Final Trailer

Final Poster

Final Magazine Cover

Evaluation Question 4

(note: for best view of presentation click 75%-100%)

Evaluation Question 3: Magazine Cover

Evaluation Question 3: Trailer (Main Product)

Evaluation Question 3: Poster

Evaluation Question 3: Audience Feedback through Survey

Evaluation Question 2

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

There are elements of my two ancillary products that link closely to my main product. I tried to follow a similar colour scheme where possible as shown by my frequent use of white font within my trailer's inter-titles but also shown in the font on my poster and magazine cover. The title uses the same typography throughout and appears in the same white colour on every product, so it is easily recognisable and iconic of the main product, if the audience see it they will therefore be more likely to remember the name because they have seen it in different forms, and will therefore be potentially more persuaded to watch the film, as it will have stuck in their memory.

My products all include conventions and icons of the romance genre that are clearly identifiable to the target audience. The main product includes key conventions such as the shot types used e.g. it uses numerous close ups to emphasise certain moments, many of these moments are romantic like the hand holding and therefore this is symbolic of the genre and the close up will emphasise this to the audience and will encourage them to anticipate about what will happen next or how the relationship will develop. The music and voiceover are also very conventional of the romance genre and similar soundtracks have been used in pre-existing products successfully, therefore I feel that it was used effectively in mine. The poster uses a two shot of the main protagonists gazing into each others eyes and looking directly at one another. Two shots are conventional for the focal images of many romance posters because they show off both of the stock characters to the audience and depending on their positioning and the tone of the poster, it is usually made very clear that they have a romantic relationship, therefore the genre is clearly emphasised and the targeted audience should hopefully become immediately interested. This is because two shots of a male and a female are so stereotypical of the romance genre, that the demographic of people who enjoy the genre and who are likely to want to watch romance films, will see this image and automatically link it to the genre and to previous poster examples that they have seen before. I put a filter on the focal image of the poster, almost every poster will have some sort of filter on it and I feel that the particular filter I picked is effective as it has gentle tones, it makes the image look lighter and more peaceful as the background is slightly blurred and the reddish tones towards the bottom are warm. Therefore it makes the tone of the image more romantic and peaceful which is what I intended as it ties in with the idea of the characters being alone and just caring about each other, linking the the way they are positioned and not being able to take their eyes off each other. All of these features are very conventional of the romance genre and will attract a target audience falling under the category of those who enjoy watching films, more specifically those who enjoy watching romance films. Many of the key conventions of film posters do appear on the ancillary poster that I created. For example, the age rating of the film appears in the bottom corner, this immediately gives it a more professional look and makes the audience aware that they can trust the content in relation to this rating because it has been professionally approved. This also hints slightly at the desired target audience in the way that this obviously isn't going to be a film for children as the certificate is a 15 so the content will probably be fairly mature and contain some scenes that would be inappropriate for the child to view, therefore this is a minor way that the production company can hint at what the demographic for the audience is and at that those watching can expect some more mature, potentially violent or distressing scenes in the narrative. This could interest more people as often certain people are drawn to film's that have social realism elements or drama in them as they represent a more accurate picture of real life. This can be applied and linked to my film trailer as it shows two people falling in love happily, but then shows how this relationship can break down and how people can get hurt. This is common in the narratives of certain romance films, especially those with sub-genres of drama or social realism, therefore this would attract a more niche audience of people who enjoy narratives following those conventions.

