Evaluation Activity 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or

challenge forms and codes and conventions of a real-life media products?

For our A2 project we were given the task of creating a five-minute short film for our
Unit G324 Advanced Portfolio. As a group, we decided to base our film on the
romantic comedy genre. Alongside this, we were required to create two of the
following three options which accurately represented the concept of our short-film:
 A Poster
 A Radio Trailer
 A film magazine review page

For our production we created a poster and a film magazine review page, both on
adobe Photoshop.

Before we began our project, we considered a range of genres to base our five-
minute short film on, these included: horror, thriller, comedy and romance. When
considering the genres, we decided not to pick the usual horror/ thriller despite
them being appealing to most audiences, as we felt that they were very common
within the short film spectrum. Therefore, we came to the conclusion of picking a
romance as well as comedy. We thought a romcom would be the best genre to base
our short film on as it is an unusual and innovative mixture and would therefore be
more appealing to our audience (15-30). Our Romcom is based on a young
teenager’s life named Tyler who aspires to be a rapper when he is older, however,
everything changes when he finds a mysterious time travelling pen at the park,
which he uses to try and impress a girl (Rebecca). This makes our narrative non-
linear, as it does not have a chronological order to the story line due to Tyler
constantly travelling back in time.

Length/Form/Structure:
Based on the fact that our short-film was 5 minutes long, it
is arguable that we were unable to present all of the codes
and conventions that a romantic comedy film (real media
text) would represent and portray to its audience.
However, it is still evident that despite the short duration
of ‘Click’ it still goes on to accurately depict many of the
conventions of which both a romantic and comedy film
would acquire. Along with this, our narrative also didn’t
completely conform to the ideas put forward by different
narrative theorists. For example, ‘Click’ somewhat
conformed to Tzvetan Todorov’s narrative theory apart
from the stage ‘New Equilibrium’ where a sense of peace and normality is restored,
almost like a ‘happy ending’, however this is not the case for ‘Click’ as it ends with an
unexpected and hilarious plot-twist which backfires for Tyler. Firstly, it was vital that
our audience were able to grasp onto the narrative of our film as we only had limited
time to ensure that they understood what the film was really about. This was
difficult at first as we felt that the concept of time-travel meant that a non-linear
narrative was almost inevitable and so our target audience would find that our story-
line was confusing; downplaying the comedic aspect of our film and not enabling
them to actually enjoy the film. However, we felt that the best way to overcome
these potential setbacks was to pay significant attention to the detail and clarity
within our diegetic dialogue. This was done by constructing the script to be as simple
as possible with our characters subtly explaining what was happening throughout
the storyline and this was done effectively through Tyler’s voiceover. The use of the
voiceover enabled the humour within our film to be clear and the concept of our film
to be much easier to understand as it was almost like the audience were in Tyler’s
position, feeling just as confused as he was with the time travel abilities of the pen.
Therefore, it is also likely that the comedy within ‘Click’ made it easier for the
audience to identify and establish the codes and conventions of a romantic comedy.
Along with this, as we had chosen to construct a film based on a hybrid genre, so it
was essential that we accurately presented the codes and conventions of both a
romantic film and a comedy. Whilst the elements of a comedy were evident through
the sound (voiceover & dialogue), the ‘romance’ aspect was clear through the
variety of creative shots we had used to portray this. For example, low angle shots
(Tyler looking up at Rebecca) were used to insinuate Rebecca’s superiority through
her beauty and good looks which Tyler was clearly attracted to.
Overall, by paying attention to the detail within the technical aspects, we were able
to ensure that the non-linear narrative and the short duration of our film didn’t get
in the way of ‘Click’ effectively representing the codes and conventions of a romantic
comedy.

Click can however be viewed to challenge the most important convention a romantic
film usually presents; a happy ending resulting in love for typically both the male and
the female characters. Mainly due to its comedic feature, Click showcases the
complete opposite of this norm as it ends with a completely unexpected plot-twist
where the main character, Tyler, faces rejection and comes to discover that Rebecca
is in fact taken by a female. This is usually uncommon in romantic films as they tend
to be based around the idea of love for heterosexual couples and if they do present
a homosexual couple it is only briefly and of little significance. Therefore, Click
arguable develops and challenges these typical conventions present within the genre
by exploring the lack of recognition for lesbian couples through a comedic route.

