In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of a real media products?

Maadiya Jabeen

During our research and planning we analysed trailers, film magazines and posters. Therefore we had a clear understanding of what we would create for our products to look like. In majority of these products there was the constant use of dark colours, fast pace, suspense and negative messages. Therefore we used this to our advantage to create our products. For example the editing techniques used in the trailers we analysed where fast paced, digetic sound of loud and scary soundtracks and inter-titles. The horror film Sorority Row is one of the trailers we analysed. Throughout the trailer it is fast paced shots to show how the characters are scared. We also used this technique as in our trailer it builds up and then once the highlights of the storyline is shown it is fast paced editing of shots put together in order to put across that thrilling and suspense feel to the audience.

In the trailer Sorority Row the sound effects used are over exaggerated sounds. For example when it shows someone coming back for revenge as they use metal props to stab someone sounds of metal and sharpness is used and as the sound effects build up. This is also used in our trailer throughout as at first the sound is quiet but then it builds up and gets faster with the transitions of the shots.

Inter-titles is when text is placed over a shot or scene. This is used in the trailer Sorority Row as they use short sentences to build up tension and links with what shots are shown in order for the audience to understand the storyline. Also it allows audiences to question what is going to happen and piece parts of the story which haven’t been shown in the trailer from the film. We have also used inter-titles to create the same effect of building tension and interacting with the audience.

This is a magazine we analysed during our research and planning.

The title of the film magazine is ‘Empire’ we used this because empire is a well known successful film magazine company and through our research audiences prefer this magazine as they would know the information is reliable and the film will be popular as empire has had huge success films on there cover such as Hellboy, Spiderman, xmen and much more.

The image used on my front cover is of a young female actress who starts in the trailer. It is important to keep the same actors through out all our media products because audiences can then have knowledge on the characters and see this throughout the exhibition of the film. We have edited the image from colour to black and white and this is because we were trying to get the horror theme across and by using dark and greyscale effects it allowed the image to meet this criteria more. Also the way she is posed which shows she is scared and venerable through he facial expressions shows suspense and allows the audience to raise questions which would make them more interested into why she looks scared.  Also the background of the magazine is black and this is because we wanted to keep the dark theme and therefore by making it black gave it a spooky effect. Also it allows the edited image of the girl to standout more.

The tag lines on the magazine have been related to the genre we chose for our trailer. This was horror/thriller This is because when our target audience look for the specific genre it is important to keep that particular theme throughout so they stay interested. Therefore we have used text such as ‘seed of chucky returns’. Chucky is a well known horror/thriller character and using this attracts the same audience and it allows them to explore our film as well. Also we included interactive things for the audience as it makes the magazine cover more interesting  therefore we decided to include a competition and this way it makes the magazine more enjoyable.

In order to make the text stand out we decided to use the colour red and this is because it stands out well with the black background and therefore easy to read. Also the colour red indicates blood which goes with the genre theme. We also made the name of the title in red and the title of the film is larger then the taglines. Therefore it stands out form the rest and is clear to read.

Many media magazines we analysed had the same layout with the name of the title either placed at the top or in the middle. However we decided that by having the title of the film at the bottom would stand out more. This is because it would clash with the name of the magazine and the straplines. Therefore by placing it at the bottom it is more clear to understand and notice instead of clashing with all the other features.

Final Film Magazine Analysis

This is a film poster we analysed during our research and planning.

For our poster we used ideas from other posters we had analysed. The title of the film on the poster was chosen to be displayed at the top of the poster as it was clear for everyone to see. Also we didn't want any text in the centre of the image as we laid out the poster in different sections. We decided to put the title of the film in white and this is because the background are dark colours and in order for the name of the film to stand out or the audience white was basic and easy to see for the audience.

After analysing various horror and thriller film posters the layouts where practically the same. Therefore we decided to keep this effect as audiences would find it useful to have text easier to read. We wanted to make sure text was limited on the poster and just the need to know information for the audience was there. Therefore on the poster we displayed names of the characters above the title as the audience would want to have knowledge on the characters and there style as this would give them a perception of what the film would be like. Also the slogan of the film which is 1the truth will be revealed’ we displayed and the bottom of the poster and this would attract audience because it is a line which allows audiences to ask questions.

The image on our poster was taken and then edited in order to give it an effect. The image used is of the female character in the trailer and we decided to make her look dominate and brave as she comes back for revenge. Also the way her finger is on her lips shows as if she is ready for something to happen and this attracts the audience.

Graphical techniques was used on our poster and this is the layer of scratches which is above the image. This effect makes it look more interesting as it looks as if it is in ruins.

Final Film Poster Analysis

Dark location is also something used in our trailer and this is because in order to show thriller and suspense and get the specific audience interested we decided that the dark would make more of an effect. For example a close is shown of Baida burning the envelope and the location is dark and this shows danger and therefore goes with the generic conventions of our trailer.

Syntactic elements used in our trailer which show generic conventions is fear. This is shown throughout the trailer as first the girl is scared but when she takes revenge the boys are then shown to be scared. An example in our trailer which shows this is when the girl is walking through the woods and hears noises. Her facial expressions show she is scared and therefore puts across an atmosphere of fear. Also in our trailer a close up of someone attacking the girl from behind gives the thrilling effect as audiences would raise questions to whom it was and why as the close up is just of the hand coming across the girls face. This example links with Altman’s elements of genre and the examples show how it links with our conventions.

Trailer Analysis

For our storyline we used ideas form theorists in order to plan out and construct the storyline. Such as Vladimir Propp who analysed tales to create a narrative structure. He gave examples of 7 charters with a specific role for each one.The villain - Negative role player who is against the hero.Dispatcher - The character who sets of the hero on journey.The helper - Helps the hero. The princess - The hero's ending prize however this is disrupted throughout a story because of evil doings. The donor - Gives the hero a special/magical item which supports the hero throughout the journey.The hero - The positive character who is to save the victim and marry the princess.The false hero - Takes credit however is unveiled at the end.

We used his theory in order to developed our narrative to meet the codes and conventions of a horror/thriller film. This is because by giving each character a role it allowed us to expand what each one would do and what there individual storyline was. For example by having a villain it gave us the idea of putting revenge and a negative person in out storyline which met with the horror theme as this genre revolves around negative vibes and messages.

Narrative structure in our trailer

Todorov was another narrative theorist who came up with 5 stages to construct a narrative. The 5 stages where:

1. Beginning with an equilibrium2. An action disrupting the equilibrium3. Recognizing the disruption4. Attempt to repair the disruption5. New equilibrium

We used these five stages to layout our trailer. This is because it was the basic was of showing the main details of the storyline to the audience. For example in our trailer we begin by showing how the group of boys give details to Baida to attack the girl. We then show shots of the girl being attacked. Then the girl comes back for revenge as the boys try to escape. By constructing the main details in the trailer it allows the audience to have a basic understanding about the entire film. However we created it so part are missing and we included an enigma code where the audience have to use there own knowledge to wonder what happens in the film.

Narrative Structure In Our Trailer.