Exclusive...'A girl next door' trailer

I have completed the trailer!! I am very happy with the overall feel of the trailer and I feel it is conventional. I made sure I did enough research before making the trailer so that it does fit into the romantic comedy genre.
The only risk I took with making the trailer is the fact that I have, in the end, used a female voice over. This was mainly down to time and illness of my male voice over. However, I feel it works. The voice is strong and persuasive like any male voice over would be. It also opens a 'new' market for females to start doing film voice overs, because they do work with the correct voice. I wanted my trailer to stand out so I needed to challenge one convention to make it innovative and memorable.

Magazine front cover

I have been working on a conventional film magazine front cover. I am happy with the outcome however, I need to add a barcode to the product to make it completely conventional.

I have used the word 'Action' as my masthead. I feel it is catchy and like 'Empire' has two syllables. The white writing stands out without making it over power the image. I have included a price and date.

The persuasive lexis such as 'massive' 'special' 'exclusive' also make the consumer want to buy the magazine as they want to know all of the inside information first about the new film.

As i previously stated this isn't the final version, I need to add the barcode and I may change the pink writing to a colour which stands out more and is more conventional to the male audience. However, the 'Empire' front cover with Keira Knightley on has feminine font colours. I shall see which looks best and then upload the better looking one.

New photos for subsidiary tasks

Magazine front cover: Below is my magazine front cover image. I gave it the feel of 'Empire' magazine.I particularly liked the image of Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom because it appealed to both genders. It still needs editing and the extra content added but I am happy with the picture now.

Poster: I took a new picture for the poster as well. I wanted to keep things simple and I think this image captures the romantic comedy genre. I'm not going to have the men on the poster because their images didn't look right. The use of the female lead on the poster will draw men in and women in. I shall blend and crop the background to make it white to fit with the conventions of other film posters.

The font on this poster is just like the font in my trailer which is what I was aiming for. I shall use the font from my trailer on the poster so an audience can associate the poster and trailer to be from the same marketing brand.

Other things to consider on the magazine front cover

Not only is there the main image to consider on the front of my magazine. I shall have to consider font types, names and other film related stories; like the way 'Empire' magazine does. This is called a house style. The best thing to do is keep it simple as sometimes 'Empire' can look busy on the front cover. However, if I stick to the key conventions of all magazines and create a new image for a film magazine I shouldn't have a problem. Here are some things to consider:

(You may need to click on the image)

The first thing to consider is the Masthead, in this instance it is 'Empire' that immediatly is eye catching. The use of the red draws in the consumer and sets a tone of 'danger.' As this film magazine has been made for the male audience I shall keep to conventions and use a strong colour that gives off 'danger' when considering my masthead. The masthead is for display purposes.

Cover lines are information given on the front page of a magazine highlighing some of the main issues and features in the magazine. I will have to consider other films when making my own front cover. Or I could have a 'premiere special' like the one on the left. So all the content is about my trailer/film!

Puffs are words or phrases on the front cover of a magazine to boost status. This could be the status of the magazine or the film content. Key phrases and reviews will help.

Barcode: All magazine have a barcode, from lifestyle magazines to cultural magazines. This is so that the magazine company can track sales. It would be particularly important if the magazine content had become different or more appealing to a wider audience. This would be good to track on a magazine like the one I shall create, as it is different to its usual convension.

I have also noticed that all important information such as the selling line, main cover line and cover lines are placed on the left. This is known as the 'left side third'. It is designed like this to attract potential consumers. To keep things simple and conventional I shall keep to the 'left side third' to attract new and potential buyers. I also like how the price is situated on the right so that the consumer doesn't necessarily focus on this.

I will still have the more plain font when thinking about the typography of the front cover just so that the magazine is conventional. The white stands out due to the dark image. Depending on the main image I will have to decide on the colour of my font and what sits well with the themes of the film and what looks right with the image.

Problems

I am having a problem with my magazine front cover main image. I'm trying to get the two images to merge into one but due to the programmes I have access to I can't do this. I have tried to crop the back grounds and just use the images but then images become blurred and look unprofessional.

