2. In what ways does your
media product use, develop
or challenge forms and
conventions of real media
products?
3. • My film trailer follows many basic conventions of film trailers within the British crime
genre. It shows main characters, offers a narrative and leaves on a cliff hanger to
entice potential viewers. As does ‘the firm’ and ‘the business’. It also lasts roughly 2
minutes as does ‘this is England’ (and the other two trailers mentioned).
• As is very common within all film trailers, they are composed of short clips from
within the film itself. To give mine a recognisable side I also used this convention. I
showed around 10 different pieces of actual footage in quick succession to give a
fast snappy and hopefully eye catchy piece of footage- I combined this to text
screens to explain the narrative more clearly and give a more rounded piece
which is likely to get viewers more interested.
• Just like with many film trailers, I put the film’s institution and title at the start, credits
at the end and a date at which the full feature is available to view at cinemas. I
tried to combine these texts with fitting pieces of film so they didn’t look out of
place- like the cigarette being stubbed out at the end of the trailer, to signify the
end of the trailer.
• Other conventions which I followed were the use of dull lighting (to show the
seriousness and bleakness of British crime) and a soundtrack (a piece from an easily
recognisable English band- to compliment the mis en scene of a British setting). The
lighting changed from shot to shot as it would with most film trailers. Some scenes
were dark whereas others were in daylight. The scene filmed at the police station
was very dark with the only light being that of the sign from the police station. This
not only showed the setting of the piece but also highlighted the police as a
normal option for someone in trouble- the main character then walking passed it
and shaking his head, whilst emerging from darkness shows they were not an
option. The soundtrack has a beat to it which accents the film’s vibe of upbeat,
revenge seeking chase scenes.
4. • Another way in which I used lighting was with the fight scene in the tunnel where
the characters jump from light to dark as the scene progresses. The Firm trailer
does this very well with the sunlight emerging from a wall and disappearing in a
brawl scene. The sudden changes in light add an edge to the scene which makes
it seem very dramatic- so this was another way in which I used conventions of British
crime films.
• My film trailer, as with most used a various array of camera shots. There is an
establishing shot to show a rundown warehouse, an extreme close up of a drug
deal and other mid/ long shots within the second half of the trailer. This is a
common convention with most film trailers, not just British crime, as the trailer is
composed of many scenes within the film so the camera angles are prone to
switching.
• Another convention followed with my trailer was the clothes selected to be worn
by the actors. Within the media, most fictitious texts work based on recognisable
stereotypes, knowing this, I tried to avoid the use of clothes which made characters
who were buying drugs/ beating up a drug dealer looks posh, snobby or to
scared/ young to do so. In order to achieve this many of those who bought the
drugs wore tracksuits to try and look like a ‘chav’ or ‘ned’.
• As for the main character (the drug dealer) I tried to ensure that he looked like
someone who was from a deprived area but now had some money (from
obviously drug dealing). To help me with this, I had been researching football
hooligans for ‘media and collective identity’ and tried to base the character on
that kind of fashion sense. The use of the ‘flatcap’ is commonly associated with
cockneys. With most of the scenes he was dressed smartly, but not ‘flashy’. This was
hard to do so the use of a nice sporty car he drives and the establishing shot of a
deprived area in which he sells drugs balanced the picture.
5. • All of the sound from my trailer is the non diegetic sound of the soundtrack, except
for one scene. The fight scene in the tunnel is a changing point within the trailer
where the main character loses possessions and goes on a rampage after those
who stole and beat him up. To try and illustrate the importance of this scene I
added in the diegetic sound of the main character shouting in pain, and those
beating him up shouting in an intimidating fashion. Not only did this emphasise the
importance of the scene but also gave a snippet of sound in which the audience
can hear English (London) accents- as is paramount to the genre and seen in all
British crime trailers.
• Finally, the way in which I used conventions came from not showing any brutal
violence. There are regulations that must be followed in order for a trailer to be
shown on television pre watershed. So there were no deaths, just build ups and cliff
hangers.
• The way in which I developed conventions of British Crime trailers was the use of
text between scenes. With the British crime genre, it is far more common for
diegetic voice clips to help illustrate the narrative however I felt the use of text
slides gave a clearer picture of what was going on and with the zoom on the texts
adds a more dramatic effect. So although text can be a normal convention with
many trailers, it is not with British Crime.
