Evaluation Question 1- Natasha

1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products.

Conventions of a trailer

Restricted Narration

Research
As the main aim of a teaser trailer is to promote a film and entice an audience into watching it, a main convention of a trailer is a restricted narrative structure, in order to leave a sense of mystery. We deconstructed a range of film trailers from our genre and figured out that mystery was an important element of the trailers, many of them posing a question as to whether the characters come out alive. For example, in 'Number 23', which I deconstructed, where the audience witness dramatic scenes of the protagonist holding a knife to his wife's neck, however we do not find out whether or not the wife is safe or not by the end of the trailer, creating tension. Through this deconstruction, we also found it was effective to use a female character as the victim.

Planning

We decided to conform to the conventions of a trailer in our storyboarding process by using a restricted narration and a limited time frame of 60 seconds. This element teases the audience, as they are left with a taster of the main themes and characters but we do not give away any of the crucial plot details. This means that we leave parts of the narrative unknown in order to achieve the audience’s interest quickly through the use of enigma. 

Development

After researching into this idea, we incorporated it into the production process of our trailer. For example, at the climax of our montage we use an extreme close up of the victim’s face whilst a bag is violently thrust over her head. This means that the audience are not aware who committed the action, creating a mystery, which is a convention of a thriller trailer. We also conventionally use a vulnerable female character as our victim, which heightens the tension by raising the stakes.

Titles

Research
Another convention of a trailer, is the use of titles to put across important aspects of the narrative of the film. We looked into the titles of many different psychological films, to get an idea of the wording of the titles.

When looking at films, such as 'The Butterfly Effect,' we noticed that the wording of the titles included an element of ambiguity, which put across a general theme rather than definite insight into narrative.They also commonly included repetition across the titles. In 'The Butterfly Effect,' for example, all of the titles began with the phrase, 'Some people...' which gave the trailer a reflective tone, suiting the genre. 

Planning

Therefore, when we started thinking about the wording of our own titles, we decided to incorporate these important elements. We initially came up with four different variations, all using different effects. For example, one variation described literally the different turns in the narrative structure and one variation was more metaphorical and descriptive. We eventually decided on one variation, which included repetition of the word, "haunted," to conform to the conventions we explored in real media products.

Research

However, once we had decided on the wording of the titles, we had to decide on the aesthetics. Again, we researched into the conventions of titles in psychological thrillers. I deconstructed the titles in 'Number 23,' for example, and found that the titles near the beginning of the trailer were written in a basic clear font, with a red and black colour scheme. However, as the trailer progressed, the producers increasingly used visual effects on the titles, making the words flick erratically around the screen and distort. This put across a sense of deterioration, which we found effective and thus decided to include in our own titles.

Creation

When originally designing our titles, we included this idea of deterioration by initially putting the typography on a white background for the first titles and as the trailer progresses, making the white discolour to a faded brown colour. We also decided to have a smudged handprint appear on the titles later on in the trailer, to add a scary twist. 

Development 

However, when evaluating this, we decided that the typography and colour scheme did not suit our trailer, and so we recreated them, utilising a black and white, more clinical colour scheme all the way through. However, we did use the idea of deterioration, making the words more distorted as the trailer progresses. The overall product suited the trailer and the psychological genre well. 

Sound

Non-diegetic

Research

When looking into the non-diegetic soundtrack of our trailer, we researched into many different psychological trailers before eventually deciding on what sound we wanted to put across. The use of sound is important as it sets the pace of the whole trailer. For example, in, 'A Beautiful Mind,' the soundtrack begins with a very quiet, thin texture of sound which eventually builds up into a full orchestra. This shows how the stakes rise throughout the film, beginning with a sense of equilibrium and ending with a sense of dramatic triumph.

