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

In this post I will be commenting on whether my media product uses, develops or challenges forms and conventions of real media products and if so how? I will start off with the media trailer that I have created.

Well firstly the genre of my media trailer is Action, so based on the action based trailer's I researched in the research and planning period and the magazine's I also researched in the same period, I will decide whether my media product does use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products. On the whole when viewing all the trailer's, one common convention I found that all the trailer's implement is, that they have statements or text within the trailer which hint what the film is about or what is to come from this film. This was something I was not aware of until after viewing all the trailer's I researched and was an idea/ common convention that I decided to use straight away within my own trailer. So having statements/text within my trailer was a must and I believe I have effectively used this common convention of text in my trailer, this helps improve the overall quality and professionalism of my trailer as it features common conventions of trailer's which audiences will be used to and will help lead them on as the audience. I believe the use of text/statements is a good technique to use when trying to attract the target audience as it leads them on and gets the target audience thinking.

As you can see above is a screen shot from a Harry Potter film and as you can see, text statement is used just like mine on the right

Another standard convention I used within my trailer is the preview screen which is shown at the start of most trailers. Initially I was not going to have a preview screen in my trailer because not all movies do and personally I believe it is better for the trailer to get started and get the target audience indulged with the trailer straight away as it keeps them on the edge and gets them thinking more quicker. However after reviewing my trailer in terms of genre and content, I thought it would be wise to have a preview screen because it is targeted towards a certain target audience and age group and it if I was not to have it and underage kids went to watch it, then it would look unprofessional and my trailer would not be as successful because it did not address who the trailer is suited for.

As you can see above is a screen shot of the preview screen in the Harry Potter film, as mentioned it is used in most movies. On the right is the preview screen for my trailer as well.

The general conventions such as effects include, fade out's, flash effects, music etc. Out of these conventions mentioned, I applied the fade out effect and music and also add in a voiceover at the end of my trailer. The fade out effect I used continuously throughout my trailer, adding in the dip to black effect at the start and end of each clip within the trailer. I added in this effect firstly because, when researching the existing trailers in the research and planning period I found that they all use this effect to progress from each clip or scene. I also decided to use it because personally I find this effect effective because from past experience, when watching movie trailers I found it mysterious and thrilling to find out what happens in the next scene or clip because of the dark fade out. Having music in my trailer was the first decision I made when designing and implementing my trailer because it sets the atmosphere and based on the genre of the music, as an audience you get an idea of what the film will explore; so I decided to have two different existing music tracks which I feel best represent my trailer and what it is based on. The music I have chosen will definitely have an effect on the target audience for me. I also added a voiceover in my trailer which will be heard at the end of my trailer. I chose to have this originally because even though it is a common convention used in media trailers, my trailer does show actors and actresses talking, however I have cut the audio out of the clip to add elements and mystery and suspicion to the trailer. So to add more mystery and create more tension within the trailer, I added in a voiceover at the end to leave the audience with a cliff hanger in to which actor spoke and why only him. Overall I believe the majority of my media trailer uses, develops or challenge forms and conventions of real media products. This was done so my media trailer can look just as professional as other existing movie trailers and can keep up with the latest trends and features applied to current movie trailers.

I will now comment on the creation of the film poster for my media trailer, Reliance and if so, how does it use standard conventions or how it dismisses or challenges standard conventions of real media products. Well firstly, most movie posters do not have much detail on there except important ones such as name, release date, actor and actresses names and credit block which shows all the names of directors, media consumers and producers etc. So when desigining and implementing my movie poster I decided that my movie poster would follow the same style and design as personally I feel this is a very effective technique to apply on a movie poster. Due to the minimal information on the poster, the movie and information regarding it, is kept quiet and disclosed so the target audience cannot find out much about it. This is an advertising technique because due to the minimal amount of information, the target audience won't know what it is about and to find out they will have to watch the movie. As mentioned above, movie posters have a set amount of information on them, so on my poster I included an image of one of my actresses as she represents a character from the trailer.

Here is my poster and as mentioned above, I have kept it simple and stuck to standard conventions by just including the title of the movie, actor/actress names, a question and the credit block. The Rush Hour poster next to it is also very similar to mine, portraying how I have conformed to standard conventions of real movie posters.

I also added in the movie title which is essential otherwise there is nothing to advertise. I also kept with standard conventions of movie posters by adding in names of actors/actresses and also the credit block which is visible on all movie posters. Names of actors/actresses are essential because some people watch movies based on the actors/actresses who starr in them, so by having names of actors/actresses it adds more excitement because they are well known actors and actresses. The credit block is compulsory on all movie posters as they show all the big name companies and individuals associated in the creation of the movie. It is compulsory as it not only credits the people and companies associated with the film it also advertises them as companies and individuals, so they get recognition from media producers. So in terms of my movie poster, it conforms to the standard conventions of movie posters.

I will now comment on the creation of my magazine cover and again see whether it uses standard conventions and if so how? Due to me creating a music magazine for my AS Media coursework I already have knowledge on the standard conventions of magazines and more importantly, magazine covers. The first common convention I applied in my magazine cover was the barcode and I placed it at the bottom of the page on the left. A barcode is essential because it allows the company to scan it and read the price of it. It also adds a sense of professionalism to my magazine because without it, my magazine just would not look right and the overall professionalism of my magazine would be less. I also added in the price of the magazine which is of course compulsory because without it, the target audience would not know the price of it and may be put off because the magazine may cost too much. So the price of the magazine is important and is also a common convention of magazine covers. Sub-articles are also compulsory features as I learnt from AS Media. Without sub-articles, the magazine has no other forms of attraction other than the picture and title of the magazine. So sub-articles are a must and I added a few interesting sub-articles down the left hand side of the page, as mentioned the sub-articles must also be interesting and eye-catching because there is no point having sub-articles which are irrelevant to what you are trying to advertise or boring. Readers and target audiences are always out for juicy gossip, so I have made sure on my magazine cover I have added interesting sub-articles which will appeal to the target audience. I have also kept with standard conventions of magazine covers by adding the release date of the magazine, which is of high importance because if there was not a release date, then the target audience may think they are getting ripped off into buying an out of date issue and will definitely not buy it. So I made sure the release date of the magazine is on the cover and is visible and clear. The last standard convention I conformed to was having other advertisements on the front cover, to keep the readers and target audience engaged and attracted to my magazine. I added in advertisements also because, it provides an incentive for the target audience to carry on reading because there is something in it for them as well. Having researched existing magazine cover's in AS Media, I found that some of the cover's also have advertisements on them as well, so I decided to have advertisements on my magazine cover as well as it sticks to standard conventions and also appeals to the target audience more.

Above is my magazine cover and an existing magazine cover and as you can see they are quite similar because they stick to conventions. They both have sub-articles interesting ones as well, coming down the sides of the page. They both have other advertisements as well even though they are different. They both have barcodes although they are in different positions. However the only differences are that the Empire magazine does not have a price or release date which is unusual. Other than these differences, the two covers stick to standard conventions.