7. fmp evaluation

7. fmp evaluation

• 1.
  FMP Evaluation Harry .T.Docwra
• 2.
  Production Process Evaluation
• 3.
  Research • For researchI made a survey using Survey Monkey that my target audience answered. I asked questions about what people would expect from a horror movie trailer, what their favourite genre of movies was, if they liked blood or not, what their age was, what they would expect from a mixture of both. Doing research was very useful as it helped me think about how I would make my product appeal to my target audience and what they are interested in, and using Survey Monkey was very helpful and I had fun creating the survey. But doing research can take a bit of time to do whilst that time could be spent doing the actual product. I feel I could have asked more specific questions in the survey; like if they wanted a superhero/horror movie in the first place and what they would have liked to see. By doing this I would’ve had an even a better idea of what the audience wanted and I could add it to the trailer to appeal them more. I also researched other horror movie trailers so I could reflect on them and get ideas for my trailer. The horror movie trailers I searched were for Josh Boones ‘New Mutants’(2020), David Yarovesky’s ‘Brightburn’(2019) and Julias Avery’s ‘Overlord’ (2018). I researched these trailers because they had similar aspects to what I wanted for my product, in terms of camera work(close ups, longshots), creepy music that sets the scene, filming locations and overall eerie tone. All these trailers had what I wanted in my product and that’s why I chose them for research. By doing research I was able to find out what I wanted for my product, it helped me set the tone and decide what kind of music, locations and camera angles and shots I was going to include in my product. The problem with research is that it can take a long time to do whilst you could be doing the actual product and the resources for what to look for could be hard to find.
• 4.
  Planning • For planningI made 3 spider diagrams to help me decide what I could do with my product. My 3 ideas were; a horror movie trailer (which was the final product), a radio show where I would discuss movies, such as classic films and upcoming films and specific genres(Such as; horror, drama, comedy, superhero, action and Sci-fi). And the other was a photography collage which would include all of my favourite photos that I have taken along with a description of how, where and possibly when I took the photo. I chose the horror trailer because I wanted to do something different, and film making really interests me so that’s why I loved doing this project as I was able to project part of my own vision of the horror genre and I had a lot of fun editing the scenes. I really wish I get the opportunity do something similar to it again in the future or for another project. For planning I did a style sheet filled with photos I found on the internet of shots from movies, silhouettes, school corridors and people standing alone in streets. I chose these because they have a mysterious, creepy stalker vibe to them, which is the feel I want for my final product. It was fun looking for these images and then selecting which ones had the right feel to them, but this can take time and it can be hard to find them. I also did layouts for DVD covers for the film, which were also fun to do as I could discover what I wanted it to look like and what I age rating it would have. I found a black and white image of someone’s hand on the internet and an image of someone looking at the camera with glowing yellow eyes. I wanted these specifically because they play a very important part in the film. It felt good when I found these images because I got to see what they would look like and I liked the look of it but the images were hard to find and took a while to edit.
• 5.
  Time Management • Ithink I managed my time exceptionally. I filmed and edited the project at college and at home, this way I was able to get all the footage I wanted early for when the project needed to be done. With that extra time I would have edited some bits of the audio better because at some points in the trailer it seems to get cut off by other audio following it, making it sound squished together. I would also have found a way to make the audio sound better because the microphone on my laptop is not very good. I would have used a proper audio recorder to make the narration sound more HD and nicer to listen to, because in the trailer the narration sounds like it was recorded on a very old microphone. I feel like this would have made my trailer better and could even make it look like an actual trailer. However, I managed to work out enough time to think of what else I wanted in my trailer, such as what type of camera work I wanted to use, what certain camera angles to include(close ups and wide shots), what sort of music I was going to use and how to use it in terms of editing with the cutting of the footage in the trailer, what locations I was going to use and more time to design my final posters for the movie. I wanted to have enough time to make the trailer the best it could be so I spent some time at home working on the trailer. I had enough time to fix the editing but I wish I had spent more time on the music/narration to make it sound better and more clear. Either way I completed my project in time to hand it in as well as all my previous written work. Doing research and experiments helped me put my designs together quicker because I was clearer in what I was trying to think of and that helped me to work quicker because I was more clear in my head in what I wanted to do.