Title/Distribution:
The significance behind the title ‘Click’ stems from the overall concept of the film;
the time travel abilities a pen withholds by simply clicking it. We decided to keep the
title simple as the term ‘Click’ also connotes the idea that the two actors within our
film are going to click romantically and fall in love; which exemplifies the
conventions of the romance within our film. Therefore, our title arguably reflects
many of the concepts which are present within the film and also appears to seem
quite catchy and enticing; intriguing our target audience as a result.
‘Click’ will be showcased by the independent short-film distributor Future Shorts as It
is known to hold a monthly short film festival which screens short films constructed
by filmmakers from across all over the world. We have decided to distribute our 5-
minute short film through Future Shorts as it is likely to provide awareness for our
film and its reputation would increase 'Click's' chances to achieve success in the
short-film industry and will allow it to go on to be a highly successful romantic
comedy. Our ancillary tasks (Posters & Film Reviews) were also a form of distribution
for our production company as they would provide our audience with a glimpse of
information regarding our short-film (e.g. the actors starring in it and the release
date) before it was released and this would possibly entice them into attending the
film festival.

What Are Codes & Conventions?

Codes in media terms refer to signs which may have particular meaning and suggest/
foreshadow something to the audience. There are two types of codes; technical and
symbolic. Technical codes refer to the ways in which equipment and media
technology is used in order to create a meaningful narrative. For instance, camera
shots and different angles are used in order to tell a story and engage the audience.
Symbolic codes on the other hand, tend to have a deeper meaning and often
contribute in constructing a story of their own through the various interpretations a
person may discover. For example, score music is usually used within films in order
to narrate how a character may be feeling; this is usually determined through the
pace or music. Conventions refer to how things are usually done, in a media context,
conventions can be how camera shots or music are usually used depending on the
genre. For ‘Click’ for instance, we were expected to conform to the conventions of a
romantic comedy so that our audience were able to identify the conventions present
within our film with the elements commonly used within romantic comedies.
Therefore, we decided to incorporate some of the conventions which would hint the
genre of our film to the audience, like the setting of our film was a well-lit bright park
which suggested that the film was going to represent light-hearted concepts like
humour which is evident within romcoms.

Codes & Conventions Of Romantic Comedies:

Setting: Romantic comedies are usually filmed at well-lit and bright places as this
tend to set a positive feeling for the audience. This was the case for ‘Click’ as it was
mainly set in at a park on a bright and sunny day. Bright locations therefore leads the
audience to achieve a happy and up-pace vibe which is a romantic comedy is
expected to create.
Cinematography: Within romantic comedies the camerawork tends to be very
natural and mainly concentrates on the characters in order to capture the elements
of humor in conjunction with the elements of romance. Medium/close ups are
commonly used to capture the character’s facial expressions and establishing shots
present the highly lit setting to the audience. Click conforms to these conventions as
we used multiple close ups in order to showcase the character’s feelings and
expressions. In addition to this, we decided to develop these technical codes by
using many POV's to build up tension.
Sound: Sound tends to be the most important factor as it essentially constructs an
effective romantic comedy; for instance, jokes are usually drawn from diegetic
conversations which enables the audience to identify comedic conventions.
Therefore, diegetic sounds such as the dialogue of our actors was clear and well
presented to ensure that the audience could understand and react to the
dialogue. Non-diegetic were also critically considered as they tend to induce more
laughter. Contrastingly, it could be argued that we challenged the conventions of a
typical romantic film and some comedies by including a voiceover. This was where
the majority of the humor was evident as it was in the form of Tyler’s thought
process

Codes & Conventions Present In Click:

