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

2. Conventions
Use
Sound: The track playing from the beginning up to the
corridor is conventional of horror as it is intense and
conveniently changes volume at different stages in the clip
which complement the visuals; the atmosphere intensifies.
The track during the TV sequence is an old playschool song
which creates a sinister vibe as the creepy messages and
visuals contrast with the innocent song. This ‘teddy bear’s
picnic’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZANKFxrcKU)
song is conventional of horror as children’s songs and toys
are often made out to be creep in many movies (such as
The Woman In Black – 2012 – James Watkins) the audience
then associates this song with sinister happenings.

3. Conventions
Use
Characters: a male antagonist is stereotypical of horror.
Dominant ideology that men are powerful and residually
stereotypically more violent than women.
Profilmic effects: Our profilmic effect is the
5 cut into the hand. This blooded cut is
typical of thriller horrors as blood is shown
in horrors to create an on-edge mood and
highlights the horror of the situation in
comparison to having no blood.

4. Conventions
Use
Character exposition: positioning with main
character at the beginning of the film;
empathy (reaction and close-up shots and
the establishing being Alex).
Handicam: This camera effect is used
when Alex is stumbling all over the place;
the audience is taken with him and
experience the unbalance Alex is. This is
used in plenty of horror movies to give a
sense of uneasiness.

5. Conventions
Use
Props and iconography: The TV is
conventional of horror and also the
revealing of the antagonist on the TV is
conventional as this is included in many
horrors (Saw – 2004 – James Wan). The
mask of the antagonist is conventional of
thrillers because the antagonist is normally
not revealed until the end; their identity is a
mystery.
Revealing shot: Alex’s hand is
unexpectedly revealed in a shot at 0:18
which is common of thriller as the audience
is not expecting this unusual event.

6. Conventions
Use
Plot: Our plot is conventional of
psychological horrors as the character
wakes up confused, follows a trail and
experiences flashbacks. Also, our plot is
generic in the fact that the antagonist is
someone else and has no identity, and
binary opposites occur.
Montage: Our flashback sequence is
conventional of psychological horrors as
the 'psychological' aspect of these films
involves the mind and occasionally,
memory. Seeing images in your mind is
conventional of psychological horror.

7. Conventions
Use
Cutting-rate: Fast cutting-rate during
montage and slower during the sense of
foreboding (hallway sequence).
Slow cutting rate in most sequences
means that the audience is tricked into a
false sense of security, matched by his
growing confidence which is then shaken.
Tracking: We used tracking down the
corridor and also in the mid-shot reaction
shot in Alex's reaction to the TV. Tracking
creates a sense of foreboding and is used
in thriller horror to create tension (
The Conjuring - 2013 – James Wan).

8. Conventions
Use
Non-Verbal Language: The panic shown by
Alex is conventional of thriller horrors as
this intensifies and reflects the situation; it
is made clearer. The confusion of Alex is
conventional of psychological horror as
these types of movies play with the
character’s and sometimes and the
audiences mind.
Location: The location of a home is
conventional of thriller horrors and
psychological as it is relatable for the
audience and creates a false sense of
comfort (Scream - 1996 – Wes Craven)
which contrasts towards the horror
situation.

9. Conventions
Challenge
Lighting: Our lighting (apart from the
montage) is not conventional of horror
movies in general as our lighting is quite
white in comparison. Horror movies usually
associate the darkness with a sense of
foreboding, but we associate even daylight
with a sense of foreboding
Language: The Danish language chosen is
not conventional of any horrors as the
typical horror movie is in English, but some
big blockbusters have been in foreign
languages (
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo -2010 – Niels Arden Oplev
and Ring – 1998 – Hideo Nakata)

10. Conventions
Challenge
Characters: A male victim is not
stereotypical of horror
Establishing Shot: Our shot of Alex waking
up involves him looking at the camera and
this breaks the fourth wall. This is
unconventional of horror and many movies.
However, a waking up shot is conventional
of horror (
28 Days Later – 2002 – Danny Boyle).