Evaluation Question 1

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

Our Last Christmas is a romance movie that deals with the theme of love and loss. It's based around Christmas time, which is always a positive time of the year for those who celebrate it. I came up with the storyline of Our Last Christmas after I'd watched The Fault In Our Stars. This movie dealt with the topic of cancer, and I admired that the main message featured in this film was to celebrate the life that someone lived rather than thinking that it was over, because their presence will always live on in your life even if they're not here anymore. I wanted to base this situation around Christmas time because this is when people come together and unite with eachother, but also to convey how seasons like this can still be enjoyed even if someone if suffering with a serious illness.

When studying The Fault In Our Stars in more depth, there were many conventions featured in the movie that conformed to it's genre of romance. First of all, the music that played throughout this movie was often angelic, soft and easy on the ear melodies. During a scene where Hazel and Gus shared their first kiss, the non-diegetic music escalated louder to emphasise this romantic moment. In Our Last Christmas, Ameerah's second flashback was of a day she captioned "best day", and at this point the soundtrack I chose became upbeat to change the feel of the scene and convey how this one is a more positive and memorable moment. In addition, when Ameerah discovers the letter that had been posted through her door, the soundtrack increased rapidly. This was done to exaggerate the moment and allow it to stand out from all of the other footage that the audience would have seen, so that they are aware that this moment is an important one. Sound usually sets the mood of a movie, and therefore in romantic films it is important that the music is used in scenes that require the audiences full attention. Shortly before Ameerah finishes her first part of the narration, the soundtrack I used is introduced. It's quite an emotional tune and fits with her saying "Christmas is just around the corner". The music conveys that what she has just told the audience will lead to quite a sad situation, and it does, with her reminiscing over her previous Christmas.

I also looked at Leap Year and The Notebook when I was analysing the conventions found in the genre romance. These are another two of my favourite movies which inspired me to do a romance film opening which is why I looked at their conventions. A prop in a movie is either a piece of furniture or a small object. It helps the audience become aware of the genre and also moves the plot forward, for example a letter. A prop that was featured in The Notebook was actually a love letter, and more, that Noah sent to Allie. This is a prop that illustrates a traditional old romanticist  which has a lot more meaning than a text message. Words on paper mean so much more than words through technology, which is why in Our Last Christmas I chose a Christmas card to be the carrier of Bruno's message. Other props that I included in my film opening would be Christmas decorations, as these all contribute to the theme of the film being based around Christmas time. Every Christmas film opening I've watched has either included a Christmas tree, or casual Christmas decorations e.g. Love Actually, Gremlins, The Grinch and Elf. I didn't study these films in depth because they weren't typical romance movies, more like comedies and dramas and general child entertainment, I was just aware of Christmas decorations being vital in the opening for the audience to understand the themes within the genre. 

When looking at costume, I decided to go for something that could convey the personality and attitude of Ameerah's. It's said that girls use clothes to express themselves. If I was to dress her up in tight skirts, boob tubes, tall heels or dresses for instance, she'd come across to the audience as a girly girl. Ameerah is not a girly girl, instead she is a simple fashionable friendly female, and her outfits definitely portrayed this. In the first flashback she wore a simple roll neck jumper which has been a fashion statement nearly every winter. In the second flashback she wore a long grey coat with a beanie and heeled boots, this conveys her as stylish but laid back. Anna in Leap Year was the outfit inspiration. Even though in this movie she is a fully grown adult and Ameerah's just a teenager, Anna has the easy going and ditsy character similar to Ameerah. She wears stylish outfits in America, but more casual costume in Ireland. I liked her fashion and decided to base Ameerah's on this aswell. I based  Bruno's costume on Augustus' in The Fault In Our Stars. He wore simple attire like T-Shirts and joggers indoors, along with stylish coats outdoors. He is 18, which is Bruno's age in the movie, therefore I felt it would be appropriate to use him as costume inspiration. The reason I kept to the conventions when it came to costume is because this is a vital part that the audience look at when judging the character. During the scenes of Ameerah living in the present where she's in her red jumper, I chose this piece of costume to fit the Christmas theme along with her red slipper boots. Here is where I challenged the conventions of romance films because I dressed Ameerah in Christmassy colours rather than her own attire that would usually be worn by females in romance/Christmas movies.

Three different settings were introduced in my film opening. The first one was Ameerah in the comfort of her own room, inspired by Hazel in The Fault In Our Stars. The second one was Ameerah and Bruno decorating the Christmas tree, inspired by Anna and Declan in Leap Year performing a home activity indoors (cooking). The third one was Ameerah and Bruno on a winter walk, inspired by Allie and Noah spending a day outside together in open space. This outdoors setting is romantic because they're in a large park on a sunny winters day and both relax on a bench together. I chose these settings because they were often used in romance films, where couples spend fun days indoors as well as outdoors, and where girls spend a lot of time in their bedroom when they do something that will risk them getting upset for example, looking over special memories. Ameerah was my main character in Our Last Christmas as in the three films that I done some in depth research, they all had a female as their main character. This is because a females view on love is a lot more romantic and sweet compared to a guy's view of the topic.

Moreover, I decided to challenge the forms and conventions of these three real media products when it came down to the two characters. In almost nearly every romance movie, the girl and the boy do not know eachother at first. In The Fault In Our Stars, Hazel and Gus meet at a cancer support group, in Leap Year, American Anna meets Declan in an Irish pub, in The Notebook, Noah and Allie meet in a theme park. In Our Last Christmas, Ameerah and Bruno already know eachother because they had previously been in a relationship together. I do not introduce these two characters to eachother as strangers and allow their relationship to grow, instead I make them get back into contact with eachother and then let things grow from there. The reason that I challenged this convention is because I feel that most movies that have characters that either dislike each other at first or don't get on so well, then fall in love, is unrealistic. It doesn't explore romance in a realist point of view, whereas in Our Last Christmas it is very much realistic and relatable to many people out there. My film opening allows the audience to know that Ameerah and Bruno already know each other through the flashback scenes and then the letter regarding him needing to see her. I feel that this was a successful decision, and would be successful in other romance movies because the audience can connect more with a story that they can believe and perhaps even relate to.