Conventions of Real Media Texts

In AS media I produced the opening for a thriller film involving a psychological battle between two competing gymnasts and their coach. The target audience for my thriller was teenagers of both sexes. As part of the advanced portfolio I produced a trailer for a film “On the baseline” which was a hybrid genre combining key conventions of chick flicks and sports films (sports flick!).  The film followed a tennis theme and revolved around the development of a relationship of a new women’s doubles partnership comprising of a champion and an “underdog”.  The main target audience for the film was teenage girls with a secondary niche audience of tennis fans.  A magazine cover and movie poster were produced as ancillary products.

In terms of AS media the main source of inspiration for my thriller opening came from a devised piece that I had written for GCSE drama, the stage production of “Woman in Black” which I had seen in the theatre and from watching TV drama series such as the Marchlands and Orphan.  This first hand experience was supplemented through research into real media texts of the same genre.  The internet (Youtube and IMBD) was used to enable me to view examples of the creative dramatic footage used in thriller film opening sequences, and to begin to pick up commonalities stereotypical of the genre.  “Death of a Cheerleader”, “Stick It” and “Black Swan” where the key texts that I analysed.  The use of secondary research involving real media texts allowed me to gain a basic understanding of the conventions of the thriller genre that I was trying to recreate in my own production.

From the research I discovered that the narrative was structured in a way quickly changed the audiences emotions.  Death of a Cheerleader began happily, lulling the audience into a false sense of security and within 10 seconds turned into a form of disequilibrium and horror. The real media text provided the inspiration for the narrative structure of my own film opening sequence and the confidence to experiment with a non linear structure.  For example, the opening started with happy, upbeat music accompanying footage of two female gymnasts performing perfect stunts. After 10 seconds the shot suddenly changed to a girl screaming at the camera accompanied with dark, eery music signifying the disequilibrium evident at the end of the film before going back to reveal to the audience a snapshot of some of the events leading up to that final scene.  This flash forward was designed to lure the viewer into a false sense of equilibrium, create tension and unease in the audience.

I also analysed the film opening ‘Stomp the yard’ which made hip-hop appear scary through the creative use of mis en scene (such as lighting), use of cutaways and the production of footage taken with handheld camera to create an unsteady, panicked and tense effect.   I used cutaways and match on action in a similar way during my gymnastics sequence scene.  This real media text also influenced my creative decision making regarding significance of the use of lighting in scenes to create an atmosphere.  For example I decided to use high key lighting when equilibrium was present and low key when disequilibrium was present. Artificial lighting was used in the gym when the gymnasts performed the stunts. However, the lighting in the room was dull when coach was telling the gymnast that she hadn’t been selected reflecting the despondency of the character.

During the Stomp the Yard analysis I also noticed that the camera moved in different ways to establish different characters. For example a high angle was used to show a woman doing the worm and a low angle was used to show a man doing a head spin. This made the opening more exciting. So I established the characters through the shot selection and camera angles in my own film. The out of favour gymnastic was established with a close up of her struggling face on the vault which symbolised her struggle throughout the film. In contrast the coaches favourite gymnast was established through a wide angle shot of her whole body looking poise and perfect which reflects the way she is represented and seen by the coach throughout the film.   

I also used the internet (Google images) to identify stills from films of a similar genre to my own initially to gain ideas on mis en scene and in particular the types of costumes my characters should wear.  Initially, I thought that this was just logistical research but I quickly realised that the costumes are more than just what a character wears and could be used to subtly create meaning and connotations amongst the audience. This increased understanding influenced my opening for example a still from the film ‘Stick it’ inspired me to dress the two girls in professional gymnast like costumes when equilibrium was present. This would give the audience the impression that even though their relationship was strained they were being ‘professional’. Another contrasting still from “Stick It” gave me idea to symbolise that disequilibrium through the girls appearing in mismatched clothing looking unprofessional. This was used in the scene in my own film where the antagonist was struggling; she was dressed in ripped tracksuit bottoms and a baggy t-shirt. Looking out of character and disturbingly rough!

In my AS year I used the internet to analyse the DVD front covers of movies similar to my own but also using the audience feedback gathered from the questionnaire regarding the need to appeal to male audiences to inform the scope, focus and direction of my search. The use of mis en scene seemed to be the key to interweaving masculine appeal into the cover.  The DVD cover for the movie “Slaughter” featuring a girl trapped on a wheel in a eery setting influenced the composition of the photograph used for my cover.  The shot is set against a completely white background with connotation that the character is in a mental institution.  An extreme zoom in on the camera was used to emphasise the fact that the character was struggling to escape from something (the room or herself).  The simplicity of the composition of the shot and clever use of minimal mis en scene makes it all the more intriguing and disturbing for the audience.

