In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge the forms and

conventions of real media products?

By Charlotte March

Camera angles

The camera angles used throughout my preliminary consisted of long angle shots to include the landscape as well as the survivor. This gave a sense of agoraphobia and emptiness. This effect has also been successfully used in 28 days later: One of the films which inspired our product. High Angle shots were additionally used to break the

convention of the Post-Apocalyptic genre and lead more to the direction of a super hero flick or a War Western – where the heroes are predominantly good-hearted, masculine and in control – then again, there are parallels with this patriarchal style with the Post-apocalyptic – an inspiration for this shot also came whilst watching Inglourious Basterds, which puts the viewer into first person and makes them feel intimidated by the movie characters. I wanted this same effect, but still have the plot progress. Therefore, we decided to put the camera into the bag so that it was as though the protagonist was discovering the viewers as well as the walky talky.

Colour Grades

Quite a lot of dull colours were used to flesh out the scenery. Dull browns and greens made up the forest, and the Survivor seemed to blend into these surroundings. The radio host’s shack was predominantly dark, with flecks of warm, bright colours being emitted from the

screens and monitors. Connections could then be made with the splashes of purples and reds that the survivor encounters (Rummaging for the walkie talkie, encountering a zombie,

looking at a phone screen). Unlike most post-apocalyptic films, I’ve kept the palette moderately varied: Nothing in shot is completely monotonous with another tone, except for

the shots of the gloomy forest.

Sound

To develop the crackling radio, I used Audition to mimic the crackle of the walkie talkie to make the film seem more realistic. I took this ideas from the Walking Dead series, where

Rick is seen to be talking to a mysterious other via microphone.Also, I drew inspiration from Christopher

Nolan’s Inception – whereby Hans Zimmer uses twinkling piano stinks to enhance what is being show on screen. For example, when Mal’s shoe falls off when she’s about to jump off the ledge

– or when Dom’s children look his way - the sound of a piano makes the viewer jump, or wake up from a dream own dream-like state. This film is out of the Post-apocalyptic genre, but I really enjoyed the suspense that it built,

so I laced my film with occasional piano sounds.

The way that our film has used media conventions is with sticking very closely with our genre’s most popular antagonists: Zombies, or people infected with a virus that leads to a post-apocalyptic world where only the strong survive, etc. Our main protagonist is a white Caucasian male who seems to be a veteran of the apocalypse. (Notice the stubble and the leather jacket – a reference to Mad Max). This additionally reinforces the archetype of a weary traveller/good guy.

Here are our actors – Martin and Lisa – in an over the shoulder shot. Martin is the main focus and is

dressed in black leather similar to Mad Max, though we’ve made sure that Lisa is wearing bright white

clothes to draw the viewer’s focus. The blood is hard to see in this image, but it is covering the plaid shirt,

and her face as she makes slow steps towards the survivor.

Viggo Mortense

n The Road

(2009)

Another way in which we’ve used the norms of our genre is by introducing a comedic side character. They’re often used in films as a filler in between action scenes or drama, and they are often times the most relatable character in such a surreal world.

A pair who best sport

the hero/funny

guy dynamic:Fergie &

Dredd Judge Dredd (1995)

From Shaun of the Dead’s Ed to Mad Max’s Gyro-Captain, the comedic side character is a welcome reprieve from scowling lone-wolves

and desolate wastelands.

On the topic of villains, we have challenged our genre’s norms by using a female as the main threat to our male character’s life, as often times seen in Film Noir - with the classic femme fatales. However instead of giving our villain the dual role of the love interest, we’ve made them bloody, rotting zombies…just to keep in line with our post-apocalyptic genre.

Two silhouetted figures in The Big Combo (1955)

Lisa’s POV from behind a tree. We found that switching focus broke down scenes and made them

more interesting to watch.A little less glamour for Lisa, our

leading lady

To develop the forms and conventions of our genre, we have added in some themes

that are commonly associated with thrillers: A faceless radio host who may or

may not be benevolent, and a mother and a daughter who are given a great deal more

focus than would be deemed necessary in a shoot-em-up zombie film.

These are all little things that cause our film to remain in its genre, but still allow it

to develop into something more thought-provoking (Don’t laugh). After all, our protagonist does kill a woman. That’s

generally a d*ck move.