Evaluation

Question 1:In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media

product?

Title of Film FrameMe and my group realised the title of the film is extremely important as it emphasizes and foreshadows the rest of the film. Therefore we watched many opening thrillers and noticed many of the modern thriller have their title appearing in the middle of the opening which worked well individually, although opening of Copy Cat is an older thriller but caught our attention as the title popped up right at the end of the opening which created a ‘bang’ effect and left a real enigma code which we felt desperate to watch the rest of the film which we thought we should do with our film and so we did.

As you can see we thought less is more as we have a plain black background and the title is Betrayal in white. We thought that we should keep it classy to represent the femme fatale protagonist we have. The font it quite long and bold with a tad of a flick at the end of the letters which we thought was sophisticated and worked perfectly as the other fonts we tried looked great but we thought it didn’t reflect our character and her persona on the film.

Setting/Location FrameAs the conventions of a typical thriller has its own certain settings that thrillers follow which are urban cities, usually around buildings, surrounded by cars and transport. We thought we will stick to the typical conventions although our choice of setting is not straight forward to a thriller as it’s in a house however it still fits as there tones of thrillers that are set in a house at one point or another for example The Hand that Rocks the Cradle. Although we took this specific idea from The Stepfather as we were stunned at what an impact of thrill just the setting of a few rooms in a house can have rather than the usual outside urban setting.

As you can see in the screen shot that there is a wide shot of the house whilst it films the gate opening which connotes the camera to come it. We have made the gate move slowly to create a creepy feel to foreshadow there is something dodgy going on inside. The house is simple with just plain windows, a door, gate etc as we wanted to give out that everything is normal from the outside but as soon as you go in you might just change your mind.

Costumes and PropsWhen we decided the protagonist of our film would be a femme fatale we instantly researched and wrote down all the costumes we would associate one, we had gathered ideas from the films Salt, Colombiana, Tomb Raider and The Hunger Games. This made us settle on the costume to be mainly a black leather jacket, black tight jeans, black boots, and a black top with skulls as the black represent a dangerous character whilst the tight jeans show her as confident therefore we know she can be fearless. We also had a important part of the film at the start where she is wearing a beige blouse and geek glasses as a prop to represent her nerd identity to show the change of the contrast of the two identities. We made sure the husband/boyfriend is wearing a shirt and tie to make him look smart as if he is just having a normal day from work until we see his face.

Other props we used were make up such as mascara and lip-gloss to show her change from a simple geek to a glamorous femme fatale. Then we also used blood for the death, a photo in a photo frame of the characters to show how joyful and normal they are before the change in identity.

Camera Work and EditingWe made sure every scene had appropriate shots that connote the narrative, for example the identity change from a innocent, sensible nerd to a femme fatale murderer had been established through a variety of cuts which has been influenced by again The Stepfather. The shots such as mid shots of her taking her glasses of to show she is normal, then over the shoulder views and close ups as she applying make up to show a suspenseful change about to occur. Then a low angle shot as she is putting on her jacket, this shows she is now the one with power as she is shown that she is high status. We have also used tracking shots as the other important scene where she walks over to the dead husband/boyfriend and positions his tie neatly to show how everything is normal although he had been murdered by her, the tracking shot is to show us what she’s doing as well as creating a creepy effect as it looks like we are watching her with someone she murdered.

In addition, we have used edits such as zoom in for the photo in the photo frame of the couple to establish the characters at the start and to show how pleased they are together which shows a contrast to the scene later on. Also we for the edit we added dissolve effects of the cuts of her changing her identity to show the change is calm to give a mysterious effect as she is changing into a dangerous women but the dissolve sets a peaceful sense.

Title Font and StyleWe first were set on having titles that were small with exciting transitions like one letter popping up and then the rest will follow. However once we added that similar title we realised it doesn’t suit our opening as it was too fast, fun and didn’t link with the character or narrative. Therefore we chose to turn down the excitement and bring up the tension as our font is now very simple yet gives a classy and sophisticated look as the font style is medium tall with flicks of the end of each letter almost looking italic but without the tilt. The first three titles are of the actors so they are cut to their own shot as they are white font against a black background. Then the rest of the titles are added on top of the actual filmed shots as the same style is used but they now dissolve from one to another to set a peaceful tone to represent her as in charge as she takes her time getting ready to show the control she has.

