Media questions-Media evaluation question 1

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

The title of our film. Typical to use a black screen with white writing. Simplistic but effective and adds to the dark aspects of the film.

Shot when the protagonist and antagonist meet. We used an over the shoulder shot to show the meeting of our two main characters. This is so we could emphasise the initial reaction of the protagonist towards the antagonist, intrigued, confused and suspicious.

    

Location/setting- Multi storey car park. Protagonist seems powerless.

  

Prop- A knife foreshadows death.

Symbolism- The knife. Symbolises the protagonist’s thoughts towards the antagonist as he is standing directly in the frame where the knife is pointing too. Shows the end event of the film.

Setting/Location- Ashton court. Empty, bare, cold. Setting reflects the protagonist’s feelings.

Location- Swimming pool. Water is a typical theme of a psycho thriller.

Prop/ Clothing- Black hoodie. Reflects the characters inner mood. More mysterious, fits in with the atmosphere of the film.

 

 

Lighting- Low key. The low key lighting used at this setting creates suspense as the audience now know that the antagonist may be cruel in some way. Creates a mood for the audience. Relates to the common theme of darkness shown in psycho thriller films.

Setting- Leigh Woods. Adds tension to the film due to the creepy and uneasy atmosphere of the setting. Common location used in films of this genre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
·Our opening sequence is fairly typical of a psychological thriller. This is due to the fact that we have not given much away during this period but we have allowed a big event to occur to provoke the viewer into thinking that something has happened; many films of this genre do this to get the ball rolling on the viewer’s ideas towards the happenings in the film.

·        We used conventions of a psycho thriller in our opening film such as having a purpose for the object which consists in our sequence, in this case it is the knife, it has a purpose for the whole film but the viewer does not entirely know what this is.

·        We also used the element of perception, seeing the protagonists own interpretation of the World around them through their own senses. Our protagonist’s perceptions are altered because she is on drugs; therefore she is seeing things which others may not necessarily encounter. This is a common element of psycho thrillers as misperception of the World builds tension for the audience.

·        We decided to use no narration at all throughout the opening to our film. This is fairly unusual of this film genre as often they use unrestricted narration so the audience then understand what is going on and it creates an element of suspense from what they are saying. We chose to have no narration as it added even more mystery to our film and got the audience thinking who the characters really are.

·        Identity is a typical convention of a psychological thriller. This is due to the fact that the characters in this film genre often do not understand their own identity and try to discover it throughout the film. This theme is clear to see throughout our opening film as the protagonist decides to stalk the antagonist to try and find herself. She takes the drugs and finds this stranger in order to chase her identity.

·        Another typical convention of this film genre is death, which is an evident concept of our opening film. Often in psycho thrillers the character/characters are fascinated by death or can fear it also. In the case of our opening film it is the protagonist that finds this sudden fascination with death, however the outcome of this is not shown. We tried to foreshadow the effect of death upon the antagonist throughout our film and at the end showed that death may be an option which the protagonist will place upon him.