In what ways does your media product develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The opening scene of my film both uses and challenges the codes and conventions found with films of the same genre. The aim with 'The Deal' was to create a recognisable action comedy film by at the same time create something that was new and interesting.
'The Deal' is about two school students who enter into a deal which is out of their depth and subsequently face the consequences. Martin is a shy boy but a genius inventor where as Taylor feels he can exploit Martins talents for his own financial benefit. As the deal at the start of the film goes wrong they spend the next 6 months on the run from these destructive criminals who want to use Martins devices as weapons. A friendship develops between Martin and Taylor throughout the feature which helps the add depth and meaning to the film.
Previous Genre Research; Conventions:
The conventions associated with action comedy films are:
-Fights
-Killings: death of loved ones
-Strong motive (preventing massive destruction)
-Hi tech equipment
-Located in a big modern city
-Weapons
-Relationships
-One smart character and one slower (funnier) character
-Awkward comedy moments
-Connection with characters
Ways in which I have matched and challenges there conventions of action comedies:
I have coincided with many codes and conventions of the action comedy genre in order to make it recognisable as that genre and familiar to the audience. 'The Deal' includes Hi tech equipment such as the mad inventions that Martin in capable of, this also adds sci fi elements to the film, as well as a strong motive for the action and destruction.
On the contrary to this I have also challenged and developed many forms and conventions associated with action comedy films. For an example of this I have decided to have two athletic lead characters in that of the school boys but one only mentally slower than the other. This differs from the likes of Hot Fuzz and the Jump Street films where half of the double act is there for slapstick comedy as well as just comedy in dialogue.
Another way in which I have followed the conventions of that my genre is that the protagonists of The Deal, play on the stereotypes of 'buddy cop' movies such as 21 Jump Street and Lethal Weapon. Taylor (Nathan Henton) is written as the arrogant, controlling type whereas Martin (Adam Francis) is the clever but more subdued one. They start on rocky ground but are forced to stick together after the events of the opening go south. Over the course of the film they would be set to see how much they each need each other in order to overcome the vastly superior and more experienced forces that oppose them eg. The Leader and his men. In this opening scene, the pair are clearly not close friends with Taylor controlling Martin from the outset and neither are they of one mind as Martin is forced to hand over the case. With our leads starting in conflict, we create the beginning of a character arc which we will follow the progress of throughout the rest of the film. These traits are very common in the action comedy genre.
MISE EN SCENE: (study: Knight and Day)
Nine Key Stills from my opening scene:
In the first still of my film (top left) I have an establishing shot to show the location and which production companies helped make the film, this sticks to the codes and conventions of modern action films. The font that I chose for the titles is also very typical of that of an action/comedy as you can see from the font used in my research film 'Knight and Day'.
The font used is Bank Gothic, a font which is often used in other staple action movie credits such as the Transformers series. By using a font which has preconceived connotations surrounding it, I have effectively aided the setting up of expectations and consequently heighten tension during the stable moments of the deal as the audience is expecting the outbreak of action at any moment.
The order that these titles appear in are typical following the conventions followed by Limitless and Knight and Day.(top left).
The setting between these films are both different however unlike my film, Knight and Day changes location twice in the opening sequence giving the opening a bit more direction and progression over my film opening. However the location in my film fits with the unknown aspect as well as the everyday ordinary feel that the location helps to portray, which really engages the younger viewers into the story.
The costumes are similar in both films as the 'bad guys' are all dressed in suits and smart clothing in both openings and the good are all in casual wear. The films are set in the same time period so the style and choice of clothes isn't that different between them.
Conventions of the Narrative:
The narrative of both films are very similar in that they both have a device which the bad side want, also that the plan goes wrong and the opening sequence ends with the good side getting away safely but are going to be followed by the other party. The narratives between these films are also presented at the start of the lead character on the good side not being that great of friends like wise in Knight and Day, but as the story progresses they become good friends likewise in Knight and Day. Again this conforms with the form of action comedies features. One way in which my film challenges the forms of the narrative is that the bad side aren't defeated at the end of the film but the initial threat is rounded up.
Location Forms/ Camera:
The Deal' opening is set both in a forest car park and inside the wood itself as the sun begins to set. The car park is an open space where everything is visible, a place of transit where people come and go swiftly as the participants of the deal seemingly intend to do. However once the deal goes wrong the action switches to the more claustrophobic confines of the forest, a wild place where sight lines are impaired and the situation is unpredictable. It is at this time that the sun sets for the night. In a large number of films, an obvious example being the Harry Potter series, forests at night are a place of danger and peril- consequently the tension is increased as the audiences preconceived notions of the nature of movies comes into play. The closeness of the trees compared to the openness of the car park also generates the feeling of the protagonists being trapped with no way out of their situation.I wanted to create a strong sense of disruption and disorientation when the titular 'deal' suddenly goes wrong. As a result, I made the choice to switch from camera angles which were locked down and stable on a tripod and switch to a handheld shaky camera style once the conflict ensues to convey the sudden change in stability of the world which was seemingly all so controlled moments before. The shots on the character of the Leader are always locked down on a tripod despite the chaos, in contrast to the later shots of Taylor and Martin. This is in order to convey how controlled and calculating the Leader is. The events at hand are all part of the business for him but for Taylor and Martin, the events are very much outside their control and comfort zone. A similar idea is present in the closing moments of David Fincher's Seven where the shots on the character of John Doe are solidly locked down on a tripod as he manipulates the rapidly deteriorating situation. The camerawork on Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman's detectives is, in contrast, shaky and handheld which demonstrates how the situation is out of their control. By following the conventions of a close feeling location it has vastly helped to further push the films feeling of tension and further portray the boys dilemma.