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

The product that we have created follows the life of a seventeen year old boy, who has recently taken place in the killing of a young woman. Although we have used a typical thriller narrative for this piece, starting on disequilibrium, it goes against many of the codes and conventions of typical mainstream thriller films. The theme of justice surrounds the concept of the thriller, which is evident in the voice-over as the character talks about previous murders that have happened in history. Whilst describing these murders, the voice-over lists the names of the killers/victims, the date, the location and finally a reason for their murder. However, surrounding this is the question of ‘do these murders justify these actions?’ The idea of justification is a conventional theme surrounding thriller films, such as in ‘The Third Man’. Therefore, this is going against the typical codes and conventions of a thriller.





The most profound influence of our thriller is Gus Van Sant’s ‘Paranoid Park’, which follows the life of a teenage boy who takes part in the accidental death of a security guard. This narrative is based around the theme of the anxiety and closure as the young male tries to hide his secret, in attempt to come to terms with it himself. This independent piece of film shows similarities to our thriller through its use of characters. Characters in both of these narratives use the role of an antagonistic male teenager, who has proceeded in ruthless murder. Although the audience is aware of the fact that murder is extremely unethical, there is a slight attraction for the character, which is elicited by his young age. Furthermore, the dress codes in each of the films represent certain teenage social groups. Paranoid Park uses the influence of the ‘skater’ culture to present their characters in a youthful way. We have taken influence from this idea and created an alternative ‘indie’ look for our character. This represents the idea of youth as these fashions are based around this age group. However, our characters costume has an edgy, conventional thriller sense as his long suede coat attempts to hide his identity. This creates a sense of ambiguity in the character, leaving the audience on edge throughout the opening sequence, which is a convention of typical thrillers as the idea of ambiguity and mystery is important in the characters roles.



The lighting, on the other hand, has been influenced by conventional thrillers such as ‘Identity’, which is on the mainstream brand of thrillers. The lighting chosen in our thriller uses contrasts of dark light with orange, suggesting the idea of heat and anxiety surrounding the character. This use of ambient light, such as a street light, is extremely conventional of a thriller as it creates ambiguity to the setting, which reflects on the audience’s insecurities and fears. In addition, dark light emphasises the idea of the isolation and the unknown. Additionally, the location used (Chapelfield gardens) is shown to be on the outskirts of a suburban area, which could have reference to films such as ‘American Psycho’. This park based area is very isolated from the rest of the city, which suggests that there are many people in the city, yet this area is extremely inaccessible so it is free for a killer to roam in. The use of the underpass in our thriller also suggests isolation as it is clear rebellion has taken place in this area due to the mass amounts of graffiti on the walls. This may lead the audience to feel uneasy about the location as during the night time this area is very lonely and there is no access to help. This is a typical convention of thriller as the idea of isolation creates a more exciting plot in the film because it creates fear and involves the audience.

The use of cinematography in our piece has been hugely influenced by films such as ‘Elephant’. The many tracking and dolly shots that are used in this piece of film have imitated in our product. These dolly and tracking shots suggest that we are following the villain and observing his behaviour. Furthermore, high angle shots are used in the second shot of our thriller, where a girl’s corpse is laying in a bath. The motivation for this concept and shot was originally from Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ (to the left), a mainstream thriller with independent aspects, with a famous shower murder scene. This has influenced the bath scene in our thriller as it shows a shock as the audience are suddenly cut to a body in the bath.



The editing techniques we have used throughout the production of our thriller have included many cut and cross fade transactions. The opening sequence quickly cuts from the tap to a girl in the bath to create a shocking atmosphere from the audience due to the fast transactions. Moreover, when there is a change in locations many cross fades are used so that there is a good sense of continuity. We have used the idea of slowing down and speeding up scenes also, which is evident in our tap shot where the water is in slow motion. Also, fast motion is seen in a long shot of the villain sitting on the bench with many people passing by. Slow and fast motion create a sense of disorientation to the audience, making them feel uneasy and insecure as to what is about to happen. Quick transactions are very popular in the genre of thriller as they suggest action and shock. Cross fades, however, are mainly shown in trailers and towards the end/start of films. Therefore, the use of cross fades challenges the idea of conventional thriller editing. On the other hand, slow motion is a distinctive characteristic of thrillers as they show the action in a slow format, as to disorientate the audience. This slow motion technique is evident in films such as ‘Elephant’, where slow motion takes place in order to show the audience the cliques in high school and the latter effect it can have. This concept may suggest that if we slowed down reality, and were able to see these things, we may be able to stop tragic events like this from happening.

