The document discusses a 5 minute horror/thriller film that was produced. It included typical genre conventions like a dominant male, vulnerable female, dark lighting, isolation, and weapons. However, it subverted expectations by having the vulnerable female kill the dominant male at the end. This surprise ending builds tension and subverts the usual gender stereotype. The film also follows aspects of Richard Dyer's film theory by incorporating intensity through high and low points for the main character. Research of real films, particularly "Strangers," provided inspiration for the idea and conventions included.

1. Joel Hunt

2.  The product that we were asked to produce
was a 5 minute film. We decided that we
wanted our film to consist of a horror/thriller
genre and we included lots of conventions
that meant our film would fall into that
specific genre.

3.  Typical Horror/Thriller conventions we
included in our film;
 - Dominant Male
 - Vulnerable Female
 - Dark Lighting
 - Lonely house
 - Isolation
 - Knife (Weapon)
 - Blood

4.  By including the usual and typical
conventions, I believe that it will allow the
audience to make predictions on what may
happen next. The predictions are the things
that have gave them enjoyment previously,
from other films, which is why they will have
watched our film.

5.  In order to scare the audience, we changed
some of the typical conventions which will
surprise the audience. By changing the typical
conventions, the audience doesn’t know what
is going to happen next which creates tension
and fear. Changing the typical conventions is
a great technique to use, especially in horror
films if you which to make the audience
jump.

6.  So which conventions did we change?
 At the end of our film, we reveal that it is the
vulnerable girl who kills the dominant male.
This is after a POV shot that creates tension
among the audience as they are unsure as to
who it is. When all is revealed, the audience
will feel surprised after the build up of
tension. This ending, subverts from the usual
stereotype that females are the weaker
gender.

7.  I believe that our film shows some features
that support Richard Dyers theory. There are
5 main categories to Dyers theory which
consist of: Intensity, energy, abundance,
transparency and community. Our film
follows the intensity aspect of the theory due
to the distinct contrast of the highs and lows
within it…

8.  The start of the film is an extreme low point
for the main female character where she is
lonely in a house after making a drug deal.
The drugs symbolise that the character is in a
low point in her life. The characters low point
then increases as she finds out that there is a
stranger within her house who is trying to get
her. The high point then comes after the
relief of overcoming the stranger. By having
these highs and lows, the audience begins to
develop a relationship with the character and
they want the character to succeed.

9.  The idea for our media film came about by
looking a researching real life media
products. The research enabled us to develop
a clear idea of what to include within our own
film. The film that ours is most like and the
film we took most inspiration from is
‘Strangers’. Like Strangers our film consists
of a stranger getting into someone's house
without the character initially knowing. Our
female character also survives within the film
like the female character in strangers.