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

1. I decided to put the main title of my film at the end of the trailer as this is conventional in a lot of different trailers. The title is the last thing the audience sees when viewing the trailer therefore it will stick with them, the title is repeated by the actors/voiceovers throughout and at the end they are presented with the link that ties the storyline together of friendship and separation. I put the title over action of a plane as the two link together, ‘I Wish You Were Here’ is a popular expression associated with travelling (the plane taking off) but also with the separation between friends or family, which is what my narrative involves. A film with a title similar to mine is Miss You Already, it cleverly uses a well known saying to relate it to the themes of loss and separation in the film. This title was also shown at the end of the trailer and is mentioned in a prior scene. 

2. For my trailer I thought it was important to include a range of locations and settings as in real drama trailers, the settings are always varied and don’t just take place in the one place. This shot is from Disneyland as this is where Ellie goes which was one of the things the girls should have done together. It is a well known place and the castle is the symbol that audiences can recognise. This location and sunny weather contrasts the scene of Casey at home, showing the separation of the two friends. This conforms with conventions of drama trailers for example in the Miss You Already trailer, there are a number of locations included Amsterdam and London, which are represented by symbols and landmarks, e.g. the bridges and the London Eye. There is also the contrast between Jess’ life which is good and Milly’s life which is the opposite. I wanted to portray this in the trailer without pulling too far away from the theme of friendship.

3. The costumes and props I used were quite typical for teen dramas, for example, the hat that Casey wears to show that she is ill, and mobile phones which are popularly used in teen films. One of the main props that may perhaps be unique to my film is ‘the list’. This prop is so important because it shapes the storyline of Ellie completing the list for Casey, which perhaps is not the best idea in the end as it leaves Casey feeling jealous and lonely. Another important part of the costume is Casey’s hat as this is a recognisable symbol of someone with cancer. It is featured in many films and usually represents that the person is weak and insecure, much like Ellie and Casey’s relationship becomes throughout the trailer. The hat could also symbolise Casey as a person, quite hidden and enclosed. A hat is also present in the Miss You Already trailer to perhaps symbolise weakness within Milly, therefore it is a conventional prop in this genre.

4. For editing, I used different transitions in certain parts of the trailer to create an effect of a flashback. I used bright, flash transitions at the end of the trailer when going from young Casey and Ellie to teen Casey and Ellie. I did this to symbolise the ‘best friend’ theme throughout and the coming of age that they had experienced together. I have noticed that teen dramas do use a lot of flashbacks to childhood memories in the trailers, therefore I thought it would be essential to include in my trailer too. In the Miss You Already trailer, there are flashes from when the girls were kids to present day to show how their friendship has stayed the same. I really liked this technique and so conformed to this convention of teen drama trailers.

5. I decided to use a cute, handwriting style of font as it is stereotypical teen girls handwriting, especially the heart dots for i’s. It is conventional and the audience can recognise the stereotypical girly writing and thus relates it to the genre of teen films. In Miss You Already, a similar handwriting font is used, however they use bigger and smaller with different colour writing to perhaps symbolise the difference in characters, Milly being bold and Jess being more quiet. I decided to keep the same colour of my inter titles because I also used this teal/turquoise colour in my poster, therefore this colour can be recognised by the audience to link the products together. I added in a “from the makers of…” inter title as this is a generic convention of trailers aswell as a review from a newspaper.

6. The opening of my trailer sets up the storyline as the narrative is based around the idea of a ‘list’ of things the girls want to do when they are older. Therefore it was important for me to include the fact that they have planned to stay friends in the future and do things together and not separately. This could give the audience an idea that things might not go to plan and the friends may end up being separated somehow, leaving the list uncompleted. I think the voice over also works well to sum up the film that some things in life can’t be planned and we just have to deal with issues day by day, which is how Casey begins to live without Ellie. The opening to Miss You Already also sums up the themes of friendship and separation, when Jess says, “I want Milly.” And then goes onto explain the friendship between the two girls.

7. The opening of the trailer also sets up the genre of the film. I really like the opening of the film because it really shows the coming of age aspect of teen dramas which is a generic convention in most films from this genre. We see the girls from childhood grow up into teenagers and we feel like we have come on a journey with them through their friendships. The things mentioned in the list are also stereotypical teen things, having makeovers, eating ice-cream and going to a ‘popular person’s’ party which are all quite generic activities for teenage girls. This shot is set in a school, which again shows the teen side to this drama as it is a generic setting for this genre. In the Miss You Already trailer, the drama genre is set up instantly as it starts with Jess giving birth, it is as if we have come in during the middle of a situation and leaves us eager to find out what comes before and after this scene. Does Milly come to the scene or is she gone? 

8. The characters are introduced at the beginning of the trailer as young girls so we are able to see how the girls have grown up together. Ellie is seen as the creative and loud out of the two as she comes up with the idea of ‘the list’. This also shows she is more adventurous and looks to the future, unlike Casey who just follows and comes up with the idea of ‘popular persons party’ which shows she looks for reassurance from friends or peers. As the trailer goes on we see this character development as Ellie becomes more adventurous and Casey becomes more insecure. In the Miss You Already trailer we see Jess as being the insecure one and Milly being outgoing however this changes throughout the trailer, showing development over time. This is conventional of a lot of trailers as we see need to be able to understand and relate the personalities of characters before seeing the film.

 

9. In my trailer I used the slow motion effect to represent memories and to intensify the emotion. I think this is conventional of teen dramas as it makes the action seem more special and meaningful that to have fast cuts like in action trailers. I used the slow motion effect when the girls are hugging to symbolise that the girls may not have much time left together so they want time to slow down so that they can spend as much time together as possible. In the Miss You Already trailer, the two friends dance together in slow motion, again reiterating the idea of time wanting to be slowed down.