1. EVALUATION TASK 1
IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP
OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA
PRODUCTS?
2. INTRODUCTION
Our media product that we made is an espionage thriller. Films
that we can compare it to, based on genre, are salt, released 18th
august 2010 in the UK. starring Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber,
Chiwetel Ejiofor. Directed by Phillip Noyce. We can also compare
our thriller to Derren Brown’s Russian Roulette stunt. This
episode was released in September 2003, starring Derren brown.
directed by Stefan Stuckert and Tony Gregory. We found a music
video that we can compare our thriller to, which is Rihanna's’
music video of Russian Roulette. This was released in October
2009, starring Rihanna and Jesse Williams. Directed by Anthony
Mandler.
4. PLOTLINE
PERCEIVED AS INNOCENT
The plot line of our opening sequence
is about a female spy being trained by
a male spy. She has to decode his voice
and listen for changes in his voice
when saying the numbers 1-6, in order
to find out what chamber the bullet is
in, in the gun.
SALT
Evelyn salt is a CIA agent and highly respected by all,
including her boss, ted winter. Out of the blue, a
Russian spy walks into their offices and offers a vital
piece of information: the president of Russia will be
assassinated during his forthcoming visit to New
York City to attend the funeral of the recently
deceased U.S. vice president. The name of the
assassin: Evelyn Salt. Concerned about the safety of
her husband, who she cannot contact, she goes on
the run. Winter refuses to accept that she is a mole
or a double agent but her actions begin to raise
doubts. Just who is Evelyn Salt and what is she
planning?
This was taken from their IMDb page.
5. CHARACTER
Our female actress in this film is the protagonist. She has blonde
hair. As shown by the image adjacent. Our actress and Angelina
Jolie have very similar facial features. The blonde hair gives the
stereotypical female character. However, they are both to be
shown as countertypes in each case of these thrillers.
Angelina Jolie is the main female spy in this film. She starts the
film with blonde hair, the same as our female actress. But during
the film, she dyes her hair black.
For the majority of Salt, the protagonist is dressed in all black.
This portrays her seriousness, the connotations with black are
death therefore highlighting the danger in her profession. In our
thriller, our protagonist is also in all black. We chose all black
because black tends to be a colour for spies to wear, as it is
mysterious and dark. In the same way, she then kills our male
actor, therefore making death a theme, which links to her attire.
As both the protagonists are blonde and attractive, it makes the
audience think stereotypically that they will be dumb. However,
throughout our thriller and Salt, the protagonists are both sassy
and clever. Representing a countertype of blonde females.
6. ACTION AND CAMERA
Both protagonists act in the same way. In the
images shown, both females are pointing a gun at
someone.
In this scene both females are holding a gun
against someone. the only difference is the
method of filming. Our thriller uses a hand held to
film this part. Whereas salt uses a static, tripod
held mid shot. Both are equally effective in
building tension as they both focus on different
parts. In ours, the hand held focuses on the twist
of the gun against the man. In Salt, the mid shot is
7. TITLE FONT
The title sequences of our thriller and Salt are very different. Ours
has a plain black background, the font we used is called Adobe
Arabic, size regular in white. We did this so that it would stand out.
Salt uses Morris Sans, the title fades in from the scene on before
hand, having the scene put into the words ‘SALT’ as shown above.
With it also in white in the middle of the screen. Same as ours. I
think both titles are very effective, as mine keeps the tension, as it
is bold and stands out. And Salt is effective as it carries on the end
of the scene instead of just cutting it off.
8. SETTING
The setting in these two scenes are very similar. In
Salt , it is an interrogation room, with a table, two
chairs, and the one way windows. In Perceived as
Innocent, it is a desk and two chairs. Both set designs
carry the purpose of creating tension throughout the
scenes. In Salt, the tension is between the two
characters and the information that she is trying to
get out of the man. In our thriller, the tension is also
between the two characters, except the male
character is training the female character. Salt’s
setting clearly shows an interrogation room at a well
established trained forces building as shown by the
windows. Whereas, Perceived as Innocent, has black
frames around it, this therefore shows that it would
be in a top secret training facility instead. Both sets
used are very effective, as they both build tension in
different ways.
10. PLOTLINE
PERCEIVED AS INNOCENT
The plot line of our opening sequence
is about a female spy being trained by
a male spy. She has to decode his voice
and listen for changes in his voice
when saying the numbers 1-6, in order
to find out what chamber the bullet is
in, in the gun.
DERREN BROWN RUSSIAN
ROULETTE STUNT
In this episode of Derren Browns tv
series, he is playing a take on Russian
Roulette with a member of the public. He
gets the man to place a live round into a
chamber of the gun, and place a shield
onto the gun, so that the numbered
chambers cannot be seen, and you
cannot see where the bullet has been
place. Derren then asks him to count
from 1-6. Derren then has to decide,
based on how the man speaks, which
chamber the bullet is in.
11. CHARACTER
In looks, these two characters are clearly quite
different, as one is female and one is male. They
both have blonde hair. She represents a
countertype for a blonde female. As Derren Brown
is male, he represents a stereotype as he is clever.
Their costumes are also different, as Derren Brown
is in a suit, and our female actress is in a top and
leggings. Although, they are both dressed in all
black to convey seriousness, as what they are
doing is very dangerous.
