Question 1

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

A thriller is a genre of film which uses suspense, tension and excitement as its main elements to interest the audience. There are many different types of thriller sub genre including Action Thrillers, Crime Thrillers, Psychological Thrillers, Sci-fi Thrillers, Religious Thrillers, Paranormal Thrillers and Film Noir. 

The sub genre which we chose was a Psychological thriller and this is because we did research in the form of Vox Pops and the results showed psychological thrillers to be popular and we thought the genre would be interesting to explore. For example you can use different camera shots and angles to confuse an audience or make them uncomfortable or you can use different filters to distort images and make them abnormal to a regular persons sight. From a psychological thriller, an audience can expect non-diegetic sounds which compliment the unnatural aspects of the film and hints towards mental instability. The results from our Vox Pops also told us that sound is also a very important instrument used to create suspense. The plot of the films are always very dramatic and have lots of twists. This keeps the audience interested and has them constantly asking questions. 

Usually a psychological thriller contains elements of horror which include suspense and tension to make the audience uncomfortable. They also sometimes use minimal injuries or gore but these tend to be a hallucination or something the protagonist has done because they have been driven mad by their minds. These films have a way of making the audience question whether the protagonist really is mentally ill or whether they are being tricked in some way. 

Elements of the genre which we used were suspenseful music which hints to the audience that something is going to happen and also builds tension which the our protagonist, the teenage girl, is walking up to her bedroom. We also included diegetic in the beginning when the girl hears a bang from upstairs and then later pauses at the bottom of the stairs after hearing a door creak. The effect of these sounds is that over the top of the eerie music there are also conventional sounds from horror or psychological films and in real life when people hear these sounds, they naturally are afraid and investigate them. We also used tilted angle shots at the beginning of the titles which confuses the audience as it is an unnatural position to see things in. Another element which we used was the main protagonist being the mentally ill character however we developed the idea further and used one person acting as two roles. The ‘alter-ego’ shown at the end of the titles is an alternate side to her personality or the ‘alter-ego’ could also be a figment of the girls imagination and the girl thinks she is actually doing things like ripping up the magazines. An element which we challenged however was using a young person as the protagonist. 

Usually in psychological films, the protagonist is played by an adult and only 3 out of the list of top 100 psychological thrillers on IMBD had young people as the protagonist and even in those films, the protagonist was a boy. Using a girl allowed us to explore the idea of the media dictating what a young girl should look like and in our thriller titles, the pressure of this is too much for the young girl and cause her to be mentally ill. 

Conventions of thriller film opening titles include the use of shots and angles. Extreme long shots are commonly used to establish the surroundings and set the scene of the film while mid shots, close ups and over the shoulder shots are used through out the films as typical shots to show characters in their surroundings, their emotions and conversing with another character. Extreme close ups are sometimes used in thriller films to add suspense, uncertainty and make the audience unnerved. Point of view shots are sometimes used in crime thrillers as these can be in the point of view of the killer to create mystery or in the point of view of the victim to create realisation. High angle or low angle shots are commonly used as these can make certain characters look powerful and others look weak. This is important as there are usually very strong characters in thriller films who create all the action and suspense and of course there are the characters who they defeat and put down. These types of shots are commonly used in the film ‘Taken’. Below are three screen shots. One shows an example of a point of view shot, from the view of the victim; it is also a low angle shot. The next two shots are close up shots which are used commonly in the film ‘Taken’ to show the emotion in detail on the actors faces.

Tilt shots are commonly used in psychological thrillers as they are unnatural and unnerve the audience while they can also be used in action or crime thrillers to show evidence on boards or on the floor and weapons. Fast paced editing is essential in thriller films as this is what primarily causes the thrill. The use of many different shots which are fast paced and edited well creates an exciting scene for the audience as they sit on the edge of their seat trying to keep track of the different things happening in each shot.

In ‘Sherlock Holmes’ the fight scene is edited very quickly to express his skill as a fighter:

These types of shots influenced our thriller because we used a point of view shot as the girl saw her alter-ego which created a sense of realisation and also made the alter ego look vulnerable. We also were influenced by the use of close up shots which we thought would be effective in our psychological thriller to show the expressions of our characters and their feelings. The fast paced editing of Sherlock Holmes influenced us to make our shots which were meant to show suspense be more exciting for the audience after the shots were edited in a quick series. We developed the fast paced edit by using extreme close ups inbetween the series of shots which added more interesting and intriguing shots for the audience to see while also introducing enigmas and made the audience more intrigued and excited.