Planning

We decided to use this idea of development in our trailer, and I created a timeline of the non-diegetic sound so that we could track the changes in tone throughout the piece. We decided to conform to Todorov’s narrative theory. We start the trailer with in an explicit state of equilibrium, and use a quiet piano track which could evoke empathy for the protagonist. However, we wanted a point during the trailer where the mood changes to disequilibrium, and thought this could work by incorporating an abrupt change in tone of soundtrack, altering suddenly feature fast paced dramatic bass tones. 

Diegetic

Research

In terms of diegetic sound effects, we were inspired by, 'Clean, Shaven,' which detailed the effects of schizophrenia on a young man, so it was similar to our own narrative. In the trailer, the producer included many effects which replicated what the character himself could hear, using a high-pitched, discordant tone as well as layered sound clips of people talking, which eventually builds up and becomes overwhelming for the protagonist. 

Development

We decided this idea was extremely effective for our genre, as we wanted to put across an idea of perception from the protagonist's point of view. Therefore, we downloaded and layered together clips of a high-pitched tone and a static TV, which mimics the hazy, distorted state of the protagonist's mind. As well as this, we recorded ourselves saying the word, 'Freak,' which we layered together and used to put across the character's extreme paranoia about being seen subnormal due to her illness.

Conventions of a poster

Title

Research
We looked into many different film posters to figure out what typography to use for our own film poster. We initially looked at posters such as 'The Ring' poster, which used a childlike handwritten, shaky font all in lower case, which reinforced the narrative as the antagonist in the film is a child. We thought this idea was especially effective for the genre, as we thought we could make it seem as though the protagonist has written it herself, as this would suit the theme of psychology. 

First attempt

When we decided to implement this idea, we came across one font in particular that we liked, called 'Midnight', as it came across as handwritten, and was quite bold, which would be eye catching on our poster. Then, we manipulated the font by using the smudge tool on photoshop, to put across the impression that the writing was being smudged down the page, which would reinforce the meaning of the title, 'Unhinged.' However, when evaluating this idea we did not think it suited the conventions of a poster very well, as it the smudge effect made the typography unclear- which would not make the poster effective.

Research

Therefore, we decided to look elsewhere for inspiration and found the poster for 'A beautiful Mind' especially effective. The font was large, all in upper case and looked formally typed, rather than handwritten. This meant that it drew attention from the audience straight away, which suited the genre and the conventions of a poster much better.

Development

We started again in designing our typography, downloading the font, 'Old Style', which a much clearer font. It had a sophisticated style, which we thought we could juxtapose against the image of the poster. We manipulated the typography in photoshop by turning the 'N' and 'E' backwards and put a 'wind' effect on it, which matched up with the conventions of a psychological genre, by exploring the warped mind of the protagonist. We originally made the title of the film go over one line, however this was not big enough and did not use up the available space on the poster very well, which did not conform to the rules of a film poster. Therefore, in the final tweaks stage, I edited the title so that it went over three lines, and was more crooked than originally, which filled out the image and came across as more noticeable. It is important that the title of a film stands out on the film poster, so that it is memorable. 

Image 

Research

We researched into many posters before designing our own poster image. We found that in most film posters, such as in the poster for 'Harry Potter', the key characters of the film are shown, and their relationship is made explicit. This poster gave insight into the protagonist and antagonist of the narrative, which showed the audience that there was conflict within the film. It also showed the relationship between the two characters as by having them head on, the audience could see there was a feud between them, yet by placing them at an intimate distance, it was easy to tell that they have had a long history together. 

Development

We took this in mind when designing and taking the photograph for the image our own poster. We designed the poster so that both the protagonist and her imaginary friend - the antagonist- would be in the poster. We also decided that we would place the antagonist above the protagonist, standing up to portray that she has the power in the relationship. Finally, we chose mise en scene to portray a kidnap scene, including gaffer tape and rope, to show how the protagonist is trapped. This also gives insight into the narrative, which is another convention of a film poster. 

