Our media product uses, develops, and challenges conventions of slasher horror films. It uses conventions like a masked killer, dark clothing, and agricultural settings. However, it challenges conventions by not giving the killer a weapon, having action during daylight instead of darkness, and starting in media res instead of building tension slowly. The product uses typical slasher film characters like teenagers and a "foolish" male protagonist, and includes chase scenes and stalking. It aims to be as darkly lit as possible but also shows light can be scary. Point-of-view shots and close-ups are used to build tension and convey emotion.

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

2. Our Media product uses, develops, and
challenges forms and conventions of real media
products, specifically of this genre. Media
products can be split into different categories;
Iconography, setting, characters, themes and
narrative, and style, each of these having
something specific relating to this genre.

3. Iconography

4. Our media product uses a mask for the
murderer. This is something common in real
media products, particularly slasher horror
films, as this can be seen in films such as
‘Halloween’, ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, and
‘Scream’. We have used this convention as it
adds mystery to who the killer is and also makes
it scarier than a bare face because the reason for
the mask is to kill and hide his identity.

5. We have developed an aspect of iconography, this being
the clothing. We have used dark clothing, which is a
media convention as it is normally used to show who is
bad and evil as it is related to darkness. Another
convention is that light clothing represents good.
However, we have put our victim in red to show that our
victim is a target as red is often associated with a target.
This shows that he is the victim and also makes him stand
out in his surroundings, making him even more
vulnerable. Red can also be used to represent blood and
thus death. We have used this to give subtle clues to the
audience as to what will happen. This is a way in which
we have developed media conventions.

6. A third aspect of iconography in real media products is a
weapon. The main antagonist in horror films often has a
signature weapon that relates to their character. This can be
seen in such films as Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Chainsaw,
Nightmare on Elm Street’s bladed glove, and Friday the 13th’s
machete. However, we have challenged this convention, as we
have not given our antagonist a weapon. This is because we
wanted to add mystery to our film and leave the audience
guessing if the protagonist does get killed and if so, how he
gets killed. This also makes people think how the antagonist
kills all of his victims. This makes the audience that much
more scared, as they wouldn’t know what to expect and how
to defend themselves.

7. Setting

8. One convention that we have chosen to use from setting is the
darkness. A lot of horror films are shot in the nighttime,
particularly when there is a lot of action and when the
antagonist strikes. This can be seen in almost any horror film. As
we couldn’t shoot in the darkness due to low visibility, we have
decided to shoot in the daytime but put dark and gloomy effects
on the film after in the editing. Also, this film is shot when the
weather is naturally glum and cloudy, which suits this type of
film. However, we have chosen to challenge real media product
conventions here as we have chosen to show that horror films
can be shot in the daytime when it’s not nighttime. This is
because audiences are used to seeing action in the nighttime,
and this brings about a fear of darkness, but having action in the
daytime could also trigger a fear of people going out during this
time if shot well.

9. We have also used a typical setting that can be seen in many
horror films such as the first killing in ‘Texan Chainsaw
Massacre’ and ‘Friday the 13th’. This is because the first killing
in Texas chainsaw massacre is in agricultural land, which is
where we have chosen to set our film. However, both of these
films are set in secluded areas, which is where we have
chosen to set our film. Our film starts in the open, then when
he gets secluded and goes off on his own, it is a lot more thick
with more grass and higher grass, a lot of trees and no real
path. This shows that our character is in the middle of
nowhere with little idea of where to go and that he is truly
secluded and there is nobody there to help. Both, Texas
Chainsaw Massacre, and Friday the 13th use this, which gives
the same impact.

10. Characters

11. The characters we have used are conventional characters
for Slasher type horror films. For example, we have used
a murderer in a human form. This is typical for many
horror films such as Texas chainsaw Massacre, Halloween,
and Friday the 13th. Also, we used teenagers as the
protagonists, which is a convention used very often in
horror films. Some of these being films such as Scream,
The last house on the Left, and Friday the 13th. This is
because the target audience is older teenagers and this is
the age group who is attracted to horror films the most so
it is more relatable for the audience.

12. At the beginning of our media product, you can also see
that he is walking with a girl who he has some sort of
relationship with and is close to. Relationships like this
are common in real media products and can play a main
role especially with teenagers being the main
protagonists. Our protagonist in the beginning is also
heard saying that he needs to prove himself, this gives the
impression that it is to his friends or a group of teenagers
that he is peer pressured by and trying to impress in
order to get in with the group. Peer pressure is common
in horror films and is used because it is common with all
teenagers and shows what it could lead to.

13. The male protagonist in our film could be seen
as the foolish character in a stereotypical horror
film. This character often wonders off on their
own and is often peer pressured by a group of
friends to do something that gets him killed by
the murderer. He is often the first one to be
killed by the murderer. This is often how the
killer is introduced. This can be seen in films
such as Scream, Halloween and Friday the 13th.

14. Themes and
Narrative

15. Our media product started right in the thick of the
action like a ‘Saw’ film. However, our opening
challenges the main themes and narrative
conventions that a horror movie usually shows, this
being starting slowly and calmly until something
changes or triggers something that causes chaos.
This is because our media product starts at a future
time in the film and the majority of the rest of the
film is set as a flashback which is very uncommon in
horror films. The rest of the film would be set in a
past tense and as if being told by someone telling
the story.

16. The opening is set at a neutral point of view, not seeming to
be told from anyone’s point of view, showing angles from
the beginning with the protagonist then later from the
antagonists point of view. However we do have certain
scenes that are very common in most horror films,
including; a chase scene, a stalking scene, abandonment,
and venturing into the unknown. These can all be seen in
real media products such as Halloween, Texas Chainsaw
Massacre, and Alien. Also the film cuts off and is left
unresolved on a cliffhanger drawing audience in and
wanting to know what happened to the boy and if he is still
alive.

17. Style

18. We tried to have as little lighting as we could possible while
still being able to see the characters and what was happening
through the camera, in order to include the ‘fear of darkness’
aspect in our media product, which is used in almost all horror
films. However this was hard to do as nothing could be seen in
the darkness so we had to film in the light and then make it
appear darker after in editing process. But we decided that
filming during light hours could be a good thing for our media
product as it could show the audience that the light can be
just as scary as the dark if you’re out in the open on your own.
This adds another aspect to our film that challenges real
media products as our action scene is shot in the light instead
of the dark.

19. We used a point of view shot from the antagonist’s
point of view. This is a common style used in many
horror films to give a lurking feel as if the antagonist is
stalking his prey. This often makes the viewer want to
help the protagonist and fear as to what is coming next.
We used close ups and extreme close ups to show
expression and emotion on the protagonist. Like in
other real media products such as Saw, this is to show
worry and how scared the character is. This is a great
way to get this across to the audience, as it shows the
intensity of the moment and portrays the protagonist’s
feelings to the audience.