Looking At Ancillary Tasks

My ancillary tasks are a magazine cover and a poster.

ancillary task - media magazines
movie scope
sight and sound
screen international
aesthetica

My favourite magazine covers are by Aesthetica as they incorporate a sense of fashion and concentrate on appealing to the female gender. I want to appeal to females with my trailer so taking inspiraion from this magazine might be a good idea. The logo is simple but stands out in a clear, white box at the top of the page. There is also a border around the image which makes the magazine cover unique. Hardly any text, if any, is situated on top of the image which makes it more media like as rather than it looking like a magazine full of content, it’s more about images. Here are some examples of my favourite magazine covers by Aesthetica:

The magazine, Movie Scope's covers focuses more on portraying portraiture images of actors and actresses. Again, Movie Scope’s logo is in a white box at the top of the page with a white border around the image. But Movie Scope’s logo is partnered with text about the content of the magazine and the barcode, whereas Aesthetica is kept alone with a tiny bit of writing alongside it which I prefer. The text on the image is kept quite minimal just to add a bit of information about its content to attract the audience. My favourite magazine covers by Movie Scope:

Sight and Sound magazine covers focus more on images of actual characters from movies, rather than the actor being themselves. The logo is very bold and eye catching, similar to Aesthetica and Movie Scope - it is presented in a text box to separate from the image. Text is mainly white but picks up a bit of colour from the image.

Screen International’s logo is again, presented in a box on its own with no text within. The text on their magazine covers are kept to a minimum with the images being payed the most attention. The colour palette on both images is mainly red and black - a simple, yet eye catching colour palette to have to stand out on a magazine rack. On the second magazine, I like the edited letter with images within them - this is unique and affective.

I would quite like to name my magazine something media based but spelt in a different language. Here are some of my ideas:
- La Voix (The Voice)
- Whisper
- La Verite (The Truth)
- Expression
- Vox (voice in latin)
- A Diem (an anagram of media but also means "of the day" in latin)
- C'est la vie (that's life in French - I think this is a nice phrase to have and is often used in society)

Here are some logo designs:

Applying Narrative Theory: Two

Here is a trailer of a romantic movie called Listen To Your Heart. Linking to Christopher Volger's narrative theory, the Helper actually has alot of screen time in the trailer and plays an important part in the movie.



Defining Narrative

The events that occur during my trailer are grouped into 'cause and effect' rather than 'action and event'. This is purely due to the genre of my trailer. The cause of an event in my trailer is that Scarlett will be moving far away to go to University. The events that will take place because of this will be arguments, break ups, get back togethers etc. Connotations signified will be love, hurt, distress, hope and lust - all connotations that the audience will relate to and want to watch. I know they will want to watch this due to my market research.

NARRATIVE STORY:
The story is basically a boy and a girl who go to the same college. They often notice each other but have never spoken. Until one day, Scarlett drops her folder and Braden picks it up for her - a typical cliche moment. In the trailer, I will be showing shots of them being close but never speaking and then the folder scene. From then on it will be about their relationship and how they grow to love each other. Eventually, I will show Scarlett revealing the University dilemma to Braden and from then on it will be shots of them arguing, crying, hugging etc. to show the audience that not only will there be a perfect love story in the movie, but a realistic storyline to it aswell that alot of people in real life go through. The report of the event will be shown through captions on the screen and dialogue of the characters.

NARRATIVE PLOT:
There will be no author or narrator in my trailer - it will be only background music with captions on the screen and dialogue from the characters. This is how the story will be presented throughout the trailer. I will be revealing clips from every scene showing the development in their relationship from beginning to end but I won't be showing any clips or hints to the outcome of the story as this is what I want the audience to wonder about. The events will be put together in different ways. When Scarlett is revealing the news to Braden, there will be sad music and slow shots and movements. But when they start arguining and things start going wrong, it will be presented with fast cuts and a louder music range.

