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

Before creating my own thriller I spent a long time researching the genre. This involved watching and analysing a wide selection of thrillers as well as identifying the conventions seen throughout the genre. When it came to creating my own thriller opening this research inspired many of my themes, shots and other aspects of my media piece. The conventions and ideas that I analysed in other films are reflected through my finished film.

My thriller opening uses shots inspired by other thrillers. For example the scene where the main character arrives on the motorbike was similar to the shot in Kill Bill volume 1 where Beatrix was pursuing the Crazy 88 gang. The character in this wore a similar costume creating a familiar look to the scene. Also the camera in both scenes used mid level shots from the side of the actor. Finally the music in the two shots picked up at this point to show that action was about to take place.

The opening of my media piece used some of the conventions inspired by Requiem for a Dream. We see an extreme close up of the characters eye as it widens. This shot is often used in Requiem for a Dream to show the body’s response to the drugs. I wanted to show the characters response to what he is hearing in the same “shocked” manner.

In “The Lives of Others” we see a shot of the surveillance room in which we zoom in on various pieces of surveillance equipment. In the beginning of my thriller we see a similar shot as the camera zooms in on various images and apparatus. As the theme here (i.e. an interrogation) is what I wished to create I used a shot resembling the one in The Lives of Others.

The camera angle after the antagonist has been shot once was inspired by V for Vendetta. The camera is in a low angle position looking up at the antagonist as he takes his second shot. What this resembles is Natalie Portman lying on the ground in V for Vendetta looking up as she inspects the guards. It is this ground level shot seen in V for Vendetta that also inspired one of the final shots, where the protagonist’s friend looks up at the gun pointed at him.  

Another aspect of the thriller genre reflected in my work is the appearance of the characters. The costume of the protagonist shares the same style as Beatrix’s in Kill Bill (as previously mentioned) this allows the audience to identify the character as the hero. The antagonist’s costume was supposed to share some of qualities seen in films like the Godfather. The smart shirt, cigar and hat are all conventions of classic mob thrillers like Scarface. On the other hand my thriller challenged this association with mob films by making this character act in way which is not associated with mob leaders, i.e. he acts nervous and weak as opposed to the more conventional strong in control leader. 

The sets appearance is not stereotypical of the thriller genre, whereas most thrillers conventionally use large mansions or run down areas for their locations, I used a common looking suburban house. However to gain an effect similar to other media of this genre I shot it at a time when the natural lighting hid the unconventional area. The idea of using common looking areas like the one seen in my thriller was inspired by thrillers such as “Death Note,” this thriller uses very common looking housing to make the base of the sinister crimes appear innocent and an unlikely area for them to happening.

Finally the plot of my thriller was strongly influenced by Leon. A young person out for revenge because of the brutal killing of their family is the running story in both my thriller and Leon. As such some of the shots of the main character were made to resemble Mathilda in Leon. For example in the opening to my thriller we see the protagonist in a slumped depressed pose while smoking. This is very similar to the various shots we see of Mathilda in a slumped position as she smokes.