In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products?

Toby Taylor

The amount of screen time that both the killer and basketball player had, suggests that they have an equal importance in the film.

Dramatic irony is created when the killer washes blood of his hands and then puts on the mask. This shows the audience that he is dangerous and a threat that is about to carry on killing.

Cross cuts were used between the killings and the basketball, which conveys action and intensity on opposite sides of the spectrum.

The cross cutting subverts conventions, as you do not usually see two piece of action occurring simultaneously, as we have done in our thriller to portray a duo of action at the same time.

Editing

We used non-diegetic music to create a binary opposition between the killings and basketball. By doing this, a sense of mystery and suspense was conveyed.

Synchronous sounds were used to enhance some of the diegetic audio, for example the running tap water as the killer washes the blood off his hands.

We did not have any diegetic or non-diegetic dialogue in the thriller because we believed that none was needed and it would suit the atmosphere better. The constant action in the opening sequence only needs screaming from the murder victims as it makes it more intense and does not slow down the action.

Using the sound, we subverted normal conventions. This is because the contrapuntal non-diegetic classical music does not match the horribly violent scenes shown, just like the film Clockwork Orange.

Sound

There were multiple low angle shot on the killer, which give him power and authority throughout the opening sequence. The audience can also acknowledge the fact that he has power and an important role in the film.

The prolonged shot of both the killer and basketball player indicates their importance in the film, but ties together well as they end up knowing each other.

A variety of close ups were also used in the film, such as when the killer puts on the mask, which are there to show the emotions on his face at the time. The stern look he has on makes him look to be a cold-blooded killer.

We matched convention as the use of close ups and low angles shots helped identify the authority in our thriller.

Camera

The costume given to our killer is very significant, as the suit no only make him look smart and professional, but the mask hides his emotions and facial features while shooting up the school. A mask also makes the shooting scarier, as the victims will never see who killed them.

As we killed school children, its only appropriate for them to be in school uniform. The basketball player in the middle of training, so his also wearing PE uniform.

We subverted conventions with the use of costume, as the audience would not expect or associate a killer in a suit or a bright yellow, creepy duck mask.

Costume

The killer was a male teenager, just like the Virginia Tech shooting which inspired our thriller.

The basketball was also a teenage male, to show that the setting is a high school, along with all the other victims who are young and wearing uniform.

We matched conventions as we included teenagers as our actors in order to match the teen thriller genre.

Actors

We used blood in the opening seconds when the killer was washing blood off his hands. The use of blood gave an indication to the audience that he is a killer and is involved in dangerous activities, and foreshowed the horrific events that were to follow.

The other prop we used was a machine gun, which portrayed the character of the killer as psychopathic and evil. The gun also is a proper machine gun, which shows he is specifically on a mission to kill people.

The blood and guns match conventions as they make the film look realistic and horrific as psychopathic killers are seen with guns and blood on them.

Props

For the location, we used a school as it is most appropriate for a high school massacre which our thriller opening sequence is all based on.

This matches conventions because a high school massacre only makes sense to take place around a school in various locations.

Location

Our titles were based off the film ‘Ae Fond Kiss’ where some of the production companies had a different font, but the names of the actors were all the same, having the same screen time and transitions in and out. They changed place all over the screen just like in the new Superman Man Of Steel film.

Titles