In what ways does your media

product use, develop or

challenge forms and conventions of

real media products?

Eleanor Monk

In order to assess how my final media product uses, develops and challenges forms and conventions of real Disaster Thriller title sequences, I have referred back to my research on Thriller genre and title sequences from my planning and research stage. As my title sequence is produced for a Disaster Thriller film with elements of Supernatural Thriller (making it a Disaster/Supernatural Thriller), I have tried to include several conventions from both of these genres, although primarily focused on Disaster Thriller. It is for this reason I have chosen to compare my finished media product to the title sequence for ‘Dawn of the Dead’, a Disaster/Supernatural Thriller that inspired my main task.

A grid of nine key

frames from my finished

title sequence for ‘Meat

Eater’

A comparative grid of nine key frames

from the title

sequence for ‘Dawn of the Dead’

Above is a screen shot of the title for my title sequence ‘Meat Eater’, in comparison to the title used for ‘Dawn of the Dead’. Several aspects of our title were inspired by that of ‘Dawn of the Dead’. An example of this is that both titles incorporate Disaster Thriller conventions by using black backgrounds to make the wording stand out and create a literal ‘darker’ atmosphere, whilst the red text indicates that it is a Disaster/Supernatural Thriller hybrid with its immediate association with blood. I can confirm these conventions by looking back at my title research, where I created a mood board of existing Disaster Thriller titles in order to inspire my own. The ‘Meat Eater’ title is similar to ‘Dawn of the Dead’ as its use of block capitals create a sense of importance surrounding the words, and makes them more dramatic. Further, the title is positioned in the centre of the shot to isolate the words and put all of the audiences attention on them, similar to ‘Dawn of the Dead’. The two titles differ however, in their shades of red, font and size. My group used a more vibrant shade of red to allow our title to impact on the audience as much as possible, increasing it’s size for the same reasons. We used a disjointed font with the appearance of rusting metal (or possibly wounds) to convey the Disaster Thriller genre of the film, adding to the decaying, dense atmosphere common in such a genre.

‘Meat Eater’ ‘Dawn of the Dead’Above is the second key screen shot from my title sequence, consisting of an interview with the films main antagonist, and next to it a key screen shot from an interview in ‘Dawn of the Dead’ to compare. The setting of this ‘Meat Eater’ shot is located in one of Reigate College’s science classrooms, facing a bookshelf with atom structures and chemistry books on display in order to create a realistic scene appropriate for the interview with ‘Professor Argon’, that clearly clarifies his character and the fact that this is an interview. As one of the first series of shots in the title sequence, it sets up the storyline for the potential film by introducing the main antagonist before the initial disaster happens, allowing them to recognize him later in the film and connect the events themselves. Moreover, the interview explains who he is and what the drug ‘Mendax’ actually does, in such a way that builds tension and relates to scenes in similar Disaster/Supernatural Thriller hybrids such as this one from ‘Dawn of the Dead’ (right). Costume is used to set up the story in subliminal ways: the news reporter is wearing a smart silk top with a maroon and purple print on it, that whilst being stereotypical clothing for a news reporter, also provokes subliminal images of disease within the audience, and ‘Professor Argon’ is wearing a clean lab coat and glasses suggesting civilisation and intelligence. (Continues)

‘Meat Eater’ ‘Dawn of the Dead’(Continued)Later shots of a blood stained lab coat soon suggest that something has happened to the character of ‘Professor Argon’ since the interview, and metaphorically symbolize the down fall of science and civilisation with the impact of ‘the drug’. The edited information bar and news program logo add to the realistic feel of this scene, appealing to the audience with its sense of familiarity, and provoking fear and anxiety in them during the quick shots of disturbing imagery in between, as they feel as though they can relate. This scene follows conventions of Disaster Thriller news reports, such as lighting and setting, shown by comparing it to the shot from ‘Dawn of the Dead’. High key lighting is used to make the scene appear professional and realistic, creating a false sense of security that is quickly lost after the following shots, showing the change since that point in time, and this method is also used in ‘Dawn of the Dead’. As the interviewee is President Obama in ‘Dawn of the Dead’ the scene is set in a press conference room, as it is appropriate for the character, much like the scene is set in a laboratory for ‘Professor Argon’. We can therefore conclude that this ‘Meat Eater’ shot does abide by the conventions of a Disaster/Supernatural Thriller hybrid title sequence.

