouyr film and the location its set in.

Our trailer conforms to the expectations of an action movie trailer. It engages the audience through it use of gun fights and chase scenes on both foot and in cars. The audience can constantly relate the film to being an action movie because of this and this allows the trailer to appeal to the audience to a greater extent. The character are constantly shown with some sort of weapon to adhere to these stereotypes. The poster and magazine cover highlight the protagonists reliance on a pistol whilst the antagonist is constantly shown with a rifle and this is constantly highlighted throughout the trailer. The use of London is also prevalent in the beginning of the trailer which suits it to the magazine in particular as it features London especially, allowing the audience to relate the two overall. The use of exotic locations is expected in a successful action film and we ensured that this was shown to a degree, through our shots gathered in Iceland and Dubai we made the film appear high budget to the audience and so they would be more likely to see it. The use of the animated title at the end of the trailer adds effect to the trailer and allows the name to be remembered by the audience which accompanies the poster and magazine as they share the bold styling of the titles. 

Evaluation Feedback

Well done Matt, a really analytical approach to task.  Make sure you are clearly referring to choices you made (refer to things like effects and transitions in the editing process, and be specific!) in order to make your response even more thorough.  Upload your annotated final production and voice over and complete the tasks to deadline - Easter Monday!

Evaluation - What have you learned from your audience feedback?

When reviewing the audience feedback we can see that there are some areas we could of improved on within our trailer. We got the feedback from our class group whom provided us relevant feedback after viewing the trailer we created, each of them attempted to focus on one feature within the trailer as to give us a range of feedback on our production. This included camera composition, editing, mise-en-scene and the relevance to the genre to name a few.

The first section we could have improved was the incorporation of some sort of enigma surrounding the antagonist. The antagonist is clearly shown and thus contrasts the protagonist in a number of shots but we were told that it could have been more effective if we kept his identity a secret. This would of allowed us to emphasise the mystery surrounding our character and further the plot shown as the audience would be engaged in the protagonists mission to locate the antagonist. It allows us to assume the importance of characters shown, emphasising the antagonist as an important figure for creating enigmas within the trailer.

The next area which we were told we could of improved was the editing. We were told that the editing pace could of been increased as to fit more with the genre we were highlighting. We were told that the shots in general could of increased in pace as to fit in with the music we chose, it would of allowed us to add greater effect to the shots shown and engages the audience more. We were also advised to include more closeups of the characters as it allows the audience to relate more to them and their story within the plot. It also helps to emphasise the roles the characters would play and who was good or bad in our presentation. There was also the issue of some jump cuts which were present as the shots sometimes weren't faded in properly and this could of been improved to a great extent. This suggests to us that the editing is a section we could improve, whether that be in terms of pace or ordering it entices the audience into watching the film and so is the main feature to get people to see films in general.

Another sequence which we could of improved judging on the feedback was the titles which were present. The titles were apparently too quick at times so you couldn't properly link characters with the actors involved and so the audience could relate more to the characters and the plot of the story as a whole. We were also told that the music albeit effective could of been more tension filled to add to the conventions which you expect to see in the action genre. The music was a major feature of our trailer and so we could see that it may need other features within it to make it more effective to the audience.

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

Frame 1 - The title of the film. The title conforms to the conventions of an action movie trailer as its bold styling and sharp font standout against the black background. The titles were then animated to incorporate the bullet holes at a set time to highlight the action qualities of the film to the audience. We also ensured that the titles were placed at the end of the trailer as we thought that this would be most effective in enticing the audience to watch the film.

Frame 2 - Costumes and props. The costumes and props of our characters are present in the frame. We ensured the protagonist was normally in smart attire, including a suit and the jumper getup shown. We wanted his character to contrast the more casual styling of the antagonist so the audience assume who plays what character straight away. This is conventional in action thrillers as the hero is normally dressed formally as they represent the authority in the film e.g. James Bond films.

Frame 3 - Setting/location. We incorporated many noticeable locations in our trailer including London, Dubai and Iceland. We wanted to make the trailer seem high budget and professional and this is often seen in action films as the exotic locations are normally where the action ensues. London was the main feature in the early stages of the trailer as its recognisable and allows the audience to relate the film to others in the genre.

Frame 4 - Camerawork and editing. The shot selected helps showcase the camerawork as we ensured that both the protagonist and antagonist were given prevalence through the camera angles used. In the shot we used a low angle shot to emphasise the power the antagonist holds in the trailer, something which is often associated in action movies. We also edited the scene with a flash and fade effect as its accompanied with a non-diagetic gun shot sound which adds effect to the scene.

