Question One by Maria Beardall

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

- the main task, your short film

take into consideration short films are inventive and have some of the most unconventional work found, therefore make that a point to discuss, yet comment on common features and evaluate own work

I understand that short films differ from large production films - ones that follow typical generic conventions to please large audiences for a higher revenue and to please audiences as a whole as they can expect the genre to follow conventions they have similarly seen before, and will have back knowledge to know they will enjoy their choice of film based on this apprehension. However, short films flounder from these conventions sometimes, due to the pre known fact that the market will be on a much smaller scale as the marketing isn't as large as big Hollywood films can stretch to; which in turn also suggests that they differ from conventions also as they appeal to more audiences who sought after these smaller films, which means although they are limited, they can be more creative and unusual (in a consumer's mind) - yet this makes them more original, yet unexpected, which suggests the conventions aren't always as conventional as expected.

Our short film, One Year, shares generic conventions in terms of issues and concepts, but also differs from conventions slightly - there is a 90/10 tug at the conventions. Some common features we shared with other films were the conventions of the genre - social realism and psychological. Social realism deals with real life situations that can affect anyone, and are very tough and 'gritty'. They are usually hard hitting, serious and include situations which expose the not so perfect side of life. We related to this genre by exposing the grief, illusion, and portraying the psychological state of the main character, Amy, and we did this by using narrative and ending on a climax/disruption (which had always been there) rather than a resolution, and we have a restricted narration - the audience don't know everything.

We displayed her mind through our film right until the end, which fooled the audience into believing that her sister was still alive - a clever way to differentiate the narrative from its 'true' origin and have a shocking, emotional ending that can be empathetic for the audience as they grow to know the relationship of the two sisters and how close it was. The psychological film genre therefore ties in with this as the film expresses sneakily the unstable mind of the main character - the large deception of the narrative to the audience.

In this way we follow the conventions of the genre and narrative theories, yet twist them slightly to be a little more unconventional as a film narrative - as we end our film on a cliff hanger, with no proper resolution for the main character, which creates a vast amount of enigma which can be unsettling as it isn't resolved. We also differ from stereotypes in the meantime, not just from explicitly dealing with mental health issues, but also having two females as the main characters - and as victims, with no hero or villain. This differs from the major film industry, but can be more accepted in short films as they are known to be more unconventional.

Therefore I believe our media product uses, develops and challenges forms and conventions of real media products by taking on similar works of the genre but also in its own style we created, and rightly so more acceptable and differing.

We took some of our inspiration from The Sixth Sense's narrative, yet established our short film to be unique in its own right by only taking on some factors of that storyline, and we developed it further as we also wanted the ending to have a narrative twist, such as have seen in works such as the Doctor Who fan made videos. This combination of features have influenced our film as a whole, yet from this we made decisions that worked more in our favour, of what we liked, what we could manage to do and what flowed well as a film altogether.

We added in smaller touches of our own, and only used the concepts that the audience may have seen previously before our product or could relate to that would make it easier to understand and clearer to follow as a piece.

I feel like our short film is inventive and can be seen as unique as the narrative is very different and hasn't been combined with having the two genres as a hybrid (which we have done so by mixing genres) many times before, therefore it can be seen as a challenging piece, contrary to other products as its new - we wanted a story that could break taboos, have a strong moral and manipulate the audience to see a new point of view and be more empathetic to mental illnesses, and perhaps open their eyes to the issues that are becoming more current and spoken about in this day and age. The piece is very emotive as a dramatic, psychological social realism film.

These features of issues, concepts and narrative join together to create a solid piece that has been touched on before, but mot quite in the way we've approached it - we have combined it's similarities with uniqueness to make it have a watchable factor as it's relatable, fresh and easy to understand, and holds a shock at the end. It sees our product develop past media products, which it regurgitates to mould a narrative for it's own purpose, genre and audience. The boundaries are tested as it breaks typical film conventions and plays with them in a new and current way, which makes it an unconventional short film product - which short film fanatics will enjoy immensely, but also holds a basis of generic conventions that are typical to still entice a larger audience as it mixes a new take with an old through these conventions.

- short films you have watched

what are typical features of short films? doesn't have to be original work. consider camerawork, sound, mise en scene, editing/post production, use of genre conventions, narrative organisation and the short film format, characterisation and themes and issue.