Mise en scene is very particular to each genre. The costume is reliant upon the time period and the setting of the film. For example, film noir films are usually set in cities and are typically from the 1950’s so this would give an impression that the male characters would wear a pork-pie hat and a businessman suit. Usually thriller films have dark lighting or a filter which darkens them which creates a suspenseful atmosphere and questions for the audience. In the film ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ a dark lighting is used to express the intense nature of the film:

Conventionally, men are the protagonists in thriller films and the protagonist is usually the hero who is the films focus while there is also the damsel in distress who is the hero’s job to save. There is usually an antagonist who is the villain in the film who is skilful, smart and often psychologically disturbed. Props are widely ranged including weapons for crime thrillers and everyday household objects for psychological thrillers. ‘The Bone Collector’ is a film which uses many props as, being a crime thriller it needs props to use as weapons and evidence of a crime:

These things influenced our thriller because we wanted our thriller to be disturbing and dark which meant we could use the aspect of lighting to make the shots more dim and suspenseful for the audience. We also wanted to challenge the conventions of a typical thriller film. Instead of having a hero and a villain we decided to make them the same character. The girl and the alter-ego are played by the same person and are effectively the same character. The only character in our opening titles is both the protagonist and antagonist because the girl has a split personality. The props used in our thriller film were household objects because the setting is the girls home and to add a sense of realism we wanted all the props to be what you can find in a typical family home.

The narrative of thriller films are similar as in the beginning we are introduced to the protagonist and given information about them such as their personality/where they live/work etc. We are also given the initial problem of the film and the protagonist is involved in it some way. Mystery can be involved and the audience begins to feel excitement to solve it. You are also introduced to any villains or suspects and the audience becomes interested to find out the results at the end of the film. The middle of the film is when the protagonist begins to solve the problem and the film reaches its climax. This is when the audience is on the edge of their seat in suspense and sometimes other problems can be caused at this point which the protagonist needs to solve by the end of the film. The end to the film is when all the problems are solved and the antagonist is revealed if it has not been already. However at the end of some films such as psychological, crime or supernatural thrillers some questions are left unanswered and the film ends with a cliff hanger. Our thriller opening titles challenge the typical thriller because the initial problem is revealed straight away although it still creates an enigma for the audience because they do not know exactly why the girl has an alter-ego and whether it is all in her mind or not.

Diegetic and non-diegetic sound is used through out all films and in thriller films non-diegetic sound is used to tell the audience what emotions they should be feeling in a particular scene. Non-diegetic sound is also very useful to create tension and suspense which is what thriller films are all about. Diegetic sound is commonly used in crime films when sounds such as guns and knives are used and a pivotal points in the films. Sometimes these sounds are enhanced and made louder during editing if they are important so that the audience definitely hears them. In our thriller film we used diegetic sound such as the banging from upstairs and the creaking door and these added suspense to our thriller. Pitch is important in thriller films such as a low pitch to create mystery and tension and a high pitch in horror films to make the audience jump. We used a piece of non-diegetic sound which had a low pitch which caused tension and the use of a higher pitched piano at points during the music which is an uncomfortable and sinister sound which can make the audience uncomfortable and tense. Usually fast paced music is used in thriller films such as action films and this is because it matches the action happening on the screen; this is synchronous sound. In psychological thrillers the use of silences is common as these are effective in making the audience reflect on what has happened in a scene or it can create more tension as a pause during music. 

However sometimes asynchronous sound is used and is especially effective in horror thriller films when there is joyful music playing while someone is getting murdered. This is effective because it shows the killer as a sadist and reveals more about the character while also making the audience uncomfortable. In the film ‘Shutter Island’ asynchronous music is used to make the protagonist look like a sadist. Calm and orchestral music is heard as he moves a gun away from a wounded man using his boot, so that the man cannot end his own suffering:

The piece of music we used called 'Creepy music box' also gave an asynchronous effect to our thriller opening because the music sounds like a child's music box while also sounding quite sinister. While the shots of the alter-ego crouching on the floor are shown and while the alter-ego rips posters off of the wall the music is still playing which creates an uncomfortable feeling because a piece of music which should sound innocent has been contorted and is playing while malignant actions are taking place.

