Evaluation: Q1) In what ways does your media product use,

develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

By Katie Yiacoumi

The task... The task given to us during the course of our foundation portfolio, was to create a final product which

followed conventions of a thriller. The first stage of our course was the Research stage. This was to ensure that we had all the research

into forms and conventions of a thriller in order to create a final product. Without this research we would not have been able to create our final product to best fit its thriller genre.

The second stage of the course was the Planning stage. This was to ensure that we were fully prepared before creating our own product. This included creating a narrative, distributing group roles, story boarding and creating pre-production paper work which all contributed to the making of our thriller.

Once planned, we had to start the filming process within our groups. Then once all footage was captured we then had to start the editing process.

Finally, once we had our final 2 minutes of footage edited, we created an original soundtrack which then meant that our production was completed.

After this, an audience feedback session was held to gain responses from our target audience to measure our successes. From this, it was clear that our product used and developed thriller conventions.

Does my thriller follow conventions of a thriller? One way in which my product follows the

conventions of a thriller is due to my iconography. We used a gun as iconography to emphasise the theme of death which follows the conventions of a thriller as most thrillers include themes of death, murder and violence. This piece of iconography was extremely important as it was the main source to building up tension. This proves that my product used and developed thriller conventions.

Another way in which my product follows the conventions of a thriller is due to the lighting. We used low-key lighting which follows the conventions of a thriller as it helps to create a daunting atmosphere. We needed the low-key lighting to build tension as the antagonist walks into the room in order to keep our audience engaged. This proves that my product used and developed thriller conventions.

Iconography from my thriller.

Iconography from “The disappearance of Alice Creed”

Low-key lighting from my thriller.

Low-key lighting from “Insidious”

Lastly, another way our final product followed the conventions of a thriller is due to the setting. Most thrillers are set in houses as it is seen to be a safe environment, however, in thrillers it shows the exact opposite. By creating tension in someone’s house makes them feel more unsafe and unable to escape which is why we chose to set our thriller in the characters home. Therefore, this proves that my product used and developed thriller conventions.

House setting from my thriller.

House setting from the film “Psycho”

Generic conventions of a thriller… One thriller example is the film “Obsessed”.

This thriller includes the same themes as mine which is love, revenge, jealousy and death. “Obsessed” also shows the struggles of relationships and the jealousy partners hold. The characters relate to our characters strongly as there is also a victim who is getting cheated on and the partner who is trying to prove they are not the antagonist. The lighting used in this film is also low-key which suggests the atmosphere they are trying to create is daunting which is similar to my thriller. This suggests that my product used and developed thriller conventions.

Another thriller example is “My Bloody Valentine”. This thriller also includes the themes of love, death and violence which is similar to our thriller. There is also low-key lighting throughout this film in order to build tension, and also has a house setting which links to my thriller. There are many deaths in this film and very explicit with the violence shown. This illustrates that my product used and developed thriller conventions.

Generic conventions within my thriller?Setting & Iconography: One example in my thriller of the setting is the house. We

chose to use a house, specifically the bedroom for some parts, to highlight the intimacy of the relationship. This follows the conventions of a thriller as most thrillers are based in the characters houses to make the audience feel unsafe and full of adrenaline. This suggests that my product used and developed thriller conventions.

One example in my thriller of the iconography is the lipstick. The lipstick the antagonist puts on suggests that she wants to look good while she carries out a killing as she may feel proud of herself. Also, her character is portrayed as confident which suggests why she may try to make herself look better. Therefore, this proves that my product used and developed thriller conventions.

Costume, Hair, Make-up: One example in my thriller of the costume is that the

victim is wearing white and the antagonist is wearing black. This highlights the fact that the character in white is the victim as it shows she is innocent and pure. However, the character dressed in black is clearly represented as the antagonist as he is shown as a dark person with secrets, evidently showing that my product used and developed thriller conventions.

One example in my thriller of the hair and make up is that it is quite natural. The victims hair is mostly left out curly and make-up very natural and limited to show the innocence. The antagonists hair is very neat and in place which also implies that he is quite confident. This clearly indicates how my product used and developed thriller conventions.

Lighting & Colour: One example in my thriller of lighting is low-key

lighting. This lighting helps to create a dark and mysterious atmosphere. The colour of this scene is quite greyish which also follows the conventions of thriller colours suggesting my product used and developed thriller conventions.

Another example of lighting is low-key and back lighting. There is a slight silhouette in this shot which helps builds suspense when coming to the end scene. The colours in this are mostly black and blueish which suggest the dark atmosphere also. Therefore, my product used and developed thriller conventions.

Conventions of target audience and opening credits:

The opening credits to my thriller are similar to the opening credits of “Seven”. This is because both credits are written in white with a simple but sharp style to it. The sharp style portrays the thriller genre and attracts the audience more. The credits are also slightly blurred and has a black background which suggests the film will consist of negativity. This suggests that my product used and developed thriller conventions.

My thriller following a conventional narrative structure:

Propp Propp was mainly interested in narrative folk tales. He believed that folk tales were about the same basic struggles, therefore, had the same characters. Characters were: Hero Villain Princess Her dad Doner Helper Dispatcher

TodorovTodorov believed that there is structure to a film which is a equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium.

In more detail, the structure was:• State of equilibrium • A disruption of that order by event• Recognition that the disorder has

occurred • Attempt to repair the damage of the • Disruption return or restoration of

new equilibrium

AristotleAristotle believed in having a beginning, middle and an end. He believed that the events must casually relate to one another, being necessary. He believes it is important to arouse emotion from the audience which is mainly within tragedy and believes it is important in evoking emotions through themes.

BarthesBarthes believed in having semiology within narrative. He believes that narrative can be defined by using the following things:

Symbolic : Connotation Semic: DenotationCultural Understanding

I believe my thriller followed Aristotle’s narrative structure. This is because I believe it is important to arouse emotion in thrillers. This is done in order to ensure the audience in engaged and attracted to the film. Without provoking emotion, there would be no point in the film as the audience would not be able to connect with the characters or narrative.

I also believe my thriller followed Todorov’s narrative structure. This is because I believe it is important to maintain a structure throughout the film. He stated that the structure was equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium. In my thriller, the equilibrium is when the antagonist is talking about his relationship and the flashbacks he’s seeing. The disequilibrium is when the female antagonist starts speaking and cleans the gun getting ready to kill. Lastly, the new equilibrium is when the antagonist is in the couples bedroom and is abut to kill, where you hear the gunshot.