Promotion

In order to promote my film effectively it is essential that I understand who my target audience are and how they consume media.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3078614/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/t/teens-tune-out-tv-log-instead/


Using the above website I have researched how my target audience consume media. My target audience are young people aged roughly 14-27 and the way they consume media is very different to the way other demographics would. In a recent study 13-24 year olds spend on average 16.7 hours online a week compared to 13.6 hours watching tv which shows that it would be much more effective to market my film online. However whilst they are online they do not stick to single sites but surf a wide range of websites and often multitask which means that it would be essential to promote my film across a wide range of websites.
One such website or type of website that would be imperative to promote on would be social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. For example 12- to 17-year-olds spent 77 percent of their social networking time on Zuckerberg’s site in May 2012 and the average user dedicates 85 percent of her online socializing to browsing Facebook, comScore data shows. This means my target audience spend a lot of their time on sites such as Facebook and twitter and advertising on these sites is key to promoting my film to them. I can do this by advertising in the side bar, as seen in the picture above and creating accounts for the film that people can follow.
Other websites I could use to promote my film are film and entertainment blogs, a website of its own, news websites such as BBC which, were it a real film, may put articles online about it, and by putting trailers on youtube as this is one of the most accessible and widely used video websites. 
However it is important to promote across a wide range of media as my traget audience "live a multimedia life" with most people having access to over 200 tv channels, 5000 consumer magazines and thousands of radio stations. My target audience often accesses these sources at the same time for example surfing the web whilst watching tv or listening to the radio so to promote a product to this audience effectively it must saturate all forms of media to be absorbed by the consumer who is often distracted. 
Therefore I would also promote my film through print media such as magazines and newspapers, tv and radio. However I would make links between all forms so, for example, I would put the website address of the film on the film poster that would appear in print and online so that I can promote my film as effectively as I can to a very media savvy target audience. 

Permission Letter for Our Chosen Song

From the poll on my blog the song people thought would best connote a teen party is First of the Year (Equinox) by the dub-step band Skrillex. Dub-step is a style of music often associated with teenagers, young people and wild parties as it's the type of music people loose themselves in which is what many teenagers do as they are still not comfortable with themselves.
In order to use the song and not infringe copyright I need to ask permission from the record company; the letter I sent is below.

Dear Big Beat,

My name is Syd Bird and I am currently studying A Level Media at The King's School in Devon.
As part of our course we have to create a sort film and I am writing to ask permission to use your song 'First of the Year (Equinox)' by Skrillex within it.
The film will only be used for my coursework and will not be distributed or marketed in any way.
I would sincerely appreciate your permission to use this song.
Thank you for your time,
Syd Bird

Ancillary Research

As well as the film I have to create a film poster and a film magazine review page featuring the film so it is important that I research film posters and reviews. In order to do this I have deconstructed three film posters and three magazine reviews which are below in a Prezi presentation. I have tried to deconstruct posters and reviews of the same genre as they may help me define my own ideas for the ones I will need to create.

From my research I have come across a few key conventions that I want to use in my poster and review.
In my poster I want to:

• Have a simple but engaging image that reveals the genre
• A title that reveals some of the genre and is hopefully funny
• I want to try and use some iconic imagery
• Bold contrasting colours
• Funny tagline
• Production details
• Subversion of some kind
• The release date, preferably at the bottom of the page
• Name of actors

In my film review I want to:

• Create brand imagery for the magazine
• Have a simple and engaging colour scheme
• Write in columns
• Have a clear opinion on the film
• Include a rating system 
• Include a large image from the film
• Funny captioning on the images
• Certificate of the film
• Production details
• Larger quote
• Spoilers/lures
• Website address
• Summary of the film's plot
• Puns to do with the film

Roughcut Editing of Last Nights Shoot and Feedback

Last night I re-filmed my first shoot in an area with streetlights  which made the shots bright enough to use. Some are still a little grainy as the cameras don't cope well in the dark conditions I need to have for the atmosphere of the piece and conventions of the genre.
I have created a roughcut edit of it and am overall pleased with the results. I need to adjust some of the audio and add in sounds such as footsteps, wheezing breaths and heartbeats but the flow of the piece and the continuity of it I am pleased with. Whilst creating my roughcut I also needed to get used to editing on a Mac as I have never used the programme before it took a little while to become confident with it but I feel a lot more comfortable with it now. Below are some screenshots of me editing the footage.

Editing audio 

Rough Edit

Precision Edit

In order to judge whether or not it was successful I got a male and a female aged 18 to watch it and give me feedback. They are representative of my target audience and their opinions are vital.

They said:

• The use of the name Trevor was funny and they laughed when watching it which is really good as it means it is fulfilling it's purpose as a comedy horror.
• Liked the use of a variety of shots especially the feet shots which is also good as it means that it is interesting to watch and will hopefully keep them engaged.
• Liked the quick pace which is good as it means that it should hold the audience's attention. 
• Thought some audio was a little quiet so I will spend more time editing the audio to be louder and try and make my actors talk louder in other shoots I do.
• Sam falling might need a few more shots as it seemed a little clunky so next time we film I will try and film a few more cutaways I may be able to edit in to try and improve it. 
• Liked the atmosphere of the piece with the darkness and setting which is good as it conforms to the conventions of horror. 

From my audience feedback I will carry on using a variety of shots, try to keep the pace as quick, keep the setting and still film at night which I was worried about as I didn't want the shots to be too grainy but if the atmosphere is right some graininess is worth it and film a few more shots of Sam falling. 

Thoughts on Filming

Below is a video I have created about the first couple of shoots I've had, the progress I'm making with my film and problems I am encountering. It's important I evaluate my footage and filming techniques as I go along to ensure that the footage I have is good enough to use and that I am filming in an effective way.

Music Decision

In order to choose what song to use in the party scene I have created a poll on my blog and posted the link on Facebook to try and get as many people to see it as possible. It's especially important to get the opinions of the people I am friends with on Facebook as they are the age of my target audience which means understanding their opinions is vital in ensuring I make a film that appeals to them. Below is a screenshot of my post on Facebook. 

Narrative Structure/Theory

In order to ensure that I have an engaging narrative I have examined the narrative structure of my film and theories it could relate to.
I have a fragmented narrative in my film with time shifts. For example I open the film at the end of the night before going back to the beginning as this creates enigma and will hopefully make the audience want to know what happens which is essentially Bathes' enigma code.
I have also thought about Barthes' cultural code which is a narrative device that the audience can recognise as being part of a culture as I have chosen to portray a stereotypical teen party culture/scenario which should be engaging to teenagers and young people who are my target audience.
My film could also be seen to contain set character roles which is a narrative theory proposed by Vladimir Propp. However my character roles differ from the ones he proposes as my film does not follow a traditional fairytale narrative which he based his theory on but instead portray set character roles of comedy horror films.
My narrative differs slightly from Tzvetan Todorovs narrative theory which states that narratives often start in a state of equilibrium that is then disrupted before normal life or a new equilibrium resumes as my film starts in a state of disequilibrium then goes back to the original state, develops into disequilibrium before returning to normal. The overall plot of the piece fits the theory completely but the portrayal of it to the audience differs slightly.  This will hopefully leave the viewer feeling a sense of satisfaction as all the enigma in the film is resolved by the end of it and should leave them happy at the end of it.

Filming Plan

I planned to start filming on Sunday the 4th of November and to shoot the scenes that only had Elijah and Sam in as this would allow me to get used to filming before tackling the group scene later on. The Sam and Elijah scenes are also a large part of the overall film so it would be essential to film early on in filming. Sam and Elijah are also reliable and wouldn't mind reshooting parts which I assume I will have to do as i will make mistakes as I am unused to filming.
I already made a mistake with my shooting plan as I was unable to shoot on Sunday due to the faire that was in a field nearby for bonfire night which was too noisy to film by as it would have made the footage unusable. The weather was also very bad with heavy rain which would have also been impossible to shoot in.
I therefore need to be more flexible with shooting and if the conditions are right seize them instantly as I can't predict the weather.
I have now rescheduled the first shoot for Tuesday.