In what ways does the media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our short film, Rendezvous, is a romantic comedy film for this reason we used conventions and codes that would cooperate with our genre of choice. However, our film both conforms and challenges the romantic comedy genre. We changed some conventions of the film in order to develop the story line further and make sure Rendezvous wasn't generic. Throughout the film we maintained continuity. Continuity is the organisation of a film or TV show ti make it seem the action happens without any pauses or interruptions. It ensures that media pieces are immersive and flows so that the audience don't notice the editing.
We maintained continuity by using media techniques such as the 180 degree line, shot reverse shot, match on action. Before creating short films in AS and A2, each group completed at least 2 preliminary exercises that allowed us to develop our understanding of these 3 media techniques.
Match on Action
Match on action provides consistency by matching one shot to the next, it makes the change in camera shots look natural and can add extra detail into a scene. In our preliminary exercises we used match on action multiple times to show our development with the skill. However, in our short film we only demonstrated the use of this technique only once during the scene in Isaac's bedroom. We showed Isaac's continued actions between multiple different shots which demonstrates match on action. Nearly all films, no matter which genre, will include match on action as its a popular technique used among directors. Here is an example of match on action from Scream (1996). The two shots show a woman trying to open the door. The close up shot of her hand trying to open the door is done to show the audience more detail.
Shot-Reverse-Shot
Shot reverse shot is a film technique that is used to show characters conversing. It highlights a characters facial expressions to transfer a particular feeling to the audience. It is used in films to make the audience feel more involved in the conversation. To make sure sound matches with the shot reverse shot and to make sure there is not a jump in sound we used sound bridges. Shot-reverse shot is key in our short film. Our film revolves around the relationships that the characters have made as well as potential relationships. Due to this there are a lot of conversations in the film that we used shot-reverse-shot with. We did this to focus on each character whilst they are talking or reacting to another character speaking. Just like Match on Action, Shot reverse shot is a commonly used film technique.
180 Degree Line
The 180 degree line or rule maintains a smooth flow during the use of shot reverse shot. The rule says the camera must remain at one side of the line throughout the filming process. This is to ensure that the audience don't get confused by the positioning of characters in a scene. This technique emphasises a smooth transition of shot reverse shot. If the camera were to move onto the other side of the line the characters in the scene would be shown on the opposite side. This would cut continuity and confuse the audience. In some genres the 180 degree line is broken to confuse the audience. This is extremely rare but it is possible for this to be done. It is only an exception for films that want to trick the audience. Here is an example of both the 180 degree line and shot reverse shot from the film Tsotsi (2005). Both of these two film techniques work closely together.
There are many conventions of the Romantic Comedy genre, as a group we decided to conform to some of these conventions but other conventions we decided to challenged them. We did this because we wanted to develop our film further. The Rom-Com genre is a hybrid of the romance and the comedy genre. Due to this the conventions of each genre are diverse.
Setting
The most popular setting in teen romantic comedy films tend to be in a high school, college, university or a party. Sometimes these films can use multiple of these settings as they show the storyline over a longer period of time (a year/s). These settings are the most popular among this genre as the target audience can relate to the film and the characters different struggles. This particular genre and settings have a trend of showing reality compared to fantasy. However, romantic comedy films that are aimed at an older target audience are set in other locations. The most common setting for rom-com films aimed at adults are cities. This is because it shows characters having a busy work life as well as the stereotype that cities are where love blooms. For example, Paris which is named the city of love. Our film conformed to this convention of teen romantic comedy films. We did this as it felt the most appropriate setting for our film. The location of our filming site was Barnsley Sixth Form College, as it is a familiar location to the group. An example of a film that has a similar genre and location to our film is High School Musical (2006). This film is popular among teenagers and is set in a high school. It keeps the sense of reality for teenagers.
Costume
Costumes in teen romantic-comedy films are casual everyday outfits. Once again this is done to make certain that the film doesn't stray from reality. Also, the casual outfits complement the setting of the films very well. However, in romantic comedy films aimed at an older audience the costumes can differ due to the work life of older characters therefore they are expected to dress smart. The aim of this particular genre of film is to make sure that the audience can relate to the film as much as possible. In one scene of our film the main character Isaac challenges this convention by wearing a suit to the cinema. The reason this costume was added was to highlight the comedic side of our film due to the hybrid of the romance genre and the comedy. Here is an example from the film A Cinderella Story: Once Upon A Song (2011). The outfits the characters are wearing are casual to allow the audience to understand and relate to the characters lives.
