Sarah Lolley

Centre Number: 20704

Candidate Numer: 4112

Trailer: 'B36' - Final Cut

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

Without media technologies it would not be possible to construct my media products. Media technologies have been a huge contribution to the process of construction, research, planning, and evaluation stages.

Throughout the whole making of my coursework I used an Internet site called Blogger to present my work upon. This has been a huge advantage for both my teachers and I because it has allowed easy access, anywhere and anytime to my coursework making my coursework inputs flexible in addition to my lessons. My teachers have been able to view my work and keep track of what I have been posting and my peers have been able to access each other's Blogs for help and guidance. The element of feedback can be gained as people can comment your posts and give criticisms and positive guidance.

Firstly, construction stages involve many media technologies due to editing, filming and the creation of both the film poster and magazine cover. When filming our trailer we used a digital camera to shoot our scenes, we then used an editing programme called 'Pinnacle'. This programme allowed us to finely edit our footage, add sound tracks, add transactions and titles- this enabled us to sort through the best suited and quality footage and add elements such as titles (as seen on the left) to further elaborate what my partner and I are trying to represent. When producing our film poster we used a programme called 'Photo Shop' which allowed my partner and I to first fix the image we was going to make into a film poster, by increasing the quality of the image, colour boosting and adding a higher contrast to make the image more eye catching. After this we were able to add word art on to the image to make it more believable as a film poster. We used the Internet to research images on 'Google Images' of existing film posters to grasp an idea on how to present our own poster. The accessibility of the Internet helped gain relevant ideas such as including a quote from the magazine company, 'Empire'- this was something that was not previously considered and without the Internet we would not have included this feature. On the other hand, the construction of the magazine cover was processed on the Microsoft programme 'Publisher' this application gave a wide range of features that we used in the process of creation. For example, various types of font and colour were available to be incorporated on to our magazine cover which made it more interesting as a product because audience would be drawn in to reading it- increasing popularity to the media products.

Research consisted of the analysis of film posters, magazine covers and trailers- Internet sites, such as, Google and YouTube were a vital necessity when producing this work as I needed to first gain the images and videos in order to analyse them. Throughout the research stage I have also created questionnaire on 'Microsoft Word' to be given out to the potential target audience to receive information about what they enjoy about trailers. Once collected this information was inputted to 'Microsoft Excel' whereby numerous bar, line and pie charts we established in order to present the findings of the research. Technology on this part was hugely rewarded as it made this process easier, quicker and cheaper.

The planning stages of the film trailer consisted of the creation of:

• Mind maps- these were created on 'Microsoft Word' allowing arrows and texts boxes to express our ideas.


• Shooting scripts- these were made on 'Microsoft Word' an existing template was used, in order to input dates and procedures for those days, making it easier in the production process.


• Scripts- also formed on 'Microsoft Word' fonts on this programme allowed the script to look realistic.


• Call sheets- again processed on 'Microsoft Word' an existing template consisting of named text boxes allowed instructions to be made about filming.


• Shot lists- a simple list was formed in chronological order upon the programme 'Microsoft Word'.


• Location shots- occupied by the Internet function of 'Google Maps' access to the street view gave images to potential areas we could film and directions on how to get there.


• Props list- established on 'Microsoft Word' images were found on 'Google Images' to make the piece more presentable and eye catching.


• Cast list- this was directly inputted to 'Blogger' images were gained using a digital camera to let the audience know who the cast were.


• Job roles- directly posted on 'Blogger' and the images were again captured on a digital camera so the audience is aware on who produced the film trailer.


• Story board- an existing template on 'Microsoft Word' allowed easier creation and cut down time wasting. We in ported images from print screens of existing footage we had and may have used in our final cut.

The planning for both our film poster and magazine cover differed slightly. Although we do use the Internet to gain existing images of these two media products through 'Google Images' this allowed ideas to be developed and later portrayed in our work. The planning was directly uploaded on to our blog and consisted of images gained from a photo shoot using a digital camera. These images signified potential magazine and film poster covers and through the use of a blogger we were able to upload them on to a post and write about their strengths, weaknesses and their suitability factor. When my partner and I decided on a idea for both ancillary task we stretched up an abbreviation to interpret what we expected from the final outcome, I then scanned this sketch so that it could be finally uploaded. Choosing the programme for both tasks was easily done, as the film poster image needed to be edited so this function was found in 'Photo Shop'; whereas the applications found in 'Microsoft Publisher' were more suited to the magazine cover.

