Andrew Brown discusses how his media products for the film "Entity" follow conventions of real media. For his double page spread, he used a layout inspired by Empire magazine and included photos, color branding, and information boxes. His poster was inspired by "Silence of the Lambs" with a central portrait, masthead, credits, and sepia tone to convey the thriller genre. Scenes in the film used color changes, black and white, text overlays, voiceovers, flashing images, and sound design like thrillers to build tension and emotion.

1. Andrew Brown
How does your media product
challenge or follow the forms and
conventions of real media products

2.  This is my double page spread for our film Entity. As you can see I have followed a lot of the forms and conventions that are used on real
double page spreads. I was inspired by the overall shape and layout of the DPS used in Empire. I used this layout as I thought that it was very
clear, simple but still effective. In my opinion these factors are key for a good DPS as it means that the page is easy to read for the audience. I
have included a picture between the columns of text as this breaks up the text a bit and makes it clearer for the audience – a feature used
often in real media products. The article also follows the convention that the text of the DPS is located on the left hand side of the page. It is
simply logical to have the text on the left as we read from left to right. As for the colour I have gone for orange. Originally I had it as yellow
however, it was difficult to see clearly as it was against a white background. I have used the colour throughout the DPS as it give it a sense of
continuity and branding. Another convention that I followed was to have a ‘call out’ box just to the side to the side of the article of heading.
This gives the audience that little bit more information on the film which they may not be aware of, such as certificate and running time. A
further convention that I followed was to have a banner running along the top of the page. Whilst joining the two pages together, this also
gives the DPS a sense of individuality. Two very simple conventions that I followed was having the page number down in the bottom left
corner of the page as well as the date (month and year) . Secondly I have added a coloured line into the bottom of the left hand page. I
included this simply because I saw it done on real DPS’s such as Empire and Total Film. Upon starting the research into the DPS’s one of the
first things which I noticed that was common on many DPS’s was that the first letter of the first word was a larger font. As this was on real
media products I decide to include it in my double page spread.
» Double Page Spread

3. » Poster
 A lot of the inspiration for my poster came from the famous ‘Silence Of Lambs’ poster. As you can clearly see the similarity in the layout and
design. This was done as I felt that it was the clearest way and didn’t make poster too clustered and made it easier on the eye for the audience.
Similar to the silence of the lambs poster I have used a full face portrait shot for the picture – one difference being that I have used a medium
close up whereas the silence of the lambs is a close up of just a face. Another form and convention that I followed was to have the masthead of
the poster in the largest font so it stands out over all other text on the page. I have added the actors names to the top of the poster as this is a
feature on real media products. A further convention that I followed was to have the crediting text underneath the masthead. This feature is
on nearly every film poster so in my opinion it would be foolish not to include it. The Font is the same throughout the poster (apart from the
crediting text). This was done to give the poster a sense of individuality and uniqueness. This is key for a good film poster, as you want your
film to capture the minds of the audience and one way to do this is to have a unique poster. One other form and convention that i followed
was to make the poster be in keeping with the film. I did this by editing in a skull into one half of the main characters (Louis) face. This gives
connotations of the character having a twist, an evil side to his nature. I also edited in an effect in which it makes his face appear to be
cracking. This gives further connotations of him being weak and letting his evil side to take over easily. Finally I made the poster be in sepia
this make the poster more eerie, more frightening. This fits in with the genre of the film being thriller.

4. » Film
 As for the film, we tried to be both experimental yet also fairly conservative when it came to making it. As you can see from the screen captures I have done
we included a change of colour on screen at certain moments. We used both red and black white. Red was used as it gives connotations of evil which is the
theme of the film and the side of Brain which shines through at certain points during the film. We also used a black and white effect on the parts of the film
which are a memory, a flashback. This was done was because on many films -whether they be thriller, documentary or comedy- when they show a flash back.
We also included at various points in during the film text on the screen overlaying the moving picture. This is a common theme in real movies so we included
it in our production to make it look more professional. Another convention we followed was to have voiceovers in the film. This allows you to say things that
would be difficult to remember on camera. A further convention of the thriller genre that we followed was to have the ‘ghostly’ figure edited in to flash on
screen every time the main character Brian gets angry. This shows the emotions that are being played with in the film. Many thrillers use emotion to make the
films what they are: thrilling, scary, exhilarating. So to make our film look more professional we decided to do the same. The scene at the beginning of the
film - in which Brian is walking through a field – we use a P.O.V (point of view) shot. The P.O.V shot makes the viewer feel as if they in the scene with the
character. This is important as it means it gives the audience a better viewing experience and also entices the audience into the film. Point of view shots also
relate to our genre. Famous thriller/psychological horrors such as Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield also use the P.O.V shot to give
the same effect as I have just described. Sound was an important feature of our film. It enabled us to increase the tension of particular scenes in the film. In the
same scene as I have just described, sound was used to great effect, especially when B.A.S.E begins to attack the thug. It gave the scene an element of surprise
because it was at the beginning of the film the audience didn’t really know what to expect and also the fact that it came to a big crescendo as soon as the
attack starts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF6IMkgP21s
&feature=youtu.be