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

Below are nine distinct frames from our finished media product which either use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real thriller film openings.

FRAME #1

Our initial shot introduces the audience to the split-screen. A close-up of two bleeping alarm clocks (props) and their displayed time suggests that our opening sequence will centre around the morning routine of two contrasting characters. This is because two different clocks are used - one analog, one digital - which suggests that they are the property of different people. Also, the fact that the clocks display the time of approximately 10am suggests that our opening will follow a linear narrative.

SE7EN

The stopping of the alarms is ambiguous: the audience only see two hands placed over the clocks. Therefore, they do not yet know the characters who own the alarm clocks, or whose hands are stopping them. This is similar to the first frame of SE7EN (1995), which features a book being flickered: the audience do not who is flickering through the book, or who owns the book; only hands are shown. This suggests that it is enigmatic for our opening sequence to not show faces and feature an inanimate object (e.g., clock). The mystery question of "whose hands are those?" builds suspense and tension; crucial conventions of the thriller genre.

Furthermore, the clocks are symbolic of time. In our opening, it appears that Ty's days are limited because he is being stalked by an assassin. Therefore, the abrupt stopping of the alarm clock foreshadows the abrupt ending to the Ty's life. 

FRAME #2:

The frame of our film title ("Killjoy") incorporates generic thriller conventions. The word itself is foretelling of the narrative of the film; "kill" suggests that a character will be killed. The use of the phrase "kill" in the title is typical of thriller films; Kill the Messenger (2014), The Killing Room (2009), and Good Kill (2014).  

The Killing Room

Generally, thriller films do not include positive words in the title (e.g., "joy"). However, our group decided to include the word "joy" alongside "kill" in our title to form the oxymoron "killjoy". We felt that the phrase "killjoy" symbolised characters; "kill" is associated with the practice of an assassin (played by Kaden), whereas "joy" is associated with an innocent victim (played by Ty). Therefore, the words are juxtaposing, which emphasises that the characters featured in our opening are contrasting. 

Typically, thriller films feature a white font on a black background; for example, Deja Vu (2006).  Therefore, we agreed to use a black background for our film title; it is dark, so it has negative connotations of mystery and death, conventions of thrillers. The white also juxtaposes the black. Furthermore, titles often represent the tone of a film, therefore ours is gritty to symbolise the rundown suburban setting of the opening. 

The title itself is white so that it appears bigger and bolder, therefore it attracts the attention of our audience. Furthermore, the title partially splits into two words: "kill" and "joy"; this mirrors the split-screen effect of the film opening, and symbolises the conflicting personalities of the antagonist and protagonist, which forms the basis of our narrative. 

FRAME #3:

The incarnations of
"Bond" and his guns

In order for our film opening to have thrilling and suspenseful conventions, we ensured that camerawork and editing was incorporated strategically. We used a variety of shots, especially close-ups: we felt that close-ups emphasised the raging emotions of our antagonist as he prepared to pursue his victim. Specifically, the frame above shows a close-up of the props (an element of mise-en-scéne) car keys and handgun. The use of a close-up of a weapon in our opening is effective because it connotes aggression which may intimidate the audience. Furthermore, thriller films typically use weapons (e.g., James Bond's firearms). Therefore, the hit-man's handgun shows conventional iconography of typical thriller films. 

However, it is untypical for thriller film openings to feature an unexciting prop, e.g., car keys. Therefore, the split-screen special effect (editing) is effective in this instance because it contrasts the gun with car keys: this is compelling for the audience because it builds tension. Furthermore, the fade-out after this frame indicates a time lapse, which intrigues the audience because they will wonder whether the weapon has been used or not. 

FRAME #4

To emphasise the grittiness and authenticity of our film opening, we mainly use natural lighting to reflect the realist narrative of our media product. For example, natural daylight shows Ty's character flossing his teeth: this presents the viewer with a 'real life' feel; therefore the character is relatable through storytelling. In this instance, the lighting is not conventional because the frame was filmed in daylight, which is associated with happiness and brightness. Generally, thriller films feature dark and dim lighting to build suspense and tension; generic thriller conventions. For example, the opening of SE7EN (1995) uses a dull and dim opening. By challenging thriller conventions through lighting, viewers are given a false sense of security, so are unsuspecting of the climactic ending to our opening. 

