In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop, or

Challenge Forms and Conventions Of Real Media Products?

By Si Yau Tuong

• The title sequence created follows the codes and conventions of a crime mystery film in order to convey our narrative across to our audience.

• The plot of our antagonist following his latest victim before her death is portrayed through the use of sound, editing, mise en scene and cinematography.

• The equilibrium begins with an unsolved crime of a mysterious antagonist who uses acid to kill his victims and is yet to be arrested by the police for his actions . An enigma is created as there is a sense of mystery in the sequence that could enable the audience to continue watching in hopes this mystery will be resolved. With the use of point of view shots, the antagonist’s identity is left a mystery and also creates a sense of danger for the audience. Additionally it could put them in an uncomfortable position as they are left to feel as if they are the killer and as if they are following the woman.

• The title sequence uses tense music that builds to a crescendo as the sequence progresses which creates a sense of excitement and anticipation; the music also builds to the mystery towards the unidentified killer.

• In addition, these use of clues not only follows the codes and conventions of a crime mystery film but also takes inspiration from David Fincher’s 2011 The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. It’s title sequence gives various clues in the narrative of film; which creates an engima for the audience as we question what is to happen. Furthermore, the pace of TGWTDT’s title sequence is fast further creating a sense a tension and excitement for the audience. The identities in Fincher’s sequence is kept a secret similar to our sequence, this follows the conventions to a crime mystery genre.

• As the sequence continues, there are scenes of various clues such as his latest victim's face- who is a police officer- , acid attack articles, acid bottles and a rough sketch of the killer's face to which he collects. These clues hint at the audience of the killer's actions and creates an enigma as the audience questions who the killer is and his intentions. With the use of close ups, the audience is unable to see the background in these shots. This builds up the mystery to both the antagonist and their crime.

• the black and white effect used creates a binary opposition between light and dark in the scenes of the antagonist following the victim around the streets of London to the scenes of the killer in his ‘den’ covered with images of his victim and various acid bottles. The genre is further conveyed with the use of the police costume. During the stalking scenes, the female police officer is noticeable with her red coat. This use of mise en scene connotes danger amongst the woman and suggests she is feminine and attractive.

The female character’s legs are shown which could convey her sexuality as she is showing skin. The audience could suggest she is promiscuous. Furthermore because she is oblivious to the image she dropped, it can be suggested she is not alert in her job and stereotypically dim.

• The title sequence begins with a slow pace that eventually picks up towards the end . This builds up the excitement and tension for the audience. Using fast cuts to end the sequence enables the sequence to end on a climax and enables the audience to anticipate the film. This technique in editing was inspired by David Fincher’s 2007 film ‘Zodiac’ which, towards the end, featured incredibly fast cuts to add to the excitement for the audience.

Following the inspiration from ‘Zodiac’ the title sequence is a prologue to the film- it tells a story to the audience similar to Zodiac. In addition, the use of red in the the title sequence connotes danger in ‘Zodiac’ which refers to our title sequence.

• The genre is further conveyed with the use of the police costume. During the stalking scenes, the female police officer is noticable with her red coat. This use of mise en scene connotes danger amongst the woman and suggests she is feminine and attractive. The female character’s legs are shown which could convey her sexuality as she is showing skin. The audience could suggest she is promiscuous. Furthermore because she is oblivious to the image she dropped, it can be suggested she is not alert in her job and stereotypically dim. Additionally, this fits with the narrative as the killer targets women as he believes women use their looks and sexuality to get ahead in life rather than use their intellect.

• Our genre is further conveyed as the antagonist is kept a mystery and their crime is yet to be solved by the police. The sequence goes against conventions of the genre as the antagonist is a police officer himself.