Q1: How did you USE, DEVELOP or CHALLENGE codes and conventions of real media products?

The scene set with two female characters talking outside a caf is also a convention of a real melodrama as often seen in soaps such as Hollyoaks again, young girls are seen arguing and are represented as being quite loud and feisty. I have taken advantage of this representation and have imported this scene purely to represent this stereotype of young northern girls being loud work well as another story going on in the background as it is not the main story yet due to the representation (which will most likely portray some of the target audience) I feel it makes the whole trailer more on edge and exhilarating. This scene is also shot at a specific angle on the tables outside of the caf to create a clear exaggerated shot of the soaps setting which is often seen in extremely over the top melodramas like 90210 as see below with a beach in the background of a 90210 shot establishing the LA setting.

90210

MCR

I think the fight scene between the two male characters relates to real conventions of a melodrama, not because of the stereotype of young men fighting but more so because of the setting which is clearly a rough back alley behind some takeaways as between the rough looking bricks, shutters and takeaway signs I think this is a gritty yet still exaggeration of the Manchester setting, for instance Manchester is notorious for its huge mass of takeaway such as The Curry Mile and I believe this works well in exaggerating the location through the mise en scene of these several takeaway signs. The jagged bricks and old shutters also add to this subtle mise en scene as it represents the darken, common side of Manchester rather than displaying the high-end parts such as the Hilton and Printworks, which are also seen throughout.

Hollyoaks

MCR

The gunshots edited in after the gun appears, over the loan shark, purposely appear too perfect as each of the shots sounds exactly the same as the first and appear within consistent timing, I strongly doubt this is how a real gun or one in a realism soap would sound with such accurate timing in between each smooth shot, but again I purposely added this effect and could of easily gathered and imported a more realistic effect but this is relating to the convention of a melodrama and therefore this creates the perfect over the top effect which I needed to match the quality of the real melodramas such as Hollyoaks and 90210.

90210

MCR

In addition I think the shot which addresses conventions of a real similar melodrama is the shot between the Hollyoaks Villain shown in the images below who is dressed in black shirt, black leather jacket and stood in front of a black car, I got the example for this black clothing from the six weeks of summer Hollyoaks trailer in which as you can see I create my own portrayal of this dark/evil character convention in the image below which includes Terry the Loan Shark- my soaps antagonist. We used a black shirt and blazer for costume in the shots he is included in to continuously remind the audience of the role this character plays in the soap.

Hollyoaks

MCR

For the opening 8-9 seconds of the trailer, I used the short intro of a song called Promise Ring by RUSH. This song has a slow low key piano introduction which I liked and thought would be perfect for my introduction. The reason for this is because it adds to the mysterious, sad atmosphere (reflected in the use of a rain effect) which my opening scene is trying to establish. The mystery continues from the music with the hooded character, who's face we dont see is stood in the rain observing a grave of again, an unknown character which like the observer, we know nothing about.

MCR Opening Scene

I decided to use the song Cross My Heart by SKEPTA as the main soundtrack for this trailer as the speed and weight of the beat along with the vocals and lyrics all fits in perfectly with the message of my trailer regarding the main story lines of money and love. I also feel that this song fits in with my target audience which is young adults living in the urban inner city, mainly students in university or college who are interested in these types of story lines as they can find them somewhat relatable and as a means to escape their day to day life. I think the music choice is an extremely important factor hen aiming a trailer at this demographic specifically as they are likely to pick up on the artiste and the song and therefore I think the music is a really effective tool and I think I have executed this aspect of the trailer well with my choice of song.

The music played in 90210 relates well with their story throughout which is teen life in Beverley Hills

The season 3 trailer of 90210 similarly uses music relatable to their story lines and audience. They use an upbeat, summer club song which is conventional to their story lines of a very glamorous, American teen lifestyle based in Beverly Hills- this music choice fits in well with their message as does mine, whereas if the MCR and 90210 trailers were to switch soundtrack, they wouldnt make sense.

The music in MCR relates to the money problems shown throughout

I believe I have reached into the genre of a melodrama, sharing similar conventions to real soap melodramas including both 90210 and Hollyoaks scenes which I have analysed beforehand to gain tips and examples of the types of things to include in my product, such as mise en scene, exaggerated dialogue, length of specific scenes such as the gun holding scene to create tension and the costume used by the bad guy in particular.

I think in regards to the music used I have challenged the typical melodrama such as 90210 and used more of a gritty exaggeration which brings a kind of hybrid genre crossed between melodrama and realism, which I would also describe Hollyoaks as because both Hollyoaks and MCR are gritty melodramas which present real situations, however in an exaggerated way and NOT AS real as soaps such as Eastenders but more of a cross between shows like Eastenders and 90210.