• 6.
  Time management • Onday 1, I managed to do all of my storyboard. I did this in a total of 3 hours. Which took all of the time I had available on that day. This was great because I was keeping to my schedule. • On day 2, I was able to write the entire script, with some extra time that I had at home. • On day 3, I went around to a location I wanted to film at and ensured its safety and security so we could film there. This did not take me a lot of time to do so not a lot of time was spent on doing it. • On day 4, I spent a day asking people whether or not they wanted to do the product with me. All the actors said yes. • On day 5, I filmed at home which took me up to 4 hours to film. The conditions were alright for me to film. I kept my time and didn’t have to postpone any filming until another day, which was good. • On day 6, I filmed with the cast at college with permission from the cast and the teachers. This took only two hours to do. This meant I could do some editing as well • On day 7, we filmed a scene in a tunnel which took 20 minutes to film. This gave me even more time to edit. • On day 8, I finished editing the product and sent it off to the teacher. I stuck to my schedule which I was pleased about.
• 7.
  Technical Qualities Similarities: Both postersuse black and white Both are horror films a 15+ age rating. Both have a main characters eyes looking into the camera. Differences: One of the posters involves a forest in the background, the other does not One has reviews on it, the other does not. The eyes in the Mason poster are more luminous and noticeable than the ones in the Blair witch poster. Mason has a wider use of different colours than Blair Witch poster. (Such as yellow, which signifies Yellow) The software processes I used, such as the text tool, the cutting and pasting of the age ratings and the colouring of the eyes allowed me to create my designs that I wanted for my poster to a more than satisfactory standard and it compares well to the existing product.
• 8.
  Aesthetic Qualities I thinkmy trailer looks good, is well edited together and almost looks like an actual horror movie trailer which was one of the goals I was trying to achieve. I wanted to be as creative as I could with the trailer and I think I was. I like the mysterious, creepy theme that the trailer gives off, as well as the eerie cinematography. I also like the DVD covers for the film which are also attempted to look like they are for a real film with the age rating, description, font, barcode and critic reviews. I think I could have made the eyes look better by making them blend with the structure of the photo more. I also wish I had edited some of the sound effects better so they sound better put together and don’t cut off to early as well as make the voice over in some of the scenes sound more HD by using an audio recorder. The audience will like the posters because they have a creepy horror vibe to them with the use of the black and white filter and don’t give a lot of detail about the film as well as the similar colour scheme of grey, yellow and red. Horror fans may like the trailer as well as it is mysterious and doesn’t give away lots of information about the films plot or what is really going on. The trailer also has a slow but interesting pace which can add to the creepiness. With the shots being filmed a good quality phone camera it almost looks like it is horror movie which the audience might appreciate. The trailer has similarities to existing products, such as ‘New Mutants’. Both of these trailers begin with a zoom in camera shot, both have a similar pace and amount of characters. It also has resemblances to ‘Brightburn’ with the scene where Mason looks up at the red light and shaking and the fact that all of the characters in this trailer are relatively young (like Brandon in Brightburn, but older). I had made the product almost exactly how I imagined it from the beginning, apart from a few shots that were in the storyboard, such as when Mason walks out onto the field and falls to his knees. I wanted to shoot that in the late evening but the weather was never right enough for it to have the look/feel I wanted in the shot.
• 9.
  Audience Appeal I feelI have appealed to my target audience in some ways rather than others. I have included the theme of horror but forgot to mention the superhero aspect of it even though it is still implied. The theme is definitely what I promised the audience. I wish I included more references to horror films like I mentioned I would in my survey. But I think the audience will appreciate the feel and tone of this trailer which is similar to what I promised I would give them. I also wish I had included some blood for the 70% who said they liked it in the survey, more horror movie references for the 70% of the audience who said that they like horror movies and more superhero references for the 80% of the audience who said they like horror movies. In some ways I appealed to my target audience but in some ways I feel like I failed. I was going to stick with the ‘needs driven’ psychographic by having the main character trying to complete a certain goal. Whilst this would be happening in the movie (The goal being overcoming his fear of himself) I wish I had made this more apparent in the trailer. I stuck with the age rating (15+) by having a small amount of jump scares and an unnerving horror feel that should feel scary enough to earn that rating. Despite all of these faults I feel it definitely appeals to the male audience by including entirely male characters, so I know I succeeded at this. I used small not too popular locations that middle class people would use, like under a bridge and in an ordinary corridor in an ordinary place of learning.
