Evaluation activity 4

This is the TV we used for the trailer, we used the YouTube App on the TV to upload our news report in the trailer, this helps warn the audience of the danger and helps introduce our actresses.     This is relatively recent technology and was simple to set up and it resulted in a realistic TV setting, which we thought was very effective in continuity.

 We used a GoPro Hero 3+camera to film our trailer, this allowed high quality 1080p footage to be shown, as well as this we were also able to use its wide angle lens to produce wider image which resulted in our trailer looking professional and the sound unlike other trailers was much better quality.

 This is the jacket we used in the trailer for our main antagonist, we chose a black jacket because it provides a menacing appearance for the antagonist as well as providing mystery to the character, the colour black links to the most colours we used,throughout the three products we produced.

 The knife we used for the trailer was a Kitchen knife, we used this because it is long, sharp and it could also remind the audience of the knife used in the Scream movies, the long blade is threatening and would probably scare an audience. In the trailer we try to draw attention to it as much as possible as we have it being cleaned in the first scene and at the end were we have a tracking shot following the antagonist holding the knife and walking through the house.

Evaluation Activity 3

This is our Audience Response.

Strengths that were pointed out to us in the response were varies different camera angles we used throughout the trailer, especially the CCTV camera we used were effective in showing various different perspectives. We were also told that all the small digetic sounds that we used were effective in making the trailer seem realistic which drew the audience in. The tense music we used was also believed to be a strength because it kept the audience on edge throughout the trailer, the static we also used was able to effectively break up the shots inbetween the CCTV shots. Another strength was the fact that the antagonist was wearing all black, which helps him conform to what an audience would expect him to wear. The setting was also another strength as the house setting allowed the audience to relate to the events in the film, which makes it appear more scary to the audience, our titles were also used effectively as it links into the increasing strength of the storm. The faded transitions we used between most shots helped create tension, and the link between the scenes and the music was effective.

The Weaknesses from our trailer were also pointed out to us, such as the fact that the camera was at times wobbling gently in the trailer this degraded the quality of the trailer. When it came to sound we were told the static transition was way too loud and there was some interference from the background in our news report.

This trailer reminded me a bit of the film the Scream as we have a group of people being hunted by a murderer at night and normally in their houses. However the film trailer for Scream is not as serious as ours so links between our trailer and it are really only based on the story/premise.

Evaluation Activity 2

These are all our ancillary products, along with the main trailer, these products help elevate the mystery and menace behind the antagonist, in both the poster and the magazine cover we have the antagonist hooded and standing in the centre of each product, this helps build the tension even before the audience has seen the trailer, the trailer reveals some of the enigma's the audience may have from the other products. The tagline on the poster "Wherever you go. He'll be watching" works in linking the poster and magazine cover together as the cover is likely to be sold in quiet a few places and this could give the audience the idea they are being watched. Throughout the three products the antagonist is always shown wearing the same clothing in the same way, this links the three products and keeps a common dark theme running throughout the products. Red and White are also used commonly throughout to represent blood and evil, plus the white could represent the protagonists in the trailer, these colours appeal to the audience because they would stand out in the background and they also suggest a kind of battle between good and evil especially in the poster and magazine cover.

Director's Commentary:

Enigma Codes & Todorov's Theory

Todorov's theory explains that a film and a trailer can be broken down into five sections, an equilibrium at the start, a disruption of that equilibrium, a recognition of the disruption, an attempt to repair the disruption and the final stage is where the equilibrium has been restored. In our trailer we use three of the stages. The first section is the scene in the house as it seems to be a mundane situation where two girls are watching TV. However when the first murder occurs the audience are introduced to the antagonist, showing us the disruption, he is wearing black with a mask on which leaves the audience speculating with an enigma as suggested by Roland Barthes narrative theory, this emphasises the disruption but also leaves us an enigma because we don't know who he is or why he is murdering people.

