2. Makes you think and Ask
Questions
• This is a convention that we were
able to follow through the dialogue
of the voice of god. This is
because both of her voice overs
end with a question: are we truly
happy and what is happiness, I
don’t know you tell me. This would
lead the audience to really think
about their own happiness and if
they have achieved it. Starting and
ending with a question would
make the audience constantly
think about what they are being
told in the documentary and then
later on how it will help them
chase their own perception of
happiness.
3. Associated with critical success
rather than commercial
• This is a convention that we were
able to follow due to the fact that our
documentary will be shown in film
festivals which focuses on the critical
aspect of our documentary. This is
because film festivals would be the
test to whether our documentary will
be able to gain future success. Film
festivals are full of critics so our
documentary being shown in these
exhibition outlets first will determine
whether or not it will be critically
successful. If it gets good reviews,
then there will be more of a chance
in further exhibition, as well as the
distributors being present in the film
festivals wanting to invest in our
documentary and continue its
exhibition.
4. Lower production values
• This is a convention that we
broke due to the locations
featured in our
documentary. This is
because it is very expensive
to travel to America, so the
fact that parts of New York
and LA are seen in our
documentary would
definitely mean that we did
not have a low budget and
would make our
documentary have a higher
production value.
5. Rarely shown at multiplex
cinemas
• This is a convention that we
were able to follow due to the
fact that on our poster and
radio advert we clearly state
that it will be shown in the
different film festivals (BFI
Film Festival) and
independent cinemas rather
than multiplex cinemas. This
is due to the fact that we do
have a limited budget and
would not be able to secure
conglomerate distributors who
would be able to help
distribute our production to
multiplex cinemas.
6. Niche, older, more
educated audience
• I believe that this a convention
that we ended up breaking
instead of following. This is due to
the fact that our primary audience
are young and successful
individuals who are around 21-30
and trying to achieve what they
perceive happiness to be. Since
they are quite young, they would
not have as much experience and
knowledge as someone who was
older. The fact that we feature
places in America makes our
documentary have an American
appeal and lead to a wider
audience, hence the Sundance
film festival exhibition.
7. Intend to challenge, provoke,
inform and educate
• This is a convention that we
were able to follow due to
the fact that our
documentary is all about
educating the audience on
the subject of happiness
and informing them that
everyone in this world can
achieve happiness but it is
up to them to determine
what makes them truly
happy.
8. On location shooting
• This is a convention that
we were able to follow
due to the fact that all
locations present in the
documentary were
actually filmed in that
location and not on a set.
This was done to create
realism and to have
actuality footage which
are all conventions of a
documentary.
9. Exploration of narrative
themes, open ended
• This is a convention that we
were able to follow as our
documentary was left open
ended. This is because we
end with a question that the
audience would be drawn to
think about and a definition of
happiness that can mean
differently to each individual
person. Our documentary
explores the subject of
happiness but in a way
where the audience are still
left thinking on their chase to
happiness and what
happiness means to them.
