The document discusses various conventions and narratives commonly used in action films. It provides examples of stock narratives like revenge narratives and characters being trapped in difficult situations. It also outlines stock characters, settings, themes, and styles of presentation seen in many action movies. The document then analyzes how the media product Wraith both utilizes conventions from famous action films, like establishing shots and intense chase sequences, and challenges some conventions, such as having a female villain and using a monologue instead of dialogue.

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

2. Stock narratives
Like every other genre, action has some recurring
narratives which are used quite often. Here are some
examples:

3. Stock narratives
Like every other genre, action has some recurring
narratives which are used quite often. Here are some
examples:
The hero has been left for dead by the villain and
plots revenge on the ones who betrayed him.

4. Stock narratives
Like every other genre, action has some recurring
narratives which are used quite often. Here are some
examples:
The hero has been left for dead by the villain and
plots revenge on the ones who betrayed him.
A character is trapped in a difficult situation and
must find a way to get out of it.

5. Stock narratives
Like every other genre, action has some recurring
narratives which are used quite often. Here are some
examples:
The hero has been left for dead by the villain and
plots revenge on the ones who betrayed him.
A character is trapped in a difficult situation and
must find a way to get out of it.
A retired hit man is called out of retirement for one
last assignment.

6. Stock narratives

7. Stock narratives
Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill is a common
example of where a typical revenge
narrative is used.

8. Stock narratives
Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill is a common
example of where a typical revenge
narrative is used.
Although the plot is a typical action
narrative, the film was well received by
critics due to Tarantino adding his own style
into the genre. This included memorable
characters and effective use of dialogue.

9. Stock narratives

10. Stock narratives
One of the most used structures in action films is the
‘three act structure,’ The first act introduces the main
characters and shows what their motives are e.g. Plot
revenge. Act two involves the character trying to achieve
their motive but there will be obstacles in the way such
relationships or fighting ‘bad guys.’ The third act is where
the plot reaches the most tension and the character
manages to resolve their objective e.g. killing the villain.

11. Stock narratives
Stock themes in action films include:
Revenge
Betrayal
Justice
Resolution
Violence

12. Stock narratives
Stock themes in action films include:
Revenge
Betrayal
Justice
Resolution
Violence
Some examples of action films that include these themes are John
Wick (2014), Taken (2008) and Dredd (2012).

13. Stock characters
Stock characters of the action genre include:
A retired hit man/war veteran/soldier e.g. John
Rambo, Bryan Mills, John Matrix

14. Stock characters
Stock characters of the action genre include:
A retired hit man/war veteran/soldier e.g. John
Rambo, Bryan Mills, John Matrix
A policeman with relationship issues e.g. Die Hard

15. Stock characters
Stock characters of the action genre include:
A retired hit man/war veteran/soldier e.g. John
Rambo, Bryan Mills, John Matrix
A policeman with relationship issues e.g. Die Hard
Damsel in distress –female characters constantly
caught up in difficult situations e.g. Willie in Indiana
Jones and the Temple of Doom.

16. Stock settings

17. Stock settings
A common setting for an action
film is to be set in a city in
suburban areas it is rare that you
see action films in a countryside
setting.

18. Stock settings
A common setting for an action
film is to be set in a city in
suburban areas it is rare that you
see action films in a countryside
setting.
Action films also have a very
‘black and white’ style of scenery.
Characters are mostly seen as
rich or poor

19. Stock settings
• The Raid 2 (2014) is an example of a film that is set in
rich or poor settings. A big theme of the film is
corruption. The villains are the rich ones with power
while the main character Rama comes from a poor
background.

20. Styles of presentation
and Iconography
Common iconography used in actions include:
Explosions
Guns
Fist fights
Strong language
Chase scenes
Set in the modern day

21. Conventions we used
One convention we used was an
establishing shot in the opening to
show where the action will take
place. The image on the left is
taken from The Dark Knight (2008).

22. Conventions we used
One convention we used was an
establishing shot in the opening to
show where the action will take
place. The image on the left is
taken from The Dark Knight (2008).
Our establishing shot is a pan from left
to right showing Walton on Thames at
night which was the main setting for
Wraith. The smooth camera
movements from the Dark Knight
influenced us to do this and many
other action films have used this
technique e.g. Transformers 3 (2011),
Drive (2011) and Collateral (2004).

23. Conventions we used
This chase sequence from Casino Royale (2006) uses fast paced editing to
emphasise the intensity of the entire chase sequence and we wanted to
replicate that in Wraith, again this is a common convention used in action films.

24. Conventions we used
Our chase scene has quick cuts of our
characters running from a train station
to stairs, with the music in the
background it gives an intense
atmosphere during the sequence.

25. Conventions we used
In that same scene we used a variety of camera angles and
movements to give the scene a sense of fast pace and the
quick cuts between each take replicate that. The shot on the
left starts off stationary but follows the main character when
he is chasing the villain down the stairs. The shot on the right
is a stationary high angle shot of the stairs.

26. Conventions we
developed
A convention we developed was our
character. We thought it would be
different to have the main protagonist
(Steven) seen in different time zones.

27. Conventions we
developed
A convention we developed was our
character. We thought it would be
different to have the main protagonist
(Steven) seen in different time zones.
The image above shows the first time
Steven is shown to the audience. The
next time we see him is set a few years
after the events of the first half of the
two minutes. To make it look as though
our character has aged, our actor
changed his hairstyle and wore different
clothes to make it look he has aged since
the first half of the film.

28. Conventions we
developed
A convention we developed was the music in the cemetery scene. Since
this moment is meant to be atmospheric we used ambient noise and
diegetic sound that the microphone recorded from the exterior location
such as birds chirping. We found our music online and we decided as a
group what noises and music would work best in each scene.

29. Conventions we
challenged
A convention that we challenged was
that we decided to have a female villain.
This makes the film more interesting
because it challenges the traditional
male villain which is reoccurring in action
films. A villain that influenced ours was
Ma Ma from Dredd (2012). Her
characteristics include evil, little regard
for human life and ruthlessness.

30. Conventions we
challenged
A convention that we challenged was
that we decided to have a female villain.
This makes the film more interesting
because it challenges the traditional
male villain which is reoccurring in action
films. A villain that influenced ours was
Ma Ma from Dredd (2012). Her
characteristics include evil, little regard
for human life and ruthlessness.
Our villain Meea is similar because she
kills Steven’s parents which leaves his
character rock bottom and that drives him
to get revenge for what she did. It also
shows that she is in more power over him,
this represents the idea of women having
more power and authority over men
rather than the other way around.

31. Conventions we
challenged
I think the most unique part about our film is
that there is no dialogue spoken from the
mouth. The final shot of the film is Steven giving
a monologue. This technique is not used very
much in action but rather in films and TV series
that are very character orientated. As the
screenwriter I thought it would be good to add
a monologue instead of actual speech because
it allows more effective character development

32. Conventions we
challenged
I think the most unique part about our film is
that there is no dialogue spoken from the
mouth. The final shot of the film is Steven giving
a monologue. This technique is not used very
much in action but rather in films and TV series
that are very character orientated. As the
screenwriter I thought it would be good to add
a monologue instead of actual speech because
it allows more effective character development
The character Dexter Morgan from the TV series
Dexter (2006-2013) was a big influence to do a
monologue because the show is solely based
around him and his thoughts which is done
through monologues and that really makes his
character unique because of that.