Evaluation Question 1

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

We feel that our media film opening product uses, develops and challenges forms and conventions of real media products. We have done this in a variety of different ways. I have explained below how we have done this.

In order for us to create a horror film, we had to include the most common horror film conventions. We successfully did this by using a weapon. The first way our film uses a convention from a real media product, is a weapon. A weapon is commonly used in films for the villain to kill his/her victim. We used a knife in our opening, this can first be seen in the very first scene, when the villain is choosing which knife to take from the draw. We used this form of convention, because the villain in our opening, is shown to have an obsession with women, as he is seen stalking his victim and killing her, so the weapon used is a common household item that everyone can easily get hold of.  We also used this convention because we wanted the audience to feel threatened, as they can see what a common household item can do, when placed in the wrong hands. Weapons can be seen in many horror films, such as The Shining, which used an axe and Friday the 13th which used a sword. 

Another very stereotypical form and convention, we used in our film opening was an alley.  We used an alleyway because it was an isolated area which creates a build up of tension for the audience, as the they do not know what will happen at any time. Even though the alleyway can be seen coming from a main road a  well populated area, we can only see the main two characters throughout the opening.We did this to make the alley more tense and bring a the audience a sense of fear, as there is only two people being shown, so no one is around to help if anything happens. The alley is also shown to be very long and curvy with large trees and bushes running along both sides, this helps to make the location feel eerie and a sense of tension, as it also shows how alone they are down the alleyway. 

  

Another way we have successfully used forms and conventions of real media products, is through non-diegetic sound (music). We used a piece of uncopyrighted music called "The House on the Hill", from a website Purple-Planet, which provides uncopyrighted music. We used this music from the start to the end, using sound effects during the opening to enhance some scenes. This music creates added tension and suspense to the film opening throughout, as the music speeds up and suddenly stops when they are walking up the alleyway. This is also creating a sense of fear for the audience as they know that something is going to happen. It is also important to create suspense and using eerie music, as it captures the audience's attention within the first few minutes of the film. One of the most famous pieces of music used in a horror film, to create tension and suspense is Jaws.

Another way we successfully used forms and conventions of real media products, is through using narrative theory, especially Vladimir Propp. According to Propp, each character has a narrative function that provides a structure for the text.   Propp also states that each film has a Villain, the teenage Boy in our opening and a Victim the teenage girl.
Propp also stated that there were 31 narrative functions that are commonly used in films, in our film opening we used some of them, however we haven't included some of them as they have been missed out.  

1.  Absentation - A member of a family leaves the security of the home environment. (The teenage girl leaves home to go out).
2. Violation of interdiction - The interdiction is violated (villain enters the tale). This generally proves to be a bad move and the villain enters the story, although not necessarily confronting the hero. Perhaps they are just a lurking presence or perhaps they attack the family whilst the hero is away. (The villain can be seen getting ready to go out and kill someone as we can see a knife and him pulling up his hood).
3. Reconnaissance - The villain (often in disguise) makes an active attempt at seeking information trying to actively capture someone. (Villain is on his phone outside her house).
4. Villainy or Lack - Villain causes harm/injury to family member. The villain causes some kind of harm, for example carrying away a victim. (Villain kills the teenage girl).

A way that we can see that we have used Vladimir Propp in our opening is by looking at previous horror trailers. So I looked at 'Cabin in the Woods'. Here we can see the seven different characters

One way we have challenged forms and conventions of real media products, is that our film opening is based during the day, instead of at night. Most horror film killings take place at night, this is because it brings it brings a more sense of fear to the audience and that it is also easier to create a more tense atmosphere. One reason why we filmed during the day, was because we didn't think that young teenage girl would walk down a dark alleyway at night on her own, as she would properly walk the long the way and miss out the alleyway or she would get a lift. This made our film opening more realistic to the audience and also more relate able to our target audience. Another reason why we filmed during the day, was because we knew that the quality of our film would be greater during the day as the lighting would be more suited to our camera, and the footage would not show up.