The document discusses how the student's film uses, develops, and challenges conventions of real media products. It summarizes that the film matches typical cinematography conventions but also includes some unconventional elements like fourth wall breaks. It also discusses the film's use of various camera angles, comedy genre conventions like setting and costumes, and lighting and genre theory. The student analyzes how their hybrid comedy-sci fi film both parodies conventions and merges genres through the use of time travel.

1. Question 1
In what ways does the media
product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real
media products?

2. Cinematography:
 In terms of cinematography, our film matched typical forms and conventions of
cinematography as we portrayed match on actions between two scenes and we
used a lot of different camera angles when producing our film. In addition to this,
we also took into consideration the 180 degree rule to ensure our continuity didn’t
break. However despite this, we didn’t include a shot reverse shot due to our
character being the only main character in our film and we also decided to break
continuity on purpose which juxtaposes to typical conventions of real media
products. We decided to include 4th wall breaks in our film as we wanted to get the
audience to interact with our main character so that the experience for the
audience was both fun and enjoyable and it feels like the main character is talking
to them.

3. Camera Angles:
 Prior to filming, we decided to create a shot list so that we could record all the
different and difficult shots we were going to film and how we were going to
produce them. When creating the short list we came up with cantered angle
shots and a reverse dolly shot including other tricky shots such as standing over
the main character to gain an extreme high angle shot. We decided to do this
variance in shots as this would give our film more versatility and freedom which
creates more of a fun and interesting experience for the audience.
 Similar to real media products, whenever we film an establishing shot we often
used a long shot to portray to the audience where our main character is. This is
an effective way to film as the audience doesn’t have to focus on where the
character is as the long shot establishes this for them. Evil Dead 3 also uses
establishing shots in similar ways we have as when the main character doesn’t
know where he is, he is depicted in a long shot just like our main character is in
most of the establishing shots we use.
 Additionally, we also used a lot of shots at our main characters eye level so that
our audience can establish a connection with the main character as they are
positioned at his level. This makes our main character easier to understand and
the film a lot more enjoyable. In addition, to this we also inputted eye line
matches with point of view shots to further emphasise the bond between
audience and character.

4. Genre Conventions:
 Comedy sci-fi hybrids tend to feature most of their
comedy around the scientific part of their film. For
example a comedy sci-fi hybrid that does this would
be Paul as most of the comedy is stemmed around
his ability to talk and communicate with two “English
nerds”. We have incorporated this into our film as our
main character creates comedic scenes due to the
fidget spinner sending him back in time. Also the
main character in this genre is seemed to be quite
clueless to appear funny to the audience like Simon
Pegg in Paul and Jim Carey in Dumb and Dumber.
Therefore when casting our main character, we
decided to choose an actor who could portray this
clueless and humorous stereotype for our film.

5. Setting:
 Comedy settings tend to feature a utopian setting
where everything seems ordinary and picturesque.
They can be set in various locations depending on
what the film storyline is about. For example our film is
about a young man who seems to be happy finding a
fidget spinner on the floor which you can get for 99p at
a store which could convey to the viewer that the main
character may be poor if he is getting excited over a
used toy left on the floor. Therefore we decided to film
our short media project in a rural area. Setting is key
for a film as gives the illusion to the audience that the
character truly belongs in that environment if you pick
the right setting to match your storyline.

6. Costume:
 In comedy genre conventions the main character is usually
depicted as an ordinary man with ordinary clothes. The
reason for this is that by placing a character in ordinary
clothes this straight away creates a connection between
audience and the main character. Therefore if something
funny was to happen to the main character, as an audience
we may find it more humorous than usual as we have a
connection with the main character. For example, Adam
Sandler’s costume in Happy Gilmore portrays that he is an
ordinary man with an ordinary occupation therefore the
majority of people can relate to this lifestyle which means we
are inclined as an audience to relate with Adam Sandler.
Therefore to match this sense of realism we decided to
represent our main character in mundane clothing.

7. Lighting:
 High key lighting is frequently used in comedy genres to display happiness and a sense of easiness for
the viewer. They do this to make the audience feel comfortable and relaxed when watching a comedy
so they can enjoy the film without having to worry about any jump scares or action packed scenes.
Furthermore, comedy films tend to use natural high key lighting such as the sun and lights in a room
to emphasise realism. By creating this sense of realism in the film this makes the audience relate to the
film more and also creates a happy and bright environment for the storyline to take place. An example
of this in a film would be Bruce Almighty (2003) when Bruce (Jim Carey) gains the power of god and it
is sunny and bright outside to match the happy and comedic mood of the film. Therefore when
making our film we decided to input a lot of natural lighting for our audience to feel at ease and to
create this joyful environment.

