1. Kate Gourlay
Question 1) in what way does your media product use, develop
or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
1) Evaluate the codes and conventions of
your how you executed your chosen
genre
Evaluate how you used, developed or
challenged the genre convention by
evaluating:
construction of narrative
use of setting
construction of character
use of costume/props

2. When researching the construction of narrative within the ‘Drama’ genre, we
found that many films showed similar plots and structures within their
narrative. The theme of illness is commonly explored within plots of this
genre, for example; films such as ‘My Sister’s Keeper’ and ‘Beaches’ all present
terminal disorders. We wanted our trailer to therefore use this theme within
our narrative, in order for our trailer to have the same success of gaining an
interested audience like other films within this specific genre. We believed that
by using this theme within our narrative, would gain a wider audience, as
illness is a theme many ages can relate to. However, we found that through
researching real media products, illnesses displayed in films are very
limited, mainly focusing on terminal cancer. Even though films such as
‘Stepmom’ which use this illness, are very successful, we decided to develop
this specific theme when constructing our narrative, to a less publicized yet
equally as serious illness; Huntington’s disease. Therefore, we used common
themes presented in typical drama’s, yet developed this idea further by
challenging the idea of using cancer, by replacing this illness with a less known
one.

3. When watching real media products within the Dramatic genre, as a
group we noticed that films including illness are commonly focused
upon the disease itself, people to whom it may effect, and based
within a domestic setting. Films such as ‘My Sisters Keeper’ and
‘Stepmom’ are both based in a domestic setting, minimizing the range
of other plots which could be related to the film. Therefore, we
wanted to challenge this, having our chosen illness in combination
with other elements of plots, such as a love interest which develops
into a relationship. Therefore collaborating the Dramatic genre with
the Romantic. We challenged the idea of having our trailer based in a
domestic setting, commonly used in the Dramatic genre, by having
our entire trailer set outside, with the couple; Lillian and Oliver, sight-
seeing and spending time with each other in the city of London. We
thought that by having it outside could represent Lillian’s character as
an outgoing, free-spirit in regards to the attitude she has towards her
illness. Also, we did not want to our trailer to be set in a domestic
setting, as unlike real media products within this genre, we did not
want our characters to be set within a family environment. In order to
pay specific focus on the relationship, and the central characters
opposed to family members.

4. Within the Dramatic genre, the characters that are usually inflicted with pain and
illness tend to be women. We discovered this when researching real media products
such as ‘My life without me’. When constructing our characters in relation to our
storyline, we wanted to conform to this ideology apparent in the Dramatic genre, by
having our protagonist female. When evaluating our trailer, with audience
feedback, the entirety of our audience was female. We believe that by constructing
our character as female, allowed our female audience to align themselves with this
character. However, we found through real media products within this genre that
the age ranges of the character that is overcome with illness are limited. Films such
as ‘Stepmom’ and ‘Beaches’ explore the older age range, being between 40-50.
Opposed to films such as ‘My sister’s keeper’ whereby the protagonist is of a much
younger age, being under 15 years of age. When researching trailers, the only age
range which differed from these was the protagonist in ‘My life being without me’
being 30. To ensure our trailer was individual and unlike other real media products
within this genre, we challenged this particular age conformity, by having our
central character, Lillian, being 19. When evaluating the character, we found that she
was easier to relate to for our younger audience due her age. By the end of the
trailers we researched within this genre, each trailer allowed the audience to realize
something negative shall occur, but left the audience with optimism. Yet, through
our narrative not being from our protagonist’s point of view, but from Oliver’s, with
final lines “then she just… disappeared’ allowed us to challenge this, communicating
to the audience that this story shall not have a ‘happy ending’.

6. The use of costumes and props, are used to portray the character in
hands personality, attitude and message throughout a film. Typically, the
character that is overcome with an illness or is going through something
negative within a Dramatic film is dressed in pale colours to resemble
their innocence and vulnerability. We wanted to use this idea that the
costumes and props would represent our character; however we wanted
to develop this further by challenging the stereotypical colours and props
related to this character. We did not want to represent our character as
typically innocence and vulnerable, we wanted to represent Lillian as a
young, normal teenage girl. Props including a pack of cigarettes and
mobile phone, to symbolize her normality, with elements of her rebel-
style, carefree attitude towards life. Unlike real media products, whereby
the central characters are dressed in pale colours, we challenged this and
dressed Lillian in a combination of dark colours at some points in the
trailer, then contrasting to pink’s and purples. We believe that this
represented her femininity, but also portrayed the idea that she is not
vulnerable and she shall not let her illness override her life.

