Main Post 12.1 Question 1

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

1.      Structure of sequence

I think that the structure of our opening sequence is that of a conventional drama. It firstly has conventional opening credits that are spread evenly throughout the two minuets, however unconventionally we have placed the title of the film in the middle of the credits. We kept the structure of the sequence of events relatively conventional, establishing a theme or story line that is continued throughout the rest of the film. Like other dramas we have first established the mood before the action starts.

2.      Style of presentation

In our group we decided that we would stick to convention when it came to deciding how to present out opening sequence. For this we found a piece of music that reflected the theme of our film well and that was copyright free which we put over the top of the action. However we stayed from this convention as we decided to have a voice over that would set the scene and show the point of view of the antagonist so the audience begin to think about who he is and why he does what he does. This was against convention as this is normally shown by the action in dramas.

3.      Style and colour of font

As a group we chose font that is simple but still has the effect of drawing someone’s attention. We chose for the font to be in white, one reason for this was because it made the credits stand out over the top of the clip; where the clip was either in dark colouring or black and white. Another was so that it didn’t detract from the action with bright colours. We kept the same style, colour and size font throughout the whole of the opening as it is more conventional and looks more professional.

4.      Genre

 The genre chosen was drama, a vague genre that is unconventional for a short film but drama is often described with a sub-genre and this gave us licence to be creative. Drama is created through simplistic elements; one being that the problems or issues facing the characters in the film are those that are faced or affects the target audience. This enables the audience relate to the characters and creates a sense of realism within the film. We used a conventional drama structure in our opening, setting the mood first, with music and the images at the beginning. As a group we watched the opening sequence of ‘Diary of a wimpy kid’ which influenced out decision on how we would set out our opening sequence. For example it uses a voice over which we also used to take the audience’s attention off Paige and on to Sophie, showing her to be the main protagonist as this isn’t made clear with the action shots due to both girls having the same amount of screen tome.

5.        Narrative enigma

In our opening sequence we may have been a bit too obvious to create an enigma with what might happen in the rest of the film with the voice over, however without it we would not have been able to introduce the antagonist or completely set the scene. Although when we showed our opening sequence to people (video) only a few people caught on to the fact that it was about sexual grooming and only thought it was about a rape. It also still has the twist of Paige being abused that no one even suspected which is conventional.

6.      Introduction to characters

We introduced three characters in the opening sequence of our film. We introduced Sophie and Paige in a conventional way, building up their characters; however we were unconventional in the fact that they both have equal screen time which makes it harder for the audience to identify which girl is the main protagonist. The fact that they are sitting together and the audience sees them walking together immediately sets up the relationship between the two, something which is furthermore explored as the opening sequence continues through the dialogue. For the girls we kept the dialog to a minimum to create a sense of mystery about them but also because we chose to use the voice over. In the introduction of the antagonist we bordered on being conventional as we introduced him with the voice over but the audience don’t know who he is and don’t see him other that short shots of his face, creating a mystery about who he is and if he is the man being shown on the screen. The voice over is in a conversational tone which draws the audience into a false sense of security, believing after the few lines that he is just giving his point of view and is harmless.

7.      Camera

When we were filming we kept to conventions using the 180^o rule making sure that all the shots were from the right position and angle.  We used a series of different camera angles in the attempt to not only show the relationship between the girls, but to create a mystery about who the man in the car is. We used panning shots to show the maths equipment so the transitions could be smooth and slow and fit with the music. When both girls were in the shot we used medium shots apart from when they are walking to the car, then we used log shots so we could show that they were leaving school and to show the man in the car. Something which we took inspiration from was the film ‘Easy A’ and the idea of the over head establishing shot. We used the establishing shot in the classroom to give the audience an idea of the age of the girls and the relationship they have with the rest of their year.

8.      Sound

As previously stated we decided to use music over the top of our action which sets the mood of the film and draws the audience in. having music over the top of action in the opening sequence is conventional to a drama. We also used the more unconventional voice over to give some background knowledge to the audience and to give them a clue to what is going to happen later on. From watching the beginnings of films like ‘Easy A’ we discovered that the less dialog there is the more the audience is drawn in, it also helps in a dramatic sense building some tension to what will happen. We wanted to find a piece that wasn't too distracting from the action, but makes the audience uncomfortable about what might happen. Therefore once we found an appropriate, copyright free track we put it over the top of the whole film, by making it quieter in the moments of voice over. The opening reflects the dramatic mood of the music an overall tense atmosphere was created. We also edited the music in a slow paced fade out at the end because we thought this would add tension and drama to our film.

9.      Editing and special effects

We didn’t use many special effects in our opening because we felt that it may seem less real to the audience or detract from what was going on in the clip. We did however adjust the brightness of some of the shots so that the continuity wasn’t broken. Other than this, we only added faded transitions from one shot to another, showing the reflecting the slow pace of the music and creating mystery. Most of the special effects and editing that we used in producing this opening sequence is seen in conventional drama films.

10. Mise-en-scene

 We had our characters wearing school uniform so that a childlike essence was shown following the conventions of most teenage dramas. We used a few props including; maths books, school bags, maths equipment, pencils and a car which we used to show that the girls are in school and to give the film the most realistic appearance we could. Without the mise-en-scene showing these aspects, the storyline wouldn’t have been as effective.