Monday, 25 April 2011

Evaluation

Q1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The main media product is split into three media texts, the trailer, poster and magazine. Within the trailer, consists of elements of challenging the conventions of a horror trailer and will form specific tones in different scenes. The poster is the strongest media text that needs a strong central image, since it is one the main conventions. This made it the prime element to develop or challenge. Similarly, the central image also plays a significant role on a front cover, especially when promoting a film. Ultimately, when using, developing and challenging forms and conventions of the real media products, new technologies were the main culprits in helping me to achieve a unique and professional feel of the media texts.






Q2) How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?



From analysing my main product, the poster and the front cover of my magazine all show a clear and strong link between them. This can be visually shown from the features shown in all three texts sharing an identical theme, which also shows signs of verisimilitude. This is evident in the trailer where a hooded figure is shown to be the cause of havoc, which links with the poster which shows some of the villain’s facial features, such as his eyes that are also situated on the magazine cover, hence enhancing the connection between the media texts. As a result, this helps the effectiveness of the combination to be maintained at a high degree towards making it simple to the targeted audience that all media texts are promoting the same film.

Although the trailer relates to both of the ancillary texts, it also relates with the viral campaign which consists of the strange unrevealed figure. However on further evaluation other than the trailer, the viral campaign also links to the other ancillary tasks, especially with the poster. A subtle but noticeable similarity shows the strong relationship between the texts, evidently shown through the tagline on the poster and the intertitle. Both are deliberately the same and read ‘running is futile’, which emphasises there is no hope and explores the aspects of the horror genre. The strong combination between these two media texts is further enhanced through the use of applying the same typeface and colour of the phrase. This ultimately creates an appeal, not only with the viral campaign and poster but with all media components that promote ‘The Vanishing’ towards the audience.


Q3) What have you learned from your audience feedback?



Q4) How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?


Tuesday, 19 April 2011

My Viral Campaign Video







My viral campaign video above was further altered in Final Cut Pro. In further detail, i have included the effect of a 'swipe' between the the hooded figure moving, when closest to the camera and then swipes away to show the intertitle, 'Running is futile'. I also extended the background music across the extended scene to not loose the spooky atmosphere and tp create an uneasy tone toward the audience. The hooded figure's face is never shown to add more focuss to create an engima.


However, on further and in depth evaluation, I have deliberatley left out the title of the film in which this viral campagin is promoting. This was the main idea to keep the level of mystery alive, expressing the conventional state of a viral campign. Also, my idea was to deliver the viral campaign six months to a year before the actual release of the film to the audience, giving the audience a lack of information and keeping the suspence at a high level. This will also have an effect becuase the date is the only element shown which provides the audience with that somthing 'big' and important that is going to be reveiled on that specifc date. Ultimately this will create a series of questions in the audience's mind showing true signs of cause and effect of a viral campign video.

Monday, 18 April 2011

Draft of My Viral Campaign



Here is my draft of my viral campaign video. Final Cut Pro has allowed me to construct and edit the viral footage, shot by myself which included the assistence of one of my group members.

Sunday, 17 April 2011

Viral Campaign Print Screens

Below are three print screens, showing the construction of my viral campaign video in three stages on the program Final Cut Pro.


Above is the first print screen, showing background of the viral video. The graphical representation of the edit below the image of the tree is shown as rows shows the layers of the tree and mist.


The second print screen above shows more layers below image containing the hooded figure appearing with an intense glow around him. This will enhamce the deliberate engimatic feel causing the audience to relate to an eerie atmosphere, which reflects the horror genre.


Above is the thrid print screen. This is showing the cloaked charcter moving closer towards the screen but in a differnt postion.

Saturday, 16 April 2011

Equipement

The equipment to help construct the viral campaign video are a:


1) SONY Carl Zeiss video recorder

2) Sherpa tripod

3) SONY Premium digital video cassette


All these types of equipment were also used for other purposes, such as the construction of the trailer. A digital camera was also required in order to take snap shots, such as for the photo shoot.



Along with these three main pieces of equipment and the digital camera were different programs that also helped me to create my media texts.

Programs, such as Paint, Microsoft Word, Internet explorer and Photoshop. These different computer programs were used in order to provide a high level of detail and accuracy, especially the Photoshop when dealing with central images.

Friday, 15 April 2011

Viral Campaign Research

Viral campaigning is a term that shapes meaning in using mystery to market movies. A great example of this is the film ‘Cloverfield’ has had a lot of attention when first appearing virally. This viral ad shows strong signs of expressing elements of being a viral campaign, as there is no title of film that is being promoted but only a release date, ‘in theaters 01.18.08’(American). This technique of providing the audience with a lack of information helps to develop the level of mystery, thus causing an enigmatic response throughout film viewers’ minds. The level of secrecy is one again carried out as a potent theme as the movie is not called ‘Cloverfield’ but presented as ‘codenamed: Cloverfield’, which explores viral marketing to its initial capacity.

Another piece of evidence of viral marketing is presented in the film ‘The Blair Witch Project’. This occurred in 1999, which was a film made by the production budget of $60, 000 and grossed $240,000,000 and overall was a movie defined viral marketing. A couple of years later Steven Spielberg explored more into going viral where he used web games to promote AI (Artificial Intelligence). This then followed 1million people visiting the film’s personal website. The website contains a series of clues and puzzles to solve that could ultimately lead to the teaser trailer or even something big and newly released to the fans that the fans themselves can cover. ‘The Dark Knight’ is another example of attaining a viral website. On closer inspection, the website shows the unveiling of who the joker is in stages where ‘Heath Ledger’ face does appear. However, this was only used once the full trailer was shown but nonetheless, the idea of this viral website does promote the film in a relatively high manner.

On the whole I think going viral is a great strategy and proves viral marketing works best for the sci-fi and horror genres, as fans for these genres are definitely more rabid.

Alternative advertising methods were needed if Cloverfield was going to attract the attention of the group of people who could be used to make this film a success in the cinema. A specialized online and computer-savy audience was specifically targeted as their interaction with the marketing was vital in the film generating interest from another valuable audience group, the mainstream movie-goer. The story of Cloverfield’s marketing shows how the online audience was used to create a buzz about the film to support a more traditional marketing campaign.

Link to Cloverfield viral video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvNkGm8mxiM

Sunday, 10 April 2011

Personal Blog Entry

Today I have ventured out thoughts and ideas of creating a viral campaign. I have researched different viral campaign videos, such as 'The Dark Knight' and 'Cloverfield' to study the conventions and main features of the video. Therefore, I can look at challlenging and maintaining the conventions in my own viral campaign video.

I have also watched a programme on channel 4 called 'Rude Tube: viral ads'. This was an unusual experience as linking the humerous videos to promoting individuals and how they act on certain things. However, from this programme I have gained that society have produced videos acknowleging thier talents or the products which they have made. For instance, the idea of walking on water is a fantastic thought and dream but with advanced and new technolgies being made, a group of four men were promoting their product on 'Youtube' which is a huge media platform to promote your viral campaign.

Overall, I will create a viral campaign, promoting my film and putting it on my personal blog and on 'Youtube'.