Evaluation Activity 1

These are some screenshots from our trailer which I think are worthy of evaluation as they show some conventions an audience should expect from a trailer.

Screenshot 1: The first screenshot introduces the only character we see speak in this trailer, this character provides the basic story and background, but not enough to tell the audience everything,giving rise to an enigma code as we aren't told everything like the antagonists name but we are told he's dangerous. This screenshot is also located on scene and would appear more believable as we were going for a realistic news report, as the costume we used were smart clothing that an audience would expect to see from a news reporter. The camera was set up at a low angle to give the reporter a dominant view of the audience giving him the power.  

Screenshot 2: This second screenshot introduces a couple of other characters and at this point we are not shown the antagonist, leaving his appearance an enigma, the setting seems rather normal which could suggest the trailer is conventional as it starts of with a normal setting and then something disturbs the equilibrium. The camera angle is a long shot, which gives the setting and location to the audience it also enables us to see all the actresses on screen,also with female protagonists we are being conventional to horror films as normally in modern horror films we have seen an increase in female protagonists as it appeals more to the female audience, it can also appeal to a male audience as the 'Male Gaze' theory suggests.

Screenshot 3: This shot is a part of our story set up, as we want to make the audience believe that this film is based on a true story. The font we are using is orator it is a very basic font, but this is because we want people to be able to read the font, The background is black to make the text stand out, and black can also represent death and mystery, we also made the text white which can represent safety and innocence, which can represent the victims the audience see's in the trailer.

Screenshot 4: This high angle long shot, gives the audience the power, as unlike the victim on screen, we are able to see the antagonist behind him, this shot also introduces us to the third victim in the trailer. The audience at this point should feel a sense of fear as they should know what is about to happen. The victim is wearing just casual clothing suggesting he is not important, it also suggests the film could be a horror/thriller because a lot of this genre will take the normal and change it, we have taken a normal walk and made it slightly more spine-chilling. We also leave an enigma by not showing what actually happens. It is the first time we see the antagonist and it appears very threatening in all black which could represent evil, he also has a mask on which means the audience don't know who he is and it leaves the audience thinking what happens.

Screenshot 5: This screenshot is a low angle long shot, unlike the high angle we use to show the victim, we use low angle for the antagonist to walk past as he holds the power and looks imposing on the audience, this adds tension to the trailer. The location of this part of the trailer is in broad daylight and in a remote part of a town, this means very few people are likely to see the murder happen.

Screenshot 6: This image is a high angle shot, we have placed this scene in black and white, this is suggests the image is from a CCTV camera, which is what we wanted it to look like, this image also surprisingly gives the audience the power over the antagonist which is something we wouldn't expect, however it could suggest that there is a vulnerability in the antagonist, as we are able to view him from the high angle. 

Screenshot 7: This shows a birds eye view of the antagonist, it is one of our most effective shots because it is very menacing to the audience, because we can see the antagonist enter and exit the scene, we are also left with an enigma because we don't know how he got into the house. The music at this point has built up a lot of tension and the audience would believe a climax is coming.

Screenshot 8: Is a threatening close up, tracking shot, this shows the antagonists intent to murder and gives the audience some clues to what he is going to do, it is also menacing to the audience as the camera is only tracking slowly and we can't really see what's in front of him, leaving an enigma as to where is he going.

Screenshot 9: This shot was important because it really should have an impact on the audience as they have just seen the lights go out and the scream, the lightning suggests something bad has just happened and we thought it would be a good background cover to show our title, the title is also white, however this is primarily to make it stand out on the black background.

Actor Interviews

This is our actor interviews, in this we asked three of the main cast members a series of questions, which are based on movie production and there role in our trailer. From Left to Right we have Jack Nunn,who plays one of the victims, Alex Morgan who plays the main antagonist and Chloe Young, who plays another victim/protagonist.

