In what ways does your media product use,

develop or challenge forms and conventions of

real media products?

Raj Desai

Firstly, in the image above, we used point-of-view (POV) shot of the protagonist waking up and looking at the kitchen to find someone. By observing this shot, the audience know that this person woke up from a coma and he is feeling a bit dizzy because of the fact that the shot

is unfocused, blurry and unsteady. At this point, the audience are probably wondering why he’s suddenly awake and walking around

when the protagonist isn’t feeling very well so it builds suspense. We also subverted the conventions for thriller opening scenes as our credits are all over the place, not very visible and don’t follow a

pattern.

Secondly, the still in the frame above, which is a

mid shot and has low-key lighting. When taking this

shot, we have to make sure that the lighting was dark

but not too dark so the protagonist is still visible.

We wanted to include a shadow and darkness into the frame to make it look mysterious and more like a thriller opening than a happy drama opening full with bright lighting. The audience at this point are thinking why he is walking like this and what’s wrong with him. So the lighting makes the audience acknowledge the genre of the opening because of the conventions of a thriller genre.

This picture illustrates a close-up mid shot of the protagonist as he walks towards his main door after waking up from a coma. The protagonist is in a quiet house as the audience can see his bed, front door and the stairs which is a clear example of a thriller film. We had to keep switching the lights on and off as he walks to maintain the protagonists shadow and

darkness as well as the lights in the background to make it look eerie. The setting and location of our film signifies a thriller genre as shown clearly

through typical thriller film conventions.

As he walks through the door, you can see a bright white light. The audience at this

point must be wondering where he is

going and why is it very bright.

Could it be natural daylight? Secret door that could be leading somewhere special? Or does it show how the character is being exposed to light after waking up from a coma. This question remains a mystery as it cuts to a voice message so this is one of the conventions of an thriller opening scene.