In what ways does your media product use develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Conventions of the horror genre:
- When cosideing ideas to produce my teaser trailer I decided once doing my Product Research that I would adhere to the conventions of the horror genre.This is because particuallry in horror films I found that an effective feature is the use of hand held camera. Which can be shown in films such as the Blair Witch Project, Quarantine .
- So that I could achieve the same effect I specifically deicded to use this style of film as it correlated with my ideas. This is because it not only creates realism for the audience but allows them to to be the voyeurs as they can imagine being the character holding the camera.
- A teaser trailer is used to build awareness of upcoming films and is shorter in length lasting 30seconds to a minute long. They use quick cuts to create intrigue and each shot allows the director to show different scenes of action which aims to build tension and leaves them in a state of confusion. A problem that I encountered was introducing the quick cuts too early, without enough establishing shots. I therefore added in some pan shots of the school and also of my charcters to alsoestablish them to the audience before adding the quick cuts to increasetension.
Challenging conventions :
- I did not set out to challenge the conventions as my main aim was to adhere to the conventions of the horror genre and representing it through each product. However I challenged the concept of a mainstream film by choosing to produce a film that would be independent but also would be able to cross over and appeal to mainstream audience.
- I wanted my film to have independent qualities, and having a ‘low budget’ and limited resources help me achieve this. I feel I was able to utilize the equipment given to me to create unique style that still conformed to the horror genre but also made my trailer different to horror films that are being released today.
The teaser trailer would be produced by Bad Robot Productions an independent Film and Television Company. They have produced films such as ‘Cloverfield’ a horror film that gain great mainstream success. Bad Robot Productions has distributed many horror films which has utilized classic techniques of the horror genre. For example many of the films use a ‘documentary’ style to convey the narrative to the audience. This was one things that I decided to maintain throughout my teaser trailer to create enigma and realism for the audience. Development of Conventions
- Many horror films use a range of different characters both female and male. I decided to subvert the stereotypical conventions of having a male ‘hero’ through only using female’s characters. Another reason for this was because my teaser trailer was set in a all girl’s school so I found it more easier to represent my female characters as being ordinary a possible to create a sense of enigma for the audience so that when tension is built and the characters are put in danger it is unexpected.
- I wanted my characters to represent modern 21st century teenagers. For that reason their sartorial codes is normal casual clothing so that they are portrayed as ordinary and subverts the stereotypical view of today’s youth.
- An audience tends to create a particular view of characters whilst watching any type of film. It may well be a negative or positive representation which leads to stereotypes. More specifically within the horror genre there are common stereotypical characters. One of the most familiar stereotypes is the vulnerable blond ‘damsel in distresses as shown in films such as ‘Urban Legends’ and is central to many of the ‘master of suspense’ Alfred Hitchcook’s films such as ‘Psycho.’ I adhered to the convention of screaming victims through a range of running shots which represented them as being innocent and weak.
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