Evaluating Forms And Conventions

Evaluate how your products used, developed or challenged the forms and conventions of real media products.

Magazine cover

 

1. Film title

 

• We used a large red font as this made it stand out on the page and catch attention - red might also connote the genre.
• This is the same font we used on the poster for our film. This meant that people would recognise that they are both for the same film and that they are related.
• We relied on a knowing audience to realise there is a relationship between the magazine cover and the poster.

2. Main image

• When deciding our main image we had many problems as there were so many possibilities. To decide this we had to make an overall layout to decide the type of image we needed and how big it needed to be.
• The first idea we had was of our main actress from behind. It was of her looking backwards.
• This picture pixellated a little when enlarged but we did not realise this until we put it on the photo editing software Photoshop and resized it.
• We then decided that we needed to make a new image and now it is a close up of our actress’ face. This came about because we noticed that this is common with our genre - where the main focus is psychological, th camera is closer to the actor than is common on a magazine cover to hint at the mental turmoil and the emotional consequences. It does affect the standard layout, however, as a close up needs to be posititoned to the side rather than centrally as is most common with the main image.
• We put a computer screen next to her face to improve the lighting as we originally had many problems with this.

Close up of character for emotion-based drama

3. Price

• To decide the price of the magazine we looked at other magazines.
• We then found an average price and used this.
• This is £2.99 however it can be purchased in America for $8.99. This is relatively cheap for a film magazine but we are imagining targeting our film magazine specifically at a younger market and focussing on films with a teen appeal, as ours is.

4. Issue date

• The issue date is next to the price.
• It is in a smaller font and near the price of the magazine.
• We did this because that is what is typically seen on magazine covers - important for collectors.
• It was not hard to decide a date as we had previously made a promotional campaign and we had already decided a date to release each product- therefore we copied that date.

5. Barcode

• Every magazine cover has a barcode.
• This is simply so it can be scanned when purchased.
• This was easy to make as you can find many website in which you can make on from scratch.
• All magazine covers have their barcode around the same size therefore it was easy to place on the magazine cover as it is always placed at the edge.

6. Masthead

• This was the hardest part of designing the magazine cover.
• Certain letters look more aesthetic than others when put on a page in a large font. This is why we decided to research magazine covers.
• We came to the conclusion that the letters “S” “C” “E” and “N” were attractive letters for a magazine cover. All these letters appeared in a variety of mastheads such as “Empire”, “Pink” and “The Face”.
• We then decided to use the word “Screen” for our masthead. We felt this was appropriate as it is a believable masthead and it looks good on the page and has a clear link with film.

7. Colour scheme

• Most of the colours on our magazine cover are similar to those found in the trailer and on the poster.
• We wanted to stick to a strict colour scheme of blue, red and yellow as we had noticed in our research that most magazine covers have a palette of three colours.
• This will create audience knowledge and will relate each product to the other.
• This sticks to codes and conventions of magazine covers as this is typical of media institutions - to create a recognisable 'look' across different products.

Total Film cover reflects poster colours and composition

Poster

8. Other images

• We had a basic layout based on research however we wanted to make it look more original to attract our specifically younger market.
• When putting the pictures at the bottom, we made the standard slanted block at the bottom and had the images slanted.
• However when looking at other magazines, we decided to change them making them on separate levels.
• This meant that it went against normal codes and conventions of magazine covers as that is not what is normally seen – but as we have a very simple image, we needed to create aesthetic interest with our smaller details and preferred the slightly more haphazard approach.

9. Text

• All magazine covers have teaser text on the front advertising what else is in the magazine.
• We wanted to stick to this code and convention as it would make people realise it is a magazine cover.
• It would also make it look as though it is not too empty.
• We tried to use hyperbolic language to make the reader feel they are accessing the best and most exclusive content - 'new', 'free' etc.