Frame 5 - Title font and style. The font style of our movie is bold and stands out to the audience, it catches their attention and allows us to purvey the actor credits and the mention of previous films to the audience to immerse them more in the trailer. Action movie titles are generally bold as they are made to capture the audiences attention and so influence them to watch the film.

Frame 6 - Story and how the trailer sets it up. The story is mainly setup by the use of a narration. The dialogue is accompanied by a couple of prolonged shots of the protagonist which highlights his role in the film. The voiceover eventually changes into dialogue between the protagonist and his supposed boss in the organisation which you generally see in the action spy movies. The voiceover as dialogue is often seen in action movie trailers as it explains the story to the audience to a greater effect.

Frame 7 - Genre and how the trailer suggests it. The trailer constantly includes shots of our characters with guns, the traditional weapon in often seen in action movies. The protagonist has the pistol which is typical of the hero in spy films as its ease of use and accessibility is unrivaled. The antagonist sports a rifle as he represents a direct contrast to our protagonist and this highlights his power in our film. Action films normally induce scenes with the guns as it adheres to conventions

Frame 8 - How characters are introduced. The characters were generally introduced alongside the actor credits or at the very beginning of our trailer for the main protagonist and antagonist, the characters were highlighted in some shots beforehand as to adhere to the conventions you expect to see in an action film. The characters were generally portrayed within their respective roles e.g. antagonist shooting someone. Action movies are typical in this approach as the characters are introduced during the beginning normally and their roles are expanded on as the trailer continues.

Frame 9 - Special effects. The effects were largely practical and not incorporated in the editing phase, the effects we did induce were largely around the fade between shots and the flash which is integrated along with the gun shots. We did lighten some of the scenes as they were too dark, we wanted to ensure the action was easy to see and effective in immersing the audience. This is generally conventional in action movies as a lot of the effects are placed practically to make it seem more realistic to the audience, with the Fast and the Furious franchise in particular.

AS Reflection - Using Conventions from Real Media Texts

 In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In our AS production we adhered to the stereotypes of the action genre mainly though the plot we used. It involved a fight and chase scene being prevalent as expected within the genre whilst the music emphasises tension and adds to the effect of the dynamic shots being used. We also ensured that the lighting was bright as to allow the audience to clearly see what was happening and highlight the enigma around our antagonist and showcase our protagonists from the beginning. 

In what ways have your productions used or developed conventions from real media products?

The AS production brought about significant conventions in the entirety of the opening scene. The chase scene incorporated a wide range of shots which were filmed at a relatively quick pace to add dramatic tension. The dolly shot highlights the two main characters in the chase scene and adds specific emphasis on them. You can typically see this in action movies as the protagonist usually gets prevalence in the shots in a chase scene whilst the main antagonist shares a similar light. Other character in productions are used more sparingly as they are not essential into the plot of the movie. The fight scene also gives such prevalence as the main characters are fighting against the antagonist. In action movies you can generally see a lot of two shots in such fight scenes as the two protagonists’ friendship is often highlighted. The fight scenes are generally important in the development of an action movie and so we ensured that it played a major role in oir AS production.

In what ways have your products challenged or played with conventions?

In some ways our AS production challenged conventions of an action movie. The main area it did this was the use of characters as we included two protagonists to battle one antagonist. You could also suggest that conventions were challenged with the use of a pov shot from the antagonist as you don’t normally see their view but we thought this would be a good way of highlighting to the audience that the main characters were being watched, which could add tension.

Is your work generic or experimental, or both?

Our work was highly experimental as we often changed the plot of the story throughout production as we found some elements difficult to film. We did try and stick to generic conventions but also wanted to place some emphasis on something not conventional to make our film standout. The film did include some stereotypical attributes of an action film such as the chase and fight scene but also includes elements of a thriller film, in terms of the enigmas left behind by for example not explaining the antagonists motives. We weren’t set on one idea for the plot of our film so we tried to incorporate what we liked from each idea into the finished product and so different elements provided different themes to the storyline.

Have you developed a style?

In terms of styling, I don’t think we have developed a particular style. We tended to mould and change ideas depending on what we thought was necessary for our chosen genre. So the styling would likely change dramatically if we were doing a horror film for example. This would include the type of shots, the characters introduced and the main features of the opening scene.

Have you been influenced by the work of specific directors etc?

In terms of directors, if anyone influenced the AS production it would probably be attributed to Christopher Nolan’s opening to the Dark Knight. Its use of enigmas and tension allowed for a very interesting opening scene as we were always kept guessing. In our AS production we wanted to ensure the antagonists identity remain a mystery to the audience as it gives them more incentive to think on his motives for the killing in our opening scene.

How have you developed these skills at A2?

