Evaluation - Question 1

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

My thriller opening generally follows many trends found in thriller openings from similar movie genres. I have understood and incorporated various media conventions in my opening, giving it the sense of suspense, tension and anticipation, giving the audience feelings of which I aimed to generate. Like many similar genre films, it starts with an action-packed chase involving an innocent teenage boy, being followed by a mysterious man we know very little about. The chase is a very common feature in action movies, such as the latest installment of James Bonds, Skyfall. Whilst on a far lower budget, my thriller opening aims to create the same sense of excitement and suspense as Skyfall created in the fist few opening minutes. Here is the opening of Skyfall, used to inspire my thriller opening.

The idea of a protagonist and victim is also a known thriller convention. The victim, being played by the teenage boy, is on a simple bike ride around his local park, which ends in plotted murder carried out by the protagonist, a suited, mysterious man. this poses similarity to films in the genre, with their being a good guy a bad guy, much like in the Skyfall extract above. The audience instantly roots for the good guy (or victim in this case), and the film generally ends in them being triumphant over the villain. 

One of the most important features of a good thriller opening is to intrigue the audience and make them want to see more. This is exactly the feeling I would like leave my audience with once they finish watching my thriller opening. To do this, I tried to create an enigma, a state where my audience will be asking many questions about who the people are, what they are doing and why they are doing it. The feeling of borderline confusion means I can trigger my viewers inner curiosity, encouraging them to continue watching. This method I have adopted by analyzing film openings in similar genres to mine. It may be evident throughout my opening sequence, that despite their being diegetic sound, there is no dialogue whatsoever. This is a good way to build mystery as very little is given away about the protagonist in particular. This adds to the sense of enigma I was intending to create.

Using the Skyfall extract as an example, high-tempo thriller openings almost always incorporate little or no video transitions in preference to simple cuts. This is to build a significant feeling of suspense, urgency and tension resulting in a climax of the boy being forcefully removed from his bike without explanation and thrown into the boot of the protagonists car. Through the loudening soundtrack and thoughtfully cut video, I was able to allow the audience to anticipate an event through audio and visuals alone. This was one of the biggest successes of my thriller, as I was able to capture the same emotions felt by my audience during my opening as in higher budgeted films.

Finally, the selection of my overlaid text during my film was also crucial in setting the scene. An appropriate choice of text was used to reflect the mood. The text can subconsciously take away from the seriousness and intensity set, and it is very important that the design and theme of text is chosen correctly. The text inserted in my opening generates a rather sinister, horror feel, resembling the dark intentions of the mysterious man in the suit pursuing the innocent boy in the sequence. Whilst all thriller openings include titles, not all get it right. This can take away from the intense experience that you may aim to create. The order of text shown can also be significant in defining key differences between your opening with a trailer.

My thriller opening follows various conventions which combined, make my opening a captivating piece which sends all the right impressions to my audience to create the emotions I intended to portray.