Nayani Vijayaratnam

Evaluation Activity 1

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

Genre Research

In our opening sequence we decided to incorporate the generic conventions f thriller films as we all thought that a thriller genre would allow us to execute our ideas and knowledge really well to create a 2-minute production.

Generic conventions of thriller include feelings of suspense and tension created through a danger, which is caused by the antagonist or an evil force. As you are able to identify we chose to accept the conventions of a thriller rather then challenging them as the most successful thriller films do so and receive positive feedback from their target audience. For example the 2006 thriller film, The Departed, made an international box office grossing of $157,276,304.

A convention of a thriller film also includes the anxiety that is created within the audience, as they are unaware of what is going to happen next. The protagonist is in a situation, which creates suspense as it leads to the pinnacle of the film and is devised to make the audience feel anxious and scared. We adapted this ideology in our opening sequence as we build up suspense up to the point in the production when the antagonist comes in direct contact with the protagonist. Here we decided to end it on a cliffhanger to make the audience feel anxious, as they are unaware of what is going to occur. Title of the film

We struggled to come up with a title for our production and were very indecisive to begin with as we kept changing our mind about it. We finally chose to call our production ‘Stalked’ as it went really well with the idea and represented it really well. The word ‘Stalked’ is linked to the production, as the antagonist is clearly someone who Rosie knows and has been stalking, as he knew where the spare key was and knew his way around the house. The title also contains an element of mystery, as there are several questions that arrive from it such as why are they being stalked? Who is the stalker? It also hints at other genres such as drama but the audiences are not fully aware of this until they watch it. This aspect intrigues audiences into the film, making them want to watch it.

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Style of the font

As the editor. I chose to use white writing on a back background as I felt like this would capture the audience attention as well as reflect the events that were to occur as black connotes evil and darkness while white connotes innocence, which represents Rosie. I chose the font as it was simple and clear to read it also contrasts the complex situation that the characters face themselves in within the film.

Opening Shot

Our opening shot follows a linear narrative as it presents the events in chronological order. We decided that this would be most fitting, as we wanted to build up suspense slowly by introducing new characters and disrupting the equilibrium as the narrative unfolds. The lacing of shoe suggests that someone is leaving/ going somewhere, which is supported by the high key lighting, which indicates to the audience that the character is innocent, and not of a dark nature.

The inspiration for this opening shot came from the 2013 thriller-horror film ‘The Purge’, in which the film opens with the character driving which indicates that he is going somewhere. This makes the audience question where he is going, what he’s doing etc.

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Cinematography

Cinematography is used to create a particular atmosphere to make the audience feel a certain type of way. We used several types of shots and angles to create different meanings. Above I have included two pictures; the top one from our production and the bottom picture is from ‘The Purge.’ The low angle shot is used to show the antagonist entering the house, it signifies the disequilibrium and the beginning of danger/evil. We used this idea in our opening sequence for the same purpose as it creates a sense of panic and make the audience feel concerned for the protagonist.

Setting

We used Rosie’s house as the location of our production as we felt that this would be more relatable for out target audience and would be more realistic (verisimilitude) as the main protagonist is an 8 year old, which makes it highly

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unlikely that Rosie would be out late at night. The bright lighting of the house at the beginning of the sequence is contrasted with the dark filter when the antagonist enters the frame. As the editor, I chose to do this in order to reflect the events that were occurring within the frame.

Sound (non-diegetic and diegetic)

As there was no dialogue within our production, music was very important in order to deliver emotions and messages to the audience. We used diegetic and non-diegetic music in order to support the narrative and help create a certain atmosphere etc. Our sequence began with soft lullaby-like non-diegetic music this represents the innocent nature of the protagonist. There is a halt in the music as the main protagonists sister, Ella, is shown. As the editor, I did this on purpose to show the lack of significance her role has and to create a chilling atmosphere. As the antagonist steps into the frame I have use non-diegetic asynchronous sound of siren to signal the danger and to change the atmosphere to create anxiety and suspense. As the antagonist goes into his bag to take out the music box the non-diegetic music becomes stronger and more dramatized to create tension. This is present in many thriller films such as the thriller-drama film ‘Gone Girl’ which uses high-pitched string instruments when Amy is plotting her revenge, which juxtaposes the soft non-diegetic music at the beginning.

Costume

Antagonists-

The antagonist is wearing a hood, which is covering his face this creates an enigma, as the audience is unable to see who it is. This makes the audience feel anxious and creates suspense, which fits the conventions of the thriller film.

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The antagonist is wearing gloves, which again adds to the suspense, as the audience is unable to see any part of him. All black clothing connotes evil and darkness, which is what the audience expects of an antagonist. The colour black also suggests negative and dark thoughts and feelings, which again add to the suspense and creates tension, as the audience are unaware of the antagonist’s negative and dark thoughts.

Protagonist-

Rosie is wearing a light pink onesie, which reflects her gender as pink is stereotypically considered to be a girly colour. This contrasts the dark colour of the antagonists clothing which is significant as it shows a contrast between Rosie’s innocent and good nature and the antagonists dark nature.

Props

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In this medium close up the audience see Rosie cuddling a minion toy this represents her purity and vulnerability, which the audience would expect of a young female protagonist.

The prop of a music box adds to the enigma of the film as the audience wonder about what the significance of the music box within the film. It also creates a creepy atmosphere as the adult antagonist is using a child’s music box.

The torch is a prop, which we used to create symbolism. Rosie represents the light from the torch, which indicates purity while the darkness she is surrounded

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by connotes darkness and evil. The inspiration o using a torch came from the film, ‘The Purge’, as majority of the film is in the dark.

Genre and how the opening suggests it

The genre of thriller is suggested through the first few shots of the opening sequence as we see Ella leaving in the middle of the night while Rosie is asleep and making a phone call. These unanswered questions create suspense and makes the audience feels anxious. This tension and anxiety, which is created through the character of Ella, fits the stereotypical convention of a thriller.

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How the characters are introduced

The protagonist Rosie is introduced to the audience when she is sleeping in her room. The majority of the frame is pink which represents her femininity. The high key lighting used in this shot represents her innocence and purity, which contrasts the next shots of the antagonist. Rosie is sleeping which creates a sense of peacefulness, which emphasises her innocence and vulnerability. This shot challenges the conventions of a thriller as there is no anticipation, tension, fretfulness etc. created.