I think I am going to have to re take the photos and use both actors in the shot at the same time so the picture can have a high quality like 'Empire' magazine. I shall do this tomorrow when both actors are present and I will probably change the expression on Imogen's face. Maybe make it a bit 'sexier' to get the male audience in. As they say: 'Sex does sell.'

Subsidiary photos

These are some of the pictures I took when thinking about my subsidiary task. As you can see for the poster picture I used a similar format to other conventional romantic comedy posters. I used as white background as all the other poster pictures have been taken on a white background. These pictures need editing which is what I plan on doing later on today. They will be cropped and made to look glossy. The light blue denim jacket highlights the pastel colour I wanted to use and the boys who aren't the main characters are in the back in slightly duller costume. I think this poster will appeal to both men and women from my target audience of late teens as it features Gracie and the male characters as well. This will draw all audiences in.

Poster Pictures:

I chose these two pictures as the ones to work on and edit as I particularly like all the characters facial expressions. In the first one I like the way the actress of Gracie is looking classic and confident and the two boys have carried on their character roles. The picture also looks natural which fits with the title of the film 'A girl next door.' The costume is everyday and not particularly fancy which may make the audience associate with the characters more and it also adds to the realism of the film.

In the second photo I like the confused look on Gracie's face. It almost feels like a Bridget Jones- esque type of shot. However, I shall see which one is editted best and then use that one in the poster.

For my magazine front cover I took a picture of the lead girl and one of the boys. Like the poster image I am unsure of which picture to use. I chose to take both as each picture targets a different audience. Gracie's picture will draw in the male audience from the 'Empire' magazine . Justin's picture will be iconic for men and make them think 'Yeah men can be in a romantic comedy and still be cool'?? Having thought all this through I will use both of these images like the Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom 'Empire' shoot for the audience purposes.

I really like this picture. Imogen the actress of Gracie looks really pretty and down to earth and she is attractive to the male eye. I decided to put her in the same costume as what she wore in the poster so the audience can see the link between the film poster, trailer and the magazine, creating a marketing brand for the complete film. The editing side will take time as I want it to look conventional to the 'Empire' style. The shadow will be cropped as well as the black curtain and railing so once again the image is just on a simple white background.

I think I may re-take the shot with Greg and Imogen in so it will take less time to edit the two photos together.

Nearly there...

I have almost completed my trailer and the subs are coming along nicely too :)

This morning I recorded my voice over with the actress who plays Gracie as I think her voice is strong and she did it with much conviction. However, I tried to carry this on but it really didn't sound right...so....! Instead of having the voice over completely male or female I will have the opening with the female voice and the basic 'plot' recorded with a male voice. This is returning to conventions as the first Bridget Jones trailer is female then male. I think this will work! I just have to find some male talent.

I am happy with the music as it fits well with the images on screen and I am happy with the font. I feel it has come together well and is a conventional trailer.

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

Throughout this process I have used many different resources to help with research, planning, construction and evaluation.

Research:

The internet site youtube was one of my main research resources. This was because I was able to watch and then analyze the typical conventions of a romantic comedy trailer. You can see throughout my blog I have not only used this site to note the immediate conventions, I have also used this throughout the process when deciding music, voice overs and costume. It was also easily accessible on the computers and there was a direct link to upload videos from youtube to blogger.

The search engine 'google' also helped when researching my subsidiary tasks and finding out about producing, distributing and marketing my trailer. Just type in anything to do with magazine covers and film posters and I learnt so much.
I also was able to copy and use some pictures I found on google to analyze, the film posters and magazine cover, for example. This was helpful because I could then see how to construct and produce my subsidiary tasks. The mood board was also created through google images. I simply copied images from google to a word document and then I could instantly see the types of shots, costume colours and general feel for a romantic comedy trailer.

My own knowledge also helped when researching into the type of trailer I wanted to create. Romantic comedies have always been my favourite genre of film. Therefore I was lucky enough to have some knowledge of what makes a romantic comedy film and trailer. Having not looked at trailers in depth I noted some immediate conventions when watching the romantic comedy trailer. However, using the sites such as google and youtube I could construct a completely conventional trailer. General knowledge of how a trailer, film poster and magazine front covers are made also helped when constructing conventional products in a certain genre and age group. Having taken As media studies I also knew quite a lot about which company would produce this trailer or who would distribute it worldwide.

