1. 1 Write as many CONVENTIONS of film trailers you can think of. 2 Now write a list of conventions of your film genre. How do we differentiate the lists?

2. Form and Style Formalistic conventions: The repeated elements of the media form- for example most trailers will feature a release date. Stylistic genre conventions: Repeated elements of a media genre- for example most horror films will feature unexpected, bloody death.

3. LO: Explore how and why I have used both form and style conventions in my AS and A2 coursework

4. A convention is a…. …..rule, method or practice established by repeated usage.

5. SOME CONVENTIONAL QUESTIONS What two words should we most associate with conventions? How are genre conventions established? Why are they repeated?

6. The repertoire of elements –Iconography - through mise-en-scene but also design decisions such as fonts and colours. –Narrative- want the story is and how the story is told. –Ideological themes- the recurrent ideas and the message of the media text.

7. Analysing conventions Look at these professional and student examples. How do they conform or subvert the… i) formalistic conventions ii) the genre conventions.

13. Your AS to A2 use of real media texts. Describe the ways in which your production work was informed by real media texts. Look at your AS and A2 work…. Make notes in your booklets. Feedback to group Spend 20 minutes answering the question.

14. Trailer conventions They highlight the best bits of the film Showcase stars/director of the film Some visual images barely stay on screen long enough for us to recognise what we are seeing (i.e. they are often very fast paced) Conversations are often one-liners Dramatic camera angles may be chosen to show events or characters Action is interspersed with credits on screen Voiceovers are used to tell the story and give credit information Music plays an important role in creating atmosphere Titles may not appear until the end Trailer builds to a climax, where it ends Montage

15. Denotations? Connotations? Target Audience? The main image, shot type, angle, pose. The layout and colour scheme The headline The lighting The masthead The sell lines The genre? Ways to analyse a front cover. The mag slogan

16. What skills could you refer to in your answer? Creativity (subverting conventions = post- modernism?) Research into “real” media texts: –Organisation –Analysis –Use of digital technology –Questionnaire

17. Applying media theory to your work TASK: Look through your notes and define the following theories: –Post modernism –Semiotics –Feminism –Audience effects and address

18. Media theory Post-modernism: re-interpreting (or perhaps subverting) conventions from real media texts Semiotics: study of signs and symbols – are any common to the texts you have made? Feminism: typical representation of males and females in your texts Audience effect and address: hypodermic needle, uses and gratifications, Stuart Hall

19. Surface Emphasis of style over content or substance.

20. Rejection A move against traditional large narratives that dictated our lives e.g.: religion and politics.

21. Appropriation Recycling past styles and cultures in the form of ‘pastiche’ also known as ‘bricologe’.

22. Playfulness Onus on useless decoration applied in an exaggerated manner.

23. Complexity The blurring of boundaries between high and low art.

24. Intertextuality When one text/design cross references another.

25. Diversity Varied cultural experiences.

26. Audience Central to the interpretation of meaning. Each individual brings their own subjective meaning.

27. Audience effects theories Lots of theories on the media and audience effects, many of which stem from psychoanalysis: Uses and Gratifications- the concept that audiences use the media to satisfy certain basic psychological needs. Often audiences will watch to read something to suit their moods. For example watching glossy America dramas like ‘Glee’ for escapism. The Hypodermic needle- the idea that audiences are ‘injected’ passively with a message. This theory has become popular when analysing the impact of media violence on young people. Task: think about your coursework tasks. Can you apply any of Hall’s theories of audience address to them? Can you apply either of the audience effects theories?

28. Audience address theories Stuart Hall’s 3 theories of how media audiences ‘receive and understand’ texts: Preferred readings: when the audience can relate and empathise directly with the media text. Negotiated readings: when the audience do not directly relate to the media text and have to place themselves into the ‘world of the text’. Oppositional readings: when the audience and their life experiences have no relationship with the text and are actually resistant to it. This can often lead to an oppositional reading