CCR 1
Answering the Question:
How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?
Transcript:
My product falls under the fantasy genre category, specifically the film is based within the subgenre of a low fantasy.
Fantasy films are known to draw in an audience with their extravagant and unrealistic storylines that allows the audience to escape the abruptness of their daily life.
I followed the conventions of a low-fantasy film by having the film take place in the real world in which the theme of normality is important due to the sense of familiarity allowing the audience to grow comfortable and therefore become more concerned and intrigued towards the climax of the film as they identify an issue that could affect something they both recognise and love.
I also included the theme of supernatural events by having Dahlia’s dreams leak into reality which is only hinted to as I wanted to maintain enigma codes in order to heighten suspense by utilising dramatic irony. The last major theme that I included is dreams, which is vastly seen in films beyond the fantasy genre as it allows the dreaming character to temporarily live in an alternative reality and visually indicate their hopes.
Other conventions that I followed include the use of uplifting major key music to excite the audience, a calming voice over that provides a brief introduction to the storyline as many fantasy movies require extra explanations due to how abstract storylines can be such as within the opening sequence of ‘Divergent’
Similarly to most fantasy movies, I shot the majority of the opening sequence using high-key lighting that was natural to provide a connection to the power of nature, fast-paced editing and interesting transitions to captivate the audience immediately. Along with the use of a vast setting that offers a glimpse into an exciting world they have yet to be fully introduced to.
On the other hand I decided to challenge the conventions of using extreme long shots to establish the setting mainly due to the lack of technology, as I don’t have access to a drone, as well as the time constraints of the opening sequence as I wanted it to be relatively fast paced and so instead, to highlight the fantastical scenery, I decided to use a verbal recount of this within the protagonist’s voice over. I also decided to replace extreme long shots with the exact opposite and used close ups of Dahlia instead to allow the audience to develop a deeper connection to the protagonist.
Unlike the inclusion of props such as wands in Harry Potter and the lightsabers from Star Wars, I didn't use unconventional items within the opening sequence as I didn’t want the opening sequence to be too confusing and force the audience to identify too many factors as this would make more important features less memorable and make it harder to follow along in general.
Following the iconography conventions of fantasy films, I used props that held certain symbolic meanings.
Amethyst stones, like the one that Dahlia found in the desert that later reappeared in the real world, are commonly associated with knowledge and dreaming. The dark purple similarly represents royalty with its unrefined shape symbolizing nature with the points acting as a sign that danger is commonly overlooked by beauty.
For the opening sequence I decided to use two different books, one for the real world and the other for the dream world. Books in general typically symbolise fantasy and fiction. I used an elegant leather bound book for the dream world to provide a more ancient feeling as to hint that the fantasy world has existed for a long time and contains a deep history that will make the storyline of the film more intricate.
The tiara that Dahlia wore is a common object seen throughout fantasy films as it symbolises royalty which is further reinforced through the use of the protagonist’s magenta dress.
My production company logo for ‘Parsons Productions’ follows the conventions by being very eye-catching as it utilises a bold, elegant and easy-to-read font with the addition of gold to further improve its aesthetic. I also wanted to ensure that it has a similar look to Image Nation’s logo so that they will be cohesive and work well together in a clip so as to not make the initial clip deter the audience.
The titles similarly use a simple, elegant and easy-to-read font that is thin and white so that it doesn’t distract the audience from the sequence itself and I only made the actual title of the film central and large to captivate the audience.
The titles that I included follow the conventions of modern films as they first show the production companies, the director (which is a popular feature in films directed by well known directors such as Steven Spielberg), cast members in order of appearance to utilise star power and excite the audience through recognition of prestige. The next titles give credit to those who majorly worked on the production of the film such as the art directors and screenplay writers. Finally, as most fantasy movies are based on a book, I made the final credit a link to a novel.
To produce the film poster, I followed the conventions of using a bold font for the title, a midshot image of the protagonist with vivid colours that was taken in a more relevant location as it made more sense to use a photo of Dahlia within the dream world rather than the real world to excite the audience and allow them to forge a deeper connection. I placed the names of the more major actors and actresses along the top of the poster to attract audience members using starpower and placed a block of text at the bottom which provides credit to people who worked on the film including the production company and the director.
Throughout the opening sequence, teenage girls are represented as dreamers through the character of Dahlia Walters. From a personal view, I have always believed that dreamers were some of the most valuable members of society as their ideas would be able to build revolutionary things, but in many cases they are brushed off as irrational and so I wanted to idealise this value in a more literal way to a younger community to encourage this trait by making ‘dream’ scenes more vibrant.
Along with this, many fantasy movies such as Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Starwars follow a male protagonist and I wanted to subvert this convention and use a female protagonist instead, therefore representing the social issue of feminism as it is clear that hegemony has embedded the idea of having a strong male characters take the lead of a fantasy film within the audience's minds.
Furthermore I used this along with the storyline to spark inspiration within my target market and spread the idea of making dreams a reality regardless of gender alongside addressing the social issue of how important we as society have allowed social norms to become, preventing individuals from acting as their true selves and fulfilling their own dreams.
I also believe that the representation of the locations is highly important as it
The desert is presented as vibrant, lively and exciting, representing the idea of dreams, whereas the city is represented as boring and dull, representing reality. This allows the audience members to understand Dahlia’s point of view as they understand her need for escape and may similarly feel a hunger for more.