In terms of conventions, our A2 production adheres more to the elements you’d expect to see in an action movie. We did this mainly through the prevalence of guns in our trailer, something which we lacked extensively in the opening scene. The guns helped highlight who was the hero and villain and showcases the action qualities of the film to the audience. We also used more recognisable locations in A2 as with action films, location is a necessity in engaging the audience. The use of a voiceover allowed for the plot to be explored in greater detail and introduces the character and their role with significant ease, something which wasn’t obvious in our AS production. We still followed a highly experimental style of filming as we tend to engage ideas when we’re on set, whilst the styling remained adaptive depending on what we were filming. Action shots were more focused and quicker paced compared to shots in which dialogue was present, which is noticeable in action movies to a great extent.

AS Reflection - Post Production

What have you learned from your audience feedback?
We were told by the audience that the fight scene was integral to the development of the plot but some improvements to the angle of the shots could of been used. This meant that we needed to induce more low or high angle shots into our production to connote power to the audience and highlight the intensity of the fight between the characters. We were also told that the attire of our characters was suitable as it ensured an enigma in what sort of industry the characters are involved in, however we needed to ensure that the main characters are easily distinguished form the supporting characters. The sound was very important to our production as it intensifies along with the shots being shown which helps add the desired effect to our fight scene. We were also told that at times the fight scene became confusing as the characters were confused somewhat on where they were as the cuts between shots made the scene seem disjointed at times. We were told that the tracking shot within our chase scene was also integral in pushing the plot forward as it added effect and prevalence to the characters involved.

What editing decisions were made? How did they inform the production?
The main issue we had with the AS production was the overall time of it. It had to be within a two minute time frame and we found that we had to cut a lot of shots to fit into this bracket. The shots were cut extensively or removed if not deemed necessary and this allowed us to develop our editing skills. In terms of the production, this was essential into making the opening scene more dramatic and quick paced as the editing allowed the shots to be shorter and so add greater effect overall.

What particular editing tools were used and to what effect?
In Adobe we mainly used the cut tool to enhance the production. It allowed us to manipulate the shots to a greater degree as they needed to be quick at parts especially involving the fight scene and so emphasises the characters and their conflict. We also used the fade technique when incorporating our production credits as it made it more fluid to watch. This was accompanied with a zoom at times as to focus on particular features of the opening scene e.g. a specific character.

How did the post-production process enhance the overall production?
We were able to make the opening scene more fluid overall with smoother cuts for the most part. However the chase scene still lacked in points as the shots we had weren't long enough to be flowing. The shots were edited together to enable as much effect as possible with the music, they were edited accordingly depending on the pace of the music which accompanied which emphasised certain aspects of our opening scene.

How have you developed these skills at A2?
In our A2 production we built on our editing skills to a greater extent. We firstly ensured that shots were more prolonged as to prevent the rough cuts we had beforehand. We then used a different editing software. We used Cyberlink Power Director instead of Adobe as it was easier to manipulate the shots to suit the quick pace required in an action movie trailer. It was also easier to access tools such as the audio tools to enable the most efficient outcome in terms of dialogue, non-diagetic sound and the background music.

AS Reflection - Research and Planning

How did they inform your thinking about your media production?

The audience did play a role in the production of both our AS and A2 productions. They informed us of what they expect to see in action film. We conducted audience research through the use of a questionnaire which was hugely helpful in allowing us to get a full understanding of what to include in our opening scene. They informed us on what sort of action films were favoured and what they particularly looked for in an action film. They also allowed us to make assumptions on what characters to include in our production and what role certain types of actors should play e.g. a male hero. They also enabled us to get a sense for how important music is to any production and highlighted the necessity for music as a main feature of our production.

How did you record all that research?

We recorded the research through a questionnaire where we asked a select few people, who were fairly different in terms of background, ethnicity ect. This allowed for the results to be more generalizable to the population as we can assume that the participants were representative of our target audience. We used a mixture of open and closed questions to receive more detail on some of the answers we deemed particularly important. All the results were recorded and placed on our Bloggers which were then further analysed for any sort of pattern or trend we could use in our AS production.

What primary research was undertaken?

Questionnaires were our main source of primary data as they gave us the best insight into what sort of films people in our generation watched and what they expect in them. We also ensured that we got significant information from other groups in the class as they allowed us to compare the preliminary production plans so that we could ensure particular focus was placed on conventions in our opening scene. We did also use interviews to an extent to further our understanding on what people expected to see within the genre and this allowed us to develop our ideas substantially.

What secondary research was undertaken?

