Evaluation: Q1

Question 1: 

In what ways did my use/develop/challenge the conventions of mainstream media products?

In our final media product we developed/challenged all the conventions of a thriller. Chases, cliff hangers and red herrings are used in our opening scene. The opening of Blindfire develops the conventions of the thriller genre, this is due to the fact that the spooky and slow paced build up to a fast intense scene is similar to one of the most loved film series of all time. James Bond. Shock and suspense was created as there was a slow build up then a sudden change in pace this is following the one of the convenctions of a thriller. The mixture of diagetic sounds including the emphasized door smashes and gun shots are very familiar to the thriller genre. Non diagetic sounds were also used, 'P Money - Slang Like This & MGK - Hold On' were urban sounds that were positively correlating to film and image that we were trying to showcase.

The inability to form a relationship or understand who the antagonised and the protagonised are gives us the basis to make a thriller that was appealing to the masses as we do not allow any information to be given away about them. In our film we was looking to give the view questions to answer, who was chasing them? Why were the chasing them? These questions allowed us to engage the audience into our thriller, this goes against the usual set antagonised and protagonised where you can completely relate and disgiguise between the two. We also challenged another of the convenctions of a thriller, including high key/low key lighting, no un-natural lighting was used in our final product.

Suspense was a key visual point from which we tried to maintain throughout the thriller, this was fundamentally achieved through the concealed identity of the included characters and this allows to challenge the general views of a modern thriller, In our film we were looking to be creative, expanding and exploring on the convenctions of the thriller genre. It is common in thrillers compassionate to one character more than the other this allows the viewer to form a subliminal relationship, in films such as Kill Bill vol.1, James Bond saga and Fast and Furious where the Props can easily be used. In our film this is not the case as they were not needed but also to include the element of confusion to our viewers.

Most Thrillers contain a female character to appeal to a masculine but as this was not as the sub genre was not an erotic thriller, we chose to open the film out into the action instead of a sexual first scene. We chose to drive our thriller opening through shock and suspense this meant that two competitive people would come up against each other, meaning that hegemony was used, this was done by not choosing a subordinate character to open out a fast action scene which is of a masculine nature. We would of included a female character at a more intimate or appropriate time.