Evaluation - Question 4 In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In the construction of our narrative we have complied to the codes and conventions of a normal teenage drama. In the sense that the story deals with alienation, rebellion, teen angst, conflict with parents and peer pressure with an underlying intricate storyline dealing with the universal issues that come with the journey of coming of age stories. We established these issues clearly in our opening sequence with the extreme close up of Ashley’s leaflets on abortion. This combined with shots designed in a central composition of her seated in the middle of the party clearly alienated for the other partygoers establishes her teen angst and awkward shy nature that one can easily relate to. We have decided to display the narrative in a non-linear fashion by utilising flashbacks to clue in the audience on the escapades that were the catalyst in her downward spiral. As the opening sequence conventionally sets up the whole atmosphere for the movie, the blatant lack of adults being present tells the audience that this film will be mainly focused on young adults, in turn this is evidence of our genre being directed at teens. This coupled with the melancholic and sombre music, establishes the movies status as a teen drama. We have undertaken a style of editing that involves numerous cross cutting between the present day shots of Ashley and the flashbacks this made the process quite laborious and meant using an intricate system of sounds and shots. The cross cutting was used as a representational method of portraying the madness and confusion plaguing her mind. It is noticeable in the movie that we have made use of very little locations; this shows the lack of budget, though it creates a realistic image of a teenage lifestyle. Our costumes are clearly representative of the fashion styles of modern day teenagers. The props used were instrumental of displaying the troubles and peer- pressure our character Ashley would have to face. These being the bottle of vodka Ashley clutches, nervously to her chest ass though it was a lifeline as she wonders in a her own social peril and the substances she is peer pressured into taking. We decided to go with a classic design for our typography, especially with the aesthetic as we were faced with the problem of having the colours being defined enough to be noticeable. The visual conventions of the genre are conspicuously displayed within the opening sequence and can be identified as the leaflets on abortion, the alcoholic drinks and substances offered to Ashley.