Evaluation activity 3

Our audience feedback was relatively positive overall, Our media class of 6 people were our sample audience all well within are intended age rating of 15-30 year olds. All in all, the general consensus of the group was that our trailer was overall, very effective for the post apocalyptic action genre, with most of the themes, mise en scene and settings conforming to the general trend. The music was considered to be a good fit for the trailer due to its rising tempo and pace until the crescendo moment where the music and tempo gets louder, as this is relatively commonly used so it was instantly recognisable as an action movie.

In terms of criticism, many people thought that it was very hard to understand, an effect which we were trying to make but we might have overdone it to the extent that it becomes a little bit confusing. Another criticism is the overuse of jump cuts, this is not a major problem but it was common among this audience and others who we have asked.

All in all, I am quite happy with the feedback which we have received. The general sounding from our sample audience was positive, with no major criticisms. The criticisms we did receive was nothing we didn't already expect to hear and are mainly just our style of filming/editing therefore we do not need to deal with them

Evaluation activity 1

Title of the film+ font and style of title
 The title of our film comes at the very end of our trailer, this conforms to the general trend for film trailers, as it ensures that the title of the film carries a certain amount of weight, as the viewer has just seen some of the best parts of the film and has already formed an opinion on whether they like it or not. This effect is also supplemented by the last scene which was shown before the title, it is a tense standoff between the protagonist and the main antagonist. The sudden appearance of the title after this tension has a good effect as it releases the built up tension of the moment in a sudden explosion of activity, it also puts the audience in suspense as the outcome of the standoff isn't revealed, therefore the audience is left unaware of what happens next and would want to know more, making the sudden appearance of the title much more useful (as there will be a sudden desire to see the film) The colour of the title is bright white, this makes the words standout and "pop" from the background, giving a much more eye catching look to it. This pairs quite effectively with the timing of the title, as it appears suddenly at the very end of the trailer, in bright white atop a black screen, it immediately grabs the attention of the audience. The font style is a somewhat dirty, weathered look to the words, this is somewhat of a salute to the genre, as weathered, run down structures are associated with the apocalyptic setting.

Setting of the film
The setting of our film is briefly touched upon within the trailer, less of a focus than most of the other aspects to the trailer. This is relatively unconventional for trailers, as most films generally have many scenic shots of their setting, to make it completely clear to the audience. This is especially apparent in our chosen genre, as post-apocalyptic films feed off of their unique interpretations of urban decay. We have chosen not to focus on the setting too much in the trailer, even though our setting is a large part of it, instead of the typical panoramic shot of the location that most trailers use, we have decided to have shots of the main actor with the location in the background. This makes the audience much more curious about the setting, as it is not explored in depth but a few reasonably effective clues are given as to the nature of the film. The setting itself is a perfect indictment to the mood of the main character, as well as the general themes of the film: the lonely wasteland scarred by the remnants of humanity, it personifies the nature of the character and his hopeless situation


Costumes/Props
The props and costumes for our film greatly represent the style in which we attempt to create our film in. We have not tried to make any aspect of our film flashy or particularly nice looking, we have simply gone for the rough, gritty look to everything. For example the weapons are all extremely low tech: a hunting rifle and 3 pistols. This is mainly for realism, as the film is set in the UK, guns cannot be realistically included if they could not be scavenged from the house of some rural farmer or urban drug dealer. The costumes are all relatively scruffy, functional clothes, the type that ordinary people would wear for practicality rather than style. Our props and costumes all display this unpolished atmosphere to the audience, in a way that is both subtle and obvious at the same time. I believe, in this sense, we have subverted the normal conventions of trailers, as many films in this day and age value the visual feel of the film over any actual realism, in this sense I think our subversion is an attractive aspect to our trailer, as many people would be intrigued by the originality of this effect













Camera work and editing
Throughout or trailer we have tried to include a plethora of different types of shots conveying different emotions in each, however I feel this shot happens to be the most appropriate choice to annotate. For example, this shot is an over the shoulder shot using a free hand camera, rather than a tripod. The shakiness of the camera works well to convey the tension of the moment, as well as the over the shoulder shot, limiting the field of view. This high tension shot fits in well with the rest of the scene, creating a suitable atmosphere of confusion and danger. This shot (as well as most of the other shots in our film) conforms to the general trend among action films.

Story
I feel that this shot works quite well to sum up the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist. It comes at the very end for a split second before the title appears. This already sets the stage for a large conflict between the two characters throughout the film. The amount of emphasis in this scene by the ensuing tension of Will approaching makes it clear that the film will revolve around this rivalry. Although this scene (nor do any other) reveal anything substantial about the film, it gives enough for the viewer to gather what is happening and become intrigued. This effect is practically universal among film trailers, giving enough story to lure the audience, but not enough for them to know exactly what is happening.



Special Effects
The special effects in our film are very limited, we agreed to keep it this way in order to sustain the gritty, realistic look. The only actual special effect in our film are the gunshots, to which we kept limited. The use of special effects were somewhat justified in this case, as we had no better alternative to it without blank firing guns.


Genre
Our genre was post apocalyptic action/drama , we have many hints throughout the trailer, for example the rock music transitioning from slow to fast is a relatively widely used concept of action/drama films. Another example would be our setting, the audience gets many views of the setting of urban decay, but without actually saying anything about what happened. This heavily hints that the genre will be post apocalyptic, but the audience won't know anything about some of the key points of the story, creating an enigma code over why the world is in ruins. However I have chosen this screen shot because it represents the most obvious indicator to the genre: the mise en scene. The main character and antagonists all carry guns, referring to the action nature of the genre. Also the Main character is often seen scavenging in the wreckage for supplies, a typical theme of the post apocalyptic genre.

Characters
This shot is a good representation of the two characters, as the antagonist is bearing over the protagonist, it displays inequity of the situation, that the antagonist is in control of the situation and the protagonist is at his mercy, it sets up a small hierachy within the minds of the audience. The act of the sudden violence within the trailer helps to display the antagonist's mental instability and unpredictable nature. As the protagonist does not attempt to fight back, it shows a sign of weakness that proves the protagonist is not some airbrushed marine who kills everyone, he is just a normal man with the skills any competant, prepared human being could have.

Evaluation Targets

You have worked so well this year and now, albeit in the busiest part of the calendar, you need to push yourself to achieve as many of the twenty marks available to you before the end of this term. Complete the activities set as well including director's commentaries and interviews with each other. Comment on your findings from your target audience and evaluate your progress. Analyse every techincal aspect of your promotional campaign and set future targets for yourself.