Question 1

How have we developed these conventions?

Our Mise en scene was very realistic as we used appropriate settings and scenery. We used Yasmin's house to film the scene where the baby is kidnapped by the antagonist. This scene was very realistic as we gathered soft toys around the baby's cot and we switched the TV on so that she fell asleep as we were filming. This also represented a warm and put together family home as we carefully selected the items that were to be seen on camera.

We added a similar scene from 'Obsessed' in our thriller opening, this was when Beyonce was on the phone to the antagonist warning her not to come near her family. We developed this by including a similar scene but we have our protagonist on the phone to her partners at work telling them that she is ready to go. We felt this was better as we didn't want the viewer to know who the antagonist was so early in the film. This helps create build up of suspense and creates a mystery. Looking at the images below you can also see how both protagonist from both thriller films are dressed in black. We developed this further as we had our protagonist in her uniform and she had extra accessories such as glasses and a briefcase.

In the opening credits we wanted to add some home made videos of the baby making her most happiest memories with her mother. We wanted this to illustrate the mother's happiness and how it changed after the incident. However these videos were recorded by hand without a tripod so the quality wasn't good enough. We were quite worried that this would make our film look unprofessional so we decided to add a recording sign around each of these shots to explain why they were like this. This helped us overcome a situation and create and effective piece out if it.

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

Conventions of a thriller film:

Currently many thrillers involve more than one set of conventions to create a very effective film which makes it very successful.

Mise en scene - Characters emotions

We wanted to portray a female protagonist in a superior light, however we still wanted to show her as a mother who has just lost her child. We thought we could show these two sides through different emotions. As you can see from the film 'Obsessed' Beyonce was shown as through different emotions, we created similar shots were our protagonist is seen throwing a pillow across the bed and then standing by the window feeling helpless.

• The narrative centers around a crime e.g. theft or murder
• The protagonist has a weakness and this is exploited by the antagonist. The title of the thriller is sometimes related to this weakness
• The protagonist is usually seen 'in peril' in a few scenes before the ending
• The narrative presents ordinary situations in which extraordinary things happen
• Themes of mistaken identity, doubling, amnesia and hidden identity are common
• A series of enigmas are set up in the opening of the film, however these are resolved at the ending of the film
• The antagonist ensnares the protagonist until he/she feels helpless.
• The main story line of a thriller film usually focuses on a problem that needs to be solved

Camera work and editing

Shocked

Angry

We used conventions that are used in real media products such as the authenticity of the scenes and locations. We developed many of our scenes and most of the scenes were filmed indoors apart from the ending.

Our film is inspired by the thriller called 'Obsessed', as it shows a similar situation where a mother is looking for her child. As we looked at the protagonist in this film, we thought we could develop her look further according to our own conventions. Our female protagonist is an MI5 agent and so we agreed on her costume change at the end in being all black with a briefcase, sunglasses and heels. We didn't want her to loose touch in her femininity so we decided she should wear heels. The briefcase and leather jacket represented her as a strong character as well as presenting her uniform.

Thriller films usually contain a large number of different shots and angles that create a build up of suspense. This convention is presented through a range of shots, such as close ups, mid shots and long shots. In our thriller opening we used and developed this convention which helped create a series of enigmas and added tension, allowing the viewer to understand the characters emotions and to see things from the characters point of view. Figure 1 shows a close up of the antagonists feet walking towards the baby. Also it may not be clear in this photo, however we added a dreamy effect in this shot to show that this is a flashback. This creates tension as the viewer doesn't know who this is. Figure 2 shows a shot of the camera tracking the protagonist as she is walking down the stairs. This makes the viewer feel as if they are following her on her way to resolve the situation. Figure 3 is a mid shot of the protagonist which shows only her back. This may be hiding her facial expressions, however we can clearly see that she is stressed out over the situation and feels helpless, as she runs her hand through her hair.

Continued...

Figure 1

Figure 3

Figure 2

Camera works - Establishing shot

Micro elements combine in a build up of suspense. These micro elements are explained in further detail below:

We also included a scene outdoors as our protagonist was leaving her house to resolve the situation, this added a sense of realism as it was shot outside her house.

