IN WHAT WAY DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

INTRODUCTION

• My film production originally was planned out to be reminiscent of the action genre, using typical tropes and conventions explored by the myriad of high budget action/adventure blockbusters throughout the decades. However through multiple setbacks and re-envisioned ideas, the film progressively shifted into a darker tone, with a slow theme. There are still scattered elements of ‘action’ conventions within the film which are primarily the remnants of my original idea or inspiration of my original film.

So in some ways my product could be viewed as a blend of 2 ideas, one which was my original idea and the other which was a creation of improvisation and adaptation.

CONVENTIONS-CHALLENGE• One convention that I actually ended up challenging,

was the pacing of the editing and the narrative. Typically in most general action films, whenever the action occurs on screen, the editing will increase in speed and adopt a more chaotic nature. The music will take on a fast and intense beat while the volume of shots will escalate while declining in overall length.

• However, the approach that was undertaken while filming the production was to achieve the opposite. All the conventions mentioned prior were basically flipped, the editing took on a slower and arguably more menacing tone while the speed and nature of the editing revoked the ‘chaotic’ feeling for a more methodical character. The non-diegetic soundtrack still kept the slow but intense beat and the lighting in the climax of the film was extremely low key. These changes in the way that the production was shot, helped alter the film from a dedicated action film to an action/thriller with darker elements.

My production adopted a slower pace compared to other films within the action genre

CONVENTIONS CHALLENGE • Another convention that I promptly challenged

was the moral stance of the protagonist. In most action films the protagonist is often viewed as morally just while simultaneously ruthless and unforgiving to those who deserve it (bad guys) to establish a sense of ethics that the audience can easily understand and follow.

• During the course of the entire film the protagonist rarely strays from their moral absolutes that align with societies current morals, only during specific points but never during the conclusion as that would tarnish their image as a hero.

• I displayed the main protagonist as the hunted which for a certain time period follows the conventions mentioned above, however in the conclusion I tweaked the lighting and manipulated the camera angles to reveal a darker side of the character.

CONVENTIONS-FOLLOWED • Nevertheless, I still attempted to retain some

of the broad themes of the action genre, utilising scenes that incorporated higher key lighting and faster paced editing. One section of the production in particular was when the “Protagonist” is hacking an unknown website/corporation. This scene borrowed many conventions associated with such a scenario such as repeated close up shots to establish the fluctuating emotional state of the character. These close-up shots were used considerably to convey certain activities that the character was doing such as typing, reacting to what is on the screen etc. It should be noted that these actions increase in speed to simulate a growing intensity. Some elements do not conform to the accepted idea on how these scenes are normally carried out. While many elements were clearly inspirited my mainstream action films the soundtrack was quite opposite to the mood of the action. It remained mellow and low while simultaneously keeping an ominous tone.

CONVENTIONS-DEVELOPED • One convention that I developed from the action

genre was the age of my actors, typically productions within the action genre display Young adult males at the key leads with the female characters often filling up as background characters or as a prize for which the main protagonist strives for.

Even though my actors are entirely male, they are between the ages of 15 and 18 which is a main part of the age demographic in which I am targeting. The change from young adults into teenagers could be seen as an interesting twist to the conventions of action films due to the fact that such young individuals being involved in forms of espionage is quite surreal for the audience, but at the same time not 'weird' enough to be considered a unwanted distraction.