Final Products

This is the final Romance Trailer 'Across the Miles'.

This it the final magazine cover we decided that we would make it for Empire Magazine and go against the normal conventions of Empire as it normally targets a male audience. However we decided that we would create a romantic girly magazine cover.

This is the final magazine cover and I think it portrays the romance genre well and it representative of our trailer as a whole.

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

When completing the trailer, film poster and magazine cover we had to use a range of different technology to help ensure that it was of high quality. We used this technology specifically in the ares of construction and research, planning and evaluation.

The construction stage was the most reliant on technology as we had to film for our trailer and then edit it, take pictures and design our film poster and magazine. The first most essential piece of technology we had to use was a video camera to shoot the footage that we would be using to create our trailer. We also had to use a still camera to take the pictures for our film poster and magazine.

When it came to editing the footage for the trailer we used a new programme called 'Power Director 9' and this is something which we hadn't used before as when completing our AS work we used 'Pinnacle studio 12'.

Although the layout of these two programmes are quite similar it appeared that 'Power Director' was a lot more successful in creating our trailer. We used it to cut down our clips, add in transitions and effects, add in titles and overlay sound. Overall I think we were a lot more happier with the new programme as it created a very professional final product and was easy to use it also enabled us to and the voice over and the music together something which proved difficult so it appears that this technology helped us a lot.

When it came to creating our film poster and magazine we used 'Photoshop' and this allowed us to design our own layouts. We were able to erase the background of images which left us with just the two people from the pictures which meant we could add our own background and this was important for us to do. Another thing that Photoshop offers is layering images over each other which helped when it came to the magazine as wanted to add in new images and different shapes and text so this enabled us to do this. We were also able to crop, re size and change the colour of the images and overall it helped us to create extremely high standard product which we were very pleased with.

The research part of this product was helped greatly by YouTube as it was all based around film case studies and looking in to trailers something in which YouTube allows you to view. So when looking in to the different elements that make up romance trailers YouTube played a huge role as I was able to watch and analyse them through this site. The Internet also helped out a lot when it came to researching film posters and magazines as I was able to look at them using site such as 'Google Images' and again analyse them. So this helped a lot in my research and meant I could create effective case studies on my chosen genre.

When it came to planning the use of technology was extremely important in helping us to organise the filming and ensuring that everything had been thought about. We were able to use Microsoft word to create script and prop lists but we were also able to use it to create shooting schedules and call sheets so that everyone knew when they were needed and where. Mobile phones also played an important role in helping to improve group communication and also so that we could contact our actors and keep them up to date. The Internet was also extremely helpful as we were able to use this to find the correct music for our trailer.

The evaluation was helped a lot by technology as we were able to post our trailer on to Web 2.0 to get audience feedback. I posted the trailer on to FaceBook and also YouTube to see what people thought of the final product and this proved extremely helpful. We have also been able to use Web 2.0 when looking in to other trailers.

Evaluation: What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Audience feedback is important for us to include as we must ensure that we are appealing to our correct target audience. The trailer is mainly targeted at a female audience however we do want to try and interest some males if they go to watch it as part of a group for example. So we asked a few females and a couple of males to watch the trailer and look at our poster and magazine cover to see if they could suggest any changes that should be made to help make it more appealing for them.

Version 1- Trailer When our audience watched this first edit they say that parts of it were slightly mixed up and it didn't run as smoothly as it could do and maybe some of the clips could be rearranged. They also said that the Universal Studios titles shouldn't be in the middle of the trailer and should be shown at the start as an introduction. We also didn't have any music in this edit as we found it hard to find a song so we asked the audience what they thought would be appropriate for this trailer and they said they would like some soft romantic music which compliments the story. So that is why we chose to use parallel music.

Version 2- Trailer In this version we had made the previous changes but we still wanted to double check it interested them and wanted to see if there were perhaps any other changes we could make. The audience suggested that maybe the titles colours were inappropriate for this genre as they were red and black and a lot of them thought these colours were more suited to the horror genre. So we asked them which colours they thought would be more appropriate and they said grey and pink as this is more symbolic of the romance genre.

Version 3- Trailer When the audience watched version 3 they found it a lot more enjoyable and they said that the changes we had made ensured that it looked professional and was finished off well. So this helped us a lot as it now meant that we were appealing well to the target audience and we knew that they would want to go and watch this film. So the purpose of the trailer was fulfilled which was what we wanted to achieve.

We also asked this group to look at our film poster and magazine cover and see whether there was any improvements that could be made to these.

Poster They said that the film poster was very effective with the use of the background and that the sign post used helped to reinforce the question of happiness and this is something that we wanted to achieve. They also said that we should move the actors name up to the top of the page to help interest the audience as opposed to having them at the bottom and to also put the title of the film up there in bold writing as well. These are all things that we took on board and we made all of these changes and this ensured that our poster was targeting our audience.

Magazine With the magazine cover when they first looked at it they said that it wasn't eye catching enough and there was too many blocks of texts. They said that this should be broken up and more variety of shapes should be used to make it eye catching for the readers. They also suggested that we should include another article not relating to our film to show a more varied magazine cover. Again we made all of these changes and we were a lot more pleased with the final result as it made the magazine more interesting when looking at it.

The Audience feedback helped out a lot as it meant that we were making our target audience happy and appealing to them so I think it helped us learn a lot about our products and the ways in which we could make them better.

Evaluation: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?