The evaluation of our final product consisted of looking back over my existing 'Blogger' using the access of the Internet to analyse the posts to answer each question. An element I found easy to explain comparisons was an Internet formatting programme called, 'Slide Share' this enabled 'Microsoft PowerPoint Presentations' to be uploaded on to 'Blogger'- giving more interactive method to explaining and evaluating my work. I also, print screened and imported still images from my film trailer were used to explain areas of my film- this gave a more visual understanding. Below is an example of a print screened picture, in this I would explain that the character is susipicous of being pregnant and the shot of her looking in the mirror signifies her questionable identidy. I also created questionnaires, conducted interviews and recorded feedback to gain ideas about what the target audience thought about my media products.

Evaluation: What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

In order to obtain feedback from the audiences that have watched our trailer I created a number of questionnaires, conducted interviews and recorded some viewers feedback. It is of importance to receive feedback from any media product as it sometimes gives you criticism that you can learn from and mistakes are not made again. From the questionnaire results I found that the majority of the audience enjoyed our film and thought it was a successful representation of a social realism film. Many commented that it was a film they would be interested in watching, as the themes found within the film was something they recognised and familiarised with. However, some criticisms were made known, for example two candidate commented on how they thought that the opening location shots were too long and felt this abolished the tension rather than building it. Also, one candidate noted that the shots shown at the beginning of the trailer were slightly shaky and did not portray the effect that we were hoping for. Another candidate expressed how they were confused about what was happen in the trailer as no clear storyline was shown, yet just the themes were pictured. Through this criticism we are now aware as a group as to where we could have improved, elaborated and developed. The film poster and magazine cover also had positive reactions, the most praised media product my partner and I created was the film poster. Audiences believed it was a realistic imitation of a film poster which expressed the idea of a troubled gang of girls with lost ambitions. This is an example of one audience's feedback we gained through a recording:

Evaluation: How effective is the cobination of your main product and ancillary tasks?

The use of synergy when promoting a film is important as finding an aspect that will link a film trailer, film poster and magazine cover to make it more recognisable as a 'product' will increase the chance of popularity towards a film.

Using this as a platform, my own media product does not have a link throughout the three tasks (creation of the film poster, trailer and magazine cover) however there is a link with the film poster and trailer as both media products have the title of the film 'B36', further synergy is seen within the way the film title is displayed. This is seen through graffiti on a wall, 'B36- Bee Three Sicks'. This synergy makes our film recognisable and familiar to an audience because this logo is integrated through every platform of promotion, excluding the magazine cover. If an audience sees one of the promotional products they will be aware of the logo as it has an unusual spelling error; this makes it identifiable when the audience sees another product promoting our film, such as, the trailer- creating an interest to watch the film.

Above, magazine cover.

Nevertheless, there are reasons as to why we have not used this synergy within the creation of our magazine cover. The most valuable reason is that we wanted to show the actresses in their natural light, expressing their normality and stardom before their actual role. I believe that this approach not only promotes the film, but with this promotes the credibility of the actresses and gives the film an extra promotion lead as with increased popularity of the actresses comes increase popularity of the film.

The existence of synergy use within our media productions can be viewed from the slideshow below.

The existence of synergy within our media productions

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

When analysing existing media products focused around the social realism genre, I noticed the continued use of conventions, such as, crime, violence and gang culture. This is an aspect that I have incorporated within my own media product as it is a factor that signifies the genre and allows the audience to be aware of what they are consuming. The conventions we have used are: gang culture (as seen on the left), violence, weaponry and controversy i.e. underage pregnancy and attempted suicide. By only including the themes within our trailer and giving a slight insight to what would be featured within the film, this has ensured that we haven't given too much of the story away. By revealing too much of the story can spoil the audience's viewing because through watching the trailer they feel they already sure of what would happen- this would decrease the chance of them watching the film as they feel they have seen too much of the storyline. Through the analysis of Adulthood, there was a dinstinct use of titles which broke up the imagery and told the audience messages about the film. I used this idea when editng my own product, the use of titles, such, 'One Council Estate' gave a clear definition as what my partner and I were trying to capture and portray.

When researching through questionnaires we found that audiences prefer fast paced editing; when editing my own media product this is something that was reflected, the editing begins slowly but the tension rose to a climax when it began to quicken- this gave a more captivating reaction as the audience were more inquisitive and excited as to what was happening. The start of the trailer draws the audience in by displaying location shots (as seen on the left) with the intense grime music gives an edgy feel, after this follows the themes found in the trailer and more dialogue is heard- this makes the audience recognise that the characters are involved in gang culture, use a restricted code of language and live in a dreamy reality as they are unsure as to what life can actually give them. I do not feel the audience would speculate the genre of the film as the conventions are easily identifiable, the target audience should be familiar with the conventions represented as they are seen in everyday life in some deprived areas of the UK.