‘Meat Eater’ ‘Dawn of the Dead’This is a key shot from the series of shots during the interview with ‘Professor Argon’ in ‘Meat Eater’, alongside a similar themed key shot from ‘Dawn of the Dead’. The shot in ‘Meat Eater’ consists of a group of ‘cannibals’ visible through the shape of a cross running towards the camera in the distance. This was a subtle way of introducing the minor antagonists of the storyline at the same time as including a religious element. Many Disaster/Supernatural Thrillers include subtle references to religion as a device to provoke fear and familiarity in the audience. In ‘Dawn of the Dead’ the first shot is of a mass of people praying simultaneously in what appears to be a mosque or prestigious building. The shot used in ‘Meat Eater’ is similar to this in that it also uses references to religion to shock the audience, but instead of the low key, soft lighting in ‘Dawn of the Dead’ we have edited it so that the stonework is in low key, hard lighting bordering on black and white, in order to highlight the ‘cannibals’ movements within the cross. Low key and black and white lighting are common lighting conventions in most Thrillers, and so I believe that this adds to the success of my groups Thriller title sequence. Regarding camera work, the two shots are again similar as they are low angle long shots, portraying the subjects as ant like creatures, as though they are only a minor problem at the start. The simultaneous motion in both shots creates an uncomfortable atmosphere, as the movements appear unnatural, and this is a common effect of Disaster Thrillers.

‘Meat Eater’ ‘Dawn of the Dead’

This is a screen shot from one of the key montage shots during the interview with ‘Professor Argon’. It consists of a glitchy close up pan of the molecule models and chemistry books in ‘Professor Argon’s’ lab, to contrast with the close up shots of blood and needles later on. The grainy film and glitches over the academic materials suggest to the audience that there is a darker side to ‘the drug’, juxtaposing it and developing the storyline. This scene incorporates generic Disaster Thriller conventions through primarily with it’s use of editing, as camera glitches and digital films over the lens are commonly used in this genre to give the shot a ‘home footage’ like feel, and build tension with their quick overlaying movements. This shot from ‘Dawn of the Dead’ (right) was used to determine this, as it is also edited to appear similar to ‘home footage’ in order to make the scene more realistic and believable. It also suggest that we have challenged conventions however, as we have used a close up shot to draw the audiences attention to specific subjects (in this case the molecule structures and books) instead of the conventional long shot and medium shots used in Disaster Thrillers, as we found they are inappropriate for still subjects because of the lack of action and stimulus.

‘Meat Eater’ ‘Dawn of the Dead’This is a sample from the series of ‘cannibal’ shots we show in my group’s title sequence for ‘Meat Eater’, in comparison to a similar shot of a ‘zombie’ in Disaster/Supernatural Thriller hybrid ‘Dawn of the Dead’ (right). The shot starts of as a long shot of a ‘cannibal’ and then becomes a close up as the ‘cannibal’ turns and runs towards the camera. The lighting and costume are conventional of a Disaster/Supernatural Thriller hybrid as shown by the ‘Dawn of the Dead’ shot, as the red coloured lens filter (in our case edited) is used to create subtle blood and horror related imagery associated with the scene, and the high contrast lighting creates dark shadows framing the subject whilst providing a literal ‘dark’, tense atmosphere typical of Thrillers. The subject of the ‘Meat Eater’ shot is wearing a grey hoodie with blood stained rips on display, making the audience realise that he is not a normal human being and giving them a sense of danger and warning with the red of the blood, a technique also used in the ‘Dawn of the Dead’ shot. We used the rule of thirds in our shot, starting off with the pyramid structure in the far left section, progressing so that the ‘cannibal turns and runs towards the camera when he reaches the centre section in order to frame him. This method is not used in ‘Dawn of the Dead’, instead consisting of only a canted angle close up to disorientate the viewer. We chose to position our shot differently as the suspense built by the subject running towards the camera is an impacting convention of Thrillers.

‘Meat Eater’ ‘Dawn of the Dead’The first above shot is a screen shot from a montage of the secondary protagonist ‘Paul’ in ‘Meat Eater’. We used the rule of thirds in this shot to draw the audiences attention to the gun, lining the barrel of the gun up with one cross section and his shoulder up with the other. Gun use is a convention in Disaster Thrillers, as it adds to the action and sense of danger, and as a prop it is usually used to allow the main protagonist to protect himself or others. An example of gun use in a Disaster Thriller title sequence is this screen shot from ‘Dawn of the Dead’ (right), in which a group of government officials are attacked outside The Whitehouse and use guns to defend themselves. The shot we used was inspired by this scene, although differs in its shot composition, setting and lighting to fit the introduction of ‘Paul’ as a character. The setting for this ‘Meat Eater’ shot is outside an abandoned house, positioned within the frame so that only the metal used for barricading the windows and the wall are visible, to make the scene more convincing as set in a post disaster world. We used black and white lighting that was inspired by the limited colours used in the ‘Dawn of the Dead’ shot, developing our ideas before deciding on black and white as this is a common convention of Thrillers in general, and adds to the mystery surrounding ‘Paul’s’ character. A further reason for using this type of lighting in shots of ‘Paul’ is so that the audience are not fully sure of whether he is a protagonist or an antagonist, and consequently learn to trust him later in the potential film alongside ‘Tom’.

