Short Film.

During my research I studied various different films, that all had some link to what I planned to create. Some linked semantically with the subject matter, for example I completed an in depth textual analysis of the promotional film for the Paralympics http://6284advancedportfolio.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/textual-analysis.html . Others linked to the documentary genre. And others helped me develop my idea to create a montage of the events, as the introduction for my short film
://6284advancedportfolio.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/further-research-formontage.html

General Conventions of documentary films.

Momentum building music, creating uplifting mood (if an uplifting mood fits with the subject

Use of narration and voice-over from presenter

Use of vox-pops (interviews with the general public) Real Footage, including mostly natural sound and lighting.

One presenter, who takes the audience on an investigative journey through the issue at hand.
Interviews with experts Use of anchorage text to clarify the footage/image shown, could be the name of the expert being interviewed.

Conventions for the montage.

Fast paced
Momentum building music, creating uplifting and exciting mood Semantic links between footage shown, and lyrics of backing track Includes some occasional diegetic sound of footage when necessary Includes stock narration from the events Includes establishing shots of London and the venues, as well as footage of actual events

My product.
Conventions I used.
Uplifting, momentum and excitement building, pop music to accompany montages at beginning and end. I used this to create the desired mood. Narration/ Voice over from presenter I used narration during my research scenes.

Vox-pops I included 3 clips from public interviews

Real Footage, including mostly natural sound and lighting One presenter, who takes the audience on an investigative journey through the issue at hand

My product.
Conventions I used.
Fast pace for montages Semantic links between footage shown, and lyrics of backing track http://6284advancedportfolio.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/editingand-cutting-music-on-imovie.html Includes some occasional diegetic sound of footage when necessary Includes establishing shots of London and the venues, as well as footage of actual events

My product.
Conventions I developed.
I chose to develop the general convention of documentary films by not including a specific interview with an expert on the topic of social media. I personally felt that in regards to social media, its users are its experts, so therefore the use of the convention of including vox-pops fulfilled and developed this convention in a modernized sense.

My product.
Conventions I challenged.
I also chose not to include anchorage titles to alert and clarify who or what was being shown at the time, as I felt this was not necessary at any point during my short documentary film. I feel the inclusion of the montages both at the beginning and the end of my film challenges the general conventions of documentaries and short films. However, I felt it successfully captures the excitement of the games, therefore creating the desired mood. I also feel as a unique feature of my film, it makes it a more memorable product.

Film Poster.
To study and successfully identify the typical conventions of film posters, during my research stages of the project I chose to complete two textual analyses of real Channel 4 promotional posters. I chose to specifically focus on the conventions of Channel 4 posters, as this is the channel which I believe would broadcast my short documentary film. The two posters I studied were: the Paralympic promotional poster (due to the semantic link of the London Games), and the poster for the documentary Britains Forgotten Children (due to the link of the genre, documentary film).

Link to related blog post http://6284advancedportfolio.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/poster-analysis_4.html

Paralympic Poster.
Annotated conventions.
Landscape poster. Large image, wide shot of the main competitors of the GB Paralympic team.

Large, bold title. Central feature of the poster, in white font.

Subheading in smaller font, still horizontally central, but placed near the bottom of the poster.

Use of 3D Channel 4 logo, in white. Situated on the far right, vertically central. Appears to fade darker, to black near the bottom edges of the poster. An editorial choice to create a serious mood. Use of sponsor's logos.

Use of Paralympic logo.

Link to related blog post http://6284advancedportfolio.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/poster-textual-analysis.html

Britains Forgotten Children Poster.

Annotated conventions.

Landscape poster.

Use of 3D Channel 4 logo, in white. Situated on the far right, vertically central. Appears to fade darker, to black near the bottom edges of the poster. An editorial choice to create a serious mood.

Large image as main focus.

White boxes to feature the heading (title of the documentary) and subheading (release date).

Use of specially photographed image, as apposed to a still from the film being advertised.

Website link, for online presence.

My product.
Annotated conventions I used.
Landscape poster. http://6284advanced portfolio.blogspot.co. uk/2012/12/filmposter-planning.html Use of specially photographed image, as apposed to a still from the film being advertised.

Large image as main focus.

Use of 3D Channel 4 logo, in white. Situated on the far right, vertically central.

White boxes to feature the heading (title of the documentary) and subheading (release date).

Use of Olympic and Paralympic logos.

http://6284advancedportfolio.blogspot.co.uk 2/12/creating-my-poster.html

My product.
Annotated conventions I developed.
Although I made the editorial decision to adhere to the Channel 4 poster convention of presenting the headings in the white boxes in the bottom left corner, I also developed this convention. I developed this convention by presenting the #thesocialgames part of the film title in white text, in the same font as social netoworking site Facebok (white, Tahoma, bold) within a blue box. I chose to do this to again increase the intertextuality of social media.

