Evaluation Activity 4

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

Youtube was the most helpful website to us as we used this in all stages of our production. When creating the zombie look Abbie would use youtube as a reference in teacher her how to apply zombie makeup. From this website we were able to really improve on what we couldn't in last years production which was cosmetics to really bring forward the supernatural horror side that we wanted to. Compared to last year we were really able to use youtube as something to learn from and as a result I believe it improved our overall production. 

Imovie has been the software we have used throughout AS and ALevel media. We all have become very comfortable with the software and feel we are more happy with the results from this software than any other we tried out. All of us being fluent with the software meant we were able to be more collaborative with the editing process as we all knew what we were doing. I learnt from this editing process with Imovie how important the sound is on a film which lead to me become better with sound editing, something I wasn't as confident with during our opening 2 minuets last year. This time I was able to overlap the sound making room for soundtracks and sound effect which I feel makes the film feel more professional.   

Blogger has helped me with presentation skills. At the start of A2 we were encouraged to layout the blog in a way that really compliments our genre. For my group it involved a lot of black backgrounds with red font and gory zombie pictures. 

The camera we were using was one we all felt comfortable with from last years opening 2 minuets. This year Abbie had gotten the same camera meaning we were able to double up on shooting doubling the amount of footage we could get at once. This made things a lot easier as this year we made Vlogs whilst we were filming meaning we could have someone doing behind the scenes footage. This made things a lot easier as we could all be more independent rather than huddling round one camera all trying to be the cameraman or director. 

Photoshop was very important for media texts such as the posters and the magazine covers. It allowed us to try alternative methods to achieve the zombie look without using cosmetics all the time which can be expensive and uncomfortable for the person it's being done to. As well as this we use the make up and software together to enhance the makeup making it even better. Abbie was able to use photoshop as she was taking photography so was able to teach us a meaning that we could also participate.  

We collectively decided to use a Mac rather than a PC as George had a Macbook Pro and I had a Mac so the majority of our group felt more comfortable on that software. We would also be able to edited together at school as George had the imovie software on his laptop. 

Evalaution Targets

You have worked so well this year and now, albeit in the busiest part of the calendar, you need to push yourself to achieve as many of the twenty marks available to you before the end of this term. Complete the activities set as well including director's commentaries and interviews with each other. Comment on your findings from your target audience and evaluate your progress. Analyse every techincal aspect of your promotional campaign and set future targets for yourself.

Evaluation Activity 3

What have you learned from your audeince feedback?



I agree that we could of given more indication as to the story line so audiences understood the films for but on the other hand we did feel it would be effective not giving much away as so often in trailer today they reveal the entire film in the trailer. There is a risk by doing this as it is likely that people wont connect to the story as it isn't clear enough. We could of tried to leave in some of the dialogue giving the film a greater narrative. 

I agree that we followed conventions of a horror/zombie film as we did make an effort to research this genre in order to get it right. The make up is probably where we most successfully conformed to our genre as Abbie put a lot of effort into making it look realistic and professional. 

The camera work at the end due to the photography lighting being used was the most successful camera work in the trailer I agree, other than that most our filming was done outside making it difficult for us to control the lighting as we didn't have those kind of resources. The shot where we circled around Shanie we were happy with as we sped it up to make it resemble footage in films like kick ass where its very fast pace. We chose not to use a tripod which is something looking back I would reconsider as when comparing finale productions the ones that look professional are the ones that used tripods. 

We used a numerous amount of shots to exaggerate the pace of the trailer making it more dramatic for the finale footage of Abbie at the end. Although putting the production credits at the start was suggested to make it more conventional I feel we conformed in so many areas of our trailer that it wasn't essential that we re arranged it. 

Evaluation Activity 2

How effective is the combination of your main products and ancillary texts?

Both magazine and poster Include conventional imagery of a zombie film. Using makeup Abbie was able to create the eroding flesh look and then by applying fake blood make the injurys look fresh. The effects on the magazine covers were all done using a computer where as the poster was done using cosmetics. Despite this difference I feel these two complimetn eachother as they both consist of a close up leaving viewers imagion what the rest is which we felt was effected. The title is also very detailed compaired to the pictures we have behind them so as long as we have this title in our texts the audience will see how they are linked. Together I think it's mainly the titles that compliment one another without them I feel they have little in common although it does reflect the two different colour stages we went through in the trailer.  

Due to the vagueness of the poster I believe it raises questions mostly on the appearance of the zombies. By giving little away we leave the audience curious as to how these Zombies will look in the trailer/film. This sort of curiosity from audiences will create a buzz around the film making the films more appear to audiences. The single word straight to the point title is very vague meaning there are so many different ways people can interpret it. By placing the zombie hands within the font we make this theme more clear linking it to the image behind narrowing down people interpretations but also drawing in our target audience. "We never walk alone" could be coming from two sides, either the zombies or the humans suggesting one side is vastly greater than the other leaving the audiences to guess who will survive. 

