Question 1-In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Now that i have finished and completed my short film, postcard design and film review i have to think about how these products may have developed or indeed challenged forms and convention of real media products. Below are a series of screen grabs from our short film 'Fleeting', underneath i have stated what i feel did in fact challenge the forms and conventions of real media products and what i felt may have developed them.

Shot 1 - Shot one conforms to the conventions of a real media film as it displays the production companies name and logo, this is shown at the beginning of the majority of films to let the audience know who is producing the film and thus develops the conventions of existing media products.

Shot 2- Shot two moves away from the conventions slightly as there is a close up on the main character before an establishing shot, we did this in order to show the audience that the main character is the focus of the film, as well as this we wanted to keep his location a mystery to the audience to keep them asking why he is at a bench and what significance does the bench hold.

Shot 3- This is an establishing shot and shows the main character of Jonathan, it also includes the title 'Fleeting'. We chose to add the title of the beginning of our film, thus conforming to the conventions of the short, as well as feature film industry.

Shot 4- Shot four is the first shot in which we see the antagonist and the protagonist, this shot shows the character of carol walking in to the shot and we then see Jonathan's reaction. I feel this shot stick to codes and conventions of a real media film as it introduces us to a new character, beginning with an establishing shot so that the audience can get a feel for the situation.

Shot 5- In shot five we see a close up of the apple, we used a jump cut in this particular shot and i feel this is thus sticking to the conventions of an industry film,we tried our hardest to incorporate a number of shots into the film, showing our creativity and i feel in this respect it worked well.

Shot 6- Shot 6 shows Jonathan taking a picture of an apple someone had left on the bench, this shot is a medium shot, showing 3/4 of Jonathan, this shot leaves the audience asking questions as to why he's taking a picture of an apple, however i feel this works well and again displays the use of various camera angels and shots within the film.

Shot 7- This shot displays the introduction of another character, the mise-en scene shows the audience the young boys hesitation to sit near or talk to Jonathan, and the audience thus question what Jonathan's motives and intentions are. This leaves an air of mystery and suspense to the film and leave the audience curious to see more. This is a key element in many short films, the story line must display a problem and for the audience this is it.

Shot 8- This shot shows Jonathan taking another picture of something that has been left behind at the bench, this frame show a medium close up of Jonathan and thus the audience can identify with his character, this again sticks to codes and convention of real media products as the director wants the audience to recognise some of the main characters traits and characteristics, and want the audience to relate and identify with the character.

Shot 9- Shot nine shows a new location, and we have thus not stuck to conventions as we have not incorporated a full establishing shot we have only included 3/4 of Jonathan's body and the wall in front of him. At this point in the film we were using light reflectors in order to make the scene as bright as possible to create a completely different feel to the other location which was cold and uninviting.  

Shot 10- This shot begins with  a panning shot over the pictures so the audience can get a close look at what is on the wall, the shot then ends in a close up of a picture of Jonathan and his deceased wife. This sticks to the conventions of a real media film as it is showing the pictures from Jonathan's point of view, as well as this the audience begin to empathise with the character of Jonathan.

Shot 11-  Shot eleven shows Jonathan looking at the pictures he has taken from the bench, at this point we see him from a side on angle. This conforms to the conventions of existing media products as its developing the relationship between the audience and the protagonist.

Shot 12- This encompasses a shot-reverse-shot and thus conforms to the conventions of existing media products. This shot shows Jonathan's emotion and devastation and the mise en scene shows allows the audience to identify with his character.

Shot 13-  Shot thirteen shows a new location and introduces a new character to the audience, this shot shows a close up of the art student and this allows the audience to establish who the new character is and what her motives may be.

Shot 14-  This shot shows shot-reverse-shot between Jonathan and the Art Student, this is thus conforming to the conventions of existing media products and allows the audience to see the scene from both characters point of view.

