IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS OF CONVENTIONS?

Upon the construction of my media product, the journey of pre production and research I undertook was paramount in contributing to genre, how characters looked and would act in as well as in acknowledgment of the genre, location in accordance with the conventions of the chosen genre, pacing to build purposefully upon a specific vibe or atmosphere to exemplify the genre and the introduction of all of the above in having the first impression draw potential target audiences in.Conventional trailer which often become extremely more successful and effective are those that exercise significantly the pacing in order to build the audience up to scenes and create hype because of this, introduction of characters to let the audience know what kind of characters will be seen in the full length as well as likable or relatable character which are considered the cornerstone of films and the representation of these in how the audience receive and deconstructs these ultimately deciding their opinion upon the film. The pacing usually begins with a slow and steady start typically introducing characters, setting and fundamentals of plot to then come to a climaxing part where the disruption of the equilibrium most likely occurs, showcasing intense scenes of informative sequences to further engage the audience with the plot. This is then followed by a climax of shot reverse shot and quick cuts of intense scene most likely dealing with the attempt to repair the equilibrium as well as giving extreme hints upon the end of the plot and keep audience wondering what could become of all of this to then reserve back to a slow ending with the intentions of leaving the audience wanting more and pulling their attention to watching the full length film upon release.

upon discovering all of the above embedded into my research this gave me the basics of how to present my film, pacing of the introduction and ending, representation, push and pull sequences as well as the official format of a trailer intended to be ambiguous and not summarising the whole film, unlike some films making the mistake of. I also decided to compare box office intakes compared to how the trailer presented the film in crystallizing how effective the product was and if the conventions and techniques they presented to the audience were effective in pulling the audience instead of pushing them. Acknowledging the most effective techniques exemplified through the genres, the synergy of thriller and horror clashing seemed to evoke the predominant blockbuster mainstream films and can either result in the trailer being often uncomfortable, jaring, difficult to follow and somber although peaking curiosity as to why the trailer is constructed this way.Or on the other hand action packed, intense trailers implementing clips at the films climax yet still following the correct structure to pace and introduce as well as keep the audience hooked by not revealing too much.

Taking both into consideration of how thriller and horror compliment one another, heavily due to the similar and semantic conventions, I made it paramount to have references to these effective trailer conventions coherent within my own media product. For instance, I made sure to pay close attention to pacing and through this introducing characters, plot and setting appropriately in having the setting of my main character in the first 45 seconds. Taking advantage of fading transitions and slow camera movements this not only complimented the effect of the music but also exemplified the slow pace of the beginning before climaxing to the intense segments. There was also a blue overlay mood effect and modification of brightness and contrast to crystallize the toned down somber and serious mood, contributing to the dull color scheme of thrillers as well as linking to the slow building pace. Upon following through with these effects for the whole trailer it coherently carried the sinister and serious tone of a thriller significantly while also having overlays and unique camera point of views to compliment the horror aspect and attempt at jarring the audience.

Towards the end of the trailer with the climax approaching I saw previously how effective this was and implemented it within my own, having quick cuts co-exist with dramatic voice overs and ambiguous sequences peaks the audience's interest; giving immense hints and teases of what path the plot may follow and what will become of the characters to then settle at the end, before revealing the title and release date, in an attempt to suddenly leave the audience wanting more.

By using quick cuts alongside the effect of point of view shots and sound effects, specifically tailored for Soul in order to have

the audience recognise him as a non human entity, contributes to the violence and supernatural aspect of the film, depicting

constant power struggles, battles with good and evil from an outer world being.

Thriller Conventions:

Because of our film being a cross genre of thriller and horror, due to the mixture of supernatural

conventions as well as suspenseful and intense moments, we took reference from both genres to

provoke specific effects and to significantly exemplify our main message.

COLOUR SCHEMEToned down, grayscale colours or lack of colors is a common use within thrillers and because of the serious, political, unsettling and tragic motifs of ‘Soul’ I wanted to be sure to include this within my own media product; As previously mentioned,this was exemplified through the effects, morphing the brightness and contrast to further emphasise not only the clinical setting of the institute but also serious and entrapping darkness evoked from the characters intentions.

PROTAGONIST VS ANTAGONIST Having Faith and Demi both contain the position of protagonist

and antagonist causes the film to have an undertone of a constant battle that must be concluded in some shape or form, hinting to the audience the conclusion of the film will contain some sense of combat, fighting or a situation to close the main driving force of the plot. It also allows the audience to become partly involved in taking sides and engaging with the characters and relating to them, almost filling a gratification more specifically towards teenagers because of the persona Faith represents and her differences from society that most people her age can relate to, signifying the detachment many teenagers feel as a result of their ‘differences’.

