In what Ways in which my media product uses, develops, or challenges forms and conventions of real media products?

Thriller films opening sequences are easily identified by the audience to be a thriller, through the use of conventions that almost stereotype it to thriller movies.



For example with the typical conventions that the audience expect to see like blood, rain, darkness, screaming, tears, weapons, heroes and psychological characters. However not all thriller opening sequences begin being very negative at dis-equilibrium but some start at equilibrium to portray a more positive image, and then the flow of the film changes to disequilibrium. My opening sequence had a lot of thriller film conventions like blood, darkness, and the "evil" character, therefore it supports the basis of thriller films opening sequences.
In comparison to The Eye thriller opening sequence;
The eye starts looking very scary, negative and unreal, this is similar to my opening sequence however The Eye also includes sounds like screams rather than music over it which I did in my opening sequence. Therefore both opening sequences portray fear in different ways, The Eye makes it obvious that something "bad" is happening to people but my opening sequence creates mystery in the audiences eyes as it is not that obvious of what is actually happening, however this may seem un-natural as music in circumstances like this would not be played at the background. The use of particular conventions in my opening sequence like blood, psychological character, empty space and darkness indicate that the film is a thriller and also shows it's similarity to other thrillers.
A complete change in mood occurs in The Eye opening sequence it becomes much more 'real' and positive, this completely contradicts the start of the opening sequence, however the use of pathetic fallacy restores the negative atmosphere portrayed at the start. This is also similar to my opening sequence as at the beginning it's at disequilibrium (which is the dream) and then as the character wakes up it becomes normal like any normal day a person experiences. This makes it much more realistic, the negativity is also restored as the character see's the setting she saw in the dream.
In comparison to Awake thriller opening sequence;

This opening sequence is very different to my opening sequence. It begins with text outlining a real life case, this is very different to typical thriller opening sequence as it usually starts with the action, text continues for the first 1 minute of the opening sequence. The text at the start gives an indication of what will be involved in the movie.

 Slow negative music progresses after the text, this brings back the fact it is a thriller and is quite negative, i also used sound to create and atmosphere and negative/ mystery feel. After this it is all 'normal', with a natural atmosphere and you can hear characters talking.This thriller film sequence is completly at equilibrium, this challanges the typical conventions of thriller films, however this makes the story line less obvious and allows the audience to be suspicious of what could happen! Whereas my oppening sequence starts at complete dis-equilbrium,  and then at equilbrium therefore both oppening sequences are very different.

Evidence of horror thriller conventions:

Black and white empty setting, with large old trees and black birds;

An empty quite road, with just one "random" character in the middle indicating danger. It is dark and looks un-usual for something like that to happen.

The psychological character, with typical features such as pale skin, subtle features, and long black hair. Also her clothes are plain.  

A big, dark, empy setting that looks un-naturel, with a random person standing alone with no arms revealed.

A "special" buliding, it is a mental institute which indicates negativity and sadness. Also it is blury which is also dreamy and can seem super naturel, it can also seem haunted.

Blood; A very typical convention of a horror thriller, it indicates death, re-birth, life, pain and also love!  

Preliminary Task Essay

I have learnt a lot from my preliminary task as I now know the different kinds of shots used in videos or movies, and how you can use the camera to create a more professional recording. It also benefited me in my team work skills, as I worked in a group and we had to gather ideas and see which would be the most convenient and ideal, I also learnt new editing skills that can help me in the actual practical.




The three principles that we used in the camera shots were extremely useful and needed in are video, as it made us have better quality video, as we used professional skills. The 180 degree rule maintains the line of action that should not be crossed; it is like a boundary for the camera, so that there would be continuity. We used this when the two characters where sitting on the table having a conversation, this let the audience see that both characters are looking at one another on the same side of the shot and that they have direct contact with one another.


Shot reverse shot was used to show the dialogue sequence between both characters, to show the view of each character when they are talking/ arguing, so that the audience can have a full view of what is going on and let the audience to focus on both characters that are having the conversation.


We also used Match on action which is a technique used in film editing, it connects two different views of the same action, the same movement by carefully matching the movement across the two shots, film makers make the motion continue un interrupted. We used this when the main character was walking up the stairs and walking towards the table, this helped to not bore the audience and keep them watching rather than let them watch every step of the character, so it kept the audience engages.


Storyboarding was very helpful during the preliminary task. Firstly it helped put our idea on paper, to visualise it before taking it into action. The story board helped us know what we needed to do, including types of shot and affects so that we would have a plan of what we will do in order to accomplish the video we visualised, so that we would not go on set without having a clue of what we need to do. The storyboard was like a guide that we used to follow or even improve on.


