Question 1: Section A: Use of Real Media Conventions (practice essay)

Use of real media conventions

Over the two year course I have learned a lot about, not just what the conventions of particular forms and genres are, but how to use them in creative ways in my own work.

At AS we completed prelim tasks to practice how it would be to film and edit a film opening sequence. We were assigned a random genre (action) and from this were able to find out where everyone’s strengths were to put this into action for the real film opening. For example, someone who might not have been so good at editing was a strong performer, and someone who wasn’t a strong performer was good at doing the ‘paper-work’ side of things. The prelim task was also an insight into how much fun the real thing would be but also how much hard work and effort we each would need to give.

At A2 we improved the way we used the prelim task by having a more ‘heads on’ approach to it. We were able to thoroughly plan a storyboard and copy exactly a music video of our choice. This was a difficult task, as we had to follow each shot carefully and closely. The music video we chose had advanced effects, which helped us learn more advanced editing skills at A2 level. This prelim task gave us an insight into how much more difficult this task would be then at AS level, and how much more focus we would need to successfully complete this task.

At AS, we found that conventions of an action genre were things such as ‘cat and mouse’ chases. We applied this in our film opening with a chase between the main hacking girl and the special agents; this was fast paced and successfully went with the conventions of action. Another convention of action is sinister, upbeat, nerve wracking music – we also applied this to our film opening. In an action genre, the characters always need to have a motive and a mission waiting to be completed, which is exactly what we gave to our audience through the mission of the main hacker trying to get top secret files for the ‘good of the world’ with the motive of getting them to safety. 

At A2 we developed our use of applying conventions further by thoroughly analysing music videos with similar genre to ours. From this, we were able to identify what we needed to include in our music video and practice these conventions through tasks such as lip syncing and mood boarding.

As AS we used conventional camera shots by using a variety of shots such as medium, close up and wide. By using such a versatile amount of shots we were able to show our skills with the HD camera we were using.

At A2 we pushed the boundaries in terms of camera shots by introducing a GoPro camera into our filming, not just a HD camera. The GoPro showed how advanced we were in terms of filming and camera work, and we were able to play around with different locations, such as a swimming pool. This made our music video successful and showed our skills with cameras as a group by using the same amount of varied shots at just like AS.

At AS we used mise en scene, editing and sound in terms of conventions with our genre. We made the main hacker dress in an appropriate way that would be expected of a female in an action film. The editing was fast paced and cut shots were quick so it matched the conventions of the genre. This was similar to the sound; the music was fast paced but built up dramatically, which is expected of an action genre like mentioned in the paragraph above.

At A2, we developed the use of mise en scene, editing and sound further. This was shown with the use of more specific and careful make up, costume and lighting. Emma wore make up colours that matched her outfit and were delicate and girly, the style of our music video. The editing was really short cut shots to follow influences such as Lana Del Rey’s music video for ‘Video Game.’ The sound was pretty set in stone as we chose the song, then matched the genre conventions to it.

To conclude – at AS, I was still learning about the concept of genre, and felt as though conventions were very much easily identifiable and set in stone.  I ensured that I followed lots of genre’s conventions in my AS work.  However by the time I reached A2, I learned that genre is much more of a “fluid” concept, less easy to define, especially within music, and this led to me being confident enough to both follow and challenge conventions of my genre, pushing the boundaries throughout which impacted my creativity.