Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms of conventions of real media products?
My product conforms, develops and challenges to the conventions of 'real' media products in various ways;
Genre
My piece develops conventions of genre. McConnell stated, in his theory, that there are just five genres;
This relates highly to Coe's theory - 'The Tyranny of Genre', signigying how genre restrains individual creativity, allowing no films to be completely unique. Elements of this were found in my work, as the group found many similar film openings (such as The Ring), with merely the antagonist differing in each opening. Whilst this can be seen as a restriction, at times it provided stability and a scaffold to help shape my work, defining the characters qualities, iconography and mise en scene. In this sense, my product conforms to the conventions of real media products.
Miller's 'Genre as Social Action' theory depicts a convention used in my production. It shows understanding of how people work together and participate in a community. We can see this in my piece with the characters dialouge, they care for each other and come to each others aid in times of need. This taken into account, my product uses the conventions of media products according to Miller.
Post-modernism is a convention which is challenged by my piece. This theory rejects all boundries of genre, whereas my movie uses genre as a scaffold to shape its representations, story, and technical aspects (camera work, lighting, music etc.). Though my piece does use genre massively, the story stems from a postmodern idea, the sleepover house (or even the sleepover itself) possessing the antagonist, similar to post-modern ideas of man-made things over riding humanity. This shows that the technical, micro, aspects of my film do not conform to post modernism, though the plot itself does.
Audience
Auteur theory states that each piece has one author, one creator. This is challenged in my piece, as the production process was conducted in a group format, leading ideas to be put foward and recieved equally by each member of the group.
Narrative & Characters
My product clearly conforms to narrative conventions according to the theories of Todorov and Propp. Todorov believed that every narrative can be broken down into just five simple stages;
My product could also be said to use conventions of characters through Propp's theory of 'eight spheres of action'. In this, Propp identifies eight characters seen in most products, though mine only features two as it is mearely the film opening. The villain and false hero are shown in my piece, the villain being the murdering antagonist and the false hero being the character who races to her friends aid only to be captured herself, though this character could also be seen as monster fodder, showing the use of the conventions of real media products.
Lighting - Our movie consists, mainly, of low key lighting. This dim, warming feel has been used to give the viewer a false sense of security, making the initial scare more alarming. This technique uses conventions as it can be seen in Scream, which uses only lighting provided by lamps in the house, used to the same effect as in my own movie.
Macro features
Iconography - Though this movie is of the horror genre, there is very little horror iconography used. There are no masked assailants of shots of a full moon etc. However, horror iconography is used in the form of fake blood as seen in the case study of Saw II.
Setting - The setting of this piece uses the conventions of real media products well. Its setting almost mirrors that of Scream (as seen in the research study), a suburban house with middle class hinting mise en scene, used to make the horror enforce a sense of realism in the viewer.
Characters - A 'final girl' style character is not introduced in this sequence, as this was not the case in the openings of Saw II, Scream & Creep. The movie follows the conventions of these real media products by introducing the antagonist in the first scene, showing only a harsh, fast shot of her, similar to the one seen in Creep.
Genre
My piece develops conventions of genre. McConnell stated, in his theory, that there are just five genres;
- The king - establishing the state.
- The knight - consolodating the state.
- The pawn - trapped in the institutionalised state.
- The fool - responding to the madness of the state.
- Apocalypse - the collapse of the state which leads to a new beginning.
This relates highly to Coe's theory - 'The Tyranny of Genre', signigying how genre restrains individual creativity, allowing no films to be completely unique. Elements of this were found in my work, as the group found many similar film openings (such as The Ring), with merely the antagonist differing in each opening. Whilst this can be seen as a restriction, at times it provided stability and a scaffold to help shape my work, defining the characters qualities, iconography and mise en scene. In this sense, my product conforms to the conventions of real media products.
Miller's 'Genre as Social Action' theory depicts a convention used in my production. It shows understanding of how people work together and participate in a community. We can see this in my piece with the characters dialouge, they care for each other and come to each others aid in times of need. This taken into account, my product uses the conventions of media products according to Miller.
