AS Media Evaluation - Question 1

 

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

A media convention is a theme, which is present throughout a piece of media, in this case video, it helps reflect style and give a feel to a piece of media.

I feel as if my work helps reflect and present the conventions I am wanting it to present rather sufficiently.
 

My work is a rather unconventional storyline / plot as it stands, therefore already challenging typical media conventions of sticking to well-known and widely popular story lines which almost always guarantee success in the film industry, the only existing piece of media which I feel I can honestly relate my work to, is the piece I was deeply inspired by, Into the Wild, its self a rather unconventional film.
 

However, in certain ways my work does stick to the typical media conventions in terms of layout and structure, as just like nearly all conventional films made recently, it utilises the opening credits (with actors, and such.), and the company logo/brand in the opening scene to give the audience a familiar opening.
 

The text it-self which I have used and the logo, keeps the style and theme of my product flowing, staying the same throughout and having the representation of nature, and wilderness throughout.

Although my original idea was not the same as this, and did largely stick to the conventional forms and media standards, as my original idea was of a comedy, it would have followed the usual trends that a comedy film would, only slightly distinguishing its self in via the plot it-self.

Using conventions is a benefit for the audience as it helps them distinguish what they are in for, with the piece of media they are consuming. It helps construct a more comprehensive and complex idea of the genre being presented to them. In a certain way, conventions are like stereotypes, something everyone is familiar with. On the other hand, over using conventions may have a negative effect, rejecting the sense of originality and independence which I have tried to build up on in my work. If all films used the same conventions it wold be hard to distinguish them from each other, which in the eyes of a creator is bad, and is unhealthy for the consumers too as a saturation of the same style of films would result in the loss of interest and appetite for a genre, also further resulting in poor profits for the films. In consideration, I had to keep a track of how many and what conventions I am using, as I wanted my work to be a rather unconventional piece.
 

I have carried out studies of film conventions via the analysis of different film openings of pieces I personally enjoyed, such as 8 Mile, Paranormal Activity 1, Interstellar and Saving Private Ryan as well as others. Thanks to analysing the film openings of these, I got a better grasp of how camera shots, camera angles, mis-en-scene and dialogue could portray the style of a film and the conventions it uses to do so. It was prominent that all the film openings I watched had titling in their duration, and film or company logos. All though all were adjusted depending on the kind of film it was, therefore I also adapted these conventions and used them in my own work.

Because of me doing so, and adapting these conventions my work seemed more professional and polished as a product than it would without them. I created the logo myself which made it extra unique and a solid base for my film.