We also used some secondary data. Mainly on the internet, we researched what general features you could expect to see in an action movie and what sort of scenes we could place depending on the rating of our opening scene. The internet also gave some rough ideas on how we could implement a chase and fight scene with the relevant tutorials for fight scenes being researched to make ours seem as realistic as possible. We also looked at various opening scenes to movies which allowed us to generalise what we could see in them. We put focus on the action movie genre as a whole and looked at what conventions were highlighted in the opening scenes of movies like the Dark Knight for example.

How did it inform the production?

The data informed us on what we needed to include the make our trailer standout as an action film and enabled us to figure out what to include if we wanted to emphasise the qualities to the audience. The tutorials allowed us to implement a fight scene with relative ease as it gave us a rough idea on what to include. It gave us an insight into how fight scenes work, especially when involving a 2 vs 1 situation.

What is the effectiveness of these kinds of research?

These types of research allow in depth qualitative data to be gathered relatively quickly. The data was easy to analyse in terms of looking for patterns or trends in our questionnaire. We could look through the details gathered in the questionnaire and base our scenes in the opening scene on what the audience suggests is conventional in an opening scene of an action film. Or we could base the opening scene on what conventions we see in actual films which could make ours seem more professional.

What Quantitative and Qualitative analysis methods were employed?
We used interviews to a great extent in our AS production as it gave us qualitative data in which we could use to create the necessary plot to  our production which would be both unique but recognisable to the genre. We also did this in A2 as we wanted to ensure we got as much detail as possible when creating our action movie trailer. 
We also employed questionnaires to further our understanding, this gave us quantitative data as it mainly consisted of closed questions as to allow for more people to take part as it took less time to complete.

How did the results form these inform the production?

The results from our questionnaires and interviews allowed us to develop the production substantiallly, especially in terms of what to include. The plot was shaped with what people wantted to see in an action movie including a fight and chase scene. We also got an idea of what sort of shots should be included, this mainly revolved around closeups and dynamic moving shots.

How effectively were storyboards/shot lists/script followed?

We originally created a storyboard for our production which was very basic in terms of details but allowed us to work on it. We roughly followed the storyboard for most of the shots as we generally agreed on what to include in the opening scene and in what order. The storyboard was developed slightly as we went along as we changed the emphasis on a fight and chase scene together to doing them separately and so had to change a few as we go along. The script was pretty lacklustre in terms of what was on it as we didn’t particularly want that much dialogue. So we focused on what the music would entail and what shots were used for our opening scene. We discussed shot ideas as a group and then attempted to incorporate them accordingly in an order which made the storyline of the opening scene develop. We also decided to include a range of shots in our production which we thought would be effective. This included high and low angle shots during the fight scene, a dolly shot in the chase scene and a two shot in the beginning to highlight the two main protagonists of the opening scene. Most of the shots selected were chosen because of their supposed relevance to our scene and we attempted to showcase them in our conventions.

How have you developed these skills at A2?

In terms of gathering data for our production we ensured we got two questionnaires in our A2 production. We got one specifically for the action genre and one for the thriller genre as our film during the preliminary stages had conventions form both genres. This allowed us to develop an understanding of both genres in terms of what they include, whilst ensuring we can look at similarities the two share. We managed to get more of an idea of what characters we should incorporate and what is generally included in both which we could place in our trailer. The storyboard was developed further to a great extent as well. It featured the individual shots we were going to have, including the type of shot e.g. establishing shot of London. The storyboard allowed us to develop the story more but was ultimately changed along with production much like the AS production as our plot developed and changed as we went along. 

AS Reflection - Creativity

 How did you use media forms to come up with something new and original?
We used YouTube to a great extent as it ensured that our AS production adhered to the expected stereotypes of an action movie. We saw that shots which were dynamic were necessary as it gave a sense of originality to the movie and we attempted to incorporate this through our tracking shot of the chase scene as it immerses the audience more.

Where did ideas come from?

The ideas for our AS production were created in contrast with what you would expect to see in an action movie. We were undecided at the start of production on whether to go with an action or horror movie but decided that action may be easier to film as we wouldn’t require too many props. We knew that action movies require a fight and or chase scene to adhere to the genre conventions and so we looked at possible places to film this, eventually choosing somewhere local due to ease of accessibility to our group. Eventually these two scenes became the two main sequences in our film as they adhered to the conventions to the highest degree. The dolly shot we used in the chase scene was influenced largely by the need for stability in our shots, so we ended up using a car as a platform to maintain pace with the chase scene and allowing the camera to be steady.

How did you work collaboratively to share ideas?

We as a group ensured that any ideas we had were discussed between the three of us. We showcased how we came up with ideas on Blogger and this made it easier to access if we wanted to incorporate certain features we thought of. We tried to make sure that the ideas for what we were filming were accepted by the group as to make it easier to film something we all understood and wanted in our production.

