Evaluation Question 4

How did you use media products in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?

Evaluation Question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Evaluation Question 2

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Evaluation Question 1

In way does your product use, develop and challenge conventions of existing products?

Blackout Film Review

Final film review

Evaluation

I tried to copy the format of the review in Empire magazine I analysed ("The Man with the Golden Arm"). The spread is conventional of a magazine, with a clear house scheme (black, white and red), same typography throughout, border, page numbers, reference to the section of the magazine, split into clear columns, drop cap indicating the start of the article and a sign off by the author. I think all of these small touches have created a realistic spread. I also conformed specifically to the conventions of a film review- I used the 5 star rating system that most magazines use, added a box featuring all the key information (modeled off the information in Sci-Fi Now), a feature detailing recommended films for a direct comparison and numerous stills from the film. The main one dominates around half of the first page, and each has an inset caption for an audience not familiar with the plot. These all link the review directly to my film

The part I found the hardest was actually writing up the review. Because I had written, filmed and edited the film, I recognised the weakest parts of it, however to promote it in a magazine I had to make it sound as appealing as possible. I discussed the background of the film and the directors to give it context and then reviewed the cast, considering feedback I had been given by the target audience to make it realistic. I tried to include jargon to make the article sound as sophisticated as possible. If this were a real film review, it would be best received in a magazine dedicated completely to cinema, such as Empire because film noir is not a mainstream genre, and readers would understand the terminology. Audiences of a more mainstream lifestyle magazine may not be familiar with the codes and conventions I refer to in the article. Film magazine readers are also likelier to understand the intertextual references I make to other films, which they hopefully will have enjoyed. They are both modern films as opposed to classic film noirs, which will hopefully attract my target audience of young adults- they may not be familiar with the classic films of the 1940's and 1950's.

I created a mock-up of what my film review would look like if it were actually published in Empire magazine.

Film review research

Film review research from jessfareymedia

Blackout Film Poster

Evaluation

I am overall very pleased with this poster and I think that my research definitely helped me make it look realistic. I included all of the relevant and conventional information; the title, credited the main cast, crew and production team, the film studio, tagline, release date and a hashtag to link the film to social media in order to generate hype. This is especially significant as my audience is young adults who are typically more into social networking.

I tried to link the poster to the film as much as possible, using a still from early on in the film (revealing few spoilers, however there is some subtle foreshadowing) and using the same typography (Futura font in retro style) from the opening sequence of the film. There are also lots of references to the genre of film noir in an attempt to attract a secondary audience of film noir fans (who are generally older). These include the cigarette and smoke, blood splatter behind Kevin and Violet's red lips. I divided the poster into two and made the half showing Violet black and white, another link to classic noir iconography. The filter also enhanced the shadows behind her and made her look more sinister, matching the idea of her being a femme fatale. The side showing Kevin matches the colour palette of the film, with low saturation and lots of dark, muted colours giving a depressing effect.

The main issue I have with my poster is the photograph itself. I had a limited number photos that were high enough quality to use and although this was the best one, it shows Violet smiling as opposed to the classic femme fatale who is normally pouting or looking smug in a position of power. It initially made the poster look more like a romantic comedy than a film noir, so I tried to edit the photo as much as possible to try and hide this.I tried photoshopping another pair of lips on however they looked noticeably false. I tried making the photo darker and increasing the contrast between black and white so the shadows made her look more villainous, which was slightly better. I made her eye makeup thicker and darker, giving the illusion that her eyes were more narrowed with suspicion, which was more effective.

Overall I think this poster would be successful and looks realistic. In real life, this would be placed strategically around places where a significant proportion of the target audience would see it- for example in cities, in underground stations, bus stops or billboards near where they would spend their free time, such as a shopping centre or cinema.