All three texts have strong zombie imagery, using cosmetics and special effects to bring out these gory details. Throughout all three texts we kept the same title as we felt its had a bold standout look meaning reading would immediately recognise when something is associated with 'virus'. The colouring of the poster and magazine cover both resemble different stages in the trailer, the coloured one at the end with abbie as a zombie in cosmetics is represented through the poster and the slightly discoloured one is the remainder of the trailer presented in the poster. We felt it was import to represent the different colouring of the trailer through these texts as its something that sets us apart from other trailer the inconsistency of colour.      

In the trailer the audience will mainly take away from it who the good and the bad guys are and who has most dominance on screen. Emma due to her  fight scene makes her the most dominant character as she has the most strength as we see her kill Avraj. This is also suggested though her costume, the fact that she is wearing a belt of bullets makes her appear dangerous. Below her would be the zombies as they are also dangerous which is suggested through most depictions of them of films, only recently they are really being presented as goodies in films for example in warm bodies. The body language also suggests this as they drag their body towards the camera aggressively making them appear a  threat. Below this would be the companions as they have to rely on the hero to be saved from the villain. This would be Shanie's character, around her wrist  she has a white cloth acting as a bandage for her wounded suggesting she has been in danger before but as the victim as we still see Emma fighting the battle for the both of them. On top of this the next time we see her she is running, this makes her appear weak and unable to defend herself and therefore reliant on Emma's character. We took the dialogue out our trailer as we didn't feel it was necessary as there was so little of it and it had no impact of the narrative of the trailer. As the magazine cover and poster are both very cryptic and vague the trailer will be giving the audience was they have been anticipating, most predominantly they will be waiting to see how the zombies look as this isn't something we did or wanted to revel in the cover and poster.  

Evaluation Activity 1

In what ways does your media product use develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

the title of the film

We wanted it to be short and to the point. We felt when 'the' was put infront of it, it didn't look as clean and simple. Aswell as this by putting 'the' infront of it, its in a way giving it a build up when we just want it to be punchy like Jaws or Psycho. The word 'virus' connoates danger and sickness. This title will remind people of virus's such as 'the black death' where peoples flesh changed and began rotting. From this title our audience will be expecting to see disterbing images due to the connotations of the title so age rating and target audience is suggested through this. We used red as the trailer is mainly black and white other than a short bit at the end so we needed a bold colour that will stick in peoples minds. For these genres red is a very conventional colour as is connotes blood and dangers.  

setting/ locations

Our most effective location was the school, although we had been encouraged to find more creative locations we felt using the school would give our target audeinces a relatable location. The sports hall was the most obvious location as we included props such as basketball racks and nets. These prop's add onto the cliche setting of a secondary school in a teen film in which Avraj, the lead male acts as the zombie jock character. This location was good as the big open space and dim lighting made Emma appear alone and venerable. We felt it was important to include enclosed simple locations as we then wouldn't have to worry about things in the background that wouldn't conform to our trailer e.g. people walking in the background and moving cars. 

 costumes and props

 We wanted to keep the costumes fairly simple and dark so it didnt show up as much on camera if we wanted to change the lighting of it. Despite this some of our extras had brightnly coloured clothes on which threw off the look and mood of the trailer which led to our decision of making it black and white. Emma being the hero had to be dressed in suitable clothing so we took inspiration from buffy the vampire slayer and went with block dark colours finished with a leather jacked. The leather jacket conots rebelian and rock which we felt worked well for Emma's charactor, it also went well the rocky atmosphere we were trying to present with the soundtrack. This kind of costume can be found in films such as Zombieland and resident evil. Around her chest we put a belt with bullets, although we didnt have any guns in our trailer we still wanted to suggest the use of them.

 camera work and editing

At this point in the trailer we were using jump cuts gradually speeding up 0.2 seconds each time to build suspense and give the audience hints as to the story but still leaving it a mystery. This is conventional for horror or zombie trailer to use rapid montages so we felt by using it we would be conforming to our genre effectively. This shot was one of our more unusually shots where we did an arc shot to follow the motion of the birds. This was a spontaneous as once we had gotten to the location there just happened to be flocks of birds circling. One of the aims in our genre would be to scare our audiences so a shot like this was very effective as it will make them feel weak and small. By sharpening the image through editing we were able to make the birds and trees look really prominent. This was important as we had feared our choice to make it black and white would damage the quality of some of our darker footage. During the editing process we decided to change the colouring of the trailer as we found it difficult to dim bright colours in order to make it fit in with our gloomy, mysterious look we were going for.     

title font and style

  