How did you change things?

Initially we were thinking of a horror film but the genre changed as we wanted to do something which was unique in its own way and makes it standout which we thought would have been difficult in a horror film. We initially wanted the fight scene to take up most of the opening scene by incorporating it within the chase scene so that it was fast paced and dramatic. However, we found out that the fight scene was difficult to film as it took a while to film and due to a lack of time to film in daylight after college due to winter conditions and the work requirements all of us had, made it difficult to film at times. The location was also difficult as there was constant hindrance from the public as it was a well-used route on sunny days. So overall we had to split the chase and fight scene to allow us to get enough shots to fit the given time period we had in our opening scene. Initially we were also going to showcase the protagonists more before they encountered the antagonist but found that the time limit simply didn’t allow for much dialogue between the two. Ultimately we decided to get straight into an action sequence as it immediately emphasises to the audience what sort of genre we were showcasing.

How did you use tools like Adobe Premier Elements etc to achieve something imaginative?

We used Premier Elements to firstly incorporate the production credits with an animation. With the help of Flash and Photoshop to create them. We ensured the music was one of the main features in the opening scene and tried to keep it in time with what the audience could see. It created dramatic effect as it built up in the chase scene and got quicker as the scene developed until eventually it acted in prevalence with the fight scene to make the opening scene more dramatic as a whole. We also introduced non-diagetic sound effects in the fight scene to make it more immersive and keep the audience interested.

What stylistic techniques were used to appeal to the audience?

The technical pros we saw in our AS production was the variety of shots we had placed in the opening scene, we incorporated low angle, high angle, closeups, two shots, medium and long shots. The best shot in our scene in my opinion was the dolly shot we got, we used a car to help film the shot with minimum shakiness to it and allowed the scene to be developed further.

What was the intended outcome of the production? (assessment objectives, preferred readings, promotional purposes?)

The intended outcome of our AS production was to appease the audience watching it. Ultimately we would have wanted them to want to view the whole film if there was one and attempted to include as much in terms of content as possible to influence the audience to want to see more. If it would have been in the actual industry, it would have served promotional purposes to emphasise the film and the action qualities it possesses. We also wanted to induce action qualities throughout which made it seem more like an action film.

How were these outcomes achieved in terms of page layout and camera shot choices (codes and conventions)?

The dolly shot used in the chase scene acted as an essential part in showcasing conventions in our action based opening scene. It highlighted the chase scene between the protagonist and antagonist and engages the audience in the action which is unfolding. The fight scene was also dynamic in the way it gave prevalence to different characters through the different shots shown as the high and low angle shots gave power to each individual character and allowed us to contrast the characters against eachother and relate them more to action heroes or villains.

How have you developed these skills at A2?

In terms of developing these skills, we as a group were able to edit the scenes to a greater degree. The shots we gathered were generally more conventional in our A2 production. Due to the fact that we were able to acquire shots from a much bigger variety of locations allowed the trailer to seem more big budget overall. We also ensured that we had some proper props to use in the A2 production as our opening scene lacked some sort of weaponry which made it rather difficult to showcase the hero vs villain style of frame. The guns we had played prevalence in a number of shots which emphasised the trailer as an action movie. The characters were also much easier to distinguish as the AS production places you in the action without an establishment of whose what character whilst the A2 production highlights the main character immediately through the narration and his role in the shots. Conventions were also just generally more considered as the lighting and mise-en-scene allowed us to distinguish the characters straight away e.g. the antagonist constantly shown in a darker area.

AS Reflection - Digital Technology

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
In terms of preliminary research, YouTube was particularly helpful as it served to highlight movies of the action genre and emphasised specific patterns or traits which are normally shown in that genre. It showed us what sort of shots are typical in the genre and allowed us to develop the plot of our AS production to suit the expectations of an action movie. We also used YouTube to research relevant tutorials around the fight scene in particular as we wanted to ensure it looked as professional as possible and this made it seem more high budget to the audience.

What software was used?

Adobe Premier Elements 10 - When creating our film we used premier elements to edit and cut the opening scene to a great extent. The software made it easy to manipulate the shots in our opening scene as we could cut shots and merge them together to get a free flowing action sequence. We also used the software to incorporate music into the scene which we attempted to edit the shots in time with the music to allow for more effect in the scenes we were portraying. We used the transition tool extensively to allow the movie to be fluid and professional, we used it during the credits and logos to make the shots contrast better against eachother.

Adobe Photoshop – we used this to create the production credits and our distribution company logo; we wanted to incorporate animations to both of these. We placed text over the production company as we believed that simplicity would suit the genre nicely. Whilst we also wanted to try and make the credits dynamic so we created two different pictures and by using Photoshop we integrate a flash and colour to the distribution companies’ logo with the help of the magic wand tool. 