Tzvetan Todorov's theory is that stories begin with an equilibrium or status quo and potentially opposing forces are in balance. This is disrupted by some event, setting in chain a series of events. Problems are solved so that order can be restored to the world of the fiction. For example, "Katie and the Biscuit". Todorov argued that the basis of conventional narrative structure consists of an initial situation, a problem which disrupts this situation and a resolution of the problem which allowd the reinstatement of the initial situation. Basically...

Sitation 1 > Problem > Resolution

In my trailer, it will be:

Fall in love > Scarlett needs to go to University > ?

I have written a question mark on the resolution because I won't be showing this in my trailer as it will give the whole story away and no one will bother watching the movie.

Todorov also suggested a slightly more complicated description of narrative structure than the simple situation/problem/resolution structure. Here are the five stages he posited and how it relates to my trailer:

1. A state of equilibrium at the outset - The couple are in love: happiness, laughs etc.
2. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action - Scarlett tells Braden that she will be going to University soon.
3. A recognition that there has been a disruption - The couple wonder if a long distance relationship is going to work and they start to argue alot.
4. An attempt to repair the disruption - Braden tries to persuade Scarlett that they can make it work. Here there will be lots of tears etc.
5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium - Won't be revealed as I am only producing a trailer.

Christopher Volger believes there are twelve steps of the hero's journey which became very influential in Hollywood movies. However, this doesn't relate to my work because I don't have a hero in my story.

Vladimir Propp contend that there are seven 'spheres of action' - a villian, donor, helper, princess, dispatcher, hero and false hero. However, this doesn't really relate to my work either because I only have two characters and neither fit in with these criterias.

Practise Teaser Trailer

On 28/11/11 an Apple expert came into school to teach us some iMovie techniques. We were taught about clip transactions, video and audio adjustments, add freeze frame, split clip and how to add music and text into the video. Overall, I thought it was an extremely beneficial day as I learnt so much and I am now confident when it comes to editing my trailer.

From audience research with my questionnaire, I know that my audience will like the close ups and soft lighting. From looking at professional teaser trailers, I have found that the running time of them start at 53 seconds - 2:25 therefore, I believe that the average time for a teaser trailer is about 2 minutes. This practise teaser trailer that I have produced is only one minute long so for my final piece, it will be longer.

IDEA

I was listening to this song when I read one of the comments underneath:

"I told my neighbour (who is my age and I really like him) that this was my fave song. He said he had never heard it so I told him he had to go listen to it. He said he would. The next day it was raining and I looked out my window and saw him standing in my driveway. I ran out there with an umbrella and asked what he was doing. He sang, 'I don't mind spending every day out on your corner in the pouring rain".


This story genuinely touched me and I really want this idea in my trailer!!

Applying Narrative Theory: One

The fact that there is no hero in my trailer makes it hard for me to compare theorist ideas to my work as they all include a hero character. In my trailer I will only have two characters - the two lovers.

Joseph Campbell theory of narrative has found some currency in the modern hollywood blockbuster. It is often called The Hero's Journey. It comes in three acts - departure, initiation and return. Campbell's theory doesn't relate to my trailer because I don't have a hero. My reason for not having a hero is that I am producing a romantic genre and I wanted it to stay between the two characters - I didn't want any complicated storyline with lots of people. I wanted two lovers who fall in love and find a problem that is caused by their own personal dilemmas and will be fixed this way too. This way, the audience are more likely to relate to the story line when watching the movie.

Tzvetan Todorov is another theorist, arguing that all stories follow the basic structure of an equilibrium, disruption and resolution. It involves talking about ideology and power relations. This theory can apply to my trailer a little better. In my story, the equilibrium is when the couple are in love. This will be shown through shots of the couple laughing and spending time together. The disruption is when Scarlett realises that when she goes to University, it may cause problems between their relationship as she will be moving far away. The resolution, however, is rarely shown in a trailer because otherwise you would be giving the whole story away and no one would want to watch it. By leaving out the resolution, you can leave the audience wondering what will happen between the characters and that is what will make them want to watch the movie.