Golden Rule-  Layout

Research

When deciding on the layout of our poster, we took inspiration from many posters, such as, 'Mama'. From this, we learnt the importance of the golden rule, as by having the main elements of the poster off centre, such as the title, the tagline and the and the image of the protagonist, the eye is forced to move around the poster and absorb every element. We found this idea especially intriguing and so decided it was crucial to incorporate it in our own poster.

Planning

Therefore, we decided to crop our landscape image of the antagonist and protagonist so that it was portrait. This meant that the two characters were not in the middle of the poster, but on the left which meant the eye travelled around the poster to see them. Again, when I explored the different potential layouts of the poster, I took this into consideration. I designed many rough layouts for the title and typography, before eventually deciding that the idea of the title being slightly to the right and the tagline being at the top would be best, as it utilises the golden rule to its maximum. 

Tagline 

Research

We took inspiration from many different psychological film posters for our tagline, notably this one from Jacob's ladder. We liked the wording of this tagline as it made reference to a 'nightmare', which reinforced the theme of reality, a convention of the genre. It is important to reinforce the genre in a poster. As well as this, the tagline uses a similar font to the title, which makes the poster look professional and well put together. 

Development

We decided to incorporate this idea when deciding on the wording for our own tagline, by reinforcing the genre, making reference to her, "mind," which ties in with the theme of psychology. As well as this, we decided to use a similar typography for our tagline as our title as it creates a cohesive theme throughout. We also took inspiration from the poster by having the tagline on three lines, which is conventional of a poster. 

 

Conventions of a website

User friendly

Research

We took inspiration from film websites such as, 'The Hangover', in terms of website layout, as we felt the website was user-friendly, which is an important convention of a website. The website was laid out on one page, with the trailer in the centre and the background featuring an image of the key cast. This meant that it was not complicated for a user to navigate as everything was cohesively on one page.

Planning and development

When designing our website, we ensured that everything was on one page, as this would make it extremely user-friendly. We also made sure that a user would not have to scroll down or across as this could cause confusion. We made sure that the trailer played automatically as soon as the website was opened as this made it especially easy to use. On top of this, we focused on having the website user-friendly in every format- including both Windows and Mac computers. This initially proved a problem, however we overcame this quickly by learning how to fix all the features together on the screen so that did not change when we changed view.

Image

Research

When thinking of the image for our website, we wanted to make sure that the image gave insight into the plot and genre and was also instantly engaging for a user. We found the, 'Final Destination' website a prime example as the image moved as the user moved the mouse about the screen, which gave a surreal effect and also showed that the narrative would be about death by including an image of a skull.

Development

For our website, we chose an image which we thought represented the narrative and genre well, including both the protagonist and her imaginary friend. Then, we edited the picture so that the colouring and framing of the image matched a website format. We made sure that the website was engaging to the audience by giving it a creative edge. We did this by turning the website image into a GIF image so that it would occasionally flicker, which suited the psychological genre well. This was one of the last stages of our website process and made the website more effective

Social links

Research

We also took inspiration from the 'Internship' website in relation to links to social media. It is conventional for modern films to have a website, which also links to social media. This means that an audience has the option to engage with the film as much as possible, which gives the film a lot of promotion. We liked the way that the social media links were laid out on the page on this website, as they were noticeable but did not take up too much space through the use of the button. As well as this, we took inspiration from the 'Sinister' website, when deconstructing it as we noticed that there were a series of critics comments with ratings in a font which matched the genre. 

Development

We conformed to the conventions that we discovered on both these websites by making use of social media buttons, which did not take up too much space on the page but were noticeable. Like the example from the 'Internship,' website, we made the social media links fit in with our colour scheme of the rest of the website by making them dark grey. We also made sure that each link was working and would redirect as user to a different page. On top of this, we created relevant critics comments which we laid out on the website in an appropriate manner. 

