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

Rahmeen ShaikhMedia Studies A2

Introduction• My media product has a variety of different elements which

develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products.

• When considering the possibility of doing a romance film, I realized that in order for my film to be successful I had to ensure that it was similar to other well established romance films to allow for connection with my target audience. I had a detailed look into other romantic films so i was able to follow the convention found, in order for my film to be deemed recognizable and acceptable within the film genre. By using these conventions I was able to portray romance and later conflicts in a different way.

• There are several popular international media products that are similar to my own. Since my film is of romantic drama genre, it can be compared to many notable films like “A Walk To Remember”, “P.s I Love You” and “Sweet November”.

• The following conventions of this genre have been used in my media product and other real media products.

Institution (Warner Bros.)• Firstly I am going to talk about the Institution that I

choose to make my film titled “Nothing Lasts Forever”.

• Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (Warner Bros. Pictures) is an American producer of film, television, and music entertainment. Itself it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank, California and New York.

• It’s among the major film studios of Hollywood and it has several subsidiary companies, including Warner Bros. Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Home Video, New Line Cinema, TheWB.com, and DC Entertainment. Warner owns half of The CW Television Network too.

• Warner Bros being one of the world largest distributors of films tend to show ordinary people to which a larger audience can relate to. Their films mostly portray the love and the friendship bond between each other and how strong it can be through tough times. These appeals to larger audience as they are tend to see the strong bonding between relationships.

• I think Warner Bros can produce and distribute my film is because my story also conveys the message of true love which would appeal all type of age groups. Teenage people will be mostly attracted towards it because their real lives revolve around friendship, love and break-ups. I have tried to convey a universal message of love and letting go to my younger audience out there.

• Warner Bros is a great institution to distribute my film on local, national and even international levels. As it have Home Box Office as its subsidiary and Warner Bros television would help my film to be distributed even on television.

• As the Warner Bros owns half of the CW television, which would add extra credits on my film. Time Warner being the biggest parent company would find it a lot easier to distribute my film. They also have Warner Bros Home Video market which would help in getting my film on DVD, HD-DVD and even Blu ray disc.

• Some of Warner Bros produced and distributed films: 1. Gossip (2000)2. A Walk to remember (2002) 3. Two Weeks’ Notice (2002)4. Elephant (2003)5. What A Girl Wants (2003)6. Love Doesn’t Cost A Thing (2003)7. The Notebook (2004)8. A Cinderella Story (2004)9. Laws of Attraction (2004)10. The Sisterhood Of Travelling Pants (2005)

11. Rocket Science (2007)12. P.S I Love You (2007)13. Another Cinderella Story (2008)14. 17 Again (2009) 15. Going the Distance (2010)16. Valentine’s Day (2010)17. Crazy Stupid Love (2011) 18. New Year’s Eve (2011)

Narrative• Narrative stands for a process of telling a story. When writers write

a story they tend to build the story based upon the common codes and conventions of that particular genre.

• “A Walk To Remember” portrays meaning of true and eternal love because after the death of Jamie, Landon was satisfied with their love and that it can never fade away. Moreover it also illustrates the value of looking deeper inside of people and finding the good. It looks at showing mercy to those who might not deserve it instead of judgment, forgiveness instead of wrath, and the beauty of restored relationships.

• Similarly in my film I had also portrayed the concept of true love and how one of them deals with imparities or illness of the other. In my film the Scarlet (female protagonist) would be blind and the Eric (male protagonist) will still love her despite of her visual disability. My story would unfold itself by explaining that how they both struggles in their own way between love and disability. Eventually in the end Scarlet shows loyalty to Eric and she doesn’t want Eric to suffer in pain or difficulties because of her.

• “P.s I Love You” conveys the message that even after the death of Gerry (male protagonist) he is still supporting Holly (female protagonist) by his letters that he wrote in his lifetime. Gerry cared about Holly so much that he wanted to never leave Holly depressed or sad. Gerry had already made a backup plan. This love story tells that true lovers never fall apart and they always support each other whether they are alive or dead.