If a narrative begins with an idea of equilibrium or balance, whose idea of normal is it?
This is an interesting question. The script writers/producers etc. would do market research to find out what equilibrium is to the target audience when in a relationship. With this, they can create a normal world that the audience will find suitable. All members of the audience will be aware that when you are in a relationship, it is not happiness all the time. All couples have arguments eventually, which is why something like this has to happen in the trailer. If the characters fell in love and they lived happily ever after, the story wouldn't be interesting enough to capture the audience's attention. Therefore, if trhe equilibrium is disrupted by an event, there has to be something that goes wrong. In my trailer, the thing that will be going wrong is that Scarlett will be going to University far away soon and they will struggle to maintain a long distance relationship. The events that happen in my trailer are arranged according to the ideas that they contain.

In the narration, the viewer does not know more than the narrator. However, I don't think I will be having a narrator voice over during my trailer - I would like to stick to captions on the screen and dialogue from the film clips. The point of view comes from an outsider watching their relationship. The narrative doesn't cheat in any way. The events are compressed in time because obviously I have to fit a lot into a short amount of time. Even in a trailer, the time will very often be compressed to fit more into the time schedule.

Filming Footage

shot steady
framing shot
variety in shot distances
mise-en-scene
colour
props
lighting
setting
editing
shot transictions (fade, cut, dissolve etc)
sound

Use of ICT/Digital Equipment

To produce my anamatic, I used Windows Live Movie Maker.




On the 29th November, James Smither came in to teach my Media Studies class skills on iMovie as this is the software that I will be using to produce my teaser trailer.






Websites for inspiration and research:

This One - Latyer Media

This One - English and Media (Username: mediamagazine9 Password: jet423st)

Actors, Locations & Costumes

The female actor, Scarlett, I will be using is called Hannah Lloyd. I have worked with her in coursework projects before and she is well known for her photographic and acting work, therefore she would be brilliant to use in my romantic trailer. Here is a picture of her that I have taken myself:

The male character, Braden, will be played by

In terms of music in my trailer, it is not allowed to use music that is owned by other companies. For example, I can't use music from iTunes or You Tube. Therefore, I will approach musicians that I know and friends who play musical instruments and record them playing the guitar, piano or singing.

COSTUMES

For Braden, I see him being quite casual wearing simple clothes but caring for his appearance at the same time. Here are some examples:

Scarlett I see as being pretty and feminine:

LOCATION

I took the following images of a model who is going to be playing the female character in my trailer. But the location and setting in these images is where I would like to film some footage for the romantic scenes.

Anamatic

This is my anamatic. I have produced it through Windows Live Movie Maker, then uploaded it to You Tube and shared it onto my blog. Rather than making a voice over with the information, I decided to have text on the screen over my sketches. This is because I thought it would be easier for the audience to take in rather than having to use their eyes and ears.

Dear John - Official Trailer [HD]

The trailer generally presents a utopia world, where everything is perfect in a hot and sunny location, on a beach. However half way through the trailer, it begins showing clips of war scenes which would appeal to the male gender. The music and lighting is both soft throughout the trailer, symbolising the soft and gentle theme of the characters and relationship - there is no shouting or fighting going on. Speech voiceovers are shown throughout the trailer rather than text or just muted clips. This gives a better overview of the movie. At the end of the trailer, quick cuts of clips are shown to quickly sum up the movie and conclude the audience's opinion.

The Notebook Movie Trailer [HD]

This trailer presents a utopia world at the beginning of the trailer to symbolise the love towards the two characters. The background music throughout the whole trailer is classical with sounds of piano and violins to suit the love theme. The narrator at the beginning of the trailer is the character in the actual movie telling the story so this has been used as a voiceover in the trailer. Soft lighting is used throughout to suggest utopia and love. The trailer appeals to women but there is one shot of a war scene which can appeal to males. A link that I am finding with these romantic genre trailers is that they all show a shot of war scenes. This is a link used to perhaps attract both genders, but I won't be using any war clips in my trailer. At the end of the trailer, "The Notebook" appears at the end on a screen with a whole notebook theme. This includes italic text, the page lines and echoed text with different opacities.

