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

My product is a one off, low budget British film.  However, it has the potential to be a continuing series.

My product sticks closely to drama conventions: real life characters and settings (creating verisimilitude); portraying typically working class characters' struggles with everyday life; a journey/development of character; social interaction and conflict; sensitive issues like violence and neglect: and evoking empathy and strong emotion in the viewer. It would most likely have a happy ending, although it could be more powerful if it did not (like British classics Get Carter, Watership Down and Wicker Man where the protagonist dies, or Long Good Friday, where the protagonist is driven away to an uncertain end). The film may be interlaced with comedy/tragedy (like Trainspotting). There are elements of a film teen genre, and this has the stereotypical Loner/Misfit and Newcomer characters.

Typical for a drama, (although, as highlighted by Todorov, equally, many films begin with a state of peace and calm, or equilibrium, which is then shaken),  my film has a dramatic  - but deliberately subtle, under-stated dramatic, as opposed to trying too hard, over-dramatic - storyline and narrative, starting with a 'hook' and leaving the viewer wanting to know what is going to happen next. Each character would have his/her own storyline.

French literary theorist Roland Barthes considered a narrative to be like a tangled web, which needs to be unravelled and which can be unravelled in many different ways, depending on viewpoint and experience, to create many different messages. He identified 5 action codes which capture and hold the audiences interest: Semantic (person's voice), Enigma (empirical voice), Hermeneutic (voice of truth), Symbolic(voice of symbols), and Cultural (voice of science).

Semantic code is about connotations and clues which help the viewer understand and empathise; the viewer hears at once that Taylor's mother is lazy, rude and aggressive and starts to build a story around that. Enigma code is about creating and building tension and leaving the audience guessing; I believe I do this effectively, using both narrative and sound,  and the viewer is definitely left wanting to know what will happen next. Similarly, Hermeneutic code refers to the mystery and questions generated through withholding some facts - the viewer will be wondering immediately who is packing and leaving, how Sam has come to be homeless and what unknown circumstances have driven Taylor to leave (one reason why I did not want to show Taylor having a big argument with her mother as the opening shot). Like Semantic code, the Symbolic code looks at symbolism, but at a higher level - the twists and turns of the plot which make you revise your thinking (it is too early in the film to have evidence of this). Finally, the Cultural code considers the audiences experience, knowledge and values; I believe that the viewers will be able to readily identify with, and important for a drama, empathise with, Taylor and Sam.

Propp identified a common structure and 31 possible stages of narrative; not all must be present, but the order is fixed. He further identified seven typical character roles: the villain, who fights the hero (e.g. the Joker in Batman); donor, who gives some magical agent to the hero (e.g. Merlin); helper, who aids/rescues the hero (e.g. Robin in Batman); princess, who is much sought after and who recognises and marries the hero (e.g. Snow White); dispatcher, who sends the princess off (e.g. the wicked stepmother); hero who goes in search of the princess and reacts to the donor's potion and eventually weds the princess (e.g. Shrek), and the false hero, (e.g. Prince Charming in Shrek). Unlikely as they appear, Taylor and Sam are evidently the Princess and Hero of the story (unless, of course Sam turns out to be the false hero or villain!?)

Also typical of drama convention, my product includes both internal and external settings. The house in the initial scenes is clearly a quite run-down, local authority property and the location an housing estate. It is poignant that Taylor packs her teddy for comfort, symbolising her vulnerable, child-like qualities; she has few other possessions.

Shabby bag, old-fashioned bed cover and a few drab clothes, but Teddy comes, too.

Unlike London to Brighton, you do not see Taylor's face immediately, leaving the viewer in suspense, wondering who this faceless character is. The legs make it evident she is female as she walks down the stairs, but you do not actually see her face until she opens the door. Similarly, the viewer sees only Sam's feet when he first appears on screen, and John Travolta's shoes feature strongly in the iconic opening sequence of Saturday Night Fever. Again, this is typical convention for dramas, in which the generation of a sense of intrigue is important.

Who's feet are these?

