EVALUATION ACTIVITY 1: IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT

USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL

MEDIA PRODUCTS?By Chloe Lashley

Replica begins with an over the shoulder shot displaying our protagonist. This complies to the Thriller genre due to the sense of enigma. The audience are already questioning who this person is in addition to the relevance of the couple in the background. The incorporation of the gentle non-diegetic background music adds to the equilibrium that we created.Note: Dull colouring throughout the production that were added during the editing process. This adds elements of the thriller genre to the production and we gained inspiration from the Drama/Thriller film Gone Girl.

Here, the audience are exposed to our protagonist and the way in which we chose to depict her. She subverts the stereotype of the typical teenage girl as she is clearly not make-up obsessed and appears to be dressed in all black. We chose to dress her in layers to show the many layers of her personality as well as to externalise her mental instability.

Representation of the character Myles: The audience first see Myles in a position of dominance as he publicly abuses his girlfriend Emel. Black boys are commonly shown as violent/aggressive in the media and as our production is partly a Drama, we thought it would be interesting to portray Myles as the stereotypical black boy in society.Dramas usually incorporate issues that are prevalant in society such as domestic violence; this is simply because a convention of the drama genre is to include realistic situations. Therefore, we use and develop this convention.

We regularly return to this shot to show that Eve is constantly hiding her identity. She does not want to let anybody in to her dark thoughts or see how she truly feels. This is supported by her voiceover that says, ‘I used to believe in some sort of God or being that looks over me,’ but she does not reveal what she believes in now or if she still does believe. The enigma continues as she refers to her mental illness as a disease but the audience are left guessing what she suffers from.

Damion’s character adds elements of the thriller genre to our production. His name intentionally sounds similar to demon for symbolic reasons and because of the devilish thoughts that go through his mind. His erratic movements keep audience members on the edge of their seats and they are not sure what to expect next.

This scene incorporates two conventions of the thriller genre that complement one another. Tense music is used to heighten the scene and make the audience feel on edge.

It is not uncommon for teenagers, in particularly teenage girls to feel suicidal due to issues related to body image or problems at home etc. This has been shown in many drama films before so here, we are using the convention of drama films (realistic situations) and developing it further.

Saura’s character challenges the stereotypical portrayal of pale white girls with blonde hair in real media texts. Usually girls with these characteristics are displayed as innocent or vulnerable but Saura has deep issues that she struggles to cope with. Therefore she is a countertype – the complete opposite.

Uses and gratifications theory – Audience members going through similar issues to Saura may be able to identify with her character and understand the pain that she feels. This is even more relevant as allowing the audience to emotionally connect with the characters is a convention of the drama genre.

Escapism – Eve’s suffering has now become externalised, allowing the audience to delve into her problems and forget about the problems of their own.

Mise-en-scene: This scene is located in the protagonist’s bedroom which is usually associated with comfort. As Eve is no longer comfortable in her own space, it shows that she is at her lowest ever.

DRAMA GENRE – A bedroom is a typical setting for a scene; it is realistic and allows the audience to grasp more information about the character/s.

In many drama films, a sense of realisation occurs at the end of the production. However, in Replica the protagonist still remains disturbed and unsure with what to do with herself. This is further highlighted in the climax in the non-diegetic background music and close ups showing the pain on the protagonist’s face.

Symbolism of the name Eve – Eve is the name of the first woman created in the Bible. She is known for being everything associated with purity until temptation comes along and cues her downfall. In relation to our character Eve, she was originally innocent in her early teens until the temptation to be like others came along and ruined her sense of sanity.

Replica ends with an enigma due to the cliffhanger. This relates to the thriller genre as the audience are left not knowing whether Eve stays on the roof of the car park and decides to end her life or finds a reason to live. We leave the audience wanting more.