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

TITLINGTypical generic conventions:

In “The Secret Window” and “Hannibal” the titles are red and suggest an eerie and sinister atmosphere. The titles for “Hannibal” appear over black, which suggests danger and darkness.The common reoccurrence of red titling suggests that they are used as a way of foreshadowing events that will take place later on in the film.

Our final media product:

For our production, we used the titling for“Hannibal” as our example. Our title “Neurosis” was placed over a black background in order to convey darkness. However our font style was different from “The Secret Window” and “Hannibal”, it was more eroded and sharp in the edges. Also, our film title is in red because it foreshadows darker events that will take place later on in the film.

CAMERA MOVEMENT

Typical generic convention:In “Perfect Stranger” the is tracking the character’s movements, which suggests that she’s the main character and the main focus of the film.

Our final media product:In our production, we challenged this convention and kept the camera stationary for most of the time apart from the opening shot where the camera tilts down to reveal the two characters walking. We did this in order to let the audience digest the scene instead of making it a fast paced thriller where the audience is being taken on different adventures. We want to make it clear that the main focus is Horatio, his isolation and his obsession with Mia.

FRAMING OF SHOTSTypical generic convention:In “The Secret Window”, the opening consisted of medium close up of the character’s face in order to convey his facial emotions such as the dark circles under his eyes suggest stress and lack of sleep and his pale skin colour suggests that he’s drained of energy and is battling with inner conflicts.

Our final media product:Similarly, we used a medium close up of Horatio in order to convey his concentration when he’s writing the article on Mia. We also used a wide variety of medium shots in order to display the atmosphere and introduce the different scenes.

CAMERA ANGLESTypical generic conventionIn “Cold Creek Manor” a bird’s eye view was used to establish the changefrom urban life to rural life. Also, in “The Butterfly Effect” a slightlylow angle shot was used when Evanwas playing with his dog in order to emphasise that Evan has power overthe dog.

Our final media product:For our production, we challenged this convention by not using lowangles or high angles becausehigh angles are used to establish authority. For example a high angleconveys inferiority and a low angleconveys superiority. We did not want to convey inferiority and superiority because we felt that weshould let the audience decide who is inferior or superior. For example Mia is superior in terms ofpopularity however Horatio is superior in terms of intelligence.

SELECTION OF MISE-EN-SCENE

Typical generic convention:In “Hannibal” the opening sound is eerie and spooky which suggests darkness in the film. The props used in the film old fashioned which gives an old fashioned vibe. The lighting used is also very dark which helps in creating a mysterious atmosphere.

Our final media product:Similarly, for our final mediaproduction we used a music piece called “Sad Story” from a royalty free music website in order tocreate an eerie atmosphere. Also, we used dark lighting when Horatio is in the newsroom in order to convey his alienation from his peers and also to add to hissuspicious behaviour.

EDITING DIRECTIONS

Typical generic convention:In “The Butterfly Effect” the director uses cut shots, fade ins and reverse shots to establish the atmosphere and the main characters. The fade introduces the suburban area, the quick cut shots highlight the character’s quick movement in the office and the reverse shots show the conversation between Evan and his mother.

Our final media product:In our final media product, we usedcut shows when Horatio’s in thenewsroom to highlight his movements up until the article andto also highlight the article itself. We used a fade in in the beginning to introduce the surroundings, Mia and Horatio.

SOUNDTypical generic convention:In all the films I studied, a mixture of non-diegetic and diegetic sound is used in the opening. For example in “Secret Window” the opening consists of diegetic sound and dialogue where the character is telling himself to “turn around” and as the opening progresses the viewer is introduced to a remote setting with non-diegetic music in the background.

Our final media product:Similarly, for our final mediaproduct we used a mixture ofnon-diegetic sound and diegeticsound. In the beginning we useddiegetic sound where Horatio is breathing heavily and we used non-diegetic music for the rest of the opening in order to intensify themystery and tension already in the opening.

ACTOR’S POSITIONING AND MOVEMENTS

Typical generic convention:In “Perfect Stranger” the main character always in the centre of theshot. Her walk is cool and confident which suggests that she’s confidentand a high flying career woman. Alsothe fact that she is walking fast suggests that she’s in a rush and does not want to waste time.

Our final media product:In our final product, we used this convention and made sure that Horatio was always in the centre ofthe shot to make it clear that’s he’s one of the main character’s. Also, Mia’ movement in the opening shot and the fact that she’s looking straight ahead suggests confidence and the fact that Horatio nervously pushes his glasses up suggests that he’s nervous.