Evaluation Question 1

Evaluation Question 1

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

An example of continuity in our film is the scene where Harry sees Hayley and goes through a door and down stairs to meet her. Continuity is shown as Harry’s action of going through the door is matched at the other side, and down the stairs, keeping the continuity of the scene, as shown in the screenshots from our film. This was edited using elliptical editing as part of the stairs and another set of doors were cut out to keep the pace of the film, preventing it from seeming slow and dragged out.

Our film delierately subverts the conventions of a romantic comedy, as the central character does not end up with the girl he loves, and in romantic comedy, it is conventional for the main character to end up with the odds in his favour by the end of the film. Our film clearly shows that the main character is heartbroken at the fact that he does not end up with the girl he has been chasing throughout the film, and that he has been betrayed by his best friend, as shown in the picture, therefore subverting the conventions of the romantic comedy genre. Conversely, our film upholds the convetions of the genre through use of music, design and high key lighting. The music throughout the film is lighthearted and upbeat, reflecting the optimism of the main character, which is common amongst romantic comedies. Also, the main colours used for the poster and title sequence are pink, purple and white, which are common colours used within the genre, as they represent things such as happiness and love, also connoting that there will be no violence in the film, as advertises the film as light hearted and family friendly. This is seen in other films such as ‘Love actually’, ‘10 things I hate about you’, and ‘Pretty Woman’.

The storyline for our film, Complicated Love, is rather common throughout the genre, having  ‘love triangle’ between three people, where one of the three is inevitably dissapointed, however we have made this our own by subverting the codes of the genre so the the main focus is on the character that does not ‘get the girl’, rather than the one that does, which is what the general convention of the romantic comedy genre is. We have not stolen this idea from any particular film, although we have used a cliché of the genre on which we based our production.

I am confident that our film does give uses and gratifications, such as entertainment. Complicated Love gives the audience a sense of transparency, according to Richard Dyre’s theory of entertainment, as each character’s feelings become clear, epecially within the closing scene when everything is revealed.