1. 1) In what ways does your
media production develop or
challenge forms and conventions
of real media products?
Alice Hicks

2. 1) In what ways does your media production develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
 When deciding the genre of my media product, I thought
about what would be the most simple conventions to conform
to. Other factors which helped me decide was the target
audience and their preference in genre. After some research
from questionnaires and most watched films of 2012, I
discovered that horror was a popular genre.
 I thought about what my film would have to offer in order to
appeal to the target audience; suspense, shock, gore, terror,
etc. as the conventional aspects of the horror genre is to give
the audience an adrenaline rush.
 The horror genre is also associated with the mystery genre
which I thought would be an interesting mix of genres that
would appeal to the target audience. My own age includes me
in the target audience so I had some ideas of what I would
look for in a good horror film.

3. 1) In what ways does your media production develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
 Before I began to plan my own film, I researched in—depth to
the genre I was going to be conforming to. I found a range of
different films that offered alternative horror concepts.
 I discovered that there were more traditional Gothic films
such as the ‘The Woman in Black’ (2012) which used
traditional conventions of the genre such as setting and
storyline.
 On the other hand, there were more modern horror films on
the market such as SAW (2004). This film took a different
approach to scare the audience, using conventions such as
murder and gore effects.
 There were many successful horror films that I researched
which gave me several ideas as to what I wanted to base my
film on.

4. 1) In what ways does your media production develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
SAW (2004)
• This film opens by immediately showing what the film
entails. Straight away the audience can tell that the film
contains brutality and gore, which is a major aspect of
this type of horror film.
• Unfortunately, my film was made on a low budget. This
means that the props, makeup and settings that were
used to create the gruesome effects in SAW were not
available to me and I had to compromise by creating
suspense using different features such as music.
• However, the opening to this film does leave a sense of
mystery. It leaves the audience wondering why and how
the characters have ended up in this position. I wanted
to use this aspect of mystery in my own film to leave the
audience in suspense and want to watch on.
• The death of the boy in the opening scene of SAW
could be seen as an inspiration to my own film when the
girl is murdered by the mysterious killer.

5. 1) In what ways does your media production develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
ORPHAN (2009)
• ‘Orphan’ contains very similar features to those I
have used in my own film. The idea of using a young
girl to play the ‘villain’ gives a great sense of
confusion and a chilling effect which shocks the
audience when they find out.
• The use of old fashioned costume in this film
highlights the abnormality of the main character
Esther in the modern day setting. I used this feature
in my own film so that the audience can easily
identify the unusual placement of Florence in the 21st
Century.
• The difference between Esther and the other
children is clearly identified due to the contrast of
clothing and image of the characters. I have used a
similar idea in my own film by designing Florence’s
costume and make up to look significantly diferent to
Lucy’s.
• Lastly, this film uses techniques such as camera
angles and music to create tension without much
vocal dialogue. I have used this idea in my own film
so that my film seems more professional.

6. 1) In what ways does your media production develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
THE WOMAN IN BLACK (2012)
• The Woman In Black was a major inspiration in my
film as the conventions of using dead children to
frighten the audience was good for creating suspense
and mystery, giving the audience a thrilling
adrenaline rush.
• The image of the children in the film is what I based
my character Florence on, giving her deathly make
up and old fashioned clothing.
• My film conforms more to this film in the sense that
the children randomly appear at significant times,
which is what happens in ‘After Hours’ my own film.
• I thought I could get some from this film as to how
to create suspense using music and different camera
shots.
•However, there are no modern day aspects to this
film so my film is significantly different and doesn’t
contain any of the Gothic features presented in The
Woman In Black such as the setting of the old
mansion and moors.