10. Background image

• The background image was hard to decide.
• When making the magazine cover, the main image had a dark, stylish background, which fitted the cover well in terms of style. 
• However, we looked through our feedback and found that it did not look as good as we had hoped because it did not convey any narrative.
• Also it did not fit our colour scheme well and did not give any information about the film.
• Therefore, we cut our actress out of the photo and put in an image of water ripples behind it. We then layered it with a blue image and made it opaque making the ripples look more blue and more like water. An almost transparent layer was then copied over the actress to look as if the water was reflecting onto her face.

11. Strapline

• The strapline caused a delay.
• We could not decide what we wanted our strapline to be.
• Also, we couldn’t decide where to put it, what colour to have it and how big to have the font.
• These problems were resolved after looking through our research and noticing tghe common places to put straplines.
• It also helps to sell the magazine and place it in the market.

Poster

 

1. Main image

• The main image we used was one we had originally intended to use for the magazine cover. However, we felt it was better suited for the poster as it has more narrative content - the shoulder turn and the anxious facial expression give a lot of plot information.
• It is an image of our main actress looking behind her as though she is being chased.
• She has a facial expression as though she is scared and she is wearing school uniform to show it is set in a school.
• We took the photo from behind. This gives the impression that it is from the perspective of the person chasing her – and clearly links with the genre. The focus on the facial expression makes it clear her fear is a key theme. We noticed in our research that a dramatically lit close up o the actrss is a convention in posters in our genre.

Use of close up

2. Background image

• The background image is similar to the magazine cover to link the products.
• Originally we wanted a wider view of the strangling location but it over-complicated the poster.
• Therefore, we chose to use ripples from a lake and faded them behind the main image.
• We then added on a blue image underneath the ripples. These made it look more like water as the ripples are grey and do not look like water.

3. Title

• The title is the same font, size and colour as the magazine cover.
• We did this so that the audience would recognise that they are advertising the film.
• The red is a good choice for the thriller theme. The title was carefully thought out. It hints at our genre because we want to know what is keeping her awake.

4. “Coming Soon”

• All magazine posters have a coming soon / release date element as their main purpose is giving information.
• We researched where they are normally placed on the poster and found that it is usually placed underneath the title.
• Originally we used the same font and colour of the title for coming soon and made the size a bit smaller.
• However, when leaving it for a bit and coming back to it, we realised that it takes attention away from the title and therefore changed the colour to a pale yellow. This means that it fits in with some of the text on the magazine cover.

5. Colour scheme

•  We stuck to the colour scheme in which the trailer, mag cover and poster all follow.
• This is red and blue. The red symbolises death and danger, and the blue represents the water and relates to the crime.
• Both the mag cover and the poster have similar background images and both are the same colour.
• The title of the film is the same colour on both the mag cover and the poster.
• The yellow font for the text is used on both the mag cover and the poster and in the intertitles for the trailer.

6. Other images

• There are other images that are blended into the background image.
• These include an image of the younger actresses face – this represents the dream sequence and shows the past and the present coming together as they are both looking behind the shoulder – also she seems under water, which hints, to the drowning.  
• There is also an image of the wrist with the watch on it. This gives away information the audience that the watch is a vital clue to the crime and they can tell this by simply looking at the poster, but it is opaque and has been blurred – it gives a suggestion of someone grabbing her from behind until you look closely, which links with a key scene from the trailer. Using opacity in this way is common in our genre where past and present come together in frightening ways.

Use of opacity

7. Billing block

• The billing block can be seen on all posters.
• Therefore by having one at the bottom of ours, we are sticking to the codes and conventions of film posters.
• Also by having one, it lets the audience know that it is a poster – it is a formal convention.
• This is relying on audience knowledge.
• To make the billing block, we used photo shop. This took up a large amount of time as we had to write out all the names and their roles, and then change the size of the fonts. We also had to add production logos for e.g. sound mixing.

