In What Ways does your Media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I began researching film genres in preparation of creating our own film trailers. By analysing the editing and camera techniques of existing film trailers, it became apparent that there are specific codes and conventions used in order to create a certain emotional reaction from the audience. For example, a horror film will typically have low lighting and fluctuating pace and rhythm. However, chick-flicks will be very fluid and have a steady pace. Once I chose the genre of my film trailer, I began looking deeper into the particular romance film conventions, especially the camera angles and shots. The best way to analyse romance films was by watching them and noting down the moments that created audience response and how it was achieved.

The 2011 winner of the Sundance Film Awards ‘Like Crazy’, was at the centre point of my inspiration and by watching the construction and behind the scenes footage, it gave me a real sense of how my trailer look. I regularly blogged about the information I had found from Like Crazy and began choosing the camera shots and testing them with my actors. By using Like Crazy to develop my trailer further, I was able to keep a strong narrative that conveyed a romantic feel.

Along with Like Crazy, I also had a very strong sense of corporate image and how to keep the theme continuing throughout each of my media products. I found a new love for photography through this project and decided that my images should look dreamy and almost blurred. I researched certain photography techniques and found Bokeh; using the sun, an image can be transformed by adding

‘halos’ and sun glare. I discovered an Australian photographer’s website and fell in love with the images of real-life couples and encompassed these ideas with my own and found that my corporate image had a well-rounded, unique composition.

Another media product that became a useful tool for me was Taylor Swift’s music video for ‘Begin Again’; after watching this video, I became fixated on her distant and reflective look captured through intimate camera shots and angles. This convention will allow the audience to feel the distance and loneliness of the character onscreen using this product and embedding it into mine.

Costumes and the style of my characters was an important way in representing the typical teenage fashion. I researched and put together a range of outfits that would be able to attract my target audience. As my film is set in the present day, costumes would be quite easy to put together and justify because of a particular fashion or trend. Hair and make-up was simple and kept to a realistic minimum so the audience would not be detracted by an extreme style.

From looking at the costumes worn in Like Crazy, I found that the conventions of appropriate clothing and colours stopped the audience from being distracted by stand out patterns and fabrics. Anna’s flower print blouse and blue shorts are pictured below with a khaki jacket. The darker, contrasting colours worn by Jacob, is a popular style in the male fashion trend.

Nick’s costume consisted of jeans, a simple t-shirt, finished with a navy jacket. An ‘everyday’ outfit that would be typically worn by male members of the audience.

Ellie’s first costume, the flower patterned dress, is a pretty and comfortable outfit, which is finished off with a pastel yellow cardigan. This is a nice, simple outfit that conveys some of Ellie’s personality to the audience. The second costume is a pair of skinny jeans and an off-the-shoulder jumper. This is a warm and suitable choice of outfit as the weather was not in our favour on that particular day, but it also shows a simple combination of jeans and a top, an outfit that all audiences will have in their wardrobes.