Conventions

In what ways does my media product use, develop or

challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

What makes a thriller opening sequence?

To make a thriller opening sequence successful, there must be codes and conventions of the genre. These include: mysterious music, iconography, slow motion, low key lighting and so on. I have included these in my opening sequence. These codes and conventions create tension and suspense because they leave questions in the audiences mind. When watching my opening sequence, the audience had questions in their head. This is shown in the survey I completed after the final draft of my opening sequence. An example of a convention of thriller is low key lighting. This makes the audience anxious because they will want to know who the person is (especially if they are seeing the character for the first time). I have used low key lighting in my opening sequence. I have used it for the scientist part. This creates suspense, which a thriller film is meant to do. This is because the audience would want to see the scientists face. This shows my film is a thriller film.

Low key lighting has been used in the scientist part of the opening sequence. I have used low key lighting to build tension and suspense. The low key lighting makes the audience question what is going on because the scene is dull. The audience asking questions is a convention of thriller.

Mysterious music is vital in thriller films because if the music links with the action then the audience would feel as if they are in the character's position. This will make them want to watch more. I have included mysterious music in my opening sequence, which also links with the action. The pace of the score is fast during the chase scene compared to others parts, such as when Karl sees the two men. The action in the chase scene is much quicker compared to when Karl sees them. The fast pace score makes the audience want to find out whether he would get caught. In the thriller opening sequences’ I have researched there are some sort of tense created.Slow motion is a convention of thriller and creates suspense as it emphasizes the action. Slow motion makes the audience think about the next scene and what would be a result of the slow motion. I have included slow motion in my opening sequence in the part where we see the two antagonists’ feet. This therefore makes my film a thriller film.The location is also important as it gives the audience an understanding of the opening sequence. The location can, in some cases, be a reflection of the main character/s. This allows the audience to understand more of the character/s. In my opening sequence, the setting of the park implies he is homeless. This information says a lot about Karl, such as he has no one to look after him. In the opening sequences’ I have research, there are some information about the characters in the sequence. However, there are not too much. In my opening sequence, I have not revealed too much. For example, the audience does not know what has happened to him before, as in why the organization chose him and not someone else. This makes my film a thriller film.


Slow motion is used when we see the two men’s feet.The slow motion used makes the audience eager to find out who they are and whether they are the antagonists. The slow motion emphasizes how slow time passes by

The audience understands the film is set in a park. The setting links with the genre because the park we used is local. In thriller films. The setting makes him look innocent and in a typical thriller film the vulnerable people gets hurt. In this case, Karl is vulnerable and is getting hurt.

The font of the titles are significant in an opening sequence because it links with the genre of the film. For example, having a bright color and swirl typography will not be suitable as it does not reflect the genre, which is thriller. An example of a thriller film I researched is ‘Sin City’. In the opening sequence of this film, the titles used are thick and bold. This highlights the genre is thriller because the title symbolises power. In thrillers, power is usually associated with the protagonists. In a typical thriller film, the power of the protagonist’s is more than the power of the antagonist’s. This therefore leads to the antagonists winning in a battle or conflict.I have used thick typography in my opening sequence. The movement of the title is important because it adds to the suspense created. In ‘Sin City’, the titles move from left to right or from right to left. The audience does not know what way the title would be moving. Similarly, I placed the titles in different places. This links with the genre because in a typical thriller film, the audience does not know what to expect. This means my film is a thriller film.


In ‘Sin City’, the title moves from left to right The font of the film’s name is thick. The colour red connotes danger, which links with thriller because in a typical thriller film there is danger.

The titles appear at different places. This puts the audience on the edge of their seat because the movement of the titles are unexpected. This links with my storyline as what would happen to Karl is unknown. In real thriller films, the audience does not know what to expect, which makes the film a thriller.

The costumes of the characters define who they are and this is vital as the audience has a first impression of them. The costume can imply a range of things, including their social class (middle class people are likely to dress smart) and their occupation (businessmen wear suits). In a thriller film, a convention is the type of clothing the antagonists and protagonists wear. In a typical thriller film, the antagonists would wear smart clothing and the protagonists would wear daily clothing. My opening sequence demonstrates this as the two men wears smart clothing and Karl wears normal daily clothing. This makes the audience believe that Karl is the protagonists of the film.


The two members of the organization is wearing smart clothing. In typical thriller films, the antagonists dress professionally.

Karl is wearing normal daily clothing. The fact that Karl wears daily clothes links with the thriller genre because in a typical thriller film the protagonist wear normal daily clothes. Normal clothing makes Karl seem innocent and innocent people are usually the victim. In this case, Karl is the victim.

Flashbacks are an effective way to get the audience thinking and keep them on the edge of their seat.In a typical thriller film, close ups of the characters are constantly used. This creates tension because the audience pays full attention to the character. This keeps them on the edge of their seat. In my opening sequence, there are close ups, especially at the end where Karl is laying on the ground. At this point of the opening sequence, the audience focuses on Karl’s facial expression, and this therefore leads them to feel tension.


This is how the flashback starts. Flashbacks are common in real thriller films. The flashback builds suspense as the audience wonder why they chose Karl and not someone else. From this, the audience also questions how he escaped from the experiment. These put the audience on the edge of their seat because they would want to know the answers to their questions.

