Media Exam Evaluation

Using conventions from real media texts

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

Our opening two minutes conformed to the horror genre as it included dark lighting, eerie suspenseful music and an antagonist. Our location was the biggest indication to our genre as it was set in the woods which are very common among this genre.

In what ways have your productions used or developed conventions from real media products? 

In our planning stage of AS we would analyse many horror openings, picking out and explaining key areas which we felt made it special, by then we had a handful of effective features that we applied to our production making sure it included all the typical conventions such a music, lighting and characters. The openings we took most inspiration from were Cabin in the Woods and The Women in Black.

In what ways have your products challenged or played with conventions? 

Our main area in which we challenged the genre conventions was the lighting, as our apparatus wasn't up to a high standard if we filmed too late in the evening the quality wasn't good enough, therefore our lighting was slightly brighter compared to other horror openings.   

Is your work generic or experimental, or both? 

We have areas of both generic and experimental work, although our opening is more generic as it was our first production therefore it is easier to follow that typical conventions, experimental parts of our production include certain dynamic shots, for example our running point of view shot which was used very effectively to create a feeling or worry and fear. 

Have you developed a style? 

Yes, I would say our style that we developed was using camera angles and shots to put the audience in the shoes of our main character, causing them to feel more connected to our opening, resulting in a lasting impact on the audience as they are exposed to the fear and horror experienced.

Have you been influenced by the work of specific directors etc.? 

Drew Goddard directed Cabin in the woods which we admired many features used, also Alfred Hitchcock directed many horror classics therefore we felt his experience in the genre was good to analyse, therefore I would say these two directors and their work has influenced our production.

How have you developed these skills at A2? 

At A2 in producing a trailer, we understood that the shot and editing had to become quicker as conventions of a trailer include fast pace exciting shots. Therefore certain skills from AS such as range and diversity of shots we transferred over to A2 but we also included more shots such a tracking shot. We also used our analytical skills to investigate into the features of the action genre using other cinematic trailers as inspiration.