question 1

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

Daniel Payn

Stock narratives

Like every other genre, action has some recurring narratives which are used quite often. Here are some examples:

Stock narratives


The hero has been left for dead by the villain and plots revenge on the ones who betrayed him.

Stock narratives



A character is trapped in a difficult situation and must find a way to get out of it.

Stock narratives



A character is trapped in a difficult situation and must find a way to get out of it.

A retired hit man is called out of retirement for one last assignment.

Stock narratives

Stock narratives

Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill is a common example of where a typical revenge narrative is used.

Stock narratives

Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill is a common example of where a typical revenge narrative is used. Although the plot is a typical action narrative, the film was well received by critics due to Tarantino adding his own style into the genre. This included memorable characters and effective use of dialogue.

Stock narratives

Stock narratives

One of the most used structures in action films is the ‘three act structure,’ The first act introduces the main characters and shows what their motives are e.g. Plot revenge. Act two involves the character trying to achieve their motive but there will be obstacles in the way such relationships or fighting ‘bad guys.’ The third act is where the plot reaches the most tension and the character manages to resolve their objective e.g. killing the villain.

Stock narratives

Stock themes in action films include:RevengeBetrayal JusticeResolutionViolence

Stock narratives

Stock themes in action films include:RevengeBetrayal JusticeResolutionViolence

Some examples of action films that include these themes are John Wick (2014), Taken (2008) and Dredd (2012).

Stock characters

Stock characters of the action genre include:A retired hit man/war veteran/soldier e.g. John

Rambo, Bryan Mills, John Matrix

Stock characters


Rambo, Bryan Mills, John MatrixA policeman with relationship issues e.g. Die Hard

Stock characters


Rambo, Bryan Mills, John MatrixA policeman with relationship issues e.g. Die HardDamsel in distress –female characters constantly

caught up in difficult situations e.g. Willie in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Stock settings

Stock settings

A common setting for an action film is to be set in a city in suburban areas it is rare that you see action films in a countryside setting.

Stock settings

A common setting for an action film is to be set in a city in suburban areas it is rare that you see action films in a countryside setting.

Action films also have a very ‘black and white’ style of scenery. Characters are mostly seen as rich or poor

Stock settings

• The Raid 2 (2014) is an example of a film that is set in rich or poor settings. A big theme of the film is corruption. The villains are the rich ones with power while the main character Rama comes from a poor background.

Styles of presentationand Iconography

Common iconography used in actions include:ExplosionsGunsFist fightsStrong languageChase scenes Set in the modern day

Conventions we used

One convention we used was an establishing shot in the opening to show where the action will take place. The image on the left is taken from The Dark Knight (2008).

Conventions we used

One convention we used was an establishing shot in the opening to show where the action will take place. The image on the left is taken from The Dark Knight (2008).

Our establishing shot is a pan from left to right showing Walton on Thames at night which was the main setting for Wraith. The smooth camera movements from the Dark Knight influenced us to do this and many other action films have used this technique e.g. Transformers 3 (2011), Drive (2011) and Collateral (2004).

Conventions we used

This chase sequence from Casino Royale (2006) uses fast paced editing to emphasise the intensity of the entire chase sequence and we wanted to replicate that in Wraith, again this is a common convention used in action films.

Conventions we used

Our chase scene has quick cuts of our characters running from a train station to stairs, with the music in the background it gives an intense atmosphere during the sequence.

Conventions we used

In that same scene we used a variety of camera angles and movements to give the scene a sense of fast pace and the quick cuts between each take replicate that. The shot on the left starts off stationary but follows the main character when he is chasing the villain down the stairs. The shot on the right is a stationary high angle shot of the stairs.

Conventions we developed

A convention we developed was our character. We thought it would be different to have the main protagonist (Steven) seen in different time zones.


A convention we developed was our character. We thought it would be different to have the main protagonist (Steven) seen in different time zones.

The image above shows the first time Steven is shown to the audience. The next time we see him is set a few years after the events of the first half of the two minutes. To make it look as though our character has aged, our actor changed his hairstyle and wore different clothes to make it look he has aged since the first half of the film.


A convention we developed was the music in the cemetery scene. Since this moment is meant to be atmospheric we used ambient noise and diegetic sound that the microphone recorded from the exterior location such as birds chirping. We found our music online and we decided as a group what noises and music would work best in each scene.

Conventions we challenged

A convention that we challenged was that we decided to have a female villain. This makes the film more interesting because it challenges the traditional male villain which is reoccurring in action films. A villain that influenced ours was Ma Ma from Dredd (2012). Her characteristics include evil, little regard for human life and ruthlessness.


A convention that we challenged was that we decided to have a female villain. This makes the film more interesting because it challenges the traditional male villain which is reoccurring in action films. A villain that influenced ours was Ma Ma from Dredd (2012). Her characteristics include evil, little regard for human life and ruthlessness.

Our villain Meea is similar because she kills Steven’s parents which leaves his character rock bottom and that drives him to get revenge for what she did. It also shows that she is in more power over him, this represents the idea of women having more power and authority over men rather than the other way around.


I think the most unique part about our film is that there is no dialogue spoken from the mouth. The final shot of the film is Steven giving a monologue. This technique is not used very much in action but rather in films and TV series that are very character orientated. As the screenwriter I thought it would be good to add a monologue instead of actual speech because it allows more effective character development


I think the most unique part about our film is that there is no dialogue spoken from the mouth. The final shot of the film is Steven giving a monologue. This technique is not used very much in action but rather in films and TV series that are very character orientated. As the screenwriter I thought it would be good to add a monologue instead of actual speech because it allows more effective character development

The character Dexter Morgan from the TV seriesDexter (2006-2013) was a big influence to do a monologue because the show is solely based around him and his thoughts which is done through monologues and that really makes his character unique because of that.

question 1

Education