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

My media product, a 2 minute film opening of any genre uses, develops and challenges typical codes, forms and conventions of real life and existing film openings.

Dark Lighting For Horror

The genre I have decided to focus on for my film opening is mainly horror, however there are some elements of romance in it. The typical codes and conventions of a horror film would be to have a killer, a female victim, a dark atmosphere and causing some sort of fear in the audience. The typical codes and conventions of a Romance are a male and female character than fall in love however something get in the way of their relationship. Romance films usually end with a happily ever after ending. By using and mixing together codes and conventions of both types of genres I have developed the typical codes, forms and conventions of a horror film by combining two genres to create the hybrid genre 'Romantic Horror'.

Soft Lighting For Romance

This means that in ways, by having two genres to work with, it challenges the other genres codes and conventions. For example, a horror genre film would have very dark contrasting lighting where as in a romance the lighting would be very soft and bright. To combine both, my film uses both of these in contrast to each other. For the getting ready and dinner scenes where the main genre in play is Romance, I have used soft and quite natural lighting and the colours, where used, are natural yet bright and happy. To contrast to this,  I have used quite high contrast and dark colours for the horror scene, in comparison to the rest of the film, where Emily is running and where Jay is about to stab her. This means that my film opening uses and follows typical codes and conventions of both genres in terms of lighting and colour however as they are being used together in the same film, they challenge each other.

To try and bring both genres together, I have used a shot where the two characters are walking home outside. This shot is extremely dark and has connotations of horror because of the darkness, shadows and walking into the unknown however it is used to show romance as the shadows show the couple holding hands and the male character, also the killer, walking the female home after their date. This is an example of how my film opening challenges typical forms, codes and conventions.

I have used some of the typical codes and conventions of both Horror and Romance. From Horror, I have chosen to use dark lighting and shadow to create a dark and frightening atmosphere. For these parts of my film opening I have used haunting and suspenseful music to build tension and create a sense of fear among the audience. I have used a female character as the victim which is typical of horror and I have used a male character as the killer which is also typical. From the Romance genre, I have a male and female character that are interested in each other. We see them hold hands which suggests they may be in a relationship however her visions and the ending showing him killing her show that something must have gone wrong along the way which is typical of a romance film. I have used soft lighting and colour for the romance clips in my film opening.