During the AS year the analysis of real media texts of a similar genre influenced my creative decision making. However, on reflection in order to appeal to the male market I should have widened the scope of my analysis of films beyond the thriller genre to identify features of films designed specifically for men eg Die Hard, and try to replicate some of these.  I should also have undertaken more qualitative audience research to give me more in depth audience feedback to combine with my understanding of real media texts. In terms of analysis of real texts in the form of DVD covers, in hindsight, this was very limited and tended to focus on colour,  basic features of the layout and aesthetics.  I undertook a superficial visual analysis rather than understanding the deeper connotations presented through the text or the need to produce a product to appeal to my target audience!

In A2 real media texts played a much bigger role in helping me to develop a deeper understanding of the features needed to create a quality trailer that would appeal to a specific target audience.  Wikipeadia was used to identify conventions of genres and obtain lists of relevant films to analyse (although I realise that the source is not totally reliable) then Youtube and IMBD were used to analyse trailers. The trailers analysed consisted mainly sports related films that tackled similar issues involving the underdog coming through to triumph over adversity (ie Bend it like Beckham, Wimbledon, Dodgeball, Coach Carter, A League of their Own) and chick flicks (ie Mean Girls, Not another Teen Movie) focusing on the culture of typical teenage girls. 

In A2 my confidence improved as I identified institutional techniques which have become conventions of both genres and creatively combined the 2 to create a hybrid genre “sports flick” that would appeal to a main and secondary niche audience of tennis fans.  Through research into the conventions of real media texts it became apparent that the themes explored in chick flicks and women’s sports films are very much the same which is why they are so appealing to the same target audience.  Themes of conflict are evident in both genres whether it be an interpersonal conflict between the protagonist and another character the conflict seems to lie on some personal issue or goal eg winning a competition.  However, sports films tended to have a much more positive representation of the strength, determination and talent of women than the concept offered by the chick flicks vulnerable female desperate for love.  The decision to combine the two genres is reflective of my own ideology as a teenage sports women.

The conventions of real media texts improved influenced my creative and technical decision making in the production of my movie trailer in a variety of ways:

-  the Bend it Like Beckham trailer used a voice over to provide narration throughout rather than just
   to introduce the initial action whilst I replicated this I also subverted the traditional convention of
   using a deep male voice by using the voice of the main character to narrate events from her point
   of view.  An immediate connection with the audience was made as the main character outlined the setting,
   situation and dilemna of the film from her perspective.  This is a convention frequently used in chick flicks. 

-  Stereotypical characterisations from the chick flick genre where adapted and incorporated into the trailer.

    For example the inspiration for portraying the champion tennis player as the stereotypical chick flick
  “Queen Bee” came from the film “Mean Girls” and was designed to appeal to teenage girls. Stereotypical
    iconography in the form of mis en scene (ie costume, props, facial expressions, body language) was used to 
    form the stereotype which enhances the realism of the trailer as audiences identify with them.  For
    example, the underdog was dressed with Barthes theory of connotations and denotations as a guide.  Her
    leopard spotted headband, bright purple top and brightly coloured make up are designed to create the
    impression of a “plastic” rather than a sports girl.  She was also given a brightly, oversized tennis ball to hold
    as a prop in photo shoots for the magazine cover and poster which implied to the audience that she was a
    bit of a clown.  In contrast, the representation of the champion as a stereotypical sports girl draws on
    Winships theory of notion portraying an ideal version of “fake consciousness” to teenage girls, what most
    aspire to be.  Mulveys concept of male gaze would apply to her appearance eg long blond hair, slim
    physique, tennis clothing symbolising a confident, successful girl.

    

-  a scene from Dodgeball was the inspiration for the footage of the underdog struggling with a training routine and a “boiing” sound effect was inserted as she collapsed in a push up in order to meet the audiences expectations of the conventional humour in chick flicks;

-  the Wimbledon film demonstrated the importance of relationship building in both chick flicks and sports films.  This was reflected in the action sequence involving the 2 players training together which finishes with them  performing synchronized star jumps in perfect time together with the connotation that they have
formed a partnership and are working positively together. A slow motion close up was also used when the
girls were shaking hands again to emphasize the bonding taking place.

-  a common theme across the sports films involved an underdog triumphing against the odds which is the key narrative theme of my trailer.  Sports films also tended to contain references, technical language or sayings that held a special significance to fans of the sport. My trailer reflected this convention in the use of: a famous John McEnroe saying “You can not be serious, ” to add humour to the moment the champion meets her new partner; use of title “On the Baseline” which will have connotations amongst tennis fans relating to being on the defensive; the Wimbledon related  “Triumph and Disaster?” line used to trigger a narrative enigma. 

The importance of these existing texts in helping me meet the expectations of my target audience demonstrates that “Individual creativity is stimulated by the work, ideas and achievements of other people.  We stand on the shoulders of others to see further.” (Ken Robinson).  However, in hindsight I did miss out on an opportunity to be more creative with the narrative structure.  My trailer followed a simple linear form of restricted narrative.   In trying to comply with chick flick convention through the use of a voice over I did not consider the possibility of creating a multi strand narrative whereby the different perspectives of the 2 rivals (binary opposites) were presented to the audience for consideration.  This would have positioned the audience in the heart of the battle between the antagonist and protagonist – metaphorically being hit from one side of the court to the other!