In the focal image of the poster, the male character is holding the umbrella up above both of them and ensuring that the female is kept dry. This is iconic of the romance genre as it has codes of kindness and is perceived by many as a gentlemanly thing to do. This was one of the reasons I used this shot as I knew that the audience would see this image and instantly associate this gesture of care and love with the romance genre, therefore subconsciously linking the two characters together romantically, without actually realising it. The filter used on the image makes the background look misty and distant, this and the idea of being able to see empty fields stretched out behind them in the distance, offers the idea of the characters being alone in the middle of nowhere with nobody to disturb them. Often locations like this are included in romance films as they are seen as peaceful and somewhere that the characters can be alone in and get away from everything as just the two of them, this has codes of romance and passion. I've included a strap line at the top of the poster saying "You always remember your first love..." this has huge connotations of romance as the word itself "Love" is an icon of the genre. Also, this ties in very closely with my main product as in the voiceover the female character says "Everyone remembers their first love, but not always for the right reasons". This is very similar and implies the same thing as the strap line does, showing that the narrative of the film will include a first love, most likely between the main male and female protagonist featured in the focal image of the poster. Including the ellipses at the end of the quote (...) indicates that the strap line is not entirely finished and this idea will be left on a cliffhanger, this will interest the audience and get them anticipating because they will be thinking about what it means and why it is used. This effect may make them more persuaded to watch the film as they will want this idea to be continued and will want to know how it ends and if it is resolved. The actors names are included on the poster and appear above their characters so they can easily be linked and noticed, this technique is used commonly on film posters, especially by the Big 6 Production companies who have actors that are hugely popular and well known in their films and so use the star system to link the actor to that film and to promote it further. I have followed this technique slightly but not to the same extent, I can't use the star system widely because the film company that created my trailer is independent and low budget and therefore can't afford well-known, famous actors but I can place the names of the actors in a way that links them to their faces and therefore makes the audience more likely to remember them and recognise them potentially from either of my other products.

The magazine cover uses an image of just the main female character as it's focal image and follows the rule of thirds with the key image in the centre third, this is conventional of almost all magazine covers. This layout differs clearly from the layout of my poster as so this lacks synergy in terms of positioning and headers etc, however it follows the conventions of romance film magazine covers, so this is works successfully and ties in with pre-existing products promoting other films. The main image is the female character with the sunlight shining on her, she is wearing the same costume that she wears in some scenes in the trailer and therefore this shows an obvious similarity and link between products that the audience would potentially recognise.

My magazine cover promoting 'At First Glance' follows the conventions that many magazines would including things like the date of the issue, the price etc. It uses buzzwords such as 'Exclusive' which are designed to immediately grab the attention of the audience and to convince them that the magazine contains something unique that can only be read in that particular issue. The title of the magazine appears in the largest font which is conventional as it is the most important text on there and it is intended to stand out and attract the attention of a pre-existing audience who are already aware of and potentially already buy the magazine, or a new audience that might have only just seen the magazine and been interested by one of it's features. The title of the film is the second largest bit of text on the cover, this again is conventional and it makes sense as it is designed to be especially emphasised to the audience as that specific issue is intended to promote the 'At First Glance' film and therefore the font needs to be bold and noticeable to be seen and to link to the magazine's focal image. The website for the magazine is included at the top, this ties in with my main product where I have included a website link to my individual film website. Website names are often included in trailers and on magazines as a way of encouraging the audience to actively go and see out information about a film, this is a form of pull marketing. Pull marketing often occurs virally as with the development of the internet and web 2.0. a new generation of 'prosumers' have emerged and have begun to create their own products and content, therefore for heritage products it is important to acknowledge viral marketing and link to them however possible. Hence why I included links to websites in my promotional products, also I would consider expanding to twitter and Facebook to gain easy access to a tent pole audience and to allow a buzz about the film to be created virally through word of mouth and sharing content. Many successful films have been so successful as a result of their viral campaigns, for example the Dark Knight Rises had a hugely successful marketing campaign that involved the audience actively travelling to different locations and seeking out graffiti to unlock the full trailer. This made the audience feel involved and created a huge hype amongst fans before the films release, proving that viral marketing can be equally as important as heritage marketing forms, and can work to reach an enormous audience through online databases.

Another key similarity between all of the products is that both the ancillary products use the same locations as the main product for their focal images, so the background in all of them is a rural area that has been included in the main trailer. This is so the film is noticeable and continuously relates back to the main product and the narrative by showing the same main characters and the same key locations. The field/wooded locations I used for the focal image for both my poster and my magazine cover are often conventional of romance films as they are seen as peaceful and beautiful places to be and these are both iconic of the romance genre and link to the idea that the couple want to be alone together.