By using red font in our title we felt we were conforming to the convenctions of real media products such as warm bodies, 28 days later and shaun of the dead all of which use red background or font. The red font conotates danger which is then enforced by the gripping hand positions within the title. The gripping hands refer to our 10 second teaser trailer where a zombie hand is shown slaming its hands against a glass window. We only used a hand as we felt it was effective giving the audience the opertunity to predict how these zombies will look rather than us feeding them everything.

genre and how the trailer suggetsts it

The location of the school in our trailer suggests its a teen films as this is a conventional location for teen movies. In the image above we chose a location around the school with pylons and bins in site as it looks industrial as if its in an urban's city. We wanted our audience to feel claustrophobic and surrounded so this shot was really to show how the only way out is being blocked by zombies and either side of you are buildings boxing you in. This helped create the mood of fear and desperation for Emma's character and make the audience empathise with her. As trailers are short we knew it was important to get the audience to feel a connection to emma's character quickly which is why we opened up with this chase scene. All our characters are here are teenagers which was out convenience and conventional for zombie films at the moment.    

how characters are introduced

We chose to have no dialogue in our trailer as we really wanted it to be more focused on the visuals more than anything. We wanted to challenge conventions of a zombie horror film where it's commonly a male dominated genre in the hero area. Due to this both our hero and sidekick are females as we wanted to present a new wave of heros that are making there way onto the screen in films like the hunger games. Emma is shown through out the trailer making the audience feel as if they already know her when we get to the Shanie and Emma meeting scene. They meet prior to a Zombie attack in which Emma fights Avraj. The way they met conforms to a Zombie film where the hero comes across the sidekick in a moment of danger. Emma in this scene was using a lighter to suggest to the audience that the power is out due to the apocalypse which suggests she is roughing it out in the wild. The way the lighter is just bright enough to light up both of there faces was something we wanted to do to have the same affect as the teaser, by giving little away. The audience is left wanting more and intrigued by Shanie's character. This introduction scene was really perfect as later we would go on to see a multiple of action shots of Shanie giving the audience more.   

special effects

The most obvious special effect we used was the makeup in our film. For this we felt we used conventions of our genre in order to get an accurate depiction of how zombies are being portrayed in todays media. This took research of programs like the walking dead and films like warm bodies. We felt it was very important to not look at old zombie films as we felt it was very important to keep current. The rotting flesh makeup came from a youtube tutorial our makeup artist, Abbie had been studying. The blood across her face connotes danger and pain which we hoped would be effective and add on the scary themes we were going for.   

Virus Final

VIRUS draft

We need to change the age restriction banner at the start as it says 'PG-13' when we want it to be aimed at 18 year olds. This means replacing the banner with a red restricted one as you can see below.

Day 4 Filming Vlog

Day 3 filming Vlog

We began with booking in a space in the sports hall from last lesson and after school, we decided to do it for this long as we didnt know how long it was going to take as previously we had unerestimated the time it took to get a sufficiant amount of footage. We got a few of our friends who had frees during last lesson to help us which we found was very usefull when we were in need of extras but when we only had 3 people being filmed it was difficult to manage. 

We filmed the meeting scene between Shanie and Emma's charector in the sports hall. Abbie put brusies on Shanie's face using make up and cuts on her so she would look weaker than Emma making Emma the hero and Shanie the companion. Emma just had the same makeup as before, Abbie had to use a reference from the day before for continuity as this was part of a scene we had filmed the privious day.

We completed this filming between the two of them in 30 minuiets until Avraj came along so we were able to move onto the next scene. This was the fight scene so we had expected it to last longer than previous filming days had. Being in the sports hall we were able to use crash matts which helped as Avraj was able to perform stunts making for example Emma kicks him at one point and instead of just falling down he was able to exadurate her strength and hurl his body into the air.

Day 2 filming Vlog

From our first day of filming footage for 'Virus' we quickly learnt how time consuming the process is, as in we would spend 20 minuets outside shooting and come back with only 5 minuets of footage.

First we just used Emma for a few shots around the school that we wanted for our montage, we filmed on the steps, around the art block and the road of the sports corridoor. We had to film all this fairly quickly as the sky was quickly getting darker and we didnt want the colouring to look really different when we came to filming the rest of the shots.  

We began our filming by looking for people in the 6th form block on there free. Although we had previously planned to involve all our friends this became too difficult as they were only all avalible at the same time during break/lunch. During these times the school was too busy to resemble a Zoombie apocalips so we felt our best chance of getting good shots was to film during frees with who ever was avalible to us. We found this unsuccessful at first but we then managed to group together a group of 6 to play Zombie's in the background.  

Day 1 Filming Vlog

We took our first day to get some shots of Emma for our poster and magazine cover. Although the  pictures came out well, any pictures from this shoot will most likely need to be edited to look more rough to match the character description.

We used Abbie's D3100 camera which she uses in photography in order to get the highest quality pictures. After going around the school looking for a good location we settled for the lift doors. The shiny backdrop looked damaged and military suggesting violence. The background also worked well against Emma's dark hair and clothing.