A thriller opening sequence will use these conventions such as extreme close ups or point of view shots are used to add mystery and not give too much detail away. The opening sequences will contain fast paced editing straight away to capture the audiences attention and creates thrill before the real action has begun. The mise en scene is very important in an opening sequence as it sets up the theme of the film and suggests ideas about the films plot and characters. Darker lighting is commonly used to create a mysterious atmosphere and also hint towards the dark nature that thriller films usually have. Sometimes the structure of the shots are not chronological. For example flashbacks or even future shots are sometimes used in the opening to intrigue the audience and can give a background information to help the audience understand why something is happening or why a character now acts a certain way. The shots from the future can make the audience excited to watch the film as they want to find out how the characters got to that point and what caused them to act that way. Dual narratives can also be used in an opening to create an enigma for the audience as they know the two story lines will collide at some point in the film but they do not know for what reason yet. An opening will almost always have sound which excites the audience and give them a hint of the action which will occur in the film. The film ‘Skyfall’ is a good example of this as the opening titles contain images of the action the audience could expect to be in the film, such as blood, guns and tombstones. The song accompanying the titles is very slow and dramatic signalling that the film will also be the same.

One thriller opening titles which I studied was the ‘Dexter’ opening titles. In a way these titles broke some of the conventions of thriller titles. The sequence was very well lit and the colours were very bright. However the main colour expressed was red which conventionally suggests blood and hints towards violence or murder in the actual programme. Something else which was unconventional was that the opening titles revealed to you straight away who the main killer of the programme was. This was made clear by extreme close up shots of the protagonist killing insects, cutting himself, dripping blood and doing simple actions like making coffee or tying his laces with angry force. This is unconventional because usually a TV programme or film tries to conceal the killer until the end to create mystery for the audience and make them want to keep watching until the end. Although we are told quickly that the protagonist is actually the killer, the programme is still intriguing because it is unconventional for the main character to act so normal but be a killer too. In this way ‘Dexter’ is quite similar to the film ‘American Psycho’ as it is revealed to us that the main protagonist is the killer at the beginning of ‘American Psycho’ too. The music in ‘Dexter’ uses the piano, bassoon and some string instruments such as the violin which creates a strangely upbeat song. However the song has a sinister element due to the electric instruments which give the song a metallic sound. There are also diegetic sounds behind the music such as the man eating or the razor dragging across his skin. These sounds are unnaturally loud which makes the audience uncomfortable because the actions are quite personal. In conclusion, the sound used in ‘Dexter’ does follow convention as it sets up a sinister and uncomfortable atmosphere for the programme. This means that the 'Dexter' opening titles do not follow all the conventions of what a typical thriller would possess and challenges most of the conventions. However it still gives the same effects that a thriller should which is suspense, excitement and tension.

‘Se7en’ was a real thriller film which inspired our opening titles. We chose ‘Se7en’ as it successfully expressed the mood and themes of the whole film. The use of close up shots was very effective as you could see the detail of props and it also allowed the titles to flow much better. The fact that the actors face is not seen throughout the titles was very effective as they are the killer and it was a mystery but we were not creating a crime/mystery thriller so although it was effective for the film ‘Se7en’ we decided against the idea for our own thriller. 

                                       

Although you can only see the actor’s hands in the opening titles, this does reveal a lot about his character. The fingernails are dirty and there a bandages on his fingers and this reveals that the character hurt themselves while the dirty fingernails shows that they have been doing something unusual or wrong. Realising that the use of costume/make up has created a character for the antagonist in ‘Se7en’, it inspired us to use make-up and costume in a way that reveals the characters personality well in our own thriller. Below is an image of the make-up we used on the alter-ego's face which was inspired by the dirty fingers of the actor in 'Se7en'. The dark eyes look sunken and tired which reflects how the character is not mentally healthy.

