IN WHAT

WAYS DOES YO

UR MEDIA

USE, DEV

ELOP O

R CHALLENGE

FORMS A

ND CONVENTIO

NS OF

REAL M

EDIA PR

ODUCTS?

WHAT IS A CONVENTION?

“A way in which something is usually done.” - Google

THE ADVANTAGEOUS OF CONVENTIONSConventions are useful way of getting across to an audience

the genre and the meaning of a media product, for example females in action films tend to be shown as the “damsel in distress”, which helps to further the idea that the male protagonist is heroic.

They also are always tried and tested elements, meaning that they work for the audience and they are easy to sub-consciously notice, which helps to reinstate postmodernist media stereotypes and meanings.

DISADVANTAGES OF CONVENTIONS

Conventions tend to format a lot of films narrative making them have more films have a uniformed structure. This means there can be a lack of variety when it comes narratives and how a film director challenges hegemonies.

They can make films plotlines too predictable (Levi-Strauss Linear Narrative Theory), which can make films less satisfying for audiences to watch. This could deter people from watching film, thus having affect on the companies profit.

WHY DID I CHOOSE TO USE CONVENTIONS?I looked at the Pros and Cons and thought it would be good

idea to use conventions as it helps to create meaning and allows the audience to draw from previous knowledge of films from the same, or similar genre. This meant I could chose to develop already existing media conventions or subvert further a long in the film.

HOW HAVE I USED GENRE CONVENTIONS?

In the horror genre there are several specific genre conventions, such as themes of violence and dark lighting. I have tried to use genre conventions as I believe it is very important to do so in an opening scene of a film as it allows the audience to determine the type of film they are going to watch. For example, there is evidence of violence (a corpse) and I have used colour corrector to make it look darker and more gothic. However, the first initial scenes are quite light and peaceful (equilibrium). This lures the audience into false sense of security, which is quickly destroyed by the foreshadowing of the discovery of the corpse. This technique is based upon Levi-Strauss Linear Narrative Theory as I believe it is an effect way of setting up the narrative of a film, which is what an opening scene is meant to do.

HOW SUCCESSFUL HAVE I BEEN?I believe that I have used a mixture of conventional elements,

as well as unconventional ones, for example starts of with a clear equilibrium, but the equilibrium is quite unconventional as it is of a lonely boy ( many media products don’t tend to depict teenage isolation – we all hang around in gangs). My video is successful because it uses conventions so that the audience isn’t confused, but also subverts common ideologies so that the audience is educated.