Shot 15- This shot represents the end of the film, there is a panning shot which continues up into the sky, this allows the audience to see the other side of the bench and the panning shot creates a sense of poignancy, also signaling the audience that the end of the film is near. This scene i believe worked really effectively and conforms to conventions of existing media products thorough the use of panning.

Shot 16-  This is the final shot of the film and shows Jonathan taking down the pictures he had previously taken at the bench. At this point music is introduced and the credits begin. Overall i fell our short film 'Fleeting' has conformed to the conventions of existing media products, through the use of various shots and camera angles, through the use of music and finally through the use of the credits at the beginning and end of the film. In some ways it has challenges conventions however i feel when this has occurred it hasn't been overly noticeable.

Postcard-
Before initially drawing up my designs for my my postcard i completed various research into the codes and conventions of short film postcards, looking at the layout, pictures used, tag lines and the positioning of the production name and logo. From this research, i learnt that the front of the postcard usually contains the films title with an image of either the location of the film or the main character as the dominant feature. And the back of the postcard encompassed a short synopsis, details of the cast, directors name, a website to find out more information about the film and finally a clear space or a lined area in which people could write down screening times, as postcards are predominantly used at film festivals. When initially drawing my designs i kept this in mind, and after receiving feedback from my designs i chose to produce the postcard design displayed below.

When creating my final postcard design i tried to conform to all the conventions mentioned above, i didn't want my postcard to look out of place if i was put again industry standard postcards and thus i attempted to incorporate as many codes and conventions of short film postcards as i could in order to produce a professional finish. In order to produce my postcard to the highest standard i took the pictures with a digital SLR camera, and then produced the design on 'Photoshop, both of which are listed on my new technologies post. After uploading the image to Photoshop, i then had to decide on the positioning of the films title 'Fleeting'. Initially i placed it in the far right corner, however i then realised that it wasn't overly noticeable and seemed to blend in with the background, i therefore moved it around and eventually decided to place it in top right hand corner, i felt the title was noticeable against the green background and didn't create a cluttered feel, but in fact worked nicely against the scenery.

The photo i chose doesn't give too much away about the character of Jonathan, and thus leaves the audience wanting to know more, this again develops conventions of existing media products. After producing the front of my postcard, i moved onto the back. I began by inserting my background image of trees that i had taken on the digital SLR camera, i edited the colour of the background for quite a while, playing around with the contrast and brightness in order to see what worked and what didn't. After sorting out the background i added the font, which included the following, the films title 'Fleeting', the directors name, the production company name and logo a short synopsis and the camera and production designers names. As well as this on the opposing side i put lines so that people could write down screening times and dates. Finally down the middle i stated who designed the postcard and their email address, as well as this i added the films email address for people wanting to find out more about the film. Overall i feel i have stuck to the majority of the short film postcard codes and conventions and i feel it looks very professional and wouldn't look out of place if it was compared to an industry postcard.

Film Review-

Before producing my film review i began by doing research into the various types of film review layouts, looking at examples from The Independent, The Guardian, Empire and Sight&Sound. After looking at these examples i decided that i wanted my film review to follow in the footsteps of Sight&Sound, i felt this review looked very professional and as well as this it included reference to the camera styles and used terminology and i felt this is what i wanted to incorporate into my review. When analysing the Sight&Sound review it became clear that in my review i needed to include the following, an image of the main character, the films title, the directors name, a cast list, age certificate, appropriate use of terminology and finally a short synopsis . After researching i went on to produce the review, i used Photoshop to create it as i felt this would produce the most realistic and professional finish, and also i had become familiar with the software from the production of my postcard. Overall i feel i stuck to the majority of codes and conventions from previous Media texts i included all the necessary information and used appropriate terminology when needed, although i did stick to the majority of conventions i also challenged them. Sight and sound do not usually so short film review however i have placed 'Short Film Speacial' on the top of the review to indicate   its not a regular thing. As well as this i included an extra image of a shot from the film in my review, thus moving away from conventions, however i believe this shows an element of creativity.