Question 1 - In what ways does our media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The conventions of the thriller genre, opening sequences

Slow paced editing

This is used to make scenes more dramatic as it allows the audience concentrate on each individual shot and analysis it for meaning. It also lowers the tension of the sequence to allow a climax to rise.

Memento

Blitz

Introduce setting/mood

This is so that the audience are aware of how they are meant to feel about the sequence.

 Watchmen

• Old fashioned music and furniture shows that the film is set in the past
• Cigar shows that the character does not care for his health and therefore is rough
• Break in shows that the film is violent
• Connotations of the time of day being at night include darkness, shadows, danger, fear, cold.

The Dark Knight

• Bulky black truck and clown masks imply that are about to do something illegal
• Zip-line onto roof shows that the film will include high risks and stunts.
• Clown masks also demonstrate fear

Logo/Titles

This is to give credit to all the companies and persons involved in the production of the sequence. Examples include: the production company, the distribution company, the cast and the crew.

Close Ups

These emphasise the importance of a specific person or objects. This is useful to give significant to subtle gestures of movements. These are commonly used in thrillers to show weapons and expressions.

Memento

Watchmen

Establishing Shots

This sets the scene for the audience so that the location is not confusing. They are sometimes paired with superimposed text of the location. These are usually showed in the thriller genre to emphasise how exotic the location is, as shown in the examples below.

James Bond Films, Indiana Jones: and the Kingdom of Crystal Skulls

Male Protagonist

This is conventional within thriller genre because stereotypically, men are seen as more powerful, strong, and smart than women. This is beneficial for the thriller genre as it allows the audience to have a protagonist they can root for.

Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Blitz, Transporter 2

Low Key Lighting

This is useful for making the sequence seem more mysterious which suits the genre. Shadows also tent to make people feel on edge, as they are afraid of what they cannot see.

 

Sherlock Holmes, Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Inside Man, Watchmen

Concealing Information

This intrigues the audience and makes them want to know more about how the story will develop. This is useful to draw in the audience and make them want to watch the rest of the film.

 

Brick

The off focus extreme close and long shot do not allow the audience to see the main character's entire face.

Alcohol/Drugs

These props can be taboo in society; therefore seeing them being used and abused in film compels the audience to watch more. These types of props are also very conventional to the thriller genre as criminal activity and justice is exciting to watch.

Watchmen

sAlcohol can be seen in the background of this shot. Also, the establishment they are in is a front for a illegal crystal meth business.

Green Hornet

Guns

These are another common prop within the thriller genre. In the United Kingdom, guns are illegal for domestic possession. This makes them exciting to see by the target audience.

 Pulp Fiction, The Dark Knight, Casino Royale

Long Shots of main character

This conceals the character from the audience, adding to the mystery. This is also used to show the characters environment. This also distances the audience from the character, physically and metaphorically.

The Dark Knight, Brick, Inception

Titles
Titles of the thriller genre tend to use a serif font. This portrays the series nature of the following events. It is also known for the titles to be placed around the frames rather than consistantly in the same place.

Titles from The Sixth Sense

 Titles from Sweeney Todd

Titles from Lord of War

Our opening sequence

Slow paced editing

 

Introduce setting/mood & Establishing shot

This long shot allows the audience to see the poor conditions of the room and therefore they get a first impression of the mood of the film.








Logo/titles

The distribution company we choose was Icon. This was decided as after some research, we found that they distributed films of the same genre. The production company was created by our group.













Close ups
We used a wide array of close ups in our sequence

This shot suggests to the audience early on that the protagonist was close to someone.

 This shot demonstrates to the audience that the protagonist is an alcoholic as it is not conventional to have strong alcohol in the bedroom or on the floor.

This canted-angle-close-up of Finch allows the audience to see his facial expression. The fact that he looks scared and sad suggests to the audience that he was a victim.

This close up of the Markus allows the audience to view his expression as he wakes up from the climatic conclusion of his dream.

 This shot of the whiskey focus pulls between the glass and the pills. This implies that they are connected. In this case, it foreshadows to the audience that Markus is about to take them together.

This well-lit picture of the Markus and Finch contrasts with the beginning of the pan which showed a shady section of present-day-Markus. This demonstrates that things have gone bad for Markus.

Male Protagonist

Our sequence followed the convention of having a male protagonist. Similarly to other protagonists in thrillers (such as Indiana Jones, James Bond and Bruce Wayne) our protagonist is brave and courageous.

Concealing Information

Throughout our sequence, information is not given to the audience straight away. Instead, the sequence reveals clues about the plot through the use of Mise-en-Scene.

This establishing shot of the room allows the audience to grasp a breif understanding of the character in the centre.

• The wedding photo suggests he was in a relationship
• The scattered clothes show he is messy
• The whiskey bottle on the floor show he drinks
• The knocked over lamp shows he does not care about his possessions.

Though the audience is given suggestions through this use of Mise-en-Scene; questions still remain about this character as a lot of information is still concealed. 

The previous shot from within the dream sequence merely suggested that there were trees in the setting of the scene. This second shot reveals that the setting is the park and that there is a figure in the scene. The identity or appearance of this figure is still unknown, however.

This long shot of the blood and gun prop do not give the audience any information about the death of Edward Finch. They merely give implications that the audience.

Alcohol/Drugs

Alcohol and Drugs (anti-depressants) are present within our opening sequence. These props emphasise the character's lack of independent sustainability.

Guns

A gun is only present in our sequence for a brief moment within the dream sequence. This prop provides the audience with implications about Finch's death.

Titles 
The titles of our opening sequence are of a serif font and are placed in any of the four corners of the frame, rather than always appearing in one position