Question 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop or

challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Mise-en-scene- location I found it difficult to find a thriller opening with similar scenery to mine which suggests my thriller opening doesn’t follow the usual codes and conventions of thriller openings, this suggests that my own personal representation of thriller is different to the mainstream vision of thriller larger companies that are well established in the film industry like Lionsgate have. However the background location of a forest does bare some resemblance to the opening of silence of the lambs .

Props

I used a limited amount of props in my thriller opening one of them being a notebook,I have found that it is a common feature in a variety of thriller films/series for example inDeath note where I got my inspiration from the notebook plays a key part in the thriller aspect. This also appears in the thriller film Se7en as the appearance of the scrapbook is also a key feature in the build up of the plot. I went for the same representation in my thriller opening suggesting it does fit with the generalisation of the props featured in my film and what they represent in larger mainstream films.

Costume and makeup

For my costumes I used a casual look similar to the thriller film Bourne supremacy, this creates the casual but dangerous effect of the character which is also seen to be a significant element in large thriller films like Bourne supremacy. I used no makeup as I only featured male characters and no make up was required in my film to create a desired effect.

Camera angles/shots

• I used a variety of camera shots and angles in my film, for example mid shots and match on action shots. However I didn’t see many other thriller films with similar uses of shots to mine suggesting that my film concept goes against stereotypes however I used a close-up to show emotion which I found is used in many thriller films to create the same effect I was going for e.g. the hunger games.

narrative• The narrative of my final product is very unique as I have found no other

storylines similar suggesting that the idea does not follow the stereotypical thriller scenario portrayed in many of the big films. However I got my inspiration from an animated series that was not a movie called DeathNote. This is a hugely successful series in japan seen as the first of its kind and a completely independent branch of the thriller genre, this further suggests that my film does not follow traditional thriller narratives as it is a very unique storyline.

characters• the character in my film are white British teens, this is to go along with

media stereotypes often broadcast in mainstream thriller film. Furthermore the build of my character is very specific as I wanted my character to have a daunting effect on the viewer as most male leads in thriller films tend to be of a larger build for example Vin Diesel in fast and furious (Dominic Toretto).

Title sequenceAs you can see from my comparison of title sequences they are very similar to silence of the lambs with the simplistic bold writing approach. This suggests that my titles follow some of the mainstream elements of title sequences however I have positioned my titles differently to other thriller and used different angles suggesting that my film combats the stereotype of square, in line titles featured in most mainstream thriller films. However the colour and font are mainstream as they both resemble silence of the lambs colour scheme of black and white, furthermore the font is very similar as they both share the same style.

My film Silence of the lambs

Music and sound effects• The music and sound effects in my thriller opening do follow the

mainstream thriller concepts as in my opening I have used 2 eerie themed songs in contrast with a light-hearted and relaxed compilation of sound effects (see film for reference). This is seen in many mainstream thrillers to create tension and a change in atmosphere which is the effect I had in mind when choosing my soundtrack. This suggests my final product fits in with the codes and conventions of current and popular thriller films.