An example of dark lighting in SE7EN

However, the lighting is dimmer for the side of the split-screen which shows Kaden's character. This was achieved by closing window blinds. Therefore, this creates a sinister and dark tone which is reflective of the narrative to our opening. Also, the dark lighting symbolises the "dark triad" of the assassin's personality. It is typical for dark lighting to follow typical thriller iconography; low key lighting generates mystery, a thriller convention. In addition, the dark and bright lighting of the settings to our opening sequence are contrasting. This builds tension. 

FRAME #5

Hitman

Our antagonist (Kaden) and protagonist (Ty) are introduced together by means of a split-screen effect (editing). They are central to the framing, which suggests that they are main characters whose roles are of equal significance. Throughout the opening, the split-screen is continually used. This emphasises that the characters are contrasting, however partially similar too. During this frame, the characters are dismembered (their faces are not shown); this may increase tension and create mystery, a generic convention of thriller films. The frame uses natural lighting to show close-ups of the costume of the characters: Ty is wearing a "hoodie", which symbolises the youthfulness and innocence of his character; Kaden is wearing a buttoned blazer. Kaden's costume is darker than Ty's, which suggests that he is the antagonist. This is because it is conventional for anti-heroes in thriller films to wear dark colours to coincide with their dark personality; for example, Agent 47, the merciless assassin in Hitman (2007), and Hitman: Agent 47 (2015), whose Kaden's costume was based upon, wears a black suit. 

FRAME #6

Our setting is partially set in the homes of our characters. It is conventional for thriller films to use ordinary situations in which extraordinary things happen. The effect of this convention is that thrillers have an element of realism alongside an element of drama, which is suspenseful and exciting for the audience. For example, in World War Z, a zombie outbreak erupts in an ordinary, metropolitan area. However, our opening is also set in a car park: the car park is isolated, as indicated by the sudden stop in the non-diegetic music, immediately followed by low volume dietetic sound. A car park is a conventional setting for thrillers; P2 (2007) was set in an underground car park. The effect of using a conventional quiet setting (i.e, car park) in our thriller is that it allows for jump scares; the audience are unsuspecting of Kaden aiming a gun at Ty in the backseat of a vehicle. Therefore, our setting enables us to build suspense, a generic thriller convention. 

World War Z

FRAME #7

This frame depicts the genre of our film opening: thriller. In the frame, our narrative revolves around he antagonist aiming a handgun (prop) at the protagonist. The scene then fades-out (editing), and a diegetic gunshot sound effect is heard. As aforementioned (see frame 3), it is conventional for thrillers to contain weapons (e.g., in No Country for Old Men (2007), Josh Brolin's character carries a captive bolt pistol.) It is even more frequent for thrillers to include gunfire. The effect of gunfire in our thriller is that it is a source of anxiety, so it keeps our target audience alert and on the edge of their seats. Our genre is reinforced by a plot twist: our post-production audience feedback (see evaluation question 4) suggests that viewers do not expect Kaden's character to shoot Ty's character. Plot twists are an effective convention of thriller films because they stun and amaze the audience, so viewers want to continue watching. 

FRAME #8

The eighth frame shows a split-screen special effect, which was used extensively in our opening sequence. In order put the frame into split-screen mode, editing software was required. The split-screen is effective because it is not typically used in the opening sequence to thriller films, therefore it is our unique selling preposition (UPS). The technique depicts events occurring simultaneously, which ensures that our media product retains a linear narrative. Ultimately, the split-screen enables two scenes to inter-cut which establishes continuity; giving viewers the impression that the action is unfolding with spatiotemporal consistency. A prolific director to incorporate split-screen into their film is Quentin Tarantino. He used a split-screen effect in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) to give the audience a sense of being in two places at once. 

FRAME #9

This frame is suspenseful. The close-up of Ty and Kaden's characters shows that they are walking in a similar direction. Furthermore, the background is the same for both sides of the split-screen, which depicts the antagonist and protagonist as in the same setting (of mise-en-scéne). From Kaden's mostly motionless facial expression, the close-up emphasises the assassin's psychopathic character traits.  The character's red tie (costume) is central to the frame of his side of the split-screen. Historically, red has been associated with sacrifice, danger and courage, which is symbolic of the tragic ending to our narrative. During this frame, the pace of the non-diegetic music picks up in correspondence to the pace of the editing. It is conventional for score music in thriller films to be tense at the most climactic part of the film. For example, in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Wu-Tang Chan's soundtrack picks up in pace as at the moment Elle is about to enter the bride's room and kill her. Ultimately, the split-screen is effective in building tension.