• Another way in which I developed conventions of British crime was the use of one
continuous sound track. Due to the lack of dialogue there was no need to stop,
mute or pause the soundtrack. Furthermore, the fact the song itself has a change
in it meant that it could be used to compensate for the change in the pace of my
trailer, rather than using two contrasting pieces. For example, ‘The Firm’ film trailer
has two sound tracks, changed in the middle after some non diegetic speech. So
the development of conventions came from the use of the one soundtrack.
6. • One way in which I challenged conventions was the absence of still shots. I tried
using one of a building however, it didn’t seem to fit into the general mood of the
trailer so it was left out. What I did do instead was the beer bottle at the end was
left as a still clip with no movement after the cigarette had been stubbed out.
• My trailer also follows a very linear narrative which is very uncommon for most
trailers. However, from my original questionnaire on film trailers, my results came
back to suggest most viewers wish to see the begging and some of the middle of a
film trailer and then leave on a cliff hanger. I did do this (which is a used of
conventions) but I also showed none of the end- a challenge to conventions.
• The only other way in which I challenged conventions was the use of elongated
scenes. Many trailers have short, sharp reels of footage but in order for a clear
storyline to be followed there was a need for longer scenes. With the fight scene in
the tunnel I put text in the middle of it and then returned to the same scene. This
was another challenge to normal conventions of film trailers.
7. How effective is the
combination of your main
product and ancillary texts?
8. • My trailer focuses on one main character and his quest for revenge within the
setting of British Crime. I aimed to show with my ancillary texts the genre and try to
give a clue of the film’s narrative.
• My poster is a very bleak and dark piece. As previously mentioned I used light in
various ways with my trailer so this use of darkness fits in with this. The picture itself
was taken at night time to give an edgy feel too it and I edited it so that the light
that is being looked towards is bright, big and over exaggerated. This light may
very well be seen in a metaphorical sense as a goal/ target. (The analogy being
that the light is the last piece of revenge, getting revenge on the final person).
• This ties in nicely with the use of the dog which is by the main character’s side in
the poster and final scene of the trailer when chasing the last person. This gives for
a clear link and therefore effective combination. The dog is also there two
represent loyalty- a theme which is involved with my film and the lack of loyalty
shown by those who wronged the main character. Finally, with the main character
facing away from the camera in the film poster, the dog also shows those who
have seen the trailer that the character in shot is definitely the main character (this
would also work vice versa.)
• The title used on the poster is of the blood red colour which carries the obvious
combination of violence- key to the trailer’s genre. The use of the tag line ‘revenge
is a confession’ on the poster paints a more detailed picture of how much the main
character wants his revenge. This is reinforced by the narrative of the trailer.
• On my poster I put a rating on there by ‘Nuts’ magazine. The choice for this was
based on my demographic being very similar to that of Nuts magazine- targeted
at men aged between 17 and 25. At the end of my trailer there are quick credits
with various names on. These match that of the names at the bottom of the film
poster itself, striking a clear comparison between them that they are advertising
the same product.
9. • My magazine front cover shows the main character as the title feature. In the
picture we see him in a fighting stance- connecting to the crime genre and
wearing gold jewellery which is also seen in the film. This is a very common
convention of magazines, showing the main actor/ actress from a new movie on
the front cover, but still in character. So I followed this to show the main character
promoting my film.
• The strap line ‘An Eye for an Eye’ is in the same blood red colour and shows the
viewers another connection between the three texts. Furthermore, the magazine
follows a red, white and black colour scheme as does the trailer and poster.
• With the magazine front cover, trying to use a dark and bleak colour like the poster
did was difficult because many magazines are bright and eye catchy- in order to
be noticed and bought in a shop. So using a black/ grey background could not be
achieved. Instead, after balancing the image on photoshop I left the off white,
dark cream background. This I felt was not too dark that it looks out of place, but
also not so light that the genre isn’t lost. This, combined with the picture, colour
scheme and tag lines regarding British films helped to maintain a healthy
combination between the magazine and the main product.
11. • I sent out nearly 20 questionnaires to all of those who had viewed my trailer. Rather
than gambling on trying to receive feedback virally, I instead gathered students
from my year at college at different times and gave them each a questionnaire to
fill out. This was to avoid time wasting and low response rates. I could also select
mostly males, aged between 16 and 18 who would be part of my target audience.
Fortunately, most of the results I got suggested similar things, which could be taken
into consideration.