Both the posters I researched had clearly edited their photos, to create a desired effect. For example the subtle fading to black around the lower edges of both posters to convey the serious tone. However, I chose to develop this convention by editing my photo on Photoshop CS3 to create a slightly less subtle edit through the use of filters, to make it appear like it had been edited using the social media site Instagram which became increasingly popular this summer. Again strengthening the sense of intertextuality with social media.

My product.
Annotated conventions I challenged.
I chose to do include a Twitter text box on the top right corner, which includes a tagline What are you going to Tweet? which not only links with the documentary when the presenter poses the question to the audience in the conclusion, but it also prompts the audience to tweet about the film. It also features the films official Twitter account name, which the audience can follow. I believe this challenges the conventions of real media products that Ive researched, as I have not come across any Channel 4 poster which includes such a feature. However, despite it not being done before, I feel it further increases the interxtuality of social media, which the audience will identify and appreciate.

Magazine Review Page

To study and successfully identify the typical conventions of magazine film review pages I researched two film magazines: 1) Total Film which includes more box-office mainstream content, and 2) Sight and Sound which focuss more on indie/arthouse films with a niche audience.

Comparing conventions of Total Film and Sight & Sound

Link to related blog post http://6284advancedportfolio.blogspot.co. uk/2012/12/magazine-review-pageanalysis_23.html

Common Conventions.
Double page spread
Large image, predominantly on the left page.

Image taken as a still from the film

Text presented in column form Large, bold typography of title

Total film review page.

I chose to focus on the review page from Total Film, and use that as my main inspiration when creating my own product. I chose to focus on these conventions, as not only does the magazine have a similar mainstream target audience to my short film, but I also really liked the general layout and some of the unique features of their review pages.
Link to related blog post http://6284advancedportfolio.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/magazine-reviewpage-analysis.html

Total film review page.

Annotated conventions.
Large image, taken from the film. Large bold title. Use of subheading, in a smaller typography, but same font and colour. Star rating and release date. Use of page signifiers Reviews for review pages

Quotation from review in larger text, top right. See this if you liked recommendation box. Predicted Interest Curve graph Concludes with writers name in bold. Below this a The Verdict, for summary of review. Inner footer= website URL address for subscription. 3 hue palette, simplistic colour scheme - Black, white and red..

Use of initial at the beginning of the review.

Outer footer= page number | magazine title | issue date.

Talking point information bubble.

My product.
Annotated conventions I used.
Double page spread Use of page signifiers Reviews for review pages

Large image
Bold heading and subheading presented in white box Star rating and release date (coming soon). Quotation from review in larger text, top right.

Text presented in columns.

Use of initial at the beginning of the review.

Outer footer= page number | magazine title | issue date. Inner footer= website URL address for subscription.

Concludes with writers name in bold. Below this a The Final Verdict, for summary of review.

Talking point information bubble.

My product.
Annotated conventions I Developed.
Although I used a large image for my review page, I chose to develop this convention by making the editorial decision not to use a still from my film, but instead choosing to use a separate photograph from a specific photo-shoot I completed for the purpose of my ancillary products. I used a 3 hue colour scheme, but I chose to develop this convention by changing the colours slightly, so as to create a unique house style for the new magazine I have created (The Small Screen). This chosen colour scheme is white, black and purple.

My product.
Annotated conventions I Challenged.
Firstly, I feel I have challenged the conventions of a magazine of this genre, as you can see by my magazine name and tagline The Small Screen. Your guide to the latest popular short films which suggests a niche audience, for the magazine as a whole. But as I have previously highlighted, I chose to use many of the conventions of a magazine with a mainstream audience. I chose to do this because I believe the audience for my short film would be a more mainstream audience. So, while the magazine as a whole would appeal to the niche sector, I feel this layout would also appeal to Channel 4s typical mainstream demographic. This would therefore cover all bases and appeal to a mass audience, which would result in a greater chance of my short films success.

My product.
Annotated conventions I Challenged.
When doing my research of film review pages, both in Total Film and Sight & Sound, I was extremely surprised to notice that they dont tend to include social media promotion for the film. As my film has a strong topical focus on the use of social media, and even includes a Twitter hash-tag within the title, I thought it would be nonsensical not to include links to social media within my own review. I therefore made the editorial decision to include a white box (where Total Film placed their See this if you liked recommendation box) which encouraged the reader to follow the film on Twitter. It even includes the iconic logo from the Social networking site. I would also like to highlight that this Twitter account is real, and one I created for promotional Purposes of the short film.