Q1 Evaluation (2)

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR
MEDIA PRODUCT USE,
DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE
FORMS AND CONVENTIONS
OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
BY KATE WISELKA
Evaluation Q1

Genre Convention
The genre of our film was Social Realism. This genre
focuses on giving the audience a true indication of real
life. Films directors such as Shane Meadows is uses
social realism often in his work.
There were some conventions that we had wanted to
include such as:
producing the film on a low budget
using unknown actors
filming on location
And particular camera movements such as long shots
and (extreme) close ups.

Meeting these conventions:
A low budget
Social realism films tend to have low budgets as one of their
conventions. This is because many social realism films are
independent and therefore have a much lower budget.
We met this convention well as almost everything used was
sourced for free; we all sourced props, such as boxes and art
supplies, from our homes and were able to use the location
for free.
As our film would not be able to be vertically integrated, being
independent, we decided to use below the line marketing
using Web 2.0 and converged devices, such as the use of
marketing on Facebook and Twitter.
The distribution company we decided to use were
StudioCanal UK and we decided to have Warp Films and
Film4 as our production company.

Use of unknown actors
The actress we chose to use, Laura Wilson, has some
experience in local theatre productions and training but only
minimal film experience. We met this convention but also felt it
was important using someone with experience as she could
understand the character and the importance of using her
acting to bring the character across.
However, part of this convention is using actors that have a
similar persona to the character they are playing. Laura is
outgoing and could be classed as an extrovert as she is happy
around other people and comfortable in large groups.
Therefore an improvement we could consider making if we
were to remake the sequence is using an actress who is an
introvert and has a personality similar to our character Milly.
This would created a more naturalistic representation of
introverts as they would be able to draw upon real life
experiences that could be put into their acting.

Filming on location
The location itself fit the narrative and was realistic however I
think that we could perhaps have reconsidered the location as it
is perhaps an unrealistic house that a post graduate would
have straight out of university, unless she has come from a
particularly wealthy background - however we had considered
her to be more middle class.
Therefore, although the location worked well, particularly the
shed, it may have been worth considering using a different
house, perhaps smaller and more run down, to connote that
she is still young and cannot afford a nice house straight out of
University.
We did all of our filming on location in
oppose to on set which was
conventional of our genre.

Camera Movement
Long shots show the setting and allows the audience to meet the
character for the first time.
The first shot that we used is an establishing long shot of the house;
this immediately allows the audience to see our character's new
home and establishes the first setting for the film.
We decided to use this shot as long shots are a convention that is
used in social realism as it provides a base for mise-en-scene and
ultimately the narrative. It also allowed us to set a base for our
character showing that she is in a detached environment, with
limited face-to-face interaction.
We also chose to use a long shot when the shed is discovered as it
allows us to show that the shed is of importance to the character
and narrative. It also provides the audience with suspense as they
are unsure as to what will be discovered inside.

Camera Movement cont.
Within our opening sequence, we also used close-ups, in
particular to enhance distinct emotions. Close-ups are a way
for the audience to see an emotion come through and develop
for the character but also allows the audience to focus on
moments.
We used a few close ups throughout our opening sequence,
many being within the shed.
These close ups allowed us to enhance the reaction of Milly to
her discovery but also so the audience could begin to see that
there was to be a character development in the narrative.
We used an extreme close up of Milly's eyes as we thought that
this was a particularly important moment worth capturing as
eyes are often seen as 'windows' into true emotion and eyes
are often the most important part of acting as stories can be
told through the eyes alone.

Challenging these conventions:
Diegetic Sound
Diegetic sound is sound that the character’s would hear, for
example cars or a radio, whereas non-diegetic sounds are
sounds which have been edited in during post-production, such
as music or sound effects.
As the genre we chose focuses on being realistic, diegetic
sounds are usually used.
We decided against the use of mostly diegetic sounds.
This is because of the lack of dialogue in our opening
sequence. Whilst working on our first draft, we considered
using diegetic sounds then later bringing music in however
when we applied the sound and music to our animatic, we
decided that that as this is the opening sequence, we wanted to
convince the audience to watch the rest of our film and without
any other sound we could risk losing the interest of our
audience.
Music enabled us to enhance the emotions that our character was
feeling and we were able to achieve this by choosing to use a
simple melodic piano score.