Lighting, Cinematography & Editing
The lighting in romantic-comedy films tend to be bright and cheerful. The reason for this is to keep the light-hearted standard image of the genre. We conformed to this convention for the most part but we also challenged it in some scenes. For the majority of our scenes we used high key lighting to keep the liveliness and light-hearted aspect of the genre. For the cinema scene we used discussing lighting. This lighting technique focuses on the light from a screen that highlights a character or character's face. Our reason for using this technique is to show the audience that the characters are in a cinema. In our film we had some flashbacks. During the filming process we kept these scenes brightly lit and decided to change the brightness of the shots in editing.
Our film Rendezvous conforms to the conventions of camera shots in romantic comedy films. A number of close up shots were used to accentuate a characters facial expression, this will convey a characters feelings to the audience. However, not many two shots were used. This is because the narrative of our film doesn't conform to the romantic comedy genre. The main character Isaac chases after a girl after receiving a note from her but she doesn't reciprocate the feelings. By not using two shots we are foreshadowing the end of the film when Harriet reveals the love notes were not meant for Isaac. We also used a pan during the scene in Isaac's bedroom. This was done to show Isaac's actions as well as integrate comedic actions into the film.Here is an example of a close up shot used in the film Bridget Jones's Diary (2001). This shot is used to show the character's comedic facial expression in more detail. In terms of cinematography we used a range of shots that are present not only in rom coms but other genres as well. This shows we are following the basis of shots used in real media products. For example, in the first scene of our film there is a shot of our main character giving himself a pep talk in the mirror. This is similar to a shot found in the TV series Californiafication (2007).
We also used elliptical editing in our film to show a passage of time. If we added smalled scenes in between each large scene to show what happened at every moment it would defeat the purpose of a small film. Many romantic-comedy films have used this editing technique to move the film on further such as Bridget Jones Diary (2001) and 500 Days of Summer (2009). Also in editing we used a technique called masking. We used it during the cinema scene to hide the characters in the background. This was done as we wanted the audience to focus on the two main characters only, the other characters were added to the background to show more people attending the cinema. In the same cinema scene (Isaac's dream) we added clouds onto the shot during editing. This was to ensure the audience knew that this particular scene was in Isaac's dream.
Narrative
The narrative for our film doesn't follow the conventional narrative of a romantic comedy film. We decided to go for a different narrative as we didn't want to do the generic storyline/ narrative of this genre. Throughout the film, the main character Isaac is chasing after Harriet after receiving multiple post-it notes from her. However, at the end of the film Isaac finds out the notes weren't meant for him but rather his friend. Over the years the romantic comedy genre has developed and a new type of film from this genre has arose. It's named Flipping Conventions and it happens when the two main characters don't end up together at the end of the film. This change has already been demonstrated in Hollywood films such as 500 Days of Summer (2009). The main characters of this film don't end up together but they end up with different people whom they fall in love with. Despite this change in conventions the films that have flipped conventions remain light hearted.
How has it entertained the audience?
By using Richard Dyer's Entertainment and Utopia Theory we were able to see how our film has entertained our target audience. The theory argues that media offers the audience things that are slacking in real life. Our film features three out of 5 of the solutions.
Community
Community appears throughout multiple scenes in the film. We used community in our film to entertain our audience. This was done by including multiple scenes in our film that starred more than one character. We had scenes in classrooms and cinema that demonstrated the community solution in Richard Dyer's Entertainment and Utopia theory. Both of these settings are quite sociable places where people gather and create a community without even realising it. The classroom scene shows characters that have specific and close relationships such as Isaac and Luke as best friends whilst Isaac and Harriet are acquaintances. Although the cinema scene does show characters that are familiar with each other but perhaps wouldn't voluntarily speak to one another. However, the there are three pairs of people that would speak to each other which is what creates the community aspect in the cinema scene.
Intensity
Intensity is also apparent in our film due to the narrative. In the film, Isaac chases after the girl that he believes has feelings for him. This builds up throughout the film until the final cinema scene which is when it is revealed to Harriet that Isaac instead of Luke has been receiving her love notes as well as Isaac discovering Harriet doesn't have feelings for Isaac but rather someone else. This is an intense scene as the film builds up to the reveal. Also, the first cinema scene is quite intense as it shows two main characters going in for the kiss but the scene/ Isaac's dream abruptly ends. The shots/scenes that build up to the final scene is the shots of the post it notes that Isaac receives.
