Evaluation Question 1

Script

Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film openings)

The title of my film "Abduction" was chosen due to the storyline of my opening sequence. It gives a basic idea of what the film's about but without giving too much away. I believe that my title links in with typical conventions of the thriller genre of which I chose to base my sequence on because it builds up suspense and puts the viewer on edge. The name "Abduction" can also be seen as a challenge of a media convention for the psychological thriller genre seeing as their plot normally has a clearer connection with the title and go straight to the point. I believe that the effects used on my titles do not challenge any conventions because a fade in/fade out is a clever and commonly used effect in the thriller industry. 

The locations in which I chose to base my film in have been chosen specifically to fit in with the conventions of a real media product. For instance, the four location shots at the beginning of my opening sequence have been included to present a kind of council state location where lots of trouble goes on, hence the use of police sirens and the baby screaming to represent young pregnancy. I decided to include the sign 'Care Home' in one of these location shots the reinforce the dangerousness and oddness of the area. I also chose to include a shot of a states school and the local convenience store to emphasise this poor location and also to  give the viewer a better insight on the surrounding area of the location of the incident.

I decided to dress my main actress (the victim) in her school uniform to reinforce how easily these children can get taken being that Mia featured in my opening sequence walking back home from school. The school uniform costume can be seen as very naturalistic as it is worn most days of the week therefore fits in with the conventions of a real media product as most thriller films choose to keep outfits simplistic so that it doesn't attract the audience to the costumes but leads them to focus on the narrative. The costume of my witness is also simplistic as she is just an everyday women doing to food shopping. The outfit of my kidnapper was chosen due to my knowledge of existing thrillers where the murder or kidnapper etc usually dresses to hide their identity as much as possible but without looking too suspicious.

I attempted to use a wide variety of shots during the opening of my film because that is what you would expect to see in a real media product. I didn't chose to include any added effects such as slow-motion because I believe that my narrative is straight forward but brings the impact in itself such as the pace of the shots when the girl is getting abducted. 

I believe the font I chose doesn't challenge forms and conventions of real media products because it is quite a basic font so that all my titles are easy to read however, it also has its own individuality representing many thriller conventions with the cracked/ attacked-like style. The colours chosen for the fonts vary from white to red, I have used many greys, reds, whites and reds and I believe they have many connotations which fit in with the thriller genre. For example, red represents blood, death or fear.

I also believe that my opening sequence challenges forms and conventions of the thriller genre as it includes a lot of ambiguity, leaving the audience filled with many possibilities behind the plot. The girl gets abducted but was there a reason behind it? Has it been planned over several months? What happens to the girl next? It leaves the audience intrigued and should therefore ensure that they would watch on.

I think that my opening sequence clearly displays its genre as the thriller genre is reinforced by the fast pace of shots which is a common convention of many thriller films, the fast pace of the shots and the quantity of them add to emphasise the suspense and tension. I also believe that the thriller genre is established through the locations as they represent a council state location which usually is known for its bad reputations in crime, therefore this type of setting is a convention of the thriller genre. On the other hand, I also understand that my opening sequence challenges forms and conventions of the thriller genre through the age and style of my characters as I have featured younger actors than those who normally feature as kidnappers and victims in thriller films and the audience may get the wrong impression and assume the film is in the indie/teen genre.

The characters in my opening sequence are introduced separately and this consequently challenges the conventions of existing media products. It challenges conventions of existing media products as there are no direct relationships seen between characters and it is not obvious of the history of each of the characters whether they have one or don't. However, the relationships between characters can possibly be understood by the sequence and order of the shots. Switching from the victim to the kidnapper then the witness. My opening sequence mainly consists of different shots of my characters with the exception of my location shots, this is a convention of existing thriller films and they show the audience their clear reference within my film.