First Evaluation

1. In what way does your media
product use, develop or challenge
forums and conventions of real
media products?

2. Research
In preparation for the film opening, I researched existing films for conventions of the sci-fi
genre.
While analyzing films such as Star Wars I noticed a number of genre conventions such
as:
• The characters- The protagonist of the film (Luke Skywalker) is an ordinary person
within the world until he is thrust into a story that changes their life. Alien species
are also a large factor within the story.
• Setting- The sci-fi genre mainly uses space and other worlds for the backdrop of
the story.
• Sci-Fi props such as blasters, spaceships and droids are used to help bring the
fantasy world in which the story is set to life.
• CGI effects are commonly used to create planets, monsters and spaceships.
• Sound- Non-diegetic soundtracks are used in order to sound futuristic. Diegetic
sounds are used for spaceships, laser noises and even alien communication.
I attempted to create a film opening that borrows from these conventions but still
attempts to achieve its own identity within the genre.

3. Setting
From the size of the budget that was available for filming, I knew
that I wanted to make a sci-fi film that was more grounded and
took place on Earth. In order to achieve some aspect of a
mysterious location I chose a forest to begin the opening. I took
inspiration from Donnie Darko in this aspect as I wanted to keep
the story on Earth. The use of an ordinary location allowed me to
enhance the events that continue to follow the character for the
audience.

4. Sound
Due to the grounded characters and setting of the film, it would
be difficult to conform to the conventions of the sci-fi genre.
Where most films within the genre would focus on a futuristic
soundtrack, I have used the diegetic sound of an Indie rock song
in order to reflect the setting and tone of the film. In an attempt
to replicate the strange sounds that you might hear in a sci-fi
film, I used a reversed audio clip of a cup smashing in order to
show that something strange was occurring within the scene.

5. Characters and Props
I decided to conform to the conventions of the genre by having a young
character who is thrust into a life-changing story. Due to the slightly darker
and more grounded tone of the film I made him an average teenager who
instead of being a pure hearted character actually goes out to parties and
drinks with his friends. In order to achieve these character traits I had him use
sunglasses and a beer bottle to show that he had just returned from drinking
with his friends. Due to the low budget of the film, I had to stay away from
the high budget effects that are commonly seen in the genre. To compensate
for this I used visually striking practical effects such as a cup smashing or an
article bursting into flames.

6. Narrative
• While researching the sci-fi genre I found that the films would mainly
feature an ordinary person who is thrust into a situation where they must
save everyone.
• In my film I conform to the genre conventions as the character is just a
typical teen who is thrust into a situation where he must save the world
from an oncoming threat.
• I challenge the conventions of the genre when I make the threat more
relative to the character. Due to the low budget I could not have him save
the universe like many sci-fi films do, instead I have made the threat
smaller.