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

Evaluation 1Picture 1 (Top Left)Picture 1 is a screen shot from the opening 45 seconds of our thriller. This is to show the camera work and editing of our thriller opening. In the opening 45 seconds of our thriller, the shots fade in and out in time with the beats of the soundtrack. This is very effective as it builds a lot of tension within the audience and is also a very effective technique used by professional Hollywood movies to introduce the setting of the thriller.

This also shows our use of camera work as it highlights how we used the GoPro Camera. We uses the GoPro very effectively as instead of using a normal video camera and filming things by hand or on a tripod, we set up the GoPro on to steady structures to give us the smoothest footage possible.Picture 2 (Top Middle Left)Picture two is also a screen shot from the opining 45 seconds of our thriller. This shot shows the establishing shot of the setting, Freddies house/field. This shot. We found that the location of our thriller was a major part in the success of our production. The location of the barn and field fits perfectly with the codes and conventions of a horror-thriller and has helped to make our final thriller opening very professional looking. We was also very happy with this ideal location because after watching and taking a lot of inspiration from the film ’28 weeks later’ we thought that our location is somewhere that a professional film company would aim to find for a Hollywood blockbuster.

This screenshot also shows the main character being introduced to the audience. This was done by Haris running up the field during the opening establishing shots, so as this slowly introduces the thriller, it also slowly introduces the main character. Picture 3 (Top Middle Right) This screen shot represents the genre of the film and how the opening of our thriller sets it up. We think that this represents this very well as it shows the darkness of the location and also the run down barn that Haris is hiding in. These are both important conventions of a horror thriller so we thought it was important to get these in the intro to show the audience what the genre of the thriller is.

This also shows the use of the hand held camera effect, this effect is used regularly across all kinds of thrillers, especially horror thrillers. This is because it brings the audience into the film and makes them feel as if they are in the action. We thought that this shot was very effective in our thriller as it also explored the barn and showed the audience the location.Picture 4 (Top Right)This screenshot shows the main characters costume. We purposely made Haris’ costume perfectly normal and we done this because we wanted to portray that Haris was just a normal man that has ended up in a very bad situation. This shows that Haris just has a normal background, he has no combat training, marine background, special powers or anything like that, he is just a normal everyday man. We done this so that our target audience are more likely to be able to relate to the character which will draw them into the film and make it a more enjoyable viewing experience. Picture 5 (Bottom Left)This screenshot shows the title of the film and the font and style it was presented in within our thriller. When looking for a font for our title, we was aiming to find a font that fitted within the codes and conventions of a horror-thriller, but also fitted with our thriller and the soundtracks we used.  Before we picked a final font, we researched famous horror-thriller posters and the kinds of fonts that they used. We looked at posters such as ’28 weeks later’, ‘Resident evil’ and ‘Silent Hill’ and had a good idea of the type of font we needed. We finally found the perfect font for our thriller named ‘Deceased’. We thought that this fit perfectly with our thriller and more important with the conventions of a horror.Picture 6 (Bottom Middle Left)This screenshot also links in with the costume and props aspect of things. In the image it shows the only prop used within our thriller opening, the rifle. We used this prop after Haris runs into the house, he backs up against the door and is holding the rifle in one hand as he is prepared to defend himself against whatever is out there. We used this a guns and weapons are a major convention of the thriller genre and more importantly in Horrors. Picture 7This screenshot shows how the opening sets up the story for the main film, however, doesn’t reveal enough of the story so that it makes the audience want to keep watching. This image shows the point in the opening where it goes into a flashback and shows Haris starting to go slightly mental at his school. These flashbacks continue and show Haris isolated, scared and vulnerable. These then link in back to the present time in the opening where Haris is still very alone but running away from an ‘Unknown Enemy’.

We found that these flashbacks were very effective in the production of our thriller as it gave the audience an idea of what was going on and why Haris is running away. However throughout the opening you only get a slight glimpse of what he is running away from. This creates questions in the audiences mind and this is the main concept of a thriller film, this is what we think has made our thriller opening a very professional, successful horror-thriller opening.