The sound is a key factor to the production of our film. For the means of the soundtrack, we decided on an alternative acoustic artist called Sam Rodwell (www.myspace.com/samrodwell). This acoustic music challenged the stereotype of thriller soundtracks, as it used a dark, yet beauty filled energy to the scene. This is in relation to Van Sant films such as ‘Paranoid Park’ and ‘Good Will Hunting’, which use a vast amount of Elliott Smith tracks to project emotion through the film. Therefore, our film underlies the independent side of thriller genre. Moreover, we have used a voice over to explain the linear narrative of the film. The voice begins by whispering different murders and motivations and goes on to say about his experience and motivation for what he has done. The voice-over in our piece is typical of thriller and is evident in Tarantino’s ‘True Romance’. The sound of the male’s voice is extremely husky and dark, which fits in to the setting and lighting of the piece.

In conclusion, our thriller fits many codes and conventions of typical thriller through its concept and use of location/lighting. However, the use of acoustic music and the villain himself do not fit the codes and conventions of typical thriller. The amount of conventional thriller aspects over ride the independent challenges of conventional thriller film. Although our film shows many aspects of independent film, it does not fit the criteria as much as it does mainstream. Overall, our film meets the mainstream criteria of thriller.



How does your media product represent particular social groups?

For the victim, we used a female character in order to represent women to be extremely vulnerable. This is shown as the corpse of a woman is seen in the bath, which suggests that she had been dominated by the male character in the sequence. However, the naked aspect of the woman in the bath suggests that she may be the typical femme fatale of the thriller genre. The bright use of lighting in this scene, reflecting on the whites and silvers of the bathroom suggests that the woman is extremely vulnerable and too pure to deserve the consequence of murder. This is evident in other films such as Psycho and Insomnia with the use of whites and silvers. Also, the location of a bathroom and the use of clean water suggest that the act against this woman was not overly sadistic and gory. It does, however, suggest the weakness and virtue of the female victim lying in the pure water and may connote that she is a part of this purity. The water also suggests the idea of claustrophobia as it is trapping the woman from air to breathe. This connotes that the woman is trapped in the circle of a serial killers activity.

The short use of camera shots surrounding the woman includes high angled shots/birds eye shots, suggesting that she is inferior as the camera is dominating her. This suggests that the social representation of women is very weak and fragile. Furthermore, the quick transactions in the editing of the film brings shock to the audience that there has been discrimination against the female gender in terms of her murder.

Thirdly, the use of sound in the product suggests purity of the female victim as we hear the sound of water dripping in to the bath. The concept of water is typically seen to be pure, which is shown in baptisms and reflects on the woman as the sound is existent whilst the camera focuses on her. Additionally, the voice-over that is evident in the film refers to the woman as “her”, which suggests that she is of no importance to the man. This creates connotations of irrelevance to women.

On the other hand, the male villain in the thriller is shown to be ambiguous and a mystery to the audience. This is evident in his costume as he is seen wearing a long brown coat, which hides his identity from the audience. This is a typical convention of thrillers as ambiguity creates fear for the audience, keeping them on edge throughout the film due to the popular fear of the unknown. Furthermore, the brown coat blends in with the dark lighting in the outside location, which also hides his identity and creates mystery. However, this dark blend of costume and lighting suggests that the character is dark within himself, which is a very fearful characteristic. However, the lighting which is seen in the underpass scene is brighter than the latter lighting. This lighting highlights the man as he is walking from the light and in to the darkness as leaves the underpass. This connotes that the man is going from normality in to darkness after he has performed a murder. This is a metaphor for the man’s life journey of how this event has changed him forever, which is a contrast to the phrase ’light at the end of the tunnel’ and suggests that this is a ’darkness at the end of the tunnel’. This creates a sinister atmosphere surrounding the male gender as it shows superiority and threat over the audience through the use of darkness. Additionally, the location of the opening sequence creates the idea of loneliness and isolation within the male character. This is shown as he is seen sitting alone on a bench in a park, surrounded by trees. The trees in the scene suggest that he is being trapped as they tower over him and may suggest that he is as trapped as the victim. This suggests that he is an inferior character, trapped by his hunger to kill - the trees may be a metaphor for the actions he has previously taken place in.

