Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Once I had completed my short film, post card and final film review I was encouraged to think about weather my work developed or challenged forms and conventions of real media products. 

 

Final Film.....

To begin, I separated my short film into a selection of 9 screen grabs from my film and have explored how they develop or challenge the conventions.

The photograph is of 9 different "screen grabs" from my film.

1) The first screen grab is taken when Lucas’ emotional state is deteriorating. This image could imply that our film fails to recognise the conventions of the films tone and mood because of the comical calendar in the back ground. Through our feedback, one of our responses did comment upon this and bring it to light. However, after discussions as a group we came to the conclusion that by having a comical calendar in the back ground could also enhance that the house Lucas is in, is “well lived in”. It could similarly be said that due to him loosing patience with those around him and himself, he wouldn’t have time to alter properties around the house. So, with this in mind, this specific point in the film follows the conventions of a short film. It makes the film seem realistic, a common feature in short film.

2) The second image could be seen to challenge the conventions of real media products. This image shows the distance between the two characters and how they are separated by a wall and window, this interaction is avoided due to Lucas’ behaviour. It could be said that this challenges the conventions due to the fact that “Closer” only focuses on the life of protagonist Lucas and any relations he has with other characters is limited. Less characters isn’t always common in short films, but is affective in my short film “Closer” and builds the tension and sets the mood and tone for audiences. Overall, it could be seen to challenge real media products and their specific techniques used, but in this case, it works to our benefits.

3) The third image is taken at the beginning of our short film and shows Lucas’ characters being established. The general establishment of a character at the beginning of a film is an obvious technique used in short films and by us using this affect in our short film, shows that we have developed the conventions of real media products.

4) The fourth image is taken of the concluding section in my short film. This image shows the films end titles, cast names. Including this information at the end of my short film develops the convention of a real media product as in the majority of short films; this information to appear at the end is very popular. Below is a screen grab from the short film “New Boy” and as you can see they have similarly included cast name titles at the end of their film.

5) The first image, similar to the fourth, also shows how my film develops the conventions of media products. The image shows our production company name and appears at the beginning of the short. This is a common feature in short films and including the production company name is vital for the films distribution. Including that information can advertise your film more successfully and also gives viewers additional information and opportunities to contact us as producers.

6) The sixth image portrays the mise-en-scene of our short film, this feature develops the conventions of real media products significantly. Our mise-en-scene is reflected in the narrative of our character Lucas’, his mental state has taken a toll on his surroundings and you can see them get drastically worse as the film concludes. This furthermore develops conventions of real media products as they match perfectly and Lucas’ house suits his current state of mind.

7) Screen grab 7 shows the resolution to the narrative that takes place in our short film. At this point in the film everything begins to conclude and you feel a sense of relief. This develops the conventions of real media products as the concluding factor is vital for the overall audiences understanding of film. It is nice how our film draws to a conclusion, and this aspect occurs in a lot of short films I watched throughout my research.

8) The eighth screen grab is of the title of our short film. This aspect in our short film conforms to the conventions of real media products, it is apparent that the majority of short films follow the convention of including a films title on a black drop at the beginning of the film. We chose to follow this convention as apposed to having our title appear on the action, because the remainder of our titles are presented with a black background and if we were to challenge this approach the continuity wouldn’t be disorientated. 

9) My final screen grab, also conforms to the convention of a media product. The image shows the narrative developing to a climax. The narrative is built up from the beginning of the film and hits a climax at mid point in the film. This structure is common in many films, not just short film. Having followed this structure, it is clear that our short film, again, conforms to the conventions of a media product as apposed to challenging it.  

Post Card.....

My initial post card design has been very much influenced by work of other short film post card designs. For the front of my post card I believe I have followed the convention of a real media product, I have done this by showing an image that relations directly to an element of narrative in my short film. When creating my own design of a post card, I included my production company logo as well as a “tag line”. By including both, I feel I have followed the conventions of a post card and also set up an ideal advertisement tool. The images that appear on both the front and back of my post card where taken with a high quality digital SLR camera and have been edited on the “Photoshop” software program.

The back of my post card similarly develops the conventions of a real media product by the specific layout I have followed. On the back of the post card it became noticeable that it was a necessity to include the films name, which the film was directed by and a brief synopsis. Arguably, not every post card I looked at had a synopsis, but I felt when creating my post card the idea of including additional information on the reverse of my post card would benefit its advertisement and suits the layout I created.

Below is an example of a post-card for the film "Divine", this furthermore visually shows how my post card equally conforms to the conventions of a films post card.

Film Review....

Personally I think that throughout my film review I have used conventions that reflect real media products successfully. To ensure I done so, before designing my article I done a lot of research on different examples of reviews and how they conform to their own specific conventions. After a lot of research I decided that I wanted my review to reflect the work of “Sight and Sound” magazine, with this in mind I took a more in depth look at the works of their articles and enhanced my understanding of the conventions they uphold.

Overall I used a very similar layout to “Sight and Sound” which is a clear convention that needed to be followed in order for my film to be justified as an example of a “Sight and Sound” review. I used only one picture in my review and enabled this to be the main focal point for my article. I structured my columns to appear underneath my title and image, similar to those of the “Sight and Sound”. To enable my review to look like it was from a magazine, I ensured I included an additional review to the right of my article. Overall I feel I have followed the conventions of a “Sight and Sound” review well.

Below is an annotated version of my film review compared to the sight and sound review I based my article upon. I have highlighted the similarities between them both and this is furthermore explains how my film review fits the codes and conventions of a “Sight and Sound” film review.