Audience theory evaluation

Our trailer is in the thriller/horror genre, this provides a lot of instances where the audience could be frightened especially as the film has such normal locations such as a pathway or a house used in it, the idea that a murder could potentially escape and break into peoples houses could make people fearful of there area and could make people remain indoors and become very shaken by the idea. This idea relates to George Gerbner's Cultivation theory, especially his Mean World syndrome, this idea suggests that violence seen in the media is mirroring the real world, making the real world more dangerous than it actually is. Our trailer conforms to this idea as we have a hooded murder, which could relate to gangs, this could make people scared of hooded people, this is also the case as later in our trailer we have the masked murderer enter a house at night, and terrorise the residents inside it, this could make the audience fearful of the dark and being alone in the house and suggests anyone could enter their home at any time.

In our trailer we aimed to promote a fearful depiction of the world in which the main antagonist, the murderer/escaped convict is able to go anywhere, as well as this we feature a new report and the lines "Based on a true story" which could potentially lead some to believe the idea. As suggested in the Hypodermic needle model in which an audience is fed information or shown something and they immediately start believing its true/or accept the idea.

Our trailer also makes use of the Uses And Gratifications Theory, this theory suggests the audience is not passive, but is actively involved in interpreting the media shown to them, from this it also suggests that the audience is responsible for choosing the media to suit there own needs. In relation to my trailer, I believe that people would watch my trailer for a number reasons which are: Entertainment, because as a horror/thriller it is meant to frighten, but as a film its primary use is in entertainment, the trailer also provides a kind of escape from the real world, as the murderer appears to have free reign, but it provides a worst case scenario for a person being trapped inside a house with a murderer. A audience member my also be able to relate to some of the characters in the film because they are based on ordinary people doing normal things like watching TV, this humanises the characters, and while they might not be people to aspire to be, they are likely to reflect the audiences life.

Our trailer does include a couple of female leads, this may suggest to some that the 'male gaze' may be used in this trailer, 'the Male Gaze' is a media theory produced by Laura Mulvey in 1975, the theory suggests that an audience has to view a film from a heterosexual male's point of view, this theory suggests women on screen are objectified, in our film we did not want this idea to come across, there are several films in the horror genre that do but they are normally comedy as well as horror, examples include: Piranha 3D and Scary Movie. Our film features the female leads sitting in a long shot watching TV, this takes the attention away from them and focuses the audience on the developing story and the TV, which is what we want.

STALKER movie trailer

This is our final trailer, as seen from the trailer we have multiple production companies to show our company is well funded and well made. The reporter acts as a kind of narrator and sets the context for the trailer, despite being in the film, the low angle used by the camera gives the news reporter the power of the audience and it makes him appear as the most important character in the scene. The text on screen "Based on a true story" is powerful because it makes the audience believe what is about to happen. The two girls watching the news report adds context to the early footage while also setting the scene for some other clips later in the trailer, it also makes the scene seem very mundane very normal, most people would watch TV at night and this could relate to the audience. The scene with the antagonist in it is taken from two perspectives the first is a high angle shot as the 'victim' is seen walking past, the second is the low angle shot as the antagonist walks past, this gives the audience power over the victim, and we lose that power to the antagonist as he follows on behind, this can make the audience feel intimidated as we now feel small. The cut to black and white is supposed to show CCTV footage of the same incident, this is why we used the transition. The antagonist can be seen holding a knife in the next scene, this threatens the audience and it also indicates there is murder and probably gore along with it. We then cut to a different scene in a house. The antagonist is clearly seen from the birds eye view, this adds menace to the audience, as we can see him clearly but we can't do anything to stop him, the clear shot of the knife adds danger and the possibility of death,we would expect this from a thriller. As the lights go out and we hear the scream, the audience could become unsettled because we don't see what is going on and at this point we can only assume what happened. The film title then appears as thunder and lightning, this adds to the tension and also fits with the nighttime perspective of the final scene. The music in the background adds tension to the whole trailer and this eventually builds up to the final scene.

