Evaluation Question 1: In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop or Challenge Forms and Conventions of Real Media Products?

With my media product - film opening- being a sub genre, it is hard to challenge certain conventions of 'real' media products without changing the genre sub genre. For example, mine being a chickflick will allow a certain comedy aspect to be included, such found in a romcom, and a dramatised storyline. However, if either of the two are too heavily included then the sub genre is lost.

Sticking to genre itself is a convention. Katie Domaille 'The Horror Genre' said that "Genre is a way of working through important myths and fears of repetition, variation and resolution". This suggets that by stamping a genre on any media product creates certain expectations with the audience. If you go to see a horror/thriller film, it is highly unlikely that there is going to be a strong romance theme. We know this because of expecatations that we are set up with and used, also vice versa in a romantic film it is highly unlikely that there will be a bloody murder scene.

I've tried to challenge normal conventions of real media products and use female as the main character, although this is most common within the chickflick genre, in fact it would be against convention to use as female, however, against conventions as a whole this is quite uncommon. I have used the convention of a beauty conscious young adult to make the audience have a perception of the main character and have her go along with film stereotypes of females. I have used a modern day setting rather than a period or future setting. Use of a period or future setting would not go with the script or nature of the piece because it is very much a modern day love story, not a vintage piece or futuristic, which would mean I had to guess or create a new century.

The narrative itself is linear; another convention; meaning that it goes in order from beginning, middle and end; sticking to Todorov's three part structure - equilibrium (where everything is balanced), disruption of the equilibrium and finally resolution of the equilibrium. Just from the opening we the first two come into action; Ruby (main character) is shown 'happy' in her own world, getting dressed up and then comes the disruption of the second character introduced, who has a negative effect on Ruby.


Equilibrium - balanced
atmostsphere, no bad
vibes.





Disruption of the
equilibrium - negative
atmosphere





Lighting aspects are very conventional to the piece. I have used natural day light most of the time and when not all natural, I have tried to make it as bright as possible to show a positive view. As with most chickflicks, the bright lighting is very normal and dark lighting would suggest a dark, almost evil aspect not found in the average chickflick and like I said earlier would maybe suggest a different genre.