The camera shots used based around the male antagonist of the piece includes many dolly and tracking shots, inspired from Van Sant film ‘Elephant’. These shots create the idea of the audience following the villain, suggesting that he is the centre of attention in the film and may be being stalked. Furthermore, there is use of low angled shots as the villain is walking through the underpass, which connotes superiority in his character over the audience. This intimidation towards the audience creates tension and makes the film have more of a thriller essence. Whereas, the shots of the bath are high angle/birds eye shots, which connote inferiority and suggest the character is a victim. The use of long shots in the bench scene connotes isolation within his character, which is a threat as his loneliness may be a possible motivation for his murders. This isolation is also evident in the editing of fast motion techniques, which emphasises that he is careless of the people walking by and they do not mean anything to him. Furthermore, the fast motion creates more focus on the villain, which also suggests that he is the centre of attention in the sequence. Additionally, the quick transactions suggest the idea of quick action and decisions, backing the idea of lack of motivation for the killer.

The voice-over that is used throughout the film is an aspect which emphasises the carelessness of the male villain. This is shown in the monotone, average sound of the villain’s voice as he is explaining motives for his murder. This is shown further as the villain claims that he is a “natural born killer”, suggesting that his dominant and threatening motives are in his nature so he is a threat to society. The music, however, suggests that the character is very emotional through its use of minor acoustic sounds. This creates a negative, emotional atmosphere surrounding the male antagonist. Furthermore, the fact that the voice-over is narrated by the male villain suggests that he is the main character and of more importance than anyone else, which connotes dominance.

The representation of youth in our product emerged from ‘Paranoid Park’, which suggests the innocence of youth in contrast with tragedy such as murder. This suggests that youths are vulnerable and innocent, which leads to horrific events such as murders and suicides. Both our film and Paranoid Park show the audience a realistic representation of the consequence of teenager’s insecurities and problems. Youthful, but dark personality is portrayed through an indie fashion inspired costume, which is aimed at a teenage age group, which suggests that he is of this target audience. However, the dark colours and long aspect of his coat suggest that he insecure and troublesome so he will not reveal his identity to the audience. The lighting in the sequence also connotes the insecurities of youth through its dim, dark projection. Furthermore, the isolation of the location used suggests that the youth filled character is lonely and isolated like the location, which may be a motive for his actions of murder.

The use of dolly and tracking shots used is used as a metaphor for the journey that this
Teen is taking and the life changing process he is going through. This is due to the camera following the character everywhere and following his journey. This journey could be the journey of going from teenager to man, or the life changing process that occurs after he has taken place in a murder. The editing also conveys confusion in the teenager as slow motion and fast motion techniques are used to create disorientation in the character, which emphasises his confusing age. Additionally, the dolly shot that uses the moon as a point of focus, which is metaphorical for how far away from reality the boy is due to the distance the moon is at and could be similar to movies such as ‘Donnie Darko’, where the moon is referenced in many of the shots to connote the boy’s detachment from reality.

The soundtrack that we have used generally applies to a younger audience, which reflects on the character and emphasises the fact that there is a younger person in our product.

