Matrix trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtqU57sR0B8)

I have linked this trailer as The Matrix is a very good example of a Postmodernist text and is also a great example to back up the theory of hyperreality with the Matrix plot centred around a world run by computers and machines.

How did you get inspiration from other media products in order to make you own project?

My project was about a boy who leaves behind his turbulent life and goes off in search of his hero in a long and eventful journey. I got the inspiration for my project from existing media products, such as ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ and ‘Home Alone’. These films also involved child actors and Little Miss Sunshine was particularly important in terms of my research as the trials and tribulations and voyage of discovery were some of the themes that featured on my own media project. Home Alone was important in gaining an understanding of a child actor and how it launches the career of a child actor. I needed to understand this before I could start planning the filming of the project. The road trip/journey element was inspired from films, such as Planes, Trains and Automobiles as the journey goes on a long journey there are bound to be highs and lows along the way plus the fact that the journey was central to the film as it is the core of the narrative : ‘ searching for their hero’. I also researched by looking at film trailers from films, such as Spiderman and Planes, Trains and Automobiles in order to gain some understanding on how a film is edited for a trailer and also how long they should be.
Another discovery film that inspired my project was looking for Eric. This is another film where someone gains inspiration in search of their hero, in this case legendary footballer Eric Cantona. So in conclusion my project gained an inspiration from a range of existing media products and tried to extract the themes from them which helps to make my film seem more like a hybrid.

Comparison of woman clone CD cover and my film poster

The genre between the 2 different texts differs, because the CD cover seems to contain cultural themes, such as feminism and obsession. This is due to the fact that the main image is of a large image of a woman which is strategically positioned under the words woman and clone. The obsession comes from all of the magazine and newspaper extracts that are positioned in and around the woman’s head and also contains a presence of feminism with the titles of the headlines, such as ‘THE QUEEN PALACE DIARY’ and ‘THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED WHEN WOMEN DESIGN A COOKER’. The second one also shows connotations of sexism by the portrayal and stereotype of women designing something that turns out to be a failure. It is also a cry out for independence with all of the cover being based around women.
The film poster by contrast that was part of my practical project is centred a lot more around more general themes, such as ambition and hope. These themes are much less serious than themes shown on the woman clone CD cover as they are more general and are not up for debate in modern society. Ambition is a connotation in both the CD cover and my film poster, but the ambition is aimed two different bigger issues and goals. The CD cover shows the ambition with the feminist themes for women to be given the same rights as men and to be truly equal. The film poster on the other hand has the quotation ‘How far would you go to realise your dreams ?’. This shows the pursuit of happiness and also looks at the bigger picture, but it is the happiness of an individual not of an entire culture though.

Explain how you used digital technology to adhere to or deviate from the conventions of real media texts?

I used digital technology to adhere to the conventions of real media texts by having a film teaser trailer that uses a range of camera angles and also to have the footage mainly around the escapades around one main character to give the film its own unique identity. An example of this is in superhero films, such as Spiderman or Iron Man where the emphasis in the full films or the trailer is of the film’s main protagonist and we used editing on the apple macs to shorten clips and also change the transition of shots in order to make this happen. We also used a voice recorder to record the voice of Miles’ angry parents at the part of the trailer where he leaves home. We chose not to show the parents in the shot, because I thought that it would be more effective if you could here the voices only in order to keep the emphasis on Miles with him being the only one in the shot and therefore the pain is felt by Miles and the sympathy is felt by the audience.
I also added sad farewell music to the part of the product where Miles’ turns down help from a stranger and walks into the distance. This adheres to media products with the sad walking away music when a character departs when all hope seems lost. I then for the next clip used uplifting hopeful music when Miles runs through a field in order to balance out the emotions that are being felt by Miles and being shared by the audience. This also shows the unpredictability in the plot to show that there are plenty of surprises in the film. If the film was too predictable then it would risk audience as the different twists and turns help to create the link to real life as the old saying goes: “life is full of twists and turns”. I also tried to show the harshness of reality when Miles is kicked out of the house to show that life can be cruel and also has many trials and tribulations along the way. When using the farewell music I adhered to real media products by fading it out when the uplifting music started in order to make the mood transition more smooth and make the editing seem more professional. All of these things I feel were each important.

"The concept of narrative is essential to media". In what ways did you use narrative in the construction of your media product?

I used narrative in the construction of my media product by trying to structure the teaser film trailer with a beginning, middle and end. This way the audience sees the full picture of the distress and despair of the Main character’s (Miles) life. The transition is eased slowly in the different shots form the despair and feeling really low when leaving home to the excitement of his journey to find his hero and to start a new chapter in the life of Miles. We needed to use the different black screens as a sort of record as to how each step of Miles’ journey is going. For example when it says “For Miles his life was torn apart” and then later “no-one could help“.
I used narrative to shape our project around its genre. For it being a feel good film filled with highs and lows we had to show on the teaser trailer a range of different emotions coming from Miles. This can be compared to another feel good film called Happy Go lucky that was produced by Film Four. This was another feel good film filled with highs and lows and therefore makes good viewing for the audience, because no-one likes a film that is too predictable where everything is set in stone. The audience is more likely to seek unpredictability and suspense as if a media product is too predictable then it can lead to boredom within the audience. As well as this narrative was also used in the construction of my media product by contrasting the different environments that featured in the teaser film trailer. At the start we have the upsetting environment of Miles’ house where he is unloved and neglected by his parents. Whereas at the end you see him running through a field in search of his hero having been filled with a new lease of life and risen from ‘the depths of despair’.
The narrative also shapes my project, because Miles is on a journey of discovery and finds out new information about the world around him, but also things that he didn’t even know about himself. His journey is the main core of the film. What is also significant about this is that the audience discover these facts with Miles as by watching the journey they can feel like they are tagging along with Miles. Helping the audience to engage more.