4. How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

CONSTRUCTION

Within our teaser trailer, we used new media technologies throughout. At AS, we used iMovieHD on the MACs to create our film openings whereas at A2, we had the opportunity to use the new and updated iMovie instead.

(Left: iMovieHD, right: iMovie)

We found iMovie very different from iMovieHD because it has many new features, such as the option to stabilise a clip which we found useful. It was also easier to use than iMovieHD because despite having more features, it was of a simpler design which also meant we were able to achieve desired effects quicker because we didn't have to search for them and decipher how to apply them.

In our teaser trailer we decided to focus more on diegetic sounds, such as digging and screaming, because it was both more challenging and, if successful, more effective than using non-diegetic sounds and music. In order to focus the audiences' attention on the diegetic sound, we opened with a black screen with digging sounds and shot close up digging sounds separately so that they were clear when layered over the black and the digging clip, which was easy to do in the new iMovie.

In the coffin scenes, we used a desktop lamp covered in a red tea towel to create a red glow within the box. As well as lighting the coffin, this glow connotes danger and heat which reflects our narrative. We emphasised this effect in editing, changing the hues of the clips to the desired shade with the colour wheel in iMovie. The coffin was also used to frame our actress, which we enhanced in post production by adding an effect which added a shade to the edge of the clip so the audience focused on the actress.
Another main effect we used on iMovie was the speed and direction options.


We found these easier to use than on iMovieHD because we could select how much of the clip we wanted to change and could specify how fast or slow to make it. Therefore, we chose to speed up shots to reflect the panic and confusion of the character in the coffin and sped up the shots of the bugs to make them more unnatural to match our narrative. We also reversed our actress 'being dragged' down the hill, so she appeared to crawl up the hill. We then sped it up to make it more unnatural.

We were also introduced to the program Serif Draw Plus, which we used to create our poster and typography. We found this program quite complicated at first, but after some practise it became easier to use and we were able to create our ideal poster design, with the use the program's special layering and transparency options.

We also found this program useful when creating our typography, which we chose to do so that it suited and reflected our narrative, which wouldn't have worked as well if we had used a pre-made font from online. In creating our own, we were able to make the "Y" in "Abyss" look like the tree that was featured in our trailer, thus directly linking and reflecting it.

Finally, we used Garageband to create the backing music for our trailer.

Despite using this program last year, we had to work out how to get the most out of it because last year, the other member of our group (who did A-Level music) had the main input in regards to the music in the opening, but she left so we had to deepen our understanding of Garageband in order to get similar quality results for our music.

RESEARCH
Our main form of research was questionnaires, which we e-mailed throughout the school, posted online (on SurveyPirate) and put on our blog in the form of a poll.

We used these results to influence our trailer so that it would appeal to the right audience and have the desires effect.
We also researched the conventions of teaser trailers by watching and analysing then both online and on the television or in the cinema. We then applied the conventions we noted to our own trailer.




PLANNING
When planning our teaser trailer we used all the technology available to us to make a smooth transition from our ideas to filming and editing.

We therefore transformed our storyboard into a video of images to make sure our timing fulfilled teaser trailer conventions, and so that we had a clear goal to our end media product.

EVALUATION
To achieve a valid evaluation we used technological convergence to make our teaser trailer available to be commented upon and evaluated. We set up a YouTube account to showcase our trailer and receive comments, which we also linked to our media group's Facebook page. This use of technology enabled us to get critical feedback from the public, so we could evaluate our work effectually.