Evaluation Q1

Introduction
1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Having started off slowly but surely our film took a backwards approach being that there were many different ideas and themes brought forward by different members in the group though this problem was tackled through mind maps and film analysis. We made the right choice and started to pull out many different aspects that we liked from the TV series “Lost” to films holding similarity to those building suspense like “Sixth Sense” and those holding the same scenes and settings in the form of a documentary like Bear “Grylls”
We were quick to spot elements we did like such as a vast use of close ups and extreme close ups illustrating the characters fear and sense of security. The use of close ups inspired us to focus on Roses state of mind in attempt to create a similar image and give the viewer the idea that she is lost, in trouble and needs help. Other elements (such as the use of mise-en-scene in the opening scene) we also attempted to replicate. The opening scene in “Lost” uses the surrounding greenery and objects such as trees, twigs and leaves to illustrate the character’s sense of security and again introduce the idea of him being lost. The film sequence uses fast-paced editing and lots of action to keep the audience enticed. After analyzing similar movies such as “Cast Away – Tom Hanks” we decided that this is what we wanted to focus on so we dug deeper and deeper and soon realized that this is what we wanted to choose for our own genre. And we did.



Generally thrillers share many conventions such as a dark environment (often) featuring a main/potential murderer and a target/victim. Some of the common themes of suspense, victim(s) as well as the conventions of the production such as portentous and ominous music and editing of the story create an enigma for the audience, thus keeping them in suspense which was really a very important goal in my movie opening. An example of a TV series that does this is “Lost” and a film, “Shaun of the Dead”. Both films are classic examples and hold back a lot of information until the end so the audience are kept intrigued an on their feet, ultimately more scared. The group generally stuck to these conventions of a thriller by pursuing the classic characters of a victim female and a perverted stalker, as well as using enigmas such as not showing the stalkers face.
The group used iconography similar to that of films and TV dramas analyzed. These included such things as the location; condense woodland and dark dingy scenery featuring little lighting. Another way in which the group represented the theme of a thriller was through stalking which can be seen in similar films such as “Scream”. The group also decided on a form of subtle music which would create an ominous drone effectively foreshadowing evil.
We wanted to be creative so we decided not to focus too much on conventions. For example we used a modern story line featuring clubs, drugs and alcoholic consumption accompanied by a modern song, though we felt this particular song was important in order to continue our particular scene. Our film stuck to the common forms and conventions of horror as reflected by recent stories regarding bodies being found deep in the woods and the common association with woods being scary and questionable.
We followed the opening of “Lost” featuring disruption and ultimately leaving the reader confused and asking questions. As opposed to many films that start off slowly, for instance: “Shaun of the Dead” which doesn’t actually give you an idea of what it is all about until later on in the film.
The group also needed to look at the conventions of an opening sequence in order to put together a film that was accurate in content and production.
Conventions include the following:
• Introduction to the various roles (Snatch)
• Titles (Lock stock and two smoking barrels)
• Music (A wide range of films such as “Life” and “Yellow Brick” )
• Main themes of the film (Minority report)
• Visual reference to the title (Pumpkins in Halloween, Carpenter)
• Sense of danger from the offset (Saw)


We did our best to stick to the majority of these conventions. We introduced the roles assigned along with the titles and music, giving a brief establishing shot allowing the viewer to gain an understanding of the setting and what was to follow. Our film opening allows the viewer to get an idea of what the main themes are and it also provides a visual reference to the opening title where Rose, our actress “blacks out” equally creating a sense of danger.



We also used the classic character role associated with our film, featuring a innocent, stereotypically targeted and weak female that can be portrayed in other films such as “Baby Sitter Wanted”. Our overall style is very eerie featuring a range of camera shots to show Rose’s condition and state of mind. This is often express through a number of close ups reflecting her fear.