Conventions of the psychological thriller genre

Psychology

Research and planning

Our media product also develops the conventions of the psychological genre, by focusing on the psychology and emotional instability of the protagonist. We took a lot of inspiration from , 'A beautiful mind' in our research and planning process for our psychological thriller as it gave us the idea of using an imaginary character in our narrative. The use of the imaginary friend was effective in the film as it was a way of exploring the mind of the protagonist without having to make use of monologues. In many films, such as 'Fight Club,' the producers make use of narrative voiceovers as well as annotations on the screen to explore the state of the protagonists mind, however we were interested in exploring the idea of the imaginary friend.

Creation

We incorporated the use of the imaginary friend through the usage of chroma keying. This allows us to not only make use of the same actor twice, but would allow us to change the background of various shots. This could portray what the protagonist is actually thinking, taking the convention one step further than in the real media products we have come across. In one close-up of the protagonist screaming directly to the camera, we used an image of multicoloured pills as the background. We originally wanted to use an image of a prison cell as the background (see video) of the shot, to show how she is metaphorically trapped in her own mind. 

Development

However, this did not prove effective as the audience could not make out whether it was supposed to be a literal prison cell. This complicated the narrative and came across as unprofessional. Therefore, we decided to change the background to a more surreal image, which emphasises that the scenes are replicating her state of mind, rather than where she literally is. The image of the pills gives the impression that the protagonist is overwhelmed by her illness. 

Perception 

Research and planning

Another key convention of the psychological thriller genre is the idea of perception. We also took inspiration from 'Clean, Shaven,' which we, when we deconstructed, we found effective as it made explicitly clear to the audience how we were seeing the world through the protagonists eyes. It did this through the use of POV shots, distorted sound, jump cuts and flashbacks. We found one scene especially effective. The scene shows the contrast between the protagonist's view of the world and the other's view of the world, by showing the protagonist have a breakdown in the library. The distorted POV shots are contrasted against the static full shots from the perspective of passers by. We decided to replicate this scene in our own trailer, however with our own edge.

Our Product

In our trailer, we make it clear to the audience that they are seeing the world through the protagonist’s eyes rather than the situation at an objective level, in order to evoke sympathy for her situation. We primarily achieve this through the multitude of POV shots that are featured. For instance, in the storyboarding stage we planned to incorporate POV shots of what the protagonist is seeing, to put the audience in her mind. During the filming stage of the scene where the protagonist is being discriminated in the library, we unfocused the camera and used wide panning shots around the room so that we could show her disorientated state of mind. In the post-production stage we reinforced this idea even further by putting in a blinking effect which created an effective overall scene.

Tension

Research and planning

When storyboarding our trailer, we looked at many other trailers to inspire us and help us create tension in our piece, a major convention of the thriller genre in particular. 'Sinister' proved to be a great help in this, and we found this useful when we planned the editing of our montage scene. We were impressed by the montage scene in 'Sinister' as it made great use of sound by using a repetitive sound effect which increased in pace. Alongside this, dramatic scenes of the film were cross cut with black slides also interwoven to add to the suspense. Another convention of the thriller genre is to end the trailer on a climax which entices the audience to watch the film. 

Development

We also conform to the conventions of a thriller by making use of a montage sequence. The montage sequence allows us to show jump cuts from varying parts of the narrative, increasing in pace. When first editing the montage scene, the task seemed overwhelming as after downloading various clips to interweave amongst our own footage, there was a large amount of footage to include. However, I overcame this by cutting up small clips that we wanted to include in a random order, so that any footage that wasn't effective could be deleted. After this, I began to order the footage in an effective way, using a pattern of: our own recorded footage followed by youtube clips and repeat. I cross-cut black slides with the footage to add to the building suspense. Alongside this, we use a soundtrack which includes a drone increasing in pitch and a series of ‘booms’ increasing in pace. Together, this builds a sense of tension and anticipation, which is a significant convention of the thriller genre. We also feature a moment of climax, by ending the montage on a shot which is designed to shock the audience through the loud diegetic, high-pitched scream.