Setting/Location:
Our film contains two main locations, one being the park and the other being Tyler
Kingston’s house. The contrast between the two locations helps the audience to
slowly understand the narrative of the film. Furthermore, the use of the park in
bright day light helped us emphasise the romantic as well as the comedic aspects of
the film this is due to the fact that we tried to conform to the conventions of
romantic comedies, where they tend to set a calm and bright location in order to
create a light-hearted atmosphere. Nevertheless, we decided to use a contrasting
location being the house, as the juxtaposition of the two locations would help the
audience understand the narrative of Tyler travelling back in time as he is in different
locations within a short time. Throughout the film we mainly conformed to the
convention of high key lighting as this was a key factor in emphasising the ideas of
love and comedy. We thought that we did not need to change this factor as we
wanted to maintain a happy and light-hearted environment which further helped us
create and maintain a verisimilitude.
Costume/Props:
This was an important aspect of our short film as it helped us create a sense of
verisimilitude and also allowed the audience to follow the narrative of Tyler moving
back in time. This was done through the fact that Tyler had a different outfit the
second time he ended up in the park compared to his first time in order to impress
the girl. We decided that initially, we wanted to give Tyler a conventional teenage
look, which was of him wearing a tracksuit. This tends to be a convention used in
most films regardless of their genre where they are trying to represent young
teenagers as thuggish which therefore helped the audience understand Tyler’s role
adjacent to the film. Additionally, for our second main character Rebecca, we
decided to give her a simple appearance as this is usually done in most romantic
comedies; the girl wears normal clothes as she is not trying to impress anyone
whereas the male is. Throughout the film she is seen wearing a red jacket as it
symbolises love which is also a convention in most romances. Nevertheless, we
decided to go against the conventional clothing colour females tend to wear and
have the rest of her outfit be of the colour black. This was done in order to hint to
the audience that Rebecca’s intentions weren’t those of love but something else.
The main props we used for the film was the time travel pen and a simple notebook
where Tyler wrote all his musical lyrics. These helped us narrate the story as they
symbolised Tyler’s ability to travel back in time as well as his ambition of becoming a
musical artist.

Editing:
Editing was arguably the fundamental part of our production, as it is the factor that
helped determine and help the audience clearly understand the narrative. During
the editing, the group needed to ensure that the editing clearly reflected our
romantic comedy genre as well as our story line of time travel. As our resources
were limited we had to make the most out of Final Cut X and Photoshop in order to
create appropriate effects to tell the story. For example, the first time Tyler clicks the
pen and travels back in time we used a disorienting circular effect where the image
blurred out and when it cleared Tyler would be in a different time zone in the past.
Another example, is the time Tyler recalls his past experience with Emily (the
supporting character) where we use a dream filter in order to highlight the fact that
he is thinking about a past event. This therefore helped us create a narrative that
conformed to the story line we created of time travel. Additionally, to add to the
comedic feel to the film we used different filters and effects to make scenes more
humorous, an example of this Is the slow-motion scene of Rebecca when she sways
her hair back while asking Tyler if he’s alright in an intimate manner. We also added
a sparkly effect to this scene during the editing to add to the humour of the scene.
As soon as the slow-motion scene ends we cut to the same scene but in a normal
speed of Rebecca asking if he’s aright but in a more civilised and normal manner.
This was done as it is a conventional thing done in romantic comedies to highlight
the features of love and comedy in the film.

Ancillaries:
For our ancillaries we were required to create a film poster and a film review
associated with our film. All the members of our group used the same font in both
poster and film review. These fonts were ‘Baskerville old face’ for the film review as
it made it look very professional and official and for the film poster we used ‘///’ This
was done after analysing many other romantic comedy film posters and credits
which all had very similar fonts. Therefore, we picked a font that people would
recognise and one that would depict the ideas of love and comedy.