TITANIC 3D Trailer 2012

The beginning of the trailer has a dystopia affect, due to its mise-en-scene and dark lighting. This catches the male attention at the beginning of the trailer. The same style of egyptian, disturbing music is played throughout which builds tension and has a quick spark of sound on certain shots - like when Rose and Jack hold hands and when the text comes up on the screen. The text is presented in white against a black background which is minimalistic. Right at the end of the trailer, there is a voiceover of the speech from the movie which sums up the storyline and would help the audience conclude their opinion on the trailer.

Health by design on Prezi

Prezi can be used to make presentations but in a much more modern and creative way. I may consider using this during my project.

Love Distrust Official Trailer

This trailer has quite a dark romantic theme, rather than connotations of a typical romance movie. The lighting is generally dark, as is the background non-diegetic music which is the same piano song throughout. The music is rather spooky and builds tension with the audience as they watch. The beginning of the trailer includes quick faded cuts of scenes from the movie so that the audience get a feel of what it is about. The captions and shots shown don't give much away about the movie. However, with words like "longing, loneliness, hope, love" that come up on the screen, the audience receive connotations of a sad love story. So the captions would appeal to females, whilst the dark side to the story would also appeal to males. There seems to be a mix of characters - some are ordinary looking whilst others have more of a specific persona to them. For example, there is one particular gothy girl who looks quite scary wearing black. The trailer seems to be more about the actors themselves than the actual story as half of the trailer is filled up with shots of the actors and their names.

My trailer is going to contrast with Love Distrust because my story is fully romantic with no dark side and it will be about the story rather than the characters.

Like Crazy Trailer 2 Official (HD)

This trailer has a target audience of females which is proven through all of the film aspects - music, dialogue, mise-en-scene etc. It is a romantic film with no action or violence in it like Twilight. The opening song is 'Dead Hearts' by Stars which is romantic so that the audience watching knows immediately the genre of movie it is. When things start to go wrong in the trailer, there is a drop in the music with a few piano notes which soon develops into a new song called 'Can't help falling in love with you'. So throughout the trailer there is sad and romantic music to support the genre and target audience.

There isn't much variety in shot distances. There are so many close ups and medium shots used throughout the trailer which I like because it captures the facial expressions and body gestures towards the characters which is important in a romantic movie. There are long shots on locations such as the important shot of London and other places filmed. Quick cuts are used at the beginning of the trailer to quickly get the audience's understanding of their relationship and what they have been through. In terms of shot transactions, fades between shots are used to emphasise a sad and touching situation - it wouldn't have the same affect if it had quick cuts. Ellipses is used in the middle of the trailer when there are quick cuts of the couple in bed. Each cut shows them in different outfits and positions to suggest time going on.

The lighting is generally realistic and bright, especially on the female character. The settings and mise-en-scene is all romantic and cosy - a typical romance genre.

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN Part 1 - Teaser Trailer

As a big fan of romantic films, the Twilight Saga is one of my favourites. However, this romance has a twist by having a violence storyline which broadens their target audience to males aswell as females. The dark music, lighting and setting all work towards the idea of appealing to the male gender. The colour palette throughout the trailer is very neutral and dark using colours such as browns, blacks and whites to signify its dark and mysterious attitudes. The text that is presented on the screen has a black background with a red font which symbolises blood and danger so immediately we get connotations of an action/horror film but because this is the fourth film in the series, they can get away with this with their audience who like the romance side of the movie.

The first shot in the trailer is my favourite. It is a close up shot of a female walking down an echoing corridor in black heels with enhanced diegetic sound of the heels hitting the floor. The costume in this shot symbolises glamour which contrasts with the genre of the film. This is interesting because a new representation of dangerous women must be being developed in the media industry. The first few shots in the trailer are at low angles and the rest of the trailer are either close ups or medium shots apart from the long shots that show locations. For example, the first view of the wedding venue is a long shot. So are the shots of the sea and the beach which is shown a couple of times throughout the trailer. A rule of thirds is created in the second shot in the trailer when the woman opens the door to reveal light directly on her, with the black doors on either side of her. I also like the close up on the envelope as this is an important prop in the movie.