Evaluation: Our trailer is very conventional in terms of what an audience would expect from a trailer, our trailer shows the main characters and the main points of the film are well shown, we have also implemented several different camera angles throughout the trailer to show dramatic scenes between characters. Between clips we also found it useful to spread out the credits along with some background and dramatic text on screen, this is also helped by the creepy music in the background this helps to build up tension in the trailer and helps build up to the final showcase for the film where the lights cut out and the audience hears a scream. In our trailer we made the decision to leave our film titles till the end, this helps draw the audience in and makes them want to see what the film title is so they can go and see it. As pointed out earlier our trailer builds to a climax, and like with other trailers where they will show one of the most scariest or most exciting clips we decided to end our trailer with a cut to black, as the audience won't know whats going on and this could make them want to see the rest of the film. Overall our trailer does use a montage of clips to showcase the best most exciting parts of our film, this is intended to draw the audience in and make them excited or scared to see our film.

I believe that the trailer we have produced has been generic, however it has featured several experimental ideas, as well as challenging some of the conventions we would expect to see in a trailer. Firstly I trailer is generic to most trailers from this genre and it does adhere to several conventions of trailers, not all of them however, we did add a couple of things that we suspect might be experimental and that includes having a change in camera colour to signify a change of camera type to a CCTV camera of all the film trailer I have watched for this genre none of them included a change like that. As well as this bit of experimenting we also challenged some of the conventions of trailers by not including some things that are generally included such as specific speech like one liners from the characters, we use very little to dialogue in our trailer, this is because we want to use the sound and the images on screen to the maximum and we felt that dialogue would ruin the atmosphere being built up, this is also why we had the reporter at the start of the film to give some background but that is really it.

The trailer we have developed has changed over time, as we were at first not doing this kind of horror/thriller, we intended to make a trailer like paranormal activity, however due to restraints we were unable to pursue this idea. We have mostly been influenced by directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, who is probably the most famous thriller/horror director, he was important because he used music very well in his films especially the classic shower scene in his 1960 film Psycho, we wanted to use that kind of music to that effect, to dramatically build tension.

Film Poster

This is our movie poster we created to go with our trailer. The poster follows the dark, threatening theme from the trailer and magazine cover, the dark them also helps set the genre for the audience and this helps draw people to watch the film. The main images in the trailer are from the trailer or from other productions that we have produced and shows the main actors as well as the main antagonist in the main image, this suggests the film will mostly be set around him. The main title to the film is set in a large font at the top of the page this gives it prominence in the poster and because it is in a white font the word stands out far better than most of the imagery. The tagline "Wherever you go, He"ll be watching" is threatening and directed at the audience, this makes it more personal and draws the reader in. The poster also has the main credits for the film which can tell the audience who produced it and who is starring in the film, this information is vital as a reader might want to know who is in the film as some people only see films if they have a certain actor or actress. As well as this the poster contains the release month and year which gives an idea of when the film will be released. We have also positioned the 'company' logo in the bottom corner this is to tell the audience who the production company is and this can inform the reader what the film budget is.

How did your ideas develop over time?
Our film poster had initially been simply the image of the main antagonist on a black background with the film title 'stalker' at the bottom. however over time we added film credits to the bottom , this was brought in from our, trailer along with this we added several different images to the main image, this was to show the audience the various different characters in the film . The black background we added to give the idea of what the film was about, as from this the audience can probably infer the idea that the film is a horror and maybe even a thriller. The film title has remained in the same position throughout production, we felt that most posters we had seen they had their titles at the bottom, this helps draw the audience and with our title 'Stalker' it links to the main image and genre. The white font we used was most appropriate

Finished Titles

These are the titles we are planning to use in our film trailer, this title is very dramatic and fits in with the tone we want in our trailer, the audience watching the titles might become frightened by the effects, the lightning storm also really adds to the effect of the lights going out in the final scene in the trailer.

Poster Pictures

These are the two photos we used in our posters and magazine front cover, to make these photos we used the cupboards at our school, these were dark enough do that when we used the flash on the camera, and when we cut the image out using Photoshop the images were very effective to use.

