QUESTION 1

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE

FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

The forms and conventions of

my media product, Jack
Stone, are the features and
characteristics of an ACTION
FILM. My production uses,
challenges and develops
many of these ideas.

Existing Media Products

Based on my own knowledge and interests in films I knew I wanted to make an opening sequence
for an ACTION film.

The films which inspired my ideas for Jack Stone were:

James Bond
Mission Impossible
The Expatriate
Assassin

During research I conducted Textual Analyses on existing media products which were related to my
ideas for my production. These included research on some of the particular films that inspired the
plot to Jack Stone. I was able to evaluate how they conveyed the genre to the audience and
whether they challenge or reinforced typical action film stereotypes.

Links to the blog posts of the textual analyses I conducted during research

http://g321jessmcaleese.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/research-textual-analysis-assassin.html
http://g321jessmcaleese.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/research-textual-analysis-expatriate.html
http://g321jessmcaleese.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/research-textual-analysis-american-heist.html

THE
TITLE

Jack Stone is an EPONYMOUS character.

This states that the product is named after the main character. This
is typical of some action films including the following below:
JACK REACHER

Played by Tom Cruise

First film made was in
2012, followed by
sequels and an
estimated release for
a new film in 2016

JAMES BOND

JASON BOURNE

Played by Matt
Damon
The first film made
for the series was in
2002, and an
upcoming release
for 2016.

This character has been played by 7 actors so far.

These include; Sean Connery; George Lazenby;
Roger Moore; Timothy Dalton; Pierce Brosnan and
Daniel Craig.
The 007 Franchise started in 1962 and the latest
film made was in 2015. Future productions are in
development.
SHERLOCK HOLMES

Played by Robert
Downey Jr.
2009

The forms and conventions of an action film:

NARRATIVE
Usually in the opening sequence (THE
EQUIIBRIUM) a sense of mystery is
established.
Followed by the DISRUPTION where
something goes wrong.
The RECOGNITION where the good
guy/main character in the film finds out
what is wrong and then moves on to the
RESTORATION aspect of the narrative and
finally finds a RESOLUTION and saves the
day.

The forms and conventions of an action film:

CHARACTERS
There is a good guy in typical action
films this character is a secret agent,
police man, some sort of law
enforcement.
There is a villain in most existing
media texts this person is evil, has a
motive against human morals and is
quite often foreign.

The forms and conventions of an action film:

GENERIC CONVENTIONS
Props guns, weapons, mystery bags,
hi-tech etc.
Costumes Smart suits, blacked out
sunglasses (sense of professionalism or
mystery)

Jack Stone
My production, Jack Stone, both uses and challenges conventions from this genre.
Typical action films have the main character, whom is usually the good guy/hero in
the narrative of the plot, to be presented in a smart persona with a slick confidence
and shows a great deal of professionalism. However, Jack Stone is the opposite, he has
a laid back type of confidence and graft along with a more rough around the edges
look, which makes him a unique characters within the action film genre.
Meanwhile aspects of the plot are stereotypical of an action film, such as the use of
the MacGuffin bag swap sequence and with the heroic secret agent trailing behind
the suspicious character.
The woman involved in the opening sequence also challenges the conventions of
typical films with similar plots as usually the main female character is the one who
needs saving. However, in Jack Stone, the female is on the same team as the villains
in the plot and has a dangerous and suspicious vibe to her.

Laid back, casual

persona.

CHALLENGES

Slick and straight

suited bad guy.

Laid back, casual

persona.

CHALLENGES
The characters personalities and the
ways in which they come across to the
audience are a juxtaposition to each
other. In other existing media texts like
mine these personas would be on the
opposite characters.

Usually in action films, the generic

conventions of the characters are that
the secret agent (the main character,
good guy.) is the one who is well
dressed, smart looking, and has a clean,
crisp attitude. However my production
challenges this idea as the bad guy in
my film has this characterisation, whereas,
Jack Stone has the cool and confident
swagger.

Slick and straight

suited bad guy.

CHALLENGES
The female in the opening scene
is called Rolanda Witz, throughout
the film the plot unfolds that she
in fact was in a relationship with
Alaric Husted, brother to Kristof
Husted the German enemy. In the
opening scene she is part of the
bag swap. The fact that she is a
woman challenges the idea that
women are sensitive and caring
to others because this character
is involved in the criminal acts of
the villains in the film.

CHALLENGES

Rolanda Witz

In Jack Stone
Rolanda Witz is
the femme
fatale. Whereas
in other existing
action films such
as; Taken, Die
Hard and some
James Bond
films the woman
is the character
who needs
saving.

Taken (2008)
A retired CIA operative named Bryan Mills
crosses the globe to rescue his 17-year-old
daughter after she is kidnapped by human
traffickers and sold into sexual slavery
while traveling in France.

Die Hard (1988)

John McClane goes on a rescue
mission to save hostages, including
his wife from a terrorist attack on a
New York skyscraper.

REINFORCING CONVENTIONS
Conventional of an action
film. For example, existing
media texts which have
used foreign villains include:
Captain America, Red Skull
is German
Die Hard, Hans Gruber is also
German
In James Bond Casino
Royale the villain Le Chiffre is
Albanian.

!!! IN THE OPENING SCENE THE

AUDIENCE IS UNAWARE THAT
ALARIC AND ROLANDA ARE
FOREIGN !!!

Foreign
Villains

Its conventional because

usually the plot to action
films involve some type of
enemy to the country and in
these film universes these
enemies can be an
unrepresented cult/gang
from another country.
Makes the audience suspicious of the
characters. Foreign villains bring a
sense of mystery and also the fact that
theyre foreign compared to the
setting and other characters in the plot
makes them alienated and different.

In existing media
texts characters
would be
introduced to the
audience when the
actor is speaking in
another language

The fact that the

audience do not know
who these people are
and what their motives
are makes them
suspicious of the
characters. They also
have no dialogue,
further adding mystery
to their actions.

REINFORCING CONVENTIONS
The Black Bag
The MacGuffin

Typical generic convention of an

action film. Its contents are a
mystery but the manner in which it is
exchanged by two suspicious
looking characters suggest to the
audience that it is important.

If the bag was brightly coloured this

would challenge the stereotypes of
these ideas. In existing texts e.g. The
Expatriate, the bag used in the swap is
also black. In my production I wanted
to use the bag swap as a typical
action generic convention because it
would help tell the audience the type
of film Jack Stone is.