Form Research Convention
Our form was an opening sequence. There are a number of
form conventions that we met and challenged, including:
The order of credits
Use of colour and it's effect
Flashbacks
Narrative and voiceover
Action/Chase sequence
Animation

Opening sequence
We based the order of our opening sequence on the standard
order for independent, social realism films:
Studio Name
Production Company
Film Title
Actors (main actors followed by supporting actors)
Casting Director
Music
Editor
Director of Photography
Producer
Writer
Director

The use of Colour
The use of colour has a lot of importance in film because it
creates atmosphere and different colours affect people in
different ways.
We felt that it was important to consider the use colour in our
opening sequence as art itself is based a lot around colour,
but also, it is a way to enhance Milly’s emotions discretely.

The use of Colour cont.
The colours we chose to focus on were blue and yellow. Both are
contrasting and have different connotations.
Blue is a ‘cold’ colour and although can have positive connotations,
such as it being a relaxing colour, it also symbolises ‘lack of emotion’
and ‘unfriendliness’; Milly is feeling detached from the outside world
and therefore blue seemed an appropriate colour to start our sequence
with.
Yellow however is a warm colour with positive psychological
properties; these include: optimism and creativity. By using yellow-
orange lighting when Milly enters the shed, it connotes that things will
begin to look up for her and she will develop a new self-esteem.
The reasons behind using these contrasting colours was to symbolise
that her old and new-found life are going to contrast. Although she will
still deal with a number of hardships, she is going to become more
comfortable with who she is as a person.

Flashbacks
Flashbacks are also a convention of opening sequences;
they show past events and often are a good way to gain
audience’s attention as the events are revealed throughout
the narrative. We challenged this convention as we decided
not to use them.
This is because they would be out of place in our film
particularly as we wanted to keep the film as naturalistic as
possible. Instead, the events are revealed in chronological
order starting from when Milly moves into the house, and
the events that follow.
Had we been producing the whole film, we would perhaps
consider other ways to bring the character’s past into the
narrative; this could be done by the use of mise-en-set or use
of dialogue.

Narration and Voiceovers
Narration and voiceovers are a way to ‘talk’ to the audience
directly. They describe information about the protagonist on
top of the action that is on screen and often about their
past.
Similarly to flashbacks, we decided to challenge this
convention by not including it in our opening sequence as
our character’s backstory was not relevant within our
sequence. We were focusing on the present of the
character and did not want to divert the audience’s
attention to unnecessary information.

Action/Chase Sequence
Action and chase scenes can be a very good way
to open a film as the audience’s attention is
instantly grabbed.
However, they are much more fitting in other
genres such as thriller or horror, rather than social
realism.

Animation
Animation can provide a unique ‘stamp’ on a film,
however it has to be used in the correct way as to not set
the wrong tone for the film.
Because of this, we felt that it would not be appropriate
to include animation in our opening sequence.
Our film, being social realism, is about showing
introverts in a naturalistic, realistic way. Animation
would go against this and would also not appeal to our
sophisticated audience - animation is often associated
with children’s films or blockbusters.

THEORETICAL
RESEARCH:
Auteur and Narrative

Theoretical Research:
Auteur Theory
Auteur theory is a way for directors to put their own
personal ‘stamp’ or vision into their film.
Some of the ways we considered putting our own
auteur stamps on our opening sequence were:
The use of colour to create mood and atmosphere but
also to create different effects on the audience.
Using personal items in our mise-en-set.
Showing the life of a private character.
Exploration of the ‘double lives’ of characters.
The planning and consideration of connotations that
may come out of our sequence.

Colour
Colour was used as one of our main auteur stamps; we used a
contrast of warm and cold colours to enhance the mood of our
character.
Blues were used at the start of our sequence to suggest a
‘cold’ environment – such as when Milly was walking to the
door for the first time and whilst eating dinner – but as Milly
became more comfortable where she was, yellows were
introduced – particularly in the shed.
Colour was an interesting stamp to put on our film as it is often
less considered than other auteur stamps. It is a good way to
add connotations to the scene and add depth.
However, getting the colour right is perhaps something we
could further work on to ensure that it looks natural.

