Q1.In what ways does your Media product use develop or

challenged forms and conventions?

Marlyn Ukah - Media Evaluation

Does my product follow the conventions of a thriller?

• Yes, I believe my thriller follows the conventions of a thriller. Within Thrillers, it is common to have low key lighting, quick edit movements, slow non-diegetic sound that builds up tension and including upsetting themes. I believe diegetic and non diegetic sounds have been used in my thriller as well as including the use of low key lighting throughout most of the product to create mystery and suspense around my narrative. The edits are also unique to ensure that my narrative further creates tension and excitement. Some of my cinematography is also conventional of a thriller as it creates anticipation around her character.

Generic conventions of a thriller… Iconography • In most thrillers, I found that there are guns and blood

and sometimes drugs involved which are used to make the audience feel in an upsetting way. Although this use of iconography is conventional to thrillers, we developed it by using a doll that provides our anti-hero with comfort. This is because I wanted to follow Barthes's theory of connotations as the doll provides an understanding that our females is a vulnerable character so they sympathise with her.

You can see my product on the right using a doll which develops the uses of iconography.

Following conventions of opening credits. From my research I found that credits for thrillers were generally white and looked quite mysterious by being skinny and small in size. I liked this idea and decided that is how I wanted my credits to look. Below is a comparison of how I used and developed conventions of credits and typography. CREDITS

We developed is slightly as we used a softer look on our credits, but we still kept it in the white and black colour scheme to add a bit of tension. The titles font has clarity within it, as well as some chill as it fades into the black.

Characters • In out thriller we used one character which is the female

victim who is mentally unstable. This is conventional to a psychological thriller as it is expected for a victims to be young and unpredictable. This character also challenges conventions as her actions can be perceived as evil and putting others in danger, however overall the character is conventional as she creates emotions from the audience. Further to this, she is white, of the female gender and has dark hair with pale skin which is another thing I found from my research that I wanted to develop.

Similarities between two anti-hero types characters shows how I used conventions.

Cinematography • We used a lot of quick panning shots which shows

the characters unstable behaviour. And shows that is capable of committing danger which makes the audience feel uneasy about her actions. • We also used high angles from a cameras point of

view looking down at the victim. This shows that she is vulnerable and is in danger. This was a common feature in thriller films. • Furthermore we used close ups of the victims face

to show that she is emotionally unstable and her facial expressions are clearly unstable.

Editing • We used fast pace editing to build tension

for the audience and support the characters instability and to create excitement for the audience. • We used a reaction shot to show that the

characters emotions and her reacting to the baby and her mental state. This was developed from my analysis of ‘Psycho’.• We also used a number of transitions to

help create mystery around our female character at the stage where she is first introduced as there is uncertainty around her representation amongst the audience. We used ideas like lots of Jump cuts, adding colour and blur in the images slightly to enhance this effect. • Overall, we used and developed

conventional editing techniques in order to ensure our victim was presented effectively demonstrating her state clearly to the audience.

Using and developing a reaction shot

Sound Sound is used and developed well within my thriller. Some of my best examples are;Non-diegetic sound was used during the scenes when the victim was running down the stairs causing tension for the audience. It sounds slow, mysterious and eerie to connote feelings of danger to occur. There's is on screen sound when the victim is outside and there is traffic, making the audience feel like the anti-hero could be in danger, this creates sympathy.

Mise en scene: costume and body language • The costume of the victim is her is her pyjamas

showing that she has been staying at the hospital for a while. Pyjamas connote feelings of innocence which is what I wanted to create. The colour of her costume are very feminine and varies from white to light pink making her look vulnerable and delicate to the audience. This is another area I feel I have used conventions of existing products. • In terms of her body language, the whole way

through she looks scared and confused which makes the audience pity her. • You can see from the images how my character at

the top is similar to females from existing thrillers.

Mise En scene: lightening and colour• Through the production, we have used low key lighting

to add tension and drama to the narrative, especially at the start when we are first introduced to the female character. We used a lot of low key lighting that which will create a dramatic effect as it connotes fear and darkness. This is used in most thriller films to create add a dark mood to the scene therefore as a group we decided to use this.

Themes• In our thriller we decided to use a number of themes to ensure that we would get the best response from our audience and to make sure we followed conventions of thriller films.

• The theme of identity is evident in the thriller as the female character is lost and doesn’t know where to go and what do with her baby.

• We also see the theme of isolation as throughout the product she is alone looking for shelter and somewhere, where she can find comfort and protection.

• I believe that using these themes allows the audience to feel sympathy for our female character which is something I was hoping to achieve, to ensure I was following Aristotle's theory of evoking emotion through themes.

Similar use of themes from existing products.

Using and developing theories • I believe that my thriller uses and develops conventions of existing

media products largely due to the way I incorporated media themes within my narrative. • Barthes: I have used Barthes theory of semiology as various

conventions in my thriller create meaning for my audience. My best examples of this are the doll, the pyjamas worn by the female and the colour of her costume.• Aristotle: I have evoked emotion through themes by drawing upon

sensitive issues such as identity and isolation. This will have a lasting effect on my audience which is what I want. • Todorov: This is the only area I feel I have developed slightly. Todorov

discusses a clear start, middle and end which my narrative does have, however at times it is not always clear until you hear sound added.