Evaluation Question 1 Frances

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

 

There are many things that distinguish whether a movies falls into the category of a thriller, a few of these things are:

• An obvious plot, usually with a climax of something dramatic or scary happening which grabs the consumers attention.
• Suspense, enigma and tension are usually the main elements that thrillers consist of.
• They usually stimulate the moods of the consumers so that the consumers almost feel the same emotions as the antagonist in the film is feeling.
• Thriller films usually consist a lot of uncertainty and surprise so the consumers usually has no idea what's going to happen next.
• They usually have a lot of action and violence in them which helps the film stay exciting and makes the consumer want to continue to watch it.
• If a film consists of supernatural behaviour then it cannot be a thriller.
• The choice of music in a thriller normally helps create the intense atmosphere in a thriller, however in scenes with no music an intense atmosphere can still be upheld as if gives the consumer a sense of uncertainty.

After researching some thriller openings, I found many that back up my points:
Inception:
Inception is a very good example of a thriller opening because the opening scene is a distorted image of a middle aged man washed up on a beach, it gives no indication whether he is the protagonist or antagonist this early on in the film. Other things we see in the opening that back up my idea that is a thriller are:

• We are introduced to the character with an eye line match of some children playing in the sand which seem to be a figment of his imagination as the children are rather ghostly looking, this creates an atmosphere of uncertainty for the rest of the thriller opening as we don't know who this man is or why he washed up on the beach.
• As this is happening there is no music, just the diegetic sound of waves crashing against the shore. As there is no music  it creates an idea of suspense and uncertainty as we are not sure what the man is going to do or where he is going to go next.
• The next scene in this thriller opening is of a Chinese man looking at 21st century weapons but then quickly flashes back in time which also backs up my idea of Inception being a thriller.
• The characters talk about 'the dream state' which implies that the film could be about dreams, this creates a dark atmosphere.

Camera:

• The beginning of the thriller opening we are greeted with a close up of the protagonist or antagonists face, his face shows a confused maybe in pain facial expression however it doesn't make a very clear indication of what this character is feeling.
• There is also many extreme low angle long shots which lets the consumer see what kind of setting this character is in.
• There are many two shots in this thriller opening which gives us a feel of the relationships between the characters in the scenes and also gives us a better understanding of who these characters may be.
• There is a medium close up on the spinner which suggests that it is a significant prop in the film.

Sound:

• There is no music played throughout the whole opening which creates the sense that the producers wanted to go straight into the opening and make us guess who these characters are and why they are there straight away, without any distractions of music.
• The diegetic sound of the waves right at the beginning of the opening creates an eery feel for the consumer and gets us guessing how the man managed to end up washing up on the shore of an unknown island.
• The Chinese characters which escort the man washed up on the beach to the building we are introduced to up in the hills, speak what appears to be Chinese which suggests that this island that he has been washed up on is a foreign country from where he originates from.
• As the characters in the room are having a conversation there is suddenly the hyperbolic sound of the building rumbling which suggests that an earthquake could be happening.
• There is then the non-diegetic sound of a clock ticking which suggests that this scene isn't reality.

Editing:

• Usually thriller openings are fast pacing however the start of this thriller opening appears to be slow paced which goes against the usual factors of a thriller. However when the man who was washed up on the beach is taken to the building on the hills by the men, after a few minutes of being there we are introduced to what appears to be a flashback. As the characters in the room are having a conversation there is suddenly the diegetic sound of the building rumbling which suggests that an earthquake could be happening. There is then the non-diegetic sound of a clock ticking which suggests that this scene isn't reality.
• As the man washed up on the beach and the old Chinese man have a conversation in a room it suddenly jumps back in time to what appears to be the same room as they were sitting in before. This suggests that the idea of time travel could play an important part in the movie.
• After the earthquake there is the sound of an explosion then the scene cuts to another scene which looks like a grotty, rundown apartment.

Mise en scene:


Lighting and colour: The beginning of the opening where the man is washed up on the beach is very bright links to the idea that he is hallucinating and isn't really seeing the young children playing in the sand. There is suddenly a drastic change of lighting as we switch scenes. In the building with the many Chinese men the room is very dimly lit which creates a dark atmosphere, although there are lots of what looks like lamp shades, we cant see the faces of many of the characters which gives a sense of mystery. When we are introduced to the spinner by a medium close up there is a light shining on it from the right hand side which highlights the spinner and suggests that it is a significant prop.

Costume, hair and makeup: Usually in thriller's films if a character is wearing dark clothing, usually all black, then they are the antagonist. The man who prods the man on the beach with a gun, is wearing all black with a black which suggests that he is the antagonist in the movie. The old man sitting at the table is wearing a black or navy suit and he has light grey hair which suggests that he is fairly old. The character who gets washed up on the beach is wearing an off brown/green ragged top which suggests that he could have been wearing that outfit a long time as it looks fairly worn away and torn. All the Chinese characters in the room in this scene have black slick back hair and are wearing expensive looking suits which implies that they are all fairly well off and have important jobs as they are able to afford suits of this sort.




Setting, décor, props: From my research of other thriller openings I have found that most settings are dimly lit to create a dark and mysterious atmosphere for the film. In the opening for inception there is a five second medium close up focus on the spinner which the old man spins on the table. By the length of this camera focus it suggests that this spinner is highly significant and could give us a greater understand of the story line later on the film.

 Body language and facial expression: When the character is washed up on the shore he has a dazed expression on his face suggesting that he is confused of his whereabouts. The facial expressions of the Chinese characters are all emotionless throughout the thriller opening therefore it makes it hard for us to guess what they are thinking and feeling as they don't show it through their faces or body language.

Now you see me

• 
  This thriller opening introduces the what appears to be antagonist straight away/
• The protagonist seems to be a magician which creates a sense of uncertainty and enigma for the consumer.
• The building that the protagonist is standing in right at the beginning of the thriller is a dimly what seems like apartment lounge.

My thrillerMy thriller opening follows many conventions of a thriller for example:

• At the start of my opening we are introduced to which the consumer might guess is the protagonist as it appears she has been a victim to some type of assault or attack.
  
   

• In the next scene we are introduced to the antagonist which is obvious to the consumer who it is by the way he acts.

• The music throughout the opening sets a dark uncertain atmosphere which most thrillers also have.
• When the protagonist is hit over the head by the antagonist it cuts to black and there is just the diegetic sound of her getting hit over the head with the stick which backs up the idea that it is a thriller.

• The fake blood used in my thriller makes the attack look more realistic and believable and lets the consumer have a real feel of the pain the protagonist was feeling at this point.
• The scene where the antagonist is in the woods is dimly lit which creates an eerie feeling for the consumer, this shows how this is a thriller.