1. In what ways does your media use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
Within a thriller film, there is a number of conventions involved which consist of non
digetic sound, characters with diverse personalities, a range of effective editing,
lighting that varies according to the scene, different camera angles and movements.
Our opening sequence incorporates a few of these generic conventions in a number
of ways. This consists of dark scenes outside where by a sinister feel is created as well
as when the car drives off which portrays a kidnapping has taken place. This leaves
the audience questioning what is going to happen next and what the outcome will be.
Between the characters there is a clear contrast of personalities. When the girl is seen
being kidnapped, she is portrayed to be frightened and unknowing of the situation
however, the boy is seen to be determined in seeking revenge. He is seen to be
disguised in dark clothing and a balaclava which allows the audience to question who
he actually is; creating a mystery. The dark lighting of the outdoor also adds to
creating a mysterious environment whereby the audience is unaware of everything
going on. In contrast, the bedroom scene is seen to be fairly bright which matches
the mood of the characters. Yet as the main character ‘Shannon’ is seen walking
down the stairs, the lighting slowly gets darker to become dimmed creating a sense of
endangerment for the audience.
Although our opening scene incorporates generic conventions, it also challenges it,
because it uses characters that are young teens of black ethnicity which is not
common in a lot of thriller films. It also uses a lot digetic sound which is unusual in
the opening sequence of a thriller film where a range of non digetic sound is
commonly used such as demonic or mysterious background music, over exaggerated
noises, running footsteps and more.
The uses of generic conventions indicate that our film falls into the sub-genre,
mystery thriller. I’ve come to this conclusion as the audience are left wondering what
will happen next, what particular person is seeking revenge, and will the young girl
ever get rescued. These are all questions which a mystery thriller will bring about. It
also is full of suspense and one of the characters is involved in a mystery. Examples
of films with the same idea are those such as Shutter Island, Identity, Secret Window
and Flightplan to name a few.
Our use of conventions, have been influenced by particular points in the opening
sequences I chose to analyse which are ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’, ‘The Dark
Knight’ and ‘Obsessed’ . Obsessed however, influenced me the most as the opening
sequence used a black couple as the main characters, much like what we did.
However, our main characters (Lamar and Shannon) weren’t shown together within
the film, yet the idea of them being a couple remains as a mystery.