Story and How the Opening Sets it UpOur story had been to show the change of identity of a character which can make them dangerous. So to start with we showed a normal life in the first few frames of the house and photo frame of the happy couple to give a solid sense of their life. Then the female from the photo appears in the scene looking nerdy like she does in the image, until she starts revealing a different identity through cuts of different shots as she takes down and dyes her hair, applies make up, changes into a dark costume connoting danger.

Once her transition changes she walks down the stairs and into a the messy living room which shows something has happened in there, as she walks to grab her car key she then go to the dead husband/boyfriend and neatens his tie. This is where it shocks the audience as they are having enigmas such as ‘why is he dead?’, ‘did she kill him?’, ‘why is she so calm about his dead body?’ which creates a tense scene. She then walks out to her car, gets in the car, has a final look in the mirror at herself to which may suggest she is pleased with herself so a slight vainness then she drives off leaving a cliff hanger for the audience to thrill over ‘where is she going next?’ is she going to repeat another death?’.

Genre and How the opening Suggests itOur opening is clearly meant to represent the genre of a thriller, therefore we used the conventions of a thriller and inputted them. For example, firstly the non-diegetic soundtrack creates a suspenseful atmosphere as it is at a slow pace which may make people think about the enigmas and steadily bring a edgy feel to the audience. We had gotten this slow idea for the soundtrack from Leon and again The Stepfather. Then the use of the specific props such as the car, blood, suit and tie are all thriller conventions which many films use too. Also the actual plot of the change in identity suggests that our opening is the genre of a thriller as normally you would see a theme of identity such as identity change, films like The Stepfather, Enemy of the State and The Bourne Identity. We thought this theme will entertain the audience as it’s a criminal offence as well as it linking to the convention of a thriller.

Conventions of a Thriller Would Be•Cuts and the different variety of shots at a fast pace- As this is mainly used in the change of identity to show the dramatic change, as thrillers have fast pace when something major is occurring.

•Props and Costumes- We have used props such as a car which is a huge conventions to see as they are seen as the mother of the props because they can be used for chases which is a thriller conventions. Then the costume is an all black outfit with leather to show a element of ‘bad’ to create the femme fatale and then the shirt and tie to also give it a push to the thriller genre.

•Non Diegetic of Soundtrack- It is slow and suspenseful to create a tense atmosphere so that the consumer is on the edge of their seat.

•Plot- Since we used a theme of identity we knew it would fit the typical conventions of a thriller as it’s part of a criminal offence which ties in with thriller.

How the Characters are IntroducedMe and my group had decided to introduce the character traits of our character through a photo frame which showed a cheerful couple and you could notice the females traits is a nerd by her glasses, tied up hair, no jewellery etc which we changed as her identity to a dangerous, glamorous ,changed later in the opening. We had chosen the shot of the introduction of the characters to be a medium close up and then a zoom of the couples face which then blurs, we thought this effect would be suitable as it presents a ‘normal’ looking couple but the blur connotes the destruction of the relationship. Although at this point the audience will not realise that the woman is the reason of the striking ruined partnership which will be a shock once they see her change and murder.

Then the actual femme fatale protagonist is shown right after the photo frame as a a nerd, she is shown in a mid front shot as the camera is meant the mirror she is looking at as the start of her modification begins when she lets her hair down. This gives a shock when they see the revealed change to her identity which is a thriller convention as the audience are left surprised.

Special EffectsWe felt that we didn’t need that many special effects in our thriller but the few we used were dissolves. We used this especially on the bathroom shots where the character is changing her identity as the cuts flow better together, also the link between the cuts give a solid characteristic to the femme fatale as it implies her strong, powerful, confident persona which we also see when she calmly walks away from the death of her husband/boyfriend. I would say the preferred shot which has the dissolve effect is the shot where the femme fatale has finished the transformation and she fiercely pushes the door open and walks firmly over the camera. The dissolve added in this shot creates a professional sophisticated shot and gives a confident attitude to the character as to show she knows exactly what she wants. This presents a typical thriller character of femme fatal as it links with characters in films like Kill Bill and Salt.