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

Social Realism • Social realism is a film genre that typically focuses on issues in peoples lives. The

associations around this genre suggests that the films are British and are stereotypically made on a low budget. Themes such as drugs, abuse, money and relationships are commonly related with social realism. Films may also look at political, social, religion or class views.

Titles Fish Tank (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u6pg8fuSB4)

• This is the title for the film ‘Fish Tank.’ It uses a simple font that suggests the film is direct and to the point. This fits with the social realism genre of depicting ‘real life’ incidents. The name ‘Fish Tank’ is unusual which creates a sense of mystery around the film. This is a feature that would help sell the film as the audience may go to see it to understand why it has been called this. ‘Fish Tank’ also suggests the girl is trapped, like a fish in a bowl, and is stuck within her walls. The film could look at pushing the main characters boundaries and breaking the normal trends of her life. So, having it called ‘Fish Tank’ creates these connotations around the film. This convention is what I will try to convey in our film title. The title is also placed at the end of the film trailer which is where ours will be placed. This is so the audience will remember it once watching the film trailer.

Always Good

• We have used the same idea as in ‘Fish Tank’ with the use of a simple font. We used the font ‘Gill Sans MT’ as it was uncomplicated and easy to read. We also decided to use the same convention of a two word title. This is because we agreed that it was eye catching and easy to remember. This would then mean that the audience would promote the film through word of mouth. We chose the title ‘Always Good’ as it creates ambiguity about the film, thus creating interest as the audience would want to find out more and so talk about it; therefore, spreading the word. We chose the title ‘Always Good’ because it creates the idea that the main protagonists life is ‘Always Good’ to those on the outside, but in reality her life has many challenges that she struggles with. This concept is explored throughout the film and highlighted in the trailer. This then creates questions for the audience such as why is her life ‘Always Good?’ The title conforms to the conventions of a social realism film with the title being on a black background and the only text on screen at this time.

Establishing ShotFast Girls (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMTG2uHtpLU)

• These are the first moving images played in the film trailer ‘Fast Girls.’ They are establishing shots of the city where the film is based. Establishing shots are conventional features used as they set the scene and allow the audience to understand where it is that the film is based. From this, it allows the audience to see that the film is based in the city, so could imply that it is based in an urban culture.

• We have followed the conventional feature of starting the film trailer with an establishing shot of the main setting. This is so the audience become aware and familiar with the context of the film. However, our film slightly subverts the conventional establishing shot as it is taken from ground level. Generally the establishing shot is looking down onto the setting as highlighted in the bottom image on the ‘Fast Girls’ section. We chose to complete the shot from the ground as we wanted to highlight the scene the main character sees straight away from her house. Instead of depicting a whole city we have shown the street which creates a closer link to the main characters home.

Production LogoKidulthood (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdoKD4gTQ2c)

• This is the production company logo from the film ‘Kidulthood.’ This one starts out small and zooms into the middle of the screen. The production company have decided to create this brand images it is simplistic and easy to remember. Production company logos are a conventional feature found near the beginning of a film trailer. They are used to highlight to the audience who produced the film as they may have seen others created by the same company and then want to find out which other films are from this production company. This is because, if they like this film they may like other films that the same production company produce.

• For our production company logo, we developed this idea of a moving production logo. Instead of the whole image moving we decided to create one with the individual parts that form one production logo image. This is so it is eye catching and therefore creates a distinctly recognisable logo that the audience will remember. This then helps promote the production company as the audience will remember and therefore talk about the it. This could then also cause the audience to watch more films created by the company, thus promoting the company further.

Mise-En-SceneShifty (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwHUuMbr2xs)

• This is the mise-en-scene from the film ‘Shifty.’ It clearly highlights the tone of the scene. The graffiti suggests that it is a rough area where gangs stereotypically hang out. The building used provides a slight cover for them to sit around and could be conveyed as a stereotypical ‘base’ for the gang to group together. The bikes also create part of the mise-en-scene, they suggest a way of transport. Bikes have the connotations of being for children, especially when they are left on the grass. This could imply that the adults acts are childlike. Thus, adding to the overall depiction of this scene.

• This is a screen grab from the part in our trailer where the gang are sitting under the train bridge with Mia. Having their ‘base’ under a train bridge suggests that they want to be away from people, it implies that they are on the outskirts of a town. The bridge is damp, dark and gloomy which represents the gang members to be tough as they don’t mind sitting there. This is instead of being in a warm place such as a house. We chose this place as it slightly provides shelter and is a setting for the gang to meet up without anybody else around. There are empty bottles in the scene which suggests they have been drinking, this is a stereotypical representation of a gang. The overgrown branches hanging off the line suggest it is not a well kept area so they know there wont be many visitors. This fits the conventional style of a film trailer as we have set the mise-en-scene to fit the tone and genre of our film trailer.