Adobe Flash – we used flash mainly in the creation of the production credits and distribution company logo. Both were made in a simplistic manner alongside the actors credits we made for the group. We ensured that we used specific fonts for the actor’s names as we wanted them to fit the action genre of our film. 

What equipment was used?

The equipment we used during the filming of our AS production mainly involved the use of our phones to film it although some shots were filmed with a camera. We attempted to set them up with relevance to the tripod to try and reduce shakiness, making the scene seem more professional and engage the audience with the plot to a greater extent. We also used relevant software to enhance the feel of the opening scene – including Flash, Photoshop and Premier Elements.

What were the technical pros and cons of the software and hardware?

We experienced some pros to the software as it was relatively easy to edit and manipulate to the way we wanted them. The layout was easy to navigate so we were able to carefully place the various layers of sound and video. However, we also had some issues with the software as the shots were sometimes too short and so the scene wasn’t as fluid as we wanted. The audio was also a problem as it was particularly quiet in the beginning of the scene, making it so the plot is somewhat hard to understand. The audio was hard to edit at times as the music was present as well, it was difficult for us to ensure both were heard properly.

In what ways was technology used to create the production?

We used blogger to a great extent. It provided us the base with which we planned the production to a great extent. It had all the preliminary ideas and how we developed them to suit the opening scene. It contained all the individual ideas we had for the production as a group.

We used Premier Elements to edit our film as a whole, this included cutting scenes and editing them together to allow fluidity and enhancing some shots in terms of speed to make the scene more dynamic. Flash and Photoshop were also used for all the titles and credits we created which make the scene more immersive to the audience.

In what ways did the technology constrain or enable the production to be developed?

Technology enabled us to edit the film to a higher degree, as the shots were easily manipulated to suit the genre of our opening scene. Including an increase in pace or lighting. We also had to edit the music to suit the trailer properly. However, this proved difficult to do with the software we had and reflecting on it we can see that the music is disjointed at times and could have been improved.

How have you developed these skills at A2?

In terms of developing skills, we enabled much better cuts between shots in our A2 production compared to AS. The shots in AS were sometimes cut too short so the scene didn’t make sense entirely but with the trailer we edited the shots to be a lot shorter and gave the trailer a more professional look. The audio was also much improved as the dialogue and music didn’t interfere with one another as we used a different editing software (Cyberlink Power Director) which allowed us to place each individual audio or video section we wanted onto different layers. The sound could then be muted or the volume edited to make the music more or less prevalent in the trailer. The use of a voiceover also made sure that the audience understood the plot of the trailer compared to some confusion in our AS production due to the quiet audio at the beginning. In terms of camera quality as well, the shots were generally used via a camera in A2, savour a few. The shots looked more professional and this ensured the trailer was immersive to a greater extent. We had a lot more shots in our A2 production as we understood the need for more shots as the AS production was hindered somewhat as the shots were not long enough at times so the cuts were rough and made the opening scene seem disjointed.

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Presentation of Syndicate

Syndicate - Final Trailer

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Syndicate Final Magazine Cover

Magazine Cover

Our film is an action/ thriller so the poster and magazine had to be dark and mysterious. 

The title is red because it stands out against the black background and could signify the blood and love featured in the film from the fights and love interest within the movie. 

Within the cover we have featured some articles that are recent, for example: the Oscars nominations happens in February so it is very near. Mad Max: Fury Road, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Hunger Games: Mockingjay part 2 are still very recent films that are still talked about frequently over social media. 

At the bottom of the cover we have the title of out film 'The Syndicate', the slogan 'Thriller of the year' and 'The action continues inside.' These all relate to our film as they are all written in white writing and have a shine effect over them. They are also all in the same font.

To the middle right of the image is the barcode which is obviously needed to purchase the magazine. On the top of the barcode is a date and the price of the magazine.

Behind the two main characters is a strip of three images from London as a big part of our film is set in London. The two characters are central to the cover, signifying their importance to the film as they are the Hero and the Villain. They are both posed with their guns showing that they are prepared to fight each other, to the death.

We did create two more magazine covers but decided to use our original cover as it had the most information and looked the best out of the three.

Our second cover was inspired by the cover of Total Film magazine when Godzilla was on the cover. The reds of the image could signify the blood and the torture that the characters have to endure throughout the film. The London skyline is highlighted by a white mist which could signify the mysterious atmosphere that the film gives off. Our third cover was a sepia themed cover so we added a sepia filter over the black and white background. Both of the covers featured just the title and 'Limited edition collectors cover' on the bottom of the cover accompanied by two silver lines. On the third cover, we have also added 'What happened in London?' which is a quote from our trailer.

