Evaluation Activity 1

In what was does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
The Title Of The Production:
We struggled to come up with a title that we felt was suitable to what the production would entail.
We brainstormed key words and looked for inspiration with similar productions and thought a one
word title would be most suitable. We eventually decided on the title Imprisoned as we felt it
carried well as a production name whilst being relevant to the story and our characters. In terms of
the characters, the word imprisoned is relative to Elliot as it foreshadows the likely event of his
imprisonment, due to his criminal act, however I felt there was a deeper representation of the life he
leads, living in the spiral of committing crime too feed his lifestyle and repeating this too keep it,
imprisoning himself with what he does on a regular basis. In terms of Maya, the actions that are
shown within the sequence imprison her, in the shame and despair of the attack. Due to this I felt it
was a perfect representative on the story of the film and how the characters are represented, whilst
following the codes and conventions of thriller films.

Title Font & Style:

The title, as shown above, is very plain and simplistic by design. The codes and conventions of thriller
films typically present titles in big, bold colours such as red due to the red conveying danger and
blood, however in terms of effect we felt it would be better if we kept it plain and stayed away from
the conventions of blood as this aspect isnt present in our sequence. To represent the pressure and
danger in the sequence we chose capital letters throughout the title, as it gives a bolder, stronger
effect just on first glance, which is important when attempting to interest a potential viewer. The
title is faded into the end of the opening sequence, as to introduce the film as a whole.
The Setting
Our sequence is set in a sub-urban neighbourhood of Chigwell, with filming split between the
surrounding area and one of the houses. The idea behind the use of the house is its relevance to the
audience and the effect it plays on the story. Of course the idea of a home is relatable to all of the
audience in one sense or another, allowing there to be an effect as the antagonist enters the
personal space of the character, which in turn has an emotional effect that would cause distress to
any audience member. Alongside this, the choice to film inside the house rather then outdoors is to
cerate the false sense of safety when within the home, that then becomes invaded by the antagonist

and its this fact of the invasion of her privacy which is playable on the emotions of an audience
member, making the story one that draws in and takes the audience on the emotional journey of our
characters. This choice of setting isnt uncommon of the thriller genre due to the primal fears it plays
on, meaning it evokes the audience, however we also found in our research that we really had the
ability to film either indoors, outdoors or both and still meet conventions of the thriller genre.
Camerawork & Editing
As the cameraman I worked very closely with the director particularly, however with the editor
around on shoot a lot of the time, we worked very closely with him too when filming. This allowed
us to brainstorm, change and improve the set filming ideas we already had progressing the sequence
and improving the factors already in the plan.
The production holds a range of shots which varies from establishing shots to extreme close ups, our
production starts with a blurred long shot of our antagonist, intentionally aimed to hide his identity
within the sequence, this moves to a locked-in shot at a low angle which allows us to see again just
part of the antagonist, his feet. We then switch back to a long shot of the character walking down
the alleyway, with again an intentional focus pull, not giving the identity of character, but revealing
more of him. The introduction of this character continues with and extreme close up of his eyes
whilst tracking him, again showing a limited side of him but enough to learn a little bit more about
our character. This slow introduction build tension and mystery about who the man is and what his
intentions are, again a typical convention of thrillers being addressed with the mystery and
uncertainty. These shots continue with showing more and more of the character without him being
the actual focus of the shot, with long, mid and still shots being used continuously throughout.
We then first see Elliot clearly as he enters the house, signalling the beginning of what ever it is that
is going to occur, this sudden inclusion of the character is designed to intrigue the audience as now
we can see who it is, but still no indication to what was going on involving the character, creating an
aside to what is the true focus of the film.
The shots used within the first minute are used in the sense of being emblematic as they convey a
separate meaning and have a different meaning to the other shots in an attempt to include as many
codes and conventions as possible, the out-of-focus effect creates the uncertainty and mystery
typical of the genre, while constantly misdirecting the attention of the audience with the true
purpose being hidden until the last section of the film.
This continues as Elliot enters the house where shots such as P.O.V shots and close ups become
more prominent, giving perspective and the idea of constraint on the character, creating an
involuntary attachment to him and his cause.
All these shots were part of a larger design plan to film as many shots, perspectives and movements
as possible, allowing a range of potential uses and sequences to be used later in editing.
When editing, the editor worked from home, using personal equipment and software to complete
the editing, however we saw constant drafts and updates of the sequence where we were able to
suggest, work and change through what was working and not working. We then decided on what
sound would be suitable for the production meaning we got a varied and collaborative decisions on
what we used and produced for our final piece.

Costume & Props

The costumes for both the characters were chosen as casual, with neither really having the take
part in any actions out of the normal day that would require a special costume such as running,
climbing etc. This meant that what they felt comfortable in would be suitable as this would be
representative of their characters and what they were playing in the sequence.
Each prop was chosen and used with the idea of it symbolising another aspect of the sequence. The
gloves are a clear prop which are used as gloves often are in crimes, to ensure no fingerprints are left
behind, however in this case it symbolises his loss of identity as he commits this crime, almost losing
his human nature as he commits the crime within the scene. The mirror thats present in two scenes
is used in such a way thats aimed at reflecting the other side to the character, which the director
aimed to convey by never actually seeing the characters face in any of the mirrors but rather the
back of his head, symbolising the other side to the criminal.
How Are The Characters Introduced?
The antagonist is the first character to be introduced as the first few shots track his approach
towards the house, the progression of shots are used to slowly introduce the character with the
intention of keeping him anonymous for as long as possible. This gives him his air of mystery and
plants the uncertain image of whether he is good or bad for the audience, however the use of sirens
when he is first scene is used to signal the presence of danger but whether this is aimed towards him
or not is intentionally not made clear. The aim of this is to create the suspension that is present
across the thriller genre to intrigue the audience into seeing what his true aim and purpose is within
the story.
The protagonist is introduced much later in the sequence with little to introduce her with due to the
fact she is asleep. However she is presented as much weaker then the male character as she very
quickly is overpower, due to her having been asleep, but it is seen very quickly that the fight was lost
and we are left with nothing but the sound of her screams as the video fades out.
Genre And How The Opening Sequence Suggests It:
The production was created with the idea to include as many codes and conventions as possible,
including sound, camera and mise-en-scene aspects. We used ambient sound to introduce the scene
to emphasize the start and to create verisimilitude for the audience within the sequence. Then this
moves into non-diegetic sound to build and carry tension throughout the film. We used a wide range
of shots and angles to accomplish the effect of thriller films, close ups are used consistently to
convey the emotion and power of our characters with quick cuts show move the tension consistently
throughout. These quick cuts and extreme close ups are also used hide the identity of our antagonist
which is a typical feature within thrillers to create the uncertainty between the audience and the
story.
Story And How The Opening Sets it Up:
The way the scene begins means that the character that is first introduced isnt decipherable as
either the protagonist or the antagonist, which later adds to the effect the actions of the character
has on the audience. However as the scene progresses it becomes clear between what is the
intention of the character. However his motive is unclear until we see the introduction of the second
character in the scene, where he attacks the character, we intentionally didnt show the outcome of
this interaction as it plays into the rest of film as the truth is yet to be found of what happened.