QUESTION 1

A2 MEDIA COURSEWORKQUESTION ONE

Lily Berrisford

In what ways does your media product USE, DEVELOPE, or CHALLENGE forms and conventions of existing media products?

QUESTION ONE

How we got the name..

We came up with the name ‘Mancunian Way’ by mixing ‘The Only Way Is Essex’ and ‘Made In Chelsea’.

We kept the theme of wealth and drama but tried to stick to the typical Mancunian niches as the area isn’t as wealthy as Chelsea or Essex.

We looked at different soaps codes and conventions, to ensure we understood them fully before creating our own.

Within our soap there are different parallel narratives due to the multiple characters within the soap, which keeps the audience interested at all times.

Conventions..

To keep the audience interested there are various character storylines which are constantly changing throughout the trailer.

To make the trailer more realistic I used close up, over the shoulder and medium shots.

This was so the audience felt as if they were experiencing the emotions of the characters.

The camera is generally the fourth wall within most of the shots.

Before looking further into scripted reality

Before we looked further into scripted reality, we deconstructed a Hollyoaks trailer to understand the differences between the two, you can find this on my blog.

http://lilyberrisforda2media.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/hollyoaks-review.html




Scripted Reality Conventions

Heavy, glamorous, unrealistic make-upFrequent close ups, Artificial lightingGlamorous clothesFake tan, fake nails, extensions, heels, big

hair..Jargon Language specific to the programme

(Reem – TOWIE) (Waah – MIC)Dramatic storylinesOver the top acting to entertain viewers

Scripted Realities

Here are examples of other scripted realities, we watched and compared all four to ensure we knew exactly what we wanted.

Scripted reality trailers

Usually lasts about 45 seconds longMusic doesn’t play until about 3 seconds into

the trailer to create dramatic effectBeats of track match the editsTrailers are used to promote the programme

along side a sponsor

FABULOUS MAGAZINE

MastheadIssue number &

dateMain featuresRule of thirds2 colour schemeOne image – main

star

MY FRONT COVER

Date & issue number

MastheadMain featureOne imageRule of thirds2 colour scheme

Similarities and differences

Both contain the same fonts – MastheadBoth contain one imageBoth contain date and issue numberBoth contain main featuresBoth follow the rule of thirdsBoth have no buttons or mastheadsMy own version has a different colour schemeDifferent star choiceBlack and white photo

How I challenged conventions..

I used a completely different colour scheme, including a black and white photo

The stars pose is different to match the theme of the front cover

I placed features in different placesChoice of clothing, this is due to the place of

where the programme is set – it would be out of place to say most males wear suites in Manchester..


I challenged conventions completely, by changing colour scheme, pose and outfits to make it more realistic to the surroundings, Manchester.

The Only Way Is Essex Billboard

Bright coloursGlamorousClear layoutUsually has a

logo on or a strap containing brand identity

Multiple images

My Bill Board

Bright colours but toned down to look less tacky

Strap containing logo and brand identity

Multiple imagesClear layoutMore casualBrick background –

manchester


Both contain coloursBoth contain multiple charactersBoth have a clear layoutMy version has a logo and brand identityI toned the colours down I used a brick backgroundMy version has fewer characters


Instead of a random layout - we ensured that all characters would be staring at Tarquin Jackson in the middle bottom area. This showed that the trailer was likely to revolve around him and by the expression on all the characters faces (especially Tarquin), that he was more likely to be the one cause trouble.


Here are the two bill boards..

My final trailer compared to a Made in Chelsea trailer

SIMILARITIESLogoMusicClose up shotsMultiple

charactersLengthVaried shotsSimilar

storyline

DIFFERENCES• I used up to a

maximum of 3 people in a shot

• Panning shots (too shaky for my trailer)

• Surroundings slightly different

• Weather

Scripted Reality

We deconstructed a few trailers to understand the typical codes and conventions of a scripted reality.

All of them are planned which means it needs re-shooting a lot of the time.

Before each episode this is shown to ensure all viewers know that it is acted out, purely for entertainment.

Made In Chelsea

This is an example of a shot used within ‘Made in Chelsea’, a scripted reality which is already playing on e4. I didn’t use an over the shoulder shot like in the first clip above, as it didn’t work very well due to the surroundings. However I did use a medium close up shot to match the mise en scene.

MADE IN CHELSEA MY SOAP

Made In Chelsea

I matched this point of view shot by using the bar to show the levels of height and power. I also matched the number of people within the shot as it’s a medium shot which can involve more people.


Made In Chelsea


Here I matched the trailer by using a reaction shot. I also kept the over the shoulder shot to make it more realistic and closer to the actual soap. This made the audience feel more involved and more likely to feel the emotions of the characters.


I used effects to edit the e4 logo and strap onto the trailer (keynote)

I slowed shots down to get a longer take during reaction shots

I split clips but kept the sound from it and played it over another clip without sound to show reaction shots

I focused more on actions than specific characters during the trailer


I used these shots to challenge the typical conventions of a scripted reality, as they aren’t normally included as they focus more on context than one main character close up.

USE, DEVELOPED, CHALLENGED

I have used nearly all the same conventions as Made in Chelsea, but still made it my own trailer will typical connotations of Manchester rather than Chelsea.

I have developed some conventions like the soundtrack. Within my trailer the sound doesn’t kick in until about 3 seconds, when the trailer starts to go into further detail about the storyline.

I have challenged convention by using more shots which most scripted realities wouldn’t use, this has worked very well as it still keeps all key concepts and follows the mise en scene excellently.

OVERALL – Trailer and Ancillaries

I used the conventions of existing products in all of my final pieces. The main conventions I followed within my trailer were the shots and music. This made the trailer more realistic to this sub-genre.

I challenged the typical conventions of existing products within my ancillaries making them unique as this would be a completely new programme.. I wanted something that would stand out from other scripted reality programmes as most of them are currently all very similar.

QUESTION 1

Education

Transcript of QUESTION 1