This document discusses how a media product opening sequence utilizes conventions of real thriller films. It examines the conventions used regarding location, themes, and characters. For location, it sets the scene in a normal house to add tension. For themes, it incorporates psychological mind games and suspense. For characters, it includes an insane murderer as the antagonist, a burglar as another criminal, and innocent victims. Feedback showed these conventions helped make the thriller genre recognizable and kept viewers engaged.

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

2. Convention #1: Location
Real media conventions:
Conventionally thrillers are
set in everyday
environment such as a
house as this adds to the
suspense of the action as it
shows the antagonist
disturbing the normal. An
audience want to see a
typical location in a thriller
film as they will then know
what the film will be like.
However time to time some
thrillers are an exception to
this and will be set in surreal
environments which you
would not come across in
everyday life.
Our opening sequence:
In our opening sequence
we used the conventions
of a thriller film regarding
the location. At the
beginning of the sequence
we see the burglar walking
down a dark street towards
the house. The house is a
normal house which looks
like it is owned by a normal
working class family. This
adds tension as the
audience then begin to
think that this could
happen to anyone,
including them. In our
audience feedback we
discovered that our focus
group believed that our
location worked and the
thriller genre was easily
recognisable.

3. Convention #2: Themes
Real media conventions:
There are several usual
themes of a thriller film. The
themes of thriller films often
include terrorism,
physiological mind games,
supernatural events, spies,
chase, suspense, and
assassination. In some
cases a thriller film may
decide to even use two or
more of these films. These
themes all keep you on the
edge of your seat and
make you want to watch
the rest of the film.
Our opening sequence:
We named our opening
sequence ‘The Lure’. This is
because people such as
the detective and burglar
are being lured into the
murderer. Therefore we
definitely use the
convention of
physiological mind games.
The victims are trying to
escape the killer, however
when he leaves the
number, they cant help
but to call it. There is
definitely a lot of suspense
in our sequence as well.
This was proven in our
audience feedback. They
found the scene of the two
dead bodies especially full
of suspense.

4. Convention #3: Characters
Real media conventions:
Typical characters in
thrillers include convicts,
criminals, stalkers, assassins,
innocent victims,
characters with dark pasts,
cops and robbers, people
involved in twisted
relationships and many
more. These types of
characters help build
suspense. For example a
victim trying to escape a
near impossible situation.
Or the physiologically
insane who creates the
impossible situation or just
keeps the suspense as the
audience is unaware of
what he is going to do
next.
Our opening sequence: As
you can see compared to
the conventions of real
media product we use the
conventions of characters.
Obviously we had ‘the bad
guy’ the murder, who
could be classified as the
convict, or a character
with a dark past. He’s the
one that is creating the
impossible situation and
keeping the suspense. We
also have the burglar and
although he soon
becomes a victim to the
murderer he was also up to
no good. Lastly we also
briefly see two victims in
the front room. They
obviously tried escaping
‘the impossible situation’,
but the murderer was
obviously to good for them.