Short Film One:

 Night Night Nancy

MEDIA LANGUAGE:

the angled shots represent the characters according to vulnerability and power, the female character has lower angles to show she has no power, and also is at strange angles to show how odd the situation is

there are horror related props such as knifes, which is a convention of the genre

the tracking shots switch a lot, and this adds faster cuts to create tension

it has been cleverly edited to have text come on the screen, very innovative

darkened mise en scene sets the tone as mysterious and adds tension and a sense of danger

sounds (foleys) are phone notifications and breathing, add intensity

AUDIENCE:

audience hooked through technological factor, appeals more to younger audience as adds texting as main form of speech - takes away dialogue

seamlessly has phones throughout; relatable for audience

15-24 year olds would watch this, 40/60 split on gender to females

seems more horrifying which makes it realistic

uses mobiles as unique twist to grab demographic and keep their attention

NARRATIVE:

blocking shots give the audience more information than the character knows for some moments, heightens on edge feeling, unrestricted narrative

conventions such as shortening in distance leads audience to believe probable outcome, then switches

can link through phone use and ringing that the new character at the end is the boyfriend, shock factor but satisfaction as intelligent audience can make link  - narrative is revealed, cliff hanger

THEORIES:

restricted - it's a subjective narrative, meaning the audience can't see fully what is happening; the audience know as much as the main female narratively, and when she discovers who she is texting the audience also do, which creates a shock factor and twist

(Todorov) linear - it runs in chronological order of events

(Todorov) equilibrium, disruption - it has selective narrative features; the film ends on a cliff hanger, yet there is a high certainty she will die, yet through the narrative there can be seen to be a equilibrium as she messages her boyfriend when she wakes up and is unaware anything is wrong, disruption as she knows someone is in her apartment, and the twist is there is a larger disruption as the person she has been messaging is severely hurt and closer to her than imagined - and looks crazed to kill her

(Barthes) enigma codes - the element of mystery and interest; the dark apartment and no use of sound (which is instead instilled through text messages shown on screen), and also the blind spot as she hides in the cupboard creates an on edge excitement and tension to find out what will happen, which is seen very highly in the last shot as it is revealed she is occupying the cupboard with someone who she thought to be safe 

(Propp) victim - the main character is a victim and the protagonist is also part of the antagonists group; the main character is unusually a female, and the indicated protagonist who is absent for most of the film (which is seen as very odd and not protective, very unconventional to the role), and the antagonist is much more dangerous than thought previously as he is accompanied

Short Film Two:

The Worst Anniversary EVER

notes here:

EDIT, ADD MORE

MEDIA LANGUAGE:

mise en scene such as candles, fairy lights, wine and flowers show conventions of a happy romantic film, these conventions used to mislead audience to a rom com; the situation of a dinner and anniversary adds to that

the argument falsely advertises the disequilibrium mentioned in the title

shots after argument switch to darkened mise en scene, and then the scary and looming old building seen, gradient of film colour diminishes quickly

the dream sequence seems haunting with church and music, and symbolises haunted in day to day life by paranoia of this man, see in long shots to close ups - drastic, makes it very dramatic and over done to emphasis of point

cuts to black infers ellipsis, clearly seen this way

desaturated colouring, blue tone signals real (not misleading) disequilibrium of her being kidnapped in genre change, previously warm tones when original genre, clearly shows when true genre changes - tone change

TV shot in empty bedroom tells audience long period she has been kidnapped for, and that panic has become serious enough to alert general public, makes serious and tension rises

mask and dark clothing makes male antagonist seem evil, and head tilt in parallel shots link him to other man, assumedly they are the same

female in lighter clothes to connote innocence - she is the victim

facial expressions and body language changes drastically over period of film, from upbeat and happy to slow and defeated - matches gradient of lighting, development in plot suggests much more serious from this

music begins on screen and is diegetic, then turns to non diegetic soundtrack which is much less happier and conforms to thriller genres - mood and tone change

REPRESENTATION:

high angles for female to show she is powerless and weak, fulfilling her role as a damsel in distress

low angles for male to show he is powerful and strong, fulfilling his role as a protagonist

both couple started on equal angles however

other, lesser seen man is seen as creepy from facial expressions, lack of life in him, has no dialogue and also has only close ups of his face the majority of the time, his body language is slow and unhuman - therefore seems less human like

characteristics of fun loving male change as his out going persona is firstly seen playfully as leaves frame then joins it again, yet takes it too far after he says 'I knew it', and reveals he was the kidnapper the whole time - the genre change portrays him in an unexpected, new light yet his unawareness still makes him innocent, twist of character portrayal

