Evaluation Activity 1: In what ways does your media product use,

develop or challenge forms and conventions of real life media

products?

The task we had been set for out Unit G324 Advanced Portfolio was to
produce a short film in its entirety, lasting approximately 5 minutes, which
would be live action, together with two of the following three options:
A poster
A radio trailer
A film magazine review page
(Highlighted above are the options I chose)
When brainstorming before our projected began we considered a wide range
of genres including: horror, comedy and drama, but we eventually settled on
action with elements of action. We decided against comedy as this may not
appeal to a large target audience, whereas action has wide appeal to most
age groups and both genders. Our action thriller was about a young male
named Jay who gets himself caught up in a drug trade.

What are codes and conventions?

Codes: within a media text, these are signs which have meaning and signify something
to the audience.

They can be split up into two types, technical and symbolic. Technical codes are the
ways in which media technology/equipment is used to create a narrative. For example,
camera shots help to tell a story. Symbolic codes are what can be inferred, they show
what is beneath the surface. For example, the score music can tell the audience how a
character is feeling through the instruments used, music or pace. Some codes, such as
music, can be considered both technical and symbolic.

Conventions: conventions are the typical way something is done. In relation to a short
film, conventions can be applied to different technical aspects such as cinematography
or sound. Additionally, the main conventions we adhered to were that of the fantasy
genre. Genre conventions are that which help signify what genre your film is to the
audience, as theyve likely seen similar texts with similar conventions so recognise the
genre almost automatically. The main genre convention we used was that of travelling to
a different world / time. This journey took place at the beginning of our production,
allowing the audience to almost immediately connect it to the fantasy genre.
 Forms and conventions of the action thriller genre:

Suspense
Key audience appeal

Often a hybrid genre

Linear narrative Conventions of the
action thriller genre

Low key lighting

enigma

Use of Propps
characters

Setting / Location:
The two main locations that we had used was Jays house and the
interrogation room as well as outside in the park. The strong the
cast between the two allowed us to create a conventional
juxtaposition which helps the audience to identify the genre as
action thriller. We further emphasized this contrast as Jays house
was a safe location. We conformed mostly to the convention of
low key, however to connote specific emotions of fear and worry,
we used low key lighting during the interrogation scenes, when
Jay has been arrested and interrogated by the detective. As the
director, it was my job to create a verisimilitude for the audience
and in the action genre, this involves different uses of prop such
as guns and drugs.
Costume / Props:

This was very important for our production as t helped me create a

believable verisimilitude for the audience within the interrogation scene
especially. As we have tried to conform to the conventional genre of an
action film, we have set part of our production in the past and used micro
elements to help convey this realistically. The costumes for our production
were given to us by the media department and it was luckily the right fit for
the main protagonist. The criminal is conventionally wear a white hazard
suit to signify to the audience that Jay is in trouble for drugs. This is a
convention for action films as it allows the audience to understand the
genre of the film. Additionally, props were used, such as the drugs, phone
and duffel bag. These were used as part of the mise-en-scene to set the
genre. By using these props it allowed to us to created enigma and
suspense within the narrative at the end of our sequence which allowed us
to create a hidden meaning behind our narrative.

Editing:
As director, I had to make sure that the editing clearly reflected our genre-
action. To do this, I aimed to be as conventional as possible, however t
As the expensive CGI equipment was not available to us, we had to find an
alternative. Instead we relied on our editor to produce a scene which
looked like the protagonist was talking to himself and create duplicates of
the protagonist. This helped conform to the convention of setting our
production in the verisimilitude of the action world.

Characters:
The representation of our characters at the beginning of the short
film was quite counter-typical as Jay is first represented as a good
teenager who has come back from football, this allows young
males to relate to Jay. However, as the film progresses he
becomes to fit more in to the stereotypical conventions such as
being caught up in criminal activities and rebelling against the
police. We had tried to go against all the stereotypes, for example
the police interrogator was black, whereas black people are
represented to be as an antagonist.
Titles and Credits:
At the beginning of the film, the first titles shown were that of our
production company. We decided to include this as every short
film we had analysed this and we wanted our production to look
professional. So we had decided not to animate or make the titles
look childish so we kept the format of the titles and credits
straight forward. We had decided to produce the text in a black
background which conforms to the conventions as the texts give a
chilling feel to the audience. We had gain this idea by looking at
different films and the titles and credits used, films such as
Kidulthood and inside man etc.
Music / Voiceover:
The main music that we used within our short film was from a tv
series which also had inspired us to produce this short film, the
music is from Daredevil. This was essential to us as it helped
conform to the genre due to the fact it gave a suspenseful and
chilling feel. The music was also used to show Jays reflective side
when he is being interrogated this show his vulnerability we had
also used diegetic music effects such as the police sirens which
had indicated the disruption of the equilibrium of the narrative.
Overall, I think we created a good balance within our production
as in some ways we conformed to the stereotypes of mainstream
films, mostly to help convey the genre to the audience. For
example, by using low key lighting and after effects to represent
the change in setting and atmosphere. However, in some ways we
also challenged these conventions as we thought it would make
the narrative more unpredictable for the audience and may
engage them more. For example, by making Jay innocent in this
crime story as we let the audience question themselves regarding
the expectations of the film.