Planning:

The 'blogger' site helped me with keeping up to date with what I had done and what I had to do. For instance, we were given dead lines for particular things to be done and uploaded onto blogger. I could upload everything, rough cuts, analysis and ideas for subs. Having this blog made it easy to access at school and home so that all set work could be completed. Writing the heading of the blog title then saving it also reminded me of what needed to be done so that nothing is missed out. I found that keeping the blog organised and up to date helped me plan what needed to be done and on which days. Almost like a diary.

I didn't make a complete call sheet as it took a lot of time that I didn't necessarily have. However, I did make sure I had everybody in the trailers phone number when it came to planning which scene I would shoot next. I could easily contact them and ask if they are able to film the next day and if they could, would they bring particular clothes in for that scene. If they couldn't do that day then I would either ask someone else to film with me, carry on with my subsidiary tasks or edit together what I had filmed. This way I could use my time productively even if I'm not filming.

Having good tutors also helped when planning what I would do next. They gave out and set homework that I have already mentioned and were always there to help when it was needed. Constructive feedback was always given so that I could note down what had to be done as well as what was good about it.

Construction:

All the shots for the trailer were recorded on a Panasonic camcorder which were provided at school and we were able to use them in school time and sign one out to take home. They are simple and quick to use so I didn't have any problem when filming and uploading the scenes constructed. It was light and I was therefore able to use many different camera angle shots in the trailer. With a heavier camera, experimenting with different shots may not have been so easy. Along with the camcorder I also used a tripod to make sure the majority of the shots were stable. These were also provided by the school. The only negative point about using the tripod was the fact you couldn't do motion shots...this had to all be done on the camera but hand held. It would have been better if the tripods had some form of wheels on them to allow steady shots when walking along side the actor. However, this means more money.

The programme 'Imovie' on the apple macs has helped me a great deal when editing my film together. Uploading all the shots onto the programme is easy and then selecting which parts of the shots you want is straight forward. There are different icons alongside this programme where you can add a voice over, edit the clip and audio, add text and music. In As media it was the first time I had used a programme like this but now I'm doing A2 I have experimented with the programme more and I am more happier with the final product. I didn't have any problems when using this programme.

When constructing my subsidiary tasks I used the programme 'Publisher' on a normal windows computer. However, I edited the images using Iphoto on the macs then uploaded them to Publisher. Having used I-photo in other lessons I was able to do this efficiently and publisher, once again was pretty straightforward. There were many fonts and layouts to choose from but having used the programs I used when researching all the information I constructed the subsidiary tasks without any problems.

All the pictures where taken on a professional digital camera to get the high market feel that all romantic comedy film posters and magazine advertisements have.

The final programme I have used to construct my trailer was GarageBand which is also a programme featured on the apple macs. It is a very complex programme to use, which is why I have done my voice overs and feedback using the icon in Imovie. I used this particular programme when editing and splitting tracks for Itunes. This was the only programme which split the track. I think if I had had more time I would have liked to have recorded voice overs and music on this programme so that the quality was better and more professional.

Evaluation:

As I have gone through the construction stage of the trailer I have also received a lot of feedback from a general audience and target audience. I have used many methods when doing this. For instance, in my market research I used the iphoto application to create a 30second video about what they wanted to see in my trailer.

I also used a voice over on top of the actual trailer when asking my target audience what was good and what needed to be improved. I didn't just want to use questionnaires or written answers as I feel doing the above is more credible on the blog and for me personally as it is easily saved and takes less time.

As I have not finished the trailer yet my final evaluation has not been done. However, I am planning to record myself discussing how effective the main task and subsidiary tasks are. I will use a mood board of photos taken during filming to show how I have kept to conventions and challenged them in a particular way. For the final evaluation task I shall record peoples reactions to the trailer and then ask them a few questions so that you can see they have been honest and constructive when evaluating my trailer.

Producing,Distributing and Marketing a film...

..A film distributer is a company or an individual responsible for releasing films to the public either in cinemas (theatrically) or for home viewing.