NARRATIVE:

the narrative starts off with the conventions being clearly seen as a romantic film, audience just observe, roses, candles, dinner all builds up that the film is a rom com, yet this is misleading

switches to sticking with the female - she is the main character, and audience know as much as her though dream sequences and flashback thought patterns revealing the film is restricted through her, very POV to the female, hints at genre change when with her alone

film leads audience to believe the lesser seen, creepy man is responsible for the kidnapping, yet plot twist states that the boyfriend is - audience made to believe through paranoia seen by female in dream and concern of man, and how the TV sequence shows the boyfriend act innocent and detached from the drama directly - this deceptive narrative leads audience to believe through restricted points seen by audience to confuse them

genre twist fully dissolves into second thriller genre after she is kidnapped, and the mise en scene has changed from cosy homes to dark castles and the lighting has gone from warm to dark, and the music has changed from light and casual to eerie and mysterious - changes tone and narrative immediately

THEORIES:
restricted - it's a subjective narrative, meaning the audience can't see fully what is happening, as the genre is a hybrid in the sense that it accommodates two conventions of film genres, the film is misleading as it is restrictive and makes the audience believe it is the start of a rom com

(Todorov) linear - it runs in chronological order of events

(Todorov) equilibrium, disruption and confrontation - it has selective narrative features; it starts with a happy and relaxed mood and tone as they enjoy their date, and progresses to the disruption being instigated with the worry of the smaller role of a man who seems strange (emphasised for effect in the female character's dream), and reaches a pinnacle point when she is kidnapped, and a confrontation is reached when the mask is removed and reveals its the boyfriend with an eccentric prank - a twist of the genre and conventions to show what the female saw

(Barthes) enigma codes - the element of mystery and interest; the castle as a hostage locations is enigmatic as it is typical to have an extravagant setting for a thriller film, as well as have dark lighting to make it more mysterious, as well as having the kidnapper masked to add curiosity and intrigue the audience with enigma

(Propp) victim - the main characters are the couple; more so the female, who is the victim, the male (her date) is the protagonist - yet actually also the antagonist after the plot twist, and the man in her dreams is the assumed antagonist

- your own short film

apply same process to own short film, identify similarities and differences between own and existing short films. refer to theory (narrative and genre) throughout

ANALYSE

In our film, it starts with the two sisters talking - it's very colloquial and casual, and the sisters spread gossip and share advice. The first hint included that the narrative is restricted is that the second sister on the bed asks about gossip that would be well known, yet she doesn't know - this is to show that as she is dead she of course wouldn't know this information.

As they walk to school, the conversation develops and the sisters talk about music. The second sister says she only knows and likes older songs, due to her absence she of course doesn't know any current music, and they continue on.

During both of those conversations, the first sister expresses her hate for school and hints that she has 'bunked' before, and also goes on to say how she doesn't want to go again later on. She says the only person she has 'in the world' is her sister, and this builds on their close relationship.

The first sister suddenly panics and says 'I'm going to be late' - no reference to 'we', as she is alone, yet this is only a subtle hint.

-

It then cuts to the school scene, where she walks in late, is laughed at by her peers, and has to sit alone at the front of the class. She is isolated and whispered about and has things thrown at her - these are clear acts of bullying, and separates her from the rest of her nearby society and is seen as a 'reject'. This makes the audience feel sympathy for her as they see what she faces on a daily basis. There are mid shots of the class whispering to emphasise this, and later the class 'play' with her as they don't let her leave and swear at her. This works as it increases and builds up the bullying - it is humorous to the class, yet as the audience have a hindsight she doesn't like the class as previously mentioned, the audience feel sorry for her.

She calls her sister after class, and it goes to voicemail, which is important as of course the sister can't answer her phone as she is just a figment of her younger sister's imagination, which is another hint of reality seeping through.

-

In the Brighton scene, there is a happy soundtrack, bright establishing shots and happier body language from the sister we saw at school as she is partaking in a typical activity that teenagers do, and everything seems to be resolved or nearing an end, and the two girls are seen laughing, entering the arcade and getting refreshments. The tone then changes again as they sit on the beach and similar topics to before are discussed again, which signals the problem hasn't gone and the character doesn't feel any better. This raises questions in the audiences mind as there doesn't seem to be a resolution - which is usually typical.