That said, in dramas such as Made in Britain and Baby, the opposite is true (so there are clearly no hard and fast conventions and both approaches are effective); the opening sequence focuses predominantly on the protagonists' faces (the former showing defiance and anger, and the latter, vigilance and perceptiveness), but I wanted to keep some mystery around Taylor and her face is initially unseen and then inscrutable.

                The face says it all in Made in Britain and Baby, but Taylor gives little away.

Dramas commonly have an iconic sound-track or signature tune. Music in my product, in typical drama convention, punctuates the action, creates suspense and underlines emotional moments. In my product, the diegetic sound starts aggressively and dramatically with Taylor's mother shouting (somewhat replicating the dramatic London to Brighton opening). The non-diegetic music is haunting and sad, increasing the evoked emotion. (A classmate sighed 'It's so sad!' as she watched it for the first time).

Again, this is in reverse to the Made in Britain opening, in which the harsh, loud, aggressive punk music is interspersed with the shockingly contrasting, calm, civilised dialogue in court. The music in Baby is also quite grating and sinister. My product is more similar to the  BBC drama Junk, about homeless teens, where the opening sequence shows off-screen shouting and the protagonist slips down the stairs to see what the commotion is about (she later also slips out secretly). I had to have several goes at starting and fading music in and out, before I felt it a perfect match with camera shots. I am really pleased with the choice of music, which I believe is powerful and universally appealing, and which works perfectly in supporting and maximising the impact of the narrative.

                                     

Gemma is woken by the commotion in Junk

As an interesting twist, Sam is the first character to challenge drama convention, because he is not the stereotype of a homeless person - reflected in Taylor's look of surprise when this positive, clean, friendly and animated young man announces that he is also homeless! This has been done before; the female protagonist in Junk is also quite middle class and well-spoken, and the male lead escapes first from his abusive home life and sends for her later, so unlike my product, they already know each other when she leaves home and joins him.

Taylor walks quickly, emphasising her determined escape, and her clothes and bag are drab and old, evidencing poverty and a certain lack of preparation or naivety. As with Saturday Night Fever and Baby, the main character is seen just walking/travelling, but excitement and anticipation builds, and attention is maintained, in part because of the powerful music. Taylor's body language demonstrates that she is lost, down-trodden and feeling forlorn as she sits on the cold stone step, and she is readily spooked by Sam's sudden appearance.

Powerful music and different camera angles maintain the viewers interest and anticipation

When filming, I ensured that I captured the dead plants in the frame as Taylor leaves, to highlight the lifeless existence which Taylor had been living. The park backdrop is deserted, emphasising loneliness, and the cross on top of the memorial, shown in the establishing shot (typical drama convention), is significant, because that is where she finds her 'guardian angel' (Sam). Symbolism is an important
convention of drama.

Lifeless and lonely scenes

Establishing shot with symbolic cross

Drama convention is for sequences of establishing shots to set the scene and demonstrate location, followed by mid shots and reverse shots, to show character interaction and provide close ups of emotion. In my product, there is a conventional mix of such close ups, long and mid-range shots. When Taylor is walking, I ensured that I framed shots so that there would be sufficient room for titles. The natural lighting has quite strong, stark contrast and shadows, which adds to the dramatic effect.

 Room for titles

I was not making a thriller or action opening sequence, so I did not want to include lots of clever or creative camera angles and shots to create confusion or action. I do side track/crab, hand held, as I follow Taylor down the stairs and keep pace with her movements, and I effectively panned, again by hand, as Taylor walks up along the road. I panned using a (very stiff and joggy!) tripod when Taylor walks across the park and up the memorial steps. The stiffness of the tripod meant that tilting as she walked up the steps would have been very difficult. This enabled me to demonstrate the desertedness and to have her centrally situated, so that the next shot could be a close up, with her wiping her eyes. Looking back I could have made more use of the zoom at this point to focus on her face to show her tears and emphasise emotion. (Similarly, in the early scenes, I could have just focused on Taylor's mother's mouth or face to highlight her aggression and anger at not having been given her food yet, or perhaps her clenched fist thumping the arm of the chair).

