Evaluation Question 1

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

To answer this question we wrote notes on the codes and conventions of our genre and then Rhiannon recorded them over our final media product to make a director's commentary.

Conventions:

• From our research from the BFI, we have learnt that stereotypically Action films are categorised as certificate 15, maximising youth audiences, which is a convention we have followed within our own work; tropes of dystopia are also alluded to within the radio transmission at the beginning, which develops the convention that action films are often hybridised with sci-fi films. 

• The majority of the highest grossing action films within the British Film Industry were made and distributed by Major Studios, due to the popularity and profitability of this genre. However, our film challenges this genre based convention as our film opening was produced on a significantly different budget, which can be displayed through our handheld tracking shots, that in the industry would have been filmed using a dolly. 

• Another convention of the action genre is the overrepresentation of males within the genre, this is a convention we have gone against, by using not only a female protagonist but also a female antagonist. 

• The chase and the great escape are conventions featured in most action films, therefore we utilised this element to increase dramatic tension, just like they do in many real media products. 

• Exciting and action-filled opening, that has a fast pace and keeps the audience member hooked.

• Usage of low-key lighting and dark colours, as conventionally action films use low-key lighting to emphasise mystery surrounding particular characters, and the danger that protagonists may be facing. 

Codes:

• A code that we have adhered to is the usage of Dramatic Non-Diegetic sounds within our opening. From my analysis of Mission Impossible, I found the opening was heavily reliant on non-diegetic sound effects to build tension. Therefore we incorporated a loud dramatic hum to score the background, which effectively built tension and was a point that our focus group provided us with excellent feedback for. 

• The code of fast paced editing is something we adhered to, with many close-up shots to allude Hayden’s rising panic. 

Focus Group Feedback of our usage of Forms and Conventions:

Focus Group:	Convention/Form:	Was the use of this effective?	Comments:
Chloe	Exciting and action-filled opening, that has a fast pace and keeps the audience member hooked.	Yes	“Shots weren't too long which kept me more interested. The background music was tense. Rebecca’s character was very mysterious which created a sense of suspense and action, and kept me wanting to know what happened next.”
Abbie	Exciting and action-filled opening, that has a fast pace and keeps the audience member hooked.	Yes	“The radio transmission established a dramatic feel to the piece and the ending was very action packed with the fade to black, followed by the gunshot very faced paced.”
Rebecca	Exciting and action-filled opening, that has a fast pace and keeps the audience member hooked.	Yes	“To improve it I would have reduced the length of some of the shots in the opening, as they slow the pace down”
Sarah	Overrepresentation of males within the genre, this is a convention we have gone against, by using not only a female protagonist but also a female antagonist.	Yes	“Yes I liked the fact that you used an empowering female to subvert the typical gender roles. It was clever and more appealing for me personally to watch."