The trailer conforms to many conventions of the comedy and action-adventure genres while also challenging some conventions. It establishes three misfit main characters, Winston, Chester, and Loco, who conform to familiar archetypes. Their costumes and introductions further characterize them for the audience. The trailer's theme of the characters' quest to find the world's last crate of beer subverts the alcohol consumption typically seen in comedies. It shows the characters in daily life but disrupts this with the news of no more beer, conforming to genre structure. Though focusing on a group of three leads rather than one, it features elements like a map scene common to action-adventure films.

1. Evaluation Q1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

2. The Characters
My teaser trailer is a comedy-action-adventure, and it conforms to many
conventions, mainly of the comedy genre, but also the action and adventure genre.
At the same time, it also subverts from these conventions, with unique scenes to
my trailer in particular.
The three main characters in many ways conform to the structure of main
characters in other comedies; each one is unique with relatable characteristics,
appearances, hobbies etc for different audiences. This enables the viewers to have
their own favourite character, which is likely to be different than their friends’
favourite characters. Conforming to the way the main characters are portrayed in
many comedies, my three main characters are all social outcasts – they each have
their own way of not fitting in and are the “trio of misfits” as the narration in my
trailer explains. Winston is overly posh in comparison to the average person his
age, he is also very clumsy and nervous, which suggests a lack of confidence;
something unpopular with many people, and a weak spot to pick on. Chester acts
tough but is really “a big softy”, which is apparent to everyone around him, so the
use of slang and threats of fights look ridiculous, causing no one to take him
seriously. Loco is, as his name states, pretty crazy; his quirkiness and lack of
common sense leave him out of step with the average person, and most people are
too confused and ‘weirded-out’ by him to get close to him – other than Winston
and Chester. The group are almost ‘thrown together’ all because they don’t fit in
with any other social group, which is very common amongst comedies.

3. Characters’ Costumes
A common convention of the comedy genre is to suggest and connote what kind of
person each character is through their appearance and clothing. This was something I
had planned to do from the start. It’s an easy way to set the scene and establish who the
characters are without needing to go into too much detail. My characters’ appearances
support the short introductions of each character in my trailer, creating a stronger story
behind the characters, and possibly establishing a connection between the audience and
the characters, as they may feel they know the characters somewhat.
Winston’s smart clothing, along with his accent, emphasises that he has had a posh
upbringing, therefore the trailer doesn’t need to go into detail about this area, and can
instead show his clumsiness and lack of confidence around people – girls in particular.
Chester’s casual attire of a hoody with the hood mostly up, baggy jeans and trainers
supports his ‘tough’ appearance along with his introduction; and Loco wears a cowboy
hat and garlic garland for no apparent reason other than the fact that he is crazy, which
only goes to support his rather odd introduction.

4. Characters’ Identities
Each of my characters’ identities aren’t particularly unusual for
comedies, and my trailer conforms to the structure that many
comedies use for establishing the characters’ identities and
personalities. Unintentionally, the structure of my characters is
similar to The Inbetweeners; there’s the seemingly normal one with
a few quirky elements (in my case it’s Winston, who’s quirky
elements consist of his posh appearance and accent and his
clumsiness); there’s the one that acts all tough and menacing in
public, but at home he’s “a big softy” (Chester); and then there’s the
crazy one that no one ever really understands (Loco).
The first shots that I used on the introduction for each character
was a technique that I haven’t seen many Directors use, and this
could be considered a subversion, as I haven’t seen many films, let
alone comedies, that have used my technique. I used high-angle
tracking shots of each characters’ shoes as they walked, before each
of the characters’ introductions; this was for the audience to
immediately establish some idea of who the characters are. The
smart shoes and smart black trousers that preceded Winston’s
introduction should have given the impression that this character is
posh and well-spoken; the baggy trainers and jeans shown before
Chester’s intro should have informed the audience that this character
is a ‘chav’; and the odd shoes preceding Loco’s intro should have
give the impression that this is the mad character of the trio.

5. Themes and Messages
My trailer’s main theme is alcohol (beer, in particular), which is a common
convention of comedies, as consumption of alcohol can sometimes result in hilarious
events. A subversion from this perhaps with my trailer however, is that the story is not
about events following the consumption of alcohol, but the pursuit of beer. The
characters have never had alcohol before, and as they are all 17 years old, acquiring
alcohol is not an easy task. However when the world’s beer supply runs dry, this task
becomes a whole lot harder, and the story becomes a search for the last remaining crate
of beer for humankind. The trailer only contains one shot of a pint of beer, which is the
opening shot, and none of the characters are ever seen with beer; whereas a common
convention of comedies is to show the characters consuming alcohol, and some of the
events following this are also teased; however my trailer is all about the search for beer.
One of the main messages in my trailer, continuing from the subversion of the search
for beer rather than the consumption, is easy for the target audience to relate to; if
you’re not 18, it can sometimes be difficult to get alcohol, and this is greatly
exaggerated through the search for the last crate of beer for humankind.
A common convention of comedy trailers (and action-adventure trailers) is to show
the characters in their normal lives, and my trailer conforms to this with the scene of the
trio lazing around on a sofa, watching TV – a relatable message for many teenagers.

6. Action-Adventure
In addition to conforming to several conventions of the comedy genre, my trailer also conforms
and subverts from conventions of the action-adventure genre. The whole basis of my trailer is that
the trio are on a quest to find the last remaining crate of beer in the world; and the theme of a quest
is a very common, almost necessary convention of the action-adventure genre.
Clothing in the action-adventure genre is quite an important convention, and although my
characters don’t necessary have clothing typical of the action-adventure genre, I made Loco wear a
cowboy hat as a small nod to the Indiana Jones films, in addition to the style of my film poster.
A common visual convention, consistent of the action-adventure genre, is to see a character
rolling out a map for their journey on the quest, and I ensured that I implemented a scene similar to
this with Winston’s Grandpa drafting out the rough area on a map of where the beer crate might be
hidden.
The structure of my trailer is very much consistent with the structure conventions of the action-
adventure genre; the trailer introduces the characters and shows them in their every-day lives (lazing
around on a sofa, and occasionally attempting to get served beer in pubs before being thrown out); it
shows a disruption to this normality (the news report of the world’s supply of beer running out); it
shows a possible solution to the problem that has arisen (the characters setting out on a quest to find
the last crate of beer); and lastly it shows the struggle of the quest and also leaves the audience with
a question (the fight with the ‘Seekers’ on the quest, and revealing that Loco is in fact one of the
Seekers at the end of the trailer raises questions).
Having three main characters rather than one singular main character is a challenge to the
conventions of the action-adventure genre, as films like Indiana Jones usually heavily feature one
main character throughout, with other sub-characters; and although Winston is
the one narrating the introduction of my trailer, each of the three main characters
are featured an even amount, and are as important as each other.