• Likewise in my film, the story deals with human emotions and how even after everything seems to be alright some mishap happens which changes the life of the couple forever. It also portrays a lot of emotions and striking moments which sets audience to get deeply involved in it. As in my story Scarlett (female protagonist) becomes blind after an accident but despite of this Eric (male protagonist) decides not to leave her side and stay loyal with her.

• “Sweet November’s” main concept is somehow similar to “A Walk to Remember” because in both there is a girl who is suffering from terminal cancer and eventually will die. This story is about the struggle of two lovers between love and illness. It tells us that Sara didn’t want Nelson to be with her in her bad times because then Nelson would not be able to remember Sara in good memories. Nelson is deeply hurt by this and tries really hard to stop Sara but she doesn’t.

• In my film titled “Nothing Lasts Forever” Scarlett doesn’t want Eric to be with him as she does not wanted Eric to spend the rest of his life in pain with her. Scarlett wanted Eric to forget her and leave her side. Eventually after listening to the point of view of Eric’s sister Hazel, Scarlett decides to leaves Eric in pain and only thing they had were the lovely memories they had spent.

Treatment

Settings

• Settings refers to the decoration or decorative styles, comprising mainly of the set and props used in a movie. Instead of just dressing the set, the director must also emphasize upon themes, create meanings, and provoke thoughts from the particular scene. In most romances, there are stereo typical places that they are set. They are normally set in an urban environment, a beach, and a school etc., places where a chance encounter would happen.

• When a romance film opens, it is likely that much of the setting will be shown to the audience from the use of establishing shots and wide shots showing characters and much of the setting and area behind them. Depending on where they are situated, this can sometimes help the audience interpret what they think is going to happen in the film or where the action is going to take place.

Treatment of a movie contains a lot of things from camera movements to editing and from Mise en scene to

• Basically I have used 3 locations in my film that are park, living room and road. For example in the start of my film I have introduced my location that is a park which shows that it is a quite romantic place where a boy and a girl can meet. As the film proceeds further my next scene is in Eric’s (male protagonist) home with her sister Hazel. The setting was a common living room where both the characters are seen comfortable. As Eric belonged to a well off family so the setting of living room compliments this. In scene 4 I have shown accident of both Eric and Scarlet which was shot on a road at night time. A road was already a built up location so I did not need to add anything in the screen.

• Moreover while doing my research and planning of the romance genre it is most common that the films are mostly set in the city especially big cities such as New York being perhaps the most common setting for romance films. Also this allows the characters to have a particular lifestyle and personality. Similarly in my film my both the characters are well off and live in a big city that shows their status.

Camera Angles & Movement: • A romantic drama can consist of many angles shots and

types of movement. Mid shots, close up’s and panning shots are used quite frequently in romance film. Romantic drama use typical camera shots in order to keep the story simple and easy to understand for the audience.

• Establishing Shot- This shot is used to set the scene and location of the story; where everything will take place. In my film I haven’t used any establishing shot in first scene. But in scene 4 when both Eric and Scarlet are going for shopping I have started that scene with establishing shot of Scarlet standing by the side of the road. Moreover in scene 5 when Eric and Scarlet again meets after 1 month of accident I have used a establishing shot of the park to introduce the location once again. Both the screenshots of the scene are attached below.

Below are screenshots of establishing shots from “A Walk To Remember”

Below are the screenshots of establishing shots from “Nothing Lasts Forever”

• Long shot helps audience to be able see the characters entire body along with some of the scenery. Moreover they can determine how much space the characters have around them and how close the two main characters are to one another which can be a good judgment for an audience on how much they like/dislike each other at that certain time of film. Below is a screenshot of long shot from the movie “A Walk To Remember”.

• The long shot you see before is from the scene, which takes place after Landon’s dad says he is the wrong type of doctor and cannot help Jamie, Landon’s girlfriend, who has Leukemia. The use of the long shot here, represents how Landon is dealing with Jamie’s situation. He is sad that he cannot help her, he is sad that his dad will not help him to help her, and he is alone. In this shot, Landon is standing in front of open water, without any activity, showing isolation. The high angle takes power away from the subject, it is out of Landon’s power to help Jamie…at least medically.

