Evaluation Task 1

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

1. In the first frame we started with two characters walking through the corridor. Before this frame we had our production company logo, which is called Glassbox Productions that we used in our AS film 'The Trophy Room'. We thought that this was appropriate because it fitted in well with the crime genre. The smashed glass signifies danger and chaos which the audience may understand and it also reflects on the tone of the genre. In the long shot though, this connotes to the audience that they may be walking away from a crime scene, indicating that they could be the criminals. But the audience does not know that which is linked with the enigma code because they have to use their imagination. During this shot, there is a voiceover of someone asking a question which is for the next scene. This is to make the trailer faster-paced, as well as the transitions which were dissolves.  

2.In the second frame, we have a mid-shot of a character being interrogated linked with a crime. His facial expressions connote to the audience that he is disgruntled with the interrogator asking him questions because he is trying to make the audience feel that he is not a suspect and he is telling the truth. The text appears alongside 'Directed by Matthew Payne'. This gives an indication to the audience about who directed the film and may possibly might know him from previous films which may encourage the audience to watch the film. The location is in a small remote room, which is quite common with interrogation rooms and it was very useful to have this for our trailer. The music at this moment is slow-paced so it really suits the pacing of the footage. Our character is wearing normal everyday clothes, which would make the audience and the other characters assume that he is not a criminal like in Dexter and Breaking Bad.

3. In the third frame we have a long shot of a character who has sneak into the office, presumably something to steal which is linked to the main storyline. The office is quite common in films to have information and items which are essential to the villain because it is the victim's private area. He is wearing black clothing to emphasise that he is a burglar and because he has to be sneaky to complete his task undetected. This scene is slow-paced so we can concentrate on the actions of our burglar.We had the text 'Edited by Darren Fox' in the top left hand corner because there was enough space to place this in and it lets the audience who edited the film. The use of the dissolve transition helps to speed up the scene a bit so we can shorten the trailer to the appropriate length. By having a younger character shown, this may appeal more to a younger target audience which is what we wanted. The low-key lighting connotes that our antagonist is suspicious because the darker colours help who him to blend with the background, as well as his clothing.

4. In the fourth frame we have the titles 'Can You Predict the Outcome?' which were in the font (insert font style here) because this fits with the filming and editing style which is slow/medium paced. We used white text on a black background which helps it stand out and lets the audience just focus on the text. The use of the word 'You' will make the audience that the film trailer is speaking to them. This could encourage the audience watch the film. It fades in from the previous scene and the text wipes from the right to keep it at a medium pace. This is so the audience can read along with the text and understand the storyline because the audience will think that it is unpredictable.

5. In the fifth frame we have our burglar looking through the drawers of the desk and throwing non important items out because it connotes that he is rushing. This emphasises that the item is essential and important for him and also to the storyline. We edited the scene by making it quicker by using jump cuts to match the pace of the music which is starting to build up so we thought that this was effective.We put the text 'Produced by Ryan Moorbey' on top of the folder because this scene was long enough for the audience to read the text and it also lets the audience know who produced it. After a series of jump cuts, the burglar lifts up a memory stick slowly. This connotes that this is the item he was looking for so the audience know that the storyline can involve some form of hacking, which may appeal to a younger target audience because most teenagers are associated with technology.

6. In the sixth frame we have our burglar inserting the memory stick into the computer tower. The close-up of the memory stick is to emphasise the importance of the information of the memory stick, which is unknown therefore it will make the audience curious what this information is. Throughout the trailer there have been a variety of scenes (cross cutting) to connote the few sub-plots involved in the film which would eventually be connected.The gold bracelet of his wrist can connote that he is a thief, because he could have stolen that from a previous crime he has committed which can tell the audience that he is good at what he does.

7. In the seventh frame we see the title of the film entitled 'Payne' so this connotes to the audience the title of the film and what it could suggest, which will be most likely to them as the last name of the main character. The transition into the titles was the fade to black transition because they usually signify the end of the scene and it also syncs along with the music so we thought that this would be effective to continue the intensity. The release date is 'Summer 2014' so this indicates to the audience when the film is coming out. The use of the social networking sites such as; Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are very useful and effective to spread the word of mouth. Its logos are effective because they are iconic towards the younger target audience.This will hopefully achieve the target of having more people interested in watching the film. This is part of cross media convergence because these are two companies together for mutual gain.  

