Evaluation Point 4

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

The internet played a major part on the construction of the idea for the teaser trailer and research into pull off the tricks that I wished to use. It also served as a large database of footage of different magicians, mainly on youtube, where you could pick up inspiration on which tricks to do and in what order.

Another website which was useful in this stage of production was 'WonderHowTo. com', which is a website designed for people to share ideas and tips on how to achieve different effects. It is a video from this website which gave me the idea of using a matte over certain areas of the footage to create the vanishing effect, my explination video for which can be seen below.

This also illustrates how useful final cut was in the production stage of my film, whereas in programmes like iMovie, effects like this wouldn't be possible. It is ultimately the knowledge and ease of use of final cut which allowed me to complete the teaser trailer and allowed me so much creative freedom.

The 'voice over' tool in final cut also came in extremely useful when it came to adding in music over the trailer, and the voice over used within the trailer. It also gave a source for the 'white noise' found in all natural environments. This involved putting the film on mute, and holding a microphone up in a quiet room so any natural noise could be picked up and the entirety of the trailer sounded similar and natural.

My own HD quality video camera also allowed for dynamic effects to be used within the teaser trailer. This allowed crisp HD images to be used, and the inbuilt focus setting on the camera allowed different aspects of the show to be brought in and out of focus at will. This is seen below as the camera changes focus from the character in shot to the items on table, much as an eye would focus on different items.

Evaluation Point 3

What have you learnt from audience feedback?

This video shows how audience feedback played an important role in the final look of the poster especially. I showed the original ideas with the poster fonts to peers and friends and some of the fonts didn't appear to be very popular. So I decided to experiment with the fonts that were popular, moving them to different areas on the poster and changing the size of them within the poster. Still the audience feedback on the posters and the fonts wasn't very good, so I went looking around other font libraries, and finally found the font which I eventually settled on.

User feedback from last year's film also played a big part in the initial planning stage for this year's film. Last year comments on my final video mainly sad that some of the shots I used were far too dark and therefore not clear enough on screen. This led to the inclusion of a spotlight within this year's film. The male character himself had his very own spotlight within an extremely dark environment, which was then shone on his 'victim' . This bypassed the obvious problems of lighting such a dark space 'naturally', by clearly showing a legitimate source of light within the setting.

Evaluation Point 2

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

This video focuses on how the theme of cards and magic ran throughout all 3 pieces. The examples shown are the poster and the magazine cover, where cards feature prominently (as the main focal point for the poster, and as a clear background for the magazine cover). Upon viewing the teaser trailer there are also two memorable card tricks, which will be remembered due to the history of cards within magic.

It also shows how the logo was incorporated into both the magazine cover and the poster to create a link for the audience to recognise. This it an attempt to copy the way most movies use the same logo on every product. I chose to not include this logo within the film trailer because the other title was far easier to animate and I was able to create the optical illusion effect where the viewer was still able to read the word 'Illusion', even though the letter 'I' is missing from the middle of the word.

Evaluation Point 1

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

This video goes through the comparisons between my own teaser trailer style and that of batman begins. The fades are common conventions of teaser trailers, especially when there is a montage of clips. This reassures the audience that its a trailer, and the length of my own trailer coupled with the style (where it gives very little information about the story away), allows it to be recognised as a teaser instead of a full theatrical trailer. This relates to the recent 'Pirates of the Caribbean 4' teaser trailer (link), which is just a clip of Captain Jack Sparrow talking to camera. Much like my own teaser trailer, this gives none of the story away, and provides intrigue into the nature of the story.

Reasons for my own classification

The reason the '15' rating was chosen for the trailer was that it reached out to the widest audience possible, without cutting back on the shocking nature of some of the 'tricks' involved. Due to the involvement of a gun and the element of kidnap and restraint, which go against the rules of not glamourising weapons, and the involvement of mature themes which could be imitated or cause fear amongst a young audience.

However the violence levels within the trailer are not excessive and wouldn't warrant an '18' certificate, which is used for films which contain strong bloody violence. However not all of the violence will be seen within the trailer and therefore the rating on the posters will ned to apply to the film as a whole.

Classification Criteria

To create the film, first we must select a suitable rating for the film, which could be classified by a number of film characteristics.
These include -

• Discrimination
• Drugs
• Horror
• Imitable Behaviour
• Language
• Nudity
• Sex
• Theme
• Violence

Below are the category criteria for films rated 12 and 15 respectively:

Discrimination
Discriminatory language or behaviour must not be endorsed by the work as a whole. Aggressive discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly condemned.
Drugs
Any misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be glamorised or give instructional detail.
Horror
Moderate physical and psychological threat may be permitted, provided disturbing sequences are not frequent or sustained.
Imitable behaviour
Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and
self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied, or appear pain or harm free. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.
Language
Moderate language is allowed. The use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’) must be infrequent.
Nudity
Nudity is allowed, but in a sexual context must be brief and discreet.
Sex
Sexual activity may be briefly and discreetly portrayed. Sex references should not go beyond what is suitable for young teenagers. Frequent crude references are unlikely to be acceptable.
Theme
Mature themes are acceptable, but their treatment must be suitable for young teenagers.
Violence
Moderate violence is allowed but should not
dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood,
but occasional gory moments may be permitted if
justified by the context. Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and
discreetly indicated, and must have a strong contextual justification.

Discrimination
The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory
language or behaviour.
Drugs
Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not
promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily
accessible andhighly dangerous substances (for example,
aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.
Horror
Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic
or sexualised.
Imitable behaviour
Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and
self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be
copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.
Language
There may be frequent use of strong language (for example,
‘fuck’). The strongest terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be
acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated
use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.
Nudity
Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without
strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a
non-sexual or educational context.
Sex
Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail.
There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour,
but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable
unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is
sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.
Theme
No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is
appropriate for 15 year olds.
Violence
Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction
of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to
be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also
unlikely to be acceptable.
There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence
but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and
have a strong contextual justification.

Linking the Products 2

The final versions of the media products each contain the common theme of cards, and two of the pieces also have the logo (also containing a cards theme) on them somewhere.