'TRAP' - Film Trailer

Evaluation Q4 (first draft)

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

 A variety of different forms of media technologies were used in every stage of my coursework. Three of the main resources was the Internet, an editing software (Premiere Pro) and Photo shop. Due to the accessibility of each of these I was able to complete my coursework efficiently and professionally. 

 In the researching stage, search engines such as Google helped in finding information easily, google often has the answer to everything. I was able to learn about the development of my complex genre and the key conventions involved as well as free access to past texts on You Tube, which is a very use full social media platform for the research stage because there is such a huge amount of help full content. I used You Tube for tutorials on Photo shop and special effects. For example i used You Tube to teach myself how to create the gunshot effect.Google was used for finding existing magazines and posters in which I had to textually analyse in order to find common codes and conventions found within both. 

Survey Monkey.com is another media technology that was used in the research stage of my coursework. This is a website which enables you to create surveys and distribute it onto social media websites easily by just copy and pasting the URL. The survey was sent out through my schools email.The survey I created enabled me to attain quantitative data to understand how to cater for my audience. The website was very helpful and kept me informed and updated on my surveys progress at all times. Giving me a percentage score on how many people had seen my survey, completed it and an individual score for each question created. After gaining all this information from Survey Monkey.com I then used Microsoft PowerPoint to create a slide show, it was easy to use allowing me to display all my findings in the form of graph.

My coursework has been displayed using Blogger.com, which has allowed me to update and edit blog posts whenever i want from any desktop and let me create my own unique blog design which even fits the urban theme of my product. I used a site called Scribd in order to upload PowerPoint slide shows to my blog which was simple to do, this was used to upload things like my film pitch and my target audience research results.

Photo shop was the software that i used to construct my ancillary products. I was quite new to the software so it took me some time to become familiar with it, like i said You Tube was used to help me learn how to use this complicated software. Photo shop gave me the opportunity to create my film poster and magazine front cover to what i feel was a decent standard and as close to industry standard as possible. I learnt how to use different techniques and tools on photo shop to make my products as effective and creative as possible for example creating drop shadows and the rubbing out tool to remove the main character from the background in the film poster. The typography for the title of the film 'TRAP' was found on www.dafont.com. This website contained a wide selection of fonts and placed them in different categories.I selected a range of potential fonts and chose the one i felt was most suitable. Photo shop was also used to render the font which has become what seems to be my film logo and has been key in creating brand identity.

Magazine front cover in the making

Premiere Pro was the editing software i used. I was familiar with using this because of my foundation portfolio where i made a film opening. I feel that my editing skills have improved since and i have had the opportunity to challenge my self more this time when editing as i had such a huge amount of footage and allot of the shots where action packed. The trailer also consists of allot of different audio. I had to try and get the timing right in my trailer with inter titles and sounds in the sound track which was very hard. Premiere Pro was the most important media technology as it allowed me to construct my main product.

The camera i used to film was a Canon Camcorder HD. Compared to the technology used in the film industry this camera is basic so it was hard to achieve shots as effective as the ones seen in past texts i have analysed but i still managed to get some great shots with it. The camera was easy to use especially with a tripod. The footage was uploaded straight onto my computer ready to edit on Premiere Pro. As discussed, allot of media technologies where used in the making of my advanced portfolio and where essential towards its success. 

Evaluation Q3 (first draft)

 What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

A key component throughout this entire coursework was the feedback in which I gathered from my target demographic. I needed to understand how to cater for their needs and I did this by finding out what they wanted through different forms of research. It has helped me develop and improve my products to ensure the end result will attain the professional quality my audience expect from me.

 In the early stages of my coursework I used the site Survey Monkey.com to create a simple questionnaire that would help me figure out my desired target audience-ultimately affecting my decision on which age restriction my film would be and what they like within the genre of my film. I decided on an 18 age restriction as it allowed me to be more flexible with the topics brought up in the film such as drugs and violence which are major conventions of this genre. The majority of people that took my questionnaire where 17-18, this is the main reason i went for an 18 age restriction. Talking to teenagers in my school from around the ages of 14-18 about ages restrictions taught me that the 18 certificate is actually more appealing to allot of teenagers under 18 than a 15 or 12 rated film and makes them want to watch it even more. There seems to be a kind of thrill behind watching a film you shouldn't be watching. Just because a film has an 18 age restriction it does not mean that the audience will be over 18, it will in fact most likely be from 14 to 25, Film company's know this !

