“Sometimes, working within constraints produces the most interesting work” (Branston and Strafford)
How have you used real media conventions to produce interesting or effective coursework productions?
I believe the quote means that working against limitations forces you as the creator to challenge them, work against them or follow them to make your work more interesting for the audience. I agree with this statement, as I used the conventions as a set of rules to either follow, challenge or subvert.
In my thriller i found i followed conventions more than in my music video, as it was harder to go against the conventions of a thriller without creating something that wasn’t a thriller at all. Whereas, with my music video, the conventions were more like guidelines that allowed freedom to create something original yet still what the audience wanted. In my AS production of a thriller opening i followed conventions of a thriller to make the genre of the film more apparent for the audience, compare this to my A2 music video where i challenged the conventions of an “indie” genre to make my production more interesting and create more of a niche. For example, in my thriller i followed the convention of a dark, shadowy atmosphere mainly at the beginning of the film through colourisation to make the shots look darker and grainier. I did this to aid the tense atmosphere i was trying to create to make the opening more convincing as a real thriller film. I believe following this convention was effective as the end result was very eerie which met the convention of a dark shadowy atmosphere. In my music video, however, I challenged the conventions of the “indie” genre by mixing the typical conventions (performance shots) with a narrative “boy meets girl” concept. This made a new product for the audience as they followed the narrative of story of the protagonist trying to win over a girl with random cuts to performances by the artist to remind the audience of it’s indie genre. I believe this was successful as it made the music video more interesting and entertaining, and by using the constraints of conventions i was able to create something new and more appealing.
Although it was easier to go against the conventions of a music video than more a thriller, sometimes using the limitations of conventions worked just as well in creating a successful product. For example in my thriller I followed the convention of using realistic settings to make the danger my protagonist was under to seem more real. I did this my having the female protagonist stand on a pavement with the word “school” written on the road, shot as a high-angle shot. This created a sense of the “unusual” occurring within a normal, vulnerable setting. I did this to make the audience feel unease at how vulnerable and alone our protagonist was. Although we followed the conventions this was still successful as our audience did notice the location and commented on how it made them feel apprehensive about what was going to happen. In my music video i also followed conventions by using references to voyeurism. This was achieved by using a webcam as an integrated split screen effect, so the audience could see both characters in different locations at the same time. This created the notion of looking as the audience were looking at our characters who were also looking at each other. I believe the use of this convention was effective as it related to our target audience through the use of popular technologies however was also successful despite working within a constraint.
In conclusion, throughout my As and A2 productions I have demonstrated many ways in which working within constraints can produce the most interesting work, weather it’s by challenging, following or subverting the conventions they are there to aid the construction of the product to make it interesting for the audience.
