1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge form and conventions of real media? Extraordinary event in ordinary situation Voyeurism Crime at the core of the narrative Protagonist with a flaw exploited by antagonist Themes of mirroring We used our research to help us meet the conventions of a media thriller opening.

2. Voyeurism Voyeurism is used in many films. During our research me and Amy looked at certain films containing themes of voyeurism. For example, in the film ‘Flightplan’ voyeurism is used when a mother and daughter are in a room, and man is watching her through the window without her knowing. It is also used in ‘Orphan’ a lot. In our thriller, we used Voyeurism when the girl was walking up the school hallway and her ‘ex boyfriend’ was walking behind her without her knowing. While using voyeurism, we used mainly mid-long shots as it enabled us to show both of the characters, as well as their facial expressions to portray their feelings. We also used sound effects while using voyeurism of the girl breathing. This could make the viewer feel uneasy and wonder what was going to happen next. This was layered with the song, and another sound effect in the background to set a mood.

3. Extraordinary event in an ordinary situation Extraordinary events happening in ordinary situations is also a convention that is used in a lot of thrillers. One film that it’s used in the film ‘The Grudge’. This is used at the beginning where everything is normal then all of a sudden a male character jumps off of a balcony. In our thriller, we used it throughout. We shot it in school, making it seem as though it’s a regular day. The extraordinary event is that the girl jumps in the pool in an attempt to kill herself. This convention is used throughout a wide range of films, because it shocks the audience as they didn’t expect it. When we used it, we felt that it could help the audience relate to the character and feel like they are a part of what is going on. Everyone that would watch it is either in school, or has been to school in the past so could put themselves into that position.

4. Crime at the core of the narrative This thriller convention is used in films such as ‘Orphan’ ‘The Grudge’ and ‘Davinchi code’. It is used in ‘The Grudge’ a lot, as many people end up being killed or haunted by the grudge girl. It is used in the DaVinchi Code throughout. Usually the crime is a murder, but in our thriller, we decided that instead of the boy killing the girl, he would watch her kill herself as we didn’t want our opening to be predictable or cliché. During our thriller we used quite a few close ups, which meant that we could easily see the feelings of the characters. We included some flashbacks which helped to tell our story of how things went from good and got progressively worse. When using Crime at the core of the narrative we used an underwater camera, meaning that we could shoot Amy jumping into the pool, then record from underwater of her plunging in. This could help the audience feel part of the drama, as everyone knows what water feels like and some people fear drowning etc.

5. Protagonist with a flaw exploited by antagonist The convention protagonist with a ‘flaw’ which is exploited by the antagonist is used in a film called ‘Poseidon’. We watched the opening of this film when doing research. In our thriller, there are quite a few flashbacks. During one of them, we see that the protagonist has been caught cheating on the antagonist who finds out due to being sent a picture of it, which results in him being mad at her and hitting her. He then follows her down the corridor to watch her commit suicide. During this part of our opening, we used a few close ups. We also used a high angle shot when the girl was about to be hit, as this shows her as being inferior. When the flaw is exploited, we used a eye-line match, to help the audience feel a part of what’s going on, and also to feel the emotions going through the boys mind. We also used themes of mirroring. The opening titles contained a dripping noise, which is then used at the end of our thriller as the screen and title fades out.