Question 1

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

My opening sequence included many generic thriller conventions including;

• Chase scenes- which is used in many famous, successful thriller films such as Scream and Halloween. Within these thrillers several victims are chased by the villain, therefore within my clip there is a chase scene where the female victim is chased by the Killer in the forest. Throughout my research I found that during the chase scene the killer seems to walk in a fast pace rather than run like the victim, this is believed to make the victim seem more vulnerable and the killer seem deranged and superior.

• Female victims- which is the most common thriller convention, used in many films such as Paranormal activity, Jaws, Roommate and Scream. Within these thrillers, the main and majority of the other victims are female. For example Roommate, which uses a young, pretty female as the villain of the film. However within my thriller I decided not to subvert against the codes and conventions of a thriller, as I did not have much research collected on thrillers that did this and stereotypically females are the weaker more vulnerable gender. Therefore the audience can relate to my choice of characters as they are aware of these stereotypes.

• A forest setting- which is used within The Blair Witch Project, which is where most of the surprise and shock elements come into action. Within my thriller 50% of the footage is filmed within a forest location, it creates a higher level of suspense and fear for the audience as it is not a comfortable or familiar setting. The use of all the dead trees conveys the victims future, as she is in danger at the specific time the trees appear in the frame. They also create more suspense and drama for the audience as they become connected to the character and become distressed as they can not see anywhere for her to hide from the killer.

• Low-key lighting- which is used within aspects of most if not all thriller films for example Halloween and Scream. This is the main convention used to help build suspense for the audience. Low key lighting begins in my thriller sequence when the chase scene begins, this was used to create a scarier atmosphere, as the low key lighting builds up more suspense and shock for when the killer captures the victim. The low key lighting used within my opening sequence gradually becomes more apparent as the narrative becomes darker and more dangerous, this is used to alert the audience of the upcoming events within the narrative.

Handheld camera- which is used within documentary films such as Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project. This is used used to create a very realistic effect for the audience. Within my opening sequence the handheld camera effect was used many times from the victims point of view, it was used to show her point of view and portray her emotions to the audience as the camera becomes jerky and unstable. There is also another point within my opening sequence in which the killer is holding the handheld camera, this is used to convey his control and emotionless behaviour towards the victim, we added in an effect over the footage to emphasis this representation. 

• Iconography- I chose to use a hammer as the weapon, this is because it gives effect when the weapon choice subverts from the stereotypical weapon. For example within Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a chainsaw is used instead of the stereotypical knife. Although I did make a slight choice in iconography which was not conventional to most thrillers. Instead of using a knife was the weapon, I chose to use a hammer, this is because my killer had to be portrayed as deranged and I believe this is a good way to reflect this. I directed Tom to hold the hammer and make a hand gesture with it, I believe this gave him a much more terrifying portrayal as it looks like he is enjoying stalking his victim.

All of these conventions plus many more are used within thrillers to help build suspense for the audience so that they are aware of the genre of the film and become frightened. When watching a thriller the audience become drawn in by the conventions as they experience the three S's, suspense, shock and surprise. To create the 3 S's films need to include many generic conventions, however many films challenge the codes and conventions of a thriller. 

Overall I do believe my thriller is conventional, as it includes many codes and conventions in which the audience can become aware of the genre of the film, they can associate all of the elements and effects that I have used towards the thriller genre. The title of my opening sequence is 'Aphotic' which is another word for 'Dark'. I chose this to be the title of my thriller as it is very mysterious which reflects the narrative of my actual opening sequence. I believe this is a very conventional title for a thriller as it has a deeper meaning which represents the atmosphere of most thrillers, it builds suspense for the audience as they are unaware of this deeper meaning until the end of the film.