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

products?

The Title of My Film

The title of my film, Mollie, suggests to the audience that the film is going to revolve around whoever this character is. It doesn’t give much away, however will build some suspension for the audience as to who this character is and what has happened to her, as she isn’t introduced in the first two minutes. This can often be the case with Drama films.

For example - Gone Girl, in the first few minutes of the film the only character we see is male, and there is nothing going on that suggests to the audience who the girl is that goes missing and how she goes missing. It is building suspense with the audience as to who she is, and they are waiting to uncover this information as it unfolds throughout the film. Therefore I have conformed to the conventions of Dramas with my title.

The Props

The props I have used in my film portray conventions of a Drama. They include sympathy cards, flowers, teddy bears, photographs etc. I have used them as the teddy bear indicates innocence and someone young, which is exactly the case. I have used the sympathy cards and flowers in order to indicate that something bad has happened, and as they are shown straight away this will be the instant reaction from the audience. This is generally done in Drama films, as from the outset the audience are hooked into the emotional journey of the characters.

This is similar to how in the film Gone Baby Gone, there is a very powerful shot in the opening of the film showing ribbons and teddy bears tied to a metal fence, and a picture of a young girl saying ‘missing’. Although this has been done later on than in my film. It is applying with the conventions of a kidnap Drama as it is using the props to give across the message to the audience that something tragic has happened and left a deep emotional effect on the characters.

Cinematography

I have used a lot of close-ups and mid shots in my film in order to portray the characters emotions through their facial expressions and their body language. For example, towards the end of my film when the detective tells the family that they have discovered a body, there is a close-up of his face and he is looking very disturbed by what he is going to say, showing how upset and moved he is by the situation. Similarly, when the sister of the character that has gone missing hears the news, there is a close up of her face looking distraught and in a state of shock, and it lingers on her face to portray her true emotion.

I have also used mid shots when showing the mother looking at her daughters pictures and teddy bears, as they audience can see by her stance and the bleak look on her face that she is very distraught. I have done this in order to get the audience to see that the characters are going through an emotional journey, which is typical of a Drama film, especially when concerning a kidnap. Therefore I am conforming to the conventions of a Drama with the way I have done this.

Close Up of Detective Close Up of Sister

Mid Shot of mother looking at the picture of her daughter

Similar to this, in the film ‘Along Came a Spider’, there is a very powerful shot towards the end of the film opening of one of the characters faces. His wife has just fallen down the edge of a dam in her car when trying to track down a criminal and it lingers on his face showing the true pain and emotion he is feeling at that time.

Setting

As I discovered in my research, Drama’s portray realism, and try to present things to be as real and as relatable as possible. They also aim to build tension throughout, whilst taking the audience on the characters’ emotional journey and development throughout the film. This is why I decided to set my film in my home, as it is a family home that is lived in, and this will be very apparent and familiar to the audience. It is very believable, and relatable to the audience.

The same setting has been used for many Drama films, such as The Lovely Bones for instance, the film revolves around a young girl who has been murdered watching over her family uncovering what happened to her, and the majority of the film is situated in her home.

As well as this, it was important that I used actors that were the characters ages, as Drama films will often revolve around more adult characters and less often teenagers my ages, so I need to get this right in order to be able to comply with the conventions of a Drama.

The Sound

During my research into Dramas, I discovered that emotional music tends to be used for the non-diegetic background music in order to imply certain emotions on the audience and in order to build tension in certain situations. I downloaded various different tracks and decided which one would create the most effect on the film, as I needed to get it right in order to create certain feelings within the audience. Therefore in my film opening, it begins with very emotional music as the audience are shown all of the sympathy cards, flowers and an image of a young girl. This is in order for the audience to feel very emotional towards the situation and for them to recognise that something tragic has happened. As well as this, I also use very emotional music later on in the film opening when the character Sergeant Moss reveals that a body has been found, in order to build tension with the audience and also to emphasise what has just been said and trigger more emotion upon the audience.

An example of emotional music being used in a Drama film would be in My Sister’s Keeper. There is a voice over of one of the main characters explaining to the audience that she was brought into the world to save her sisters life, while family videos are being showed in the background. There is also non-diegetic emotional music being played on top of this voice over, which plays upon the audience’s emotions, making them feel sad and feel empathy towards the character and the theme of the film. It also it implies to the audience that the film involves a tragedy from the outset of the film. As well as this, there is a scene later on in the film when the mother realises that her daughter wants to die, and emotional music is used to build suspense and also to build up emotion within the audience.

Todorov’s theory

Todorov’s theory states that there are 3 stages to a film. The Equilibrium, the Disequilibrium/Disruption and the New Equilibrium. Most Drama films comply with this theory, and go through the stages throughout the course of the film. My film begins in the recognition of disruption, and then begins again going through the stages, although I have not shown this that is what I have aimed for the film to be like. Therefore I have challenged the conventions of a Drama film here, as it is not often that this would be the case for a Drama film as the audience are taken through an emotional journey from the equilibrium.

However, I am complying with the conventions of typical crime Dramas. Most crime/kidnapping Dramas begin with the disruption stages of the theory, and either work their way from there into the new equilibrium or start from the beginning at the equilibrium. For example, in gone girl, the film begins with the disruption stage – the wife has gone missing. The audience only see the equilibrium in flash backs that the girl has. Another example would be along came a spider, as we are thrown straight into the action of the film, where the main character is trying to trap a criminal, and his wife is killed in the midst of the action – the disruption stage of the theory.

How my film conforms to the Drama Genre

To conclude, I think that my film demonstrates the conventions of a Drama film. I have represented the genre through my music, cinematography, mise-en-scene, the film title and my characters. I have been able to develop my understanding of what I needed to do to create this genre through thorough research into Drama films, and it has helped to create a typical Drama film opening that includes a kidnap.