Roisin McEwen A2 MEDIA

1.In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products? For our A2 project, Mollie and I were asked to create either a theatrical or teaser film trailer, and we chose to do a teaser trailer. Teaser trailers normally last from 30 seconds to 1 minute long, and just give the audience a slight idea of what the film is about, without giving too much away. I really like the idea of a teaser trailer as I think it really draws potential viewers in , as teaser trailers are normally left on a cliff hanger, therefore creating curiosity and hype over a film. We decided to create a teaser trailer based around a few genres: Social Realism, Crime and Drama, and Comedy. The reason we chose a variety of genres is because we took inspiration from a collection of similar films: Spring Breakers, Project X, Kidulthood and The Hangover. All of these films have one big thing in common: partying. Mollie and I both really liked the idea of centering our film around a big party, and all the drama it entails. From doing research on these 4 films as well as researching the codes and conventions of the actual genres, we were able to get a good idea of what we needed to include in the trailer in order to meet the criteria. We decided to focus our trailer on a rebellious group of teenage girls who throw a party, where there is a lot of dramatic events etc. In our trailer, we mainly followed the codes and conventions of a social realistic film. The general conventions of this genre include run-down buildings and areas used for the setting; the costumes very basic for example, jeans, tracksuits, trainers and hats; and unprofessional actors following semi-improvised scripts. The reason this works so well is because it really creates an authentic feel to the film, as many people can relate to the setting etc. However, at some points in our trailer, there are party scenes including fluorescent flashing lights and loud music. This is where we challenged the codes and conventions of social realism, as these scenes were a lot more exciting and chaotic compared to the dull feel of films such as This is England. For my film poster, I looked at the posters for all the films we were taking inspiration from, and noticed they all had quirky, vibrant colours and comical aspects to them. I had so many different and conflicting ideas of how I could best represent my film trailer, until I had the thought of just using all my ideas in the same poster, by creating a collage of various pictures I took on my DSLR Camera whilst filming for my trailer. These photos were taken over a series of weeks at actual parties I attended with my friends. I love the idea of using real pictures opposed to staged ones, as it adds to the authentic feel of social realistic films. Some of the pictures were taken by my friends, I gave them the camera and told them to take photos or film anything funny or interesting that happened at these parties. I got the idea of asking other people to take photos from the makers of Project X, who revealed that a large percentage of the actual movie was filmed by the actors who were given iPhones and told to film anything they saw appropriate for the film. Personally, I love this idea and feel that it turned out really well, as my poster is beginning to tell a story of a truly chaotic night. For my film magazine, I chose to base it around the popular British magazine Little White Lies. Little White Lies is unmistakeable when sitting on a shelf with other magazines, as it does not follow the usual codes and conventions of film magazines: it does not follow the usual A4 measurements of magazines, and the only text that is featured on the cover is in the iconic logo, along with the barcode. It also only features one image, usually a close up shot of the main character in the featured film, and it is always artistic. For my cover, I used a photo I took of my friend Jessica on my DLSR camera, and edited in Photoshop to give in a cartoon effect. I feel that I properly followed the codes and conventions of Little White Lies, and feel that the outcome was successful. 2.How Effective is the Combination of your Main Product and Ancillary texts? Whilst producing my film trailer, poster and magazine cover, I always made sure to keep in mind my general theme, so that when they were all put together, they would tie in well with each other and would be clear that they are all promotional packages for the same film. I used very vibrant and electric colours in all my products, so to catch the eye of older teens. I used footage and photographs that all look very ‘real’, so it looks as if the film is based around a real life party that people would want an invite to. My poster is made up of lots of little pictures, so that it starts to tell a story of a chaotic and comical night without giving too much away. My Little White Lies inspired magazine cover features a single picture of one of the main characters from the film. The picture shows her winking directly at the camera, suggesting she is hiding something, meaning she is fun and mischievous, therefore enticing potential readers and viewers to find out what she is hiding. I feel that all three products add up properly to create a fun promotional package for my film, through the usage of the same colour schemes, the same people, and the same ideas. 3. What have you learnt from your Audience Feedback? After creating a draft of each product, I asked friends and peers for their thoughts and feedback on my work, and asked them to comment on what they would change and what they liked. From this, I got a good idea of how to relate to my target audience, as the majority of the people that I asked were included in the specification of my target audience! In order to gather this feedback easily, I first started off by doing a short interview with various friends in school, filming it and uploading it to Youtube. This was quite helpful and expanded my use of different media, however I wanted to ask a larger range of people; something I could not do in school and with a camera, as some people had good feedback but were not comfortable with being filmed. From this, I decided it would be a better idea to approach people on Facebook, as it allowed me to upload my work and request that people leave comments on the posts for me to review and change my work accordingly. 4.How did you use Media Technologies in the Construction and Research, Planning and Evaluation stages? In order to complete my A2 project to the best of my ability, I had to use a range of technologies to create my products. I found all the new technologies that I now have access to helped me greatly, as they ensured that I reached a high-quality, professional finish on all my work. Blogger First of all, and probably most importantly, is Blogger. I have used blogger to publish my work throughout my AS and A2 courses, and have found it very interesting and useful being able to hand my work in in this format. It makes it easy to show the development of my ideas, and allows my teacher to easily track my progress, and give me feedback. The only disadvantage of using blogger, is that it is not always accessible on all devices, and I also encountered problems when uploading videos and Prezi’s, but I think with more practice and teaching on it, I would be able to use it to the best of my ability.

Little White Lies is a popular British Film magazine that is either published twice a month or once every two months. It has an iconic simplistic, cartoon style, and is instantly recognizable on a magazine stand. It is stocked in shops and cinemas, including HMV, WHSmith’s, Urban Outfitters , Curzon Cinemas, Picturehouse Cinemas and Everyman Cinemas.

Every issue features an artistic take on the lead character in the featured film, accompanied only by the Little White Lies logo, which consists of a white circle with black writing. The artistic feel of the magazine gives it a uniqueness, and suggest that it is not just a magazine, but an actual piece of artwork.

I think Little White Lies would be perfect for my film, because it has a laid back and unique feel about it, which matches my film. The simplistic cover draws potential readers in, and entices them to find out more about the featured film.