AS Evaluation - Question 1

EXPLAIN IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF THE REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

In general, thrillers have two sides including good and evil.  The plot has to have some suspense included and the sides collide with each other making it more exciting as the good gets away from the evil.  The character of the villain may or may not be known.  If the character of the villain is known, the audience will wonder when or if they will find out whom the villain is.  If the villain, is unknown then it will add a sense of mystery and make the audience want to find out who it is.  The thriller genre typically has a sense of danger and some may start with an equilibrium, which is a plot which is close to reality but then a series of unfortunate events will show the degradation of what will happen to the character. 

The narrative of the thriller genre will normally be shown from the villain’s point of view, following the events which will happen to the victim.   The point of view allows the audience to be included in the events themselves and develop a relationship with the character, making them feel closer to the situation at hand.   Other points of view may involve other clips which tell the overall plot which allow the audience to see how the villain acts or how they used to act before they got to that point.  This would create empathy for the villain and make them understand why they are acting the way are.

In a  thriller, the generic conventions of the character are that there is normally always an antagonist (villain) and protagonist (victim) who are set apart from each other in way which the audience can make a relationship with and view the characters differently.  The villains will normally be men who will be tall and have a strong build which may make the audience have a sense of fear and it should have the effect of the victim since they will feel like the weaker character.  The image of the villain should put the message across the audience that he is the stronger character.

Victims are typically female, as females are represented to be innocent and naïve.  They are also shown to be helpless.  Most victims in thrillers are blond as they are represented to be vulnerable towards the audience.  This would be conventional to the thriller genre because the audience would be able to relate to character as they would be able to relate to their fear.

A general setting of a thriller may be in an urban city or in an abandoned setting.  If it was set in an abandoned, desolate place then it would not enable victim who may be trapped to get away making it easier for the villain to keep it there.  This setting may be an unfamiliar setting as it looks like nobody else would be able to find them easily which creates suspense as it makes the audience question if they will be able to escape.  An example of an abandoned setting would be SAW 1 as it is set in a bathroom, with no way to get out and that nobody would be able to hear them.

Iconography has the ability to add meaning to a scene by showing an object.  In thrillers, iconography could be weapons such as knives or guns, as these objects give connotations to the audience of death, murder and brutality.  A conventional piece of iconography would be a mask; this would normally be on the villain.  This is the idea hidden identity of the villain which creates suspense and mystery.  An example of a mask being used, would be in Halloween and Scream films as it makes the audience curious as they don’t know who is behind the mask.  Like many other thriller films, Halloween uses a knife as iconography as you see a hand holding it because it is a point of view shot.

In thrillers, colours can be limited, in other words would be known as low key lighting, as they may normally be filmed in the dark to create suspense.  The lighting and colour helps to create the overall mood and atmosphere of the film.   An example of a film, which has low key lighting, is Shutter Island, where all the character has, is a lighter as the only light source when he is walking through the alley way.  High key lighting gives the film a realistic feel and makes the audience relate to the situation.

In thrillers, a range of camera shots would be used to give a certain effect or create an effect for the audience. Camera movements such as hand held, can be used to give a sense of urgency and chaos as it seems to be quite fast paced.  This is conventional to thriller genre because the audience would be able to relate to the character and make them engaged to keep watching the film.  An example of this would be in Saw five, where once the timer is set off and the victims start reaching for the key, this signifies the urgency to survive.
   Another conventional camera shot would be the close up, this can be close ups of an object or a facial expression.  An example of a facial expression would be in Saw II, reverse bear trap where a close up of the victims face is shown to show her fear, therefore creating a relationship with the audience, as they will be able to relate to the fear on her face.
  

   Another camera shot would be the establishing shot.  This shot is conventional to the thriller genre because it sets the scene of the location and lets the audience where it will be taking place.  An example would be at the end of the first scene of Halloween where the house is shown, showing that the murder took place in that location

The main theme would often be based around something which occupies a lot of what society thinks about and may have a fear about; this could be able murder, kidnapping, isolation and the effect of it. 

The elements of shock, surprise and suspense are generic conventions of the thriller genre because without these three elements it wouldn’t be a thriller.  The element of shock would shock the audience without them knowing.   The element of surprise would keep them engaged as its slow version of events would follow up to surprise the audience as they wouldn’t expect it.  Suspense is a key element of the thriller genre as without suspense it would have a different effect on the audience, so they wouldn’t be able to be engaged to the film.  Within my thriller the element of shock and surprise is done in the opening sequence when the villain unexpectedly appears at the end of the thriller as he walks towards the camera which acts as the victims point of view.  The elements are conventional to the thriller genre as it has it have all three elements as the film wouldn't have the same effect on the audience.