In conclusion, the representation of women in the product shows a vulnerable victim who is inferior to men. Whereas, the man in the film is shown to be extremely dominant and threatening, this is particularly over women as seen in the beginning sequence. However, the youthful aspect in this male brings out the insecurities and confusion in his personality despite his threatening attitude, which may create sympathy from the audience for the character.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Our film would be promoted through the use of internet advertising on social networking sites such as MySpace and Lastfm. This is due to the fact that our thriller targets the audience of 15-20 year olds and social networking sites are popular within this age group. Furthermore, Lastfm would be used for advertising because our film bases itself widely on music and this music website would allow the artist to gain popularity, as well as the film.

Our product would be funded by companies such as Warp due to their gritty representation of England. Our film may be able to relate to this aspect of Warp films as this product shows a realistic representation of youth. To add on that, our film shows a gritty representation of murder and Warp would base their investment on thrillers rather than companies such as Working Title. Therefore, this would be the most appropriate investor for our thriller. Furthermore, we would be able to create an independent product with a mainstream edge and this company would be available to do this.

Our thriller would be shown in art house cinemas and cinemas such as ‘Cinema City’. This is due to the fact that Cinema City distributes mainstream based films along with independent, but very few. Our film could be distributed as one of the few mainstream films they show due to the fact that it has innovative aspects. Additionally, television channels such as Film4 would show our thriller around the time of 11:00pm. This is due to the fact that the age certification (15) would only allow the film to be shown at this time. Furthermore, Film4 distributes underground films such as this which would help us gain audiences. To add on this, we would put our film in cinema to begin with and later put it on DVD. This is due to the fact that it will create a better promotion for our film being in the cinema first and let people see it before buying it, which is a huge advantage for the audience.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

As I began the planning of my product, I wanted to target the audience of 15-19 year olds due to the fact that, being this age, I know the most about this specific age group. In addition, we chose a specific clique in this age group, which were alternative teenagers. This was due to the fact that we aimed to create an independent product that would appeal to an artier group of people. However, this independent structure became a problem as many mainstream characteristics were gained in the process of making the film, but it does have a more alternative view of mainstream. Therefore, it still applies to this audience.

The characters attitudes and values may appeal to this audience through their carelessness and hatred for society. This is shown whilst the narrative is being explained by a voice-over. Teenagers are typically seen to dislike society due to their adolescence changing their attitudes. Additionally, the costume that has been chosen for the characters connotes a youthful attitude. This is due to the dark colour pallet including greys and browns, which suggest darkness in the characters attitudes – the audience may be able to relate to this. We decided against a colourful costume because it would create a positive atmosphere surrounding the character, which would not appeal to the audience, despite the fact that it may suggest insanity.

The location used creates the idea of isolation and loneliness, which the audience is able to relate to because typically this age is found to feel the most isolated. The lighting reflects on this as well because it is very dim and dark, which may reflect on the audience and characters feelings. Therefore, the audience is able to relate to the character, which would attract them because this may be very therapeutic.

The soundtrack that is used is an alternative acoustic track by a local artist. This would appeal to my audience because this genre is more popular within this age group due to the raw emotion that is projected from it. Therefore, the soundtrack would attract a younger audience and this way the film would appeal to them also.


What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

At the beginning of this project, the knowledge I had on camera shots and angles was fairly clear. However, the knowledge available with editing was extremely limited as the only experience of editing I had was music editing software. On the other hand, I was aware of the different camera shots, movements and angles and what connotations this would create within our thriller, which is shown in our shot list and storyboard.

Secondly, the opening of our thriller uses our knowledge of camera shots and movement through the constant use of tracking and dolly shots following the villain, which fit’s the codes and conventions of the thriller genre. Furthermore, the use of low angled shots through the underpass were essential to our thriller to connote dominance in the villain. On the other hand, we were not aware of the effect point of focus has on the audience. We became aware of this camera technique and used it in the bench scene, where the moon is used as a point of focus to draw the audience in to the scene. The moon has associations with witch craft and supernatural events, therefore it connotes danger in this point of focus - when a full moon is used it generally suggests that something bad is forthcoming. However, this is not to be mistaken for the horror genre and our use of the moon does not suggest supernatural events are going to occur, but it connotes danger. Additionally, the use of panning in the end scene creates a more effective ending than we had planned for. This creates the idea of the unknown as the villain goes out of sight whilst the camera is panning upwards.