Comparing my opening sequence to ‘A Most Wanted Man’

Similarities:There are many similarities with my opening sequence and the opening sequence of ‘A most wanted man’. In my opening sequence, Karl is running away from two men. This is shown in the chase scenes. Likewise in this opening sequence, a man climbs up and drags himself to the floor and as soon as he gets up he runs. This clearly implies that the person is running away from someone. In both opening sequence, there is someone running away from someone else. The audiences have questions about the characters running.In both opening sequences, there is an over shoulder of a character looking at something. In my opening sequence, Karl is reading the note whereas in this opening sequence the man is looking at a picture.Both opening sequences start with a score. This starts to build tension for both opening sequences.Another similarity is the close up of the same character's reaction. In this opening sequence, the man changes where he looks, which implies he is desperate for the person’s answer. In my opening sequence, there is a reaction shot of Karl waking up after he fainted (at the end). He is worried and frightened. However, from the man’s reaction there might be something illegal going on. This is because the man is encouraging the other man to do his job for him. This is demonstrated in the dialogue ‘You are doing the right thing’. This is similar to my opening sequence because the secret organization is testing an illegal drug on an innocent person. Both films are doing something illegal.

Differences:The plot of my opening sequence is different to the plot in this film. My opening sequence is about Karl getting abducted by two men because of a drug. Whereas this opening sequence is about a man hiding and another man talking on the phone.Another difference is that in this opening sequence there is a hidden identity. We can not see the face of the person who is hiding. In my opening sequence, everyone’s face can be seen. This film may be effective because the audience wonder who he is and why he is hiding.

Comparing my opening sequence to ‘A Most Wanted Man’

Reaction shot of the man talking on the phone.

The man is climbing up.

Karl running away from the two men. The chase scene is a typical convention of thriller. The chase scene in my opening sequence creates tension and makes the audience ask questions. This is a convention of thriller films as it makes them want to watch more. An example of a question asked in my opening sequence was whether he manages to escape.

The shot of Karl reading the note creates tension because the camera is positioned above the note. This makes the audience feel as if they are his position. This makes the audience feel sympathy for him.

Costume/PropsKarl’s clothing may have been effective if it was ripped in some parts. This would make it obvious that he is homeless and poor. In the opening sequence, Karl looks more of a working class than underclass. This is because he is wearing a lose top and a stereotype of working class is wearing lose clothing. This makes my film a thriller film because the innocent characters are usually the ones that get hurt (a convention of a thriller film). The two men who are members of the secret organization are wearing a smart shirt. This clearly shows that they are middle class as this social class is more likely to wear professional clothing, perhaps the reason is their type of job. In this case, they are members of a secret organization. This outlines they are the antagonists of the film because wearing smart clothing is typical for a thriller film. This therefore means my opening sequence has followed conventions of the thriller genre.Ohemaa (the scientist) is wearing a mask. Her clothing of a scientist is not shown which may prevent the audience from understanding the plot fully. However, the mask hints she is a scientist. The overall effectiveness is not good because the audience cannot see the costume of the scientist.We used a test tube to demonstrate Ohemaa is a scientist and is experimenting. This section is successful because there is a green liquid in the test tube that implies she is experimenting something. The props were used effectively. An example of a real thriller film that has a similar plot to my film is ‘Paycheck’. In this film, a man is also being experimented on. The test tube in my opening sequence links with a typical plot of a thriller film.

The two men from the secret organization are wearing smart clothing, which gives the impression that they are professional. This makes my film a thriller because the audience can distinguish between the good and evil.

The scientist’s clothing is not shown. This creates suspense as there is a hidden identity. This makes the audience want to see the face of the scientist.

Costume/Props

Characters

In my opening sequence, there are only four characters: the scientist, Karl and two members from the organization. Overall, the characters were how my group and I wanted them to be. There is not a lot of information about the characters. This would persuade the audience to want to carry on the film and put them on the edge of their seat. In a typical thriller film, the opening sequence does not give too much away because if everything about the characters are revealed within the first 3 minutes then the audience would think there is no point in carrying on the film. This therefore makes my film a thriller film.The audience understands a lot about the two men. For example, that they are after Karl. When they start chasing Karl, they realize they are the two men are from the organization.

A medium shot of the two members of the secret organization

A medium shot of Karl

The scientist

Characters

Comparing my opening sequence to ‘Friday the 13th’

Similarities:In both opening sequences, everything is normal up to a certain point. In my opening sequence it is normal up to when Karl sees the two men. In this opening sequence, everything is normal up to when the boy sees the person. We do not know who the person is because there is a point of view shot.Most of the people in this opening sequence is wearing the same clothing, suggesting they are students and are having a great time with friends after school. Their clothes reveal their identity. In my opening sequence, the two men are wearing smart clothing implying that they are from the secret organization. In both cases, the clothing the characters wear is essential because it shows what type of person they are.In my opening sequence, as soon as Karl realized the two men are after him he started running. Likewise, as soon as the boy saw the person he started explaining and panicking. In both cases, the characters got terrified after seeing someone.In my opening sequence, Karl runs in order to not get caught by the two men. Also, in this opening sequence, the girl starts running in order to escape from the person. Both characters are trying to escape from someone else.

Difference:In this film, there are a lot of dark and dull colors used. However, in my opening sequence there are not a lot of dark colors. The only dark scene is the scientist part (flashback). Having dark colors is more effective because it creates suspense.The plot of this opening sequence is different to my opening sequence plot. This film is about a group of friends having a great time and a couple go to a separate room and when they see the person they start to panic. However, my opening sequence is about Karl getting abducted by a secret organization who wants to test their drug on him.

Comparing my opening sequence to ‘Friday the 13th’

When the girl tries to escape

The group of friends are having a great time

Karl seeing the two men. At this point, the atmosphere is tense because it leaves questions on the audiences mind and makes them panic about what Karl would do. These are conventions of thriller.

Karl running away from the two men. The chase scene is quick, which is a convention of thriller films.

Education

Conventions