 I asked questions such as what puts you off watching a film from the trailer, most people selected bad story line or unrealistic. Questions like this allow me to focus on pleasing the audience because i knew that i had to make the story line as appealing as possible and would need to be portrayed as realistic which is something i have really focused on and feel that i have achieved. Another important question was, What appeals to you most in a film trailer. The most popular answer selected was, Capture the mood of the film with out giving away the plot. Interestingly the second most popular choice was, A mysterious film trailer. This made me consider creating more of a tease trailer but instead i focused on capturing the mood of the film by carefully paying attention to the settings and the main character without giving away any of the plot. These two questions are just two examples of questions that allowed me to sculpture an audience profile that acted as a guideline when I considered which conventions to break, use and develop.

 For the research into my poster and magazine I wanted qualitative response and so I approached a selection of students who gave their opinions on the templates which I had created. The black and white colour scheme seemed to gain a positive response however people favoured the yellow background behind the black and white colour scheme because of its connotations and eye catching effects. I asked a total of 30 students from my six form, mainly media studies students so i could gain a strong and reliable response. I recorded peoples votes for the favourite template in a tally chart and then made a bar graph to visualise the results. This allowed me to use audience feedback as a decision Maker rather than my self because a film poster needs to be appealing to the audience not me.

 when completing my first draft of my trailer i showed it to my class mates which i did not gain much usefulness out off because they couldn't give me much feedback, They seemed to like what i had made and couldn't recommend anything to improve. However feedback from my teacher helped allot as he was able to give me guidelines for improvement. As a result of my teacher feedback i made a second voice over that comes in towards the end as he felt there was not enough audio to give clues of what the films about. Other minor bits of feedback where also given to make the trailer stronger such as added sound when inter titles came in and to shorten certain shots. 

As a whole i have learnt allot from engaging with the audience and getting there feedback. Audience feedback has been vital in my products as it has allowed them to develop over time and make my products become more appealing.

 .

Evaluation Q2 (first draft)

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

The aim is to get each one of my products to promote each other. The ancillary products are meant to promote my main product(Trailer) gain recognition. This was achieved by creating a brand identity that links all three of my products together. The film trailer is the main product and the two ancillary products are for promoting the trailer. Film posters are used by the film producers as a way of marketing in order to attract an audience. It is important that the poster links in with the trailer in order for people to recognise it. Synergy is the simultaneous release of two products to boost both, ultimately my products are designed to work in synergy with each other. In contrast cross media convergence is where a media product is promoted across other media platforms such as film magazines and posters. Cross media convergence and synergy is very important for the promotion of films.

A brand identity was created mainly through the film title. I made sure that I designed the title in a way that it becomes recognisable and acts as a logo as well as a film title. The font is bold and stands out well i made sure of this on each product. The title appears at the end of the trailer, the film poster and the magazine was designed to fit the theme of the film its urban and concrete like with a skyline shaped into it at the bottom, these are connotations for the "streets", the setting of the film. By looking at the title the viewer should sub-consciously get an idea of the genre. The title is a very important part of my product in order to create brand identity and for gaining recognition that links all three together.

The poster differentiates from the other products because it has been designed in order to stand out and grab the eyes of the audience. This has been achieved through the colour scheme. I have used a bold yellow background with a black and white image of the main character on top. This bright yellow was only used in the poster. This type of yellow is used on danger and warning signs so this black and yellow colour scheme often psychologically gives off the feeling of danger which suits the film as well has being a bright eye catching colour. The black/ grey and yellow colour scheme is also associated with roads due to the yellow lines and the concrete, this also links in well with the genre and the settings.

The themes portrayed in the film have been represented in the poster. It is clear that it is a gang/crime film mainly through the hand gun that the main character (Michael) is holding and through the way he's dressed. He is in a natural pose and looks directly at the viewer to make it more engaging. The black and white effect has been used to match the yellow and stand out. London is one of the key themes of the film and is the setting, so to make links between the trailer and the poster I have faded the setting into the background. On the left you can see the iconic recognisable side of London and on the right is a council estate, this suggests that the film is a social realist. 

I know that my target audience age group are frequent users of social media platforms particularly Twitter and Snap chat. Social media is an excellent way of advertising because it is free and can be spread viral very fast if done correctly.The use of social media is a prime example of modern day cross media convergance which is very popular with films. I have made a hash tag for twitter (#TRAP LIFE) so that when this hash tag is searched, a wall of posts will pop up related to the film. This hash tag has been advertised on my poster and my film magazine to gain its awareness. Hopefully the hash tag will become a trend on twitter as this is a social media platform that I expect the majority of my target audience to be using. Snap chat is another popular media platform, it allows you to share your snap QR code with others so they can simply scan it with the app and it then takes you to your snap page or your snap story. By displaying a snap QR code on the magazine it allows the audience to see the films trailer and exclusive interviews and first looks in a fun and interactive way. As an 18 year old myself I know that my age group is constantly on Snap chat and that this would be a very easy and efficient way off advertising. The Snap chat QR code on my magazine front cover also means that it has a stronger connection to my main product because it allows instant access to my film trailer.