-

The scene then cuts, dramatically and quickly, to a dark scene, and there is a slow, downbeat soundtrack playing, and the fun tone of before is completely removed. The scene has turned dramatically - and the audience will be shocked, confused and enigma will be created as they won't be expecting it. There are conventions such as: the location, the flowers, the naturally dark lighting, the windows, the bells chiming and the grave that all create a new tone and atmosphere which seem out of place to the previous setting.

-

The flashback sequence is highly important, and made in the editing stage of production, and this is the explanatory section of the film that isn't chronological, yet it shows the harsh reality of what the sister had been trying to conceal from herself. A voiceover also explains that her sister is 'gone', and the title confirms this is so important as it is the year anniversary of her sister's death.

narrative theories:
restricted - it's a subjective narrative, meaning the audience can't see fully what is happening, the audience only know at the end that the sister isn't real; she is perceived as real before this

(Todorov) linear - it runs in chronological order of events; the events from past situations are used as a coping process in the present day routine of life, therefore it is all current time and in order, however the flashback at the end isn't in order - yet is still appropriate as it reveals the 'truth' of what was in the shots to explain to the audience the narrative reveal

(Todorov) equilibrium, disruption and new equilibrium - it has selective narrative features; seeing the girls together where everything is seemingly fine, to the main character being bullied which is the disruption (however this is false), and then the real disruption of the second main character being dead and a figment of imagination comes through, and the new equilibrium is set with her being alone, facing the reality that her sister is dead

(Barthes) enigma codes - the element of mystery and interest; the ending is shocking and creates a real force of enigma as left on cliff hanger

(Propp) victim - the main character is a victim, the school bullies are the antagonists, but there isn't a protagonist; this was to create a hard hitting, shocking end, which adds a sense of disparity and isolation

genre conventions:

(Altman) iconography/visual codes - represent a certain element of the film; for example the phone and looking at the time suggests the main characters desperation to leave, and the graveyard bells represent the graveyard before it's properly seen which is known by connotations

(Altman) syntactic codes - narrative structure/theme in films; our theme was grief, depression and mental state

similararities and differences:

- film posters you have analysed

identify main conventions of film posters, both content and layout.

ANCHORED SCREEN GRABS PLEASE - NO NEED TO BE ORGINIAL

Short Film Poster One:

2AM

notes here:

• the title is seen as almost the highest piece of text on the poster, and is attention grabbing
• the actors and actresses names are seen at the top of the poster and the simplicity of the text here adds to the emphasis on the titling
• the credits are at the bottom of the page - keeps attention of the whole piece elsewhere
• the website at the bottom
• the image is dark and highly contrasting to the bright title and white lettering, the image follows the retro feel that the neon sign instigates
• the image of the man is particularly interesting as it shows layered and fainter images of the same man in different positions which indicate uncomfortableness

Representation:

- main character is echoed, and this differentiation in body language shows that the character is very deep in thought and connotes the psychological thriller element of this film
- the man changes positions each time in the more faded echoes, which suggests discomfort and also ellipsis
- also creates suspicion to if the character is good or bad, is he in trouble? Or is he debating the consequences of starting trouble?

Audience:

- audience are 18-28 year olds
- middle class, have disposable money
- primarily males
- intrigued and compelled to watch primarily on the enigma factor that is created by the film poster such as from the tag line as 'you never even asked his name'
- the youthful side of that demographic will also be curious as the contrast from the neon lights

Genre:
- red and neon themed poster connotes the danger of the film, and paints it in a menacing light
- the genre of a psychological thriller can be apparent due to the general darkness seen
- the main character also looks on edge which makes the audience feel they should feel tense also
- the poster setting of the café also suggests an on edge feel as that setting is typical to odd situations which adds to the enigma

WHAT SHOWS FOR AUDIENCE:
the main aim for this poster is to keep the title, the quirky genre and theme clear and noticeable - the picture is spacious and very dark which connotes the thriller genre, and the body language of the lone man suggests extremely deep thinking which seems suspicious and links with this, and the main conventions seen are the title and the clear connotations towards the thriller genre as it seems sinister, which conforms with poster conventions and aims to get across to the audience to grab their attention, it shows the audience that the key features of the film are expressed in the poster effectively to capture attention and convey the main elements