The dark lighting and filters in ‘Se7en’ were also an inspiration to us. If it had been filmed in a brighter place or had no filter over it then the dark and gritty mood would not have been expressed. The lighting in these titles are dark and full of shadows which clearly denotes that the rest of the film will be quite twisted and dark in terms of themes. The lighting flickers and the denotion of black spots makes it look old and corrupted. This is effective because it could indicate that the actor’s mind is corrupted and that they are mentally ill.

Filters are used and these include sepia or black & white. The filters change with the light and flicker on and off and this distorts some shots and makes them look disturbing or unnatural. We liked this idea because we were creating a psychological thriller and the effect of the filters relates to the way a mentally ill persons mind would feel like and also clearly indicates to the audience that something is not right and it makes the shots feel gritty and uncomfortable. Below are three screen shots from ‘Se7en’ which show the filters and lighting:

The colours used in ‘Se7en’ were also an inspiration to us. They were a clear indication of what the audience could expect from the film. The use of colour is important as the colours are mostly grey, black or brown and this reveals the general theme of the film which is sinister and disturbing. However at different points in the titles sudden bursts of dull red appear and this could connote any murder or blood shed shown in the film. We decided that colour would be a good way to show the themes of our titles and also express the personalities of the characters by showing one in lighter clothes as good and one in darker clothes as evil. We would also use fake blood as the colour in our titles while everything else was a duller colour.

The typography used in a film is important as it gives the film its personality and can distinguish its genre. In ‘Se7en’ the typography is always on a black background and looks as though it has been scratched into something which connotes anger. The shot of the title appears very quickly however it appears more than once but in a different size and place on the screen. The flickering of the titles suggests indecisiveness and instability which is also shown by the look of the typography. As we were creating a psychological thriller this was appealing and we tried to choose typography that also effected the psychological damage we were trying to portray in our thriller.

Our thriller title is similar to that on ‘Se7en’ because it is short and directly links to the plot of the film. ‘Se7en’ is about the seven deadly sins and a murderer using the seven deadly sins as his modus operandi whereas out thriller is about a young teenage girl who develops an ‘Alter-Ego’ due to the pressures about body image in the media. From the title of our film the audience would correctly guess that one character in the film has an alter-ego and the girl is the only actor in the titles so this would cause the audience to believe that she is has the split personality. Furthermore the appearance of our title is quite conventional and, in appearance, is quite similar to that of ‘Se7en’. ‘Se7en’s titles are gritty and look like they have been scratched into something while appearing on the screen quickly and jittery. This links to the way the character in ‘Se7en’ is mentally ill and is unstable. Our title appears by the ‘Alter-Ego’ ripping off the posters on her bedroom wall and revealing the title underneath. The way she does this shows she is losing her mind as the posters have droplets of blood on them and she’s ripping them off angrily. The actual typography is similar to a magazine or newspaper font and the edges of the title are ripped like the magazine props we used. This links the appearance of our title strongly with the narrative and props in out thriller.

The location of our thriller film is in a Victorian style family home which is quite unconventional as most thrillers are set either outside in a town or city or even in a more modern house. Se7en was set in a fictitious city which suited its story of a murderer in a larger setting. However our location was very accessible to our whole group and we needed a teenage girls bedroom as our setting to show how the girls private bedroom is where her alter-ego comes out because she does not want other people to see her emotionally damaged.

As previously stated the costumes and props used in ‘Se7en’ did influence our own choices. Although you never see the full costume of the antagonist shown in the ‘Se7en’ opening titles, you do see their hands which reveal a lot about their character. The fingernails are filthy and the fingers are wrapped in bandages which hints towards the character doing something unusual or wrong to get themselves hurt. Although the costume is very minimal, it tells a lot about the character which is what influenced us to think carefully about make up and costume. Our character of the teenage girl is wearing a white jumper and white/grey patterned skirt. The colour white usually indicates purity and innocence while her make up is also very minimal and pure. However for her alter-ego we wanted to drastically change the make up and costume in a way that you would be able to tell straight away it is meant to be a different character even though it’s the same person. The alter-ego wore a black jumper, black skirt and tights while the make up around the eyes was smudged and she had very dark red lipstick on which she smudges. This change to darkness was meant to indicate that the alter-ego character is quite sinister and the smudges of make up should have shown that she is emotional and mentally ill. The white and pure costume the girl wears is quite typical of an innocent character in a thriller film while the dark costume of her alter-ego is also very conventional as evil character usually wear dark clothes also. Other thriller films with teenage girls as the main characters are 'Scream 4' and 'Hanna'. In 'Scream 4' the main character is Jill Roberts a psychopathic girl and in 'Hanna' the main character is Hanna a 16 year old who was raised to be an assassin. However apart from these films, there are not many other thriller films which have a teenage girl as the main  character and in this case our use of a teenage girl seems unconventional.

