AS media studies evaluation questions

1. Evaluation question 1: In what
ways does your media
products use, develop or
challenge forms and
conventions of real media
products?
ADAM RICHARDS

2. Titles
 To begin with, for our titles, we decided to make full effective use of the conventions passed down
throughout the Thriller genre. This is demonstrated with the font that we use for the titles. The font
itself is a very simple, straightforward and bold. This alongside the fact the text is all in white, with the
main title background being dark is a convention which is used greatly in the Thriller genre, as it
demonstrates the sinister and suspenseful themes that are found normally in Thrillers
 and in this case, our opening sequence. Music also plays a factor in the titles with conventions,
however, as a group we agreed challenge the normal conventions. In our opening sequence, the
title slowly appears into the scene towards the end, with no music playing at all. However it is
common to find that the music reaches its loudest as the main titles play at the end. We decided
against this, as we felt the quiet nature would create a much deeper tone of suspense for the
audience, as well as the fact it also fit the of the sequence, in which the antagonists hand grabs
the victim and the scene and music stop completely and fade into black to create mystery

3. Comparison to Thriller
Inception The path of descent

4. Lighting
 Within our product, we make effective use of lighting in order to generate the desired tones dependent on
certain characters and locations. In order to generate this effect, we began to follow the many different
conventions surrounding lighting, whilst also developing them in order to produce the different moods
 To begin with, scenes which demonstrate the antagonist are darkened and colour corrected to create a
depressing and lifeless feel. These tones and emotions are supposed to reflect upon the antagonist,
demonstrating his personality as dark and inhuman, presenting to the audience as out of touch with humanity.
This is a convention of the Thriller genre, as the antagonist is normally given these traits, but the audience will
discover this through the lighting that surrounds him, with darker colours suggesting evil
 However, for the victim, the shots are much brighter but still washed out in colour correction. This is too
demonstrate that the victim is only a young, innocent girl (brighter lighting), but her innocence has been
removed by kidnaping (washed away colours)
 It is conventional to demonstrate the victim being innocent through brighter colours, however it is less
conventional to show that the victim has lost their innocence, showing we challenged convention

5. Comparison to Thriller
The dark night The path of descent

6. Location
 The setting/location aspect was an important one to follow, as it was one in which could really
bring the opening sequence to life by generating more realism. So, it was decided as a group
that we would follow the conventions found within other variations of Thriller films. After analysing
our locations, it was decided as a group that we would use a small building of flats that one of our
group members had access too, as well as a wooded area quite local to those flats. The flats
were chosen to match the conventions, as it is noticeable that Action Thrillers use locations, of
which the audience can recognise, due to the fact the audience is able to relate more with that
location, allowing them to feel a greater connection with the film
 For the woodland area, we wished to use somewhere which the audience would feel the victim is
in a safe location, so a bright woodland area made the suitable area, as it has links to being
tranquil and almost heaven-like. This can be found in many Horror Thrillers in order to create a
false perception that the victim is safe when in reality, they are not

7. Comparison to Thriller
The path of descentLimitless

8. Costume and props
 Many different conventions surrounding costume and props can be discovered throughout the history
of the Thriller genre. For our opening sequence, it is noticeable that we take a hold of these
conventions to help build up the characters and tones without explanation. Two examples of costume
that can be found to use these conventions are the antagonists and the victims. The antagonist wears
all black throughout all of the opening sequence, which is used to not only create a mystery to his
identity, but to also demonstrate their evil, twisted and dark mind, as black has connotations to these
ideas
 The victim on the other hand wears much brighter, stylised clothing which takes action of a white top.
The stylish clothing was chosen in order to demonstrate that they are younger, as these too have links
to each other. The white however drives towards demonstrating the innocence of the victim, of which
young and female are both ideas which link towards innocence
 Moving onto props, one piece of equipment which stands out amongst the others is the knife, wielded
by the antagonist. The item is normally linked to death, murder and violence, which then allows films to
only show the object in order for the audience to have ideas of what themes will occur in the film. It is
common for props such as weapons to be included in Thriller films, as many Thrillers are include themes
of violence. In our piece, we decided to utilise the knife to suggest that violence will occur later in the
film

9. Comparison to Thriller
The path of descentPsycho

10. Story
 For our media piece, we decided to choose a story line that would match the genre, so we
began to analyse the conventions of the genre. The idea of girls being kidnapped are themes
that link to the Thriller genre, as they are ones which bring tension and fear. The victim being a
woman is also a convention, as they are typically seen as weaker and in need of help. The
psychopathic antagonist is a convention also, as it is easy to portray someone as a villain who is
almost inhuman and mentally unstable
 The way they are introduced is also conventional, as the antagonist is never fully revealed, which
is done to create mystery upon the character as well as create a distance with the audience.
The victim however is revealed straight away in order for the audience to connect with her more
and want her escape

11. Comparison to Thriller
Se7en (hidden antagonist) The path of descent

12. Special effects
 In some of our shots, it is noticeable that there are special effects being
used in certain shots that feature the antagonist. Well, this is in fact a
convention we followed from more modern psychological Thriller films, as
they are normally placed in to demonstrate an unstable state of mind. We
did this for our antagonist to demonstrate to the audience how unstable
their mind is without a description, but instead visuals

13. Comparison to Thriller
Se7en The path of descent

14. Camerawork
 For our media piece, we decide to take full advantage of media conventions
of camerawork in order to cerate different tones and emotions in certain
scenes and shots. To begin with, the scene where the victim is escaping the
flat through the door uses a canted angle. This was chosen by us as this angle
is used to create a feeling of distortion and confusion, of which we represent
the victim being distressed, confused and distorted as she tries to escape
 Another way camera angles were used to create different atmospheres was
for the antagonist. Almost all the shots shown in the antagonist scenes are
close ups of certain actions. Typically, this is done to put the focus on certain
items or actions, of which we wanted the focus on the actions rather than the
antagonist to keep their identity a mystery to the audience, which both follows
the conventions of the antagonists identity remaining a mystery and the use of
close up’s to pin-point the audiences focus

15. Comparison to Thriller
The Third man The path of descent

16. Editing
 Many media conventions were used and even challenged during the editing process of our media
piece. For example, the pacing of the shots is quick, making each shot only last for a couple of
seconds. This is a common convention of Thriller, as it creates a mysterious and suspenseful
atmosphere as the audiences tries to understand what is happening in the shots. We took on board
this convention in order to generate the suspenseful atmosphere as the victim is trying to escape,
making it appear as if she is under a theoretical time limit to escape, of which the audience feels
suspense as they hope the victim escapes
 We also utilise other conventions but develop them instead. For example, as the victim is escaping,
specifically when she is running down the stairs, the shots change repeatedly from the victim running
to the antagonist cleaning up. It is common for Thrillers to use cross cutting of two different
characters, but this is normally done in order to show certain scenes, for example, a chase scene
that has both characters moving at the same speed to create suspense and tension. We, however,
use cross cutting to show the faced paced movement of the victim and the slow, steady cleaning of
the antagonist to create a juxtaposition

17. Comparison to Thriller
The path of descent
Inception