MEDIA A-LEVEL EVALUATION

1. In what ways does
your media product
use, develop or
challenge forms
and conventions of
real media
products?
John-Paul Prentice

2. Intro
 After extensive research into conventional films in
the drama genre I found films like Rabbit Hole and
Changeling were the most interesting as the topic
they were based on is not widely spoken about.
This lead me to research further into the topic of
losing a child and even more films related to that.
These films are under the mass market genre of
drama but the themes involved can also be
considered a niche market which makes it even
more intriguing.

3. My Idea
 The main basis of the film is that a middle ages mother
looses her child (it is unclear how she does to create mystery
and spark the audiences imagination) and finds it very hard to
cope with day to day life. As the films progresses you see the
protagonist falling apart with out her son until one day there is
a knock at her door.
 Through out the film I conform to the stereotype of women
being weak and emotionally unstable but yet at the same
time, the protagonist is an affluent woman living by herself
who is not emotionally rich but economically. This does not
follow the stereotype of women because in the media they
are usually shown as economically, physically and socially
weaker than men.

4. Sound
 Although most films in the drama genre contain mainly diegetic
sound, my film does not follow these conventions due to the
sounds of the door bell and knocking being non-diegetic. Also
the protagonist does not speak through out the film yet the non-
diegetic narration explains how she is thinking and feeling. This
does not follow the conventions of the drama genre as most
drama films include at least two people who have conversations
or progress through the film together and communicate, where
as my protagonist does not have anyone to communicate as she
has lost her son.
 I have also added a sound track which follows the conventions of
the drama genre due to it sparking negative emotions in the
audience and makes the audience empathies even further for the
character.

5. Setting
 I decided to use only one location to film and this is
because in most drama films the main setting is in a
realistic everyday place such as the home. Using a
home as the setting gives the audience an insight as to
how the protagonist lives and what their life is like.
 Following on from this, the over all setting is in an old
mental hospital which does not conform to the
conventions of a drama film because that is not a usual
everyday place for people to be or live. Although, this
setting does fit in very nicely to the theme that my
protagonist is mentally and emotionally unstable.

6. Costume
 My protagonist is dressed in plain,
comfortable, baggy and simple mother like
clothes which conforms to the stereotype of
middle aged women. The costume follows the
conventions of the drama genre because it is
a realistic representation of how a mother
would look in an everyday setting.

7. Props
 The props used in my films do not follow the
conventions of the drama genre as a mother would
stereotypically be expected to have a mobile phone,
books, makeup or cooking equipment.
 Although, the use of the photo of the protagonists lost
son emphasizes the mothers loss and emotions which
is not a usual prop you would find in a drama film. The
use of everyday items such as the bed or a mirror
follows the codes and conventions as most normal
people use it everyday making the film seem more
realistic.