However, they have the same behaviour. They both
work on the psychology and manipulation of the
mind, and are equally clever and quick in these
situations. Their actions to do with the gun are
also the same. As they are both confident in what
they are doing.
12. ACTION AND CAMERA
In this part of both of the scenes, the male character in our thriller and the member
of the public in Derren Brown’s are both placing the bullet in the gun, under the
table so that the other two cannot see where the bullet is. There is not a clear photo
of this section in our thriller, but the action is the same in the tv series. Both shots
used are over the shoulder. Except ours shows the trainees face, and Derren
Brown’s shows the member of the public (the one placing the bullet into the gun). I
feel that Derren Brown’s sequence was probably more effective, as you are actually
able to see that the gun is fully hidden, whereas in ours, we just have to believe
that it is all secretive instead.
13. TITLE FONT
After watching the video on YouTube of Derren Brown’s Russian Roulette
stunt, there is no title sequence shown. However, this is effective as it keeps
the audiences attention of the mystery that is this stunt. Also, the title is
obvious of what the name of the episode would be called. In perceived as
innocent, we had to use a name title, because it is a film, and the name is
not clear through the scripting and action on screen. Both are equally
effective as both convey something different. Derren Brown’s non existent
title sequence conveys the continued mystery of his stunt and Perceived as
Innocent’s title sequence continues the suspense of the opening sequence,
and can suggest what the rest of the film would be about.
14. SETTING
The set is the same in these two. Our thriller uses
two chairs and a table, so does Derren Brown’s for
the main focus of the set. The only main difference
is that in his there is a glass wall, and another chair
behind it for the member of the public, with a sand
bag for Derren to shoot at. Ours uses a plain black
background around it, creating a dark and
mysterious atmosphere. Derren Brown’s uses an old
building, with brick walls and windows. This gives a
sense of openness about what is happening, and it
creates a softer atmosphere and environment than
our thriller has. For this, I think that our thrillers set
design was more effective for the purpose of
tension build, as all black connotes mystery.
16. PLOTLINE
PERCEIVED AS INNOCENT
The plot line of our opening sequence
is about a female spy being trained by
a male spy. She has to decode his voice
and listen for changes in his voice
when saying the numbers 1-6, in order
to find out what chamber the bullet is
in, in the gun.
RUSSIAN ROULETTE -
RIHANNA
This is a music video by Rihanna. The music video opens with shots
of Rihanna hooded, lying on the floor of a gas chamber. Three
men, dressed in black uniforms and wearing dark round glasses
circulate around the singer, attempting to extort information from
her. The scene then moves to a dimly lit room in which Rihanna sits
at a table with her love interest opposite. On the table between
them lies a silver revolver in which, throughout the video, they take
it turns holding to their heads. Other scenes include Rihanna in a
woodland at night standing in the middle of a highway before a car
speeds towards her, quickly cutting to another scene, giving the
impression she is run over. Elements of blood and tears and
vehicular assault dominate the video. In the final scenes, Rihanna is
shown underwater, floating whilst being fired at; one bullet is
visually seen cutting her throat. The video ends with her lover
apparently committing suicide with the revolver placed between
them.
This was taken from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/russian_roulette_(song)#background
17. CHARACTER
In these two media products, both girls are very
attractive with a brown smokey eye for eyeshadow,
and neutral lips. Their colour palette for their
costume is the same as it is all black in this section
of the sequences. However, Rihanna wears a more
complex outfit. This is probably to make her stand
out more as being the focus of the video, whereas
our female character is dressed to blend in and be
subtle as she is a spy and Rihanna is not.
Their behaviour is also different as our protagonist
is calm and composed about her training and what
she has to do. Whereas, in Rihanna’s music video,
she is nervous and worried about the bad that could
actually happen in this situation.
18. ACTION AND CAMERA
In this section for each of the sequences, the men in the shot are both
holding the guns, they have control over it. This shows a stereotypical
man having dominance in a dangerous situation. To show tension, we
have used a different type of shot to the music video. We used an over the
shoulder shot of our male actor holding the gun to show the expression
on the female actress’ face. In the music video, they have used a wide
shot. This could be to show that they are together in this and are not
isolated from each other. I feel that both shots used are very effective as
19. TITLE FONT
Rihanna's Russian Roulette does not have a title
sequence during the music video. Whereas Perceived as
Innocent does. We used a title to show the name of the
film. The music video did not need a title as it would
have been shown on the charts and introduced by the
DJ and would also have the title already known as it is
by a popular artist. Both are very effective, as the title
adds more suspense to our thriller as it makes the
audience question what the rest of the film would be
about. And the music video is also effective because
there is no title so it does not take any focus away from
the meaning of the music.
20. SETTING
The setting in both of these media products are
the same. They both include two chairs and a table
between the tow chairs. The rooms are dimly lit,
and are dark. In Perceived as Innocent, there is a
black background which gives the video more of a
mysterious, serious tone. Whereas Russian
Roulette uses a green which gives the setting a
gloomy tone. Both uses of set are equally effective
as they both represent a tense situation. I think
that the set for our thriller is more effective in
terms of having the storyline being able to be
carried on. And Russian Roulette is more effective
in terms of having an intimate storyline.