• All returned questionnaires said that the soundtrack had worked well with the trailer
and fitted the genre of film. This pleased me because as previously mentioned I
worried about the use of one continuous soundtrack. The responses also indicated
that there was no need for anymore dialogue.
•
• Some actual comments from students:
• · ‘It looks almost like a real film’
• · ‘You’ve done well given the time and lack of money, congratulations’
• · ‘I wish I could see the full feature’
•
• Other positives include every person saying they could see a clear link between all
three texts and nearly all said that it was the right length. (2 said too long whereas 1
said too short).
• However, there were various criticisms which either could have or were worked on.
The first one I saw commented on the text at the start and said ‘An eye for an eye’
should be in a different font. However, because of the format in which that
particular piece of footage was saved, the text could not be isolated therefore it
couldn’t be changed. However, there were nearly 20 other responses which did
not mention that particular piece.
12. • Secondly, over half said that the music should end differently because it finished in
the middle of a verse and this gave an amateur feel to the piece. Agreeing with
this, I was able to adjust the music at the ending- by actually addressing the next
problem.
• The next alteration suggested was a quick snippet of credits at the end, a common
convention with many trailers and something I had personally overlooked-
especially whilst worrying that my trailer was too long. But as the answers had
suggested it was not too long I was able to add credits, elongating the trailer
somewhat and consequently not ending the trailer with the soundtrack in mid
song.
• For my poster, all feedback on the final piece was good, many people
commented on the good use of the white dog. Some could see from the trailer/
poster that the dog was an English bull terrier- sometimes seen as a status dog
amongst those involved in crime and liked the use of it- one even drew the
comparison between and English Bull Terrier and the British genre. No one
suggested any improvements so that was left as it was shown.
• For my magazine front cover, there were a few who said that a better background
was needed, but due to lack of time I was not able to change this the character
was not able to be cropped out, nor was there to time to do another photo shoot
and use a different background. If I were to re do the magazine, I would probably
use a brick wall as a background to fit in with the genre more successfully.
• Concluding, audience feedback suggested my final products are solid pieces and
improvements were made when constructive criticism was given regarding the
trailer, to hopefully make it better.
13. How did you use media
technologies in the
construction and research,
planning and evaluation
stages?
14. • For my research, the internet was paramount. I used youtube to find trailers and
watch them numerous times to study them. From this, I could then take print-
screens and use them to evaluate within my powerpoint. I also used google as my
search engine to generate pictures of film posters and magazine front covers. I also
visited various film websites when deciding whether or not to produce a magazine
front cover or website- after already having created a magazine front cover for AS
media I decided not to make a webpage.
• When creating my research pieces, most of them were done offline so I signed up
to various websites that allowed me to make them viral. Firstly, I used slideshare to
upload a powerpoint straight onto my blog. I also used prezi to make a different
kind of slideshow, online and then embed that into a post that could be accessed
from my blog too.
• Within the construction stage of my piece various media technologies were used.
The most important being the ‘Flip’ camera my piece was filmed on. This was easily
accessible, could be carried within a pocket and also mounted to a tripod for a
steady shot when needed. I could then upload this to any computer with the built
in USB and edit using Windows live movie maker (standard on most windows PCs). I
downloaded AVS editing software but could not use it as easily as the windows
counterpart so ended up sticking with that- purely for its accessibility, simplicity and
ease of use. With the live movie maker I was able to edit/ trim footage, save
individually, compose together, add transitions and then add an overall
soundtrack.
• For my poster I actually took the original picture with my mobile phone- which has
a 5 megapixel camera built in. This was because the picture was improvised whilst
out walking my dog and the opportunity arose. The picture was then emailed to
me where I could edit the photo on adobe photoshop to balance the light and
add in effects where necessary. The text was then added and edited using
Microsoft publisher.
15. • For my magazine front cover, the photo was planned and taken on an Olympus
digital camera, in a room with a neutral cream and good lighting, in order to avoid
the use of the flash, I then uploaded it through the use of a USB.
• Also on my blog, I used sites such as slideshare to upload pdf/ Microsoft publisher
files to my blog. Another way in which I uploaded publisher files was saving them as
a jpeg and uploading the picture straight onto blogger. With the use of blogger,
youtube videos and my own videos can be uploaded straight on a post.
• For my evaluation stage I have originally typed out all answers onto a word
document and then transferred them into a powerpoint and uploaded the
powerpoint to my blog via slideshare.
