IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PROJECT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

STOCK NARRATIVES AND THEMES

Typically, thriller films focus around multiple aspects, such as:• The storyline revolving around one

case that has to be solved• The law being bent or broken by

multiple characters• A plot twist that occurs midway which

will affect the protagonist• Characters facing conflict that will be

difficult to overcome• The antagonist eventually is caught

and will serve time for the crime that they committed

STOCK NARRATIVES AND THEMES

STORYLINE FOCUSED AROUND ONE CASE – USEDThroughout the opening of our film the audience are introduced to the case of Daisy Walker’s murder. Despite being a victim of a serial killer’s rampage, the opening of the film focuses specifically on Daisy Walker and her connection with DCI Banks. The film then continues with DCI Walker working solo on the case and through several problems

STOCK NARRATIVES AND THEMES

BREAKING OF THE LAW – UsedOur film definitely uses the convention of law breaking. In our opening we immediately reveal a murder case and later show 3 suspects on the evidence board. We felt this aspect was important as it suggests characteristics about the suspects shown and allows the audience to figure out who committed the crime.

STOCK NARRATIVES AND THEMES

THE PLOT TWIST - ChallengedIn our film, the plot twist occurs in the opening 2 minutes, where the protagonist (DCI Walker) is informed with the closing of the case, which ultimately encourages him to take it on himself. Whereas in most thriller films, the plot twist is revealed midway.

The plot twist in Se7en doesn’t occur till around the last half and hour.

STOCK NARRATIVES AND THEMES

CHARACTERS FACING CONFLICT – Used and DevelopedWe used the idea of characters facing conflict throughout our film opening – at the beginning when DCI Walker is introduced we instantly see this connection between himself and the girl shown in the photographs. Later on when DCI Walker is informed about the closing of the case, we instantly can sympathise with him as he is facing this problem. We developed the idea of conflict by creating a emotional and mental conflict shown through the disappointment and agony that DCI Walker faces when he realises that he is on his own to discover who killed Daisy Walker.

CHARACTERS

STOCK CHARACTERS

• Criminals• Stalkers• Assassins• Innocent victims• Police

Protagonist- Hero- Often

police officer

Antagonist- Villain- Criminal

CHARACTERS

Mr Clark plays the character or DCI Walker. He is an

evident ‘people person’ as he is greatly affected by the

closing of Daisy Walker’s case, which he then ends up taking

over himself. DCI Walker is comparable to the character of Detective Loki in Prisoners as he is described as ‘a lonely guy’ similar to DCI Walker who is independent throughout the

whole opening of the film. Similar to Detective Loki, we presented DCI Walker quite

mysterious as we didn’t provide much information about his background. This

allows the audience to question his motivations and

weaknesses.

CHARACTERSConor Sawenko and Edgar

Walker played the other police detectives in the film, who are

less important than DCI Walker. However, this was

another convention that was replicated in our film opening.

We took many of our ideas from Se7en, especially the

characters of David Mills and Detective Somerset. They

evidently have a father and son relationship which we

wanted to manipulate in our own film opening by

presenting them with a significant friendship. We

wanted to portray as being quite dependant on one

another and the idea that they work best when they are together, similar to the

characters in Se7en.

CHARACTERSWe created three suspects that were featured on the evidence board. You don’t actually see the characters

in person in the opening, however they would be present later on as the film progresses. We took

photos of 3 classmates and asked them to pose like criminals. Although, they are aren’t present in person

in the opening they are a huge part of it, as that’s what DCI Walker is trying to discover – Who killed

Daisy Walker?

CHARACTERSOne of the issues that was discovered after filming was the description of the suspects through the mug shots. They were presented on the mug shot photos as all being seven foot tall, which is obviously not accurate.

We could have also dressed PC Hunt and PC Clark in better clothing to make their costumes match their character role. Such as dressing them in a suit similar to DCI Walker so that their role and status is apparent.

STOCK SETTINGSWe looked into the film ‘Hot Fuzz’ which is set in a rural town. We wanted to move away from this idea and set our film in a city similar to ‘Se7en’ which is set in a big city. We wanted to set it in a city to follow the stock setting idea that big cities makes it harder to find criminals. We wanted the case to appear on a big scale and being in the centre of a city would force the case to be maximised.

STOCK SETTINGSSome of our initial ideas for the settings weren’t reflected in our final product. For example, in our opening DCI Walker is in an office which we did want to portray as best as we could. This didn’t exactly go to plan and the final appearance of the office is extremely plain and you see no association with the office and DCI Walker as a person and his role as a detective. We should have personalised it a bit more by putting framed family photos and other objects such as a calendar, clock and phone to make it look more like an office.

PRESENTATION

CAMERA• We used a variety of

close up, medium and few long shots throughout.

• We focused mainly on the characters and not on the background as they were the most important part of the shot.

PRESENTATION

EDITING• We edited shots so

they were fast-paced which created a feeling of tension and suspension.

• We used intercutting between the evidence board and DCI Walker and the two detectives and DCI Walker.

PRESENTATION

We cut the shots so that they were of different lengths allowing us to intercut between settings to show what is happening at two place in the same time.

PRESENTATION

SOUND• We used sound to accompany the panning shots of

the evidence board as well as near the end of the opening when DCI Walker exits his office in anger.

• We also used minimal dialogue. Next time I would change it so that there was a bit more dialogue to enhance the content.

• One of our tracks we created on garage band which was used on our opening.

PRESENTATIONMISE EN SCENE• We used some props such as the evidence board and

the mug of coffee that DCI Walker drinks from. However, I would have liked to include more such as a phone or a weapon to make the film appear more crime orientated and it would emphasise the settings a bit more.

• We used lighting for the DCI Walkers office to focus on him a bit more and a sense of mystery in the room.

• DCI Walker is presented wearing a full suit which you would expect from a detective. The other two officers (PC Hunt and PC Clark) did not wear a suit which I would change next time as it would be more believable for the audience.

• Body language was used to create reactions and moods from characters. For example, DCI Walker appeared furious when he left his office which emphasised the importance of the case for him.

PRESENTATIONDCI Walker (Resting in Peace)and Detective Loki (Prisoners) We used

lighting to create a mysterious and dark mood similar to the lighting used in Prisoners to present Detective Loki. We dressed DCI Walker in a suit similar to Detective Loki so that that the audience can distinguish him as a detective. We also used a variety of shots to capture DCI Walker’s reactions.

ICONOGRAPHYTraditional iconography shown in thriller films follow the lines of:- Police stations and

evidence- Urban cities- Minimal range of

colours- Weapons- Shadows- Confined spaces

ICONOGRAPHY

We created our own evidence board by compiling difference police documents, CCTV snapshots, suspect profiles and suspect photos.We wanted to replicate the board in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ which displays all the evidence of Buffalo Bill.

Maps

Suspect mug shots

CCTV Footage

Newspaper articles

Police documents

ICONOGRAPHY

• Weapons are usually used in thriller films, however, we didn’t use a weapon as it wasn’t featured in our storyline.

• We could have used a phone or clock to associate with DCI Walker and make his setting a bit more believable.