FINAL PIECES

Link for my trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1vKe4ITdeM&context=C41db3d9ADvjVQa1PpcFM58ng0jecyPAUZeJ-SPKqogM-izUjcQ-s=

Link for my website
http://thecoppice-2012.moonfruit.com/#

Below:
My final poster design.

Evaluation on 'The Coppice'

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


My overall campaign has developed and challenged forms and conventions of real media products, in a number of ways. For example when I was creating my poster I looked at previous texts such as ‘The Last Exorcism’ and ‘The Blair Witch Project’, in order for me to gain a further insight into what looked good and the level of professionalism I needed to convey in my own. I made my poster in Microsoft Word, and edited my main image in Photoshop. 

I used my own SLR NIKON D5000 camera to take this photo, and shot it in the same woodland area that I filmed in. In order to gain the surreal and blurred image, I changed the shutter speed which made the camera’s lens open for longer, letting in more light and creating an image which wasn’t in focus. I think it has worked really well, for it is a noticeable theme I have used all throughout my campaign, for I used a similar image for the background of my website design also. In Photoshop, i only mainly changed the Curves, Hue and Saturation, and brightness and contrast levels. Overall i am really happy with how the image has turned out, for i think it has really echoed the genre, and looks fitting with the plot of the film, using the same area i filmed on. 
          I found that making my poster was one of the tasks which I found easier to complete, for I am a lot more used to the software, with having my own mac and the availability of Photoshop at home. From looking at previous examples of film posters, I picked up on certain features to include such like production labels, credits and ratings, which obviously I feel has helped me to make my work look more professional and sophisticated. When comparing my work to the likes of Blair Witch Project, I think there are similarities in the sense that my poster does not give away any integral information about the plot, or characters, for I have focused on drawing in my attention from the large bold font, and using intriguing background picture of a blackened forest. As well as this, another integral part of the poster I felt was the release date, for I believe that this is one of the unique selling points for my film, being a summer release I have identified with my audience from my initial research when they most enjoy watching films, which is another area i picked up when looking at previous poster texts. 


I chose to create a campaign which focused on the psychological thriller route, rather than the stereotypical horror/gore genre. So therefore, i have aways been careful to not cross paths, by using the common colours such as black, red and white, to suggest death and blood, yet instead i believe i have used the colours in a more fitting way, such like my black and white forest, contrasting with the only red colour, my title. This relates to the 'Blair Witch Project' for their poster, hardly used any red or gore connotations, but used the background and the campers face as a way of drawing in their audience. 


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



Overall I am pleased with the trailer and my two ancillary texts, for I think they are all relatable to one another in some way. For example the website and poster both contain a similar trend with the imagery I used. However if I was to improve my work in any way, I would of loved to have the time to used the same typography within all my texts, for I think it would have looked a lot more professional and campaign like. Another way i feel that i could of linked the 3 texts together more, is by putting the web link at the end of the trailer, as this is commonly seen in other trailers, as a way of creating a word of mouth about the campaign, and drawing in the audience after watching the trailer to then go and explore the website. 


Out of the main text, and the two other other ancillary texts, i most enjoyed making the poster, because it was a familiar software to me like i mentioned in the previous question. At first i found I Movie quite hard to get to grips with, because i took my footage on a number of different days, so the lightning levels were fairly uneven, yet in the near future and looking back on it now that it is on Youtube, its become something i like about the trailer, the darkness and sometimes not being able to see the characters clearly, it really adds to the suspension and mystery about the plot. In regards to my website, i liked the new software we used 'Moonfruit'. It was a easy and straightforward way to make a website. I always wanted to make my website interesting as well as being informative. Although i am not so sure if i achieved this in the time frame i had, because i did spend more time on  the other texts compared to the website. One problem i did have with Moonfruit was uploading images, because near the end it wouldn't allow me to upload any more pictures, which i felt let down my ' About us' page. 


However overall i am pleased with all my work, and the way it links into each other, but if i were given the opportunity again, i would definitely concentrate on managing my time more wisely, because in the long run i am sure i could always make my work look more professional. 



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


For my overall media campaign for ‘The Coppice’ part of my initial research and planning was to look into other media texts for inspiration and create some developing ideas. I looked at the TV show ‘Skins ‘as well as ‘Pretty Little Liars’ and other texts like ‘Shawshank Redemption’ and ‘The Blair Witch Project’ In looking at these particular texts, I picked up a few ideas and themes I believed where appealing to an audience and would fit well into the plot of my film. One particular feature I echoed within my trailer, was the use of typography in small captions throughout, for I liked the examples in ‘House of Wax’ and ‘The Last Exorcism’ that used captions like ‘In a town not listed on a map, there is a place’. I was able to create this, in I-Movie, which I found to be a very straightforward task, just inserting text wherever I wanted it to go.
                In doing my primary research such as the questionnaire before hand, a certain point that was raised, was creating publicity for the campaign after the release date, and out of the 50 people I asked, 41 people said the Internet and social networking sites. I took this into consideration and on my website, I used social networking bookmarks, and a link to Twitter with the film under the name ‘@TheCoppice2012’ which I believe has helped my website to appear more interactive. 