I conducted a questionnaire on survey monkey and posted it on my Facebook and twitter where I have a range of followers that all fall into my target audience categories. Two of the questions in the survey related specifically to this question as they tested whether the ancillary products I created did link to my main product in an effective way. The analysis of the results are shown below:

The results to this question on the 'At First Glance' film poster in relation to the main product were very positive and showed that 10 out of the 11 respondents from my target audience that answered the questionnaire decided that there was a clear and prominent link between the film poster and the trailer. 1 person said that there was "some evidence of a link" however not one participant voted for there being no noticeable link, proving that there is definite synergy in my products and that the common features between them such as mise en scene and colour scheme, are effective in forming an obvious link between products and making them stand out to an audience.

The results when the respondents asked the same question about the magazine cover were slightly more varied. There was a 50/50 split between people voting that there was a very clear link and between there being some evidence of a link. One person voted for the "other" option but didn't specify what they intended that to mean so I just classed it as an anomalie in the results and focused on the answers from the other two categories. I think the main reason for less people agreeing that there was a very prominent link with the main product on the magazine cover than the poster is because the shot type is very different than in the other two products, and the female appears alone instead of with the male. The shot used on the magazine cover is designed to be slightly similar to a fashion shot as it has the female looking at the camera with direct mode of address and posing, with her hair and make up noticeably feminine. Where as in the other shots, direct mode of address isn't used as they include shots of the female looking directly at the male. Therefore, the difference is significant when a shot of the character looking and smiling directly at the camera, in a location by herself, without the male character in shot, is used. However, despite this main image contrasting the other two products slightly and juxtaposing them in terms of the mode of address and positioning of the subject, I think this image was still the most appropriate to conform to the conventions of a magazine cover. Often magazines use images of one single character or actor, sometimes the actors appear out of character and costume, however other times the subjects appear in character and this is often more common in film magazines. Therefore I have followed the convention of just one subject appearing in the image and have made it so the female appears in costume, but is posing for the image specifically, taking elements from both her acting in the film, and her posing in real life.

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 1: Trailer

Evaluation Question 1: Magazine Cover

Evaluation Question 1: Poster

Narrative Theory: Laura Mulvey

Laura Mulvey highlights the idea that camera and shot angles are positioned in a way that makes them seem like they are being looked at through a male's perspective. This is an idea that has been researched into and proven in some cases, as when the female character appears on screen in films of different genres, her femininity and curves are emphasised, hinting at the idea that the camera is viewing her from a male point of view. A few of my shots follow this theory, for example when the female's body is emphasised to show her femininity, in one shot the outline of my female characters bum is made very obvious due to a low angled camera, this links very closely to this theory and offers  support for it. However in the majority of my shots the camera is positioned neutrally and shows the male in the same way as the female without emphasise on gender, this subverts the theory and goes against some conventions of certain romance films. Particularly in films where there is a femme fatale character, as the camera is often used in a way to make the audience perceive the character as attractive and sexy.

Narrative Theory: Claude Levi Strauss

Strauss offers the idea of Binary opposition and the idea that things/objects/qualities that are directly parallel and opposite help to understand and fuel each other. This idea can be applied to films and the characters within them. For example, the protagonist could be incredibly kind and thoughtful, directly contrasting the antagonist who could be heartless and horrible, these two character types emphasise each other and the qualities they have because they are so different in comparison that the audience judge one by the others actions. My film doesn't directly focus on the idea of this binary opposition effect but it does touch on it in the idea that the main female is very different to the antagonist or femme fatale character that appears in the way that they dress and the way they act. For example, my main female protagonist isn't hugely popular or feminine, where as the antagonist is very feminine and girly and stereotypically popular. Also, their character types in themselves are binary opposites which is stereotypical as protagonists and antagonists always directly contrast with each other and are usually strong opposites, therefore setting up a narrative about alternating views or ways of life.

Narrative Theory: Tvzetan Todorov

My trailer links very closely to Todorov's basic narrative theory involving a film having 3 main stages: equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium. My trailer clearly displays the first two stages and has a defining gap in between them where the screen cuts to black and there is a ripping sound, then the characters are immediately different around each other and the shots display them as being more distant. Therefore, it is clear that this represents the disequilibrium part of the film. My film does follow the third narrative section suggested by Todorov too, however the trailer only hints at this and doesn't actually clearly let the audience know how the film will end. The trailer ends with a shot of the two main protagonists walking away and holding hands, therefore this raises the idea that the disequilibrium will be resolved and a new-equilibrium will occur. However, these shots could also be intended as a flashback and as trailers are conventionally non-linear, the target audience are unsure whether there is a clear new equilibrium at the end, or whether it follows a less conventional narrative structure, differing from Todorov's 3 stage theory. This is intended to keep them interested and prevent the trailer from giving away the film's storyline and making it predictable.