Mise-en-set
Mise-en-set is what is put into a scene or frame. It can
communicate essential information to the audience, particularly
about the setting and character. Two main elements of mies-en-
set are: settings & props and costume hair & make-up.
From our theoretical research we learnt that mies-en-set could
be used as an auteur signature in the way that personal items
are used as part of the mise-en-set.
Therefore, we tried to source personal items, particularly as set
dressing.
Many art supplies used had been personally used by some of
our crew and had personal significance.
There were also books that were similarly used.

Showing the life of a private character
Another auteur signature that we thought would be appropriate
for our opening sequence is showing the life of a private
character and the idea of showing a ‘double’ identity.
Introverts are naturally private people and as our film is
social realism it plans to be as realistic as possible.
Therefore, by exploring introversion, we are naturally
showing the audience the life of a person who doesn’t show
much of themselves.
However, as the opening sequence of a film is so short, it
was difficult to show much of the character’s life -
particularly as there was no social contact between Milly and
another character. Instead, we tried to make it clear through
acting and behaviour; Milly appeared reserved and
uncomfortable and good at hiding her true feelings as she
told her mum she was okay when she was clearly feeling
lonely.

‘Double’ identity
The ‘double identity’ theme auteur is one that shows a
character in two lights.
This is a signature we had a look at doing as because the
character is introverted, she could be shown to be
uncomfortable around people but becomes much more
content and reassured whilst pursuing art - a hobby she is
good at.
Similarly to showing the life of a private character, as only a
small part of the film was produced, we were not able to
explore this signature in much depth. We did however, show
that art was going to make a positive impact on our
characters life through facial expression and body language.

Narrative Theory
The narrative of a film is it the way that it’s ‘story’ or
‘plot’ is structured. Our film best fitted into
Todorov’s Equilibrium theory
Often not all the stages are relevant, particularly in the
opening sequence alone.
Equilibrium Everything is ‘as normal’, the scene is set.
Disequilibrium Something happens, maybe a change or
something goes wrong
Recognition of the disruption There is a realisation of the change
An attempt to repair the
disruption
The protagonist attempts to fix the change.
New equilibrium The ‘problem’ has been solved, but the
outcome is different the first equilibrium.

Narrative Theory
Narrative theory applied to our Opening Sequence:Equilibrium Milly is moving into her new house; and
although is uncomfortable with the change,
attempts to make this house her home.
Disequilibrium Milly looks outside of her window only to
discover the shed; she is curious as to what
is inside.
Recognition of the disruption N/A
An attempt to repair the
disruption
She goes into the shed in attempt to see
what she will discover.
New equilibrium The art equipment is discovered and she
realises that her life will take a positive new
course

Another narrative theory is Propp’s theory of Character
Types; this is a theory that believes that all narratives
contain the same types of character:
Narrative Theory
Hero The protagonist that seeks something
Villain The antagonist who blocks the hero’s quest
Dispatcher A character who sends the hero on their quest
Helper A character who aids the hero
Donor A character who provides and object to help the
hero’s quest
Princess The ‘reward’ for the hero and the object of the
villain’s plots
Father Acts to reward the hero for their efforts
False Hero Appears to be helping the hero but disrupts the
quest.

Narrative Theory
In our opening sequence, the audience only meet Milly – the
‘Hero’.
However there are other characters that are relevant of
Propp’s theory:
The donor: the person that left all the art supplies.
The dispatcher: could also be Milly as she creates the
‘quest’ to art for herself.
Later on in our film, had it been produced, it is likely that
more characters would be introduced that would fit into
Propp’s theory.

Narrative Theory
The other narrative theory we could apply is Levi Strauss’ theory
of Binary Opposites. It is based on the idea that there is a more
desirable side to opposites that society expects. In our film
examples of these could be:
Extrovert – Introvert
Together – Alone
Happy – Sad
Our character could be seen as challenging certain binary opposites
as she is challenging the misconception that being introverted
means being lonely and sad; she is still able to be happy, despite
feeling the need to be around people all the time.

Q1 Evaluation (2)

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