In what ways does your media product use, develop or

challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Genre: Horror
My group members and I love horror films, therefore in order to
come up with an intriguing and interesting opening sequence we
decided to watch a wide range of horror films and TV programs in
order to develop our first idea for our production. After this we
brainstormed our ideas and came up with a compelling and
intruding opening sequence. Our ideas stemmed off the following
horror films:
Most likely to die

These are the influences for our

production. Both productions are
also horror films and conform to the
codes and conventions of a horror
film. We also aimed to combine the
two narratives together and make it
into something better and hence
make it more unique.

The Conjuring 2

https://www.youtube.com/results?
search_query=the+conjuring+2+trailer

How is our opening sequence a horror?

We have decided to fundamentally conform to the codes and

conventions of a horror film as we were fascinated by the reaction it
got from our viewers. The thrill and excitement it contained, made
our audience want to know more. At the beginning of our openning
seqence we quickly see the narrative devlop

The title of the production:

The title is a very significant thing, from the name of a cereal to a
name of a song or a film, it is what everyone refers to when talking
about a film. The title of our production, Retribution is exhibited at
the end of our opening sequence which is also a generic convention
of horror films. We thought that our title should be interesting and
have fundamental meaning behind it. We did a brainstorm and look
at our narrative and tried to find a title that would correspond well
with our production but also create this sense of mystery. We
gathered our thoughts and came to a conclusion that the title that
would be appropriate for this effect is Retribution. The word
retribution has connotations of a punishment on someone in act of
vengeance from doing something wrong or a criminal act. This aids
in building suspense and mystery for our audience. Furthermore the
colour of the title fits the conventions of a horror film as it has dark
colour on a black background which connotes that idea of darkness.

This is a title-card and it is a shot to

illustrate the name of the production.

Setting/location:
In the opening sequence only one of our locations is seen however
as the film process there will be other locations which correspond
with the codes and conventions of a horror film. Yet in the beginning
of our opening sequence it does perceive to challenge the
conventions of a horror film as the establishing shot exemplifies this
notion of an equilibrium.
Costume and props (element of mise en scne)

This is one of the characters which is wearing

a suit and dressed in a smart attire, which
corresponds with his characters role in the
production. This character is meant to be a bible
salesman and therefore be depicted as a
respectful and presentable person aiming to add
emphasise on his religion and share that with
Sydney Johnson.

Our protagonist
Sydney Johnson is dressed in a somewhat
casual attire with jeans and a top which are
evidently black. We believed that this would
connote that darkness which consumes our
protagonist as the colour black represents the
hidden, the secretive and unknown, this is reflecting off Sydney as
her intensions and reasons arent clear at the beginning, they are
hidden. This is therefore creating a sense of mystery and enjoyment
for our audience.

The antagonist Stephan Clay is tied up on the chair and as

you can see has duct tape around his mouth which corresponds
with the narrative as he is held against his will.

Our antagonist Stephan Clay is wearing a bloody white top,

which conveys the idea that he has been severely beaten up
or tortured. Furthermore the colour white helps connote this
idea of vulnerability and purity, which shows that he is
quite inferior.
 These are the props,
which our protagonist Sydney Johnson
uses, in the opening sequence of our
film. The close medium shot at this
point supports the narrative as its
giving the audience a clear
perspective of how the
How the characters were introduced?
protagonist Sydney Johnson has
organised her knifes which
brings to her light her psychotic facade and demeanour.
Furthermore it is connoting this sense of danger and enigmatic as
this point as marks the change in music. The music turns eerie
which further ads emphasise on the fact something bad is going to
happen. The kitchen gloves that she is wearing aids in building that
suspense as it seems as if she is preparing to get her hands dirty
and therefore forewarning something dangerous about to occur.
This is our protagonist (Sydney Johnson). Our production began with an
equilibrium which had Sydney Johnson positioned centre frame. This created
this calm atmosphere where she was going on with her day to day life.
However this changed when she picked up the knife and we saw a change in
her personality. She was then portrayed as a devious and psychotic person.
This aids in developing the narrative as we question what is going to happen
next.

This is our antagonist (Stephan Clay) who is tied up on the chair with duct tape
around his mouth. We automatically perceive him to be quite a vulnerable
character in the beginning of the production, however it does get the audience
wondering what is going to happen next.

This is another one of our characters, which is the bible salesman. This is the
first time we first see the bible salesman, and it is when Sydney has heard a
knock on the door and peaked through her blinds in order to see who it is. We
see the bible salesman as an innocent person interrupts the action and his
personality paradoxes Sydney.
Camera and editing
In the majority of horror films there face pace editing which occur in
order to showcase the intensity and help build up suspense in order
to receive the expected reaction from the audience (fear). Another
editing technique which is significant in any horror film are their
jump/straight cuts. This is one of the simplest editing technique
which is frequently used in any production, however in a horror film
the cuts are a form of transitions which aim to keep the audience
keen and interested. Some of these cuts mark a significant point in
the production where there is that interruption which then people
have to carry on watching to see what will happen next.
The jump cuts between shots are a way of transitioning to the next
shot. Here it evidently shows how it has gone from middle close up
to a two shot.

We wanted to

conform

to
the codes and conventions of a horror film. With regards to
camerawork we embedded lot of close up and medium shots
in order to exempilfy the significance of the small details
which build up a narrative. Futhermore in order to inflict
fear or terror, a jump cut to a close ups can scare the
reader.