This document provides an analysis of the film "Terminus" and how it uses conventions of real media. It discusses several aspects of the film including: 1) The title "Terminus" which connotes the end and was chosen to depict the apocalyptic world. 2) The setting of an abandoned fabric mill provided the perfect desolate location to represent the dystopian theme. 3) The camerawork and editing techniques used conventions seen in other post-apocalyptic films to establish mood and increase pace during action scenes. 4) The font used for the credits has a "muddy" style to further stimulate the representation of the end. 5) The opening

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

2. Title of the film
TERMINUS
This name has connotations of the end. In bus routes, it means the end of
the line, and a generic definition of it would be “the end or extremity of
anything.”. This is a fitting name to our film as it depicts an apocalyptic
world. The title we have chosen is in capital letters. This use of capitals has
been used well, as they are more commonly seen in post-apocalypse
films, such as this.

3. Setting and Location
Our film was set in an abandoned fabric mill in Westhoughton. This
provided us with the perfect desolate, broken and decrepit location we were
after to represent the dystopian theme of our film. Our research showed us
that in films such as I Am Legend, there were scenes in which the narrative
took place in what seemed to be a „broken‟city, however this was just
filmed in a secluded location in order to give the notion of dereliction. We
feel this is a strong point that we have excelled on with our film intro.

4. Camerawork and Editing
Camerawork
We filmed our production with our own Canon 550D DSLR cameras, as we
liked the fact we could change the shutter speed to give us the quick motion
blur when we need it to give the connotation of urgency and a struggle. We
filmed each part on two separate cameras so that we had twice the footage
and twice the perspectives to choose the clips we required. This was done
to save time in filming and provide more opportunities in editing.
Editing
In the first half of our production, the editing is slow and used to establish
the location. This is conventional of films like this as it allows the audience
to get a feel for the mood of the film. However, in the last half of the
sequence, the editing speeds up rapidly as the violence and the chase have
begun. The editing speeds up due to convention; it is often seen in films that
the editing is far more fast paced in fight and chase scenes as this anchors
the „thrill of the real‟(- Baudrillard) from a real fight or chase.

5. Title Font and Style
The font we used for our credits and title is a thick, bold, and faded sans-
serif one. This font has a „muddy‟connotation, with parts of the lettering
missing. We felt this font works well as it further stimulates the
representation of the end which we required. We felt that a bold font looks a
lot more „title-like‟than a discrete font that would not appear to have any
major influence on the viewer.

6. Narrative and how the opening sets it up
We planned our narrative to start with a thrilling opening sequence, similar
to that of Natural Born Killers, and the story of how the characters got to
where they are and how the apocalypse happened would be shown through
the rest of the film. The narrative in the opening sequence shows Liam
waking up and roaming his urban wilderness, then stumbling upon another
survivor (Adam) searching for something. In the shock of seeing another
survivor in an apocalypse, Liam attacks Adam and steals his water.

7. Introduction of characters
In the opening sequence, the establishing shots of location are the very first
to be seen. This is to set the mood of the film and provide the audience with
the broken, empty abyss that is the apocalypse.
Liam
The first shot of Liam is shown in a darkened room, he is seen waking
up, under a jacket. This sets his place as the main character. He is the only
survivor. The whole voiceover part is spoken by Liam as well which further
sets him as the main character.
Adam
Adam is introduced halfway through the sequence. Adam is seen rooting
through some rubble looking for something. And is seen to be a secondary
character. Adam is almost seen to be a prop to Liam‟s story.