Evaluation - Part 1

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

I was inspired by independent film-making and thriller/ horror conventions and to overall make a media product that would leave the audience thinking - after all the suspense has been created in just those opening two minutes.  In Room Mate I used varied and artistic shots/ camera angles to give a new perspective - unusual shots that may have not been stereo-typically have been thought of to be used.  For example the Extreme-close up shot of 'Alice's hair strand was a creative choice - making the audience question why it was there but at the same time it works - making us seem closer to the character.  I found that my opening two minutes challenged but also developed conventions of regular films and typical thrillers by repeating similar footage a few times which prolonged the suspense of the plot making it seem like it is endless and that we are about to enter the story world of 'Alice's' life.

The Last House on The Left

I challenged the conventions of the stereotypical thriller by choosing to film in bight day-light being a contrast to the usual dark-room and blood sort of thing.  Filming in this lighting was interesting and I found that it worked well in building suspense suggesting that you don't always have to have dark and gloomy lighting.  It emphasized the surreal concept of the film and that it almost looked 'clinical' which later would be explained through my character's visions.  I found that it worked well and received audience feedback claiming that it still worked as a scary opening - meeting the thriller genre expectations greatly.  Choosing to dress the character in white challenged the conventions of real media products - contrasting to typical thriller's like Scream (1996, Wes Craven) where the typical mask-face killer goes on a stabbing rampage as we lose track of how many characters have now been killed after the 4th movie.  Filming in only two locations challenges the idea of a film having a strong sense of direction (which mine does - yet it builds up) as we only see a bath tub - and a forest/ lake.  It keeps the audience intrigued and wondering what is to come next - It is important to remember that in an opening two minutes the story-line needs to slowly unravel creating suspense and tension rather than being told all at once.  My media product doesn't give away a sense of character or make the audience get to know them through dialogue which is different - it is open to interpretation by the audience through the visual aspect of the film by using a varied amount of shots, audio (music) and effective lighting.  I used the conventions of a regular thriller media product by using effective audio to build suspense - eerie sounds that enhance the visual element yet contrasting it with abrupt silence to build suspense and bring us back to the character's 'silent' reality.

Being originally inspired by a disturbing film - The Last House on The left - I feel that my film challenged that in the sense that I aimed for a more independent film using artistic thriller conventions.   It develops the scenes such as those in the forest where antics happen with family members (rape scene in the Last house on the left and murder) - with flashbacks that would slowly evolve to tell a story of how her family was killed.