• In another screen shot below of “A Walk To Remember” we can see both Landon and Jamie dancing in the balcony. This shows the status of their relationship as they are very close to each other. Moreover the long shot of them on the balcony also depicts that they are comfortable in their surroundings.

• In my film “Nothing Lasts Forever” I have used many long shots to establish the location and character in that particular scene. The screen shot below shows Eric and Scarlett walking which illustrates that at this point in the film their relationship is growing as they are walking together and both seems to be really happy. Moreover we are also able to see the surroundings which is a park and it seems to be really pleasant.

• Mid Shot- This shot is typically used to introduce the character to a more personal connection towards the audience so they get a better look at the protagonist. They can either be used throughout the romantic drama or at certain scenes. These shots work well in showing body language; telling us how the character fells without them having to speak. Below are the screenshots from “A Walk To Remember”

• In my film I have used plenty of mid shots to introduce my characters in each scene. This helps the audience understand and interpret where the characters are and who the characters being shown are. In the screen shot below both my male and female protagonist are talking to each other and both are in a pleasant mood.

• Close Up- The close up shot are typically used in Romantic films to show the central characters feelings and emotions. They allow audience to see just the characters face in order to make a judgment on what they might be feeling or thinking. In romantic drama, these shots are usually used to show whether a character might be in love, hurt or rejected. Below are the screenshots from “A Walk To Remember”.

• In the screenshot of “Nothing Lasts Forever” we can see that Eric is staring at Scarlet in a pleasant way which makes it obvious to the audience that he has feelings for her. Moreover the close up shot of Scarlet also shows that she is smiling and is comfortable with Eric.

Editing

• Editing is the post-production stage in which the sequencing or joining together of camera shots, sound and/or text is performed, it is basically how the individual shots are put together.

• Continuity editing is when the sequence is edited so that time seems to flow, uninterrupted, from shot to shot; this is achieved by using only straight cuts. This can also involve cross-cutting which is where a sequence cuts between to different settings to make it appear as if the action is occurring simultaneously. This editing technique is used to make the film seem as real as possible and allow the audience to be fully immersed in what’s happening on screen and even forget that they are in fact watching a film

• The most common editing style in the romantic drama genre is continuity editing. This is most likely because romantic films are extremely focused on telling the story and making it seem as if it is real, therefore they must make it flow smoothly and keep the editing unnoticeable.

• For my film “Nothing Lasts Forever” I mainly used continuity editing to stick to the codes and conventions of the genre and to help keep my story linear and easy to understand, as this is what the target audience wants. At first I used the razor tool to cut the video clips from many places to eliminate extra shots, and then I applied the Cross Dissolve transition in between. In the end of every scene I have used Dip To Black transition which helped in giving a good ending to the scene.

• I also used an audio crossfade because I used two different music mp3s and to merge them and make them seem natural, I had to make sure there was no awkward composition or gaps. I worked on two audio layers which aided me in overlapping dialogues with background music that I choose from royalty free websites.

Lighting• Lighting is a very important aspect for shaping meaning in

films. Lighting plays an important part in creating the atmosphere in a film.

• There are two types of lighting:• High-key lighting simply refers to images that are mostly

bright, with a range of light tones and whites and not very many blacks or mid-tones. In high-key lighting, tones that generally would have been mid-range become much brighter, near-white tones become white and white becomes, well, white.

• Low-key lighting relies on shadows, deep blacks and darker tones, with very few whites and middle tones. The mood is opposite, too – while high-key lighting is hopeful and optimistic, low-key lighting is somber, mysterious and moody, dramatic or even ominous depending on the subject. Low key images, tend to have a lot of contrast, with the primary impact coming from the shadows.

• In my reference film “A Walk to Remember” mostly there is use of high key lighting which depicts the brighter and romantic feel to the film. The screenshot below from “A Walk To Remember” shows a wedding scene.

