Daisy
Campbell
In what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My short film does follow some tropes and themes that have already been established in horror/psychological/thriller films for many years, however it does bring in some nuances of alternative cinema and art house culture.
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To begin with, my film does conform to typical tropes of the horror genre, such as the location: an empty house. My film also reverts to classic timeless themes of friendship and loneliness. I used the trope of an empty house to make the audience nostalgia for older horror films. I purposefully chose the themes of friendship and loneliness as they have always been relevant. I explored this theme by not showing any other people in the film for it's majority aside from the protagonist. I then show the effect of loneliness on the protagonist which is sadness and a worsening mental health
I wanted my film to also develop the infamous Schrödinger's cat theory. I believe that this is an interesting idea that hasn't been explored in mainstream cinema. However, the idea of a parallel universe is present in pop-culture with the rise of the BBC television show 'Doctor who' and the Netflix produced show 'Stranger Things' I wanted the Add to disappearance of the protagonist to have a negotiated reading of the side effects of loneliness, that being if you isolate yourself (knowingly or in the case of my film unknowingly) you or anybody you know
When constructing the narrative of my final piece I wanted to take into consideration the current state of mainstream cinema, as well as the current alternative/art house. I knew that I didn't want my film to be presented in an anachronic order. Whilst this is uncommon in mainstream cinema, having a non-linear narrative can prove successful in alternative and cult cinema. As proved in fan favourite films 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Fight Club'. I also didn't want to follow Todorov's classic realist narrative structure. I wanted the majority of the film to focus on the journey that a single character goes on and I knew that the ending would be considered unsatisfying to mainstream audience, who are used to many versions of the same 'happily ever after'. Whilst no questions are answered about the whereabouts of the protagonist, her disappearance does establish a new equilibrium filled with suspicion and mystery.
I based my film review around current reviews in popular film magazines such as ‘Empire’, ‘Total Film’ and ‘Sight and Sound’. I started with a still from my short film. I purposefully selected a picture of the protagonist looking emotional because in professional film reviews they often feature key moments of the film. This also helps to establish the protagonist of the film. Across the top of the poster I added the ‘In Cinemas’ bar in orange which is used in ‘Empire’ magazine to help the reader understand where they can watch the film. Across the main width of the top of the review I added a small bar with the website address of the review section of the ‘Empire’ magazines official website. I selected the juxtaposing colours of orange and blue because they complement each other well and draw the audience’s attention to each of the bars. On the left-hand side of the picture I added a rectangular shape and filled it with interesting facts about the film and production, this fact box is a common feature in ‘Empire Magazine’ and allows the reader to gain exclusive information about the film that could only be obtained by reading this review in the magazine.
Underneath the still from the film and information box Is 5 blue stars, which symbolises that the Empire reviewer awarded the film the highest honour of receiving a full review. Under the star rating is the quick information box which gives a brief overview of the films: release date, BBFC age rating certificate, director, cast, the running time and a brief analysis of the film. Over the still of the film is the key to the star rating system with the 5 categories (basic, good, great, Excellent and phenomenal) and the stars that apply to them. Under the star rating system is the main body of the review. In my review, I highlighted the key phrases and names that I believe would really amplify the film and pitch it to the target audience. Phrases such as ‘…a dark comedy with heart’. Underneath the main review, I added ‘perfect for fans of…’ section which can help the reader of the review better understand if the film will be suited towards their taste in entertainment. For my ‘perfect for fans of’ I listed: Wes Anderson, David Fincher and Stanley Kubrick. Who are all well-established directors, respectively. In the bottom left hand corner, I added the reproduced the phrase from the review which I believe summed up the film perfectly to me, which was ‘A dark comedy with heart’ which I edited into a bigger font and the colour blue (which fits into the colour scheme of the review)
If I was to redo this review I would challenge myself to create it in a different program (I used Microsoft Word) and I would have drawn the stars and lined them up more equally so the overall look of the review looks more polished.
I used Photoshop to help me create my film. I used simple iconography inspired by minimalist film posters I created my fifth and final draft. The overall colour scheme of this poster would be pale baby pink colours and metallic purples. These echo femininity and innocence. The metallic purple and gridded pink background should echo the rising popularity in the style known as 'Vapourware' and 'Webpunk' which originated on social media websites such as Tumblr and Instagram. Though I would consider this poster to be contemporary, the traditional small lettered font containing the information about the cast and crew who were involved in the film have remained at the bottom of the poster, along with the release date. The infamous logos of film festivals such as Tribeca and Sundance should line the top, to make the poster look more legitimate and intriguing.