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

1. QUESTION 1.
IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL
MEDIA PRODUCTS?

2. INTRODUCTION-
 During my research I learnt about the typical codes and conventions of thriller films. To understand
these codes and conventions of thrillers I analysed some thriller openings and looked into the sub-genre
of the thriller genre. I also looked at some famous directors of thriller films like Alfred Hitchcock and
Christopher Nolan. I learnt from analysing these two that they have their own techniques which causes
tension and conveys suspense.

3. SOUND-
 The research taught us that tension can be built in so many different
ways. A big way to build tension is with the use of sound. The thriller
Psycho is hugely famous for its shower scene and the way director
Alfred Hitchcock used music and sound to build the tension. In my
thriller opening I used sudden sounds to create suspense and tension. I
also used blank spaces with no sound to create pauses. This draws the
target audience in and creates the ultimate amount of suspense and
build up. The use of it being in a wood as well reinforces the tension as
a wood is a dark, gloomy place. The obvious sounds that builds tension
is the eerie sound scape that stops and starts throughout the thriller, as
well as the emphasised heartbeat and heavy breathing. By emphasising
these sounds we are making the audience more aware of the of the
state of shock and panic the 'witness' is in. I decided that I wanted to
enhance the sounds outside of the house more than in side the house
because that’s where the crime happens and where the climax of the
storyline is. By having spooky, sudden sounds, as a typical convention
of a thriller opening, the increasing storyline was more obvious. Se7en,
Inception and The Third Man are all films that use typical sounds to
build up tension and follow the storyline onwards.

4. LIGHTING-
 Lighting is another conventional element of thriller films and
through my research I found out that most thriller have dark
lighting especially films such as Se7en, Hanna and Psycho.
 Therefore, I used dark lighting in my thriller opening at the
beginning to create tension from the very start to keep the
audience on edge. I decided to use chiaroscuro lighting on
some of the scenes to create mystery around the killer. We
developed this approach by having extreme close up shots of
the 'killers' facial features, eyes, mouth, jawline. We did this to
build tension and to highlight to the audience that there is
something significant about this character and how he is
reacting. By creating mystery around the character is typical of
thriller film conventions, as not knowing build tension. This can
be seen in Memento which has a number of mysterious
character which leaves the audience unsure of what is going to
happen next.

5. MISE EN SCENE- COSTUME AND PROPS-
 I dressed the victim in normal clothing which embraced the fact that shew wasn’t expecting anything to
happen and for all she knew it was a normal day until she saw the paper on the floor with a photo of her.
 I dressed the killer in a black cape which is a typical convention of a thriller film. This helped keep her
identity quite hidden but obvious enough to know that it was the same person as the victim which is
then trippy and plays on the audiences mind. This would be enigmatic and suspenseful for the audience.
 The overall clothing of the characters fits in with the location and also thriller convention.
MISE EN SCENE- LOCATION-
 I used a normal, not too run down estate and house to film my thriller opening in. This reflected upon
my target audience type and the lower class.

6. CHARACTER-
 I think that I have been very typical through the
use of an innocent young girl running as the victim
as this makes the audience feel sorry for her and
keeps them on edge however I have challenged
typical thriller conventions and used the same
young girl as the killer. This then makes the
audience think about what is going on and if they
are the same person, twins, sisters, in each others
minds or what. Through my research I couldn't find
any thriller films which link to this idea of the same
person as the killer and victim or even just having
a female as the killer.

7. EDITING-
 I noticed in most thriller films a key convention is fast paced
editing, to keep the suspense at a high level. However I have
decided to challenge this convention and use a mix of fast
pace and slow pace editing in our thriller. The slow pace
editing is when she drops the newspaper and runs off. The
newspaper bounces in front of the camera and this enhances
the fact that her photo was found randomly on the ground
and that she is scared of what might happen. This is
reinforced by her running away from it. It also allows me to
control the tension and way the audience feel and react. By
challenging the common convention my thriller stands out
from other thriller film, this can be beneficial as it could gain
the film more recognition.

8. NARRATIVE-
 Finally thriller films using start with an equilibrium and follow with the three act structure. However many
have recently challenged this method of a thriller to be unique and different. I took inspiration from the
structure and brought it into my thriller opening to make it not only traditional but this way I would be
assured that my target audience would like it.