Figure 4

We had to include an establishing shot as we wanted to let the audience know where the film was going to be set. We chose this shot of our female protagonist exiting her house to resolve the situation. This is a long shot which allows the viewer to see the characters body language, surroundings and costume. She was dressed all in black to represent her empowerment over the situation and that she has stayed strong in order to keep it control. We used conventions that are used in real media products such as the authenticity of the scenes and locations. We developed many of our scenes and most of the scenes were filmed indoors apart from the ending.

• Sound is used frequently to complete a mood that is given off to the viewer. There are two types of sound, diagetic and non diagetic. Diagetic sound can used when a character is speaking or when sound is coming from within the scene. Non diagetic sound is used when an over voice is needed or sound is needed to represent the weather or background music.
• The mise en scene is a key convention that is used in every thriller. It's the arrangement of scenery to symbolise a place or setting and this is represented through weather, lighting, staging, props and costume.
• A range of close ups, mid shots and long shots are used to show the characters facial expression, body language.
• Tracking is also mainly used as thriller films are usually involve fast paced scenes.
• Pace and shot duration can have an effect on the audience and how long the camera focuses on one shot
• The use of special effects can make a situation real as well as surreal and when they want a specific background, green screens can be used

How did we challenge these conventions?

Home videos - hand held recording

Conventions in thriller openings:

Non-diagetic sound - Voice over

We challenged the common conventions of a thriller as we went against the stereotype of having a male as the protagonist. The reason why we chose to use female dominance in our thriller opening is because our target audience research suggested that having a female protagonist would create a twist. Another reason why we chose to have both our protagonist and antagonist as females is so our product is different and can be distinguished from the rest. We decided that we were going to include a female protagonist for the reasons listed above.

We decided to add a voice over to our thriller opening as we thought it would sound more effective. Since we didn't have professional technology that allowed us to use a lot of dialogue in our opening, we thought having a voice over would be the next best alternative to express the protagonist's feelings. The idea of having a voice over was slightly influenced by the film 'Memento' as we thought it was a very effective technique that allows the audience to hear the characters thoughts and emotions. We created a voice over and then improved it, this was playing throughout most of the opening which gave the viewer a clearer understanding as to what was happening.

We challenged a couple of characteristics that included us not using guns and knives. This is because we believed that it would have made our thriller look very budget as we couldn't afford professional looking props. Also our thriller didn't need any guns or knifes to be included and we wanted it to look more realistic and believable. When we created our animatic we wanted to include a gun hidden in the protagonists pocket. However as we filmed it, it lacked authenticity and so we decided to cut that scene out of the opening.

• The story in the opening needs to be well thought of as this is what keeps the audience engaged, however it is important that not too much is revealed as the audience needs to be excited and interested in the rest of the film.
• The use of good clear camera angles and shots can be very effective as it could set a scene and create suspense.
• The sound used in the opening is key point as it can create a build up of suspense creating an impact on the whole story.
• The title sequence is an interesting way of grabbing the viewers attention as it could involve very famous actors and director/producer.

Our own voice over

Memento voice over

How have we used thriller conventions?

Use of Red Herring

Camera angle - Taking control

Titles:

Our use of titles was influenced by Se7en's title sequence, we found it very effective how they used a black screen in between each close up. So our title sequence involved short clips of our protagonists baby, these clips were recorded when her baby (Coco) was very young. We wanted to add these clips to the title sequence as we thought it would be very effective to start off with memories and a lullaby playing in the background. In between each clip there was a black screen with either the name of the producer, director, editor or cast.

As the title sequence plays on we have included a panning of baby photos as the directors name appears on screen. This was to hint to the audience who and what the storyline is about. In Memento there is a similar shot of someone holding a Polaroid photo in the opening credits which is of someone that has been murdered. This ends up to be what the story is centered around.

We based our story on a female protagonist who has her baby kidnapped. A similar thriller film is 'Obsessed' where the mother has her baby taken away by a women who is obsessed with her husband. The mother (Beyonce) has had enough, so she decides to take action herself and pick up the phone to get things straight. We wanted to show our female protagonist in the same light and we wanted her to take show she's in control, so we created a similar shot where she's on the phone saying that she's ready.

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