8. In the eighth frame we have our antagonist holding his gun up, but we don't know what or who he is pointing towards. This can indicate that the target is not revealed so the audience may be guessing who he is trying to kill. We decided to have this scene after the reveal of our trailer title to keep the pacing at a medium, and not at the beginning because it builds up the tension to the ending scene. We decided to shot with the brick wall in the background as a conventional location because it gives an urbanised feel to it, which is common in crime films such as The Departed. Our character is wearing dull, everyday clothes in contrast of being the antagonist holding a gun because it makes him seem less suspicious so his double life identity is hidden from the other characters.

9. In the ninth frame we have our protagonist pushing a buzzer to gain access. It is a close-up so it hides the identity of who 'Payne' is so it keeps the audience guessing who he is. When he pushes the button, he says "It's Payne" which is to emphasise his power and dominance which is common in crime films for the protagonist and also because he only says his last name which connotes that he is an important character for the other characters. We used the fade to black shot for the intro and outro of this scene to indicate that it is the end of the film trailer.      

Payne Film Poster

Draft

• The poster is in a portrait view because this common for film posters, rather than landscape.
• At the bottom it has its links and logos of social networking sites which is part of cross media convergence. This is so the audience can find out more information or trailers about the film. 
• It features the release date of 'Summer 2014'. This is to let the audience know when the film is coming out.
• It features the star ratings of some selected newspapers which gave it a favourable review. This is to entice the audience that the critics liked it, which may interest them to watch it.
• The tagline feels like it is speaking to the audience because it has the word 'you' which may encourage them to see the film to out what the outcome is.
• At the top it has the producers name 'Ryan Moorbey'. The audience may be familar with his previous work and may want to see his latest film.
• Glassbox Productions is featured on the poster so it lets the audience the company behind the film and may be interested from its previous works such as The Trophy Room. 
• The image in the background shows the main antagonist in the film. It doesn't feature the protagonist because his identity is not revealed. He is shown with the gun in his hand to indicate to the audience that there is danger, and also that it is involved with the crime/thriller genre. 

Final

• I have made a few significant changes from the draft to make it look better visually and more in detail. The background for example is darker which is used to connote danger and resembles the antagonist.
• The title is bigger than it was, therefore showing its importance. I've added a few effects to it to make it stand out such as the 'drop shadow' and stroke' which also makes it look professional in comparison.
• I have rearrange the majority of this poster putting them in different places, for example 'Glassbox Productions Presents' is placed at the top of 'Payne' so it is not in front of our characters face.
• I took out 'Produced by Ryan Moorbey' and put instead 'The makers of The Trophy Room' because fans of this film may be encouraged more to see their latest work. The Trophy Room is written in the same layout as it was which is synergy which will be recogniseable with fans.
• I placed the reviews in the top left so there was space to put the other information like the tagline and release date, because there was no space there originally. Plus it looks better having it in the same colour as the title because that is the primary colour associated with our film because it connotes danger and blood.
• The awards it got nominated for will indicate to the audience that it is a well made film and they may be more interested to go and see it. 

Payne Magazine Cover

FINAL

• The title of the magazine cover is called 'Film 24/7' which is the same title as my AS film poster because I personally thought it was good title to have. The title is written in big bold dark red lettering, and the font has been changed which looks more professional. 
• The title 'Payne' is printed at the bottom so it does not obscure the image in the background. The same font and colour is used from the film poster is part of synergy because it would be recogniseable with the audience who aware of this film. 
• The words 'World Exclusive' provides the consumer with never-before-seen information about the film which may persuade them to purchase the magazine so they are aware of this information.
• The tagline is above the magazine title entitled 'The Ultimate Film Guide' so it indicates to the audience that this a film magazine. The tagline helps entice the audience with letting them know that this magazine provides the consume with all of the information they want to know. This is a persuasive technique for the audience to purchase the magazine.
• The website link is located below the '24/7' provides the audience with its website which they may look up for up-to-date information which is posted daily. The website can provide information, reviews and news that they may be interested in. 
• The picture of the actor associated with the film is on the left, which may have be seen in the film trailer which is synergy so he may be recogniseable with the audience. There is a banner below about what it is like to be 'On the set' with one of the actors so it lets the audience have an understanding of what it was like to film this movie. 
• The coverline 'Massive 2014 Preview' encourages the reader's interest of the films that are going to be released this year which may provide news and our writers opinion of these films. I used to the colour orange because it stands out from all of the other lettering and it connotes that it is one of the most important articles in this magazine. 
• I provided a box of the right hand side of the magazine providing reviews of films that are being released within the month. There are 4 films to review so one of them may be in the interest of the consumer which can persuade them to purchase the magazine. I was going to have pictures alongside them, but other film magazines such as Empire Magazine, they usually provide just the film titles so it doesn't take up much space. 
• The coverline below the title 'Payne' is entitled 'The Secrets of the Mind-Boggling Drama'. This connotes to the audience that the storyline can be quite complex but intelligent. Some audiences like this style of film such as films. 
• The lettering below that is entitled 'WIN A IPAD AIR' which is a bigger font in comparison to show its importance to the audience because some of them like to enter competitions in order to win prizes. This may also appeal to a younger target audience because they are stereotypically associated with technology so this can encourage them to purchase the magazine. 
• The date of the magazine emphasises that it is a monthly magazine because it does not a specific date and also shows the price which I thought would be a reasonable amount.

