Sophie Laxton

Evaluation Question 1: In what ways does media product use,

develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The task we had been set for our Unit G324 Advanced Portfolio was
to produce a short film in its entirety, lasting five minutes, which
would be a dramatic thriller, together with:
A poster
A film magazine review page

When brainstorming before the start of the project, we considered

every genre and aimed to create ideas for each one in order to have
a variety of options. We eventually settled on the idea of combining
two genres to create the hybrid genre of dramatic thriller. We
believed that the genres of drama and thriller individually were
appealed to by most age groups and both genders. Our dramatic-
thriller followed the story of Eve, who suffers from split personality
disorder and on her walk through the forest encounters 3 different
people who she creates personalities and stories for.

What are codes and conventions?

Codes: signs within a media text that signify something to the

audience.

Codes can be split into two types; technical and symbolic. Technical
codes are ways in which technology and equipment within a media
text are used to shape the narrative. For example, cinematography
and mise-en-scene are used to create and help tell the story.
Symbolic codes are what lie beneath the surface of certain aspects
of the film. For example, the use of sound to connote what a
character is feeling through certain pace and instruments. However,
many aspects can be seen as both technical and symbolic, for
example sound.

Conventions: the typical way that something is done within a film.

They can be applied to different aspects such as sound or
cinematography.

The conventions that we adhered to were that of both the drama

and thriller genre in order to create our hybrid genre. These
conventions helped us signify to the audience the genres used
within the short film. The main convention used was the use of
sound to highlight the emotions felt by specific characters within the
film and this is a convention of the drama genre.

Conventions of Dramatic Thrillers:

Close-ups, Low key lighting

extreme close-
ups
 Sophie Laxton

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Setting/Location:

The main location used within our production was the park. This sets
up the film for the audience and gives the narrative time to build.
The strong contrast between this location and the interior settings
for the other scenes helps the audience to identify the drama genre.
We conformed mostly to the convention of low-key lighting to
highlight the thriller genre, as this was important in portraying the
theme of mental illness within our production. Due to the time
stamps on each scene, the audience are able to distinguish between
the settings, therefore making the narrative much clearer.

Costume/Props:

As director, I had to ensure that the costumes worn by each

character were representative of their emotions. For example, to
help connote the theme of depression and suicide, Saura wore black
and red; colours that connote death and danger. All of the other
characters were made to wear black in order to conform to the
conventions of the thriller genre where the use of the colour black is
often used as a connotation of negative aspects within the films. In
terms of props, the main ones used were pills and a knife. The pills
were the main prop that highlighted the drama genre and the theme
of mental illness. They assisted with revealing the hidden meaning
behind our narrative and to do this we conforms to the conventions
in order to give the audience a better understanding.
Sophie Laxton

Editing:

As director, I had to make sure that the editing clearly reflected our
hybrid genre of a dramatic thriller with psychological undertones. To
do this, I believed that we would have to conform to conventional
editing of both drama and thriller films and combine them both. Our
transitions between scenes were slow paced in order to highlight the
drama genre. This gave the audience time to reflect on the events
that had occurred in the previous scene, conforming to the
conventions of the drama genre. The theme of conflict portrayed
within the production is a significant convention used within drama
films. We included this within the conflict between Myles and Emel
and Eves conflict with herself due to her battle with mental illness
and this is eviedent through the scene in which Eve is in her room
and begins to get frustrated so throws the mirror in her room
around. To allow the audience to feel more immersed in the scene,
we incorporated direct address in which Eve held the camera and
looked into it while shaking it.

Titles and Credits:

At the beginning of the film, our title is shown across a medium shot
of Eve walking down the path in the direction of the couple she first
encounters. The quick flash of the title connotes the theme of
mental illness, which is also shown through the use of flashbacks
within the production. The white colour for the title against the low-
key lighting of the shot and her black clothing connotes a sense of
vulnerability within Eve even among the dark situation she finds
herself in. At the end of the film, we used the same font but did not
put it in bold like the title in order to stick with the calming feel that
is created at the end of the film when Eve takes her pills. This
conforms to conventions of dramatic thriller films such as Seven
(1995) where the titles are representative of the equilibrium that
occurs at the end of the films.
Sophie Laxton

Music/Voiceover:

The main music used within our production was score music. We
carefully selected music that would compliment the scene and
highlight certain emotion changes. This was important in the
understanding of the theme of mental illness within our short film,
as there are sudden changes of emotions. Certain instrumental
tracks such Farewell Life and Cold by Jorge Mendez assisted in the
build of tension in multiple scenes throughout the film. For example,
Eve is seen in close-ups crying, and the score music builds a bridge
between the audience and the character, allowing them to connect,
heightening the emotions of the audience in relation to our
production. We decided to use voiceover, as it was a clear
convention of the drama genre in which we incorporated within our
artefact. We wanted the audience to have a clear understanding of
our confusing narrative and believed the best way to do so was to
have the protagonist explain her story. This allowed us to create
direct links from her behaviour to her mental illness through when
Eve says, A scientific anomaly is what I am and thats all I am.
Almost like split personality disorder but much more

Overall, I think we created a good balance within our production as

in some ways we conformed to many stereotypes of the dramatic
thriller genre within mainstream films in order to convey the hybrid
genre to the audience. For example, the use of the theme of conflict
in order to highlight the drama genre and the use of low key lighting
to convey the thriller genre.