Researching the codes and conventions of a form

Overview

Conventions of a media form, difference between researching a convention and copying an existing product and subgenre convention.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is meant by the conventions of a media form?

   Model answer

   Conventions are the features an audience expects to find in that form, such as a masthead and cover lines on the front of a magazine.

2. 2

   Why does a producer research a form's conventions before making a product in it?

   Model answer

   An audience recognises a product by its conventions, so a product that ignores them looks amateur or is mistaken for something else entirely.

3. 3

   What is the difference between researching a convention and copying an existing product?

   Model answer

   Researching a convention identifies the underlying rule so it can be applied to new content, while copying reproduces one product's particular solution.

4. 4

   Name three features to record when researching the front cover of a magazine.

   Model answer

   The masthead, the cover lines and the main cover image are three features to record.

5. 5

   What should be recorded when researching the conventions of a music video?

   Model answer

   The balance of performance, narrative and concept material, the editing pace, the relationship of image to lyrics and the way the artist is presented.

6. 6

   Why is it useful to research products that failed as well as ones that succeeded?

   Model answer

   A failed product shows which conventions an audience will not accept being broken, which a successful product cannot demonstrate.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

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Six ways to work the same material.