Film Magazine Cover

This is the magazine cover, we designed it on paper, then using Photoshop we used several of the unique effects available to add a menacing effect to the front cover, the audience would feel threatened by a faceless antagonist, this doesn't allow the audience to feel for the antagonist they don't get to relate to him and in this way we feel frightened by his presence, the red colour in the title links to blood which in our trailer is threatened but not shown. The faceless antagonist anchors the text title stalker and is the main selling point of this issue of Empire. The bright colours used in the other articles helps show the audience what else is in the article as well as advertising other films. The text used is big and bold with certain words emboldened to make certain words standout. The barcode and price are both located in areas where they can be seen and are commonly found.

The skyline and main magazine title are both big and bold at the top of the page the 'exclusive preview' suggests to the audience the magazine will have articles and information that no other magazine will have and this would attract more readers, as the audience we are constantly looking for something that gives us more information especially if its about something we really enjoy like films. The main title 'Empire' is a major magazine company with a large readership of about 800000 people, this means films featured on the magazine are likely to be popular, the magazine is also well respected making film reviews important. The puffs shown on the front cover are shown big, they offer free things, this attracts a younger audience, and its bright colours draws the eye especially on a dark background. The smaller articles along the right-hand side of the cover are from recent films Nightcrawler and Gone Girl these films are both psychological thrillers which links to our film as we kind of wanted this feel to our trailer, there is a clear thriller film genre in this months issue of Empire. The 'exclusive interview' at the bottom of the magazine draws the audience to read further into the magazine as two of the movies stars are being asked questions, the audience would want to know more about these actors, so they can get to know them better and it humanizes the otherwise big actors.

Evaluation Activity 1: In What ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our magazine cover is conventional when compared to other magazine covers that we have seen from our analysis earlier in the year. The font for example is largely big, bold and contrasts against the background, however the font used on the main article 'Stalker' could be considered unconventional as unlike other fonts from other magazines this one is not bold, it is written in the same font as it is on the trailer, linking the trailer to the magazine cover, it stands out because the letters are so spaced apart. Also the title itself 'Stalker' is an enigma, as the audience has no idea who the main image is of, were conventionally they would normally show the face of a character, mostly the protagonist, on our magazine cover we haven't gone with that and decided it adds mystery as well as menace to the character as the main title would suggest a threat exists and the curiosity of the audience would draw them in as they would want to learn more about the film and what it is about.

The Layout for the magazine is conventional, when compared with other magazine covers such as the Skyfall and Captain America's Empire Magazine covers. The layout consists of several pictures or articles surrounding a close up of a films main character, in the centre, there would also be bright colours as well as puffs and exciting language used such as 'exclusive', these puffs are conventional and would attract the reader to purchase the magazine, coverlines emphasise the theme of the magazine cover which in this case would be thrillers. The picture in the centre of the cover is unconventional compared to the other covers I have looked at as the background is dark and cloudy and there are several enigma's that could intrigue the audience. As a whole I believe that our magazine cover is conventional when compared to other covers, it generally doesn't change the main features you would expect to see and in a way it draws the audience further in as the unknown image and the effect of 'Stalker' adds fear to the cover but also intrigue.

Questionnaire Analysis

These results show that the majority of people we asked were between the ages of 16-20; also it shows the most of the people we asked were male. We decided to set our age certificate to 15, so the questionnaire results are still helpful to us as only 5% of the people we asked were under 15.

When deciding our location the questionnaire results helped us massively, as we were unsure on where the film would be located. With 40% of the people saying to use a house, we decided to use that. Also we agreed with 20% of the people as we chose to film some of our shots outside near a park.

The questions on the Antagonist also helped us a lot. Our group was unsure whether to make the antagonist visible or non-visible. The results of the question swayed us in favour of visible, with 65% of people saying so. Also the results of the question on antagonist characteristics helped us show what the character will be like in the trailer. In the trailer the antagonist is seen to be creepy, mentally unstable and intimidating.