In regards to documenting all of our work, we used the site ‘Blogger’. Compared to last year, I have found this a much more practical and time saving option, especially for me, considering last year I struggled on deadline day with some printing faults and losing some work due to me not saving it constantly! Other software i used for my products included Photoshop, Pixlr, I Movie and Moonfruit. I used Pixlr to make my typography which i only used for my poster. I thought it was a really good programe, for it had a lot more effects than photoshop, and i felt i could create a font that really reflected my film.  As you can see below, here are two screen shots, of how i came about my typography. My title, was the only instance i used throughout my overall project, which i used a red colour, which i believe has really helped it stand out more and grab peoples attention, especially for a poster. 

I  feel that the line looks effective because its very vague and mysterious.

A problem i did have after completing the font, was inserting it into my word document, because from i had copied the font from Powerpoint, it has a black background, which really didn't look right on the poster. I eventually rectified the problem, for i had to then put it into Photoshop and use the 'lasso tool' to remove the background and then re-insert it. This was probably one of the most time consuming parts of making the poster. 



 I really liked using this tool below,    because i wanted to make my font stand out, yet not appear scary or gory, so instead of using the 'splatter tools' i choose to use a dirt mark instead, for it still left a mystery within the typography.

When having to finally upload my film trailer to YouTube, I found it a fairly tricky task, because at first it would not upload, even after I created a new username and channel. Finally after numerous attempts it finally worked, although i had to do it at home, on a windows computer, yet after I watched it, I was disappointed with the quality of the footage, for it seemed a lot darker than when I was editing it in Imovie, although like i previously mentioned, it soon grew on me and is now something i really like about the trailer. As well as this, the majority of my trailer, i used I Movie. I found this quite easy to use because i had familiarised myself with it prior to the project. I liked how i was able to use the transition ' day to night' which altered the darkness settings so it appeared more how i wanted it, considering originally i filmed all my work during the day. 



What have you learned from your audience feedback?

From using a focus group all throughout the making of my campaign, it has really helped me to make a trailer which appeals directly to the audience I intentionally wanted to target. Immediately I realised that I didn’t want to make another horror film, following the same conventions, so I chose to create a psychological thriller instead. As well as this, the primary research was also really helpful, especially the questionnaire, for I asked 50 people and it was a truthful insight into what people my own age look for and enjoy in a trailer, enabling me to narrow my target audience and age down. As well as this, my audience feedback has helped me to take criticism positively, and look at it as a means of improving of what I have already done, for I was told to ‘include captions and typography because it add’s suspense to the trailer, and the audience will feel like they can connect more with the film’, After changing the trailer to suit the advice, looking back on it, I also feel that it looks a lot better and appealing for an audience. Also the people I used for my focus group are of a similar age to me, and therefore qualify as people who would be interested in my own product, so there advice is second to none. 


One issue which i did have with using my friends in filming though, was a lack of organisational skills, from both me and my friends, for some people had unexpected work commitments, and others unable to make it though. I think that this slowed down the time i had allowed for filming so i have had to work under a lot more pressure and quicker to complete the other parts of the project, whereas if i had been able to follow my schedule, im sure i wouldn't have been in such a rush in the last few days. 
        I chose to ask my friends for their feedback when i showed them my overall campaign, here is what one of my focus group had to say about it: “the background has worked really well, and looks really eye catching against the white font, for it hasn’t completely followed the normal conventions of a horror campaign, with only usually using a red, white and black font. Instead you have used imagery to create suspense and mystery, I really like it! 


Overall, i have really enjoyed this project, it has given me a real insight into working on new and unfamiliar software, and i have loved making my own trailer and campaign straight from scratch. I hope that what i have created can just reflect all the hard work i have put into it. 
 

Actors contracts and Risk assesments

Date	Shot Type	Description	Crew/Actors	Location
27/2/2012	Close up shot	Shot showing the group of friends casually sitting around the campfire chatting and drinking, also lightening is dark and selective, focusing on the campfire as the main source of light	Rhiannon Jones, and Hattie Pound Jones ( PA) Actor 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.	Battle Great Woods, Marley Lane, Battle
27/2/2012	Zoom out/pan shot	Zoom out of the group, enabling the audience to see the nearby surroundings.	Rhiannon Jones	“             “
27/2/2012	Two shot/ medium close up	Zoom in on the friends conversing with each other, focus on two main characters 1&2	Rhiannon Jones	“              “
1/3/2012	Over the shoulder shot	Use the shot to give the impression of the friends filming themselves. Also hear noise in the background, so group look at the camera, creating a direct mode of address.	Rhiannon Jones	“            “
1/3 2012	n/a	Blank screen for approx. 2 seconds, hear actors screaming and background noise, return to an empty campfire.	Rhiannon Jones	“        “
1/3/2012	Track shot/ close up	Shot focus on actor 1 running down a hill and focus on her facial expressions.	Rhiannon Jones	Battle Great Wood, heading towards the estate ‘ Knights Meadow, Marley Lane’.

Costing for production

Storyboard Idea.

Here you can see a developing idea i have incorperated into a storyboard. As you can see my pictures are very basic and rough but i hope that the overall concept is clear. Like i demonstrated in my initial idea's, i have used a group of friends who go camping overnight in the woods. I have included common shot types and lightening to make it look more professional.

Focus Group Transcripts.