The document analyzes how the film trailer for "LovingYou" challenges and conforms to conventions of real film trailers. It both subverts and follows conventions in several ways, such as reducing the "gritty" aspects of the social realism genre while focusing on the raw nature of love. It includes critic quotes and lighting similar to independent films. It challenges stereotypes around lesbian relationships seen in other films. While it uses common close-up reaction shots, it subverts expectations by using a point-of-view shot to involve the audience. The trailer overall conforms to conventions of independent, low-budget films by not including actor names or large budgets.

1. FILM TRAILER
EVALUATION
QUESTION 1

2. 1. How does your media product use,
develop or challenge forms and conventions
of real media products?
I will be comparing my film trailer for ‘LovingYou’ to other real film trailers in order to
discuss how mine challenges or conforms to typical film trailer conventions.These film
trailers will be of similar genre to mine, in order to accurately illustrate how I have
conformed and subverted conventions and stereotypes.

3. ‘Blue isTheWarmest
Colour’ 2013
My trailer both subverts and conforms to its social realism
conventions which are characterised as being gritty and
raw. I decided to reduce the ‘gritty’ effects and focus on the
‘raw’ nature of love which is something prevalent in French
social realist and romantic drama films.This is shown in
‘LovingYou’ with soft focus shots and subtle inclinations to
the love between the two girls.

4. ‘LovingYou’ conforms to
the romantic drama and
‘Blue isThe Warmest
Colour’ convention of the
primary characters
interacting with each
other while they are out
of reach, physically and
metaphorically, which
highlights elements of
tough love. For example,
both film trailers include
similar shots of the
central protagonist
moving away from their
potential love interest.
‘LovingYou’
‘Blue isThe
Warmest Colour’

5. Quotes from Critics
The inclusion of quotes from critics is a
convention that isn’t often replicated with high
budget films, for example, in ‘Skyfall’ or ‘Black
Mass’.
The convention is primarily conformed to by
lower budget and independent films because
they require the extra weight of approval from
film critics, like in ‘Blue isTheWarmest Colour’
and ‘The RoadWithin’.
This critic quote is one of two in
my film trailer. I researched
independent magazines and
found ‘INDIE’ magazine which
is an independent magazine
focalised around media ranging
from Music, Photography and
Film which I thought would be
appropriate for our
independent British film. I
created a fake name, ‘Jake
Burhart’, to increase the quotes
validity and make it appear
more realistic.

6. Quotes from Critics
In the top left is a screenshot of the quotes
from critics in ‘Blue isTheWarmest Colour’,
bottom left is a screenshot of multiple
awards for ‘The RoadWithin’ which again
acts as a seal of approval for the low budget
film, and top right is the fictional critical
quotes from ‘LovingYou’.

7. ‘Skyfall’ 2012
First meetings of the central protagonist and the love interest are a convention of most film
trailers that have a element of romance, as shown in ‘Blue isThe Warmest Colour’ and ‘Skyfall’.

8. ‘Skyfall’ ‘LovingYou’
In ‘Skyfall’, there are
multiple shots in the
trailer which have a
particularly warm and
orange hue to them.
These shots are then
juxtaposed with other
much more colder
shots with more of a
blue/green hue to
them.This is
something I wanted to
replicate in ‘Loving
You’ as I believed it to
be very rich in
connotation.

9. Lighting
I wanted to create artificial and orange hued lighting in ‘LovingYou’ particularly in the
shower scene because it could connote that there is something artificial and unnatural
about the wayAlice and her love interest feel which would subsequently reveal the
interior conflict within both Alice and Maggie which is then explored throughout the film.

10. ‘The First Girl I Loved’ 2016
Both trailers for ‘LovingYou’ and ‘The First Girl I
Loved’ challenge the stereotype of there being a
particularly feminine and masculine female in the
lesbian relationship. ‘Blue isThe Warmest Colour’
conforms to this stereotype, however, I though it
would be interesting to challenge this common
stereotype and present the characters Alice and
Maggie as being similarly feminine.

11. Close Up Shots: Reaction Shots
I wanted to conform to the conventions of
similar media products by replicating close up
shots of the central protagonists which also act
as reaction shot.This is shown in both ‘The
First Girl I Loved’ and ‘Blue is theWarmest
Colour’ which truly highlights its conventional
quality.

12. Despite conforming to the convention of close up
shots, I wanted to subvert the traditional convention
by making the shot a Point OfView shot, instead of a
close up, over the shoulder shot.This was effective as
it placed the audience in the position of Maggie: the
central protagonist’s love interest.This consequently
makes the audience feel much more involved in the
film which means that the issues explored will have
an increased impact on them.

13. ‘Cyberbully’ is an American
television film from the television
channel ABC and so the trailer
doesn’t fit the standard film
trailer conventions. However, my
trailer does conform to similar
conventions of ‘Cyberbully’s, due
to it is also being a social realism
drama, trailer with the inclusion
of similar camera shots and
subject matter.
‘Cyberbully’ 2011 ‘LovingYou’

14. Named Actors
I have conformed to my genres convention of not including actors names in the film trailer
due to the low budget nature of ‘LovingYou’.The fact that our film is a low budget
independent movie explains why there aren’t anyA list celebrity names which would act in
themselves as advertising for our media product.This conforms to the conventions of
independent films, however it subverts the conventions of larger budget films as they can
afford to have popular ‘stars’ in their films for example, in ‘Mordecai’ 2015 (left) and ‘Lion’
2017 (right).

15. ‘Based onTrue Events’
I conformed to the conventions of
introducing your storyline as being ‘based on
a true story’. I liked this feature, particularly
with social realism films and similar genres
because it enhances the realist nature of the
genre and makes the issues explored much
more raw and hard hitting.This feature is
replicated in ‘Lion’ (top left) and ‘Erin
Brockovich’ (bottom left).
‘LovingYou’