Lighting is a generic convention because it decides on the tone of the atmosphere.  My group followed the generic convention of low key lighting in thrillers, as the victim and the villain walk through the car park and through the dark setting.  My group decided to film when it got dark and when other surrounding lights would be on, being some kind of light source for filming.  The victim is walking home from parking her car in the car park but she doesn't know that she is getting followed by the villain holding a knife.  We decided to use low key lighting as most dangerous scenes take place at night because they would have a lower risk of getting caught and would be able to create the feeling of danger and suspense for the audience.  So, the stabbing took place at the dead of night, as the audience would be able to see the shadow of the villain against the wall about to kill the victim.  This is conventional to the thriller genre because it is able to create suspense and mystery within our thriller.

Normally, the convention of the location would be in desolate, enclosed area or an area where nobody would really be, which adds a sense of having no way of getting out for the character.  I chose to use a car park as when they are empty, it can be creepy and they are commonly used in thrillers e.g. Scream 3.  A sense of worry would be created in other locations which are more isolated as if a person is in danger of getting murdered, there would be a low possibility of anyone coming across the victim and end up getting no help.  Our other location was walking through an area where it looks like nobody would be there, also giving false hope that the victim would come across anybody else to help them.

Another generic convention would be the iconography.  Weapons such as knives and guns are used.  We followed the convention of using the knife as the knife has connotations of death, brutality and fear.  The villain is seen holding the knife as he follows the victim in the car park and while she is in the car.  Iconography is conventional to the thriller genre as it wouldn't be able to give messages to the audience such as knives giving message that a character such as the victim would get killed.

The fact that a female victim was used within this thriller, is conventional to the thriller genre because females are known to be vulnerable and helpless as they can't really fight for themselves.  Stereotypically, females are used as victims in thriller films because of the idea that females are seen as the weaker of the characters as females are normally seen as the characters who get caught by the antagonist.

Another generic convention would be conventional sound because in thriller the sound has to be considered as being suspenseful as sound such as music would be able to create suspense towards the audience.  We included sound throughout my thriller opening sequence from selecting music from a website which was copyright free and taking into consideration what the audience would feel.

My thriller is conventional and successful as I followed the generic conventions of the characters of the idea of a victim and a villain.  The villain normally wears dark colours and tall.  The thriller genre focuses on the wrong type of behaviour, so we decided to do it on the idea of committing a crime being murder.  The fact that the villain is masked and wearing dark colours covers the convention of aspect of hidden identity.

Cinematography includes panning when the victim is walking in the car park and a point of view shot from the villain’s point of view when he is following the victim.   And the establishing shot, when it sets the scene of the car park for the audience.

The micro element of sound is a big factor in our opening sequence as this is main element in this, is the main thing which creates suspense.  We selectively chose the music to make sure it built tension and made sure there was music where silence wasn’t necessarily supposed to be.  This music is non-diegetic sound. Using music as non-diegetic sound is very conventional to the thriller genre because it’s another source of suspense for the audience. 

Comparing my thriller film to scream 3, my group took most of our inspiration from this film.  We decided to use the car park as part of our setting because the fact that the car park wouldn’t be in use and nobody would be there, would give the audience that victim would be unsafe which is what most situations they put the victim in a place where it would be unsafe for them and cause something bad to happen.  When developing a real thriller film, it is essential to think of the setting as it has to be conventional to the thriller genre because without a deserted setting, it would a completely different feel for the audience.

Just like Scream 3 and other thriller films they use weapons for iconography; this weapon being a knife.  The fact that the knife is shown, shows to the audience that something bad is happening.  The knife is revealed when in the car park in our thriller film and the knife is also shown to the audience in the car park when ghost face is on the hood of the car and shows the knife to the victim.  Once a knife is revealed to the audience, they instantly know that a killing will take place.

The music my group chose is very similar to scream 3 because of the suspenseful music and the part where it goes silent when you see the villain about to stab the victim, which signifies a death being taken place.  The silence in scream 3, also occurs when the victim gets killed after being unsuccessful from trying to get away.