‘Meat Eater’ ‘Dawn of the Dead’This shot (left) is an example of the titles we used in ‘Meat Eater’ in comparison to those used in the similar film ‘Dawn of the Dead’ (right). The text used throughout my title sequence is in the same font style as the main title at the beginning so that it is consistent, and to make it stand out against the background and abide by typical conventions of Disaster/Supernatural Thriller hybrid text by using the colour red, similar to that used in ‘Dawn of the Dead’. In this particular shot the titles are layered over close up pan footage of ‘Tom’ opening all the locks on the door to his current residence, dissolving out for dramatic effect. The naturalistic lighting used sustains the sense of normality surrounding ‘Tom’, leading the audience to believe that he is different to the other characters that have been introduced, and portrays him as the protagonist. Throughout the title sequence we alternate between using a black background similar to that in ‘Dawn of the Dead’ and layering the text over footage as the action becomes more intense, to sustain the audience’s interest whilst creating suspense with the black backgrounds when needed (conventional in Thrillers). In ‘Dawn of the Dead’ the text is rather small and placed in different places in very shot, moreover bleeds out of the frame with a special effect, and whilst we replicated the positioning technique of placing the titles in different paces within the frame, we made them larger than those used in ‘Dawn of the Dead’ as we thought the frame looked to empty otherwise.

‘Meat Eater’ ‘Dawn of the Dead’This screen shot from ‘Meat Eater’ (left) consists of a long shot of a victim being attacked by the ‘cannibals’, and right is a similarly themed scene from the ‘Dawn of the Dead’ title sequence depicting a group of ‘zombies’ walking. The shot from ‘Meat Eater’ both follows and challenges Disaster/Supernatural Thriller hybrid conventions (shown in this shot from ‘Dawn of the Dead’) with its use of mise-en-scene, editing and camera work. The shot begins as a long shot of the victim running in the centre, before a group of ‘cannibals’ attack him from different angles out of the frame, in order to give the viewer a feeling of complete overwhelming before developing to hand held close ups in later shots. The ‘cannibals’ are shown clearly for the first time in this shot, ensuring that the audience are now completely aware of the story background for the film. The shot type relates to that used in ‘Dawn of the Dead’ as it is also a long shot of a group of antagonists, but differs in that it is not low angle like the sample, as we wanted the ‘cannibals’ to portray an element of power at this stage. The lighting effects (in our case edited) used in my group’s shot is also different to that used in ‘Dawn of the Dead’, challenging the connotations of Disaster/Supernatural Thriller title sequences. We used high contrast lighting to make the scene appear more surreal and to emphasize the blood and shadows, creating an unreal, post disaster setting, and this is not typically found in Thriller long shots. ‘Dawn of the Dead’ in comparison uses a green filter to create a typical ‘zombie’ themed tinge reflecting the identity of the subjects, and we decided to stay away from this effect as we did not want the ‘cannibals’ confused with ‘zombies’.

‘Meat Eater’ ‘Dawn of the Dead’This is one of the final shots from my group’s title sequence for Disaster/Supernatural Thriller ‘Meat Eater’, alongside a similar shot from the ‘Dawn of the Dead’ title sequence for comparison. It is one of a series of shots showing the main protagonist ‘Tom’ playing with a needle before injecting himself towards the end of the sequence, whereas the ‘Dawn of the Dead’ shot is a quick shot of the silhouette of a ‘zombie’ behind a broken screen. This shot introduces ‘Tom’ properly for the first time, as before the audience have only seen shots of him from behind or of his hand, and so it is important for representing his character. He has his hood up to preserve his mystery slightly (building suspense) whilst at the same time clarifying to the audience that it is set in a modern time era. The rule of thirds has been used in this shot to portray him as a non-threatening character (he is stooped over the line of one cross section looking downwards, with a vulnerable effect), and to highlight the needle, which is aligned with the other cross section. The main similarity to the ‘Dawn of the Dead’ shot is actually his position, although this can be used as an example of how mise-en-scene can have a dramatic effect on how a character is represented, as ‘Tom’ is a protagonist whilst the ‘zombie’ is an antagonist. (Continues)

‘Meat Eater’ ‘Dawn of the Dead’

(Continued)The lighting and editing effects are mainly responsible for such different representations; our shot uses naturalistic low key lighting, reflecting the desperate mood of the shot whilst highlighting ‘Toms’ figure as light against darkness, symbolizing he is the good amongst the evil, whilst drawing attention to the needle in his hand, which is well lit. The shot from ‘Dawn of the Dead’ in comparison, includes hard, low key lighting that only shows the figures silhouette, making it seem menacing. The blue and red light underneath the edited ‘television screen’ makes the character even more sinister as the red taints the blue using blood imagery. Furthermore, the edited crack in the screen where the subject’s hands are implies to the audience that harm will, or has come from the hands of this person/creature. With all this taken into consideration, the shot used in ‘Meat Eater’ still remains conventional of a Disaster/Supernatural Thriller hybrid title sequence in that it is set in a derelict, abandoned looking brick shed, an appropriate setting for such a genre that suggests its storyline to the audience.