QUESTION 1 IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

In researching the thriller genre I used a two-pronged approach. Firstly I looked at the formal study of thriller conventions and then applied this to my reading of media texts such as the opening sequences, trailers and full films in this genre on Youtube, Itunes or through Netflix. We referred to Shutter Island, The Game and also the Bond franchise, which is an action adventure thriller franchise at its most commercial. Indeed our opening sequence is in part inspired by the chase sequence opening of Quantum of Solace (dir. Marc Forster 2008). We also referenced The Bourne Ultimatum (dir. Paul Greengrass 2007) in the iconic chase on foot. In our film it is the youthful and innocent Laurence who is pursued by a bent cop.

I discovered the following narrative conventions 

o A narrative device that teases the audience with a puzzle or mystery to be solved.

o The hero overcomes obstacles and diversions to solve the riddle

o The hero is often a ‘lone wolf’ character. Moral but enigmatic.

o Violent crime and murder are often key features.

o The villain is often a shadow of the hero sharing many similar features.

We decided to conform to the thriller convention and went for showing the mystery from the start – we felt this would appeal to audiences and hook them into wanting to see more – to see how the film would resolve itself. We do not use a classic Todorovian plot however as our film opens at the second stage of disruption – the problem has occurred – the equilibrium is in the back story so we played around with Todorov’s narrative theory to increase the sense of mystery. But we did not try to subvert the convention any further as I do not fell we are experienced enough to do so convincingly.  

Because there is no dialogue the sound track is very important. It sets the tone and creates mood and informs us from the first moment what sort of film we are about to see. We use diegetic urban sound which instantly tells us this is a normal day in the city although we do not yet know why the young man is running and then theough this we hear the minor key of a tune reminiscent of Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream theme which tells us all is not as it might appear to be and creates tension. This is a conventional interpretation of the genre where we are introduced to the mystery from the outset in a realistic almost documentary like way as the theme music fades in bringing us into the film.

The Location is urban and suggests a maze like city of alleys and shortcuts creating an oppressive atmosphere as if the city itself is a labyrinth with a dark secret at its heart which adds to the sense of mystery.  

The film title – Legal Deception was the second title I chose in preference to our working title Blind Vision which I felt sounded too much like Eyes Wide Shut and didn’t convey the theme of the film accurately. Legal Deception sums up the film – it suggests both corruption in the police force and legal system and also the commission of a crime which we can do nothing about. 

On a generic level this film asks us questions about how we perceive reality. In a city such as London it is not unusual to see an older guy chasing a younger guy. We barely stop to think assuming that the younger guy is a shoplifter or thief and is being pursued as such. This conforms to stereotypes people have about young male adults. It would rarely occur to us to consider that the younger man might be in an altogether different kind of trouble and might be running for his life. In this sense we have subverted the stereotype but we must watch the film further for this twist to be revealed. Our choice of location, casting and clothing also reinforce this idea. There is nothing special about what they are wearing to identify them further than their age group. This could be your street on which this happens – look more carefully is the message – all may not be as it looks

I am satisfied that within the limitations of our film making experience and budget we created a product that instantly hooks the audience as it engages our curiosity – why is the younger man being chased. We want to know why and this hooks us into the rest of the film.