Editing Diary Day 5 - Montage and Credits

For the final day of our editing we had the music fitting accordingly with the intro, narration and main body of our trailer so we wanted to ensure the conclusion of the trailer was of similarly high quality. We decided on concluding the trailer by creating a montage as they were often seen in action movies as the increased pace and number of shots adds more onto the storyline and showcases the action qualities the movie would hold. We began by collecting the shots we had left to use which would be placed in quick succession.

The shots were placed with particular effort into contrasting the shots highlighted. We used a car chase scene we got in Dubai along with other shots which emphasised the qualities of the trailer. The protagonist was seen in most of the shots to keep the audience constantly engaged with the trailer. The shots gradually got shorter as the music got quicker until eventually both cut out onto a prolonged shot of Bill saying:
"leave it to me"
The low angle shots puts particular emphasis on the characters and we deemed this as the most effective way of ending our trailer.

Lastly we added the various actor credits in the trailer which was relatively difficult to do due to the random order of the shots. Eventually we placed them on shots which we thought would work well. With the protagonist and antagonist getting prevalence as we believed that that was important. We also added the finished titles which had been animated in Photoshop and the end credits to make the trailer seem that much more professional.

Editing Diary Day 4 - Action sequences

For the fourth day of editing we ensured to carry on from where we left off. This included continuing the action scenes we had. Particularly involving the prolonged shots we had acquired. We also decided that we should use some dolly shots we had of Dubai and Iceland which we managed to get through the use of a car. The Iceland shots were filmed with a phone so they were rather difficult to edit properly. The shots were filmed in a format which the editing software struggled slightly with as the shots appeared in the library horizontally and not vertically. To counter this we incorporated the tools available to rotate the shots and format them properly although this did lead to the shots being magnified, they were still of quality which we were happy with.

We also incorporated shots which featured both the protagonist and antagonist in a sort of standoff with the idea that they further contrast eachother and allows us to further the plot substantially as we believe the audience would be engaged with the rivalry. This also accompanied the music to a certain degree as the prolonged shots we had allowed the music to gain some sort of pace before we incorporated the montage of shots towards the end.

We were also able to engage more with the sound in our trailer as some of it was of lower quality. We implemented the shots we had onto different layers which allowed us to edit them depending on what we needed. Some shots were specifically for the visual effect to go with the music whilst other shots played a role in the audio alongside the music. There was specific focus on trimming the shots to fit the music and make the trailer more fluid as a whole.

Editing Log Day 3 - Main Body

After creating the intro previously, on the third day of editing we needed to focus on the main part of the trailer. This included placing all the various scenes into a rough order. We wanted to ensure the prevalence of shots remained on Bill's protagonist with the occasional contrast against Matt's antagonist to add emphasis on the roles the characters play in the movie. At the beginning of the sequence we incorporated shots from the scouthut, Conor's house and Iceland to make the trailer seem more dynamic as the differing backgrounds make it feel more like a blockbuster film. We wanted to make the trailer gain pace as it continued to increase tension and highlight the plot of the trailer to the audience.

After the initial shots we added the chase scene in London and various shots of the protagonist. We were focusing around incorporating scenes with guns as much as possible as to suit to the genre. We tried to ensure a range of shits were evident including a high angle shot, long shot and a pov shot. Overall we were placing the shots in a particular order as the shots of Dubai and Iceland acted as the exotic locations you usually see in action films and so we placed them accordingly with our more rural shots. We were lacking a bit in terms of these exotic shots though as we only had limited footage available to us at this time.

One of the main features of the third day was finding a suitable soundtrack to the trailer as we couldn't properly edit the various shots without the music as we wanted it to time well. Eventually we found a good piece which we deemed acceptable as it was dramatic and added tension as it went along as it gradually got quicker. It was also useful as it fit into the two minute time frame we had for the trailer. Eventually we primarily edited the shots we had with the music selected to make the trailer seem professional. The last shot we had was a long shot of Bill with a  it of dialogue. The dialogue is fairly vague and adds an enigma to the trailer whilst the music incorporates a slight drop into silence which adds much needed effect onto the dialogue.

Film Log Day 6 - Iceland and the Scout Hut

We needed a few shots more to allow us to have enough footage top complete the trailer. After we roughly ordered the intro it was obvious we were lacking in terms of time, so when Matt and Bill were going to Iceland for a weekend and so we wanted them to get some sots of the snowy tundra to contrast what we saw in Dubai. They were able to get some shots from a plane, a car and one from the hotel room to add more depth to the film trailer as a whole. Once they got back we filmed more of Matt and Bill in a scout hut located in Oxshott.

