Evaluation

The A2 coursework I have produced consists of a film teaser trailer, a final magazine cover & a final film poster. These products were originally intended to challenge stereotypical elements seen in horror/thriller hybrids. After numerous plot alterations and cast problems, the group decided it best to try and incorporate these conventions and develop them rather than creating a product that may end up parodying our chosen genre.
To make the trailer fit the typical forms of horror and thriller much research was required. The result of this research enabled the group to construct an original story with which to build our trailer upon. This story was a typical fairytale; Rapunzel, but with obvious twists to both modernise the plot and drag it into the depths of psychological disturbance. The protagonist of the trailer was key when attempting to construct the thriller side of our trailer. In order to fit the theories of Propp, he had to be a plot-driving hero of sorts, who would tackle a disturbance head on and arise victorious. Through this character, we have been able to construct thriller themes by showing him with mental issues (split personality, paranoia). Although our characters do fit into Propp’s theory, our plot does not follow a typical narrative. Todorov’s theory of narrative is broken in our trailer; it begins in clear equilibrium with calm, slow shots, but never returns to this state. The trailer remains mostly in disequilibrium; although this goes against most horror narratives, it does work when linked with the thriller elements. To incorporate and develop horror conventions, the trailer contains many fast, dark shots with de-saturated, mysterious scenes and a distorted, heavy soundtrack. The music I gathered begins slowly, and builds into a heavier, faster riff. This is a perfect device to help build tension.
After analysing several film teaser trailers from both thriller and horror genre, it was clear that several aspects were similar, and several were different. Gore was common in horror but not in thriller, and dialogue was more common in thriller than horror. In general, the group decided it best to combine a series of elements from both to create a fusion that we all agreed worked perfectly.
To make the trailer seem more authentic, I decided to make some credits to go into the last few shots. To do this we had to find a distribution and production company. We decided as a group to use Pathe UK, which distributes smaller, more independent, specific genre British films. After much deliberation, the group thought it best to invent our own production company. We settled on the name ‘Third eye productions’ and I set about creating a logo to add to the credits. I feel that the credits included in the trailer give it a more professional style in general, allowing audiences to see the trailer as a product that may actually be released.

When designing the ancillary texts, I had to keep in mind that the inter-relation of every text had to be meaningful, obvious and purposeful. The first ancillary text I designed was the magazine cover. After research, I chose to employ a layout mimicking that of a Sight And Sound magazine cover. I feel the design of my magazine lends it some sense of authenticity. Although I was quite pleased with the final design, I felt I took far too long developing it.
The second ancillary text designed was the poster. To relate the poster to the magazine was fairly simple; I employed the same main typefaces and used a shot of the same character. I think the relation of the two ancillary texts is clear and accurate.
Linking these to the trailer proved a little more difficult. Relating stills to the moving images proved challenging, but rewarding. The use of repetition helped as it allowed the group to show the main protagonist featured on the magazine and poster over and over.
The general theme of the three texts is geared more towards horror than thriller; I think this is a good thing, as it will attract a younger audience due to a more exciting appearance. With the use of common typefaces and images, tis theme has been kept consistent and clear.
I believe the combination of the texts is very effective, I am certain that each piece works well with the others, and that they work well together as a distributional whole.

Audience feedback collected both individually and as a group member delivered the same verdicts. Most people were taken aback at how well the trailer and ancillary texts were constructed, some went as far as to question it was our own work. Not many people could see areas for improvement; those who could were students of either media studies or a related subject.
The group interviewed people of a variety of ages, asking their opinion of various aspects of all three texts. People older than our intended target audience seemed to grasp stories within the trailer better whereas people within and younger seemed to appreciate just the aesthetics.
From this feedback I have learned that we could have done more to ensure we were targeting the correct age ranges for our texts.

The majority of the technology used for the creation of the film trailer was new to me. Throughout the process of creation, we have kept this blog. Blogging is new to me, and I believe I have now become accustomed to it. It has become a quick and efficient way of creating and displaying our thought patterns, research and creation.
During the construction/research stage a couple of new techniques were used. The first was filming. I had never really used a video camera prior to making the trailer, and I found the process quite fun, but very hard. Learning to set up the equipment and produce good quality shots was challenging and complex. It turned out that the filming would get easier as the group developed some experience, and our shots began to become more effective as the construction progressed. The second was the editing software. For our trailer, the group used Adobe Premiere Elements. I had never edited any sort of film footage before this project, but I found that it was fairly easy to grasp. Once the group had played around with several aspects of the software, it became second nature, the work we were producing using it began coming out in a professional style.

In general, I think the project went well, better than I had ever expected. I believe the products created both individually and as a group are of a very high standard and reflect the effort and ambition we tackled to project with.