Evaluation Part 1

Evaluation Part 1In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Comparing our final thriller with other media products, relating to our narrative, characters and genre.

By Megan Mackay

Conventions of a thrillerA thriller is made to create suspense and excitement for the audience. The narrative to a thriller normally trying to find or investigate a situation and the hero is normally the person who solves the situation or the truth. Violence is key in most thrillers as it normally brings in certain institutions such as the police, special forces (army), people from the government. The opening sequence we have produced is a thriller so we thought by comparing our thriller with another would be easier to find similarities between shots and specific scenes.

The Dark KnightThe first film we will be comparing is The Dark Knight release date 18th July in the USA and 21st July in the UK. Directed by Christopher Nolan, studio is Warner Brothers and the big stars in this movie consists of Morgan Freeman, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and many more.

Terminator 2release date was the 3rd July 1991 in the USA and the 16th August in the UK. Stars that appeared in the film were Arnold Schwarzennger, Linda Hamolton, Edward Furlong and more. The director of the film is James Cameron and the film studio that produced it was TriStar Pictures.

Special Forces Release date was the 2nd November 2011 in France, stars that appeared in this movie consists of Diane Kruger, Djimon Hounsou and Benoit Magimel. The director was Stephane Rybojad and was produced at East Company.

The Dark Knight

The plot for this film is entirely different to my thriller opening, The Dark Knight is based around a bank robbery, however one similarity is that the hero Batman saves the victim.

The Dark Knight is a good film to compare with my thriller because it holds the same situation with someone being held hostage and a bomb exploding.

Photos

Both these shots are similar in the fact that they are both victims of a hostage unable to move and you can see there facial expressions.

However in The Dark Knight they are adhering to the stereotype as the female character is the victim instead of in our final thriller we have a male character acting as the victim which subverts to the stereotype.

We have also placed duct tap on the victims mouth, which I personally feel is more effective because it builds the dramatic tension as the character can not release any words. On the other hand in TDK we get a clear idea of the thoughts in the characters head, which helps increase the suspense. We have placed our victim in a white shirt with blood stains and black suit trousers, the shirt is ripped at the arm to show previous violence. In our final thriller we got in a make-up artist to show cuts and bruising on the victims face, which I feel helps create sympathy for the character.

However in TDK we are unable to view the female characters costume as the shot is close up concentrating on the facial expressions. There is no wounds on the victims face in TDK.

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The behavior between the two characters are similar, they both have a sense of panic but on the other hand trying to keep themselves calm while going through this situation.

In TDK the victim is adhering to the stereotype by showing tension and panic like a damsel in distress. But in our final thriller the male victim shows the same stress but instead on speaking the audience hear a muffled scream, this subverts to the stereotype of a male being strong.

Editing Techniques

Compared to TDK the pace of the scene is slightly different as the shot duration. For example in TDK the shots are alternating from the two characters giving each character about 5 seconds each on themselves each shot. However in my thriller opening the shots start off slow, long shot duration, which helps give the audience an idea of location. Then the shot duration increases in speed to create suspense and tension, this also builds the atmosphere of the action scene. In our thriller opening we also involved slow motion in the action scene to add a contrast in the action scene to show a clear contrast in the two characters, the villain and hero.

Camera Techniques In TDK the camera shots are always at one angle, to show the simplicity of the scene, as they wanted the audience to concentrate on the words and emotion happening between the two characters instead of our thriller where we wanted the audience to be impacted straight away. So the shots are changing all the time to keep the audience intrigued and on edge.

I have used a lot of close up shots in my thriller, which is the same as TDK as I wanted to show and connect with the emotions of the characters. On the other hand we also had medium shots to show the audience the characters costumes and location (setting, old factor). Similarly TDK shows close up, medium shots, which helps shows the characters in clear view and also sets the location.

Terminator 2

The plot for this film is also very different to my thriller opening, Terminator 2 is

This is a good film to compare with my thriller because it shows the panic and suspense of the man holding the bomb, which is what we wanted to achieve in our thriller.

Photos

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Our set is very similar to the Terminator 2 film in the fact that it looks like a factory as we are shown yellow flammable barrels and we placed tin metal bins and barbed wire around the set. However our set is meant to seem abandoned but in Terminator 2 this scene is set up looking like it ahs just been destroyed moments before. Differently though our lighting was a lot more eerie and highlighting aspects of the space but in Terminator 2 the lighting is bright all over.