I believe that all three of the products we have produced work together extremely well and they portray the true meaning of our film and show the romance genre. However I also think that each product would work well on their own which is also important but together they are a lot stronger. Something that helped these elements to work well together I believe was creating the trailer first as it enabled us to develop a common theme that would run through all three products and help show a connection between them. I think this link was the colours of the text as we initially used black and red in the trailer but after feedback we were advised to change this to white and pink and we were then able to carry this them on and we used a lot of white and pink in our magazine cover. It was hard to carry this theme on to the poster as we used a picture of a road to show the decision within the trailer however we did manage to carry it on as we used white text and kept the light colours in. So I think in that sense the three different products all work extremely well together. As aforementioned there is an element of 'who will end up together in the end' and will this be the right decision and this is something which is shown in the trailer when both of the male protagonists are running to find the main female protagonist. We have carried this theme on it to the film poster as we have used an image of a road with a sign post saying 'Happy' so this again will leave the audience to wonder will she be happy in the end, so we have linked these question between both the trailer and the poster and this would intrigue and audience and make them want to see the film so this is an effective link. A similar link that we have created again between the film poster and the trailer is the use of a 'tag line' which says 'How far would you travel to find the one?' and this is again creating a question for the audience to find the answer to which would require them watching the film. So these elements work well together as its leaving the audience wondering and wanting to find out. However I do feel that I should of maybe included this 'tag line' on the film magazine as a slogan for the film and this would of helped to bring the three elements together even more so this is something I should of included. The trailer, film poster and magazine cover all work together really well and help to show the same themes throughout leaving the audience wondering what will happen and this is something I felt was important for us to achieve so the combination has worked extremely well.

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

Our media trailer does comply to the normal conventions of a romance film in a variety of ways but it could also be said the we have developed these conventions as well. Our romance trailer doesn't contain a lot of speech and the speech that is shown normally consists of short sentences, one or two lines. I feel that this is a common convention of romance trailers as only small parts of the story should be shown so nothing major is given away. We have also used narration in the form of a letter and this is shown in romance trailers as letters are extremely symbolic and can show a lot of emotion.

This is the trailer for the film 'Dear John' a letter is used within this trailer as narration and is mixed in with speech from the film. This is the same as our trailer and it helps to show emotion, so this is an area in which we have complied with the normal conventions of romance trailers and I feel is strength in our trailer.

The location of our trailer also complies with the normal conventions of a romance film. When researching romance trailers it was clear that the location played a huge role and was symbolic of romance. Within the film 'Dear John' you can see that it is filmed on the beach and this helps to the genre. So we decided that we would also use these picturesque locations and we chose to set some of our trailer on the beach and conform to the conventions of the romance genre. This helped us greatly as it enables the audience to see clearly the genre. We also chose other romantic locations such as by the canals and in a country park and these are things that comply with romance conventions because they all add to the romantic element.

The storyline of the trailer does develop upon the normal conventions of a romance film as i feel we had added a few twists to the story. A lot of romance films show the males to be the ones who don't always want to be in the relationship whereas we had gone against this convention and shown the female to be the one who doesn't believe in love and this is something we thought we would make the film more interesting. However it does follow Todrov's equilibrium theory as at the start of the trailer is shows the characters to be happy but then the equilibrium is disrupted in the middle of the trailer leading in to fast paced editing towards the end of the trailer, through the use of fast cuts, content of the clips and the music and all of this helps to leave the audience wanting more. Within the trailer you do not see the equilibrium being restored as this would ruin the film so and prevent people from going to see it so leaving a sense of a cliff hanger is something which happens within in a vast majority of trailers, so this in an area in which we have complied to the conventions of a romance trailer.

The music is a strong part of the trailer and I feel it shows the romance extremely well, we decided that we would use parallel music to add to the romance, however at certain parts it could be seen as contrapuntal for example when she says she doesn't believe in love the soft romantic music is still playing. So this is an area where we have both conformed and gone against the normal conventions.

Click on this link 'A2 Trailer' to view the trailer with the romantic soft music;

A2 Trailer

In the Magazine cover I believe we moved away from the normal conventions of the romance genre through both the magazine company we chose and the layout of the cover. We decided we would chose Empire magazine which normally has a niche market of males and make a female cover. So we are going against the normal convention here as we are opening up to a male market and trying to bring in female readers. Also the colours we used were quite plain as we chose a white background to help ensure that the main image stood out, we did however use very feminine and romantic colours for the text as we used a lot of red, pink and purple something which will help to show the romantic element. This is something which is shown fequently for magazine covers for example the sex and the city magazine cover is very plain and doesnt show any romance iconography. So I think throughout we have both managed to convey and go against the normal conventions of a romance film and these elements work well together and help to portray both romance and the storyline of the film.

Ancilliary Task, Film Poster

This is the final film poster to accompany our trailer, we have made the previously mentioned changes and we now feel that it shows the romance genre well. It shows that the main female protagonist is staring at the male protagonist and touching his shoulder. It again reinforces the question will they be happy? Laura completed most of the poster as I was doing the magazine cover however we did get together and share ideas and ensure that we were both happy with the poster.

Planning: Ancillary Task, Film Poster first draft

This was the first draft of our poster and we decided that we would ask a small group of people from our target audience what they thought of it and ask them to give us some feedback. They told us that they like the bold title at the top of the page and the tag line is effective and creates a question for the audience. However they said that they think the actors name should be at the top of the page and that we should only show the two actors that are on the front cover because it seems that there is too much writing. So we will now make these improvements to make the poster better for out target audience.