EVALUATION QUESTION 1: GENRE CONVENTIONS

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

I have annotated the video of my movie trailer with examples of how we used genre conventions from other trailers. The annotations are also featured below.

1. A typical movie trailer will tend to start off with a distribution company.  Films will often feature two or more in order to show off the shared financial input between the two companies. We choose the distributor Warp Films as they produce "distinctive, amusing and thought provoking content". They are always interested in "new talent" making them an effective distributor.
2. Our ident
3. We wanted the establishing shot to create a romantic atmosphere to help set the scene of the relationship between the two main characters at the beginning of the story. We used a slider shot as it adds dynamic movement to an otherwise boring and still shot. The music starts off at a slow tempo to convey lack of urgency and memories. Much like in other thrillers, a more hopeful side of the story is seen before the main conflict begins.
4. The reveal of the necklace is very important for the story of the trailer as we use it to symbolise the strength and affection shown of the relationship at the beginning of the story.
5. This is the first shot in a montage of happiness to show off the length and quality of the relationship between the protagonists. When editing these shots we enhanced the colour saturation and used a filter effect to create a romanticised feel. We time the transitions with the soundtrack (to increase the quality of the trailer). Montages are often used in dramas/thrillers in order to show lots as well as condensing the time.
6. We wanted to show off the length of the relationship through the obvious change in season and costumes.
7. Here we wanted to show the wealth of our protagonists through their scruffy looking costumes. This adds to the main theme of the story of the lust for wealth. The poster shown in this scene is key to developing the story as it creates a bridge between the happiness in the beginning and the conflict throughout.
8. This use of pull focus helps to emphasise the importance of the action.
9. To show a change of atmosphere and the introduction of a threat the music suddenly stops and a loud drum beat is heard. We did this to create a tonal change.
10. This is a very important scene as it is the introduction of the antagonist of the film.  An antagonist is a key genre convention as it disrupts the peace helping to further the plot. The use of “Welcome to my little slice of paradise” is a very important piece of dialogue as it creates a link to the bible context of the story and creates a strong sense of irony as the story progresses. The costume of the antagonist is crucial in understanding the plot of the film and show off the vast wealth that destroys the relationship between the protagonists.
11. The close up demonstrates the first signs of a break in the relationship, disrupting the state of equilibrium, a plot element common in thrillers .
12. We used the poem "The Sick Rose" by William Blake as a voiceover read by the antagonist. The introduction of a voiceover is a common trope used in thrillers in order to emphasise certain plot elements. It was used in order to show the dying love and innocence that the protagonists used to have. We added several effects to the voiceover to make it sound more sinister. As the voice over begins so does the strong ambient noise that fills the rest of the trailer. We used this ambient sound to fill the silence as it creates a twisted atmosphere.
13. This shot is used to show the confusion of the antagonist. She is expecting to have dinner with her partner but instead is confronted by the antagonist. Her costume shows that she has dressed up a nicely a she can afford as she was expecting a romantic evening with her partner. A key genre convention is to show the confrontation between the protagonist and antagonist, which is used in order to further build tension.
14. This close up of the removal of her necklace symbolises the breakdown of their relationship.
15. The close up the antagonist stroking his hand against her back exemplifies the seduction of the protagonist. The jewellery on the antagonist's hand shows off his wealth as well as showing the audience that he isn’t as innocent as he seems.
16. Here we show more of the breakdown of the relationship. We used a two person shot to allow enough space to show the full extent of the argument.
17. The replacement of the necklace reveals her infatuation with the mysterious antagonist.
18. This POV shot further emphasises the disinterest that the female protagonist has for her boyfriend.
19. Here, this intertitle was put in place in order to further reiterate the connection between the Adam and Eve biblical story. The word “apple” interconnects with the story and can be established as featuring a layer of iconography for those that are familiar with it. Intertitles are used in trailers in order to provide further story so that the audience can be intrigued about what’s to come.
20. An over the shoulder shot was used here in order to show the female protagonist throw the necklace at the boyfriend. This was in order to keep the story in a fairly chronological view, in order to indicate that she has lost all love for him.
21. This closeup was given in order to give the scene a more seductive quality, that her allurement towards the antagonist has become excessively clear. The strawberry was used as an alternative to the apple presented in the biblical story, as a symbol for lust.
22. An over the shoulder shot was placed here to show that the the antagonist and female protagonist are seeing each other but that the male protagonist is aware of this.  This was so that the frame could both further exhibit the relationship between the female protagonist and the antagonist, but also the frustration and anger that the male protagonist is feeling.
23. Here, this intertitle attempts to provide some level of continuity to its predecessor, in order to give it a more sinister weight, a theme that is constantly seen in thriller trailers.
24. This shot. This is in order to give it a layer of tension as he is clearly frustrated and is in the mind-set of doing something that would go against the normal state of his character.
25. The intertitle maintains the contrast between the protagonists and the antagonist, how one is rich and powerful and the other two are poor and weak.
26. This low angle shot was used in order to create the impression of a public place, evidenced through the number of people sitting round at tables. This was in order to display that the female protagonist has turned to a life of crime, in order to impress the antagonist.
27. In this scene, we had a two person shot  in order to show that whilst the male protagonist’s love for his girlfriend is still strong, we can see through her facial expressions that she is disinterested with him.
28. A cross dissolve edit soon further reveals that after he has left she is thrown the flowers off indicating further that she is not in love with him anymore.
29. This two person shot helps to further demonstrate the tension between the two.
30. We used an external microphone in order to record the sound of Adam slamming the door. This was to get a clearer and crisper sound in order for the audience to understand his emotive state. We also used the microphone for when Adam knocks all the items of the table. This was so it could give the viewer a sense of shock as it seems completely out of character for him to do anything like this.
31. In replace of music, we used the non-diegetic sound of a ticking clock. This was used in order to create the tension, that the actions the male protagonist are like a bomb just waiting to explode. Simple non diegetic sound is something that is often used in thriller, usually to bring out some form of emotion such as sadness or anger.
32. Mugging scene/ Tammy walking out the bedroom- Dim lighting is often used in thrillers in order to match up with the dark tone that much of them have.
33. Scenes of Harvey about to mug- closeups are often a genre convention used in thrillers, as it helps to convey emotion much like the male protagonist is feeling in this scene.
34. Petals of the rose being pulled out shows visual symbolism of the dying love. Symbolism is often used in thrillers in order to emphasise something.
35. Quick editing is used in trailers in order to display a faster pace, thereby creating a more thrilling nature to the film.
36. This low angle shot. Trailers will often end on a shot like this in order to leave the audience guessing about what’s to come next for the protagonists for the film.
37. Title is always featured at the end of the trailer in order to assert to the audience of what the film is actually called.
38. Trailers will often have either the release date or some sort of tagline that will hint at when the film is coming out . Here, our trailer uses the tagline of “coming soon” to demonstrate this. They will also tend to have social media logos so that the audience are able to find out about more information about the film.