The document discusses how the media product uses and develops conventions of real thriller media through its use of locations. It opens in the underground passage of a roundabout in Norwich to create a gritty atmosphere, and later moves to a residential area where the main character is attacked, playing on the thriller convention that quiet suburbs can be associated with crime. It aims to generate tension and fear in viewers by incorporating tight, enclosed spaces like tunnels that are used in other thrillers to similar effect. It develops suspense throughout the opening by making the main character's journey to his resting place treacherous, using techniques like staircases that create a lack of escape in other thrillers.

1. Q1
In what ways does your media
product use/develop/challenge forms
and conventions of real media?

2. Location
In our thriller opening we made use of the generic
conventions associated with locations. Our
production opens in the underpass of St. Stephens
roundabout in Norwich. This location, I believe,
enhances the film’s gritty nature, being a rather
unpleasant area.
Later, Sam moves to a residential location where he
is attacked; developing the convention that quiet,
suburban landscapes are associated with crime.

3. St. Stephens underpass in our thriller opening
The Dartford tunnel in Terry Windsor’s ‘Essex Boys’
(2000)
We took inspiration from Terry Winsor’s ‘Essex Boys’
(2000) in which the main characters are shown to
drive through the Dartford Tunnel. The long
stretching tunnel, with vanishing point, in this
sequence gives the audience a sense of
claustrophobia and entrapment, instilling a sense of
fear.
Likewise, I believe that by incorporating a
tight, enclosed space into our opening, the
viewer will immediately recognise the
likeness between the two locations,
making them relate the character of Sam
who is seen to walk into the underpass, to
the two characters in ‘Essex Boys’ who are
seen to drive into the tunnel. Viewers with
a knowledge of Windsor’s film will
associate this with bad to come, helping us
to achieve a tense opening sequence.

4. Sam, as seen in the underpass during
our thriller opening.
Harry Lime is confronted in the sewer in
Carol Reed’s ‘The Third Man’
The unglamorous underpass setting in our
thriller opening presents Sam as being
vulnerable and at risk due to the
claustrophobic setting and the
connotations that such areas have, such as
an association with crime.
A thriller production which also creates this atmosphere
through location is Carol Reed’s ‘The Third Man’. The
enclosed space of the sewers create feelings of intensity
when Lime is seen to be entrapped. We decided that our
underpass setting would create a similar mood, with the
enclosed underpass representing danger for Sam. Viewers
with a knowledge of Reed’s thriller will note the likeness
between Sam and Lime and relate this similarity to the way
that Lime is chased and tracked down, foreshadowing the
inevitable fate of our lead protagonist. Based on the thriller
texts that I have seen, I can say that my group has made use
of the generic conventions of the thriller regarding location,
in that claustrophobic spaces are used to create an
unpleasant mood and a sense of fear on the audience.

5. In order to maintain the suspense
throughout the opening, we
decided that the residential area,
where Sam is attacked, should
appear risky. To create this, we
decided to make his journey to his
resting spot as treacherous as
possible , emphasising the area’s
danger.
One way that we tried to instil fear on the
viewer is with the use of steps, like how
staircases are used in ‘The Third man’ to
create tension. A location with stairs is
generic for a thriller film, as they suggest a
lack of escape and pose an obstacle. A
similar location is seen in the opening of
‘Wild at heart’ with the sweeping flights of
stairs adding ambiguity and disorientation,
holding the audience’s attention; another
way that we created meaning in our
thriller film by complying with the generic
locations of a thriller text.
‘Wild at heart’ (1990)
‘The Third
Man’ (1949)
Sam climbs steps while finding a place to
settle.

6. Sam settles in a suburban,
residential location
A quiet, residential area is used as
the location for the murder of
Beaumont Livingston
We decided to use a residential setting as the site
of Sam’s attack due to the connotations that such
areas can have with crime, due to the large
amount of people that reside in a small area.
Using this location is another way in
which we followed the generic
conventions associated with location in a
thriller text. Our inspiration for using this
location in our thriller opening came
from Tarantino’s Jackie Brown, in which
Ordell Robbie forces Beaumont
Livingston into the trunk of his car before
murdering him in a residential area.
Viewers of our thriller who recognise the
residential area that Sam settles as being
associated with crime will be aware of
the danger that it poses to him.