With no dolly, vest or boom/crane, it would have been very difficult to obtain a smooth camera movement to track or arc shots. There is a high camera angle as they walk away, but I have not used this to signify weakness, shock or distress as is often the case, merely to give a sense of them 'walking off into the sunset' together. A crane shot is often used to signify the end of a scene and this high angle has the same effect.

Additionally, I am pleased with the actors' positioning and movement. I did have to ask them to  repeat their lines until they had them nearer to my own vision, but I had to accept that these were not professional actors and some lines are spoken too quickly. I do slightly obscure Taylor as Sam takes her hand to pull her up off the step and I do chop off their heads occasionally, but this does not seriously detract, I feel. I like the way that they walk down the steps - this looks very natural and depicts two young people, comfortable in each other's company, but just getting to know each other.

Looking back, I could have shot Taylor's mother from the side or over her shoulder as she sat slouched in the armchair, (perhaps focusing on her legs up on a pouffe with some old slippers), rather than filming her front on, to reinforce a sense of laziness.

I am very pleased with my editing. At first it felt like I had a lot of random, disconnected shots, but when I looked at them in sequence they worked, I did spend a lot of time cutting, repositioning and swapping takes. I use conventional continuity editing, with one cut away (to Taylor's mother while seeing her feet as she walks down the stairs). Looking back I could have included the commonly employed technique of cross-cutting to show parallel action of Sam and Taylor both heading to the park, but then the element of surprise in Sam's appearance would have been lost.

I chose to use a linear narrative for the opening sequence, but the film would undoubtedly include flashbacks to show more of each character's story. I felt that some of the shots had been rather rushed, or had been contaminated and cut short by the actors' mistakes or laughing; editing out the errors meant that some scenes and movements are overly clipped. Sometimes, this also works to positive effect - I really like the brief close-up as Taylor walks past the camera; it makes her feel close enough to touch and very real.

 

 

Super close up shot makes the viewer feel that s/he is there with

Taylor - close enough to touch as she walks past. 

I successfully avoided any (less than 30 degrees) jump shots and believe that the rhythm fits well with the music. The reverse shots between Taylor and Sam are effective and enable the viewer to take either's point of view - the voice, who's story it is and from whose perspective, remains open, (one reason why, unlike Junk, I also chose not to have one character narrating - I did not want such an internal monologue, which is quite common in drama). Totalfilm.com compiled a list of their 100 all-time, greatest, female characters - 38 of these were found to not actually  be the protagonist, and 25 were solely the love interest! I wanted to ensure that this would be Taylor's story, as much as it is Sam's.

Source: http://www.totalfilm.com/features/the-100-greatest-female-characters

                                       Reverse shots work well (but for the wind!)

Some films have a 'title sequence' - a sequence dedicated to credits alone (a tradition for Bond films, for example), but I decided to favour the convention of a preceding 'cold open' as a teaser to set the stage and immediately catch the viewer's attention, followed by titles over the opening sequence. While I chose to start with an exciting scene, as did London to Brighton, they had already credited production and distribution on a black screen - I wanted to capture and hold an audiences' interest, and to maintain the suspense and unanswered questions through showing Taylor simply walking. Unlike London to Brighton, I did include actors and directors credits, and  the film title.  Some films have titles lasting for some time (15 minutes in the Fugitive!), but I believe that this could be rather tedious, and my opening sequence has relatively few credits and culminates with the film title right at the end.  Of course, like London to Brighton,  not all films have opening credits; Clint Eastwood has omitted credits and sometimes the title in all films he has directed since 1982. Star Wars, The Godfather, Westside Story and Citizen Kane  had no opening credits, and Apocalypse Now also omitted overt display of the credits and title (it simply had a wall showing credits as graffiti in one scene).

I deliberately kept the titles simple, classic and clean, because I wanted the story, narrative, film and sound to speak for itself and not to be overshadowed by clever, but distracting, creative effects and transitions. Taylor is leaving, uncluttered for a simple, technology-free life. This may be more typical convention for serious drama (as opposed to thrillers, action films and comedies - I did not want the stills and animation of Blue Valentine, the random close-ups of Se7en, or the pictorial artwork of Napoleon Dynamite, or the flashing neon sign of Saturday Night Fever ).