Poster Research

           

I have decided that I shall be creating a teaser poster for my film. Teaser posters are generally simpler than theatrical posters and are used to spark an initial interest in the film. I shall be using a selection of commonly used conventions for teaser film posters, in the poster that I am creating. Such conventions are visible in the images above.

Trailer First Version Feedback

After completing the first version of my film trailer I decided to ask a selection of people for their feedback on it. I did this so as to discover what people thought of it and to identify any areas that people felt I could improve on. I obtained this feedback by messaging a number of people I knew via the social network ‘Facebook’. I sent the following message to people:

The feedback that I got was as follows:

“I like the look of your trailer so far. The locations and acting that you used were very nice. However I feel that it could be made better if the audio were to be changed”
– James Smith

“I didn’t like it because I’m not into that genre of movies. The camera work was decent though.”
– Amy Jones

“Lovely trailer, but I didn’t really understand what was going on.”
– Luke Cameron

“Ha, it’s a lot better than my trailer. Really decent piece of work, the narrative is quite vague however and the sound effects could have been improved.”
– Stanley Mills

To conclude, the responses of people seemed to be mostly positive. However they have identified some of the key areas of improvement that could be made. I had already considered changing the majority of the negative things mentions, but it was a positive experience hearing that other people felt that they needed to be changed as well.

Poster Variations

Magazine Cover Feedback

After creating a version of my magazine cover that I was happy with, I decided to ask a set of people for their opinions on it. I chose to do this as I felt that it would give me an insight into what magazine’s readers would think of the cover, as well as allowing me to identify possible areas of improvement.

The first person that I decided to ask for feedback was Micah Hills, a student currently studying media. He granted me permission to film him giving a small overview of the magazine as well as giving his suggestions on how it could be improved.

The second person that I asked for feedback was Christian Turner. He opted for giving the feedback in a written format rather than being filmed. His feedback is as follows:

“I feel that this is a very strong magazine cover design. It captures the style and conventions of a Little White Lies magazine perfectly. I honestly can’t think of any way in which you could improve it.”

The third and final student that I asked for feedback was Joseph Gower. His feedback was as follows:

“You’ve designed the main image very well. I really like the splatter effects that you’ve used in the background. Altogether the design of the magazine is really good. As for improvements, I noticed that there wasn’t an issue number displayed on your cover. I don’t think this would be a major issue but I feel that it could be better if you added one. Also you may want to experiment with the colours of the main image and the background.”

In conclusion, from the feedback it was clear that I needed to add an issue number to my cover. In addition to this I shall take into account their opinions about the background colour and experiment with a few different colours and styles.

Magazine Cover Variations

Props

The genre of our film was action and crime. These types of movies generally contain a lot of props and outfits for their characters. However since my group was going for a realistic, small scale production about a thug that is out for vengeance after his friends money was stolen, we did not require a massive amount of props. The props that we ended up using were a rounders bat; a bike; a poker table and cards; a bag; a list of names and outfits for Jason Dyer and Sam Williams.

The rounders bat was used as the primary weapon of Jason Dyer as he enjoys fighting with blunt weapons. In addition to this guns are illegal and very hard for people to obtain in the UK, therefore it is unlikely that Jason Dyer would have been in possession of one.

The bicycle was used as a means of transport of Rory Macbride. In addition to providing him with transport it was used to subconsciously remind the audiences that his money had been stolen and he was therefore unable to afford to use his car.

The poker table and cards were used so as to make the poker scene believable. We chose to use poker as the character’s game of choice since it is extremely well known and is often used for gambling. In addition to this, there are similar gambling scenes in many other crime related movies.

The bag that Rory Macbride used was to carry his possessions. It was also used as a reminder that he had lost everything and now carries everything he owns with him.

The list of names was used to show the targets of Jason Dyer. The title of the film relates to this list as it plays a major part in the movie. In the trailer, Jason Dyer shall be shown crossing names of the list thus symbolising that he has eliminated his targets.

We decided that some of the characters needed unique clothing. We therefore decided to give Sam Williams a leather jacket and Jason Dyer his iconic clothing. These can be considered props as the actors were required to wear them in the majority of the footage.

Exploring Different Types Of Videos

Exploring Different Types Of Videos from Joseph Dunkerley