Evaluation Question 1

In what ways does the media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In the form of an illustrated
essay, shown here.

The low angle with the shop keeper in between shows that
they are doing something they shouldn't.

We have used different techniques in the way we observe the conventions of continuity through camera work as well as editing. In terms of camera work we tried to use as many different shots as possible to give a range within our film, also using different angles to give a specific sense to the scenes they are used in. For example, in the scene where Carrie is being persuaded by Jared to steal the bottle of vodka, we tried to use low angle shots to show the dominance that Jared is having over Carrie, but also to give a slightly different edge; emphasising the fact that she is doing something wrong.

Drugs Taking Effect...

When moving onto editing, it was crucial that we made sure we had the shots we needed to keep continuity, but there are also some parts of editing such as montage sequencing and special effects used to give a different feel to the scene. One example would be the montage sequence at the end of the film, in the scene where Carrie has finally come to the realisation

Carrie remembering that this last few weeks she has been alone
all along...

that Jared has been dead all along, which was used to help the audience come to terms using small frames of Carrie in the different scenes (but without Jared) giving the impression that she had been alone doing these things the whole time, giving a final twist to our complicated story. We also used SFX whenever drugs or something that might daze the mind was used, a good example being when Carrie first takes drugs, using small frames of previous scenes that were of importance to create a fast panicked shot showing the effects of drugs.

Carrie struggling to come to terms with Jared's death

Our film is based around the genre Psychological Thriller/Drama, and one of the main features of this genre is that it is heavily focused on the main characters psychological state. This is something that can be related to our film as we have one main character which turns out in the end to be someone who has huge issues with their psychological state. A main theme that would be relatable is the fact that sometimes characters struggle to determine what is real and what isn’t, and our character Carrie seems to have moulded the two together and created her own reality where Jared is still alive, as her way of coming to terms with his death. a main theme of this genre would also be death, and in the case of our film there is death, it just happens in the time before the film begins.

Peer Pressure takes over and Carrie takes the drugs

When considering conventions of films in general, racial stereotypes can insinuate that a lot of African American people are related to drugs. I think that we have twisted this racial convention on the head, as the audience is to believe that Jared is peer pressuring Carrie into taking drugs, and then suddenly find out in the end that all the things Jared was making her do were all in her head, as a way for her to cope with his death.

Resistance to the alcohol doesn't last long...

When we first came up with the idea for our film, I took a lot of inspiration from Fight Club, and there are small parts of our story that I did take from Fight Club and made them relatable to our film. For example, fight club is based around one main character, who’s psychological issues controlled his life for a short time, which becomes clear at the very end of the film. This is relatable as our film is based around Carrie’s unsteady psychological health, which isn’t discovered until the end of film.

Titles are very similar to ours.

When thinking of our storyline there was also a short film that I discovered on YouTube titled ‘Awake’ which is about a teen who wakes up one day to find that he is the only person left on earth. It is then discovered that the boy died the same day he woke up on ‘Earth’ in a car accident, and his empty earth was what he saw after life. 

The moment he realises that he was dead all along.

I took the huge story twist at the end of this story and put it together with the rest of our story which created the twist at the end; of Jared being death all along and just a figment of Carries imagination as a way of coping with his death.

I think that our film relates well to the Uses and

Gratifications Audience Theory, which has 4 sections to it; Education, Role Models, Socialisation and Entertainment. I think the one section that relates to our film is Socialisation, as I feel there are some shocking parts to our story that people may discuss between friends or family or colleagues. They may want to see what others thought of our narrative and whether they agreed or liked the twist at the end. It is also relatable to Entertainment as it would give an emotional experience at the cinema. The audience would hopefully emphasise with Carrie and her situation with Jared, experiencing her turmoil with Jared and his death.

Carrie and Jared together, or so she thinks...

The moment Carrie Realises that Jared died a while ago...

Our film also relates to Richard Dyer’s Theory of Entertainment; which includes Energy, Abundance, Intensity, Transparency and Community. Our film relates to energy, as it creates suspense and excitement with the editing we have used. It relates to intensity, because of the conflict going on in Carries mind as well as the conflict and surrender between Carrie and Jared. And finally there is a sense of transparency, which is then turned on its head when the twist of the narrative is used at the very end.

Carrie Surrendering to Jared and drinking the Vodka