The camerawork used in our thriller opening is quite conventional as we use a range of close ups/extreme close ups which are common in thrillers to show clues or express intense emotion. Long shots are not commonly used in thrillers because it delays the characters emotion to be seen by the audience. Our shot list reveals the range of shots we used in our opening which ranges from extreme close ups to long shots with low angle and tilt shots too. Similar to ‘Se7en’ we used extreme close up shots to make the opening flow better and add detailed interest for the audience. 

Our editing is quite conventional of a thriller, especially at the beginning of our titles. The editing is faced paced to gain and maintain audience interest. ‘Se7en’ also uses this technique during the sequence of titles with close up or extreme close up shots of props. We took inspiration from this and used magazines and fake blood as our props to use in a fast paced edited sequence.

The narrative of our thriller is unique but portrayed in a conventional way. Our thriller is about a teenage girl who reads fashion magazines and feels pressure from the media to look a certain way. She is mentally effected by this and this causes her to create an ‘alter-ego’ who is her darker self which feels anger at the media and magazines for making her feel this way. We thought this was a very modern and current idea however we presented it in a conventional way in which the girl is home alone, hears sounds coming from upstairs and finds her alter-ego in the corner of her bedroom. We kept in mind that the opening titles will only by around two minutes so we wanted to get across what the film would be about without giving too much away. The audience is left wondering whether the other girl is just in her imagination and what is happening to the girl. It is similar to the film ‘Se7en’ because in the opening titles you know that this person is the killer and is killing people who match the seven deadly sins. The audience is left wondering whether he has killed anyone, whether he will and whether he will get caught. Similarly the audience after watching out thriller opening may wonder whether the girl will get rid of her alter-ego and whether anyone will find out about it.

The genre of our thriller is psychological and is suggested by the darker filter which had been edited into the titles. This filter suggests a dark theme to the film while creating shadows and a sinister atmosphere. The music also reflects the genre as it almost sounds like a little girls rhyme however the piano used in the music makes an unsettling feeling for the listener. The music reflects the way the girl should still be innocent like the way she was when she was younger however she has been corrupted by the media so the song has a dark theme. The props used such as ripped magazines and fake blood suggest a psychological theme because they suggest something is seriously wrong and unusual while the body language of the alter-ego crouched in the corner of her bedroom portrays a psychological theme as she has her hands covering her face which implies that she is upset and something is wrong with her mind. ‘Se7en’ also uses music to set up its genre which sounds quite corrupted and chaotic like the characters mind and his actions. It also uses props as a key way to show the characters motives and strange behaviour. They use razor blades, newspaper cuttings and drawings to express the characters motives and insanity. This reveals that music and props are a conventional way for a film to express it’s genre in the opening titles.

The characters of our thriller are set up by establishing who the protagonist is with a long shot of the girl sat at home reading a women’s magazine. We felt that this greatly portrays the ‘normal’ teenage girl and what she does while at home relaxing. The alter-ego is the same character but it is a split side to the girls personality which only she can see. This is shown by the teenage girl finding her alter ego in her bedroom towards the end of the titles. This is different to ‘Se7en’ because you are not introduced to any specific characters in the opening titles apart from the killer but the identity of the killer is left a mystery. In a way, the way we have introduced the characters is not conventional because we have revealed that the alter-ego and the girl are the same person. However an enigma is still created for the audience in the same way that it is in ‘Se7en’ because the audience will be asking why these things are happening and they will wonder what the result of the film will be. This challenged conventions because we have revealed something very significant in the first few minutes of the film which in a conventional thriller, would be done further into the film to be expressed as the initial problem which needs to be solved. 

Below is a 'Prezi' presentation expressing the main points of question 1: