WLTM… Evaluation

Kerhys Lang
Kerhys Lang
 What Ways Does Your Media
Product Use, Develop Or
Challenge Forms And Conventions
Of Real Media Products?
 Narrative
Todorov narrative starts with an equilibrium; the character is happy, this follows the
conventions of my short film as it begins the pre-sequence scene in a coffee shop. The non
diegetic music used is upbeat and connotes a positive atmosphere connoting an equilibrium.
Furthermore the lighting portrays this as it is bright. The rapid cutting used from key hole
shots to full screen long shots compliment the upbeat music. Todorov’s theory states that
after an equilibrium the normal state is disrupted by an outside force. In the case of my short
film this is when the character of ‘Jack’ stops writing his lonely heart column and flashes back
to failed dates. As he goes to leave stating he gives up on love he bumps into the waitress
that he has previously overlooked who is interested in him. This gives a sense of a new
equilibrium as it suggests that perhaps they get together as he has finally notices. Films such
as “10 things I hate about you” follow this narrative theory in the convention of the Rom
Com genre, therefore I applied this to my short film to mirror the conventions. The fact I left
it as a cliff hanger leaves the audience open to interpretation, which challenges the
convention of narrative theory and other Rom Com genres. However, even with the cliff
hanger ending a sense of a new equilibrium is created due to the credit scene music which is
‘I Believe in a thing called love’ which indicates a positive ending.
 Third Date
In the third date scene the scene begins with a close up shot
of the main character awaiting for the date to arrive.
Complimenting the non deigetic sound track in the
background “I Love You Baby” the camera shot zooms out
revealing the rest of the mise en scene of the bar. The shot
cuts to a medium shot of the third date walking through the
door. Through editing I timed the door scene in line with the
lyrics “Your Just To Good To Be True”, as I feel it adds the
element of comedy from the genre
. Similar to other forms and conventions of films I used shot reverse shot with the character speaking to the camera as if
the audience are looking from the persons point of view. I found this shot was used vastly in comedy genre films as the
audience has a perspective of the scene, furthermore the point of view shot enables the audience to see the facial
expressions of the opposite character. Furthermore I used a Three shot; a shot of three people together so you can see
the relationship between the characters; with the character of the ‘waitress’ looking longingly at ‘Jack’ which is the
underlying storyline. This was a common feature in films which share a storyline and an underlying storyline through out
the film. For the anticipating toilet scene I used frequent cuts between inside the toilet where the date was and the
outside of the toilet in which ‘Jack’ had previously entered. During the inside toilet scenes I used non deigetic sound
effects to enhance the dramatic side of the short film. Such sound effects heighten the humor of the film. When ‘Jack’
rushes into the toilet the non deigetic dramatic sound effect reaches a climax in which I inserted another non diegetic
sound effect of a scratching record. This was to symbolize that ‘Jack’ has realised that his date is not a women. The Sound
effects add a cartoon like effect enhancing the comical value of the film; such conventions can be found in the comedy,
Scrubs in which sound effects are used to create humor. Following this a tracking shot is used from ‘Jacks’ perspective
looking up and down at the character. His non diegetic voice over explains to the audience how he is really feeling,
similar to the voice over's used in ‘Scrubs’ were JD has thoughts running through his head but the audience can hear
them as it heightens the comical value of the genre.
This shot uses a Reaction shot, in which the
character, ‘Jack’ reacts to action which has just
occurred – ‘Martin’ interrupting the date. A
temporary 'first-person' use of camera is used in
Scene Two: Date #1
this shot as if the audience is looking from
‘Martins’ perspective. In comedies such as ‘The
Inbetweeners’ this type of shot is used to see a I used transitions to compliment the shot reverse shot I had used to
reaction from a characters perspective. Therefore I make the conversation between the characters flow. This style of
followed similar forms and conventions of other editing was similar to that of ‘Scrubs’ as it reflects the conversation
media texts conversing between the two characters.

I used natural lighting As well as diegetic dialogue

within the scenes as between the characters in the
this was similar to scene I inserted ‘That’s
‘About A Boy’ date Amore’ to act as Foreground
scenes to convey a music to act as if it is being
realistic atmosphere. I played in the restaurant as in
chose to use natural the date scene in ‘About A
lighting as I did not Boy’ there is diegetic music in
have the equipment to the background. However I
use staged lighting, inserted the music into the
however using iMovie it clip as opposed to having it
enabled me to playing whilst filming.
manipulate the lighting Although in editing I ducked
of the scenes to suit the the music to sound as if it was
atmosphere I wanted to coming from the shot itself.
create.
I used a variety of long shots, close ups, and panning shots within the scene as it adds variety to the film, and
keeps the audience interested. The forms and conventions of other films also use a variety of shots as some
enhance the atmosphere by using extreme close ups of facial expressions. Other shots such as panning shots are
used so that the audience can observe the mise en scene of the shot to recognise what is going on.
 Mise en scene: Coffee Shop,
Final Scene
For the final scene in which the overlooked ‘waitress’ character meets the main character ‘Jack’, I decided to use
the coffee shop location which opens the short film. I chose this because it fitted with the story line in which ‘Jack’
becomes distressed due to his failed dates and goes to leave the coffee shop, but then notices her for the first
time. I used a coffee shop as I was influenced by the American sitcom Friends The series revolves around a group
of friends in the borough of Manhattan, New York City. One of the main locations prominently featured in the
series was The Central Perk Coffee House. It consists of sofas, chairs, tables, a counter, etc. The friends characters
spend the majority of their time there to reflect on the days events, which is similar to the ideas of our short film;
the character of ‘Jack’ reflecting on previous bad dates. I shot the coffee shop scenes in an actual coffee shop so
that the mise en scene would be believable to the audience. I used the back of the shop which had a coffee table,
a leather sofa, and a condiments stand and when shooting in the background of the shots you could see the
counter and the rest of the location, so that the audience can identify the location. Furthermore after watching
the sitcom the camera angles are largely based around the seating arrangement in which the friends usually sit,
the cameras use medium shots to include all the characters and mise en scene then switch to medium close-ups/
close-ups/ and shot reverse shot to compliment the diegetic dialogue. I took this into consideration when
shooting the film as I used a tripod in the same position to shoot medium shots of ‘Jack’ conversing with the
camera. However as he goes to leave, the shot changes to a long shot which pans, in which the character of the
‘waitress’ walks past him at the condiments stand and he notices her for the first time, which ends the film on a
cliff hanger. The non diegetic sound track ‘Haven't met you yet’ by Michael Buble compliments the ending of a
cliff hanger as Jack says, “Hang on a minute?” which is spoken after the nondiegetic sound track of this song
playing, “I just haven't met you yet”. This gives a happy ending to the film as it rounds off all his bad dates with
the idea that perhaps he's been looking in the wrong places and had been overlooking something that could be.
This is reflective of the lyrics, “You’ll come out of nowhere and into my life.” The use of the non diegetic
soundtrack throughout the coffee shop scenes, share the same forms and conventions of the sitcom friends; in
which a background music is used to create an atmosphere. The music compliments the storyline as the song is
above finding love, which is the journey that 'Jack' goes on through out the film. The song is very well-knownas it
was released in 2009, therefore the target audience would recognise it and from the soundtrack they would work
out the genre of the film from the choice of music, as the song is about finding love
 Intertextuality
Intertextuality refers to relationships between different elements of a medium, such as participants and
links with other media. One aspect of intertextuality is that the participants in the film who are known
to the audience from other aspects of the media may bring with them images established in other
contexts which effect the audience's perception of their current role. In the short film I used sixth form
students from my school. When gaining audience feedback, I asked a variety of people from my target
audience, as if I solely asked people who attended the same sixth form, their views may distort their
perceptions of the film as they already know the characters. Fortunately the main character of ‘Jack’
plays the role well as that is already his character, therefore even if the audience knew the character
out side of the short film, it portrays his personality, which compliments the film. For an audience who
are unknown to the characters, the film works well as they are ‘unknown’ actors, therefore the
audience are more inclined to believe and understand the story line as they have no previous views and
perceptions of the characters. From this the audience can relate to the situations that the main
character ‘Jack’ is in and appreciate the storyline without being distracted. This does not follow the
forms and conventions of other Romantic Comedies as they are filmed by well known companies who
have a lot of money to employ famous actors and actresses for the film. Therefore one actor may be in
a vast amount of films such as Hugh Grant, who is not only known for the romantic comedy of About A
Boy, therefore the audience who draw connections with previous roles he has played may effect their
perception and understanding of his character in the current film. However in the case of other short
films, using unknown actors is a common form and convention as they are low funded, therefore cannot
afford to use famous actors. Furthermore generally students and those who take an interest in creating
shorts, make them for fun, or for school work, therefore use actors that are available to them.
 Flash Back Of Failed
Date Scene : Date
Two
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjlQMwxGi
bE&feature=related
In the second date scene, the character ‘Jack’ is on a bad date with a deaf women who he does not understand. I used
shot reverse shot camera work to connote the back and forward style of communication. Following the rapid cut into
a medium close up of the female signing to jack, I used a panning shot to reverse back to ‘Jack’. Here the mise en
scene of facial expressions connote that he is trying to go along with the conversation but does not entirely
understand. This is enhanced by the non diegetic voice over of ‘Jack’ used to enhance what he is really thinking. This is
similar to the About A Boy scene in which ‘Will’ is on a date with a women and converging into a conversation that he
is not interested in. This is proven through the voice over used in the scene in which he contradicts everything that he
is saying to the women to what he actually believes. The panning shot and extreme close ups are similar conventions
in About A Boy, which are used in my short film. The idea of voice over's enable the audience to understand what is
really going through the characters mind which enhances the comedy value to the film. In the research film they use
panning shots and extreme close up on faces, in which I decided to follow these conventions as it enables the
audience to appreciate the mise en scene of location to understand the story line and observe the reaction of
characters in the scene. I used natural lighting in the date scene similar to the natural lighting to the date scene in
About A Boy. This gives an authentic view to the audience. The sound quality of the filming was very clear as the video
camera had an internal microphone which picked up the sound. However in editing I decided to enhance the volume
of the diegetic dialogue as I placed non deigetic music over the top of this which therefore obscured the quality of
sound for the audience to hear. For the date scene I arrange to shoot in a local pub, so that the mise en scene would
appear authentic, similar to the mise en scene of About A Boy.
 Stop motion
Stop motion creates an illusion of movement,
by inter-cutting stills, using graphics with
movable sections, using step-by-step changes.
I decided to incorporate stop motion into
the short film to add a variety of media forms
to make the film more interesting
. I decided to use stop motion for every failed date that ‘Jack’ had been on after previously circling
their advert. To create the shot I used a tripod and Camera to take the photographs. I took
pictures of every line written for each letter and then added them all together in iMovieHD to
create stop motion image. I shortened the length of each image so that it would be shown for
0.1 seconds therefore it will look as if the character is actually writing the words. This contrast
the “convention” of rom coms in the mainstream media as when researching I did not find any
other romantic comedies which used both styles of filming. Therefore my media product
challenged the forms and conventions of real media products during these scenes. This I believe
makes the film more unique. During the scene I used a sound bridge of music from the previous
scene so that the transition was smooth. The non deigetic voice over on top of the sound bridge
complimented the stop motion, as ‘Jack’ was stating how the date was a ‘failed date’. I edited
the lighting of the images so that the news paper would look brighter as it was previously very
old, and had to look as if it was a paper ‘of the time’.

Font colour reflects the lighting; in Bridget Jones the
lighting is quite dull, therefore a pale peach colour is
used as it signifies a bland atmosphere to mirror her
loneliness – a bold colour would not fit with the mise
en scene. The white font colour used in our short film
Title shot
similarly mirrors the lighting as it is quite bright. The
brightness compliments the upbeat soundtrack used.
bold title, capital letters stands out
from the page, my short film uses
similar forms and conventions as it
stands out to the audience, it is easier
to read and gives an incite into the
film. Font is ‘Courier’ signifies a
newspaper style font, as the film is
about lonely heart columns.
Main character is in the background
of the shot, reinforces to the
audience that they are a significant
part in the film. I decided to
challenged the forms and
conventions of the title shot as
through iMovie HD I edited the title
to blur the background which the
dissolved into normal focus. However
the character is still in action in the
scene which is similar to Bridget
Jones’s Diary
The forms and conventions of any film title appears at or near
the start of the film. American films such as ‘American Pie’ begin
with a lengthy pre-credit sequence which is also apparent in the
British ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’; this gives the audience an incite
into the film, introducing them to significant characters within
the film. I decided to use these forms and conventions from
films of the same genre, as the audience are familiar with the
style of romantic comedy pre-credit sequences; which would
successfully portray the genre of my film to the audience. The
titles are frequently superimposed on action or stills, and shown
scrolled up the screen, I decided to superimpose the Title
‘WLTM...’ on the action shot, as I was influenced by ‘Bridget
Jones’s Diary’ in which the title appears alongside the character
sat in her room. Instantly the audience are educated that the
film is about the character in the room and from the title it
suggests her name is Bridget Jones. As I was making a short film,
the easier the film was to understand the more successful the
film would be due to its short length. Therefore I used a pre-
credit sequence of a young male walking into a coffee shop,
from the variety of key hole shots and whole screen shots it is
evident that the male is the main character in the film as the
shots focus on him. The superimposed title shot of ‘WLTM…’
instantly notifies the audience that the film is about a guy
wanting to meet someone as WLTM is a common dating
abbreviation. The style of the title shot such as typeface, size,
colour, background and pace, complimented by music can
establish expectations about the atmosphere and style of the
film. In ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ the pre-credit sequence is of her
sat in her room by herself with non-diegetic music, ‘All by my
self’ which creates the atmosphere of loneliness. Similarly the
non diegetic sound track used in our short film, ‘Haven't met you
yet’ is upbeat which connotes an element of happiness and
denotes the idea from the lyrics that the character is looking for
love, which reinforces the storyline and furthermore
compliments the title ‘WLTM…’ as the character would like to
meet somebody- but just hasn't met them yet.
 Double Page Spread
Introduction of film review - stands out as it is in
capital letters and red font, similar to the Empire
Scream 4 review, the use of red connotes the genre
of horror and blood, whereas the red in my article
Article
connotes love and passion and adds cohesion to the Principle image is dominant on the double page
film and poster; which incorporates red additionally spread similar to the scream article. The main
through the mise en scene of props – the red pen and characters are photographed in a medium shot
red wig and the red copy on the poster. positioned around one another which is similar to
my double page article. I feel it is a strong image as
the characters are still ‘in character’ with the failed
dates draped over the main character with the
waitress looking lovingly into his eyes. From the
Contrasting the scream article I used the codes and
principle image the story line is clear to the
conventions of other researched articles such as I Am
audience and compliments the review which
Legend, which uses call outs from the article in a larger
explains it. This is similar to the Scream 4 article
font to entice the reader. In my article the call outs are
however the film is of a different genre, yet the
of the same font of the mast head and page numbers
same forms and conventions are still in place, yet
to add cohesion to the page and stand out from the
the principle image uses a bleed format over both
article copy font.
the A3 page, however in my article I use a bleed
over the A4
The text used is of a consistent font and size except
from the masthead of the review and additional
information to the left of the article. I decided to follow
this convention as it would make the article easy to
The forms and conventions of any magazine have the
read and make the mast head stand out to entice the
page number at the bottom of the page, contrasting to
reader. Stereotypically the masthead of any article is
the scream 4 review I used page numbers on both
positioned in the top left of the page as it is easy to
pages. Similarly I added the title of the magazine prior
read, in the Scream 4 article the title is positioned on
to the page number that is apparent in both articles
the second half of the A3 yet still follows the page
composition. I decided to add the mast head to the
first half of the A3 as the layout of the principle image
left room for copy at the top. I feel this shapes the
article and flows through to the other side of the page. The five star rating is an iconic rating symbol used in most film reviews and I chose to put it on the left hand side
Furthermore the text colour is continuous throughout of the A3 spread as it would be the first thing the audience would read as they turn over the page. The high star
the scream 4 article, giving it brand identity and rating would signify that it was a good film, therefore they are more inclined to read the review. The colour of
cohesion, which is the convention that I also decided to the stars also stands out from the colour scheme of red and black and compliments the hair colour of the female
follow as the colour scheme of black and red interlinks in the background. The subtle colour links within the page breaks up the dominant red and black scheme. The
with my 3 ancillary products. bold colours compliment the upbeat short film and the intensity of the colours reflect the comedy value of the
film as it is over the top.
Researching into romantic comedy film posters, it was apparent for the convention of the background to be white
with the characters of the film to be displayed in either a medium or medium longshot, depending on the amount
of characters displayed on the poster. Therefore I decided to follow this convention as not only would it reflect
successful film posters but it would allow me to add copy to the page. The white background allows the characters
to stand out from the page and allows the copy to be clear to read. The composition of characters behind a white
background was inspired by the Bridget Jones’ Diary poster with the female centred in the middle with the males
surrounding her. We chose this idea as Bridget Jones’ Diary is of a similar genre, therefore we felt it fitted better

.
Similar to the Bridget Jones’s Diary poster I chose to follow the forms
and conventions of adding call outs of reviewers, and their opinions of
the film. Positive callouts entice an audience to watch a movie due to its
positive feedback, therefore I added this to the poster to not only fill the
space of the white background but to follow similar conventions of film
posters.
Poster
The forms and conventions of many film posters include details of the producers, film company, actors and other details
behind the making and funding of a film, in which I incorporated in my poster. Similar to ‘Never Been Kissed’ and ‘10 things
I hate about you’ I put the information in a different colour and of smaller font size, so that other text such as the mast
head would stand out from the page. The composition of the additional movie information is placed underneath the title,
or aligned in the bottom centre of the page, I chose to place it off centre underneath the font as the composition of the
image used allowed a vast white space in which to fill text with. Furthermore the mast head broke up both red texts so that
the colour flows throughout the page.
The forms and conventions of most film posters have the film
certificate in the bottom right hand of the page, I chose to follow
this convention as it notifies to the audience that it is an age
restricted film, and the red logo with black drop shadows
compliments the red and black colour scheme throughout the
poster, linking with my ancillary products, that add cohesion to the
page

The mast head is dominant on the page as it is in black font with drop shadows
to enhance it. The font Kaileen that I downloaded from www.dafont.co.uk gives
an animated feel to the poster with the stick women representing the letter T,
relating to the genre of the film of comedy. 10 Things I hate about you also used
the mast head to enhance the film as the font is an arrow pointing to the male
character in the poster. From this the audience assumes that the title is aimed at
the character and that he must be a main focus within the film. Such cues within
the poster, promote the film and make the audience want to watch it.
 How effective is the combination of your
main product and ancillary texts?
In my film poster, the male ‘Jack’ is positioned in the centre of the poster to connote that he is a main character in the film, this central positioning also
links to the establishing shot in the film in which ‘Jack’ is centred in the middle of the shot, this composition highlights the importance of the character
from the beginning of the short film and from the first look at the poster. The females draped around him connote the film genre of romance as they are
all lusting over him, which is evident to the audience. The female on the right signifies a woman who is overlooked by the main character as she is staring
lovingly at him, with him paying no attention. This is also reinforced throughout the film in which the character of the ‘waitress’ is positioned in the back of
shots, going unnoticed to the audience and to ‘Jack’. This composition of the poster this is similar to the ’10 things I hate about you’ poster as the
characters of the short film are all presented on poster behind a white background. However I chose a medium shot as opposed to the long shot that the
other poster uses; this was due to the smaller amount of characters I had to photograph. The use of a medium shot for the principle image resembled the
medium shots used throughout the short film in the failed date scenes; creating a sense of cohesion between the two products. The call out on his t-shirt,
“male, Jack the lad…looking for love” reinforces the plot line to the audience as it is about a man looking for love. This text is also used in a non diegetic
voice over in the first scene of the film, which links to the short film itself. The female on the right and the male in the centre are dressed in similar colour
clothes which suggest that they are connected within the film, as the white signifies purity and the ‘true love’ that Jack is looking for. The red hair of the
other character gives the impression that the film has an element of comedy as it is over the top, and it is quite clear that it is a male dressed as a female,
prevailing the comedy value of the film. This photograph was chosen due to the facial expressions which connote the comedy side of the film, and it gives
it a cheeky edge. Throughout the film, the mise en scene of facial expressions were vital in gaining the comedy side of the film genre. These expressions
are complimented with extreme close up shots in the film. The composition of characters behind a white background was inspired by the Bridget Jones’
Diary poster with the female centred in the middle with the males surrounding her. We chose this idea as Bridget Jones’ Diary is of a similar genre,
therefore we felt it fitted better. To get the white background behind the characters we used Photo Shop and the lasso tool to cut around the edges of the
characters to place onto a plain background; this would allow us to add text, a masthead and callouts to the image, making it stand out. To reinforce the
text we added drop shadows to make the red and black font stand out from the page and add depth to the writing. Similar top the poster we added
editing into the short film with ‘cut outs of lonely heart columns’ the writing was in black bold similar to the black font used in the poster. This creates a
further cohesion within the film. The forms and conventions of any film poster, has quotes from film reviewers, and an age certificate therefore we felt it
was necessary to include within our poster, to give it a professional look. We chose to stick with red and black text as the red connotes passion and love
which is our film genre, it links in with the red hair of the character, and the red circling of the add which is a reoccurring scene in our short film. The black
contrasts the white background and compliments the red colour therefore we chose to use it. The masthead WLTM…, the title of our film is centred in the
middle of the page above the characters as it shapes the composition of the page and the black writing, complimented by drop shadows, entices the
audience as it stands out. The composition of the Masthead in the poster is mirrored in the title sequence shot in the short film as ‘WLTM…’ dissolves into
the middle of the scene shot. We downloaded ‘Kaileen’ font from www.dafont.co.uk and opened it into Photoshop as the text itself, gives a ‘cartoon’ feel,
which relates to the comedy genre of the film. The stick women links in the aims of the main character ‘Jack’ who is looking for a lover. WLTM… stands for
would like to meet, and it is an abbreviating commonly used in dating adds. I personally like the stick woman for the letter T as ties in the title of ‘would
like to meet a woman’ which is the basis of our short film. Overall i feel that this is a very strong poster, as the composition is well laid out, the choice of
colour adds cohesion to the page and furthermore cohesion within the film and it attracts the audience.
I decided to use one side of the A3 spread using a bleed principle image, so that it would standout to the audience and the other side of A3
for the text of the film review. I found this was a common composition for film reviews after i had research into them, therefore i decided to
conform the norms of page composition, to make it look professional. Following the forms and conventions of researched Reviews, I used a
masthead of the film, “WLTM…” in the stereotypical alignment of top left, this is so that it reflects other film reviews conventions. In
addition the larger letter of the beginning of the first paragraph was used as it resembles the styles in which reviews are created, and to add
cohesion to the page it is of a red font, similar to the masthead and callout used within the page. The red cohesion within the page, is
enhanced through the combination of red used within the poster and film which I feel makes the ancillary texts and main product successful.
I added a secondary image of the two main characters to break up the text to image ratio as a whole, i think this is effective as the text aligns
itself around the images, not only making it easy to read but to break up the page. Similarly to the poster I used quotes from reviewers on
the page to lure the audience to watch the film. The call out was another common feature of a review, and i chose ‘utterly genius’ and put it
in a much larger font size and same font as that used for the masthead; this was so that it would stand out from the page and entice the
reader to read the review. The font colour of the call out, red was also used for the positive quotes from reviewers used on the poster,
which creates cohesion between the two ancillary texts. Other conventions such as information of the film; producer, running time,
certificate and page numbers were added to the A3 page to make it look more professional. The five star rating is an iconic rating symbol
use in every film review and i chose to put it on the left hand side of the A3 spread as it would be the first thing the audience would read as
they turn over the page. The high star rating would signify that it was a good film, therefore they are more incline to read the review. The
colours of the page are cohesive within the poster and the film as red is a reoccurring colour. It connotes passion and love which is the genre
of our film. The secondary image used in the article links well to the film as the main character Jack is holding a newspaper which is a
common mise en scene of prop used in the scenes were he is ‘circling’ dates in the lonely hearts columns. The mise en scene of costume also
reflects the costumes used within the film which creates direct links to the film as from reading the review the audience would be able to
identify the character by the outfits they are wearing, observed from the images used in the article. This is also the case for the mise en
scene of costume for the poster, as the characters are dressed in the outfits they wore in filming.

If I were to change my article…

I would experiment with other types of images, such as photographs taken on set of filming.
This would be so that the audience could ‘see behind the scenes’ as both of my images are
staged shots of the characters taken during photo shoots and I feel it would add variety to
the article. Furthermore I would make the article more than a double page spread so I could
add more copy to the page and review the article in more depth. This is because some of the
magazines reviews I read were 3 to 4 pages long and a double page spread was simply
not big enough. This limited me with the amount of call outs and information I could use as I didn’t
want the article to look too crowded
 My Final Ancillary Texts
I particularly like the masthead of the film poster as it
adds a comical value to the poster, which relates to the
genre of the film. The facial expressions and
positioning of the characters allow the audience to
identify the genre of the film at first glance which
makes the poster successful as it is conveying the right
messages. The poster also follows the forms and
conventions of other posters that I researched into
making it feel more ‘professional’

I feel that my double page film review is very successful as I

believe it follows the forms and conventions of researched film
reviews, making it appear to look professional. The composition
of the page draws attention to the reader due to the text to
image ratio, with the main principle bleed image standing out.
The colours used stand out from the page and interlink within the
film and film poster which creates cohesion, forming brand
identity for the audience to recognise. I feel the consistency of
the colour scheme throughout all 3 media products is very
successful.
 What have you learnt from your
audience feedback?
http://www.scribd.com/doc/50301542/AUDIENCE-Feedback
http://sheldonschoolkerhyslang.wordpress.com/2011/02/09/audience-feedback-2/
http://sheldonschoolkerhyslang.wordpress.com/2011/01/02/audience-feedback/

http://sheldonschoolkerhyslang.wordpress.com/2011/01/02/audience-feedback/

Above are links to my audience feedback presentations that I had created throughout the process of the course. I began my audience feedback
after writing a first draft of the script and devised a questionnaire to see if it suited the genre of the film and if the target audience 16-26 would
find it funny. After considering the audience research of the first draft script I effectively edited the script to appeal to the target audience. This
included adding more subtlety of jokes and humour, as well as more dramatic scenes as they felt that both of those were needed to increase the
comedy of the rom com genre. The audience research was an important element of our research and planning as it helped me to develop the film
to create a well-structured romantic comedy, which appeals to our target audience. After filming sections of our film I began to edit the clips I had,
and decided to gain audience feedback to criticise the progression towards the short film. I did this so that I could see if anything needed to be
changed, therefore would have to be reshot, or if elements of the film did not fit well. I let the target audience, aged 16-26 watch what I had
filmed and edited so far and asked them to answer a few questions. The majority of the feedback was positive and said that with completion it
should be a very successful short film. The only critics were that I should use a variety of camera angles to keep the audience interested. I already
had this in mind, as I have only filmed the coffee shop scene which is solely based on the main character speaking to the camera in which a
medium shot is in constant use. However with the flash backs of previous dates which occur in-between this main section of filming I showed, a
variety of camera angles will be used there as it takes up the majority of the filming. I had no issues with the criticisms faced from the audience
feedback as I knew that camera angles would be a problem with the audience, as they were only shown a small section of the film and would be
more diverse with filming when completing the rest of it. When creating the poster and double page article review I gained audience feedback
considering which images should be used within the ancillary products. The images the audience found the most successful were used in both of
my ancillary products. I decided to incorporate these as I asked the target audience which were to be more suitable, and as they are my target
audience the main product and ancillary texts had to appeal to them, therefore I went with their feedback. The audience believed the favoured
images had the best lighting, facial expression and composition, and from this research it helped me to develop successful media products. To gain
audience feedback from the short film, I devised a questionnaire and asked 15 people to view the short film at the same time. There were 6
questions to the questionnaire, which included such things as asking what genre fits best to the film, and if the short film was successful enough,
the target audience would successfully identify it as a rom com. Further questions were added in addition to see what needed to be improved or
changed and what worked well. From the audience feedback I found that the plot was easy to understand, which meant that the target audience
could appreciate the short film, making it more successful and appealing to them. The majority of the audience identified the genre of the film as a
rom com. From the audience research I found that I had done a good first attempt of the short film as I gained a lot of positive audience feedback.
The criticism such as sound and editing adjustments allowed me to edit the film to satisfy the target audience to make it an improved short film.
How Have I Used Media Technologies?

I used the online blogging site, ‘Wordpress’ to show case my research and
planning which chronologically presented my working process towards the final
product and ancillary texts. ‘WordPress’ is a semantic personal publishing
platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability. I found it very
easy to use when posting new posts on my blog. Furthermore you could upload
images and links to other websites which helped when presenting my research
from other websites such as Scribd and Youtube. Furthermore I used media
technologies such as my BlackBerry, in which I downloaded the ‘WordPress’
application in which I could edit posts on the go when I was not at a computer.
 Scribd is a Web 2.0 based document-sharing website which allows users to post
documents of various formats, and embed them into a web page using its iPaper
format. I used Scribd to upload PowerPoint presentations and word documents to
insert onto my Wordpress blog. This enabled me to use a wide range of media
technologies and steer away from solely essays written on my blog. I feel it makes
my work and progress easier to read and adds variety to the page. I used Scibd to
showcase my AS work on www.blogspot.co.uk additionally, therefore I already had
an account. Other users can view and rate your work, and it was furthermore
audience feedback as comments and ‘likes’ can be added to your uploads.
 Adobe InDesign is a software application produced by Adobe Systems. It can be used to create works such as posters, flyers,
brochures, magazines, newspapers and books. I used InDesign to construct my double page spread film review article, similar
to the double page article constructed for my AS music magazine article. I imported images that I had edited on Photoshop
and added them to the outline of my A3 spread. I edited the scale of the main principle image using the ‘transform’ icon so
that it acted as a bleed image over an A4 spread. Using the same tool I decreased the size of the secondary image so that
when I added copy it would align itself around the image placed in the bottom right hand corner. From that I added three
columns for the articles and text to make the final product. InDesign is easy to use once you have explored what it has to
offer, such as editing effects and page layouts. I added drop shadows to the text to make it stand out on the page using the
effects tool. I added the same drop shadow to all the text to add cohesion to the page. After completion I exported the file
into a Jpeg, which I uploaded to my Wordpress blog.
