Evaluation Question 1

Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?


I spent a lot of time analysing thriller openings and picking out the key conventions used in them. I tried to use many of these in my film opening to make it look like a realistic media product. I called my film 'Hunted' because I thought that it sounded dramatic and it got straight to the point. This title gives insight into what the film might involve but doesn't completely give away the narrative to the audience which I believe is good. I took the idea for my title from the thriller film 'Taken'. Taken was a very successful film and I think the title is effective as it is short and snappy and also dramatic as it gives insight into the narrative but it doesn't give very much away so the audience want to watch and find out more about the film.

The location I used for my film is conventional of the thriller genre. The thriller genre often involves quiet and eerie locations with not many people around. This adds more suspense to the film as the audience know that something could happen to the victim and there would be nobody around to help them. I used the quiet countryside location of a field for my film opening. I think this worked well as it made the victim seem more alone and vulnerable. They seemed more at risk from the antagonist because of the lack of people around. Many thriller films choose to use locations like this because they know the audience will instantly be nervous when they see the victim in these locations. A thriller film set in a similar location to mine is 'The Fields'. It is set in a quiet/eerie field and although the narrative is very different, the location still adds the same effect to the film and automatically makes the atmosphere more tense. My second location is a quiet country road that the field leads on to. This location has the same effect as it still makes the victim seem alone and at risk. Quiet roads or alleyways are used lots in thriller films as they are prime locations for antagonists to look for victims. The antagonist can go unseen and hide waiting until the right time to capture their victim. I think I picked the correct location to film in as it added to the mood I wanted my film to create. Although, the field I filmed in was very green and I happened to film on a sunny day therefore it may have looked a bit too happy or peaceful. This is unconventional of the thriller genre as usually it would be filmed in a brown looking field with dead grass in a cloudy or rainy day to add to the suspense even further.

I kept my use of costume and props very basic. My victim was dressed in a casual outfit of jeans, a coat and boots. I think this outfit connotes the thriller genre well as the victims in thriller films are often teenage girls. My character is dressed how a stereotypical teenage girl would dress and I think this works well as it emphasises that my character is just an ordinary girl walking home. The female victim from thriller film 'The Call' is dressed in a very similar way to mine. She is wearing jeans and a t shirt which shows she is dressed casually. My antagonist is wearing a hoodie. The costume used for antagonists in thriller films often involves them wearing a hoodie. Hoodies are often associated with gangs and crime etc because the media portrays them in this way. Hoodies represent danger and are seen as threatening because they often slightly cover peoples faces which adds the element of mystery and worries people. The only prop I used in my film is the victims handbag, I used this because it's a stereotypical prop used in thriller films as it is often carried by the victim who is often conventionally a teenage girl. Other thriller films would have probably used more props so my film challenges the conventions in this way. However I only filmed an opening so I couldn't use too many props without it looking unrealistic and staged.

Most if not all successful films use a range of advanced shots/editing to make their films a higher quality. I tried to use a range of different shots and angles in my film to make it more interesting and to show things from different points of view. I think I used my point of view shots well when I wanted to see something through the characters eyes. Point of view shots are often used in thriller films because it enables the audience to see something from the characters perspective and sometimes allows the audience to connect with the characters more. I tried to use a range of different shots and lengths but I don't think I used as many as thriller film openings would conventionally use. In my editing I used very basic transitions and most of the time I just cut the shots together. The cut transition is conventionally used as it allows a dramatic change from one shot to the next and this emphasises the tension the film is trying to make the audience feel. However I believe that the editing used in other thriller films would be much more advanced and smooth than mine as it would be done by professionals with hi-tech equipment and they would want to make the film as advanced but appropriate as possible.

The titles that I used are massively conventional of the thriller genre. I used the typewriter effect for my titles and they appeared in the bottom left hand corner of the screen. The typewriter effect is conventional of the thriller genre as it has connotations of a police narrative and many thriller films involve policemen/agents. My title font is similar to the font used for the titles in the thriller film 'Gone Baby Gone'. These titles are placed over the shots and appear at the bottom of the screen. These are a white colour like mine and are quite simple but effective. I think that my titles definitely used conventions of the thriller genre. However I don't think I used as many different titles as a stereotypical film would use in its opening and I think if I'd have used a few more, it would have been more realistic.

My opening starts off slow then there is a build up in tension and more and more happens until the climax at the end when the victim is dragged into the car and kidnapped. The slow and gradual increase in build up supports the conventional style that thriller film openings follow. They start by setting the scene and then the suspense builds further and further until the main climax happens. My film sets up my narrative by showing that the victim is being followed from the very beginning. From the start of the clip you know that the antagonist is a threat and you immediately see that the victim is vulnerable. This helps set up the narrative as the audience know something is going to happen to the victim and it will probably be the fault of the antagonist, but they are unaware of what will happen so it doesn't give all of the plot away and it still leaves an element of mystery and tension. When the victim gets taken at the end the audience know that the narrative will involve trying to stop the antagonist and/or trying to rescue the victim. Thriller films often set up the story line from quite early into the film, however they don't give too much away or it would ruin it for the audience and they would get bored. The key thing every film tries to do in it's opening is to grip the audience and give them a sense of the narrative, however still leave room for guessing/twists in the plot or the audience will find the film too predictable. I think my opening does this fairly successfully.

My opening suggests that the genre of my film is a thriller genre, because what thriller films aim to do is make the audience feel tense and keep them on the edge of their seat. My film is tense and the tension increases as the opening continues. However the audience know my film is not a horror film because there is no blood/gore or actual violence included. All of these are conventions of the horror genre so the fact they aren't included indicates immediately to the audience that the film isn't of the horror genre. The thriller genre relies on the use of suspense and my opening certainly includes a build up of suspense. Conventional thriller narratives often involve kidnappings during their openings as this sets up the narrative for the rest of the film. My film includes a kidnapping but not a brutal/violent kidnapping so the audience are able to tell that my film is a thriller film.

My female character is introduced first. She is introduced casually and seen to be minding her own business walking through a field. My antagonist is introduced in an eerie way. The shot used to show him has a blurred effect on it which shows  the character to be mysterious as you can't see his face properly and can only see an outline of him. He is shown to be walking behind and following the victim and she keeps turning over her shoulder to check behind her as she is nervous and scared. I think showing the antagonist to be following the victim is effective as it immediately indicates at what the narrative might be and shows that the victim is vulnerable.

My thriller film challenges the conventions of film openings as many of these will use special effects from the very beginning to create an atmosphere. These may include explosions etc to build excitement in the audience and to immediately make them want to watch on. However the film genre that will be more likely to use special effects is action-adventure as often these effects add to or link with their narrative. Thriller films don't always use special effects as many of these would ruin the mood they were trying to create. I used no special effects in my film therefore it backs up the conventions of the thriller genre however not the conventions of film openings in all genres.