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

Research

I Started my product by researching the conventions of my main product and my ancillary tasks, this enabled me to know what I needed to include in my own to make it look realistic and fit the genre.

I then found some of each of the products that were my favourite and asked myself why I liked them so much and why I would want to develop them on my products.

I noticed that horror films were aimed at older people because you have to have a certain understanding of them to watch them . That's how I picked my target audience age of 16-25 I then did questionnaires to see what were their favourite things on products that were going to be similar to mine so then i could incorporate them in to my final products.

Conventions Of a Movie Poster

My mast head is at the bottom underneath my picture just like the film poster creep this is conventional on horror posters so the masthead is the last thing you see and more memorable.

Another horror convention I have used is the one main image which has come from my film just like creep it is in the centre of my poster and take up the whole page making it bold and stand out.

My Movie Poster

My tagline is underneath my masthead which is another common convention used on horror film poster as you can se creep poster also has this.

Another convention I've used is the ratings of the film this makes it more realistic and have more credibility as its been recommended. Creep poster has theirs right at the top like me as its the first thing the route of the eye see’s this is important as its memorable.

Finally i have used credit in a font that is conventional in every film poster, small, italics this is so they don't stand out too much that they distract you , but then they are there in case you want to look, having them at the bottom means they are least recognizable as they are at the bottom of the route of the eye.

Conventions Of a Movie Magazine

My Movie Magazine Front

cover

My masthead is at the top of my magazine making it conform with the conventions of other magazine this is because its the first thing the route of the eye sees and it needs to be recognisable and stand out..

Barcode, issue number and price are all conventional thing you would find on a magazine , by including these I'm making my magazine look realistic and professional and conform with the conventions.

I've used cover line that relate to my genre ‘horror’ and I've got them either side of the image and this is similar to gore zone.

I’ve used my image as the background to my magazine as this is also conventional is most magazines whereas I have adapted as I’ve used an image from my film which isn't usually conventional but I think it helps my products relate .

Conventionally in magazines you get free things but its not conventional in horror magazines so I have developed this on to my horror magazine , as I think it would make it more appealing

The colours and font I have used all connote horror, and gore helping my magazine fit in with its genre.

Conventions of a Horror Trailer

My Horror TrailerMy clip is on the left hand side and its a clip of a handheld camera, the other clip is from creep I adapted this point of view shot as it really involves the audience and makes them feel tense as they don't know what's going to happen. I also adapted the deep breathing from the creep clip and added that into mine as it just creates a sense of despair and panic which is all conventional in a horror trailer.

I've also adapted the same idea as the clip from ‘taken’ both are of girls under the bed this is significant as its shows vulnerability which is conventional in a horror film and the close up gives the feel as if they are being watched which created suspense to the audience.

My clip on the right hand side is almost identical to that of sorority row the use of writing in a trailer is useful as it breaks the trailer up and creates tension, i have adapted the convention of writing on a black background by using red writing it stands out more and red connotes blood and horror

My Horror TrailerOther things I included in my trailer was small details such as this shadow as shadows connote horror also with them being dark and the fear of being followed or watched .

I also used several fade to blacks and fade to whites which are also conventionally used in horror trailers to break the trailer up and to create tension of a sudden abrupt stop.

One convention I did challenge was the fact that the girls are always the vulnerable ones and the ones that get brutally attacked , I wanted to make my film equally enjoyable and suited to both male and female so I had two female characters and one boy and included dominant pictures of the females such as when she is washing the blood of her hands and making the male look more vulnerable for example when he has blood on his face.

My Horror Trailer

Main task construction

Too the left there is a link to my main production , my trailer conforms with most horror conventions such as it starts with an equilibrium , it builds up setting the scene and introducing the characters and story line and then soon changes to show the disequilibrium , with written hints to what the resolutions might be.

The most obvious conventional aspects to a horror a film are probably the music and the editing and I focused on these two things, I have a build up of tension with the editing gradually getting faster and the music also fitting in time with the editing.

I think all products have successfully fitted in with the conventions I found in my research and by challenging some of them I have made my products stand out a little bit more and made them more noticeable, overall my trailer as been the biggest success and my magazine needing the most work, but its difficult as not all magazines follow the same conventions as I found out in my research.