.

I would like to say that the combination of my three products will work effectively with eachother in promoting the film. The film trailer is the main body of the promotion and the magazine cover and film poster will create awarness and also attract a target audiance with things such as the QR code and the twitter hashtag.

Evaluation Q1

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

My media products fall under both, British Social realism and crime genre that focuses on the issue of teenagers and criminal activity in London. My products are conventional but these forms and conventions have been developed to create something that is More unique. Most genres have elements that the audience expects as they have been used many times in previous films from their genre/sub genre, these elements are known as codes and conventions. Codes and Conventions can be displayed to the audience, for example through setting, acting or narrative. Media texts especially films are often conventional to allow recognition and familiarity. This often leads to stereotypes such as those challenged and reinforced in my products.

When deciding on my Genre I decided to choose British Crime, I wanted to work with this genre as it is an interest of mine, I undertook secondary research to become familiar with it and looked at past texts. Successful texts in this genre are 'Brotherhood' and 'Top Boy.' I am creating a film which is similar to 'Brotherhood'. 'Top Boy' however is a series but as it contains lots of codes and conventions it was worth viewing this series to inspire me. I textually analysed both to discover key conventions which I could use and develop. I particularly focused on their use of representation, like ethnicity, gender and age. I also looked at how the setting is portrayed. Social realist productions are always set in real life settings and focus on real life issues where representations are kept as close to reality as possible.

Film poster for Brotherhood

Advertisement for the series Top Boy

 My film(TRAP) is set in the east end of London, a common location for Social realism productions that i have researched such as Top Boy, Legend and green street. The setting is a key theme of my product and has been represented as close to reality as possible, representing the true parts that are not often portrayed in the media where it is seen has a high end wealthy city with white British people as the dominant ethnicity. In TRAP, London is seen for how it really is, it focuses on the considerably bad parts that are heavily associated with crime. This representation was achieved by actually going to council estates around east London and using them as my setting, similar to the setting of the series Top Boy. This representation of the city allows a large audience to familiarise with this type of setting and feel more in the atmosphere of the production and this realistic representation of the setting is very conventional of my genre.

These two shots of London taken from the trailer show the sharp contrast between the two parts of London that are represented, the nice conventional part with the nice buildings and the red buses contrasted with the rundown estates that are considered dangerous. 

Social realism productions are based on real life issues, TRAP is focused on a big issue that is seen in London which is gang violence. As the amount of stabbings and gang related deaths have increased in the city, i feel that my production is very relevant to the current times. Representations of age and ethnicity are  displayed in my production which would be argued as stereotyped or generic. Teenagers in the media are usually stereotyped as troublesome associated with drugs and anti-social behaviour, especially black teenagers. As a Seventeen year old black male i feel that my main character (Micheal) has been represented in a stereotypical way but also in a way that certainly exists in reality, therefore I have followed the conventions of social realism. The character Michael was carefully constructed by the way he dressed and through the way he acted. It was important that I chose someone who was experienced in drama and had been on stage many times because this can be a difficult role to play.

I made sure that the trailer set the mood of the film so I used a number of signs and semiotics to convey this. This was done through using props such as replica guns, a selection of cars, and prop money and narcotics. These props were used for the trailer in order to clearly show the key themes in the film, I feel that its also vital to use these kind of props in order to make it as realistic and as close to industry standard as possible. This has also been displayed in the trailers for similar media products such as Top Boy. This is an example of where I have used forms and conventions of real media products.

This shot shows the setting I created which the audience would recognise as a 'Trap House', this is a slang term for the place that drug dealers go about there business. The shot has been carefully constructed with props to show there daily lifestyle which is drug dealing

 

This close up of a hand gun screams out crime and violence to the audience, it is a key convention in this genre. It is arguably my most important prop because of its effectiveness. it is a dangerous and serious item and appears in each one of my products.