Photos

Both these shots are similar in the fact that they are both victims of a bomb and unable to move, the facial expression are very clear in these photos showing the agony and pain they are both going through. Also in both films they are subverting to the stereotype in the fact that the male characters are the victims.

We have also placed duct tap on the victims mouth, which I personally feel is more effective because it builds the dramatic tension as the character can not release any words. However in Terminator 2 we understand straight away the pain the victim is in, because of his heavy breathing and sweat poring from his head. This increases the tension in the scene. Make-up was used on our character to help create the elusion that he had cuts and bruising, which I think helped create sympathy for the character, so this is similar to the sweat from the other victims face. Another point is in Terminator 2 their male victim is also in a white shirt, helping him be the point of focus as all the other characters are in full black.

Between the two characters their behavior is slightly different in the fact that in Terminator 2 we see the character unable to move and trying to keep calm but the repetitive breathing creates suspense, However in our thriller the character begins with just able gaining conscious, then when the action scene happens the victim becomes more aware and agitated.

EditingThe pace of the scene in Terminator is slightly different but has some similar moments. For example in Terminator 2 the shots durations are longer, helping the audience understand the situation the characters are in. However in my thriller opening the shots start off slow, which is similar to the other film, however then the shot duration changes and increases in speed to create suspense and tension, this builds the atmosphere of the action scene. Also in our thriller we have inserted some special effects, which include gun shot lighting and sound effects to give a sense of atmosphere and impact. None of this is added into Terminator 2, which I personally dont like because I like the tension our thriller has created because of this action scene.

Camera In Terminator 2 the camera shots are changing from side on to the victim to the hero (special force men), to show the simplicity of the scene, as they wanted the audience to concentrate on the panic and suspense and emotion happening in that scene. Our shots start of simple but then during the action scene this changes and increase in speed to create tension. So the shots are changing all the time to keep the audience intrigued and on edge.

Special Forces

The main plot for this film is again very different from our thriller as it is about ..

However it is well put with my thriller as it shows a long sequence of action, using gun shots, which my thriller opening has a lot of. I have gathered some photos that are similar to my thriller to show the resemblance.

Both these shots are similar in the fact that they are both working for the special forces and holding a gun in a professional wayIn both Special Forces and my final thriller they are adhering to the stereotype as the hero is a strong male character, however in Special Forces they have many different men instead of just the one hero character.

The set out our thriller is very different to Special Forces as it is set inside and Special forces is shot and made outside, so we have challenged their idea. In Special Forces there is one scene that is shot inside and the lighting is very similar, highlighting some aspects of hall way, and this light is coming from the outside and some dim lights around the edge. In our thriller we have outside light but mostly the lighting is given light set up by us.

We have put our special forces male character in an all black costume to make him seem professional, he also wore a body suit for protection and hand and elbow covers, this is very similar to the characters in Special Forces in the fact that they wore body armor and hand and elbow covers. However in Special Forces they wore a helmet for protection, this added a element of professionalism and security. However in Special Forces they do not wear all black but they wear camouflage, which means they are from a different organization, as camouflage represents the army but all black represents special forces so I think I challenged their costume idea in the fact that the film is called Special Forces

Between the two characters their behavior is slightly different, as the hero in our thriller is very secretive and unknown but in Special Forces we are immediately attracted to the characters as they interact with each other having convocations. But looking back at our thriller we dont know anything about our hero, so the audience can not have a immediate connection with him like they would in the other film.

The pace in the scene of Special Forces is very similar to our thriller, as it is full on action but some shot duration. There are some long duration shots to help the audience understand their surroundings. So looking at our thriller opening it starts off slow, which is similar to the other film, however then the shot duration changes and increases in speed to create suspense and tension, this builds the atmosphere of the action scene. Also in our thriller we have inserted special effects, which include gun shot lighting and sound effects to give a sense of atmosphere and impact, this is also added into Special Forces in the action scenes when the gun shots are fired and also sound effects to give the audience a sense drama and action. Editing

Camera In Special Forces there is a verity of different shots especially in the action shooting scene, so you get all the different angles of the situation. They used a view shot from inside the camera, which I thought was very well thought-out and I think we should have added this into our thriller opening. Our shots start of simple but then during the action scene this changes and increase in speed to create tension. So the shots are changing all the time to keep the audience intrigued.