The document provides an evaluation of Gus Grandfield's media project on the horror genre. It summarizes the key conventions used in the teaser trailer, poster, and magazine cover created for the project. Feedback from test audiences was also positive overall, praising elements like the moving shots and sound design that set an eerie tone. The evaluation also outlines the various media technologies used at different stages of the project, including iMovie for video editing, Photoshop for image editing, YouTube for hosting the trailer, and Facebook for gathering audience feedback.

1. Media Evaluation Gus Grandfield

4. Teaser Trailer Metal caging Hoods Names Names often appear in horror films scratched or etched into walls or doors. This creates fear because it’s as if somebody has a great knowledge about names of those they have no reason to know. I included this name in my trailer because it acts as if part of a list of people that my character is going to murder. Metallic cages are often used in horror films, they connote entrapment and can trigger feelings of not being able to escape and claustrophobia, which some viewers may be able to relate to. Films such as ‘Saw’ use industrial metal devices such as the lift used in my teaser trailer. As well as a symbol of teenage rebellion, hoods can be effective in creating fear due to the feeling of not knowing what or who lies beneath the darkness.

5. Teaser Trailer I included a variety of shots to keep the audience interested and engaged in my trailer. Here are a few examples: Medium shot Low angle shot Extreme low angle shot Extreme close up Over the shoulder shot Tracking shot

6. Poster Comparison I used a simple concept often used in the horror genre, a masked face submerged in darkness. The Friday 13th poster is an effective teaser poster because the mask is symbolic due to the legacy the films have created, not too much is given away and I tried to achieve something similar with my own. I didn’t include an age rating because this is not typical of teaser posters I used the mask covered in blood that was seen briefly at the end of the trailer. This links the two media pieces and helps to maintain the theme.

7. Magazine Front cover The signature ‘EMPIRE’ title is matching the theme for my film, as red is one of the main colours. This cover which features ‘Green Zone’ is also matching the ‘EMPIRE’ title with the main colour for further emphasis on the title of the film itself. The main character of Demented has an interview inside, this is relevant because the audience will want to know more about him personally, as well as his character. I added the price in the middle of the ‘M’ which is a common feature that Empire sticks to.

8. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary? My media products have similar features that are included to let the audience know that they are from the same film, for example the font used for the title ‘Demented’- which is shown at the end of the teaser trailer, the poster and the magazine front cover. The image of the masked character, that flashes at the end of my teaser trailer, is featured as the main image for my poster. I also incorporated the shot of my main character looking in the mirror into my magazine cover, he’s half in character- as he is in role and on the set but he’s dressed how he normally would be. He’s looking directly into the camera so we feel he is looking at us, enticing the audience to open up the magazine and find out more about him as the actor as well as the character he is playing.

9. Ancillary The font remains consistent throughout all three media products, which makes it clearer for the audience that they are all linked.

10. Ancillary

11. Ancillary

12. What have you learned from your audience feedback? To get valid audience feedback I created a questionnaire for people to answer and give their personal opinions about the trailer. On the whole, the feedback received was largely positive, but also suggested improvements or changes that could benefit the clarity of the trailer. Because most of the people that filled out the questionnaire were within the target audience age group, I felt I was able to anticipate what would be effective and what wouldn’t, based on my research of the genre. People responded positively to the moving lift shots, in particular, they found them ‘atmospheric’ and ‘gave a sense of anticipation’. From this feedback, I found that 11 out of 15 people found the sound extremely effective in creating an eerie and comfortable feeling. This quote was particularly informative to me; “The darkness created an aura of mystery and was appropriate for the genre of horror..” This response was exactly what I was trying to convey. The ambiguity of darkness can create a sense of fear by not showing all that is there and allowing the imagination of the viewer to fill in their own personal fears. It seems my trailer was quite successful, there was a clear target audience in mind, and although some people were unsure about what was happening to the character looking at his reflection, they still enjoyed, and were teased by, the trailer.

13. Audience feedback(Questionnaires) The questionnaires I gave out were highly effective in collecting quantifiable data. For example:

15. I used Facebook for audience feedback.

16. I used the Canon LEGRIA FS406 Camcorder to film.

17. I used my iPhone to take pictures whilst filming.

18. For the images I used for my teaser poster and magazine front cover I used a Sony Cybershot digital camera.

19. I used a Samsung scanner to scan in my storyboards so that they could be uploaded to my blog.

20. Facebook I uploaded my film to Facebook for comments and opinions. Facebook is an effective online marketing tool, it’s perfect for addressing a young audience because membership is free, also people all over the world use it. There are over 400 million accounts worldwide.

21. Most current film companies have embraced technological convergence and use social websites such as Facebook and Twitter to promote their films.

22. Use of Facebook I used my Facebook page as a platform to collect comments from friends I have all over the world, from as far as Cyprus, Canada, Wales and Scotland.

23. Use Of Facebook I was able to upload it in HD, so that people could view it in full quality and even in full-screen.

24. Photoshop Through the frequent use of Photoshop I started grasping the ability to successfully manipulate images to a good standard. I added the ‘texturizer’ effect to the ‘Empire’ title. I used the ‘angled strokes’ effect to the original image of my character. I used the ‘liquify’ tool to add the sharp points and drips to the letters. I experienced some problems with layers, some become damaged and I lost some of the original quality I had.

25. Photoshop Photoshop was efficient to create my signature font for the ‘Demented’ title (As shown below) Originally this was only used for the teaser poster, but I realised that it should be included as a consistent feature that links the three products.

26. YouTube I used YouTube to upload my trailer onto an online platform that keeps the format and quality of the film. Through altering the HTML I was also able to change the size of it so that it could fit neatly into my blog post.

27. YouTube Most film companies upload trailers onto YouTube, if they didn’t they would be missing out on a lot of free publicity, YouTube is free to view and, like Facebook, millions of people use it globally.

28. Microsoft word and powerpoint I used Microsoft Word and sometimes Text Edit to type up my written pieces, the editing features allowed me to make revisions and develop my process. I used Microsoft PowerPoint to create this slideshow because it enables text and image to be combined in an effective way to convey information.

29. Google Google is an extremely useful search engine, and was very convenient whilst researching the horror genre.

31. I selected transitions, music, titles and photos from here.

32. Editing takes place here.