This document discusses how the media product challenges or follows conventions of real media. For the double page spread (DPS), the author followed conventions from Empire magazine in terms of layout and including a picture between columns. Color, page numbers, and lines at the bottom also follow conventions. The poster was inspired by Silence of the Lambs and includes the actors' names, masthead in largest font, and credits underneath. The film includes experimental elements like color changes but also more conservative conventions like voiceovers, flashbacks in black and white, and text overlays - all common in thrillers to make it feel professional.

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 sued 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.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF6IMk
gP21s&feature=youtu.be