Post-modernism is a convention which is challenged by my piece. This theory rejects all boundries of genre, whereas my movie uses genre as a scaffold to shape its representations, story, and technical aspects (camera work, lighting, music etc.). Though my piece does use genre massively, the story stems from a postmodern idea, the sleepover house (or even the sleepover itself) possessing the antagonist, similar to post-modern ideas of man-made things over riding humanity. This shows that the technical, micro, aspects of my film do not conform to post modernism, though the plot itself does.
Audience
Auteur theory states that each piece has one author, one creator. This is challenged in my piece, as the production process was conducted in a group format, leading ideas to be put foward and recieved equally by each member of the group.
Narrative & Characters
My product clearly conforms to narrative conventions according to the theories of Todorov and Propp. Todorov believed that every narrative can be broken down into just five simple stages;
- The beggining state of equilibrium.
- The disruption of equilibrium.
- The recognition of this disruption.
- An attempt to stop the disruption or repair the damage.
- A new equilibrium, or the restoration of the original.
My product could also be said to use conventions of characters through Propp's theory of 'eight spheres of action'. In this, Propp identifies eight characters seen in most products, though mine only features two as it is mearely the film opening. The villain and false hero are shown in my piece, the villain being the murdering antagonist and the false hero being the character who races to her friends aid only to be captured herself, though this character could also be seen as monster fodder, showing the use of the conventions of real media products.
Micro Features
There are various camera, editing and lighting techniques used which match the conventions of real media products of the horror genre
Close ups - These are often used on characters to emphasise the antagonist's closeness to them, as seen in the case study of Scream. In our movie, a close up is taken of the antagonist to highlight her status and provoke fear in the sense that she is always close. This uses the conventions of real media products of this genre, using the technical features and representation.
Sudden cuts - Films, such as Saw II & Scream, often use sudden cuts to shock the audience by alerting them of something which is not immediately visible. Our movie challenges this convention by using no sudden cuts. This has been done to evoke the viewer into a false sense of calmness, whilst subtly employing the fearful antics of the antagonist.
Lighting - Our movie consists, mainly, of low key lighting. This dim, warming feel has been used to give the viewer a false sense of security, making the initial scare more alarming. This technique uses conventions as it can be seen in Scream, which uses only lighting provided by lamps in the house, used to the same effect as in my own movie.
Macro features
Iconography - Though this movie is of the horror genre, there is very little horror iconography used. There are no masked assailants of shots of a full moon etc. However, horror iconography is used in the form of fake blood as seen in the case study of Saw II.
Setting - The setting of this piece uses the conventions of real media products well. Its setting almost mirrors that of Scream (as seen in the research study), a suburban house with middle class hinting mise en scene, used to make the horror enforce a sense of realism in the viewer.
Characters - A 'final girl' style character is not introduced in this sequence, as this was not the case in the openings of Saw II, Scream & Creep. The movie follows the conventions of these real media products by introducing the antagonist in the first scene, showing only a harsh, fast shot of her, similar to the one seen in Creep.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
To view the question, please follow this link: http://www.asmediacwjm.blogspot.com/
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
To view the question, please follow this link: www.ascwjm.blogspot.com
How did you attract/address your audience?
Horror films address their audiences in very unique ways. For example, Scream and Saw II immediately show monstor fodder being threatened by an unknown antagonist, hooking the audience as they feel the desire to know the true identity of the antagonist. Creep, however does not introduce the antagonist until the end of the opening, leading only the secluded setting and subtle hints to signify danger and hook the audience. Leaving the piece before the restoration of equilibrium can leave audiences interested and wanting more
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The use of sexually objectified women in our piece could, arguably, act as a tool to attract heterosexual males. A female antagonist could be portrayed as ideallistic, with females being attracted by the fantasy of power within the antagonist. This shows how my procust can attract both genders.
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The use of sexually objectified women in our piece could, arguably, act as a tool to attract heterosexual males. A female antagonist could be portrayed as ideallistic, with females being attracted by the fantasy of power within the antagonist. This shows how my procust can attract both genders.Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience for my products would be, mainly, young adults. This is because the on-screen portrayals of both the caracters and their activities are accurate to a similar age range to my own. It is this element that made me and other group members 'prosumers', in the essence that we have created a film that we and our generation can enjoy. A critique could say that this stereotypical portrayal of girls at a sleepover is very cliche, which takes away from the horror element of the movie.
