IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA

PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR

CHALLENGE FORMS AND
CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA
PRODUCTS?
QUESTION 1
WAYS MY FILM USES, DEVELOPS OR
CHALLENGES FORMS AND
CONVENTIONS : SOCIAL GROUPS
Our film conforms to the stereotypical gender
conventions as our protagonist is a male, however it
subverts at the same time as he is different to the
other characters used and is based around his
insecurities of the friendship he doesn't feel like he can
have in the real world which males stereotypically
wouldn't tend to do.
The friendship group seen throughout the sequence,
particularly in the dream scene reflect real life social
groups in schools in London as schools here are very
multicultural and although there is some division in
groups, most are surrounded by people from different
cultures. In this final cut we was unable to include any
of our past female actors due to school schedules
which left us with three other male extra's. This
conforms to the majority of school groups as boys and
girls tend to separate themselves in social groups.
 WAYS MY FILM USES, DEVELOPS OR
CHALLENGES FORMS AND
CONVENTIONS : SOUND AND EDITING
Use:
- The voice over is a key part of the sequence as the protagonists thoughts
and feelings are clearly portrayed and told to the audience which is also a
typical convention used in movies.
- (Diegetic sound) Our Foley sound made using a pencil on paper as he is
drawing is a typical sound convention used in films such as Diary of a wimpy
kid which uses Foley in its opening sequence as the first thing the audience
sees/hears to establish the plot of the film. This fades out with the foley sound
as the protagonist falls asleep.
Challenge:
- My film does challenge the conventions of real media products through the
use of more fast paced music than normally expected in a library setting that
would usually be seen with no music or quiet, soft sounds.
 EDITING:
My media product challenges editing techniques in films as a dream (fantasy)
world is typically made using animations which we originally planned to do.
However, the lack of editing software made this difficult so we decided to
establish the difference between the dream world and real world using editing
effects that adapted the lighting. Whilst editing the dream scene, we used a
filter to change the lighting as the natural blue tone did not make it clear that
something had properly changed. It also helped set a more happy and
dreamy, unrealistic look as the characters were interacting once the
protagonist had woken up from his dazed state. Films such as Diary of a
wimpy kid uses
animations like this
whilst telling the story
through his diary which
was different to ours as
it challenged the types
of editing people use
and how fantasy worlds
are expressed.
 DREAM WORLD VS
REALITY
Something that in some ways challenged fantasy dramas is that our dream world was still
set in the same school rather then a true fantasy world that is typically unrealistic. We
wanted develop and challenge this by using animation for the dream world but we was
unable to so we continued the whole sequence in a school as it fitted the plot more.
However, even though this may not seem like a fantasy drama movie, the diary and pursuit
from illusion and reality adds the fantasy to it.
Fantasy films such as
Maleficent are set in
enchanted forests as
the characters are
typically different or
too unrealistic to be set
in the normal world.
Whereas our film
challenges the
conventions of a
fantasy film because of
its realism.
 THEORISTS:
Our sequence does not fall completely under a specific
theorists theory, however, it does contain some aspects from
each whilst challenging them at the same time. For example,
Daniel Chandler said that stereotypical characters followed
predictable roles and actions in the narrative which is true in
our sequence as the male protagonists separation from the
group reflects the stereotypical school friendships that tend to
leave some alone and isolated due to their anxieties of the
popular groups. However, we challenged this as a dream
world is created in the narrative that questions his reality
through the voice over. The theme of the sequence does
reflect Chandlers theory as people can relate to the social
norms and isolation seen throughout schools that tend to be
seen in older year groups as well as younger, more immature
ones which is why we chose to use an older age group of
teenagers.
CONTINUING WITH
THEORISTS:
Our sequence can also be compared to Vladimir Props
theory which stated that there is a princess, donor, hero,
villain, father and dispatcher. Although our fantasy sequence
does not use these typical character conventions like most
fantasy movies such as Lion King, we can compare the
protagonists actions to a princess/maiden in distress as he is
lonely and has no confidence. However, we can compare his
thoughts of the extras actions to a villain and hero at the
same time because they are friendly to him in the dream
world but laugh at him at the end as he runs away. This
reflects the two sides of people which show the audience that
peoples appearances and interpretations of people do not
always reflect who they really are like this is shown in the
dream.
 MISE-EN-
SCENE
Lighting/Colour: The lighting used was
naturally quite blue which helped to set the
protagonists mood and tone of the sequence.
The group of boys are seen wearing dark, plain
colours whereas the protagonists fashion style
and colour of clothing is different to them. The
dark colours may reflect Daniels personal
view/anxiety as them as threatening.
Staging/Costume: Our protagonists
marvel top and red checked shirt makes the
audience assume that he is a geeky character.
The fact that he is placed in the corner of the
library alone, indicates how isolated and separate
from the group of boys at school which makes
him seem different and lonely. The extras are
seen wearing jeans, tracksuits and hoodies that
are also used in films reflecting the modern
culture and society. In the dream scene the
protagonist is also wearing blue which may
symbolise equality between the social groups in
 KEY INGREDIENTS:
Action/Enigma codes: Our sequence includes an
action code as the car book and the end of the dream
becomes a reality of a car crash which has been used to
make the audience question why that has happened why
it has made the character so distraught.
Introducing characters/setting: The master shot of an
extra is the first character we see which makes the
audience infer he is important or the main character,
however, this is used to establish the setting and other
extras whilst showing the different positioning of the true
main character compared to the extras.
 CINEMATOGRAPHY:

The range of cinematography is typical of other media products made as the range of shots
allows the audience to feel a certain way about the characters and follow along in the
protagonists footsteps and story. Our sequence here conforms to this convention as we used a
variety of shots that ensure the audience to establish the setting and characters.
 Dialogue:
The dialogue created a contrast between the dream
world and real world as Daniel first mentions the group
and not being able to socialise with them whilst
drawing in his diary, this then changes when he falls
asleep, waking up in a dream where they are all
friends. They immediately interact with him by
spudding him which is a very typical thing for
teenagers, particularly boys to do when saying hello.
This then changes as after he wakes up
panicking, they begin laughing, staring
and talking about him (bullying) as he
runs away. This develops other media
products as it shows two sides teenagers
behave when with their friends, deciding
who is normal enough to consider
popular or a friend.
Continuing with
Dialogue...
This can be somewhat linked to the recent netflix
series 13 reasons why because of the double sided
friendships in schools. Even though we showed this
through a false reality (Daniels dream), it still shows
that being different to others in school and showing
your own individuality means that people will consider
you as an outsider or not part of their group, even in a
class mates only kind of way. However our sequence
does not challenge or develop the show or other
shows much as 13 reasons why included suicide and
the reasons behind these consequences making it
clear how powerful and effective words and actions
from others and fitting in particularly in schools really
is.