Evaluation 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media product?

The image below represent the most valid clips which we believe to show conventions of thriller films which has been taken from our own thriller opening sequence.


 Story of how the opening sets up:

I wanted to start my horror opening sequence by creating suspense in order to grasp the audience's attention within minutes of the opening scene, so that they would be more engaged to watch the film. I decided that the arm of the female character would be most suitable, as a result taken from a high angle shot, this would illustrate that the female character is vulnerable and powerless. Furthermore, the camera angle that displays a female arm makes my opening sequence more dramatic. The first shot taken for my film was a medium to close up shot, capturing the female characters arm and specifically showing all the detailed blood marks on her arm. Using this particular shot enables the audience to identify that something is wrong and something bad has an is going to happen. 
Moreover, the main character is represented to be in a deep sleep, the costumes illustrate this, for example, the main character is wearing a black tank top and black joggers. This represents that she has a dark side to her and in a deep sleep, moreover, it also tells the audience that something bad will happen which attracts their attention. Also considering I used high key lighting  enables the audience to identify the blood marks on the characters arm and by using a variety of  medium-high shots, we were able to create a successful horrror opening sequence that builds suspense and grabs the audiences attention. Also, this encourages the audience to believe that something unexspected will occur. Most hybrid movies that has a combination of horror and thriller usually contain constant flashing images which also creates suspense as it builds up tension for the audience making them raise questions in their head, as a result I was influenced by 'Se7en' therefore used constant flashing images throughout my opening sequence to really capture the audience attention and puzzle them.    


Camera Work and Editing:


This image on the right provides the audience with valid information concerning the dominant character in this film. It becomes clear that the female character keeps a diary in which  she records the amount of people she has killed. I decided that it would be best if I used an medium shot to create suspense for example, when the female character is writing the audience at this point are extremely engaged as they are positioned in the characters shoes and are encourage to know what the character is writing. However, at the beginning when creating my story board I thought a close up shot would be best ideal however,  later on I realized  the audience can easily get confused, therefore, I then decided to use an extreme long shot however, this took the attention off the diary and did not represent its significance.  Additionally, a medium shot seemed perfect to address to my audience. This enabled my audience to understand the importance of the diary and be able to read the content clearly.  Moreover, by using low key lighting in this particular shot, enables the audience to  focus on the content of the diary, rather then having them focus on a range of things. Moreover, in Final Cut Express I edited the footage to make it black and white. This was extremely important as it tells the audience that this footage has happened in the past. One reason I thought I should have the past shots in black and white is due to 'The Ring'. This movie also uses black and white editing to represent the past which attracts the audience attention as they are curious as to what is it that happened in this characters past.


The title of the film:

The image on the left represents the title of the film which appears in 'dirt drop' in colors of red and yellow. The color red signifies blood and death and the yellow represents friendship. The fact the the actual title is written in yellow and then out layered in red represents how the female characters friendship is betrayed causing her to kill her best friend. Furthermore, each scene follows on to the next, the effect in which the letter are gone is "TV OFF". This represents that something is going to happen as stereo typically in thriller/horror movies when people turn the TV of the victim is most likely to get killed. One of the main reasons for using a male character as the background of the image is to represents that someone is always watching the victim. Moreover, the close up shot represents the male characters eyes, this positions the audience in the victims perspective; someone is always looking at them which gasps their attention. I first decided to use a plain black background for the title of the film however, this didn't emphasis the power of the title and attract to the audience to the best standards therefore, I decided to use a male character which would suddenly grasp the audience attention and build suspense. By using capital letters though out the title of the film, adds boldness whilst capturing the audience's attention, which was my main intention. 


How the characters are introduced:

To introduce the characters through flash backs to our target audience, I decided the first shot that I would use is a medium shot. This illustrates who the dominant character is in the film to the target audience and it establishes the characters 'illness'. Moreover, due to the effective camera shots the audience are able to understand the characters action that has been represented though the body language. This particular image enables the audience too see that this character is going to do something terrible. The fact she is looking directly at the camera with a smirk on her face illustrates this. Also, the darkness of the image tells the audience that this character is associated with secrets. Furthermore, the tank top worn by this character is black, this demonstrates to the audience that this character commits crime as black is associated with death, for example, when participating in a funeral. This image establishes the conventions of thriller and horror films as at this point in films the story line being to unfold and builds suspense. 


Lighting:

The lighting in this image is used to highlight the blood marks on the victims hand to illustrate she has comited this murder. Moreover, the fact that she female characters shadow reflects on the dead character represents her power. Moreover, I decided to use a long shot, and low key lighting to illustrate the darkness within the characters to the audience. By using low key lighting in this frame, it enables the audience to focus on the arm. Moreover, I believe it was very important to use low key lighting t illustrate shadows which would represent the darker side of the story. Additionally, the use of lighting enable the audience to see that everything with in this shot was not what it shows, and there's a deeper story towards it. 


Setting and Location:

This particular image on the left represents a room. This shot is taken when the victim turns around to see if someone is behind her however, spots no one. The reason why I chose this particular setting was because it seemed more realistic, where someone casually in is in their room typing on the laptop. Moreover, the audience at this point are engage as they assume something terrible is going to happen within the next few shots. The use of the soundtrack and lighting creates a realistic atmosphere therefore, it represents that something unexspected is going to happen to the character. Moreover, the image is a medium shot. The reason for this is because it enables the audience to establish what the setting is. 


Genre and how the opening suggests it

These two images represent exactly what genre this film belongs too. This film is a hybrid, is contains conventions of thriller and horror. Furthermore, within a few minutes of the opening sequence, the female character is represented killing a victim. This illustrates a successful film opening as it creates a range of question for the audience for example, why is she killing her? What is going to happen next? Will anyone find out? What is she gaining from killing this innocent person? Are these two characters related in any way? By building suspense and raising question in the audiences mind, these shot achieves the film goals. When creating 'REWIND'  I had no intention of creating a hybrid, the genre was specifically meant to be a thriller. However, by challenging the conventions of thriller movies 'REWIND' resulted as a hybrid, containing the genre horror. Some horror conventions that 'REWIND' consist that this image represents are: frighten and panic the audience. The victim was casually typing on her laptop however the protagonist comes and kills her, this makes the audience panic and frightens them as to what will happen next. Also, another convention this image represents is 'Fear of death' before she is killed.


Special effects


This image represents an eye looking directly at the audience. however suddenly the eye is moving and overlaps against where it was first position. The reason I used special effect on the eye is to capture the audience attention. The fact that the eye is constantly moving indicates that the antagonist is always watching from different places and angles. Also, it emphasis's how the victim can not think straight and is all over the place. The actual eye itself grabs the audience attention as the eye is looking directly at the audience as a results creates a frighting emotions. The fact that the opening sequence suddenly ends with a eye is one reason why 'REWIND' is a hybrid. Horror movies such as 'The Ring' and 'Grudge' have close up shot of eyes at random times just like 'REWIND' to create suspense and fear for the audience.

How the suspense is created:

The image on the left represents the victim identifying loads of images on the wall of people however she is unaware of who these people are. This creates suspense as the audience are positioned in the victims point of view therefore are puzzled as to why there are loads of pictures on the wall, who the people are, and what does it mean. The medium shot enables the audience to see all the pictures and the wall and view what the female character is doing. Also, it creates a focus point on the image and the dominant character which creates suspense as the audience are intrigued as to what will happen next within the next few shots and whether their questions are answered. Throughout the whole opening scene questions are constantly raised and created for the audience through flashback and prompts such as the diary. This instantly creates suspense as the audience are engaged and are interested to see how the puzzle is solved.  

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