At 1:09, the camera moves from behind Edward's neck to reveal Bella's facial expression. I really like this technique because it builds tension which is emphasised with a sudden blast of loud sound.

I noticed whilst watching the trailer, whenever it is showing the positives in the film fades between shots are used but when things go bad and there is action, cuts are used. This starts at 0:39 when Jacob starts getting angry because he sees the wedding invitation. Another editing technique is when something important happens in the trailer, it quickly cuts to a black screen. This builds tension and gives the audience a chance to take in the information given.

There is no voice over in the trailer. Only text on the screen is used and some character speech is shown to give some of the storyline away.

Advanced Production Opening Statement

- How will planning, process and constructed be recorded and constantly evaluated?
I will be bringing together a focus group and creating a questionnair for them to fill out which will work towards the planning process of my products.

- The audience: identified how? The appeal will be...
My audience is females at 12+ who like romance and relationships. These will be identified by making sure all of the features in my products appeal to this type of audience. I will make sure of this by using a focus group.

- Which media will link to the main task and how.
Film media will link to my main task. Also, publishing media links to my teaser trailer aswell because it may be given film reviews published in magazines and newspapers.

- Why this area?
I chose this area because I wanted to do something a little different from my AS project. Last year I did print coursework, so this year I wanted to combine print and film which is why I chose to produce a trailer with a poster and magazine cover. I chose this genre because it is my favourite genre to watch in terms of movies, and not many media studies students create romantic trailers. Horror always seems to be the most popular.

- First 5 steps and why?
1) Decide on the storyline of my teaser trailer so that I know what to work around when casting and choosing locations.
2) Draw/produce anamatics. These are equivelent to a storyboard which will help me plan what my teaser trailer is going to look like.
3) Choose how many actors are needed and have auditions for this - they must be genuinely serious about acting as romances can sometimes not be taken seriously. This will enable me to start filming the trailer as soon as possible.
4)Choose where the trailer will be shot in terms of location. Also think about setting, costume, hair and makeup, script, camera angles etc. This will also enable me to start shooting as soon as possible.
5) Get filming!


According to this website, the earliest romance film ever was the 20-second long "The May Irwin Kiss" by Thomas Edison. It was the most popular Edison Vitascope film of 1896.

Focus Group

Here is my focus group. I have found 4 girls and 2 boys who enjoy watching romantic movies and asked them questions about how they would feel towards certain aspects in the romantic field. Here is a picture of each member of the focus group:

1. Leah Croft

2. Kathryn Sunnocks

3. Bethan Dash

4. Sarah Potter

5. Adam Gardiner

6. James Bishop

Here is the questionnaire that I will be sending to my focus group to fill out:

1) When you think of a romantic movie, what type of lighting comes to mind?

2) During an emotional scene, would you prefer close ups or long shots?

3) When watching a trailer, do you like a voice over, listening to the dialogue or a bit of both?

4) Do you find cliché situations ruin a good movie?

5) In terms of the colour palette, do you like a cold or warm atmosphere or do you prefer it to reflect the characters’ feelings and emotions?

6) Do you think a fast pace trailer would give off the right affect for a romantic movie?

7) Do you prefer a simplistic romantic trailer or a range of editing techniques?




And here are my results:

From these results, I know to keep the lighting warm and soft throughout my trailer.

2) During an emotional scene, would you prefer close ups or long shots?

Close ups – 5
Long shots - 1

From these results, I know to focus on close ups when shooting an emotional scene as this is what the audience generally prefer.

3) When watching a trailer, do you like a voice over, listening to the dialogue or a bit of both?