• 10.
  Peer Feedback
• 11.
  Feedback 1 Matt •What did you like about the product? – I like the editing of the trailer, with fades and the voice to make like actual trailer. • What improvements could have been made to the product? – I would improve on the close up on the door, by closing the door to give that scene more of a effect.
• 12.
  Feedback 2 Reece •What did you like about the product? – I like the whole premise/idea of the film, of it being a horror film. – Viewing it from an audience perspective, one of the reasons they could enjoy it is because it features an autistic person taking a higher role, but they could also take it badly because of the fight scene. – Overall it’s a student film so resources are limited and you work with what little you had so having that in mind it’s a good film, but could be improved with more experience in certain departments of movie making. • What improvements could have been made to the product? – The speech audio quality could have been improved to remove the echo to achieve this record in a small, soft and quiet area. – In some of the scenes the camera is quite shaky to improve this you could either rest the recording device onto something or invest in a tripod. – When ever some text appears it’s rather bland, to improve this you could add some animation effects like the text slowly cracking throughout the trailer the more times it shows the more it appears to be cracked or some other effect. – For the scene of the door, you did well in creating a horror atmosphere but it seems boring since it’s just a picture being zoomed in, to improve this you could either have the door slowly opening or slowly closing both would work. – With you appearing behind the door the horror music seems to be out of place, to improve this include the music slightly earlier. – In the fight scene you could have made the punches appear closer but of course that is hard to achieve. – When you scream it would have been better it you knew what type of scream you were going to do for example a scream for loss, pain, anger ETC. – With the creepy smile at the end you could have made some animation to the eyes so that would immerse the audience into thinking ‘What’s wrong with him?’ – There is a random sound effect at the end on what seems to be some form of growling but with no clear explanation on what the reason for include it would be.
• 13.
  Feedback 3 Harriet •What did you like about the product? – I like the overall product since it is very creative and original. I also like the theme you chose for your trailer. Despite it being a film created by a student and also not having many resources, it has been done quite well. • What improvements could have been made to the product? – The audio quality could have been improved to remove the echo. There are also some moments where the camera isn’t steady so it doesn’t look as good as other parts.
• 14.
  Peer Feedback Summary •What do you agree with from your peer feedback? – I believe my product is creative and it is definitely original and the audio quality could have been improved. – I could have used a better font for the text when it appears on screen so it doesn’t appear bland. – I could have placed different music and sound effects for some scenes. – The film could be improved with more experience in film making. • What do you disagree with from your peer feedback? – I disagree with the unstable camera because I intended to use that because I thought it would be interesting to see being used. – I couldn’t add animation to the eyes because I don’t have those resources available. – The growling sound effect is not random and is meant to tease the movies villain.
• 15.
  Peer Feedback Summary Tosatisfy my audience I would make the footage in the trailer less shaky and more stable by holding the camera more still, this would make the fighting scenes more easy to watch and easier to see what is going on. I would fix the voice overs and fix the echoes so they sound more HD by using an actual microphone, it would be clearer and nicer to listen to and make the project look more like an actual film. I would use a more suitable font for the text so it appears more interesting, I could make the text almost look like blood which should intrigue the target audience more since blood is usually associated with horror. I could have done something with the door to make the scene more interesting (Like maybe open/close it or have my head appear behind it), this would have made it more creepy, unsettling, more creative and less boring. I also could have used different audio for different scenes, like whenever the screen is about to cut to black I could use build up music to give an intense and scarier feel to it which would match the tone of the trailer and the film. I feel these changes would have made my product more scary and would satisfy my audience more.