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

Thriller opening sequences have conventions that help distinguish them from other opening sequences:

• Either slow or fast paced editing, (sometimes both are used).
• Lots of close ups, to help conceal information.
• Some sort of weaponry or violence.
• Logos/Titles, (however these are seen in all opening sequences, but font, colour etc. may differ depending on the genre.
• Music that reinforces the mood, (again this may be present in all opening sequences, but will differ due to the genre.
• Equilibrium.

A convention that I have used in our thriller opening sequence is the use of mainly close ups and extreme close ups. I have followed this convention as I want to conceal as much information as possible and make the audience ask questions, which is also another convention of a thriller opening sequence. The video clips below show how I have used close ups to conceal the identity of the mysterious character in my opening sequence.

As you can see in these three clips the identity of the character is concealed effectively by the use of close ups, this will also make the audience ask questions about the identity of the character, which will entice them to watch on to see if their questions get answered.

This convention has also been used in the opening sequence of the thriller film 'Se7en'.
Below are some clips showing how this opening sequence also kept the identity of the character concealed.

Another convention that I have used is the convention of equilibrium, which is a state of normality. I have used this when the MP character in my opening sequence is going about his everyday business. This makes the audience not expect anything, and it also contrasts with the situation of the other character in my opening sequence.

These clips show how the MP character in my opening sequence is just going about his everyday life. The third shot of the crab that I used shows the contrast between the two characters, and how their days differ from one another.

My opening sequence can also be seen as challenging the convention of equilibrium, as although the MP character is going about his everyday life, the mysterious character is not. This gives a contrast of the different situations, as the actions of the mysterious character are out of the ordinary.

Another convention that I have challenged is the convention of the establishing shot. I chose not to use an establishing shot in my opening sequence as I believe that this will give the audience too much information, and it is more interesting to use shorter duration shots as they will hook the audience in as it will not be entirely clear as to what is going on.

The clip above is the shot I used instead of a traditional establishing shot. This shot again makes the audience ask questions about the characters identity and if this suitcase is so important, as I decided to frame this shot to just contain the suitcase, to give it a level of importance and symbolise that this character is of high importance.

Again, the film 'Se7en' follows this also.
Below is the opening shot of the opening sequence.

I developed the convention of only having either long duration or short duration shots. In my opening sequence I use both, I mainly use the longer duration shots for the MP character to create a sense of calm. However, with the mysterious character in my opening sequence I use much shorter shots so that the intensity and pace is increased, this gives a sense of panic and urgency as it contrasts with the atmosphere of the MP.  

As you can see the shots for the MP character are much longer in duration than the other shots for the mysterious character. the quick cuts of the shots for the mysterious character creates a sense of panic and urgency for the audience, whereas the shots for the MP character are calm and just show him having a regular day. But when these shots contrast with each other it raises some questions for the audience.


The genre of thriller also has some conventions that may not be seen in other film genres:

• Low key lighting.
• Vulnerable characters.
• Blood.
• Eerie string music.
• Close ups.

I have used some of these conventions in my opening sequence.

I used low key lighting for the scenes with the mysterious character in. This had connotations of evil and negativity, and made it clear to the audience that this character was the bad one of the two. I also contrasted this with the high key lighting and bright surroundings of the MP character. Again this showed what type of character he is to the audience. 

I developed this convention as I used both types of lighting, not just limiting my opening sequence to one. I did this to reinforce the contrast between the two characters in my opening sequence.
Below are some clips showing the lighting used, note the crab which effectively shows the transition from dark to light.

Se7en, also uses low key and high key lighting.
Below are some clips showing this lighting.

I also used the convention of having a vulnerable character in my opening sequence. However, I decided not to have a vulnerable character at the beginning of the opening sequence, but as the opening sequence progressed the MP character became more and more vulnerable, as the cross cutting with the mysterious character showed he may be in danger.

These videos show how the vulnerability of the character progressed, from just going about his everyday business to being in real danger. The climax of his vulnerability came in the form of the phone call he receives from the mysterious character. You can see the facial expression on the MP characters face change due to this phone call.
The second video doesn't show the character themselves, but the situation that their in, but this shows his vulnerability.

However, I challenged this convention as usually the vulnerable character will usually be one of limited power, and in most cases will be a woman to create the 'damsel in distress' stereotype. But, I decided to make the vulnerable character male and of high power to show that everybody can be vulnerable to danger.