There is enough use of lighting in this scene which gives the audience a refreshing look to the film. As this is a wedding scene so through high key lighting they have tried to create romantic feel to the scene. Similarly in the screenshots of Landon and Jamie below shows use of high key lighting. This denotes that during the romantic scenes there is extensive use of lights to create the perfect Mise en scene.

• Most of my film is shot in high key lighting and I have used natural lighting (sun) in most of the scenes. High key lighting shows the happy and romantic mood of the film. In the screenshots below it can be seen that in starting my both the protagonist are sitting on a bench in a park where they seem to be happy.

• The above shot shows that Eric (male protagonist) is proposing Scarlett (female protagonist) and both are happy so I have used high key lighting to show the positivity of the scene. As it is an outdoor scene so my main source of light was the sun and I did not use any artificial light.

• In “A Walk To Remember” there has been use of low key lighting as well especially in the scenes of pain and difficulty. The screenshots below shows the scenes that made use of low key lighting.

• The screenshots above shows when Jamie tells Landon about her illness and Landon gets really depressed after hearing it. In this scene low key lighting is used to show sorrow and pain among the characters. Moreover it gives the scene more dramatic and intense look.

• Low key lighting was considered just once in the scene before Eric and Scarlett accident. I have tried to portray that something bad is about to happen through the use of low key lighting. I shot this scene at night in car and the only light source that I used was dome light. This was very minimal but was able to light my actor’s faces. Below can be seen the screenshots of this scene.

• I shot this in low key lighting because shooting an accident scene in such lighting makes it more dramatic and intense.

Music• The music is always an important part of any film, no

matter what genre. The music is key element in the movie as it creates mood and suspense to create the feel of the film.

• In my film I made sure that I use royalty free music so there aren’t any copyright issues. I used both soft and light music in my film to show the tenderness and sensitivity of the relationship and to represent the characters personality. I have used both happy and sad music in accordance with the scene.

• In the starting of my film my male protagonist is seen playing a guitar. My actor did not know how to play a guitar so during sound editing process I used an instrumental music of guitar from internet. The use of it seemed to be really realistic.

• The soundtrack that I have used in the first scene is light hearted and upbeat which adds on the soft and romantic feel to the scene. The first soundtrack of my film is a combination of piano and guitar which depicts the good and happy side of the scene.

• In my film there comes a point when Scarlet gets blind and it disturbs both Eric and her. From here onwards I made use of sad music which comprises of violin. The use of violin gives a soft, romantic yet a painful feeling to the whole scenario. All of these musical instruments can be used effectively through diegetic and non-diegetic sound editing.

Challenges• Nowadays in every romantic film we tend to see same old repetitive

storyline where a boy meets a girl, and then they fall in love with each other. The disequilibrium sets in when they both are faced by a problem that a parts them. In the end usually both the boy and the girl comes together when the problem is resolved. This is a basic and repetitive formula used in romantic films since ages and I think audience is bored of it and they want something new.

• Even in movie “A Walk To Remember” The story starts with equilibrium and later Landon and Jamie are brought closer and they fall in love. The disequilibrium in the movie sets in when Jamie tells Landon about her illness. To move the movie again to equilibrium we are shown that Landon realizes that Jamie needs him the most at this time. So Landon makes every possible effort to make her happy by fulfilling her wish list. Later Landon and Jamie are married in the same church as was Jamie’s deceased mother, the event that topped Jamie’s wish list. The movie ends with Jamie’s death and Landon himself becomes a better person through Jamie’s memory, achieving the goals he set out to do, like she did. Though it is a tragic end but Landon and Jamie shared some beautiful moments and they said each other good bye in happy manner. I think that the way they ended the film sets it back into the equilibrium as we see Landon satisfied and smiling in the end.

• In my film there isn't any happy ending because I wanted my film to look a bit unique and was not willing to use same storyline formula. I believe in differences among codes and conventions of a particular genre as it entertains the audience more and they are always curious on what would happen next. This curiosity among audience helps achieve greater success of film. So I intentionally challenged this codes and conventions to make my film look a bit different and happening one.

Rahmeen Shaikh Media Studies A2

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