Transparency
During our sequence there are multiple flashbacks and voice overs - this is transparency. Although there is some transparency, there isn't complete transparency as the audience don't find out who the notes were actually meant for until the end of the film. However, the audience do receive some information on Isaac's thoughts and emotions on the post it notes. Isaac's feeling are presented throughout, this foreshadows his character as someone that 'wears their heart on their sleeve'. It allows the audience to sympathise with his character.
Abundance & Energy
The only two solutions our film doesn't show examples of is abundance and energy. Despite one scene where Isaac jumps and runs after finding a note, there is a lack of energy in the film due to the storyline. We didn't use abundance either as we wanted to keep Rendezvous as relatable as possible.
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We maintained continuity by using media techniques such as the 180 degree line, shot reverse shot, match on action. Before creating short films in AS and A2, each group completed at least 2 preliminary exercises that allowed us to develop our understanding of these 3 media techniques.
Match on Action
Match on action provides consistency by matching one shot to the next, it makes the change in camera shots look natural and can add extra detail into a scene. In our preliminary exercises we used match on action multiple times to show our development with the skill. However, in our short film we only demonstrated the use of this technique only once during the scene in Isaac's bedroom. We showed Isaac's continued actions between multiple different shots which demonstrates match on action. Nearly all films, no matter which genre, will include match on action as its a popular technique used among directors. Here is an example of match on action from Scream (1996). The two shots show a woman trying to open the door. The close up shot of her hand trying to open the door is done to show the audience more detail.
Shot reverse shot is a film technique that is used to show characters conversing. It highlights a characters facial expressions to transfer a particular feeling to the audience. It is used in films to make the audience feel more involved in the conversation. To make sure sound matches with the shot reverse shot and to make sure there is not a jump in sound we used sound bridges. Shot-reverse shot is key in our short film. Our film revolves around the relationships that the characters have made as well as potential relationships. Due to this there are a lot of conversations in the film that we used shot-reverse-shot with. We did this to focus on each character whilst they are talking or reacting to another character speaking. Just like Match on Action, Shot reverse shot is a commonly used film technique.
180 Degree Line
The 180 degree line or rule maintains a smooth flow during the use of shot reverse shot. The rule says the camera must remain at one side of the line throughout the filming process. This is to ensure that the audience don't get confused by the positioning of characters in a scene. This technique emphasises a smooth transition of shot reverse shot. If the camera were to move onto the other side of the line the characters in the scene would be shown on the opposite side. This would cut continuity and confuse the audience. In some genres the 180 degree line is broken to confuse the audience. This is extremely rare but it is possible for this to be done. It is only an exception for films that want to trick the audience. Here is an example of both the 180 degree line and shot reverse shot from the film Tsotsi (2005). Both of these two film techniques work closely together.There are many conventions of the Romantic Comedy genre, as a group we decided to conform to some of these conventions but other conventions we decided to challenged them. We did this because we wanted to develop our film further. The Rom-Com genre is a hybrid of the romance and the comedy genre. Due to this the conventions of each genre are diverse.
Setting
The most popular setting in teen romantic comedy films tend to be in a high school, college, university or a party. Sometimes these films can use multiple of these settings as they show the storyline over a longer period of time (a year/s). These settings are the most popular among this genre as the target audience can relate to the film and the characters different struggles. This particular genre and settings have a trend of showing reality compared to fantasy. However, romantic comedy films that are aimed at an older target audience are set in other locations. The most common setting for rom-com films aimed at adults are cities. This is because it shows characters having a busy work life as well as the stereotype that cities are where love blooms. For example, Paris which is named the city of love. Our film conformed to this convention of teen romantic comedy films. We did this as it felt the most appropriate setting for our film. The location of our filming site was Barnsley Sixth Form College, as it is a familiar location to the group. An example of a film that has a similar genre and location to our film is High School Musical (2006). This film is popular among teenagers and is set in a high school. It keeps the sense of reality for teenagers.