DRAFT

• In the draft I had a lot of space of the right of the magazine. This is when I placed the box for reviews so it looks better visually and also it provides the consumer with details of the latest films which may entice them, if the Payne film doesn't. 
• This poster didn't feature the cost and date of the magazine which is essential because consumers need to know the price before they pay it. 
• It doesn't feature the publisher company so the audience wouldn't know if they have done related magazines that they may enjoy.  

Editing and Equipment

We used Final Cut Pro X for editing our film trailer using the Apple Mac. This software was simple to use and it is also considered a professional editing software, which therefore allowed us to have a professional look on our trailer. In our trailer we used various transitions such as; fade to black, dissolves and (jump) cuts. This allowed our trailer to be faster-paced and get through the scenes quicker so we have enough time to add all of our other scenes that were relevant to the storyline which builds up the tension because it gives an idea to the audience a taster of what the film is going to be like.

For the voiceover, we used a Phillips voice recorder that we borrowing from the media office. This allowed us record our voices at good quality to use for our trailer which turned out to be very effective when we import our recorded voices onto the Mac. We also used a Panasonic HDC-SD80 to film our scenes in 1080p therefore being in brilliant quality for the audience to see the trailer very clear. We also used a tripod to keep the camera still during filming so it was very steady and allowed us to pan smoothly and easily if we needed to. We also used our phones (Samsung Galaxy and iPhone) to take photos of the locations. We also used an iPhone in our film trailer appearing with a text message for our character.

Characters

Stereotypically in crime films there are 3 types of characters which include the main character, criminal and victim. The main character may have a detective aspect associated with him/her to solve crimes. The criminal is essential in the crime genre as they are the ones committing the crimes and they'll no one for the main character to catch.Criminals are stereotypically depicted as ruthless, street-smart and immoral. The criminal would more than likely cause misery to the victim's life. The victim would usually have some emotional link with the main character so the he/she will want to protect the victim from danger. The victim is commonly a vulnerable female.

Main Character
Payne - This character is a vigilante who deals out his own sort of justice. He has a double life so no one knows of his identity and needs to remain incognito. He deals with crime in a town with a high crime rate and he tries to take matters in his own hands. He his only known by his last name and not his first because this helps not reveal his identity, which emphasises to the audience that he is a mystery of a character. This character can be linked in with the character Dexter Morgan from 'Dexter' because he is a serial killer who hunts down criminals who he believes have escaped justice.   

Supporting characters 

Michael - This character is the accomplice of Payne who works with him to tackle these crimes. He works for the police but also wants to help with Payne to stop these criminals before they attack again. He can't tell this secret to the police because they don't believe that vigilantism is the way to stop criminals and Payne's identity will be revealed.   

Liam - This character wants to find information which doesn't belong to him. It can possibly be used to take down the government and/or the internet. This character wears dark clothing so he is inconspicuous. He is very sneaky and street-smart so he can get in places which are restricted and can remain undetected.

Alex - This character is the leader of a gang and is very immoral and can cause anarchy to the school and town. He commits various crimes around the town and the majority of people are afraid of him. He is very aggressive and he thinks he can have whatever he wants.

Kevin - This character is a hit-man which has been targeted towards killing Payne. This is because Payne is close towards cracking a case and the villain needs someone to take him out because he fears that he will find out.