Short Film Poster Two:

I, Daniel Blake

notes here:

• the darkest and largest font is seen at the foreground of the poster, which shows the film title in a graffiti style font - it is to show it has been written on a wall, which immediately connotes it is a rougher style film, and has more serious toned issues involved
• the wall downwards up has amass of quotes of the film by different critics, in red, grey and dark grey - to simulate shadowing to the image on the left, which is clever and adds to the realism in something that is of course not
• the directors appear at the top in faint and far spaced words, which stands out as it contrasts to the 'full on' quotes
• the film associations appear at the bottom and details of the film, which I presume are viewed as less important in this case as the reviews speak for the film itself as they captivate and shine the film in a highly praised light
• the image of the main character is seen on the left and is as tall as the poster itself which adds to the portrayal the background is a wall, and makes the main character seem strong, rebellious and courageous due to his size, body language and relation to the title 'I, Daniel Blake' - it makes him seem defiant and connotes the film as inspirational and empowering to the potential audience
  

Representation:

- representation of the main character can be seen through his stance and the setting
- can be seen as lower class, yet resilient and headstrong
- the film shows him battling against the system and being a headstrong, inspiring character who shows the hardships and morals of a relatable, down on his luck person

Audience:

- audience are aged around 35-55 and are lower to middle class, as they would find issues such as money troubles and difficulty in living the most relatable, this would appeal to them as relevant
- hard hitting and sends a message that shows anyone can get through tough times
- for an audience who enjoy social realism and can situate themselves in that situation, more heartwarming

Genre:
- social realism film, seen from the typography, the amount of text, and the colours
- film can be seen as a rough, real and hardship highlighting and moral message in this film, the graffiti type text shows this, as well as the clothes the main character is wearing
- the amount of quotes also make it look very full on and intense with the amount of text there is
- the red also makes it look like its filled with negative issues but also passion and the term 'blood, sweat and tears' comes to mind
- mise en scene is also desaturated to show it has negative issues involved

WHAT SHOWS FOR AUDIENCE:
the main aim is the title and the genre and concept it holds, and the appraisal it's had from critics, as the body language, colouring, placement and typography of the text all contribute to expressing the social realism genre and also to get across key information; which is key features of the poster - in this case the title, genre and reviews, this marks the film in a positive light and this contrasting, effective poster has enough information on it for it to be eye catching and interesting to portray the film in the desired way

- your own film poster

apply same process to own film poster. identify similarities and differences between own and existing posters, refer to theory (narrative and genre) throughout.

this poster has features of:

large title; biggest font on page

billing block - encases credit to the producers, editors, actors etc.

film festival emblems (seal of approval, sign of quality)

short reviews (quotes) from established companies

social media signs to signify can be found online

picture that takes up 100% of frame, shows main characters and setting

this poster has features of:
large title; biggest font on page - same as seen in actual film (establishes link)
billing block - encases credit to the producers, editors, actors etc.
film festival emblems (seal of approval, sign of quality)
short reviews (quotes) from established companies
social media signs to signify can be found online
picture that takes up 100% of frame, shows main characters and setting

We selected two film posters from the four that were created in the group, and they are both seen to have features that are similar in principle to the researched and annotated posters I have looked at previously, yet they aren't completely the same. This is due to the short film genre lacking in certain poster features that a big Hollywood film would otherwise have. This is due to the different establishments of films, as the higher production scale of a Hollywood film permits more features to be available and appropriate to those specific posters.

Our posters don't have star ratings, as it is seen to be inappropriate as it is more of a large scale film poster feature. Our posters have film festival logos whereas large scale production films wouldn't as they don't use that form of advertisement as a main way to get their films circulating, unlike short films who use it as a main way to disperse the product to the audience. Well known, big budget films also have famous actors which can be a main selling point - therefore the actors names are usually one of the second biggest texts on the poster.

Short films tend to focus on making the artwork more appealing or quirky (which follows the line of the unconventional short films) and this tends to establish and intrigue the audience - whereas a big budget film can be well known in it's own right, so that the artwork can be more simplistic and bold. We also didn't use a tagline in our posters as it is deemed a feature for high end, big budget films.