Theatrically distributing: A distributer needs to ensure that enough film prints are struck to service all contracted exhibitors on the contract based opening day. They also need to be there on time and make sure the film is shown in a particular theatre with the minimum amount of seats and show times. The distributer is also responsible for ensuring a full line of film advertising material. Such as posters, magazines, newspapers, advertisements, trailers and tv commercials. As I am the only person working on my trailer I am the one who is responsible for the distribution as well as the advertisement. My main task and subsidiary tasks are an example of the advertising side to distributing a film across the world. If I were making the entire film I would have to employ a global, well known company such as Universal (for the U.K only) and Mirimax (U.S.A). These companies also distributed the credible British romantic comedies: 'Love Actually' and 'Bridget Jones' Diary.' I would distribute globally so that many audiences can see the film and I would be able to make as much profit as possible.

Not only have I had to take on the matter of who would distribute my film I have also had to produce the film. I have had to oversee and deliver a film project whilst controlling other issues. However, as I'm not actually making the entire film I do not have to worry about joining a global production company such as Working Titles Films. I would use a global production and distribution company because conventionally you do not get many independent/art house romantic comedy films. In this trailer I shall make up the production team but it would be a global company who would produce and distribute to all MAJOR cinemas.

There are many aspects to consider when marketing a film. The purpose of marketing is to maximise the audience for a film and to therefore maximise its earnings.

Selling a movie: It has been stated that people do not buy a cinema ticket in the same way as they go out and buy a particular brand of drink, knowing you would go back and buy the same brand. You buy the ticket based on the advertisement of the film you have previously seen. A person is usual loyal to the brand but only as it lasts. This is why sequels are made due to the fact they can be marketed around the same brand.

Stars: Well known actors and actresses also help promote the film to potential viewers. Audiences feel comfortable with well known individuals in the actors particular genre of film. However, careers have flopped due to the fact audiences get bored of seeing the same actress as the lead; look at Jenifer Anniston, she is featured in most trashy American rom coms! Actors need to be diverse and a brand needs to be quickly identified with that actor. Luckily I do not have to worry about this issue in my trailer as unfortunately I cannot afford to have the likes of Jude Law and Johnny Depp feature in my film :(! However, if I were actually making a 'Real' movie I would use a range of actors from different genre of film to make the 'brand' new and exciting! No Jenifer Annistons thank you... zzz!

Promotion: This can come in with marketing and distributing...This can take many forms; here are some examples of previous marketing tactics film makers have used...

(Film Premiere, Television Interviews and Posters on Billboards across the U.K and abroad!)

Obviously I won't be doing any of the above. My main task and subsidiaries promote the film I am creating but if I were doing this on a bigger budget these are some of the options I would consider when distributing and marketing 'A Girl Next Door.'

Male AND female voice over!?

This is the trailer which features Bridget's voice over and a male voice over...see if you think Bridget's voice does not have authority?

Challenging a typical convention?

This is brave of me to think about challenging a typical convention as this is what I did in my original As coursework and it didn't pay off. However, I want to make my trailer stand out and I feel that changing the voice over from a males voice to a females voice will make it memorable.
There has been many previous in depth discussions about why male voices are used instead of women's and most of the reasons have been because it is the 'safer option' for the focus groups. Focus groups can have a lot of sway as to how the film is presented to the public. A male voice is perceived as being more authoritative and dominant.
A few other questions have been asked when discussing the issue of women not being present in the voice over industry; 'Is it the the movie world isn't ready to hear women perform in a movie trailer voice over, or are there politics at work behind the scenes?'
Me being a modern woman of the 21st century thinks that the politics side of this issue is nonsense and that men and women should be given equal opportunites in every job. Women can show authority just as well as men. So therefore my trailer will convey an authorative lead character in Gracie and she will do the voice over as it is her story! I can't wait to see how this will work out. Now that the editing has been complete and I'm just deciding the final song the last thing to be added to the trailer is the voice over.
I have been roaming youtube once more and I found the first Bridget Jones' trailer. Bridget does part of the voice over and I don't think she sounds weak due to her character. Just as the female character in my film isn't weak she is independent and makes her own decisions throughout the film...have a listen in the post above, as I couldn't fit it in this post!
If it does sound weak I shall mix both male and female voice over. You have to love a bit of controversy!