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

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

Our Thriller opening was highly influenced by other films, such as Se7en, and Strangers on a Train. However I feel our thriller challenges many sterotypical conventions of the thriller genre, and the British gangster sub-genre.

Some Films that influenced us included:

Red Road (Directed by Andrea Arnold)



Our storyline was strongly influenced by that of Red Road. This film also influenced the camera angle useds. As some shots of Eve seemed as though they were taken from cctv, just like in Red Road, however we used quick cuts with other varied shots, to stop it from looking like a cctv tracking shot. However unlike in Red Road, we broke conventions, by choosing to have a voice over instead of dialogue throughout. Meaning that the story is being narrated, rather than waiting for it to be told or shown by the characters. The eerie voice over also adds depth to our opening, and affirms it as a thriller.

We also used mainstream Film noir conventions although our opening is of independant British Gangster genre. We used Black and white for the stalkers shots, as this adds to his mystery, and the black, suggests isolation. We also used conventions of L.A noir for Harley's shots too, as we used lights coming through the blinds in the office, to add shadows to his face. However we didnt use these conventions throughout, and we stuck to the British Gangster genre, these being the only film noir techniques we used, for instance we did not use 1950s costumes, or have a sterotypical femme fatale, although it may be suggested that Eve played the femme fatale in our opening, she was not that of a typical film noir style.

We were influenced by the Film Se7en too. We used similar titles in our opening, as we put them over the action, so it keeps it fast paced. We also used a links of fast paced shots cutting between two different people, showing their stories are linked, which is also used in Se7en. However we decided not to use a soundtrack like in Se7en, as we feared it might make our opening look like a music video, rather than a film. However rather than just have a voice over, we added a soundtrack too, just like in Layer Cake, another film that highly influenced our production.

Although we may have used many different conventions from the thriller genre, i feel we also broke and challenged a few, such as rather than have the male character holding all the cards, and sugesting what will happen next, we decided to give this authority to the female character, eve. However she was obviously still under the power of the male, as she was running away from him, and being forced to leave everything behind. However her next moves, suggest the direction of the film.

We also broke conventions by never showing the Male characters face. This adds an heir of msytery, as well is meaning that it didnt matter if our actor didnt look too menancing, as his main influence was added through the voice over.