We kept the titling, of course, as it is our main way of branding - and, unlike most big budget film posters, we utilised using film festivals and reviews (and many of them) to convey a 'gleaming' and astounding appraisal of our film -  as it will be recognised as a short film, these reviews and festivals are appropriate as they will be of the correct level to assume a quality over short films.

As the budget is low it wouldn't be appropriate to have large names review or recommend the film as it wouldn't be typical, and therefore wouldn't happen. However, the reviews and logos used assume a high standard and approval from appropriate companies and give the 'stamp of high quality and approval' to our film poster and other short films, and as the audience will see short films through those or similar mediums, and it can be assumed they know about films festivals, and will therefore have knowledge of their prestigious recognition and authority over the short film world and will be directed by them and listen to them.

Short film posters have to work harder, I think personally, due to little other formats of advertisement being in financial reach, and lack other features big budget films can use to their advantage - such as well known actors, franchises to rely on, or well respected film company names and branding that will be assumed to have a product that lives up to the standard of quality - all which short films have can't utilise and therefore express more in their posters in other ways, therefore artwork that can be skilled or quirky is focused on more, and to get the name and genre of the film planted in the audience's mind - very simple and minimalist, but effective as that is the main aim for the poster, as those essential facts can get the film recognised and an audience.

The addition of using the internet as a free device can also help - as long as the logos of current social media is shown, and the internet has the biggest potential market and audience available as it is always being used by the majority of the population, it makes it a convenient way to also get more advertisement if social media is seen on the posters, and can lead to further searches, a following, and this recognition and word of mouth can spread it more, giving it publicity - all from the origin of the poster.

Generic conventions can be seen in the picture in the poster, which can hint the generic conventions and therefore convey to the audience what similarities the film will show and, from previous experiences; if the audience want to watch that film based of what they know. Therefore we used the two pictures - the first a seemingly happy picture of the two main characters smiling, yet one of them faded. This convention makes it clear the fadedness means she is fading from the others life - and hints at death, memory issues etc., all that convey the social realism and psychological hybrid genre.

The second shows a mellow picture of the two main characters, staring out to sea, whilst leaning against each other - it seems calm, sad from the tone of purple and blue in the filtered picture, and again connotes through body language, setting (conventions of the genre) and the edited picture that the film will deal with large issues and concepts to do with the two girls - they seem young, where is their mother? Why are they staring out to sea and not participating in activities stereotypical to young teens? These questions will be in the audiences mind, which creates enigma, and also establishes the social realism and psychological genre. The same can be seen in other posters - guns can represent action, bright fun colours can represent comedy, spaceships can represent sci-fi. This is similar as all posters aim to convey genre and use typical, well known conventions to do so.

A review online by LWL, the same as the paper version

Another review online by LWL, also the same as the paper version

A screenshot from the 'About' section on LWL's website

What is LWL?
Little White Lies is a independent magazine, created by a small company of passionate film reviewers.
Who reads it?
Film fanatics read it, more in the middle class scale - hard core fans read it as its slightly more expensive than the typical magazine, and full of film terms that are for the educated reader.
Identify the conventions of both layout and language in the film reviews of LWL and justify these.
Conventions of the layout: three and a half columns, roughly 550 words, a picture from the film at the top of the page, under the review is a three tiered scale out of five with a small comment after it, title before the review with details of the director, actors and release date included.
To justify this, it includes all the key information that a review should include, and keeps the page visually interesting and uniform to the magazine as a whole.
Conventions of the language: it includes terminology which is of a higher intelligence and the reader will need some form of education to be able to understand the film related terminology. The language usually talks about the director, the actors starring, the narrative, themes and issues it discusses, if it refers or defers from previous films and evaluative comments.
To justify this, the language reflects the magazine as a whole as it is aimed at individuals who are very interested in an advanced look into films, and the language itself discusses intelligent factors that keep the articles relevant yet don't give away the storyline.

Explain how you followed the conventions of LWL - both language and layout.
We followed the conventions of LWL by making an InDesign structured layout that meant we could follow the layout of LWL much more easily, and we also researched previous to this into typical reviews by them and analysed the features they had, that we could then recreate and possess this ourselves. We restricted ourselves only to what LWL have done so we could follow their layout. With regards to the language, we all wrote sections of the article - for mine I used a thesaurus to enable myself to use higher educated words than I would usually use. I was then elected to edit all our work together to make it more eligible as a LWL piece and also so it would make sense all together.