How have the aims of the production been met?
Commencing with the actors, we organised three students, our age, to feature in the trailer. They consisted of two males and one female, all of which have a passion for acting and drama. We scheduled dates, usually on weekends when everybody was available to film scenes in which they featured. These scenes were filmed first in order to have less stress later on in the production stages. The props and costumes used were kept to a minimum in order to keep the budget and realism of the trailer appropriate. As expected the overall trailer took quite long to complete from initial planning to post production but overall, I believe that, as a group, deadlines were well met.
Many tools helped produce this trailer. Starting with filming gear, DSLRs shooting 1080p at 30 fps were used to capture both action and still shots. We also used go-pros for point of view and other handheld moving action shots. Most pan, track and tilt shots were filmed using a tripod in order to maximise stability and control. For lighting, our only source was natural light in order to capture a more authentic mood for shots. Moving on to post-production, Final Cut Pro was our main editing software. This was used to compile shots together, add transitions such as fades, colour grade shots to change the mood of scenes and even speed up or slow down shots to effectively edit the pace of the trailer. Some visual effects were created using Adobe After Effects such as the production logo. Audio files recorded by a Rode boom microphone needed to be edited using Adobe Audition in order to add slight hints of reverb, remove background or unwanted noise and enhance voice - overs to achieve a more colourful and richer sound.
How the product applies appropriate codes and conventions and uses appropriate media language?
We have included several conventions of action/drama film trailers. These include captions scenes, cliff-hanger shots, various locations, the hint at the death of a main character, a strong emotional story line and a motive for the plot. By using all these conventions audiences will easily recognise the genre of the film. We have also followed what people have suggested we include in our trailer. Elements such as what attracts or entices them to watch a trailer or the type of soundtrack we should implement. We also included general trailer conventions such as an increasing editing pace, the inclusion of the film title at the end, a film production logo and captions. However, we have challenged a convention by placing shots in random order. This allowed us to create a trailer that is relevant and targeted to our audience.
How the product represents people, places or events?
We represented our protagonist as someone who has backslid in life according to worldly expectations but transitions into a heroic powerful man. This makes the main character relatable. In order to represent or protagonist as tough we used clothed him with dusty old lose clothing. Because we wanted to represent our antagonist as a rich greedy character we made sure to clothe him in semi-casual attires dominated by the colour black as it connotes evil and danger.
Where and when the product would be exhibited/distributed?
We would distribute our trailer on social media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook as our target audience would be using those platforms. Social media is also allows our trailer to be seen and distributed to many people for a small price. We would also exhibit our trailer in cinemas before other action/drama films as the audience watching would be interested in our film's genre.
What regulations and controls might be applied to the product and how these have been taken into consideration?
We have included a Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) warning at the beginning of our trailer to inform our audience that our film has been rated and review for specific audiences. We have excluded the use of nudity and sexual references and we have kept violence mild in order to stay within the PG-13 boundaries. If we were to publish our film we would several copyright infringements such as music, sound effects and our background images.
The strengths and weaknesses of the product in terms of meeting the needs of its audience?
Overall, I think that our trailer has achieved a rather professional look for its time frame and budget. It includes all the techniques that Hollywood trailers include and is mostly relevant to or target audience. I do however feel like our trailer lacks some motion graphics and special effects which could have made our trailer that much better as shots including CGI make them seem spectacular and entice a viewer. However this would be to difficult to achieve considering the equipment and budget at hand. Our audience enjoyed the action a were engaged between the ongoing battle between the antagonist and protagonist but struggled to follow and understand our plot and story line.
Commencing with the actors, we organised three students, our age, to feature in the trailer. They consisted of two males and one female, all of which have a passion for acting and drama. We scheduled dates, usually on weekends when everybody was available to film scenes in which they featured. These scenes were filmed first in order to have less stress later on in the production stages. The props and costumes used were kept to a minimum in order to keep the budget and realism of the trailer appropriate. As expected the overall trailer took quite long to complete from initial planning to post production but overall, I believe that, as a group, deadlines were well met.
Many tools helped produce this trailer. Starting with filming gear, DSLRs shooting 1080p at 30 fps were used to capture both action and still shots. We also used go-pros for point of view and other handheld moving action shots. Most pan, track and tilt shots were filmed using a tripod in order to maximise stability and control. For lighting, our only source was natural light in order to capture a more authentic mood for shots. Moving on to post-production, Final Cut Pro was our main editing software. This was used to compile shots together, add transitions such as fades, colour grade shots to change the mood of scenes and even speed up or slow down shots to effectively edit the pace of the trailer. Some visual effects were created using Adobe After Effects such as the production logo. Audio files recorded by a Rode boom microphone needed to be edited using Adobe Audition in order to add slight hints of reverb, remove background or unwanted noise and enhance voice - overs to achieve a more colourful and richer sound.
How the product applies appropriate codes and conventions and uses appropriate media language?
We have included several conventions of action/drama film trailers. These include captions scenes, cliff-hanger shots, various locations, the hint at the death of a main character, a strong emotional story line and a motive for the plot. By using all these conventions audiences will easily recognise the genre of the film. We have also followed what people have suggested we include in our trailer. Elements such as what attracts or entices them to watch a trailer or the type of soundtrack we should implement. We also included general trailer conventions such as an increasing editing pace, the inclusion of the film title at the end, a film production logo and captions. However, we have challenged a convention by placing shots in random order. This allowed us to create a trailer that is relevant and targeted to our audience.
How the product represents people, places or events?
We represented our protagonist as someone who has backslid in life according to worldly expectations but transitions into a heroic powerful man. This makes the main character relatable. In order to represent or protagonist as tough we used clothed him with dusty old lose clothing. Because we wanted to represent our antagonist as a rich greedy character we made sure to clothe him in semi-casual attires dominated by the colour black as it connotes evil and danger.
Where and when the product would be exhibited/distributed?
We would distribute our trailer on social media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook as our target audience would be using those platforms. Social media is also allows our trailer to be seen and distributed to many people for a small price. We would also exhibit our trailer in cinemas before other action/drama films as the audience watching would be interested in our film's genre.
What regulations and controls might be applied to the product and how these have been taken into consideration?
We have included a Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) warning at the beginning of our trailer to inform our audience that our film has been rated and review for specific audiences. We have excluded the use of nudity and sexual references and we have kept violence mild in order to stay within the PG-13 boundaries. If we were to publish our film we would several copyright infringements such as music, sound effects and our background images.
The strengths and weaknesses of the product in terms of meeting the needs of its audience?
Overall, I think that our trailer has achieved a rather professional look for its time frame and budget. It includes all the techniques that Hollywood trailers include and is mostly relevant to or target audience. I do however feel like our trailer lacks some motion graphics and special effects which could have made our trailer that much better as shots including CGI make them seem spectacular and entice a viewer. However this would be to difficult to achieve considering the equipment and budget at hand. Our audience enjoyed the action a were engaged between the ongoing battle between the antagonist and protagonist but struggled to follow and understand our plot and story line.