Our cast is 100% female, which means it could be intented fore a largely female audience. On the other hand, the portrayal of women as sexually objectified could attract a strong heterosexual male audience, though some may say it is shallow or narrow minded to define the sexes in such terms, meaning our product can be enjoyed equally by both genders.
The lack of ethnic representation could affect the target audience of our piece. All of our characters are white caucasian, showing that we, as a group, are not fully representing the ethnic diversity within british society. This could, arguably, narrow our target audience, though some may argue this is not a factor in a constantly globalising society.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
My movie is an independent, extremely low-budget horror movie. This makes it the ideal candidate for distribution via an independent distribution company such as Vertigo Films, Anywhere Road and LionsGate.
Vertigo Films
This is a vertically integrated finance, production distribution company working with, predominantly, British, low-budget films. This means they have a substantial amount of imput on their client films with funds, production and distribution stemming from the company. Through their imput, a distinct identity and representation of gritty, un-glamourised British films, showing mainly horror, action or romance. These films tie in directly with my own product, a realistic, low budget, British horror movie.
The film The Children was composed by vertigo films. This film had an incredibly low budget, but managed to open at No.10 in the UK film charts, achieve a rating of 77% on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed almost £100,000 - a testimony to its extremely low budget. The Children shares many characteristics with my own product, it is based in and around a secluded house, it uses real life events and female characters show traits associated with masculinity (final girl theory) as mine does with the antagonist. High use of medium shots are shown in my piece and The Children, alongside regular, working/middle class mise en scene to give a feeling of calmness in the audience, making the initial shock more terrifying. I believe my film could be similar to this with the help of a larger budget, but props and mise en scene is scarce in my film as the budget was £0.
In conclusion, i believe vertigo films is a perfect distribution company for my film as it works with similar films, leading them to excell.
LionsGate
LionsGate have produced and distributed horror movies with a low budget. Their repertoire of horror movies includes popular films such as The Descent & House of 1000 Corpses which were both extremely successful, grossing over $50 million and over $16million respectively. These films both had budgets under $7 million, meaning they are low budget as is my ownn project.
The films of LionsGate all seem to have similar a sghared marcro feature in the form of setting. Extravagent settings such as a fair ground and cave are used in their horror movies, making my project, set in an ordinary house, alienated from their stereotypical products. This could put me at a disadvantage and lead me to choose Vertigo Films rather than LionsGate.
Vertigo Films
This is a vertically integrated finance, production distribution company working with, predominantly, British, low-budget films. This means they have a substantial amount of imput on their client films with funds, production and distribution stemming from the company. Through their imput, a distinct identity and representation of gritty, un-glamourised British films, showing mainly horror, action or romance. These films tie in directly with my own product, a realistic, low budget, British horror movie.
The film The Children was composed by vertigo films. This film had an incredibly low budget, but managed to open at No.10 in the UK film charts, achieve a rating of 77% on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed almost £100,000 - a testimony to its extremely low budget. The Children shares many characteristics with my own product, it is based in and around a secluded house, it uses real life events and female characters show traits associated with masculinity (final girl theory) as mine does with the antagonist. High use of medium shots are shown in my piece and The Children, alongside regular, working/middle class mise en scene to give a feeling of calmness in the audience, making the initial shock more terrifying. I believe my film could be similar to this with the help of a larger budget, but props and mise en scene is scarce in my film as the budget was £0.
In conclusion, i believe vertigo films is a perfect distribution company for my film as it works with similar films, leading them to excell.
LionsGate
LionsGate have produced and distributed horror movies with a low budget. Their repertoire of horror movies includes popular films such as The Descent & House of 1000 Corpses which were both extremely successful, grossing over $50 million and over $16million respectively. These films both had budgets under $7 million, meaning they are low budget as is my ownn project.
The films of LionsGate all seem to have similar a sghared marcro feature in the form of setting. Extravagent settings such as a fair ground and cave are used in their horror movies, making my project, set in an ordinary house, alienated from their stereotypical products. This could put me at a disadvantage and lead me to choose Vertigo Films rather than LionsGate.
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