Costumes and PropsTrainspotting (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LuxOYIpu-I)

• This screen grab is from the ‘Trainspotting’ film trailer. I have chosen this particular aspect as it clearly highlights the outfits they are wearing and the props they are using. It helps suggest each characters personality. For example, the second character in from the left is wearing a blazer. This implies to the audience that he is possibly the intellectual member of the group. Similarly, the character second in from the right has, what looks to be, a leather jacket. This is a stereotypical piece of clothing that would be worn by a gang member. It may also imply that he is the leader. The props are also an important part of the mise-en-scene as they help create the atmosphere around the particular clip. Glasses, for example, are a prop used which helps create the setting of a pub.

• In this part of the trailer we have highlighted what elements are in the film. This is through showing a part where there is drug use within the gang. The leather jacket worn by the character on the right suggests that she is a key member of the gang and potentially the leader. She is also wearing black trousers, this, with the black jacket, creates the representation that she has power and is potentially feared by other people. In contrast, we have created the costume for the actor on the left to be much lighter in colour to represent her innocence in the fact that she is not yet part of the gang. Her light blue top and jumper create a contrast between these two characters which clearly highlights the difference in their representations to the audience.

Camera TechniqueAdulthood (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhrJBUMxNMQ)

• This is a screen grab taken from the film trailer of ‘adulthood.’ This is a close up shot of his face which depicts the emotions he is conveying. This film trailer uses several camera angles to create an interesting and engaging film trailer for their audience. It captures the audience attention and therefore makes them go and see the film itself. This camera angle has been used specifically to allow the audience to connect with the character and then want to find out the ending to the short piece of the story they have seen.

• We have used similar camera techniques that are commonly found in film trailers. This is a mid-close up shot of our main characters face. It allows the audience to see the emotion and creates a connection with the character. However, because it is slightly further away from the face than a traditional close up camera angle, the audience is able to see the location behind it. This is a very different location from traditional social realism films which are normally in urban settings as ours is based in a rural location.

• This is a common camera angle to use as clearly shown by the fact that I have found it in the film trailer for ‘Adulthood.’

Captions Fish Tank (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u6pg8fuSB4)

• This caption has been taken from the film trailer for ‘Fish Tank.’ Captions are a narrative convention used to help tell the story of what is happening in the trailer and suggests what will happen in the film. Captions also allow for a change of scene when cutting the trailer together, they are placed appropriately and precisely throughout the trailer so they allows enough time between image for the moving footage to feature. The captions relate to the film and suggest events that may happen within the film. They are also used to create a sense of mystery.

• This is one of the captions from our film trailer ‘Always Good.’ We have conformed to the conventions of using captions to provide extra information to the audience. The short piece of text suggests hints to the film narrative, thus making the trailer more informative and interesting. We have used this ideas from the film trailer of ‘Fish Tank’ which also has captions placed towards the end of the trailer. We decided to incorporate captions into the trailer as they allow the audience to understand the protagonists situation much better than just watching the moving image.

Reviews/Critic Quotes Fish Tank (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7BFZqQ4ruA)

• This is a review for the film ‘Fish Tank.’ Using a star rating highlights to the audience that this film is very good. It is a way of promoting a new and unknown film if there is no famous actors or directors involved in the film. They have placed this in the film trailer in the same way as the captions, in a blue colour on a black background. This continuity is what I strived for when adding in reviews in my trailer.

• Having film reviews creates a more realistic trailer. This is because a typical convention is having reviews of how good the film is in the trailer. It is a way of further promoting the film especially when the film is unknown in the fact that it does not have any famous actors or directors in it and it is not a sequel of a previous film.

• We decided to follow the convention used in ‘Fishtank’ and have the stars filled in. I believe this is more successful than just having stars that are outlined because the white is striking and grabs the audiences attention.

CharactersThis is England (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqjEYfslwpA)

• This screen grab is of the main protagonist in the film ‘This is England.’ He is male and is dressed in a smart suit jacket and shirt to fit the representation of his character. It is typical in most films that the main character is male. This is so they can be depicted as the hero or saviour to the ‘damsel in distress.’

• In our film we have used a female as the main character. This subverts the stereotypical view that men play the lead parts in films. We have chosen a female as we wanted to represent the struggles that people face and we wanted to do it from a woman's point of view.

• Although usually men are the lead roles, in some social realism films, females play the lead roles. I have developed on this point an subverted the typical lead role stereotype and chosen a woman to be the lead.

Setting/LocationBilly Elliot (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im7n8HGOQMs)

• This is the main location used in the film trailer for ‘Billy Elliot.’ It suggests that he could potentially live in a run down area due to how the building in the background has been presented. The setting chosen fits with the portrayal of the films narrative. This is so it creates verisimilitude within the film.

• This setting was chosen as a development idea from looking at social realism film trailers before making my own. We made sure the location was right for our film. As in the film ‘Billy Elliot’ the location was carefully chosen to mirror the narrative, this is the same with any film. So, when we came to choosing the locations, I made sure that we found places that reflected the tone of our film.