Also from watching the openings and trailers I also began to recognise the prominence given to promoting the name of the production and distribution company in the opening titles of films – a feature which I tried to replicate creatively in my opening and trailer.  In A2 I tried to develop the brand identity of my production company “Sports Flick Pictures” across of 3 products.  On reflection I could have made this initial mode of address appeal more to my target audience eg by having the actors names bounce on and off screen to appeal to add humour and use fonts that denoted the nature of the characters the actors were portraying to add meaning.

At A2 level I analysed in depth conventions of film posters using the internet (ie Wimbledon, Bend it Like Beckham etc) and magazine covers (ie Empire, Total Film).    These (particularly a Total Film cover for Sherlock showing Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes standing together) gave me the creative inspiration for the main image used on my products which was taken using a digital camera and improved by removing the background using the magic wand tool on Photoshop software.  Connotations can be read into the photograph of the antagonist and protagonist standing back to back on the court used on the poster and magazine cover.  The positioning of the main characters, their body language and facial expressions denote the existence of a bitter rivalry.  The angle of the racket held by one character along with a clown like supersize tennis ball suggests that she may not be as serious or as competent as her partner.  On reflection, I could have made the presentation of the main characters as binary opposites more apparent to the audience through greater contrast in the use of costume. However, at AS level I would not have had the knowledge, technical ICT or creative ability to produce an image which deliberately incorporated connotations and clues for the audience into the plot of the film.

Magazine research consisted of analysing film magazines (ie Empire, Film) and women’s magazines (ie Hello, Celebs magazine) as the target audience for the magazine covering my film was women.  The secondary research helped me produce a basic flat plan sketch showing initial ideas and influenced my creative decision making in the following ways:

-  A single image was selected and overlaid with text which is a convention of magazines.  The same image was used on the film poster creating intertextuality and image association in the audience.

-  It was apparent that different genres of magazines have different colour schemes and pink was a common feature of magazines targeting women. Semiotics in the form of colour symbolism was applied to my cover (and poster) to create a soft, feminine appeal particularly through the use of the stereotypical “chick flick” pink.  Hence, the text on the cover which related directly to the film was produced in pink font creating intertextuality through colour association with the pink tennis court on the film poster.

-  Softer, summery colours were used to reflect the seasonality of the summer edition magazine and to indicate that it is a contemporary edition to the purchaser.  My use of sensationalised language also reflected the seasonality ie hottest stars, sizzling etc as is conventional in summer editions.  

-  Conventionally a limited number of fonts and colours were used in the real texts in order to create a clear house style – this is a feature that I replicated on my cover using 4 main colours for specific purposes eg red for main headings, pink for text related to the film.

-  The title of the magazine was changed to follow the convention of many film magazines which use a single word as a title so Film in Focus became “Flicks”.  This change also allowed me to increase the size of the font of the  masthead making it more prominent and eye catching to a prospective purchaser.  Flicks also relates to the female target audience having connotations of chick flick, is also an old fashioned word for the cinema giving the magazine a nostalgic feel and also creates brand awareness of the production company, Sport Flick Pictures, who also own the magazine. In conventional fashion a company logo was designed that branded the media product across all 3 platforms.

-  Other standard features were also evident on the real text such as: barcode; date of issue; issue number; price; giveaways; competition offers; mastheads and taglines -  all of which were replicated on my cover to add to the realism of the product.   

On reflection, the front cover and poster involved creative activity in that it involved a lot of “playing with ideas and trying out possibilities” (Carl Jung) in relation to titles, colours, fonts, formats and layout before the final versions were acceptable in their appeal to my target audiences.  In hindsight, I think that if I had ensured that the predominant target markets for my trailer (ie teenage girls then tennis fans) and film magazine (women) had been clearer in my mind from the outset the creative process and application of relevant conventions would have been speedier and more effective.

In conclusion, I have shown progression in my A2 year as my research into real media texts became more focused on my target audience and how media products are specifically designed to meet their expectations. This approach reflects Gauntlet’s view that “making is connecting” with your audience.  The primary audience research became a more significant influence on my final product as it gave me the qualitative feedback needed to justify the subversion of conventions in response to their expressed preferences.  In terms of the production of my ancillary products in AS I looked at what was denoted on a range of DVD covers in A2 I started to understand the connotations that were cleverly implied in the composition of film posters and magazine covers.  The secondary research into real media texts was crucial in improving my ability to deconstruct texts and understand conventions related to layouts, fonts, colours etc and the importance of developing a recognisable house style and brand identity across a range of media platforms with my audience as the focus. However, whilst real media texts did provide the inspiration for much of my work in both AS and A2 it is only on reflection that I can now see how my role was that of an auteur in that my own ideology, personality and outlook on life also heavily influenced both productions.