In contrast, some aspects of trailer have subverted stereotypes as typically gang culture is male dominated; however within my trailer the gang only consists of females. I have also subverted the stereotyped traits of females, typically they are seen as caring, kind and timid; my female characters foster more male traits i.e. strong, independent, boisterous and rebellious. This is an area I feel strongly about as women are time and time again portray in a less independent way and are seen as more reliant on males; this is not the case in today's society, although not all woman are part of sub-culture and drawn to these conventions (e.g. crime) women are now independent and strong minded. Occupying more respect within the home and the workforce women have gained more respect in all areas of life and this is something that should be represented in film. Although our film trailer captures a more extreme view of women they are still portrayed in a stronger way.

Barthes Enigma Code suggests that a text, whether it being a film, television programme and poster, portrays a mystery to draw an audience in and pose questions onto the audience, such as, 'Why is a character crying?' or 'Who committed the murder?'- Using this as a reference I have mirrored this in my own production as within my trailer I have imposed questions such as 'Why are the characters disrespectful?' or 'Why is she self-harming?' The drastic scenes such as the attempted suicide pose questions and conspiracy from the audience because they are unsure of the full story. The element of mystery sprouts from the storyline of attempted suicide, this makes the audience feel edgy as to what might happen and also does not give the storyline away from the way we have filmed it. I took into consideration how the camera angles could portray a meaning, for example in the shot to the left you can only see part of the character this shows mystery towards what will happen and reflects her insecurity. The centred picture is of the scissors which portrays the seriousness of the situation and what it may entail. Through the mise en scene, costume and body language represents how child like the character is within this serious situation, for example her costume is teddy bear patterened night wear which allows the audience to be aware that the character is young and naive; this suggests that she is vunerable and may make mistakes when making decisions and create further anxiety to what may happen to this character.

With reference to our film poster and magazine cover we have used common conventions that are usually found in existing medias so that our products are easily recognisable to the audience and do not look of a poor quality. With this in mind we researched existing film posters and magazine cover to fuel our ideas. As seen in the slideshow below.

Film poster and mag comparison

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Therefore, in my media product I have used previous conventions found in existing medias through the use of gang culture. I have developed coventions by using a Enigma Code, posing questions on to the audiences to make it more secretive. I have challenged conventions because we have suberted the character traits found in females by portraying them with male traits.

Film Poster

Magazine Cover

Planning: Film Poster- Potential Images

To the left are samples of our potential images for our film poster. These images were carefully represented in way for the characters to look united and strong- replicing the 'This is England' film poster. I think this photo is not suitable to promote our film because although the title of the film 'B36' is clear to see, the characters are not close together and seem segregated in the photograph and that isnt what we want to portray.

The second image is suitable for the film poster, and would be relevant for what we want to present i.e. a gang of girls united and lost as t what they want from life, the distant looks represent this.

This is another potential image; however I do not think this is as good as the previous image.

Planning: Magazine Cover- Potential Images

In order to create our magazine cover and film poster we had to carry out a photo shoot to gain potential images we could use and that would look effect in promoting our film trailer. We had to consider synergy when creating the products as we needed to elaborate how the three media products connected.

Through a photo shoot we gained potential images we may have used within our magazine cover, as shown below:

After deliberation we agreed that the first image would be more fitting for a magazine cover as we both look happy, united and presentable. This image would portray two successful actresses looking glamorous and commercial.

Planning: Ancillary Tasks

Draft of the Magazine Cover

Above, plan of magazine cover.

For our ancillary task we were asked within our groups to create a magazine cover and film poster in addition to our trailer. We could of Incorporated a broad spectrum of ideas to connote our film as there were many ideas we could have used for both the magazine cover and film poster. However for our magazine we thought it would be a good idea to subvert our characters from the image they were portrayed in the film to more sophisticated and glamorous look which they take upon in reality in contrast to their played character. Using this angle we have promoted the actresses within the film rather than their characters as we thought this would make the film more popular as well as the audience being aware of the new upcoming actresses.

The creation process of the magazine cover was achieved through Microsoft Publisher as it was programme we have used previously and thought it would be beneficial with the elements that it has e.g. word art, background technology and a range of colours with a simplistic approach- this saved us time wasting trying to use a new programme and get used it.

