Task 1 - In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

There are several features of our thriller opening sequence which conform the conventions of a typical thriller movie. A few of these features take place in the bathroom scene, which the setting in itself is often witnessed commonly in thrillers. The blood which is being washed off the man’s hand is a common convention of a thriller, as it symbolizes death and danger. The blood suggests that the man has just committed a crime, or so we are led to believe. It also implies that he is dangerous and lives a violent lifestyle. The mirror in this bathroom scene plays on our knowledge of thriller movies where it is common for the audience to see something else in the reflection of the mirror. Of course, nothing is shown in the reflection, so the use of the mirror almost challenges the conventions of mirrors in typical thrillers.

The use of a black screen at the beginning of the sequence conform the suspense and mystery conventions commonly used in thrillers. The audience is left to concentrate on the sounds as opposed to the visual, and we felt that this confusion would engage the audience’s attention, as they would want to know what has happened.

The shot from inside the wardrobe and the shot from underneath the bed, suggest the possible places in which a body could be hidden. They give the illusion that something or someone is watching him as he is taking the suit out and getting dressed. This creates mystery and suspense, in that the audience feels that there is someone else in the room with him.

It is common in thrillers to have an attractive female in distress, who are killed by the antagonist. Our thriller challenges this common convention, as instead of an attractive female, we have used an attractive male, and as opposed to him being in distress, he is portrayed as an anti-hero throughout this opening sequence.

A gun is also a convention of a thriller and so we have a few shots of the gun on the table and him putting the gun inside his trousers. This represents violence, which is very common in thrillers.

Another convention is the door opening as we do not see who is coming through and it creates suspense. There is also a squeak as the door handle opens quite slowly and this is quite common in horrors to scare the audience. However, the way that we use the door challenges the conventions of real media products as we have the innocent victim coming through the door rather than the antagonist, who is on the other side and is the one who is feeling the suspense.