Evaluation 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms
and conventions of real media products.
The genre of my media product is a thriller, which means certain codes
and conventions had to be exemplified within my work, in order to
successfully epitomize the genre type.
The thriller Eden Lake appealed immensely to me, due to the constant
tension created within the scenes of the victimised protagonist being
chased and taunted by the multiple antagonists; as well as this consistent
themes of brutalisation. This is because it created an enigmatic effect and
captivated the audience to become immersed into the experience. A
fundamental factor of a thriller is to create suspense and anticipation,
whilst maintaining the audiences being at the edge of their seats at every
moment. However, I challenged this aspect to a certain extent by
refraining from using diegetic dialogue within our narrative. The only
diegetic sound demonstrated is the sound of the protagonists (Emily
Wilson) screams, and breathing. This is to enhance the ambiguous and
sinister nature of the antagonists (Kevin Leroy and Alfonso Bianchi). The
fact that they obtain no evident dialogue poses many questions as to who
they are and their agendas purpose. This furthermore appeals to an
audience in the sense that they want to find out why this vulnerable girl is
being savagely hunted, as well as the identity of their masked figures.
Another fundamental influence and media product we challenged the
codes and conventions of was the purge. This film is based on one night a
year in America where all crime even death is legal. A young, rich family
are victimised on purge night, due to with holding a homeless man for
safety who a group of savage figures want to purge on. In my media
production, I incorporated the idea of sustaining the element of
vulnerability in a protagonist by implementing two male masked figures.
When watching the purge, I particularly noticed, the main antagonist,
having an element of charm in a sadistic way, due to his mannerisms, for
example him winking his signature smirk. The convention f having these
subtle gestures created the realistic frightening character which made me
as an audience member feel a sense of unease.
We developed our characters, by masking their identities, in order to aid
the enigmatic effect of a thriller. One of the protagonists wore a saw mask
which connoted death and torture. The other wore a masked with a
sadistic smile which aided the thrilling factor of our film. Because our film
genre was a thriller, we had to look at many examples if thrillers again to
exhibit the codes and conventions into our own work. One thriller which
influenced out location of a shed was the thriller The call. This is based
on a young girl who is kidnapped by a mentally unstable man who wants
to cut off her hair to make a wig for his sister, who died of cancer. The
ending scene is located in an underground shed. This location was
extremely frightening when I watched the film, because it was an
unsettling thought of a vulnerable girl being isolated from the outside
world. I developed this in my own work by having our protagonist tied up
in an isolated shed. This is because an element of a thriller is to create an
atmosphere of tension to make the audience feel a sense of unease. Using
such a dark shed creates a tone of a frightening nature and therefore
makes the film as a while effective to watch.
In my nine key frames, there are a variety of engaging codes and
conventions of a thriller exemplified, in order to grasp the attention of my
target audience, thus immersing them into the experience. In the first key
frame, the victimised protagonist, Emily Wilson, is epitomized in
dangerous circumstances, due to her brutal kidnap. For this shot, I
highlighted a close up. I chose to incorporate this shot type as the very
first shot in my movie, in order to increase the suspense factor, fuelling
the environment of a verisimilitude. The close up is also an effective shot
to incorporate, because it emphasises the mise en scene of bruising and
scars present on the protagonists face. This leaves the audience
wondering how she got them and what her fate entails. The
implementation of a close up is also effective, because the audience can
see the fear the character possess, captivating them into the pursuit of
curiosity and tension, further aiding the realism. This is a fundamental
shot in establishing an aspect of the plot, because it clearly emphasises a
disruption of the equilibrium, drawing the audience in and making them
want to know more.

The second shot exemplifies a point of view shot, where the protagonist
has sighted an object that could potential resolve the disruption. This is an
effective shot, because it puts the audience in the shoes of the character,
making the experience more real; and thrilling to them. This is a
fundamental shot to incorporate because this is establishing to the
audience an element of hope, also presenting an enigma as to if the
protagonist is really safe. This incorporates the idea of Barthes enigma
code, because it presents the idea of the protagonists escape, whilst
encapsulating the idea that she may not be as safe as the audience
believe. A convention of a thriller is to create a build-up of tension before
a plot twist, therefore this idea of the protagonist being saved creates
ambiguity. The next shot epitomizes the protagonist trying to escape. This
again creates the idea of the protagonist being seconds away from safety.
This, like the previous shot, further creates a tense atmosphere, because
the audience are unaware of if the protagonist is safe or still the epitome
of endangerment.

The next shot is emphasising the protagonist trying to escape. This shot of
an over the shoulder creates a form of suspense, due to the fact the
audience are unaware what id behind the door. Another convention of a
thriller is to portray the protagonist in a good position before tables turn
and they become the victim again, therefore this leaves the audience,
again, questioning the validity of the protagonists plan and actions.

The next shot exemplifies a scene change, which highlights a long shot of
the two antagonists running in a forest. This is an effective key frame to
demonstrate a scene change, because it highlights to the audience where
the antagonists are and leaves the question as to whether the protagonist
got away from their sinister grasp. This increases the suspense factor and
leaves the audience in a state of tension, as to what the antagonists are
chasing, what their intent is and where the protagonist is.
The next scene is a side profile medium
close up, epitomizing the protagonist hiding behind a tree in the same
forest. This reveals to the audience that the antagonist are in the pursuit
of finding her and she is in dire circumstances she may not survive. This
close up is effective because you can compare it to the first close up (the
first key frame). In this key frame, the protagonist evidently possesses
more bruising and scaring than she had in the shed. This highlights to the
audience that she may have had another brutal encounter with the
antagonists but also leaves them questioning if there are others who want
to hurt her. This also makes the audience want to watch the film, because
they would want to know what action occurred between these two key
frames.

The seventh key frame highlights one of the antagonists peering behind a
tree. Even though the protagonist is not evident in this shot, the audience
are aware that the antagonist is close. This is an effective shot, because it
acts as a form of foreshadowing, enhancing the audience knowledge that
another disruption would occur and the protagonist is again not safe. The
next key frame is highlighting a distorted and almost canted image of the
floor of the location. The fact that there is a blur incorporation, highlights
the idea of it being a point of view shot. The enigmatic aspect of this is,
the audience may be unaware of whose perspective it is, making them
questioning what event had occurred in order for this shot to be apparent.
The final key frame is highlighting a point of view shot again, but this time
killing the mystery of whose perspective it is in, because the two
antagonists are in the shot. The shot remains blurred, highlighting that the
shots are not far apart from one another in the action. This shot is an
effective key frame to incorporate last, because the antagonists are
simply staring at the protagonist. This makes the audience question what
they will do with her and it makes it harder to identify their intent,
because they wear masks, succumbing them to nom emotion being
expressed on their faces. This would appeal to the audience, because it
leaves them questioning the safety of the victimised protagonist, this
making them want to watch my film.