Only dialogue – 1
Only voice over – 1
Both - 4

From these results, I know to add a bit of both dialogue and voice over in my trailer as this is what the audience would prefer to hear.

4) Do you find cliché situations ruin a good movie?

Yes – 1
No – 2
When overused - 3

From these results I know that cliché situations will be good to use but not to overuse them as the audience generally think this ruins a good movie.

5) In terms of the colour palette, do you like a cold or warm atmosphere or do you prefer it to reflect the characters’ feelings and emotions?

Warm – 3
Cold – 0
Reflect characters’ feelings and emotions - 3

From these results, I have had an equal answer for warm colour palette and reflecting the characters' feelings and emotions. It may well be that the lighting must be warm to reflect a certain character's feelings so this would work. However, I think when shooting I will concentrate mainly on reflecting the characters' feelings and emotions throughout.

6) Do you think a fast pace trailer would give off the right affect for a romantic movie?

Yes – 0
No - 6

From these results I know not to produce a fast paced trailer.

7) Do you prefer a simplistic romantic trailer or a range of editing techniques?

Simplistic – 5
Editing techniques – 1

From these results, I know that the audience would prefer simplistic techniques for my romantic trailer.

A Reflection On Current Media Events & The Impact On My Work

News of the World phone hacking is a big issue in the media industry at this moment in time. This may have impact on my products. Although the News of the World is a newspaper, it may affect the magazine industry aswell as they are the same publishing, journalism products. Film reviews won't be able to be used in magazines to advertise my movie, posters won't be able to be used in magazines which decreases the choice of location when putting up posters for the movie. And the magazine cover won't be able to be used if magazines are being closed down due to phone hacking. Even if magazines don't stop being published, it will still have an impact because if people are resigning, there will be problems with the reputation of the magazine and people may not purchase it.

The prices of downloads and mobile phone minutes and messaging are all decreasing. This will put a positive impact on my movie because people may wish to download my movie trailer, poster or magazine cover. They are more likely to do this now since the prices are decreasing.

Indication of Relationship Between Main & Ancillary Products.

Both the main task and the ancillary tasks are all to advertise a new and upcoming movie. After completing the teaser trailer, I will duplicate the design, colour scheme, characters etc. into the magazine cover and poster to keep the theme within the movie's documents. For example, the movie may have its own personal colour scheme or set design that can be retained onto all of the products. So this is my intention when producing the products for my movie. This will indicate a relationship between the main and ancillary products.

How is my product research to be carried out?

I am going to research different romantic movie trailers and take notes on the setting, lighting, colour palette, camera shots and angles, editing etc. so that I can find out what is the most popular techniques to use for a romantic movie trailer.

With my focus group, I will be asking them questions about the techniques used in trailers to see what would appeal to them most and what will draw them in if they were watching a romantic trailer, and making the decision to watch the movie or not.

How is my audience research to be carried out?

I will be holding auditions for the main characters in my teaser trailer. The genre will be romance so I need actors who are serious about their career and will be willing to be mature about the acting. I will have a focal group of people who enjoy watching romantic films such as Dear John, Titanic and The Notebook. They will answer some questions that I will come up with in order to produce a teaser trailer, magazine cover and poster that will appeal to my target audience.

I have chosen this genre of film because it is what I like to watch best myself so I feel my creativeness will come out the best with something that I am passionate about rather than making a horror trailer but not being particularly interested in horrors.

Audience:
Females (not trying to appeal to men)
12+ (Have decided my movie to be a 12+ certificate because there will be no swearing, strong sexual references or violence etc.)
Are inspired and enjoy watching romance and relationships on television
Low class/middle class

Practical Advance Production/Portfolio

For my A2 Coursework I will be producing a teaser trailer for a new and upcoming romantic movie. My ancillary tasks will be a magazine cover and a poster to promote the movie.

I have chosen a teaser trailer because it's a big step from AS and I would learn more about the film side to media, as at AS all I worked on was print media. But I can also develop my print skills through the ancillary tasks which is why I have chosen a magazine cover and a poster.