In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media product?
1. In what ways does your media
product use, develop or
challenge forms of real media
products?
CONVENTIONS
2. Similar films and Genre
For our film we wanted to create a horror film which included a clown, similar to the
Stephen Kings ‘IT’ product. By having a set genre we researched into similar films
and looked at the codes and conventions.
Within our film we use several shots where the main character is unaware of the
clown behind him, this creates tension for the audience as it in unknown what is
going to happen. Whereas in the film IT the clown is always seen by the character,
we wanted to make it more mysterious by doing this it reinforces the genre of horror.
3. Narrative
We chose a non linear narrative as the main character is having a nightmare about a clown being
in the woods and him finding a dead body. I feel we have successfully shown this by flashing back
and forth from him in bed sleeping to the main event happening which Is his nightmare. We wanted
to include this in our plot by using a nightmare as it gives the audience an idea what will happen
and adds tension as you don’t understand who the clown is, as the main character is also a day
time children’s entertainer which gives the plot a twist to it.
We established this plot as we wanted it to be a film that messes with your mind and wanted to aim
it at a wide audience but aim it towards teenagers.
4. Cinematography and Editing
In the opening sequence we use unsteady handheld shots to create a point of view shot to show what the
main character is experiencing. The pacing and rhythm shows the character is walking through the woods
quite quickly which makes the audience know he is uncomfortable and in distress, we do this by adding
different shots for example an over the shoulder shot to show where he is going. The pace becomes smooth
when he wakes up which suggests he is no longer in trouble or danger. The shots used after he wakes up are
simple camera angles compared to the ones in the woods, however we use a tilt and pan to follow his
movement towards the kitchen.
5. Sound
The sound used in the opening scene is a creepy chime/piano to give it a foreboding
atmosphere, we chose this music for the nightmare scene as it isn’t a typical sounds
associated with clowns for example creepy laughing and fun fair music may have been
typically used. We chose it to give it a mysterious atmosphere and contrasts with the pace of
the action.
The music stops when the main character wakes up and gasps from the fright of the
nightmare, when this happens the titles come up. We chose to do this as we thought it was a
smooth way to stop the music but make it effective.
6. Mise en scene
Mise en scene were the biggest aspects for us to consider as we wanted to make all the
characters costumes represent their personalities. The clown has scary make up and a clown outfit
to show the character isn’t friendly and may cause danger to the other characters. The main
characters costume is a casual day wear as we wanted him to look as normal as we can. The
dead body is wearing a white t-shirt to make the blood more noticeable. We knew we wanted the
location to be in a woods to go with the genre of horrors however we chose a modern house
instead of an abandoned house to go against the stereotype.
7. Typography
We chose to use white bold font for the font colour of the production company, distributor and
actors in the film, as the white contrasts on the dark setting of the woods which makes It more
noticeable. The font used looks as though its being carved which makes it look scary. The main
title is in a deep red colour which has connotations of danger as it could be associated with
blood. Again using the same font makes it look like it has been written in blood or carved which
makes the audience feel maybe disturbed.