We developed the magazine cover efficiently and illustrated colour and depth to make it look more realistic, we did not over rely on previous magazine covers as we already fostered information we could include on the cover.

Draft of the Film Poster

Above, draft of magazine cover.

For the film poster we based our ideas from the previous film poster of 'This is England' which has elements similar to our film poster, for example, the gang of girls are standing in front of a wall just the same the gang found in 'This is England'. We represented this as the ethics of the picture project unity which is something we wanted to portray in our own film poster.

We created the film poster through a programme we have used previous called 'Photo shop' which has many technologies that made our film poster look astonishingly better. These elements include, colour booster, word features and eraser tools. This made the creation process easier as tools were accessible to use to improve our work.

Through research into other existing film posters we found that many use quotes from newspapers, magazines and other medias to help promote the popularity of the film. From this we were able to include a quote for our film to help infuse people to be more interested in watching the film. We decided to use the quote: 'Emotion and epic- not one to be missed!- Empire' this gave more depth to the films connotation as it shows that is a meaningful storyline of a harsh reality, and by using a popular magazines name boosts the likelihood of an audience being interested in watching the film.

We gathered initial ideas about our film poster from a piece of graffiti found the local areas which expressed the postcode 'B36' so this was how the original name was initiated and how we decided to incorporate the 'This is England' replica through standing in front of the wall with the graffiti on.

Planning: Cast List & Job Roles

Cast List

As our film trailer is based around a gang of anti-social teenage girls, we had to allocate appropriate actresses that could fufill these roles. We settled on four individuals, two included ourselves, and the other two Bobbi Doyle and Sheryl Richards.

There were many reasons for this choice:

Bobbi Doyle as Taylor

We gave Bobbi the role Taylor as she felt confident taking on the dominant role of the gang leader. Taking up the majority of the lines she had the responsibility for most of the acting in the trailer. However, due to previous experience in media film productions she felt sure that she could project this role both professionally and successfully.

Sheryl Richards as Chenise

Sheryl was given the role as Chenise as like Bobbi she had previous acting previous experience in her own media productions. Although she only had one line in the trailer and only two extra scenes to act alone she felt she able to pursue this role confidently. A scene she is acting independently deals with the issue of pregnancy, after talking about the role with Sheryl she felt she could represent this and gave ideas about she could portray it. With this is we were given ultimate faith in both of the girls to help us gain a successful film trailer.

Sarah Lolley (myself) as Alex

I took upon this role as I felt I was confident to portray the role of a more sensitive character. Although Alex is part of the group of girls she is less obliged to be involved with their deviant acts, such as, taking drugs. This resistance leads to this character attempting suicide, I felt I could sensitively portray this issue. This confidence has grown from the previous acting experience I have as well as the previous media productions I have produced.

Melissa Doyle as Mia

Melissa felt she could successfully portray this role adequately due to her previous acting experience, she felt she could build up a gritty attitude that the character Mia has. As the part was only a small role she took on the responsibility of camera work, whereby the parts she was not involved she filmed, and the parts she was involved with I filmed.

Job Roles

There were a number of roles that my partner and I had to be allocate, by having different skills and abilities that we have discovered of the duration of this course they were easily identifiable. As a partnership we decided that Melissa would take on the role of both an actress and take responsibility of the majority of camera work- we decided this as we felt that Melissa had more experience behind the scenes in actually shooting the footage but not as much experience in front of the camera, explaining why she was only given a small part. Also, Melissa would create a magazine cover for our media work, this would mean she would have to use her creativity skills to develop a high standard work. Whilst Melissa would cater for these responsibilities I took strength in acting, so I obliged for a more in depth acting role as I could be sensitive towards the role due to previous experience in acting. I also filmed parts that Melissa participated in so I took credit for some of the camera work. Thirdly, I was responsible in creating a film poster which I will enjoy doing since I am quite a creative person. We will both take credit in editing parts of the film; however Melissa will occupy a more leading role due to her previous experience using the programme format.

Planning: Shooting Scripts

To the left, is a shooting script. This was created so we are certain on what we are doing each day, what we are filming, what actresses we need, what props we need and what dialogue we need. For example, on the 14th March 2011 we hope to film all location shots around the area, taking note of what camera shot/angles/movements we need to use. Also, we will be filming a scene where all the actors are needed, this scene involves all the characters in a bedroom singing, dancing, smoking and consuming alcohol. We have various other shooting scripts that will give us prefence on what we need to do over a number of days.

Planning: Props List

Above, is the props list.

In order to organise for filming I made a props list so we could gather the props needed before shooting. It is important when filming to have props because they help establish the scene and make it look more natural. Some of the props we cannot actually use so we will have to use a substance to resemble them, for example the drug substance will be caster sugar in a plastic bag to represent cocaine and mixed herbs in a bag in represent cannabis. The other props are assessable on the days of filming.

Another aspect we have to consider is Costume and Make-up. All the character will be wearing quite heavy make-up this is due to the sub culture they are involved with, they believe they have to conform as a group to be an 'ideal girl' in order to be recognised and respected. Their costume consisted of casual tracksuits. We wanted to incorporate a stereotype upon them of the 'underclass' who are stereotyped by forms of appearance (e.g. tracksuits, bling). Them being portrayed as the 'dangerous class' by being 'out of control', living on a council estate, welfare dependant, anti-social and criminal.

Planning: Shots List

Above, is the shots list.

To ensure that we will be included variety of camera shots, angles and movements we have created a shots list. This will support us when filming as we will be able to look at this if needed to check whether we have incorporated all the shots we aimed to.

To generate ideas on what type of camera work we could use, I analysed film trailers for social realism films to identify both camera and editing techniques I could include within my own trailer. The first trailer I research was 'Kidulthood': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdoKD4gTQ2c - through this I found that the use of fades was dependent at the start so this something I would consider for my own product. Also, there was a wide range of camera work including different shots/movements/angles, this made to the whole trailer more developed and interesting so including it within my own trailer was of importance to the audience's needs also.

The second trailer I analyse was 'Fish Tank': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7BFZqQ4ruA - I acknowledged that the use of fast editing was dominant in this trailer also which gave a more captivating experience to the trailer. The use of location shots entwined with character shots also allowed me to access information about what the film genre was and who the characters were. This is an aspect I would consider for my own film trailer I feel it was a quick way to introduce the characters and the location quickly but effectively.

Planning: Storyboard

Above, is the storyboard for our trailer: B36.

A storyboard is essential for planning the types shots and the arrange them in an order that would look appealing. For example, in the beginning of the trailer we decided to take account of the location by using a wide range of camera shots/angles/movements. By using this footage at the beginning it introduced the audience to the location and gave a insight to what the genre could be.

We generalised many shots that we would include; medium, tracking, close up, high angle, long shot. This should appeal to an audience because they are not just watching the same camera work which can sometimes look repetitive by using an array of shots/angles/movement the audience will be kept on their toes.

The location shots will consist of different areas of which the characters live in which also informs the audience more about the characters making them already have a stereotyped judgement i.e. working class, poor housing and low income families. The display of signs such as 'Remove your valuables before the thieves do!' will notify the audience on what the trailer might entail.

Therefore, the audience will be addressed as to what type of area the characters live in, from then on they will be introduced to the characters receiving a deeper understanding of their personalities what they will bring to the film.

Planning: Script

Above, is our script: B36.

This was developed after our initial ideas map as we were certain to what we wanted our dialogue to portray. For example, we wanted each character to use a restricted code of language and use simplistic phrases to develop their character in to the stereotype i.e. troublesome, deviant, criminal and anti-social. Our main focus was to represent the working class and sub cultures we have in today's society. Marxists would argue that society's inequalities are to blame for these types of groups in society. They believe that economic and social issues arise from the exploitation of the working class (proletariat) by the ruling class (bourgeoisie). This is something I find important in exercising as the trailer may make the audience question why are some groups in society experiencing a life like this?

In addition, the characters use body language which portrays anger and independence; this was of importance as it helped develop their presence within the trailer, creating the ideal character type. For example, the first scene shows the group intimating a neighbour, this was a theme of anti-social behaviour we wanted to represent. It created more impact having it as the first scene the girls were introduced in because it took insight immediately to their character type and made the audience consider the genre of film we were representing. With this we have subverted against the Feminist view of women being exploited and undermined in society, as we have included a strong, immoral group of girls which rebel against stereotyped traits that girls have i.e. caring, kind, polite and sensitive. We have also included sensitive and controversial issues within our trailer; we thought this would build on our themes in a more in depth approach because it gave the trailer a more sensitive, emotional and epic feel. The issue we have arose is suicide - although we haven't featured a death in the trailer we have touched upon attempted suicide as we think this an important issue to be aware of as many young people are involved in situations such as these and sometimes have nobody to support them.