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

I have selected 9 particular frames from my film opening which incorporate or challenge generic conventions of thriller films. Some show how we have indicted the hybrid genre of our thriller and how other thrillers have influenced our work.

Frame One; story and how the opening sets it up

At the start of the film we wanted to explicitly show the basis of the narrative, this meant a panning shot of  the mise-en-scene we had created. From this frame we are able to see three key things; an identification card, a photocopy of a passport and a post-it note with "terminated" scrawled in capital letters on it. This identity card reveals that the plot includes a possible mistaken identity, dopplegangers or the passport may even indicate amnesia as the character may be unable to remember who they are.

The post-it note incorporates the generic convention of a thriller, which is that the narrative revolves around a crime, such as a murder. The use of a close up panning shot really allows us to focus on intricate parts of the mise-en-scene which we contrived, similar to how the character in question is ensnared in a web of trouble, the viewer is also captured and engaged, only being able to see part of the bigger picture.


Although this first frame supports our film as being part of the crime-thriller sub genre, it does not reveal that the plot is also heavily based on a man on the run. Compared to another thriller, it is similar to the beginning of the film Memento, where it begins with a close up of a photograph containing the image of a dead person with large amounts of blood. This sets up possible story lines and acts as an enigma code, much  like what we have tried to do with our first shot.

Frame Two; Camera work and editing

 To create a suspenseful and thrilling opening several actions were taken. This included ensuring that the camera work was effective enough. We used only a small variety of shots, many of which were close up or medium shots. We felt this would suit the narrative of the film much as more it would help reflect the feeling of confinement which the character is experiencing at this point in the film. There was a lack of long or establishing shots, however this is justified because we want to engage the audience in the immediate action without giving the the full picture. Whilst there is a flashback occurring, the shots consist mostly of close ups of the characters eyes, this helps to support that the interjecting clips are a memory.

changing the lighting on Final Cut

The editing in our opening sequence is quite quick from the start of it as this signifies a sense of urgency for the audience. It gets progressively faster, this is to emphasize the tension that is being built as the character is rushing to leave because he is being pursued. The concept of pursuit itself is a popular theme in the thriller genre. I also edited the lighting in the beginning of the sequence so that the entirety of the panning shot was not visible to emphasize the notion of not having all the pieces.


Frame Three; Film title

 The third frame I have selected to discuss how our film incorporates generic thriller conventions is the film title. The title plays a key role in providing the audience with a taster of the narrative of the film without revealing too much of the plot. With our film title being "One Step Ahead", I decided against having it against a plain backdrop, instead I decided to have the title appear whilst the film continues, this is to imply that in order to stay one step ahead, many things are happening at once, and you cannot stop what you are doing. The lettering itself is in capital letters, this is too emphasize its importance and add to the sense of urgency being built. The font is simple yet strong, like many other thriller films. The motion of the text is each letter comes in succession to the other, and then is blurred, mirroring the narrative of the film where the protagonist is being pursued and his information is not entirely clear. Moreover, the addition of a shadow effect shows how the bold lettering is also one step ahead.

The font and motions we used have elements from many other thriller films that we have already previously researched.

Frame Four; How the characters are introduced

To introduce or main character, we have a medium shot of him where is hurriedly looking for something in a dark area, we have intentionally placed him in the center of the frame to show his importance as the lead role. There is low key lighting and he is also holding a torch, this helps to signify that he is possibly in hiding. He is wearing dark clothing which would suggest to the audience that he is the antagonist in the film, however he is the protagonist. This is a challenge to many films, as the antagonist is usually dressed in dark colours and resides in dark dwellings, however in the thriller genre many of the protagonists also dress in darker clothing in order to remain "unseen". We are only able to see parts of his face, which again signifies how he is in hiding.

Salt is a protagonist dressed in black

 However as he emerges from this confined space, we are able to see his face much clearer and the story line begins to unfold. As the lighting is focused on him, it is clear that he is the central character. Furthermore we are introduced to a friend or colleague of his from the past. This may show how she may have been murdered or doesn't exist, and now the same people are after him, helping to convey both characters as protagonists. The framing of the second character is slightly off center, this helps to show her as not a central character, we have also framed in this way so that the audience is able to see the empty space over her shoulder, creating  sense of pursuit.


Frame Five; Lighting

28 Days Later

 For the lighting in our opening scene, we wanted the location to be dimly lit, almost as if it is only illuminated by the moonlight or city lights coming in from outside. In order to do with we shut the lights off and filmed in the evening, we used two blue lights to light the room and the protagonist held a torch so we could highlight the key things he was looking at. The blue lighting and surrounding darkness is key in portraying the character as isolated, a popular theme in the thriller genre.


Frame Six; Setting and location

FlashForward

The setting of the majority of our opening sequence was inside the loft of a house. The walls are covered in evidence and official government documents, indicating that this is a crime thriller, or one of Charles Derry's sub genre, that is a political thriller, especially due to the conspiratorial nature of the film. The character is supposed to be hiding from those who are pursuing him, this is revealed by the diagetic sound near the end of the sequence as the law enforcement is arriving. This is typical of Charles Derry's sub genre of an 'innocent-on-the-run' as our protagonist finds himself on the run from both the antagonists in the film as well as the police.




Frame Seven; Genre and how the opening suggests it

Bournes Passports

 The seventh frame I have chosen clearly depicts the thriller genre and how the narrative revolves around a man on the run. In this frame we can see the protagonist is packing his bag with evidence and documents. Lying on the bed next to his bag is a variety of international passports which indicate that he is planning to go across the globe in order to get away.


Frame Eight; Special Effects 

Motion blur in Bourne

 The eighth frame illustrates the use of special effects we tried to create in our opening sequence. In this frame the protagonist is having a flashback to a conversation he was having with a colleague of his. By using final cut express we were not only able to quickly cross cut between a close up of the protagonists pondering eyes, but we were also able to blur the motion of the flashback footage. This made it more staggered and the diagetic sound slightly non-synchronous, supporting it as a subversion a opposed to an event that is happening elsewhere at the same time. The dialogue in this part really unfolds the story as the character reveals the opposing teams awareness of the protagonists knowledge, hence him being a man on the run. 

Motion blur tool

Frame Nine; How suspense is created

This final frame depicts how suspense has been created in our opening sequence, as after all the tension has been built up from the quick editing style and the flashback has alerted the audience that the character in question is in the immediate danger of being caught, we have a medium shot of him running down the stairs and out of the frame. Diagetic sounds of sirens are faintly heard and the dialogue of first person narration "This is where my life changes" builds the suspense as we are left not knowing whether he is caught or if he is able to get away, but as a viewer we are certain that his life takes an abrupt turn and so the end of the opening sequences leaves us with a cliffhanger and an action code.  

Sound clip on Final Cut

This frame creates suspense as we are unable to see where he is going, the lighting contrasts with what the opening sequence began with, this signifies his emergence from hiding and braving the outside world in order to get away. His sense of urgency is echoed in the way he runs down the stairs, and it is a key factor that he does not look back as this may slow him down. By using a high angle shot, we are conveying to the audience his vulnerability now that he is on the run, it also helps to creates suspense as if the viewer is right on the edge looking upon him, a key thriller convention being the audience is placed in the ambiguous position of a voyeur.