Todorov's theory does break down into more stages consisting of: equilibrium, disequilibrium, recognition of disruption, attempt to repair disruption and change to a new equilibrium. The recognition of disruption appears slightly in my trailer, however the stages after the first and second stage aren't shown in too much detail, so that they don't give away some of the plot to the audience, and ruin their anticipation. But these stages are all included in my film in some way, therefore supporting Todorov's narrative theory and indicating that films that follow this basic structure are often successful and common.

Narrative Codes: Roland Barthes

Barthes suggests that there are specific narrative codes throughout films that help the viewer to understand what is happening and make assumptions based on that. I have spoken briefly about some of these codes in relation to my film, such as action codes and enigma codes.

Enigma Codes: are little puzzles or unclear shots that the audience are left to think about and question.

Action Codes: Significant moments, looks, acts etc that prove an important narrative point. Shown often through close ups. Things like "falling in love" and a significant look or defining moment representing this emotion to the audience.

Symbolic Code: Refers to something outside of itself, represented through a different form, e.g. an hourglass representing a countdown until the death of a character.

These codes appear frequently in films of all genres and Barthes clearly identifies these and the effect they have on the audience, they interest an audience and provoke them to make assumptions and question certain elements of the narrative and therefore want to watch or continue watching to find out more.

Soundtrack Update

After looking at my newly filmed shots and placing my shots in a logical timeline order that I feel would be appealing to the target audience, I decided that all of the potential soundtrack options I explored before from "The Kinks" band were inappropriate for my trailer as they were too upbeat or folk-style. I felt my trailer needed a non-diegetic piece with a more melancholy and relaxed tone, because despite the beginning of the trailer being very happy and positive when the characters are together and in love, the middle and ending have a more sad tone to them because they involve the disequilbirum and show the reality of troubles with relationships and how people can be effected by break ups etc. Therefore, the initial tracks were too upbeat and could have potentially given the target audience the wrong impression about the film's narrative.

Production Update: Narrative Changes

Due to my storyboard being changed at the last minute, I needed to include some photographs and potentially some actual shots of the male character talking to the antagonist (other female) character as a way of representing the idea that he might be cheating on the main female protagonist, and therefore causing a disequilibrium in the storyline, which is conventional of all trailers. Another character meant that I would need to cast another actor, even if it was only in terms of them appearing in the trailer when the prop of the photograph is used.

I cast myself as the third actress for my trailer. This was for two main reasons. Firstly, I knew what I wanted the photographs to look like and I have a good working relationship with both of the other actors and have known them for a long time, therefore it was easy for me to set up the camera in the position that I wanted it, and angle the shots myself, and then just tell my other actress when to take the photos. Secondly, it was in terms of convenience as I only just decided that another character would be essential to the narrative and therefore it was too short notice to find someone else and properly cast them as a lot of the people who could have been a possibility. I don't have the acting skills that would be essential for me to play a main role in the trailer, however because I only appear in one shot and in still images, then I don't think these skills were essential to make the shot effective.

Preview of Inter-Titles

The link in the powerpoint/Slideshare presentation in my previous post isn't always compatible with certain programmes, therefore I have included the basic preview shown before, again in this post just in case it doesn't play effectively. This shows the three main inter-title screens I will use in my trailer, not including distribution or release information. Also as I have mentioned before, the titles will not appear directly next to each other in the sequence shown in the YouTube clip above, they will appear in between different shots in the most suitable position to clearly link to the narrative.

