First question of the evaluation

1. Media Evaluation
Question 1
IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR
CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

2. Firstly I look at the ways in which the
trailer follows conventions of a movie
trailer
In the beginning of the trailer we used the
screen to say it was appropriate for some
audiences, this follows conventions of a movie
trailer and makes it look more professional.
The clip then goes straight to our production
logo, it is often conventional to show the logos
of the film companies or majors which provided
funding so by following this our trailer appeared
more professional.

3. The first scene starts out with the main detectives talking
about attacks. Introducing the main characters in the
first scene and starting with dialogue is common in
trailers. This also works well to set the mood of the film
and comes in well with the soundtrack. In the next scene
we show the attacks previously spoken about taking
place.
Throughout the whole trailer the identity of the main
antagonist is barely shown. Not showing the face of the
villain is another convention we followed and by doing
so we create a sense of mystery over his identity which
we believed would be a good way to arouse the
interests of viewers.
A hidden face also connotes danger because unknown
things are generally feared.

4. The trailers pace begins to increase and shots get
more dramatic. This is helped a lot with the
buildup non diegetic sound used with the
soundtrack which creates a lot of tension. The
trailer finally ends of after a chase scene with the
main protagonist and one of the main
antagonists. With the last scene showing the
camera looking through up at the barrel of the
gun and the screen changing to a coming soon
title block. Ending the trailer on a cliffhanger is a
convention which we followed as we thought it
was very important to end with high amounts of
suspense.
Finishing on the release date was also a
convention we used to not only make it look
more professional but also this is some of the most
important information about the film, therefore
putting it in the place where the viewer’s
emotional arousal would be at its highest would
make it more memorable for anybody watching
the trailer.

5. Typically, the conventions of a crime thriller film are;
police, thugs, violence, guns, drugs and gangs. We
decided to use all of these conventions to make
sure the genre stood out and was clear as we
wanted our trailer to look as professional and
realistic as we could make it. This also allows our
trailer to follow Steve Neal’s theory of repetition and
difference by following all these conventions we
made a movie which is typical of the genre giving
the audience a preconception of what the movie is
going to be about.
Lastly we followed some of the conventions in the
characters by having a main protagonist fighting
against a main antagonist this can be linked to
Vladimir prop’s theory of characters as we have the
idea of good fighting against evil. The hero and the
villain are both clear, we also have some helpers in
the form as secondary detectives and the prize
which is the warrant the police are trying to get in
order to catch the villain.

6. Our final trailer also breaks some
conventions When it came to the characters although we followed
some of the ideas in Vladimir props theory there was also
many that we didn’t follow. Firstly our movie does not
contain any female characters which breaks a
convention. Although we had the opportunity to add a
female character we believed that we did not need to
include a woman as our trailer mainly focused on the
action where we followed the stereotype of men being
stronger, more aggressive and therefore better suited for
a thriller.
 Another convention we decided to break was by using
the soundtrack throughout the trailer without breaking it
up. Most trailers would use part of an original soundtrack
and stop it in parts of dialogue or use more than one
song in the soundtrack however we used one song
throughout. Despite the fact the non-diegetic music used
is a shortened version of the soundtrack there are no
breaks for dialogue which is not common in trailers. This is
a convention we chose to break because we thought it
would help to make the tension to increase as more
layers are added throughout the song and it becomes
heavier making a build-up which we believed worked
better with the whole soundtrack.

7. Conventions of the magazine cover
 When creating the magazine cover we also followed
conventions. The magazine features a picture of the main actor
whilst he is in character which follows a convention. The actor is
also not looking at the camera which is makes the audience
wonder what he is looking at. The actor is also in the costume
which he wears in the trailer, we thought it was important to
follow the code of a consistent costume as it makes it easier for
the audience to recognise the characters and helps to brand
them as well as the costume representing their personalities. The
smartly dressed character connotes intelligence and
sophistication that allows the audience to already make a
preconception of him as the good guy in this movie.
 The text used also follows the conventions of a typical
magazine front cover. The largest font is the masthead which is
of a major film magazine company, and the second largest is
of the name of the movie. This is effective because it makes the
movie name stand out, making it easy to see for people in the
shops to notice the movie from further away.
 As well as this we added some other movies in text around the
side. Following this convention our cover look a lot more
professional and would fit the typical look of a magazine front
cover.

8. Conventions we didn’t follow
 We mostly decided to follow conventions when creating our magazine,
although it is good to break conventions we didn’t feel as though we
needed to and by breaking them may make our magazine look
unprofessional. However there were a few things we didn’t include
which a normal magazine would have.
 In order to make our magazine stand out we had to be different by
breaking some conventions, we did this by not including a background
to the picture. Most magazines would use a location from the movie in
the background but we believed that using no background would
draw more attention to the character which will make it more
memorable for people view.
 We also believe that having only a white background will make the
character seem innocent which is then nicely contrasted by the gun he
is holding. This contrast will let people know that this character is good
but also dangerous and this is something we wanted to bring across in
the magazine cover.

9. Conventions of the poster
 When making the poster there were also conventions which we followed. We
wrote reviews given by newspapers. Following this convention will encourage
people to watch the movie as when they see that it has been rated highly by
existing newspapers they will be more inclined to watch the movie. When
people see an expert opinion of something according to the Hovland-Yale
theory it makes them more likely to watch the movie, as we aim to attract the
largest audience we possibly can it is important that we follow this theory.
 Another convention that we decided to follow was the picture of the main
actor who is holding a gun pointing towards the camera. This connoted that he
is ready to kill so the people who see it will know the movie contains action. This
works well as it will help us to attract the target audience we are aiming at.
 We also followed the convention of writing the actors name at the top. Adding
known celebrities in advertising is also stated in the Hovland-Yale theory which
states that advertising known names and celebrities will draw more attention to
the product.
 Adding the release date was another convention followed as it important to be
consistent with synergy so we added the same release date of ‘June 15’ which
we also used in the trailer.
 Lastly we added a website for more information about the movie that people
who see the poster and trailer and become interested. This was an important
thing to do as it is a great way to sell the product even more and with lots of
things done online nowadays it is curtail that we keep up wit trends
 Adding the credits at the bottom in small writing also gave the poster a
professional look. When people see credits have been added they will be able
to defer that a lot of work has gone into making the movie by lots of different
organisations and people which will make the movie seem better.

10. Conventions we broke
 When making the poster we decided to use only one character, this
broke the conventions because the trailer focuses on both the
antagonist and the protagonist fairly equally, however we wanted
the main character to stand out the most as we believed having
one person would create more of an impact as there is less to look
at.
 We also added a picture of smoke beside the main actor, although
this can sometimes be seen in movie posters is it not a usual
convention, adding this represents a lot of things to the audience.
The smoke is white which could connote the innocence of the main
character which is then countered by him holding weapon. The
smoke could also represent danger which is always present with him
in the movie while the police are on the case.
 The use of the smokes connotations give the audience the
impression that the movie is a crime thriller as danger and weapons
are both typically found in that genre.