Here I have completed a Slideshare post as part of my evaluation for my Media Studies A2 coursework.

1. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE,
DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS
OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
Zakirah Mohammed
A2 Media Studies

2. HORROR TRAILER
My horror movie trailer
mostly conforms to real
conventions however it
does have elements of
creativity to act as a
USP. I have similar shots
and angles used in a
horror trailer such as
numerous close up shots
to show the scared
expression of a
character.
I also conform to real
media texts through
characters such as the
„final girl‟ where the
protagonist is seen as a
brave, independent and
young woman usually
given a masculine name.
“Alex”

3. HORROR TRAILERI have challenged stereotypical real
media texts in numerous ways. For
example, the antagonist in most horror
movies would usually be a intimidating
male role where weapons such as knives
would be used as phallic symbols for male
genitalia. However, in my horror trailer I
use a childlike girl as the antagonist which
also handles weapons such as knives. I did
this because I felt it would create an
effective USP which differs from the
generic, therefore, my trailer would stand
out from other conventions.
I also differed from real media conventions as included a suspenseful royalty free
music piece as the background sound for my trailer. This differs from real media
conventions as in my research I noticed ironic lullabies and suspenseful sound
effects rather than music were used. However, I felt my trailer in particular would
benefit from suspenseful music to pull it together. I believe this was a successful
decision as my target audience samples enjoyed this idea much more.

4. MAGAZINE FRONT COVER
My decisions made for my front cover were kept
close to the stereotypical expectation. This was
because I found the generic look of a magazine
successful and effective. Elements such as the use
of the left hand third for content as this is where the
human eye naturally attracts to. I also conformed
by using various size fonts to give the impression of
a more interesting and informal view on the
magazine cover which would appeal to my target
audience as they would generally be a young
adult audience. I exaggerated this by enlarging
exciting pieces of information such as “She won‟t
rest until you‟re in her hands” which would excite
the audience and draw them to the magazine.
My magazine cover
Real media product

5. MAGAZINE FRONT COVER
However, I also diverge from real media products I
have researched before creating this piece. For
example, I noticed most central images of many
horror magazines include a close up of the villain
and intimidating eye contact with the camera in
order to allow the reader to feel included and
fearful of the character. However, I found that
showing the character in action within the movie
may have a positive impact as this will allow the
viewer more insight into what the movie contains.
To do this I included a full shot of my villain in a dark
background with a sinister expression. I believe this
explained the abnormality of the movie and
character more than it would with a close up of the
villains face.

6. POSTER
For my poster I created a simple piece with little text to
avoid overcrowding the page and distracting from the
character. I researched into real media texts and found it
was popular for promotional horror posters to include little
text and sinister images such as unsightly villains. The real
media products included a dark colour scheme with little
bright colours of which seem to be used to connote
relations to horror such as blood to indicate gore. I
decided this was an effective way to promote a horror
movie, therefore, my poster included a dark background
with an intimidating image of my villain. This image
included shadows and signs which indicate death such as
dark eyes and pale skin. The colour scheme was limited to
dark colours with a bright red to exaggerate the movie
title and to signify blood. I found this to be a very
successful decision as it appealed to my audience when
gaining feedback.

7. Overall, I believe I mostly conformed to real media texts as I found the popular
elements of the horror genre in film were very effective to the audience. I
found that the generic ideas were popular as the audience like to enjoy films
meeting their expectations which is what I intended to do. I decided to
conform so closely to the generic as this would be seen as the safe choice
rather than to diverse fully from what the audience expect as this may not
appeal. However, I also believe a film cannot conform fully to another as this
may be seen as tedious to the audience, therefore, I diverged from the norm
to some extent to act as a USP. An example of this would the gender of my
chosen characters as this would give a new element to horror which the
audience may enjoy as this has been seen before but a limited amount.