8. Tagline

• The tagline in placed above the billing block.
• We had many issues on where to place the tagline – we couldn’t decide whether to have it at the top in a smaller font or to have it near the bottom of the poster.
• We also changed the colour of the font as we felt it matched the colour of the main characters hair, and it also stands out from the blue, but not taking too much attention away from the red title and coming soon.
• The tagline received positive comments in our feedback. It is snally but also creates a key enigma - what is the girl's past and where is behind her? Does this relate to the way she is looking or the way her body is facing? So where is the danger coming from? This uncertainty is key in our genre.

9. Review

• Most posters have a rating from a newspaper or magazine – this helps raise the credibility of the film.
• We wanted to follow the codes and conventions of films therefore we decided to do one.
• This means it will help the audience recognise that it is a film poster. 
• We did this on Photoshop.
• We felt it looked good at the top as it is the right size and does not take away any attention from the main image – it looks as though it should be there.

10. “From the makers of”

• Most film posters have a reference to other films made by the same producers.
• This is why we felt that we should have one – this will also help the audience recognise that it is a film poster.
• This however relies on previous audience knowledge of “Another Day” – but it is another device that adds credibility/creates anticipation.

Trailer

1. Title

 

• The title was simple to do.
• It is the same as the title on the poster and magazine cover ensuring consistency across products, which is an important formal convention.
• After importing it, we had to place it somewhere in the trailer, however this did not take long as we had pre-planned the position of where it was going to go. We follow the trailer convention of placing it towards the end as this is where it is likely to be most memorable.

2. Main actor

• Our main character was a teenage female.
• We used her as she looks vulnerable and fits the image we wanted to portray from this character.
• She also looks younger therefore looking like she should be in school. This caasting of a vulnerable young female is common in our genre as the danger they find themselves in becomes more believable.

Vulnerable female in "Taken"

3. Young actor

• The younger character we used is also a student in the lower years of our school.
• This also meant that we could refilm if needed to.
• She has a young looking face, which was perfect, as we wanted to make her look a lot younger than she actually is. This is because we wanted her to seem as though she is the main character when she was around 8 years old.
• There is some resemblance in colouring between her and the main character, which was needed for the audience to believe it is the same person. Using a younger actor to represent the main character as a child is quite common in films and care has to be taken to make this believable.

4, 5 & 6. Suspects

• We wanted to create suspects in our trailer without giving away too much information.
• We used 3 men who all work within the school, on being the caretaker, one being a drama teacher, and one who is the head teacher.
• They all look like suspects as they are all given the same amount of screen time.
• All of the suspects we cast have quite ordinary looking faces therefore they are all equally likely or unlikely  to be the villain - creating a range of suspects with different phyd=sical appearances is common in our genre.
• When planning out what they were going to say, we wanted them all to have a similar amount of words to say. This meant that one was not favoured over the other two to be the criminal.
• Also, they are all around the same size which means it is not clear who the criminal is because it can be any of them and this was kept concealed in the drowning scene.
•  All 3 suspects are seen in the same shots – they are all given a close up and a mid shot. All three seem to be kind to the main character initially and so it is hard to know who to trust.

Potential villains in "Gone"

 7 & 8. Props

• When deciding the props to use, we had to decide what would give away the criminal.
• We thought a watch would be something good to use – this is because a watch can be clearly seen and this is easy to establish as a key identifying feature without giving away the overall identity of the villain too soon.

9 & 10. Location

• The main location we used is our school. The more ordinary the location, the more frighening the events that happen there.
• We planned the drowning location carefully – it needed to be isolated and the water not too deep. An isolated wooded location is very common in our genre.

Isoalted location in "Gone"

11 & 12. Mise-en-scene

• We set our trailer in a school. This made it realistic and relatable to our target audience because nowadays, everyone has to go to school.
• All of the younger female actors we used all still attend school and are still students. This added to the verisimilitude of our trailer.
• All the sets we used are based around either our school, or one of our group members house e.g. school toilets, school classroom, front room, bedroom etc. Psychological thrillers tend to be set in ordinary locations to increase the sense in the audience that the events could happen to anyone, even to you.