The document summarizes how a media project used conventions of real thriller films in its lighting, settings, cinematography, sound, and characters. It describes how the project opened with eerie lighting from computers to set the thriller genre. Settings like a deserted park heightened tension between the protagonist and antagonist alone in the location, similar to the film No Country For Old Men. Cinematography included shots of feet to compare the protagonist and antagonist. Sound switched between tense music and diegetic dialogue to signal changes. The antagonist was loosely based on a character from Skins to be an enigmatic stalker.

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

2. Conventions and How we used themIn one of my previous blog posts, I described the codes and conventions of thrillers. Some of these conventions were used in our thriller, and some were not used or not appropriate.LightingOur thriller opens with a shot of our protagonist sitting at a computer. The light within the shot comes mostly from the computer itself. This creates some interesting shadows, and creates an eerie feel. This is continued through the next few shots, where the antagonist is on his laptop. The light in the room is a naked bulb, meaning that there is a distinct, odd colour to the room. I feel at this use of lighting is effective at it sets the scene for the entire thriller. From the opening shots, the genre of the film is clear, and the audience know that they are in for a thrill.

3. Conventions and How we used themLighting ContinuedA further lighting convention was dimly lit areas and partial views of a character. We decided against using dimly lit areas for the most part, as the camera would create a lot of noise, making the final product appear cheap and amateur. However, we knew that covering the identity of a particular character would add an air of mystery to our thriller. We decided to do this with our antagonist. By not showing something had fundamental as his identity, we manufactured an enigmatic caricature, designed to thrill and scare both the audience and the other characters within the film.Shadows were a large part of our thriller. In the opening scenes, the antagonist creates a shadow on the wall; this highlights his potential danger and threat. Moreover, we used a shot which turned the trees into large, strange silhouettes. This was effective as it seemed as though the surroundings were closing in on our protagonist.

4. Conventions and How we used themSettingThe first setting used is a house. For the protagonist, we used a room that contained everyday items. We felt that using a room that appeared ‘lived-in’ would help us show the character in a natural environment.Our antagonist’s setting was a bedroom in the house. The room was stripped to it’s bare minimum, to create a space to match our character. We wanted to show the character as someone who didn’t care for, or couldn’t afford materialistic items such as televisions, and only owned what he needed to stalk the protagonist.The second setting was an area called ‘Eastbrookend Country Park’. This area is rather deserted and is filled with trees and bushes. This location seemed ideal, as we were hidden away, meaning that we wouldn’t capture anything interfering with our project.

5. Conventions and How we used themSetting ContinuedThis setting is similar to those used in ‘No Country For Old Men.’ The deserted land used in the film reminds me of certain scenes in the film. Additionally, having our protagonist alone within the location matches ‘No Country For Old Men’, when Llewelyn Moss is trying to escape of Anton Chigurh’s line of fire.I think that the setting we used suited our thriller perfectly, as it enabled both our protagonist and antagonist to be in the same place and the same time. This, I believe, heightened the tension.We decided against using confined spaces as this would be extremely hard to film. Furthermore, we feel as though a confined space wouldn’t have fit in with our thriller.

6. Conventions and How we used themCinematographyI believe that we experimented as much as we could with the resources we had. We used high and low angled shots, and our subjects were at various distances away from the camera.My favourite shot was those of the character’s feet. We chose to do this to both the group of girls, and our antagonist. This was to show the similarities between this, and to demonstrate how close they were. Also, the shots showed how different they both were; the shots allowed the audience to directly compare the protagonist and the antagonist.

7. Conventions and How we used themCinematography ContinuedThere were some other shots we would have liked to include in our thriller.360 Degree Turn – This would have been a great addition to the thriller, as it would have shown the protagonist’s view point during the latter stages of the film. Also, this shot isn’t used very often, so it would have been interesting for the audience to watch.Steadicam – If possible, we would have loved to have used steadicam. This would have allowed us to chase our characters around the location, follow them on their journey, and create angles and transitions we wouldn’t have been able to create before.Tracking Shot – We feel that a tracking shot would have been useful when showing the characters walking from one area to another. We were going to attach the camera to a skateboard, and pull the skateboard along, recording the feet of our antagonist. However, we were unable to acquire a skateboard, meaning we could use the tracking shot.

8. Conventions and How we used themSoundI think that we used sound well in our thriller. We use a slower, more tense piece of music during the beginning, as we wanted to build up to the opening of the door.After this, we switch from a non diegetic piece of sound, to a diegetic one. We use the dialogue of the characters, and then fade a second piece of music in. This piece is non diegetic.The second piece of music is more up-tempo, and signals the beginning of the girls’ camping trip. This piece of music really gets the film flowing, as it is interesting and prevents the thriller from becoming boring.When a series of fast edits appear onscreen, the music changes again. This piece is still non diegetic, and is slightly more serious than the previous track. This signals a change in events for our characters. The music slows near the end of the film, which creates more tension and suspense.

9. Conventions and How we used themCharactersOur three female characters were made to fill the gaps, as such. As a result, they are explored to a shallow level only, and are not as central to the film as the antagonist.Our antagonist is loosely based around the fictional character of Sketch from the television show ‘Skins’. The character is a stalker, who collects pictures of her prey, and eventually harasses them. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the character, and was excited to be able to replicate her. The character does draw sympathy eventually, which is something I would have liked to achieve if we had produced the entire film.