In addition, the use of cuts we used in our editing created a shocking narrative as they were quick transitions from the start, which I was aware would be effective. However, the use of cross fades eased the transition due to the change of location from the beginning to the underpass scene. This also created a great sense of continuity, whereas a cut would be too quick and would confuse the audience as to why the location had changed. I was unaware of this technique and its effect on continuity before I began editing and it has been a good asset to the production of our film. In addition, the use of distorting time to speed up/slow down creates a disorientation of the situation for the audience - I was unaware of the huge effect that this would have to our thriller and how it fit’s the codes and conventions of a thriller. Furthermore, the input of the voice-over enabled us to create a more interesting narrative and helped us gain more of a structured narrative to the opening.

In conclusion, the knowledge gained on editing was extremely helpful in the process of making our film. Likewise, the knowledge that we already had on camera shots, movement and angles helped us create a thriller based film that was able to engage the audience. However, if I were to change any aspect of our film it would be the use of title for the ending to make this more relevant to the storyline and to create the font to be more thriller esc.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

We set out to create an evil twin in our preliminary task video, which helped us to learnt about the rule of thirds and editing techniques to create a double. We planned to learn more about editing techniques we might be able to use in our thriller and the use of camera shots and angles we were able to use with the availability of equipment.

Firstly, we set up a camera map where we would have the characters and cameras so we were able to use this map whilst filming so it would be quicker and more organised. Also, we created a storyboard so that we were able to explain to each other what each shot meant and why we were using it, as well as it giving us an outline of continuity in the film. Thus, with this we later began to film.

With the absence of one of our group members, Will and I decided to plan out shooting schedules and shot lists to help us as we began to film. This enabled us to work together so that we both agreed on the concept that we had thought up and the shots we were going to use to suggest this. Furthermore, the shooting schedule was merely so we were able to both attend the shooting, which worked according to our plan. I began to research in to different sub genres of thriller in order to gain a concept for our product. Finally, I found influence from director Gus Van Sant as I watched several of his films. However, ‘Paranoid Park’ stood out to me the most and I gained a concept based around the idea of youth and cleared this with Will after lending him the DVD. Whilst I was in charge of the general planning of the production, Will took the responsibility of camera work and techniques. However, I attended all shootings so that I was able to have an input on this also. Will also took charge of the storyboard planning which evolved from the shot list which we both constructed. This aided us in the shooting of our film as we were able to refer back to the storyboard to see which shots to use. Furthermore, I created the costume, character descriptions, script, treatment, influences, found the music etc. However, I still attended all shootings and contributed to editing also. Overall, Will and I worked well together because we combined our ideas and were open to each other about what we did or did not want from the production. The end product is evidence of our team work and what it has helped us gain.

The strengths to our film include the broad use of shots and reference to other thrillers, which helped us apply the codes and conventions of a thriller. However, it has been said that our thriller gives too much away in the first glance. To argue against this, our thriller is based around the idea of conscience and the fact that the villain is still roaming the streets. This may cause the audience to ask ‘is he going to get caught?’ or ‘what is he going to do next?’. However, taking this critique in to consideration, we have decided to change the ending in order to create a more thrilling opening and leave the audience in shock, which fit’s the thriller genre more adequately.

The most important thing I have learnt from the production of our thriller is how to satisfy an audience. To satisfy an audience you need to create an excellent storyline which leaves them on edge all throughout the film. This is evident in the opening of our thriller, which is a very thrilling sequence which keeps the audience on edge. Furthermore, the satisfaction of the audience also relies on characters attitudes, which is why we spent a long time discussing the representation of our character, his persona, his look and the script. We did this by choosing the character to be the same age as our target audience and created an appealing ’indie’ look for him.

In conclusion, the production of our preliminary task aided us in the production of our thriller. This was due to the fact that we were then able to recognise the weaknesses of our preliminary task so we did not make these mistakes in our thriller. Furthermore, it gave us an idea of how our thriller would be produced and pan out, along with giving us an imagination so we could develop our thriller in to something original.