Is there a distinct house style? I would say there is definitely a house style between all three products.

The two ancillary tasks in particular share a colour theme of black and dark red and clearly connote the supernatural sub-genre with use of a mist effect on the logo. I have aimed to incorporate the same colour theme on the title screens of the trailer so there is a visual link across the products, though the logo on the trailer differs to that on my ancillary tasks. Although this lacks consistency, as a group we thought it was necessary considering we had all used different typographies and sizes for the logos on our ancillary tasks. The central image of my ancillary tasks is a white mask, a factor I chose to feature due to research into the supernatural sub-genre (I particularly looked at films such as The Wicker Man for this). This ultimately changed the development of the main task as I recognised that it was necessary for me to use this same mask imagery in the trailer. In terms of recognising all the tasks as being from the horror genre, they all focus on dark colour schemes and eerie or disturbing imagery (the mask being a common feature, other images including a religious quote gif on the website and a voodoo doll/shrine/piano player in the trailer). How would / could they work together (or not) in promoting the film/track? My research into horror conventions resulted in me striving to promote the film as much as possible. There are basic factors apparent across all the products that should ultimately promote the film and result in an audience going to watch it, as I had noted from my research into other products. These included the following: a release date. Featuring this should make the audience aware of when the film would be available to watch in cinemas. The film title and a tagline, making the identity of the film apparent and ensuring audiences are aware of the main facts about the film, allowing subsequent investigation. Ensuring they are familiar with the films title hopefully would en courage them to discuss it further with friends, colleagues and family. The website and trailer particularly are effective in encouraging interaction via social media: this begins with a Twitter feed on the website and we developed this in the trailer by including a hashtag on the final title screen. Social media is key in creating a buzz about a film so we decided to utilize this, as it is also a free resource and we were working with no budget. The poster was less successful in using social media, as I only featured the website address in its design. I aimed mainly to promote the film in a teaser fashion: by not revealing too much about the film. I did this by using a singular image on the poster and as the main feature on the website. The image has multiple connotations and discussions with my target audience lead me to believe audiences dont want to be spoon fed and instead want the opportunity to discuss and generate theories on what a film could be about. I also incorporated this into the trailer, avoiding revealing the end of the film. Which clearly targets the intended audience most successfully and why? I think, based on my research that the more niche audience of Geeks would view the film, that the website targets these most successfully. My research showed that the biggest film consumers in my target audience of 15-24 year olds also have a high consumption of IT/computer technology, and the website contains multiple interactive platforms that would promote the film directly. The social networking links are

particularly prominent with a Twitter feed here, listing live updates in relation to the films release. A large percentage of my target audience use social networking, Twitter in particular. It is also the only platform through which all the promotional elements of the film can be viewed, including the trailer and the poster. Considering that the majority of my intended audience voiced that they do not want to discover too much about the films plot, I used ambiguous devices that would create interest in the film without revealing too much about it: such as a gif that contains a religious quote. This links in with the religious themes of the film without directly referencing them. Which elements were you proud of editing/design/camerawork/photography etc throughout your portfolio? I was definitely pleased with the editing of the trailer and how we transformed fairly run of the mill shots in post production. Being on a nil budget meant a majority of the intended eeriness of the trailer were put in at the post production stage. These included: editing the colour balance of daytime shots to give them a subtle blue filter, making the shots visually bleak; creating a negative effect on the close-up of the crucifix, emphasising its importance (we had this idea from the Silent Hill trailer); using jump cuts to indicate that the masked figure and child are figures of horror, on the unknown side of binary opposites. I was also pleased with the camerawork in the trailer, as I feel we used a variety of shots and all feedback suggested the audience felt engaged throughout. These included establishing shots to indicate key locations: the town, the church. Shot reverse shot sequences to display a key relationship within the film (Constance and Sam). Although the photography in my ancillary tasks was quite minimal, I felt the final image as a result of editing served the promotional purpose well, and it also clearly indicated the genre. The subsequent editing also linked with one of the films themes of the modern world versus tradition, as I added a sepia effect. This was actually feedback based on the trailer but I felt it would be effective to include on my poster. Is one piece stronger than the others- why? I think the trailer is probably the strongest piece. As a general point this is mainly because my skills had developed at the point of producing the trailer and also because, due to previous activities in other subjects, I felt more familiar with the software and equipment (Adobe Premiere and Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GHC2 DSLR). As a result I felt the post production work was more sophisticated. Though I used Photoshop to the best of my ability the poster is admittedly minimal: there isnt much layering on the poster and there is only one image to which alterations are again minimal. Though it is identifiable as a poster promoting a horror film, in comparison to the posters I have researched, it is not on the same level. The website is again identifiable as a website promoting a horror film, but the layout is limited and can seem broken, as a result of having limited editing power on Weebly software. However, the trailer contains all the conventional elements: production logo, title, release date, website. I feel we also successfully conveyed narrative elements to the film without using title screens or voiceover we felt these would take away from the ambiguity that we wanted to create.I

feel the trailer is engaging and runs smoothly, as we ensured continuity throughout the filming process. The only breaks in continuity are intentional (jump cut editing) and conventional to trailers within the genre. Furthermore it gives information about the protagonist, antagonist and films location, whereas the poster and websites focuses were on props/mise en scene. If you had to make improvements to one piece which would it be and why? I think it would definitely be the website. At the point of producing the website I had knowledge of Weebly as a blogging site but not in terms of website design. As a result, despite me striving to make improvements to the best of my ability, the layout can at times be fragmented and the colours dont match up. The improvements I would make to my website would be: Smooth and coherent colours: make the box behind the logo and tagline look almost transparent. Use a more interactive medium on the cast page as opposed to the simple layout of image/text box. More interactivity than drop down menus and click-based image enlargement. More use of multi technological platforms, for example YouTube. How have your skills developed over the course of the Advanced portfolio?
My research skills have developed, with me being able to undertake a variety of secondary and primary research. I used a variety of sites in undertaking research and learnt to utilize the UK Tribes website. I also managed to discuss ideas and interview various members of my target audience and the questions I asked became more relevant to the process. Furthermore my research into institutions became more detailed, as I looked at all elements of a trailer including mise en scene, cinematography, narrative and sound. I had some experience with Adobe Premiere prior to beginning the Advanced Portfolio, however I learnt some more sophisticated editing, including the negative effect which we had noticed featured in our most influential trailer of Silent Hill. I had some basic knowledge of Photoshop also, however I learnt to edit images using shadow and brightness, and how to re-order layers and text. I also learnt how to create my own brushes and use the Smudge/Blur/Sharpen tools effectively. I think in terms of creativity I learned how to be implicit as opposed to explicit. This is a key convention of teaser promotional material so I had to think creatively. As a result I chose to pick an element of scariness featured in the film this being the fact that the residents of Woodwich are masked and present it with a singular image in the ancillary tasks/a single shot in the trailer.