In this presentation I have compared our opening sequence (Latency) to a range of Films, TV Programmes and Video games including: Gamer, Saving Private Ryan, Fairly Odd Parents and Call of Duty and looked at the conventions displayed in each.

1. EVALUATION TASK 1:
Daisy Jelley
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?

2. WHAT GENRE HAVE WE CREATED?
Our opening sequence that my group has created is an Action-Thriller. I will be comparing
it to:
Gamer (2009)
Directors: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Production Company: Lionsgate
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Production Company: Dream works, Paramount pictures
Fairly Odd parents- S01 E02
Directed by: Mark Bell, Steve Marmel
Production Company: Nickelodeon
Call of Duty
Game developed by: Infinity Ward
Published by: Activision

3. WHAT ARE GENRE CONVENTIONS?
• Genre conventions are common characteristics of a Genre. This may be within plot,
character, setting, editing, camera work or other ways. A few examples of action-
thriller conventions are:
• Fast paced editing
• Close up of peoples facial expressions
• The fight between a male antagonist and male protagonist
• Usually involving guns and weaponry
• Violence and characters lives being in jeopardy
• The action usually takes place in an outside location.
• Hand held camera.

4. SIMILAR PRODUCTS
Films:
Gamer (2009)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Lawnmower man 1 and 2
Tron (1982)
Tron Legacy (2010)
Lets be Evil (2016)
Matrix 1-3
Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
TV Shows:
Black Mirror-Season 3 episode 1, San Junipero
episode
ReBoot (1994)
Fairly Odd Parents, Season 2 episode 1
From past research I know there are a number of similar
products to our Thriller idea. These include:
Video games:
Call of Duty Franchise
Battlefield
Music videos:
Thirty seconds to Mars- This Means
War
The Weeknd- False Alarm

5. GAMER
Directors: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Production Company: Lionsgate
$50,000,000
Plot line : how is it similar or different to ours?
In a future mind-controlling, virtual online parallel reality game, death row convicts are
forced to battle. Convicts must survive a certain amount of sessions in order to be set
free
People can either pay as user or be paid as 'actor' in a system of mind-control.
Everyone in the game is in a massive battle for survival, which no-one made yet.
It is similar to ours through the use of a game where you are fighting for survival,
however, in this film the convicts that are inside the game who are being controlled by
teenagers and other users know what is going on and what they must do to the be
free, yet in Latency the characters are unaware that there is a hacker that is about to kill
one of the players.

6. GAMER
Characters: look
In both Gamer and our opening sequence, the actors are characters are all of a similar
age (about 18 years old) this adhering to the male stereotype that boys of that age play
video games. Both products have a male antagonist and protagonist in, therefore
obeying the typical action- thriller conventions. There are also close ups of these
characters faces to show their emotions and proving that they are the focal point of the
piece and the audience should take their side. The protagonist in both action-thrillers are
of an older age, this providing the audience with the connotations that the good side
may be of a disadvantage.

7. GAMER
Characters and Design
When It comes to costume, In both Gamer and our opening sequence, the people that are in the
games are wearing khaki camouflage Army style costumes and are holding weapons. This going
with usual game conventions and the use of the guns and weapons provide us with Action-thriller
conventions. The army outfits suggest war therefore suggesting that there is a battle between
antagonist and protagonist. Most action scenes in both are shot outside. One way in which we
challenged the conventions of a video game is by making everything look as realistic as possible
until David comes back to life with the line “the connection was bad”, and then reinforcing that is is
a game again at the end of the sequence with the virtual reality head set. In Gamer on the other
hand, it is immediately obvious that it is a game.

8. GAMER
The action
A lot of the action in the two products are also very similar as they’re both set within a battle. In these
two photos, it shows a shot the characters throwing a grenade. This is a typical action taken when in
battles therefore is a convention of an action thriller. The action includes a lot of running and looking
for cover to then fight against the competition.

9. GAMER
Editing techniques
The editing techniques are also very similar in the two films. Muzzle flashes and explosions are used to
make the action look realistic and more intense. I believe that may have also been made larger than
the typical CGI used in action-thrillers because it is supposed to give connotations of a video game.
Fast paced cutting is also used in both products to make the action look more exciting and makes the
audience more interested in watching on.

10. GAMER
Camera techniques
Again, the camera techniques are quite similar; in both products the camera follows the
action and is usually hand held. This being Action-thriller conventions as is connotes the
difficulty and intensity of the action taking place.

11. GAMER
Title
Lastly, when looking at the titles, they are similar in a way. Although the Gamer title is slightly
larger and bolder, both of the products use simple font with white lettering. In both products the
writing glitches as if showing a glitch in a game- this therefore being a convention of a
videogame. This glitch also adds tension and connotes something is going to go wrong.

12. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
Director: Steven Spielberg
Production Company: Dream works, Paramount pictures
Budget: $70,000,000
Plot line : how is it similar or different to ours?
The film opens with the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, where two brothers are
killed in action and earlier in New Guinea, a third brother is KIA. Mrs. Ryan received all three of
the death telegrams on the same day. The United States Army Chief of Staff finds out about a
fourth brother, Private James Ryan, and decides to send out 8 men to find him and bring him
back home to his mother...
The plot line has little similarity as its an actual event and not one in a game- there is nothing to
do with technology. Although this may be, there is some similarity as it is opening scene portrays
the action in the war and the horrifying deaths during action. In our Latency, it shows 2 people
being shot and shows an attempt to bomb a bus with the enemy in. Ours also shows the
emotion the Callum’s friends feel as he falls to the ground with blood pouring out his mouth
which then leads to his death, this must be a similar devastation to the friends and family of the
three brothers that are killed in action.

13. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
Characters: Behaviour, look, costume
I am challenging the conventions of using a younger character that is fighting in a huge
gun fire battle and Saving Private Ryan is using those of an older age. Although this may
be, it gives suggestions that it is not as realistic therefore it giving connotations of a video
game. Also, when looking the characters you can also see some similar facial features.
Connoting that there is a certain look that people use for main characters in a war situation.

14. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
The action
Although the plot line is different in the two products, the action is very similar. People are getting
killed by gunfire and explosions which are Action-thriller conventions. One way in which we
challenged the conventions is by only having a small number of actors to be fighting whereas
Saving Private Ryan has hundreds and obviously a typical battle would have a very large number of
people fighting against each other. This making our thriller having more conventions of a
videogame as it is focusing on fewer characters.

15. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
Camera techniques
Similarly to Gamer, Saving Private Ryan also included a lot of hand help camera. Following the action,
allowing the viewer to take sides and feel that the action is more interactive and involving them.
Conventions of Action-thrillers is hand held camera work alongside a variety of camera angles to make
the action more exciting.

16. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
Editing techniques
Our opening sequence and Saving Private Ryan have similar editing techniques used to portray
the war, For example: muzzle flashes and explosion CGI (again in a similar way to in gamer). This
CGI is used to make it more exciting and realistic. The weaponry is a typical convention of an
action-thriller.

17. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
Title
Latency and Saving Private Ryan both have white writing with clear font. Although Saving Private
Ryan uses background video this being traditional and more realistic. The fact that Latency has a
black background acts as an interruption to the action that’s just happened. To let the viewer think
about what has just happened but it also connotes a glitch in a game or as if the power has blown.

18. FAIRLY ODD PARENTS S02 E01
Directed by: Mark Bell, Steve Marmel
Production Company: Nickelodeon
Plot line : how is it similar or different to ours?
After playing a virtual game Timmy wishes for a game that you can't wish yourself out
of. When Chester and A.J. then come unexpectedly and go into the game, Timmy
realizes that they have to finish the game to leave, so he goes into the game to save
his friends. Cosmo and Wanda have to make sure the power doesn't go out, or all the
data in the game will be lost including Timmy and his friends.
Although this is not an Action-thriller nor aimed at the same target audience and is a
cartoon. There is surprisingly a lot of similarities in the plot line. The characters (who
are 3 friends that are playing the game- like in Latency) are all playing the game with
each other and helping one another to ensure a defeat of their opponents. In Latency
Callum dies in both game and reality, however in Fairly Odd Parents it all works our
and Timmy Survives.

19. FAIRLY ODD PARENTS
Character
Although Fairly Odd Parents is a cartoon children’s TV program, there is still resemblance in the
characters. Both characters have brown hair in a Spikey style, blue eyes and are slightly behind
their friends. Callum is late as he is “under heavy Gunfire” and Timmy is late as he enters the game
after his friends.

20. FAIRLY ODD PARENTS
Character and design
Carrying on looking at characters, there are 3 companions playing the game together in both
products. They work together and help each other defeat their opponents. They also get
annoyed with each other when they lose a life in the game and get worried when something bad
has happened the main character because they think they are losing them. In Latency, the
character does die, however in Fairly Odd parents there is a happy ending as the target audience
is of a young age. We also challenged conventions by making it less obvious that the action is
taking place in a video through location. Fairly Odd parents on the other hand made it very clear
through the animation so that the young audience would understand.

21. FAIRLY ODD PARENTS
Both Latency and Fairly Odd Parents S01 E02 used Virtual reality headsets as the way of entering
the game. It is a great way to make it clear what is a game and what is not as it is a very obvious
object which is used to play games. Therefore displaying conventions of videogames.
Props

22. CALL OF DUTY
Call of Duty is a first person is a First
Person shooter video game franchise. Call
of Duty, Call of Duty 2 and Call of Duty 3
are all set primarily in World War II and
the more recent ones are set in modern
times. The Game world that we have
created in Latency is based of Call of Duty
so there are many similarities in the style.
Game developed by: Infinity Ward
Published by: Activision

23. CALL OF DUTY
We needed to make sure that Latency had conventions of a video game and Call of Duty
was the game we took inspiration from, we did this by adding muzzle flashes and using
hand held camera as if a the viewer is a character. We did this to make the viewer feel
more involved in the action.
Editing techniques

24. CALL OF DUTY
Like in Gamer and Latency the Call of Duty title is white and in simple font alongside a black
background. A white title seems to be a reoccurring convention of The action and thriller
movies that I have looked at.
Title