8. Genre Theory:
 Christian Metz genre theory suggests that “genre’s go through a cycle of changes during their
lifetime”. These stages are:
 Experimental Stage – This is the beginning phases of the genre. Here the foundations are built, so
the generic codes and conventions are set.
 Classic Stage – This is where the codes and conventions of a genre become seen as iconic and
idealised as the guidelines for the genre.
 Parody Stage – Now these codes and conventions are established, widely recognised and
accepted, they can be parodies which means people can use these guidelines and mock them for
humour. This is based on the fact that the audience understands the codes and conventions of
the genre.
 Deconstruction Stage – Now the genre can begin to evolve and merge with others. Genre’s
become less clear and the guidelines can be broken.
 Our film focuses on both the parody stage and the deconstruction stage as we mock conventions
as well as merge the comedy genre with a sci-fi genre due to the time travelling aspect. The
reasons for our film being a parody is due to the fact that we mock serious situations such as our
main character about to get mugged and the main character stuck in the past to emphasise the
comedic side to our story and to mock stereotypical genre conventions. Furthermore, due to our
film having the time travel element, this is a generic code for sci-fi films therefore our film breaks
into the deconstruction stage as we have merged genre’s by making our film a hybrid genre. One
of the guidelines we broke was the fact that despite our film having a lot of high key lighting to
depict freedom and happiness we do include some dark scenes like in the alleyway to emphasise
how his use of time travel saves him from being attacked but in a comedic way. Similarly,
Cowboys vs Aliens is a hybrid of comedy and sci-fi and they also uses darker scenes when the
characters are in danger such as Daniel Craig however due to their film having a comedic element
they add a humorous aspect to their film to make the seriousness light hearted and enjoyable for
the viewer.

9. Rick Altman’s ‘set of pleasures’ states:
 Emotional Pleasures - The emotional pleasures offered to audiences of genre films are particularly significant
when they generate a strong audience response.
 Visceral Pleasures - Visceral pleasures are 'gut' responses, defined by how the film's stylistic construction elicits
a physical effect upon its audience. This can be a feeling of revulsion, kinetic speed or a 'roller coaster ride'.
 Intellectual Puzzles - Certain film genres such as the thriller offer the pleasure in trying to unravel a mystery or a
puzzle. Pleasure is derived from deciphering the plot and forecasting the end or being surprised by the
unexpected.
 Emotional Pleasure fits perfectly with the film and the genre of our film due to the fact that comedies are
intended to make the audience enjoy the film and laugh at the comedic scenes. This links in with our film as we
have embedded comedy aspects to our film to ensure the audience experiences emotional pleasures.
 Furthermore, our film features intellectual puzzles due to our main prop: the time travelling fidget spinner. With
this prop, we encourage audiences to start questioning certain things about the spinner such as:
 Can the Fidget Spinner travel forwards in time?
 Is there any negative effects that happen due to time travel?
 Where is the film leading to with the time travel?
 With these questions the majority are answered in the film as the negative effect is reflected in the ending due
to the fidget spinner being destroyed and our main character stuck in the past. Even if our main character was
able to spin the fidget spinner forwards in time the spinner was destroyed so he couldn’t get back to the
present.
 Similar to our film, the edge of tomorrow also covers the same intellectual puzzles as our film as Tom Cruise
has to relive the same moment again to defeat an alien race. Despite our storylines differing, the outcome and
the context is very similar as our characters relive the same moment to accomplish something. Furthermore, in
the end of both our film and The Edge of Tomorrow, the source that sends our main characters back in time is
destroyed so they are stuck in that timeframe for the better or worse. This leads to intellectual puzzles of
whether time travel worked out for the better or not.

10. Richard Dyer: Theory of entertainment:
 Transparency:
 Transparency is the idea of how much our audience understands the main character. This allows a film to have
more emotional contagion between the audience and character as the audience understands how the character is
feeling and the audience can therefore emphasise with them. The lead protagonist in our film rewinds time for
mundane tasks which emphasises to the audience how our main character has immature and childish traits.
Therefore because the audience are encouraged to understand this they can create alignment with the main
character and empathise for them. A film where the audience can empathise for a childish protagonist is Forest
Gump when Forest Gump does immature things yet the audience find this humorous and draw connections to
childhood innocence from this which matches the main character of our film.
 Intensity:
 Intensity is the feeling of how the feelings of a character changes dramatically throughout the film. The emotion of
our main protagonist does change significantly throughout the film as our character experiences the highs of
having a time travelling object and enjoys the experience to fearing the fidget spinner in the end as it breaks and
he is stuck in the past because of his own naivety. The audience then replicates this fear of the fidget spinner as the
audience can align with the main characters naivety.
 This relates to another theorist, Stuart Hall, due to his theory stating that audiences have three different responses
to a film:
 Dominant Response – Where the audience decodes the message as the producer wants them to do and broadly
agrees with it.
 Negotiated Response - Where the audience accepts, rejects or refines elements of the text in light of previously
held views.
 Oppositional Response - Where the dominant meaning is recognised but rejected for cultural, political or
ideological reasons.
 With this theory the audience are encouraged to have the dominant response due to our audience feeling
emotionally connected to the main character as they can align with his naivety.