The characters in the media product conform to comedy conventions by portraying three misfit main characters - Winston, Chester, and Loco. Winston is posh and clumsy, Chester acts tough but is sensitive, and Loco is crazy. Their appearances further establish their personalities. While drawing from conventions, some techniques like introducing each character with shots of their shoes are less common. The main theme of pursuing the last crate of beer parodies the comedy convention of depicting alcohol consumption, instead focusing on the search. Messages about relatable teenage struggles to acquire alcohol further engage the target audience.

1. Evaluation Q1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

2. The Characters
My teaser trailer is a comedy-action-adventure, and it conforms to many
conventions, mainly of the comedy genre, but also the action and adventure genre.
At the same time, it also subverts from these conventions, with unique scenes to
my trailer in particular.
The three main characters in many ways conform to the structure of main
characters in other comedies; each one is unique with relatable characteristics,
appearances, hobbies etc for different audiences. This enables the viewers to have
their own favourite character, which is likely to be different than their friends’
favourite characters. Conforming to the way the main characters are portrayed in
many comedies, my three main characters are all social outcasts – they each have
their own way of not fitting in and are the “trio of misfits” as the narration in my
trailer explains. Winston is overly posh in comparison to the average person his
age, he is also very clumsy and nervous, which suggests a lack of confidence;
something unpopular with many people, and a weak spot to pick on. Chester acts
tough but is really “a big softy”, which is apparent to everyone around him, so the
use of slang and threats of fights look ridiculous, causing no one to take him
seriously. Loco is, as his name states, pretty crazy; his quirkiness and lack of
common sense leave him out of step with the average person, and most people are
too confused and ‘weirded-out’ by him to get close to him – other than Winston
and Chester. The group are almost ‘thrown together’ all because they don’t fit in
with any other social group, which is very common amongst comedies.

3. Characters’ Costumes
A common convention of the comedy genre is to suggest and connote what kind of
person each character is through their appearance and clothing. This was something I
had planned to do from the start. It’s an easy way to set the scene and establish who the
characters are without needing to go into too much detail. My characters’ appearances
support the short introductions of each character in my trailer, creating a stronger story
behind the characters, and possibly establishing a connection between the audience and
the characters, as they may feel they know the characters somewhat.
Winston’s smart clothing, along with his accent, emphasises that he has had a posh
upbringing, therefore the trailer doesn’t need to go into detail about this area, and can
instead show his clumsiness and lack of confidence around people – girls in particular.
Chester’s casual attire of a hoody with the hood mostly up, baggy jeans and trainers
supports his ‘tough’ appearance along with his introduction; and Loco wears a cowboy
hat and garlic garland for no apparent reason other than the fact that he is crazy, which
only goes to support his rather odd introduction.

4. Characters’ Identities
Each of my characters’ identities aren’t particularly unusual for
comedies, and my trailer conforms to the structure that many
comedies use for establishing the characters’ identities and
personalities. Unintentionally, the structure of my characters is
similar to The Inbetweeners; there’s the seemingly normal one with
a few quirky elements (in my case it’s Winston, who’s quirky
elements consist of his posh appearance and accent and his
clumsiness); there’s the one that acts all tough and menacing in
public, but at home he’s “a big softy” (Chester); and then there’s the
crazy one that no one ever really understands (Loco).
The first shots that I used on the introduction for each character
was a technique that I haven’t seen many Directors use, and this
could be considered a subversion, as I haven’t seen many films, let
alone comedies, that have used my technique. I used high-angle
tracking shots of each characters’ shoes as they walked, before each
of the characters’ introductions; this was for the audience to
immediately establish some idea of who the characters are. The
smart shoes and smart black trousers that preceded Winston’s
introduction should have given the impression that this character is
posh and well-spoken; the baggy trainers and jeans shown before
Chester’s intro should have informed the audience that this character
is a ‘chav’; and the odd shoes preceding Loco’s intro should have
give the impression that this is the mad character of the trio.

5. Themes and Messages
My trailer’s main theme is alcohol (beer, in particular), which is a common
convention of comedies, as consumption of alcohol can sometimes result in hilarious
events. A subversion from this perhaps with my trailer however, is that the story is not
about events following the consumption of alcohol, but the pursuit of beer. The
characters have never had alcohol before, and as they are all 17 years old, acquiring
alcohol is not an easy task. However when the world’s beer supply runs dry, this task
becomes a whole lot harder, and the story becomes a search for the last remaining crate
of beer for humankind. The trailer only contains one shot of a pint of beer, which is the
opening shot, and none of the characters are ever seen with beer; whereas a common
convention of comedies is to show the characters consuming alcohol, and some of the
events following this are also teased; however my trailer is all about the search for beer.
One of the main messages in my trailer, continuing from the subversion of the search
for beer rather than the consumption, is easy for the target audience to relate to; if
you’re not 18, it can sometimes be difficult to get alcohol, and this is greatly
exaggerated through the search for the last crate of beer for humankind.
A common convention of comedy trailers (and action-adventure trailers) is to show
the characters in their normal lives, and my trailer conforms to this with the scene of the
trio lazing around on a sofa, watching TV – a relatable message for many teenagers.