QUICK CUTS

I made sure to include quick cuts within the trailer not only to follow the trailer conventions of having the ending segment climatic in showcasing the most exciting and intense moments of the film but also to elaborate upon the pace as well as content of the full length film. By having the quick cuts present allowed the trailer as well as scenes to flow and exemplify the action sequences and breaking points of the film, ultimately lending itself significantly to the thriller side of ‘Soul’.

FALSE ENDINGS AND PLOT TWISTSDespite not being as visible and insteading giving hints that the plot could go either way, based upon my audience feedback of wanting a plot twist or false ending either oblivious or having the tiniest hint it could suddenly drastically change, I attempted to build up a simply and almost predictable equilibrium in having Faith escape the institute with Soul’s help and find her way back to put a stop to Demi and obtain revenge, acting as the recognition of the story and believing after this life would then return to normal and Faith would be free. However within the climactic section of the trailer I attempted to put hints to reference that it wouldn’t be this simple and that perhaps Faith and Soul never took their revenge or perhaps having them do at the cost or penalty of something. Of course the true ending consists of Faith sacrificing herself in order to have Soul materialize into the human world, a goal he has always strived to have, and have Faith now remain in the spirit realm however this segment I decided to keep unreferenced to not only build up the previously mention predictable equilibrium to then shock the audience with a plot twist but then to further take the audience by surprise with another plot twist which was completely undetected within the trailer, obtaining the shock value which countless time have exemplified the effect of films significantly, such as the Sixth sense, discovering He was a ghost the entire movie and causing it to be one of the classic thriller films with an effective plot twist.

CHARACTERS

One minor convention I decided to challenge was the stereotype of having male leads in thrillers and instead having my main characters consist more of women than men.. Faith being a young teenager lead among many male leads in the thriller genre not only had the film stand out more due to it’s unconventional casting but also setting an example or role model for other teenagers who could relate to Faith as well as attempting to introduce or bring more attention to female leads, particularly young actors.Having Demi as the lead protagonist, taking inspiration from Marissa, out her in a more powerful and yet sinister domina by having a female lead the organization instead of a male, exemplifying that she’s worked to get where she is and the power she holds over the institute. The protagonist and antagonist were also both selected as females to strengthen the supposed bond they were suppose to form when Demi took Faith into the institute, attempting to create a relationship between them however ultimately resulting in Demi using this to get to Soul.

HORROR CONVENTIONS:

ISOLATED LOCATIONS:

Within ‘Soul’ there were many isolated places in contribution to the horror conventions of having the main character alone and in a sense vulnerable or put into danger. Two which played this significant effect was the house in the beginning, acting as a symbol for Faith’s past life and a void which her family once resided as well as the interrogation room she gets put into under Demi’s control. Both of this act as a boundary from the outside world and a situation of Faith being completely alone excluding the presence of Soul which only Faith can see under normal circumstances. My ambition was not only to have this play off as an extension of Faith’s character and the unsettling atmosphere the isolation and detachment can evoke but also a further appealed to my target audience, having teenagers relate to Faith and how at times they may find themselves isolated and detached from society due to their differences, similarly to Faith and her differences as a result of coming into contact with Soul.

THE SUPERNATURAL

one of the conventions emphasising the horror genre into my media product more significantly is the involvement of Soul, having him as a ghost which is an extension of Faith’s spirit as well as in specific situations and moments in the film turning increasingly aggressive and harmful to characters, similar to a poltergeist within other supernatural films. his existence and involvement was not only a plot device but to further elaborate upon superstitions of real world fiction and the possibility of these superstitions coming true, commonly missed by society due to secrets or people in higher positions of society keeping these things from the public. I also wanted to further emphasise the mystery aspect of Soul, having the audience generally unknown to what Soul would appear as, going under the assumption of Soul being a mixture of a wolf, tiger, crow and lion mixed into a lingering spirit and not having a solid reference of the character, additionally strengthening the scare or uneasy vibe striving to be evoked.

BINARY OPPOSITES

Within Soul many Binary opposites were present in driving the plot forward and having the audience play an active role in the film of picking sides and having to justify their answers due to the contrasting and juxtaposing turns and intentions. Two in particular which were the most predominant was the good vs evil, having Faith against Demi, as well as age differences with Faith struggling to find her way and individuality under the control of an adult thinking she knows what's best of a teenager when ultimately only doing what she can for false friendship and protection.