As well as using key conventions from past texts I came up with my own ideas to. I feel that one of my best ideas was to use a CCTV overlay which I had in mind from the very start. This is a semiotic that clearly represents crime and the city. London is the most watched city in the world through CCTV, and its hard to find areas of the city that are not CCTV monitored therefore using this  in my trailer is a good and realistic representation of London as well as the crime genre. It shows that the main Character is being watched and hints that he will most likely end up in trouble. It also looks very effective in the trailer and like a genuine CCTV footage. I achieved this by placing the camera in a high up corner when we filmed in the council estate.

The comparison with rich and poor, and a 'fight to the top' are key themes brought up in the film so I showed contrasting shots of the wealthy lifestyle involved with the men at the top of the game compared with the shots of the poorer lifestyle with council estates as the setting, this is the lifestyle that Michael is associated with. To show this contrast between lifestyles I used shots of nice cars. I managed to film my friends dads car which was perfect for my trailer and would be extremely appealing to my target audience.

As well as making the genre conventional, the lay out of the trailer needed to be conventional as well so I made sure that the detail and lay out was as close to industry standard as possible. Through my research and planning I discovered what trailers always include. These are things such as company logos, age certificates and inter titles so I made sure that I included all of these. The age certificate appears at the start of the trailer and inter titles appear throughout the main body.

All trailers usually include some type of audio track. At first I thought I was going to use a rap/grime audio but I felt that this would be to generic. So I decided to challenge conventions of similar media products and use a classical piano soundtrack which starts of with a light pulsing piano sound that builds up with time, it then drops into a sort of hip hop beat. The beat drops after the voice over that is supposed to make the audience sympathise with the main character. The beat drops in the timing of the main character mugging someone. The change in beat is meant to go with the change in the visuals, it goes from a peaceful atmosphere to a strong and dangerous one full of crime. This was designed to make a strong punchy impact, it shows the main characters switch in lifestyle and indicates that is what the plot is about to the audience. The loud pulsing Hip Hop beat starts to calm down and return to the original calming state in time for the second voice over where the main character seems to sound different, his voice has a more aggressive tone to it, his speech is less clear. This suggests that he has undergone some life changing scenarios and has been through a lot that has ultimately effected his personality. The trailer  ends with a Trap song which is a UK rap sub-genre. It goes with the dark visuals of the main character pointing a gun towards the ground and shooting, he has just murdered someone. This trap music that comes in at the end suggests that Michael is now fully in that lifestyle, he is 'trapped'. 

This is the ending shot that goes with the trap music. It goes perfectly with the visuals because its dark and the lyrics are about money and violence which reflects Michaels new lifestyle and the person he has become

I feel the audio has really worked well with the visuals and the voice over, It adds a deepness to the trailer which I like. The audio is something that I feel I have been creative with and have developed from those of existing products. I have tried to stick to being conventional throughout the construction of my product and I have been heavily inspired by past texts I have researched but I have also tried to be creative and develop from them to be more challenging and original.

Designing my Magazine front cover

 I Choose the image I wanted to use out of the selection I had. I wanted to use this because I like the plain, urban/street style background and the posture of the two actors. I like how the Characters look directly into the camera and interacts with the audience. I feel the image really conveys the social realism genre and of course crime/gang which is shown through the clothing style and the gun being held. The colours have been kept quite dark and simple setting the mood of the film.
I decided to edit the classic empire magazine headline to something that would fit the genre and match the image. I changed it to a dark grey concrete colour and used the square rubbing out tool to make it look like it has been painted on like graffiti. The title blends into the urban background and goes perfectly with the image. I feel I prefer this because its unconventional and different to what the reader sees in every issue its more original and creative.

On top of this i then added in the films title which matches the background colour and has a drop shadow behind it giving it a bold 3D effect which shows its importance as the films branding. I want the title to become recognisable and iconic to the film itself. I then added in some text to do with TRAP but also what else will be inside the magazine which is conventional of empire magazine covers. The font is bold and white with a drop shadow making it stand out. Ive used red to grasp the viewers attention to the text and to break the text up. The red box with text in it is also a way of grabbing the viewers attention to important information.

To finish things off i added more information in text around the cover such as the information in red at the top about the main things inside the magazine. I wanted to make the magazine as realistic and as close to industry standards as possible so i hadded some more things such as the release date and price, and a bar code. In the bottom left i have added a blue circle with the must see films of 2018 beside it which makes the cover very conventional. I have carefully analysed previous magazine covers in order to get mine as realistic as possible.

Empire film Magazine Analysis

 Empire magazine is British film magazine and is the world’s biggest movie magazine, each monthly movie issue delves into the world of commercial and arthouse cinema to bring film reviews, features and set reports from world-class writers, critics, photographers and illustrators.