Posters:
Film Review:

Character Representation:
Stereotypical representations were definitely evident from our short-film;
particularly through Tyler’s character. As young teenage male’s within today’s
society are typically associated with a ‘thuggish’ and immature persona, especially
those who are dressed in hoodies, we felt that representing Tyler through this image
would enable the audience to establish the nature and personality of his character
thus enhancing their ability to understand and laugh at his jokes. Tyler’s
representation does conform to
Greg Philo’s theory regarding youth
representation. He asserted the
conception of ‘Hoodie cinema’
which suggested that anyone
wearing a hoodie would go on to
prompt anxiety from the ‘middle
class’ and so would be posed as a
threat and ‘thug’ in their view. In regards to Click, this theory was present as we
attempted to present Rebecca as ‘middle-class’ through her sophisticated dialogue
and dress sense. Based on her social class in comparison to Tyler’s (in the hoodie),
her attitude towards him at first was naturally resistant and she seemed quite
uncomfortable when he tried to engage with her. However, we utilised this theory
not to depict him in a negative light but to portray Rebecca’s resistance towards him
in a comedic sense; by humorously exploring the concept of rejection.
Rebecca on the other hand, is shown to challenge the stereotypes put forward about
young teenage girls. They are usually depicted to be indulged in their beauty, looks
and matters related to boys. However, Rebecca demonstrates an uninterested
nature when being approached and complemented by Tyler. Also, her
representation clearly conforms to Laura
Mulvey’s theory regarding the ‘Male Gaze’.
suggests that the male gaze deny woman
their own identity, instead perceive them
as objects to be admired for physical
appearance. In terms of visual pleasure,
she argued that women had either two
roles within a narrative. One was to be
perceived as an erotic object for the
characters within the storyline to view and the other was inevitably to be seen as an
erotic object for the audience and viewers to view. She also suggested the concept
of female objectification whereby females that are 'gazed' at are actually objectified
by viewers whose sole purpose is to feel enjoyment. In terms of gender roles within
a film, she put forward the idea that the role of a female always comes secondary on
in relation to men, insinuating that a female character would never acquire the main
role within a narrative.

In relation to 'Click' this theory is definitely evident through the way Rebecca is
represented and Tyler's instant attraction towards her. Despite knowing her
personally, Tyler's main focus and center of the narrative is shown to be him trying
to win her based on her beauty and attractiveness. The concept of 'male gaze' is
definitely recurring throughout the film as Tyler sets himself the challenge of her
feeling the same way he does. However, our narrative does also challenge what this
theory suggests by giving Rebecca the role of the other protagonist, Tyler being one.
She is shown to be one of the main characters within our film and this contradicts
the idea that Laura Mulvey presents. On the other hand, it could also be argued that
in fact her role would not exist if it wasn't for Tyler and his desires.
Along with this, both characters were also represented through Levi-Strauss’ theory
‘Binary Opposites’ which suggest that a pair of related terms or concepts
are opposite in meaning. This can be seen from the fact that despite both Tyler &
Rebecca resembling in age and the society in which they live, they’re both shown to
display contrasting qualities and personalities; suggesting the concept Mature V
Immature.
Titles and Credits:
For our opening credits, we decided to keep it simple and plain as this is usually the
case in romantic comedies. This was done to depict the light-hearted mood of the
entire film. We stuck to the generic white text in the opening credits. Nevertheless,
we decided to use a specific font for our title ‘Click’, we used a very sharp looking
font to symbolise the ideas of love. This is also because it is a conventional aspect in
most romantic comedies. Similarly, we decided to keep the ending credits simple as
well so that they did not divert the audience’s attention by making the credits stand
out more than the film.

Music/Voiceover:
The music and voiceover were a vital component in our film. This is the case as most
of our film involves Tyler’s thoughts being illustrated as a voiceover which made it
the main component to narrate our story. Additionally, we used the generic comedic
instrumental music to add humour to the scenes and therefore make the scenes feel
of a more light-hearted nature. This was done to conform to the codes and
conventions of a romantic comedy and to help us identify our film as a romantic
comedy. An example of this is the house scene, where Tyler goes to get changed. A
up pace but light-hearted instrumental is present to convey the humorous nature of
the scene which is further supported by Tyler’s funny reaction such as him winking at
himself in the mirror with a humorous sound.