Evaluation Task 3 draft

Evaluation feedback

You have made a good start on your evaluation, with task one completed (although you should add in how you have conformed to/subverted the conventions for each point) and four begun. You have applied theories of audience.

Targets:
Titles of posts - make sure all are titled 'Evaluation Task x'
Evaluation task 3 - re-upload the audience feedback for your finished trailer - you should sum up what you have learned (positive and areas to develop) in your analysis
Evaluation task 2 - record a voice over/interview style footage where you discuss how the three tasks combine effectively to create a marketing campaign DRAFT DONE
Evaluation task 4 - what about the software you used to create your poster/magazine cover? Blogger to record your work? YouTube to view other trailers etc? Make sure all of this is discussed.
Remember to also upload any written responses you complete for exam preparation to add to your evaluation DONE

Trailer Final Version

Evaluation task 4

This is the camera that was used for the filming of our trailer, it is a Panasonic HC-V500 hand held camera. This camera has many features that make it a good camera for us to use, such as the image stabilisation which allowed us to get good shots even when the camera operator had to move quickly to keep up with the action that was happening during filming. The microphone within the camera was good enough to not make us have to re-record the audio shot on site. There was some issues with the built in microphone such as wind noise when at Wisely airfield, but this was a one off event and the wind died down for the rest of the days we spend filming. One way which could have resolved the wind noise issues would be to by an external microphone but funds did not allow, if we were to do the filming again we would consider renting/buying an external microphone to improve the audio recorded on site. A DSLR camera would have also been a good investment allowing for better quality video (the one used was acceptable) and allowing for depth of field adjustments making the footage look more professional.

This was the tripod used in the filming, camera mounted on top obviously. This is a simple cheap tripod but it did the job we wanted effectively, allowing for steady stationary shots. The tripod also allowed for the camera to be set up and left on whilst everyone was on set, leaving no one to operate the camera. The tripod was also used when the angle of the shot made it difficult for the camera to be manned, such as when the camera was in a corner or the room was too small.

This is the main piece of software that was used during the editing of the trailer, it is Adobe Premiere Pro. The main reason why this software was chosen for the editing was the fact its become an industry standard, along with Final Cut only available on OSX. This is a very versatile piece of software which allows for advanced video editing such as colour correction and other effects to be added, as well as title animation. Not only does this software allow for video editing, it also allows for basic audio editing such as adding fades and mixing all of the levels. Some audio EQ is also available, but we used dedicated software for creating an editing the soundtrack. During the editing process many of the available features offered by Premiere Pro were used, we thought that of we are going to use the best software, why not use as many of the features as possible, within reason of course. The actual editing process went very smoothly due to the software's well thought out and laid out design, the timeline at the bottom, a preview screen to view the changes made to the trailer and the effects window where all the effects are changed and managed. The software also features a mixer window for the audio. As this was the same software that the opening two minutes was edited on we were very familiar with the software and did not have to learn it like when we made the opening two minutes which as a result, cut down the editing time considerably and also an improvement on the final product.
Although this software is very versatile, the trailer could not have been produced without the use of other software.

 This is the other dedicated video editing software used in the production of our trailer, Adobe After Effects. This software was also chosen as it is also an industry standard for special effects video editing. Although not as extensively used as last year, it was still an essential piece of software that was vital to the trailers production. This software was only used to add the muzzle flashes to the fight scene, a small detail but one that makes a huge difference. As this was also used last year, even more than this year, adding the muzzle flashes this year was easy, unlike last year which took forever. This software is not as simple to use as Premiere Pro which makes it more of a professional use only software as they are the only ones that can use it effectively, but I feel that we did well considering we have only used the software once before. The software features a timeline like most other video software but from then on it gets more complicated and there is no audio editing functionality, which means that this software has to be used in conjunction with other video editing software such as Premiere. Although this is a very powerful piece of software, it is useless without the effects to add into it. For this we used Action Essentials 2 Pack which includes lots of muzzle flash effects and audio sounds, such as the gun shot sounds.


This is Logic Pro, the software used to record the soundtrack.



Photoshop was used to create both the poster and the Empire magazine cover. Photoshop is a widely used software for creating images in not only the film industry, but also in many other creative industries such as in photography for professional use. The main reason why we used Photoshop by Adobe was because of its ease of use and diversity of the software. during the creation of the magazine and poster we used many of the features of the software to enhance the look of the productions. To name a few of the features used in the production, they include colour grading and brightness and contrast editing, title and text features, as well as many of the cropping tools to cut and move things around in the image. A good example of when we sued this feature specifically was when we were creating the poster, the main image is not one image, but the character was cut from a different image and put onto the background image, this is a common occurrence in many professional posters. As for the other effects used, it is quite obvious where they were used, adding text and changing the colours in the image.





There was also some other software that we used in the production process that was not used to actually create the productions, these pieces of software are websites known as Blogger and YouTube.
Blogger was used to document all of the work that we had done and to make it available to be marked. Blogger is a simple website and is used for hosting mainly text and images. All of the work done that is creditable in terms of coursework was done on Blogger. Blogger was the main platform for all of our coursework. One of the other benefits of using an online software is security. As it is hosted online there is little chance of loosing the work, whereas using software that is not online comes with risks such as the files accidentally being deleted or being lost.
Youtube was the video hosting site that was used to host the trailer. Youtube was chosen as it is the easiest method of hosting the video and it also allows us to embed the video into Blogger making the experience better for those reading the blog than having to follow a link to another web page entirely.

Magazine Cover Final Version

Poster Final Version

Essay

The uses and gratifications theory created by Blumler and Katz in 1970 seeks to identify why people consume media. Many of the sub-theories within the uses and gratifications theory can be applied to our film, Her Majesty's Wasteland, even though they are not as obvious as many more conventional film genres, but applicable non the less.

One of the most prominent factors in our film is the loneliness experienced by the main character. Many people consume media to relate to the characters, one of the factors identified in the uses and gratifications theory and the one of the main reasons dramas and soap operas are so popular, and one way the audience can relate to the characters in the film. The main character experiences many events throughout the film that are pretty common in the real world, although not completely the same. The characters loneliness could be translated to the audience as just that, being lonely. The audience members that are experiencing the same thing at the time of viewing the film will relate to this and make them feel that they have something in common with the character, subconsciously pushing them to continue watching to see how things turn out for the main character, perhaps for an insight to what will happen to them in the end. Some of the other events that happen to the main character such as being beaten could also relate to people in the real world, bullying being the most obvious. The main characters personality may also reflect some of the viewers personalities, which will make the character even more rateable than just the event that unfold around them alone.

The way in which the audience relates to the character leads nicely onto another part of the uses and gratifications theory, escapism. Many audiences consume media texts as an escape from the real world that they live in, seeing a fictional character deal with their problems offers an escape from any problems the audience may be going through. Not only could the audience relate to the character on a more personal level, but they could also be going though tough times, and watching someone else deal with their problems offers valuable time away from their own.

On a more lighter side, many audiences consume media text purely for entrainment. Our film features many aspects that are entertaining to a wide range of audiences, form fight scenes to stealthy 'hitman' style scenes, there is something for any audience member.

The last aspect of the uses and gratifications theory is education/information. This our film defiantly does not offer. It is based in a fictional world with fictional characters with no similarities to the real world. The only people that would be educated by our film would be those tin foil hat doomsday preppers. Our film was never designed to be educational and only a fool would take anything in our film as being factual.

Our film fills many aspects of the uses and gratifications theory, some more than others, and of course there are many other theories that can be applied to our film.