media evaluation

I began my project by choosing my initial ideas from the briefs that were given to us. My favourite brief was the promotional package for a band’s new album which appealed to me because I have a keen interest in music and know quite a few people who are in bands. Therefore my first idea revolved around filming live footage of a band for a music video and then also creating a magazine advert and a cd cover. I did some research into similar videos to what I wanted to create. My second idea was also for a promotional music package. This involved a video that promoted the entire album as opposed to just one song. I found a few different promotional videos as research that were similar to my idea. I also decided a would create a review to appear in a magazine and a poster to advertise the new album in a magazine. My third and final idea was different to the first two. It involved creating a promotional package for a new film, including a teaser trailer, a film magazine front cover and a poster to promote the film. I already had an idea in mind for the storyline of the new film.It would be a horror film, set on the Underground. A group of people who do not know each other would get on a train but before they arrive at their station the train stops at an abandoned station and the doors open. The characters wait for a while, expecting the train to move on but it doesn’t. They decide to leave the train and see if there is anyone at the abandoned station that can help them. As soon as they leave the train the doors close and the train moves on. The characters can not try and get to the next station as something is stopping them. The abandoned station was used as a bunker during the war and the characters appear to be stuck in that time.

After coming up with my initial ideas I decided to choose my second idea to go forward with and develop. I chose this because it interested me the most and at this stage I could not see any complications with this idea. I decided not to choose idea one as I thought it would be very difficult to sync the video footage with the music over the top. I decided not to choose idea three as the setting of my film is a complicated one and therefore I would not be able to access it. I thought it would then be difficult to find a setting that looked realistic enough. Once I had chosen my idea I researched further into pre-existing videos to help give me ideas on what to include in my own video. At this stage I also created a set of SMART targets. These are very detailed and show me the various tasks I needed to do to reach the end of my project. I set myself dates to achieve each task by and wrote out the things I would need to achieve them. This was very useful as it gave me a clear image of everything I had to do and made it much more organised. I then added to my research by looking into pre-existing magazine adverts and album reviews from magazines to help when creating my ancillary products. This was useful as it gave me an idea of the conventions of these types of print.

Once my research was complete I began my pre-production and planning for my main task. I created pre-production documents such as storyboards, talent release forms and a risk assessment form. At this stage I also wrote a list of prompt questions that I wanted to ask the band in the video. I had decided that for the promotional video I would include an interview and footage of them performing. I then began organising the band I wanted to use so that I could begin my filming. However this is when I began encountering problems. The band did not have a lot of free time due to other commitments so I had to try and arrange a time when they were all free. This proved to be very difficult and many filming attempts had to be cancelled. After further planning and canceling, I decided that in order to complete my coursework on time and to a high standard, I would have to consider changing my idea. I talked it through with my tutor who advised me to go a different route and create a promotional package for a new film instead. As I had trouble with making a video, we decided that it would be more suitable to make a radio trailer. Along with this I decided to create the front cover of a film magazine and a double page spread review. This did not seem too complicated as I have a lot of experience with Photoshop so I thought this would be a much more achievable task.

I knew I did not have long to complete my coursework so I began straight away with some research into pre-existing print products to help me develop my idea. I created mock ups of both my front cover and double page spread. I also looked into interviews about new films to give me ideas for my radio trailer. From this I wrote a script which I then recorded. I did not encounter any difficulties doing this so I edited it and added a jingle to the beginning to make it sound more authentic. I then took my original images and added them to my chosen mock up designs. After changing the appearance around slightly my print products were finished.

I think this promotional package for a new film works well to get the audience interested in it. The radio interview features lots of information about the film and what went into creating it which gives the audience an insight. The print products also help create a buzz for the film. Overall I am pleased with my finished products. Obviously I was limited for time after changing my idea but I know that without changing my idea I would not have finished creating my products in time for the deadline.