Question One

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

This is something we did in class to help us with this question. First we had to write down conventions of the thriller genre then we had to label them with used, developed or challenged.

This is a list of thriller conventions that I have screenshot from the post Main Conventions of Thriller in the research stage of my coursework. I have wrote about each convention and talked about how I have used, challenged or developed each one.

I am going to do a nine frame analysis of my product to answer this question further.

1. I have developed the conventions of an ident as I have used a clip of a cat and a fancy title. Studio Canal, for example, only use a title in their ident which is similar to mine...

2. Here, I have used conventions of an opening sequence. I have introduced a character and the location in the first shot. I have done this through camera work as I have used an establishing shot to set the scene for the audience. This also gives clues about the narrative away as it is dark and the girl is alone which could suggest that something bad is about to happen, therefore also introducing the genre of the film to my audience.

3. I have developed conventions of opening sequences here as I haven't created a title sequence. I chose to place my titles above the footage of my opening sequence, whereas other opening sequences I have looked at have a title sequence, such as Seven, Limitless and Rubicon. I took inspiration from Seven's title sequence when I chose the font of my titles. I have used two different fonts and two different sizes as I think this makes it more visually interesting for my audience and also looks more professional.

4. By using props to introduce a character to the audience, I have followed conventions. The expensive, slick car suggests that the character is successful. My use of camerawork also suggests that the character is important as the car is in the middle of the frame, where the point of focus is on the screen.

5. I have used conventions of thriller opening sequences here. The use of closeups emphasises the characters' emotions and the voice-over is typical in a thriller opening sequence.

6. The costume follows thriller conventions as the watch makes the character look masculine, representing him as a stereotypical male 'hero'. The mirror in this shot is also a convention of thrillers, especially psychological thrillers due to the reflections. It creates a good effect as it shows the audience more of the location.

7. In all the thriller films I have watched and analysed, I haven't seen any effects like I have used in this scene, therefore I am challenging thriller conventions. I chose to use these affects as it emphasised the flashback and the difference between the present and the past.

8. I have also gone against conventions of thriller here due to the location used. It is a convention that thriller films are set in urban locations. The use of the field implies, nature, vulnerability and purity, which aren't typical themes of thrillers, however I think it works well as this emphasises the flashback and how different things used to be, making the narrative more powerful.

9. My end title is very conventional, with a dark background and a light bold font. A similar title is used in Rubicon, Seven and The Game.

BEYOND THE LIGHT OF DAY

Making Changes

Soundtrack

Something that was repeated in my audience feedback was that the sound wasn't 'smooth'. Some feedback said that it was too 'abrupt'. Because of this I tried fading my first soundtrack in which is when the first title comes on - 'ENIGMA PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS'. I didn't like this as I think it sounds more effective when the soundtrack comes in suddenly. It also sounded strange as the first beat was a lot quieter that the second beat, as you can see on the photo, therefore I'm keeping it as it was before.

I also tried making the sound 'smoother' when my voice-over comes in. The reason it isn't so smooth now is because I  decreased the volume of my soundtrack when the voice-over starts. This therefore ruins the continuity of sound. When I first put this soundtrack in I did try to fade in the volume decrease, however it didn't work. After getting my feedback, I tried to change it again by changing the volumes of both parts to make the continuity smoother, however it still didn't work. I can't keep the soundtrack the same volume all the away through otherwise the voice-over is overpowered. For this reason, I am keeping it the same.

Taking off scream

Other feedback that was repeated was that some of the screaming sounds unrealistic. I have always been unsure about this scene as I had also thought it looks and sounds unrealistic but previous feedback had told me otherwise. After getting feedback from my final product I decided to take off the scream. This still sounds okay due to the other diegetic sound of the heavy breathing and the ambience.

Changing the font of my title

Feedback told me that the font of my final title didn't suit the thriller genre and that it was too sic-fi. However other feedback told me that it suits my product as it goes with how modern my sequence is, for example the white BMW. When I first did my title I did try a lot of fonts and I thought this one looked okay. Although the font of my other titles throughout my product suit the genre, I thought using a similar font would look boring, therefore I wanted to choose something different.

I changed my font to Lantinghei SC. I think this still looks good and it definitely suits the genre. I asked other media literate people what they thought about this change and they said it looks much better, they like how it's more slick and taller and they also think it fits with the genre more.

Summary

• TITLES DON'T STAND OUT

Some say my titles stand out and that they are good. However, some people think the titles don't stand out and that they need to be made bigger. When I first added titles to my sequence they were smaller than they are now, then I decided to make them bigger as my media teacher told me they were too small, therefore I am not going to change my titles, despite my audience feedback.

• FLASHBACK IS TOO LONG

One of my concerns was that the flashback was too long, as typically, flashback's are a lot shorter. I had feedback that said the same. I asked my media class if it would strengthen my product if I made the scene shorter however they disagreed, therefore I am not going to change it.

• SHOTS NEED TO BE MORE STEADY IN THE CAR

I disagree with this feedback. Previous feedback has told me that my cinematography skills are good, and that the variation of angles and shots in that scene work really well. I am going to ignore this feedback as I think that the scene in the car is the most professional looking part of my product.

• PURPLE FLASH NOT NEEDED

I did try taking off the purple flash during the feedback, however I think it works better when the effect is included. I did take a red effect off earlier on in the contraction stages of my product as I had feedback saying it was 'too much'. I am going to keep all my effects I have included in the flashback scene as it emphasises the flashback and male characters state of mind and also contrasts with the previous scene.

• FELT LIKE A TV DRAMA

I do not agree that my product looks like a TV  drama opening sequence and even if it does I am unsure what I could do about this as I think it would mean having to change a lot of aspects such as the filming, editing, sounds, titles, characters, costumes and even the narrative.

Feedback

After uploading out final products, both media classes watched everyones products so we could get more feedback. This was useful as the feedback was from media literate people meaning the feedback I did get was specific to media language, therefore helping me to improve my product. It was good as the feedback was written down anonymously, decreasing social desirability, meaning the feedback I got was honest and included constructive criticism, rather than being unuseful.