7. Kate Gourlay
Question 1) in what way does your media product use, develop
or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
2) Evaluate how you used, develop or
challenged the conventions of trailers
from this specific genre
use of titles
use of institutional information
structure of trailer
use of font types
use of sound
use of transitions
editing

8. When constructing our titles, we did not want
the names of our actors to appear or be
dedicated in a whole screen within our trailer.
This is commonly done in real media products,
in order to promote the film with famous
actors to gain a wider audience. However, due
to the actors in our film not being of this
status, we thought that by doing this would be
irrelevant and would be more effective if the
titles were kept to a minimal, with more time
spent on the action of the trailer itself.
Therefore we challenged this convention and
decided to not include Jessica and Josh’s
names at all within the trailer. The titles we did
include were the film title; “The Big ‘H’”, the
ending of the film stating, ‘coming soon’ and
date of release. We thought that by not
overloading the trailer with titles like other
trailers within this specific genre, such as ‘My
life without me’ having a large range of titles,
would make the narrative of our voice over
more effective and allow the audience to pay
further attention to the action instead of
reading constantly throughout.

9. An important element we found in all of our researched film trailers within both
dramatic and romantic genres was the inclusion of institutions and companies. We
believe this allows the trailer look professional and reassure to the audience that
the film they are witnessing or are possibly witnessing shall be good, as certain
names are connected to it. Therefore, we used this idea from real media products
and ensured we included institutions, dedicated separately on different screens, to
have the same impact on our audience. However, when looking at the most popular
trailers within our chosen narrative, such as Hollywood blockbusters ‘My Sisters
Keeper’ we noticed that institutions were world-wide, acknowledged companies.
When noticing this, we had to remember that our chosen audience was not to be
aimed at a world-wide range of people. Contrastingly, we wanted our film to be
based in Britain as a local yet successful piece of material, represented through the
actors being both British and the scenes and locations being within Central London.
Therefore, we decided to develop this idea of using institutions in relation to our
trailer’s specific audience, by including companies such as ‘Film4’ to represent the
film as a local, indie-type piece. By including these institutions worked particularly
well when constructing our own independent magazine ‘WATCH’, a magazine we
created being based in London for local films. The ‘Film4’ in particular worked in
combination perfectly with other companies such as the ‘BFI’ when both were
written on the front of our magazine.

11. As a group, we wanted to ensure that our final product was as professional as we
could possibly make it. Therefore, we used many elements from real media products
within our own trailer. One of which, was to ensure that the pace of the trailer was
fast and according to the beat and pace of the music layered on top of our image. We
found that through researching real media products within the Dramatic genre, the
pivot in narrative is always slightly shown within the trailer; therefore music is used to
demonstrate this. A trailer in particular within this genre that used sound editing to
represent the mood of the trailer and the change in narrative, was ‘My life without
me’. Thus, we wanted to use this idea and conform to the conventions shown within
trailers of this genre in regards to sound editing and music. Such as during the
opening of our trailer, we had an upbeat song to represent the happiness and
carefree attitude of the couple on screen. Within this, we edited the images in
accordance to this music, having a range of different shots of different scenes and
locations. We thought that through this it could identify the happy atmosphere of the
couple, with the fast pace editing to distinguish their youth yet also to build up a
climax for a turn of events. We found that this build up was evident in many real
media products, whereby the audience are led to believe one situation such as a
happy condition, to merely be transformed into the exact opposite.

12. Due to this being effective in other trailers we saw, we decided to use this in our
own and have this same shift in narrative. In order to do this, we used the idea
from real media products, to change the atmosphere by transforming the pace in
edit and the feel of the trailer by the music layered on top. Therefore, we layered
a softer, slower song on top of the previous upbeat happy song which allowed
the prior song to transfer into the next. This allowed our change in mood to be
successful. Due to the lack of beats in our second song in comparison to the
first, we were able to decrease the pace of the second half of our trailer, in order
for the audience to distinguish the shift in narrative and reflect Lillian’s illness.
Therefore, giving the audience an insight into the dilemmas our couple shall
face, and the hardships their relationship shall entail due to this issue.

13. When it comes to typography within the Dramatic genre, we noticed through real
media products use unusual fonts, in order to gain the fragmented storyline. An
example of this is within the film trailer, ‘My life without me’; the titles are all
displayed within the same typography, being in a handwritten style, uneven in sizing
and lettering in a pale colour. We believe that this was due to the narrative being in
combination of footage of her and the voice over being a dairy like style
monologue, guiding the audience through her journey. Through the handwriting
typography displays the immediate relationship the audience shall have with this
particular character as it is from her perspective. Yet we wanted to challenge this
idea, and have our narrative from another perspective in our trailer, shown through
the voice over from her boyfriend; Oliver. Due to this, and the lack of immediate
connection the audience will have with Lillian within the trailer, we did not want to
use this personal typography. Instead we had a simple ‘Century Gothic’ font
throughout, being an average size, to represent this isolation from the protagonist’s
feelings in the trailer. The use of the colour white in the typography is common
within the dramatic genre, to represent the innocence of people when it comes to
illness’s to represent that it can affect anyone, and we very rarely have much control
of the circumstances it shall end in. This is shown particularly in ‘My life without
me’, and was successful in portraying this message; therefore we conformed to this
code and convention in film trailers of this genre, and ensured our typography was
also in pure white.