1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Genre

It was a fairly easy to decide on what genre our media text would fall under. We are all young British people living in London so it only made sense to make a "British Urban Drama". This is because we all consume media texts from the same genre so we would be able to make educated judgments on whether our opening would be appealing to our target audience.

Themes prevalent in British Urban Dramas are:
-Disaster
-Violence
-Relationships
-Friendships
-Conflict
-Coming of age
-Love

As you will you soon find out, our film contains a slight element of each of these themes.

3 real influences for our choice of genre are the films Kidulthood, Attack the Block and Fish Tank

Attack the Block

Narrative

There were multiple theories that we took into account when forming our narrative structure:

We used Todorov's Narrative theory when constructing the storyline of our film. The theory states that there is will typically be an Equilibrium, Disequilibrium and Resolution in a film's narrative.

Equilibrium - The white family and the black family are distanced from each, with no ties whatsoever, allowing them to proceed with their lives peacefully. They are still prejudice but there is no reason for them to act upon these prejudices
Disequilibrium - The two teenage protagonists, from each family, fall in love with each other.This creates a direct link between both families which cause racial tensions to rise dramatically. An eventual consequence is that Clem helps Melissa's brothers in a fight - in an attempt to quell these tensions - but ends up getting stabbed
Resolution - Clem is hospitalized and is obviously supported by his family. However, because of Clem's brave efforts, Melissa's brothers also visit and support him, along with the rest of their family. This results in both families coming together and reflecting upon their racist views. Clem recovers and the relationship continues without any family strains.

The theory in a nutshell

Sometimes the theory is challenged, as is the case in Kidulthood as seen above

We used and developed Levi-Strauss' theory of Binary Opposites when deciding on vital elements of our film. The two protagonists have two prominent binary opposites that both differentiate them, as well as being the basis of the conflicts in the narrative. The film is all about the struggle to overcome these opposites.

Ethnicity - Clem is white whilst Melissa is black. This contrast in ethnicity has caused problems and conflicts around the world for hundreds of year. It continues to do so today, particularly in urban environments where hubs of both races would exist next to each other, without ever properly integrating with each other.
Class - Clem is middle class whilst Melissa is working class. This difference in class is arguably the largest divider in the current UK society. Class usually correlates to wealth, which causes a plethora of issues in regards to opportunities, quality of life and prejudice. Furthermore, ethnicity has a sizable affect on which class you will ultimately belong to.

The moment when Clem and Melissa first meet

We also used Barthes' theory of Codes when deciding on how we could pack the film opening with enough compelling aspects in order to keep the audience interested. We ensured that we had at least one example of all 5 codes.

Enigma Codes - Where is Clem going? What does Clem think of Melissa? Why does Melissa's Dad need medicine?
Action Codes - Skating shots, both from the GoPro and the stationary camera. Our first shot is a skating shot taken by the GoPro, which instantly grips the audience.
Semantic Codes - The awkward looks Melissa and Clem give each other at the bus stop suggest they fancy each other.
Symbolic Codes - Melissa is a black working class girl living in an estate. Whereas, Clem is a white middle class. They represent their respective social groups whilst also suggesting there will be conflicts because of these symbolic codes.
Referential Codes - The drink KA, which Shani is holding is a reference to her links with the black working class community. Also, "Pigeon Productions" displays links to Britain and in particular London.

Style

The biggest consideration for us, in regards to style, was colour grading. We wanted to capture a sense of bleakness in order to show the gritty side of London. This also foreshadowed the dark and depressing issues of racism that are portrayed within the film.

A major influence for us, when dealing with colour grading, was the TV Drama Misfits. It already demonstrates use of the exact same feel that we wanted to achieve via grading.

Colour grading in Misfits

Colour grading in our film

Another major consideration in regards to style, was out titles. We couldn't decide on what titles we wanted but after watching the opening sequence of Somers Town, we agreed to use a similar style.