Inter-Titles Update and Preview

Inter titles powerpoint from CharlotteOGray

Soundtrack Research: Chosen Non-Diegetic Soundtrack

I can't decide whether to have either Calm as Fire by the Kwirks as my soundtrack or "Spur of the Moment". Both of these songs have different elements that are appropriate for my trailer, and some parts that aren't so appropriate. Firstly, I like the title of both, despite the actual title not hugely effecting my trailer, the title of each reflects the lyrics and therefore it is relevant. I like the title 'Calm as Fire' as it kind of relates to my film's narrative and the way that at the start the couple meet and are happy and fall in love, but towards the climax and the end they begin to argue and disequilibrium occurs, this ties in with the word "fire" and the idea of their arguments being fierce and out of control. I also like the title of "Spur of the moment" because I feel it links nicely to the narrative and title of my film "At First Glance" and the idea of falling in love instantly and uncontrollably.

The Calm as Fire Soundtrack is slower and sets a slightly more chilled out and sad tone to the trailer, whereas the other soundtrack is very upbeat and allows a happy tone to be shown in the trailer. The second soundtrack would be good for the start of the trailer or the scenes of the protagonists together and in love, however it may be too upbeat for the arguing scenes representing disequilibrium. Therefore, I could either adjust the volume levels to exaggerate certain tones/lyrics over certain shots, or I could use a mixture of both soundtracks at different times. IF not, then I will decide on one soundtrack to use for one half of the trailer and then find some simple copyright free music that links to the narrative and that can be tied in with the non diegetic soundtrack I have chosen. This music could be lyric free and potentially be played over shots with pre-existing dialogue, as if lyrics were included then they may effect how well the audience hears what the character is saying, or it may distract attention from their dialogue, which is not what trailers aim to do, and most of the time the audience will want to hear what the character is saying so they can follow the storyline and find out more about the characters personally.

Soundtrack Research: Non Diegetic Soundtrack Option 3 (The Kwirks)

Soundtrack Research: Non Diegetic Option 2 (The Kwirks)

Soundtrack Research: Non Diegetic- Option 1 (The Kwirks)

Narrative Structure

My trailer begins with a girl swinging alone on a park swing on a rainy day. This is an enigma code as it immediately makes the audience question certain elements of the shot. It raises narrative questions and sets up the scene so the audience are unaware of what will happen next. In this case they are asking themselves questions like "why is this teenage girl alone in a park?" or "why is she swinging so slowly, is she upset?" 

The shot where the male character first appears and walks over and talks to the female is the action code in the trailers narrative structure. This is because it sets up the story and leads the plot on because it is obvious that something is going to happen between the two characters. The audience are aware that something will happen but they aren't sure what or when so it leaves them interested and anticipating. Both enigma and action codes are stereotypical of trailers as they are designed to set up a  scene and then lead the narrative on smoothly and clearly so that the audience know roughly when the key parts of the narrative will occur, but the plot isn't completely given away. Therefore, I have tried to follow this convention by including these codes in my trailer. 

Prop: Letter and Pictures

This envelope with the characters name written on it and a range of printed off pictures was used as a prop for a scene where the stock female character opens the letter and sees these photographs of the male character with a different girl (a third character) and assumes that he is cheating on her with this other girl. I simply took these pictures on my phone and then printed them off on normal paper because it's not meant to look like professional photography, it's meant to look amateur and like someone has done it sneakily and in an attempt to catch the characters out.

Re-Filming: Costumes: Male Actor

 The previous post explains why I had so many costume changes planned for the scenes that were either being re-filmed or new shots that I decided to add in. The pictures show the various costumes that my male protagonist character wore for each different scene. Again, there isn't much change as the t shirt and the jeans are the same for all of them, however the jacket is different, therefore displaying this subtle difference and indicating that the scenes/shots were meant to be taken from different sections of the overall film, as the most exciting or important narrative parts.

Re-Filming: Costumes- Female Actress

 The idea of having so many costume changes for different shots was so that each scene/shot looked like it had been filmed at a different time. Therefore, looking like it was from different parts of the film. This is conventional of all trailers as trailers take shots from each section of the film so that all the key narrative points are shown and so that the trailer is exciting enough to draw in audience attention and to make them anticipate the films release. Therefore I attempted to control the mise en scene as best as I could when re-filming yesterday. The pictures show the range of costumes the female character wore for yesterdays brief re-filming shoot. Although she is wearing the same jeans in all of them, the differences in the clothing on the top half, the added accessories e.g. scarf and the minor changes to her hair, show subtle differences indicating that the character's style and fashion sense is the same throughout, but her costume is different to represent a difference in time.