YouTube is a video-sharing website in which users can upload, share, and view videos . I decided to used YouTube to
upload the final short film, as I already had an account and it is known world wide; therefore I could potentially
receive audience feedback from the film, as users can add comments to uploads. As you can see from the screen
shot the film has had 175 views, however no comments were added beneath it. The vast amount of views we
already have could potentially be due to the ‘tags’ I learnt to add during the process of uploading the film, in which
users can type into the search engine and relevant videos will appear. YouTube is easily accessible anywhere, and
allows you to add an embedded code for any film upload to insert onto a Wordpress blog. I did this to showcase
the final film on my Wordpress account which displays the research, planning and final production pieces. I also
used Youtube for my preliminary task of ‘RUN’ when we were experimenting with filming and editing.
 I used Microsoft PowerPoint to construct my evaluation presentation as well as my
audience feed back questionnaires and results. I Chose this because PowerPoint is easy to
use, I had used it throughout my research and planning work, and I could upload it to my
Scribd account, in which to post onto my Wordpress Blog to showcase my evaluation of my
work. PowerPoint allows you to add images, videos, insert links and text into the
slideshow, which adds variety to the work as opposed to an essay. I used videos from
YouTube to insert into the PowerPoint to refer to in my evaluation as a visual aid
compliments the text explaining it. Furthermore I used links to other websites and images
to make the presentation more interactive.
I used iMovie HD to create my short film. It enabled me to edit clips, insert voice clips and sound as well as credits and title
pages. I imported the video clips from the cameras SD card and inserted the clips into the project library. From there I
could edit the length of the clip, the lighting effect, the speed of the clip and the sound. In some scenes I extracted the
sound of the clip and inserted a music file instead, to get rid of background noise that was picked up during filming. The
music files were downloaded from iTunes, and also from the music library in the iMovie HD folder. Furthermore as my film
cuts back and forth from shots, I had to ‘clip trim’ the music so that when the film flashed back to a previous scene the non
diegetic music continued as to where it had left of. It took me a while to get to grips with the sound trimmer, however
once I had figured it out it was quite easy to use. I inserted transitions to make the changeover between scenes flow more
smoothly, I shortened the speed of the transition to keep the length of my short film down as it was to be in the range of
5-7minutes long. Timing was a key issue when filming as I had to stick to a tight time limit, therefore I rejected a lot of
unnecessary filming that didn’t help prevail the storyline. I inserted the non diegetic voiceovers that I had recorded in a
sound room to iMovie HD and enhanced the volume to mirror the volume of the diegetic dialogue. Following the forms
and conventions of films I added rolling credits at the end and created a pre title sequence shot followed by the masthead
WLTM… that dissolved into the action shot. This was done through the title editing folder on the programme. After
finishing the film I clicked on the ‘share’ tab at the top of the programme and published it to my YouTube account.
 I used a Panasonic video camera to film ‘WLTM…’ The new models of
Panasonic have made their new model video cameras light and easy to
use, therefore I had no problems getting to grips with the settings and
functions. The camera had a 10x Optical Zoom with outstanding results,
which allowed me to zoom into facial expressions of ‘Jack’ very quickly
and smoothly from a previous long shot of the scene. The camera worked
equally well with the tripod due to the head of the tripod that supported
the camera and provided the movement, allowing panning shots.
Shooting handheld was also easy because of the stabilization feature
which prevented the shaky motion when panning shots as well, which I
think worked well in our short film. To shoot the images for the poster
and double page spread I used a Canon EOS 500D with 18-55 DC Lens
camera. The 15 mega pixels enabled a high quality image to use as
principle and secondary images. To enable a clear focused shot I used the
same tripod for the video camera so that I could line up the composition of
the image easily.
 I used PhotoShop in my post production work to create the film poster image. From my AS work I have
developed skills in this programme, and have learnt to manipulate images, editing lighting and text to
create the final media product. In order to use the ‘Kaileen’ font used for the masthead I downloaded it
from www.dafont.co.uk and from there I installed the font onto the computer and placed it into the
programme. This was a skill I had developed as I did not like the choice of other fonts for the masthead. I
felt that the chosen font works very well and reflects the genre of the film as it looks ‘cartoon’-like and
adds a sense of comedy to the page. The stick women used to the T in WLTM… compliments the
narrative of the film and highlights the understanding of the title, as the audience perceives it as a male-
the character positioned in the middle of the page, looking for love. I decided to add drop shadows from
the effects tool to make the masthead stand out from the page. I chose black as it stood out from the
white background and the colour scheme of red and black through out all three media texts create brand
identity. For the principle image, I used the lasso tool, which I had not previously used before and drew
around the characters and placed them onto a white background. This was a very delicate process, yet
the final result looks professional.