We filmed a few shots at the scout hut mainly involving both characters with the use of guns as to adhere to the action qualities expected in that trailer type. We got both low angle and high angle shots of the characters to portray the balance of power between the characters. We also got some medium and long shots of the protagonist as he is the central character of our film and we wanted that to be prevalent throughout the scenes.

Editing Log Day 2 - Introduction

After sorting out the folders we wanted to ensure we got a high quality introduction as we deemed it to be the most important aspect of the trailer as it sets the scene and allows us to explain the plot of the movie through the use of narration. We decided that the shots at the very start should be prolonged as it allows particular focus on the voiceover for the trailer. The voiceover consisted of dialogue between Conor and Bill used to mainly explain the storyline of the Syndicate, we filmed both of them for the audio and visual side of things individually, the voiceover consisted of the lines:
Conor - "Syndicate, a crime organisation responsible for multiple terrorist attacks in cities around the world, so explain to me.........what happened in London?"
Bill - "he got away"
Conor - "track him down, no mistakes this time"
Bill- "he took me all round the world, i still haven't found him"
Conor - "if you don't find him, he'll find you"
Bill - "Leave it to me"
We wanted the narration to be effective and so focused on the timing of the words spoken, the music and the images shown to try and add the best sort of effect to our production. We added in a transition along with the gun shot to add fluency to the shots portrayed whilst the production titles were placed accurately with the music to highlight the production. We wanted to ensure the narration was placed in the right area and so we created a rough time in terms of seconds for us to place the narration on, this included:
- certificate rating
- bill walking to the dialogue shot of Conor, narration; 3-14 seconds
- "he got away", shot of chase scene; 20 seconds
- "track him down...", shot of bill in scout hut; 22 seconds
- gun shot, fade to black
-"he took me round the world..." plane shot of Iceland, car shot of Dubai; 26 seconds
- low angle shot of Matt shooting, fade to black; 31 seconds

Syndicate Final Movie Poster

Our film is an Action/ Thriller film so our poster had to be dark and slightly mysterious. 

The white writing stands out against the black background because they are contrasting colours making the white writing bold and clear. 

The star reviews are slightly faded in to the image so that none of the image becomes distorted and doesn't look out of place. We haven't made all of the reviews five stars because that would be too much because no film ever gets all five star reviews. For example: the poster for Legend his a two star review from the Guardian between the two main characters heads. Each star review is parallel to each other so it does not look like a mess. 

On the top of the poster, we have included the name of the four main actors/actress because in movie posters they usually have the names of the actors/actresses to appeal to more audiences because a person may go to see a film just because of a person in a film. At the top, we also have references to our AS productions as people often see films from directors that they have seen before.

The production credits at the bottom of the poster are completely our own, featuring producers, actors and people who have helped with the film. Below the credits we have written 'Coming Soon' as there was no date we could agree on. A lot of films put out posters before their release with 'Coming Soon' written on them to get their audience exited and prepared for the film. 'Experience it in 3D' is also written below which a lot of films do now because it brings in a lot of profit for the film making companies.

Beside 'Coming Soon' and 'Experience it in 3D' we have the two logos of our companies, Triptic Films and Independent Film Making Studios, who have made and produces the film. It is common for movie posters to have the logos because it shows the audience who the creators were which may be a fact in why people go to see films, exactly like the Directors and Actors reasoning.

On the very bottom of the poster, there is links to the movies Facebook and Twitter pages. This is very common for films to do now because social media plays a huge part in advertising and promoting a film to all ages of viewers because most of the population are now on social media. Facebook and Twitter are the most used social medias today so it makes sense to advertise there.

The title on the poster is the title we created by ourselves, just like everything else on the poster. It was a simple white text of our title but is made to look shiny by having the slight black border to the sides of the letters.

The images featured on the poster are completely our own. Our main character is directly in the middle of the image with the love interest and the villain to the sides of the main character. The anti-hero's eyes are placed at the top of the poster to create suspense as you can only see his eyes and nothing else. The main character is in the middle of the poster because he is the lead role and he is featured in the movie the most. Having the main in the middle makes him seem like he is the most important character in the film. He is also holding a pistol, showing what weapon he uses in the film and also shows that he is in control of his situation. To the left of the main character is the love interest of the main character. It was important to include this character because she is what he is fighting for in the film as she gets kidnapped by the villain. To the right of the main character is the villain who is holding his gun in a downward position as he is anticipating an attack from the opposing side. On his face, you can clearly see two lines of red indicating that he has been injured on his face during the film, most likely by the opposing side.