When asked what their favourite horror sub-genre was the majority of people said thriller, so we decided to make our film a Thriller. Before we recorded this questionnaire, we were unsure whether to do a thriller or a psychological horror.

When we asked what people's favourite film was the most popular answer was Taken. Taken's genre is a thriller, which is going to be the genre of our film, so with it being people's favourite film it shows the thriller genre is fairly popular.

The question that asked what you expect to see in a horror film helped us a lot. The main answers were Murders, suspense and jump scares. In our trailer we will try to use all of these things throughout. We will try to create suspense by using creepy music; the creepy music will also link with jump scares. In the trailer the main antagonist is a serial killer so there will definitely be murder shown in our trailer.

So overall the questionnaire results were very helpful and they helped us decide many things that we were unsure about beforehand. The questionnaire helped decide the characters, the genre, the location and what happens in the film. So, carrying out this questionnaire proved to be very worthwhile.

Questionnaire Feedback Horror Trailer

The question that asked what you expect to see in a horror film helped us a lot. The main answers were Murders, suspense and jump scares. In our trailer we will try to use all of these things throughout. We will try to create suspense by using creepy music, the creepy music will also link with jump scares. In the trailer the main antagonist is a serial killer so there will definitely be murder shown in our trailer.

Questionnaire Feedback Blood and Gore

Questionnaire Feedback Favourite Film of the Genre

When we asked what people's favourite film was the most popular answer was Taken. Taken's genre is a thriller, which is going to be the genre of our film, so with it being people's favourite film it shows the thriller genre is fairly popular.

Questionnaire Feedback Sub-Genre

When asked what their favourite horror sub genre was  the majority of people said thriller, So we decided to make our film a Thriller. Before we recorded this questionnaire, we were unsure whether to do a thriller or a psychological horror.

Questionnaire Feedback Protagonist

Questionnaire Feedback Antagonist

The questions on the Antagonist also helped us a lot. Our group was unsure whether to make the antagonist visible or non visible. The results of the question swayed us in favour of visible, with 65% of people saying so. Also the results of the question on antagonist characteristics helped us show what the character will be like in the trailer. In the trailer the antagonist is seen to be creepy, mentally unstable and intimidating.

Questionnaire Feedback Location

When deciding our location the questionnaire results helped us massively, as we were unsure on where the film would be located. With 40% of the people saying to use a house, we decided to use that. Also we agreed with 20% of the people as we chose to film some of our shots outside near a park.

Questionnaire Feedback Age and Gender

 These results show that the majority of people we asked were between the ages of 16-20, also it shows the most of the people we asked were male. We decided to set our age certificate to 15, so the questionnaire results are still helpful to us as only 5% of the people we asked were under 15.

Sound research

This news broadcast ending is what we plan to use in the film, as part of a TV report we have made in the background for the trailer, this clip is from YouTube and was made royalty free which makes it perfect for us to use as we won't be breaching copyright rules, we are going to use it to show a news report on the TV our victim/protagonist will be watching, this is good because we now have some closing titles for when the news story ends and this provides us with a bit more realism to our news broadcast, the sound provided in this clip also appears realistic and it really won't be used for long so the sound in this clip will only really be heard in the background. It also helps lead onto the next clip we plan to use.

This is another sound we plan to use on the TV, We are going to use this because at the end of the news report we are planning to have the TV lose its signal and provide the start to the trailer and in the film this would be were the antagonist starts targeting her.

This is a taste of the kind of music we want to use in our trailer it has been produced royalty free which means we can use it in our trailer, this music is tense and helps build suspense in the trailer, it also matches the idea of being followed and the suspense we want in our trailer.

Title Billing

We have created a billing card to go on the end of our trailer to add to the realism and make it look like a genuine film trailer. We used the layout from the film Seven's billing card to help us design ours and make it look like the real thing.