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1. EVALUATION ACTIVITY 1: IN WHAT
WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT
USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE
FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL
MEDIA PRODUCTS?
By Chloe Lashley

2. Replica begins with an
over the shoulder shot
displaying our
protagonist. This complies
to the Thriller genre due
to the sense of enigma.
The audience are already
questioning who this
person is in addition to
the relevance of the
couple in the background.
The incorporation of the
gentle non-diegetic
background music adds
to the equilibrium that we
created.
Note: Dull colouring
throughout the
production that were
added during the editing
process. This adds
elements of the thriller
genre to the production
and we gained
inspiration from the
Drama/Thriller film Gone
Girl.

3. Here, the audience are
exposed to our
protagonist and the way
in which we chose to
depict her. She subverts
the stereotype of the
typical teenage girl as she
is clearly not make-up
obsessed and appears to
be dressed in all black.
We chose to dress her in
layers to show the many
layers of her personality
as well as to externalise
her mental instability.

4. Representation of the
character Myles: The
audience first see Myles
in a position of dominance
as he publicly abuses his
girlfriend Emel. Black
boys are commonly
shown as
violent/aggressive in the
media and as our
production is partly a
Drama, we thought it
would be interesting to
portray Myles as the
stereotypical black boy in
society.
Dramas usually
incorporate issues that
are prevalant in society
such as domestic
violence; this is simply
because a convention of
the drama genre is to
include realistic situations.
Therefore, we use and
develop this convention.

5. We regularly return to
this shot to show that
Eve is constantly hiding
her identity. She does
not want to let anybody
in to her dark thoughts or
see how she truly feels.
This is supported by her
voiceover that says, ‘I
used to believe in some
sort of God or being that
looks over me,’ but she
does not reveal what she
believes in now or if she
still does believe.
The enigma continues as
she refers to her mental
illness as a disease but
the audience are left
guessing what she
suffers from.

6. Damion’s character
adds elements of the
thriller genre to our
production. His name
intentionally sounds
similar to demon for
symbolic reasons and
because of the devilish
thoughts that go through
his mind. His erratic
movements keep
audience members on
the edge of their seats
and they are not sure
what to expect next.

7. This scene incorporates
two conventions of the
thriller genre that
complement one another.
Tense music is used to
heighten the scene and
make the audience feel on
edge.

8. It is not uncommon for
teenagers, in particularly
teenage girls to feel
suicidal due to issues
related to body image or
problems at home etc. This
has been shown in many
drama films before so
here, we are using the
convention of drama films
(realistic situations) and
developing it further.

9. Saura’s character
challenges the
stereotypical portrayal of
pale white girls with blonde
hair in real media texts.
Usually girls with these
characteristics are
displayed as innocent or
vulnerable but Saura has
deep issues that she
struggles to cope with.
Therefore she is a
countertype – the complete
opposite.
Uses and gratifications
theory – Audience
members going through
similar issues to Saura
may be able to identify
with her character and
understand the pain that
she feels. This is even
more relevant as allowing
the audience to
emotionally connect with
the characters is a
convention of the drama
genre.

10. Escapism – Eve’s
suffering has now become
externalised, allowing the
audience to delve into her
problems and forget about
the problems of their own.
Mise-en-scene:
This scene is located in
the protagonist’s bedroom
which is usually
associated with comfort.
As Eve is no longer
comfortable in her own
space, it shows that she
is at her lowest ever.
DRAMA GENRE – A
bedroom is a typical
setting for a scene; it is
realistic and allows the
audience to grasp more
information about the
character/s.

11. In many drama films, a
sense of realisation
occurs at the end of the
production. However, in
Replica the protagonist
still remains disturbed
and unsure with what to
do with herself. This is
further highlighted in the
climax in the non-diegetic
background music and
close ups showing the
pain on the protagonist’s
face.
Symbolism of the name
Eve – Eve is the name of
the first woman created in
the Bible. She is known
for being everything
associated with purity
until temptation comes
along and cues her
downfall. In relation to our
character Eve, she was
originally innocent in her
early teens until the
temptation to be like
others came along and
ruined her sense of
sanity.

12. Replica ends with an
enigma due to the
cliffhanger. This relates to
the thriller genre as the
audience are left not
knowing whether Eve
stays on the roof of the
car park and decides to
end her life or finds a
reason to live. We leave
the audience wanting
more.