In our preliminary task we used editing, we did this a lot in order to cut shots, and put them in order to create meaning to the audience, so that it would make sense and move in a flow. During editing we also deleted unneeded shots, and kept some unneeded shots for the credits. We also used editing for our match on action shots, in order to use the match on action technique we would need to connect two different parts of the same action together, and yet make it flow. We also used our editing techniques to add the remarks of the video, such as actors and the name of the video. We also added in most scenes high contrast, to define the colours in the scenes more and make it eye catching. We used transitions only twice so that it would not seem reparative and unprofessional. We used transitions at the start of the video, showing the main character fading out slightly when she is walking towards the door and entering the building. The second transition used was at the end of the video, which is towards the end of the credits; this made them fade slowly as if the characters are escaping off screen, this also made the audience aware that this is the end of the video, rather than ending it in a sudden, which is quite unprofessional.


We came up with this idea as a group and made sure that it would embody the three principles and yet make sense. We tried to make it as simple as possible so that it we would complete it by the deadline given, so we based it on two characters. The main character walks in temper towards the building and door which helped us use match on action which is one of the principles, and then we used the 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot to show a ‘random’ conversation happening between both characters. We wanted to make it humorous so we made the girl be angry at the girl for now reason, and interrupt her study time, and just go and shout at her saying ‘I know what you did’, the conversation continues from her to show the characters emotions with the use of close ups. This was very basic and only took us a lesson to gather the idea together, and finalise it.

“The Eye” Textual analysis of thriller sequence

The Eye is horror, psychological thriller movie, in this essay I will be analysing the thriller sequence, through its editing, mise-en-sene, sound and camera shots. I analysed this thriller movie sequence as the thriller sequence I will construct is also a psychological horror thriller.
The thriller sequence of the movie starts with the production company, which introduces slowly the movies producers. We see the logo of the companies, but with sound at the same time, the music at the start is slow, negative and builds in tension gradually, this gives the audience the “horror” feeling already. The production companies are introduced on screen for 31 seconds, this get the user waiting eagerly to see what the movie is.

After this the screen is blank (completely black), for around 2-3 seconds, which forces the viewer to stay concentrating as nothing has yet happened. The screen is black; this shows negativity, a grim atmosphere, and lets the viewer thinks of what he or she may be expecting to see. The first proper scene that we see is a quick snap of an empty, dark field; this builds suspense for the viewer, the sequence begins with a lot of fast editing to capture the audiences’ attention. The fact that we do not see any faces of characters till 1 minute 47 seconds, this creates even more suspense and lets the viewer packed full of excitement as we see the sequence packed full of action, with hands, footsteps, and screams but yet no character is seen fully. Using Mise-en-sene we see quick shots of children running around the field screaming in fear, a bulb being put on, a “scary” setting, glass breaking and whispering, these all are conventions of a horror movie, therefore instantly the audience relates it to the horror genre and knows what to expect. This gets the audience filled with excitement as they are expecting to see something, especially after the super natural being appears and scares the girl. We see an extreme close up of a girl focusing on her eyes and tears, this shows the great level of emotion and fear in the girls eyes, but we still do not see her full face. This leaves the audience waiting to see who it is and therefore continue to watch the movie in great attention.




Conventions of a horror movie shown in the thriller;

However by 1 minute 32 seconds a complete change of mood in the sequence occurs. The setting is brighter, more natural and we see the “real world”. We get introduced to the main character; “Jessica Alba”, even the music in the background is smother and much more relaxed.

The credits appear at the same time as when we see the character walking, so that we would identify who the main character is, and who else will be acting in the movie. The credits also appear depending on what is on screen, for example in the scene where she is playing the violin, the credits would say “music by ...” The credits are written in bold, white, Arial font, so it looks simple and yet easy to see in the dark background. The surprising thing is that the title of the movie does not appear in the thrillers sequence, which usually does not happen in movie sequences.


In the thriller sequence the main character introduces herself, rather than having the audience to try an understand her character. She speaks about herself, but not directly so that the audience hear her but she is not moving her mouth, as if she is speaking through her mind. This contradicts what happens at the start of the sequence and therefore challenges the audience and makes the viewer even more eager to know what will happen. Even though the opening sequence is around 5 minutes, the sequence is spread in about four different settings, the horror field and tent, the music theatre, on the street and a building. Therefore the thriller sequence is packed full of action, but it is yet minimal as it does not tell the storyline out, but gets the audience captured to the thriller.


The rain we see in the sequence when the main character enters a building (were her apartment is), restores the fact that it will not be all “happy”, as rain presents negativity and fear. The slow music that is played when the character is entering her apartment, builds suspense and fear for the viewer even though that nothing suspicious occurs or looks like it will occur. This lets the audience think to their self what may happen, and engage to the movie and even create assumptions of what may happen in the movie. The camera flow in the whole sequence is very smooth, and does not rush, but runs from one setting to another. The colours used in the sequence begin by being dark and dull, but when we are introduced the main character, its much brighter and the movie is seen in a different perspective.

This movie sequence is very different to many other movies, this is because it starts at disequilibrium in the first 1minuet 48 seconds, and then equilibrium, which make it very different to “typical” thriller movies, this itself can engage the audience to the movie and make them watch on.




Link to Movie’s first part; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wVU8CRESp4


(Analysed first 5minuets of it)