Costume
Costumes in teen romantic-comedy films are casual everyday outfits. Once again this is done to make certain that the film doesn't stray from reality. Also, the casual outfits complement the setting of the films very well. However, in romantic comedy films aimed at an older audience the costumes can differ due to the work life of older characters therefore they are expected to dress smart. The aim of this particular genre of film is to make sure that the audience can relate to the film as much as possible. In one scene of our film the main character Isaac challenges this convention by wearing a suit to the cinema. The reason this costume was added was to highlight the comedic side of our film due to the hybrid of the romance genre and the comedy. Here is an example from the film A Cinderella Story: Once Upon A Song (2011). The outfits the characters are wearing are casual to allow the audience to understand and relate to the characters lives.Lighting, Cinematography & Editing
Our film Rendezvous conforms to the conventions of camera shots in romantic comedy films. A number of close up shots were used to accentuate a characters facial expression, this will convey a characters feelings to the audience. However, not many two shots were used. This is because the narrative of our film doesn't conform to the romantic comedy genre. The main character Isaac chases after a girl after receiving a note from her but she doesn't reciprocate the feelings. By not using two shots we are foreshadowing the end of the film when Harriet reveals the love notes were not meant for Isaac. We also used a pan during the scene in Isaac's bedroom. This was done to show Isaac's actions as well as integrate comedic actions into the film.Here is an example of a close up shot used in the film Bridget Jones's Diary (2001). This shot is used to show the character's comedic facial expression in more detail. In terms of cinematography we used a range of shots that are present not only in rom coms but other genres as well. This shows we are following the basis of shots used in real media products. For example, in the first scene of our film there is a shot of our main character giving himself a pep talk in the mirror. This is similar to a shot found in the TV series Californiafication (2007).
We also used elliptical editing in our film to show a passage of time. If we added smalled scenes in between each large scene to show what happened at every moment it would defeat the purpose of a small film. Many romantic-comedy films have used this editing technique to move the film on further such as Bridget Jones Diary (2001) and 500 Days of Summer (2009). Also in editing we used a technique called masking. We used it during the cinema scene to hide the characters in the background. This was done as we wanted the audience to focus on the two main characters only, the other characters were added to the background to show more people attending the cinema. In the same cinema scene (Isaac's dream) we added clouds onto the shot during editing. This was to ensure the audience knew that this particular scene was in Isaac's dream.
Narrative
The narrative for our film doesn't follow the conventional narrative of a romantic comedy film. We decided to go for a different narrative as we didn't want to do the generic storyline/ narrative of this genre. Throughout the film, the main character Isaac is chasing after Harriet after receiving multiple post-it notes from her. However, at the end of the film Isaac finds out the notes weren't meant for him but rather his friend. Over the years the romantic comedy genre has developed and a new type of film from this genre has arose. It's named Flipping Conventions and it happens when the two main characters don't end up together at the end of the film. This change has already been demonstrated in Hollywood films such as 500 Days of Summer (2009). The main characters of this film don't end up together but they end up with different people whom they fall in love with. Despite this change in conventions the films that have flipped conventions remain light hearted.
By using Richard Dyer's Entertainment and Utopia Theory we were able to see how our film has entertained our target audience. The theory argues that media offers the audience things that are slacking in real life. Our film features three out of 5 of the solutions.
Community
Community appears throughout multiple scenes in the film. We used community in our film to entertain our audience. This was done by including multiple scenes in our film that starred more than one character. We had scenes in classrooms and cinema that demonstrated the community solution in Richard Dyer's Entertainment and Utopia theory. Both of these settings are quite sociable places where people gather and create a community without even realising it. The classroom scene shows characters that have specific and close relationships such as Isaac and Luke as best friends whilst Isaac and Harriet are acquaintances. Although the cinema scene does show characters that are familiar with each other but perhaps wouldn't voluntarily speak to one another. However, the there are three pairs of people that would speak to each other which is what creates the community aspect in the cinema scene.Intensity
Intensity is also apparent in our film due to the narrative. In the film, Isaac chases after the girl that he believes has feelings for him. This builds up throughout the film until the final cinema scene which is when it is revealed to Harriet that Isaac instead of Luke has been receiving her love notes as well as Isaac discovering Harriet doesn't have feelings for Isaac but rather someone else. This is an intense scene as the film builds up to the reveal. Also, the first cinema scene is quite intense as it shows two main characters going in for the kiss but the scene/ Isaac's dream abruptly ends. The shots/scenes that build up to the final scene is the shots of the post it notes that Isaac receives.
During our sequence there are multiple flashbacks and voice overs - this is transparency. Although there is some transparency, there isn't complete transparency as the audience don't find out who the notes were actually meant for until the end of the film. However, the audience do receive some information on Isaac's thoughts and emotions on the post it notes. Isaac's feeling are presented throughout, this foreshadows his character as someone that 'wears their heart on their sleeve'. It allows the audience to sympathise with his character.
Abundance & Energy
The only two solutions our film doesn't show examples of is abundance and energy. Despite one scene where Isaac jumps and runs after finding a note, there is a lack of energy in the film due to the storyline. We didn't use abundance either as we wanted to keep Rendezvous as relatable as possible.
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