Evaluation 1

Evaluation Question 1 

In what ways does your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My media products have used, developed, and challenged forms and conventions of real media products in many ways, as it is what I had to do in order to ensure my product looks original and professional, so that I was able to achieve a high quality product.

I used YouTube to present my final film product, I chose this as it is a website that allows you to share videos on the internet and it is accessible by anyone who has access to a computer device and has connection to the internet. By presenting it on YouTube it means that I will have the ability to have a large audience that will be able to view my product, also it can be shared, meaning that this can increase the size of my audience further.

The genre conventions are the conventions that would be things typically expected with the genre that I have chosen (war). Conventions are mainly genre-specific as the conventions will change dependent on the genre of the product. Some conventions of the war genre are; explosions and shooting, destruction and damage, and blood and gore. These conventions are associated with the war genre as they are seen within nearly all war films, and that is why they have become associated with that specific genre. An example of conventions within real media products are in the film 'Fury', as within the film there are the conventions of explosions and shooting (throughout the battle scenes and fighting), destruction and damage (in certain scenes where things are blown-up and destroyed), and blood and gore (in scenes after battles where the injuries are shown as a result). I also included these conventions in my ancillary products, so that the genre is easily identifiable and that it links closely to the other product.

I have conformed to these conventions within my product as I wanted to keep my product original and not to steer too far away from the traditional conventions of the war genre. I decided to do this so that the genre of my product will be easily recognisable to the audience and anyone who views it. Conventions evident in my product are explosions and shooting as there is a battle between the main character and the 'German' where there is shooting and also the use of an explosion when the 'German' throws a grenade. I have also used symbolic codes within my product too, symbolic codes are codes that symbolise the genre of the product. A symbolic code can be; mise-en-scene, props., or setting. A symbolic code I used was the costume of my actors as they wore military uniforms and helmets, which instantly connote war and danger, they are also symbolic to the war genre. I think that the forms and conventions that I used in my product work well, as they enforce the genre and also make the genre of my product clearly recognisable.

One thing that I did change about my product compared to professional media texts was the use of only two characters, as in real media texts, war films often focus on a group of soldiers as opposed to one individual soldier. I found that by doing this it enables me to have a more personal feel to the story of the product. By having only one main character, it allows the audience to focus on the one character and develop a sense of emotion towards the character, instead of there being a range of characters and the audience does not develop much emotion for any of them. The use of two characters also supports the main plot of my film, that he is all alone and has no way of getting help.

I was inspired by professional media texts and also the history behind it, as I am interested in the Second World War and this has had a large influence on my product. Professional media texts that I was inspired by were things such as; Fury (2014), Band of Brothers, and Saving Private Ryan. These media texts inspired me due to the way that they are filmed, the plot behind them, and the action sequences that take place. They also had an influence on my product, in terms of mise-en-scene, camera, costume, and props.