Nayani Vijayaratnam

Evaluation Activity 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
Genre Research
In our opening sequence we decided to incorporate the generic
conventions f thriller films as we all thought that a thriller genre
would allow us to execute our ideas and knowledge really well to
create a 2-minute production.
Generic conventions of thriller include feelings of suspense and
tension created through a danger, which is caused by the antagonist
or an evil force. As you are able to identify we chose to accept the
conventions of a thriller rather then challenging them as the most
successful thriller films do so and receive positive feedback from
their target audience. For example the 2006 thriller film, The
Departed, made an international box office grossing of
$157,276,304.
A convention of a thriller film also includes the anxiety that is
created within the audience, as they are unaware of what is going to
happen next. The protagonist is in a situation, which creates
suspense as it leads to the pinnacle of the film and is devised to
make the audience feel anxious and scared. We adapted this
ideology in our opening sequence as we build up suspense up to the
point in the production when the antagonist comes in direct contact
with the protagonist. Here we decided to end it on a cliffhanger to
make the audience feel anxious, as they are unaware of what is
going to occur.
Title of the film

We struggled to come up with a title for our production and were

very indecisive to begin with as we kept changing our mind about it.
We finally chose to call our production Stalked as it went really well
with the idea and represented it really well. The word Stalked is
linked to the production, as the antagonist is clearly someone who
Rosie knows and has been stalking, as he knew where the spare key

Nayani Vijayaratnam
was and knew his way around the house. The title also contains an
element of mystery, as there are several questions that arrive from
it such as why are they being stalked? Who is the stalker? It also
hints at other genres such as drama but the audiences are not fully
aware of this until they watch it. This aspect intrigues audiences into
the film, making them want to watch it.
Style of the font
As the editor. I chose to use white writing on a back background as I
felt like this would capture the audience attention as well as reflect
the events that were to occur as black connotes evil and darkness
while white connotes innocence, which represents Rosie. I chose the
font as it was simple and clear to read it also contrasts the complex
situation that the characters face themselves in within the film.
Opening Shot

Our opening shot follows a linear narrative as it presents the events

in chronological order. We decided that this would be most fitting, as
we wanted to build up suspense slowly by introducing new
characters and disrupting the equilibrium as the narrative unfolds.
The lacing of shoe suggests that someone is leaving/ going
somewhere, which is supported by the high key lighting, which
indicates to the audience that the character is innocent, and not of a
dark nature.
The inspiration for this opening shot came from the 2013 thrillerhorror film The Purge, in which the film opens with the character
driving which indicates that he is going somewhere. This makes the
audience question where he is going, what hes doing etc.

Nayani Vijayaratnam

Cinematography

Nayani Vijayaratnam
Cinematography is used to create a particular atmosphere to make
the audience feel a certain type of way. We used several types of
shots and angles to create different meanings. Above I have
included two pictures; the top one from our production and the
bottom picture is from The Purge. The low angle shot is used to
show the antagonist entering the house, it signifies the
disequilibrium and the beginning of danger/evil. We used this idea
in our opening sequence for the same purpose as it creates a sense
of panic and make the audience feel concerned for the protagonist.
Setting
We used Rosies house as the location of our production as we felt
that this would be more relatable for out target audience and would
be more realistic (verisimilitude) as the main protagonist is an 8
year old, which makes it highly unlikely that Rosie would be out late
at night. The bright lighting of the house at the beginning of the
sequence is contrasted with the dark filter when the antagonist
enters the frame. As the editor, I chose to do this in order to reflect
the events that were occurring within the frame.
Sound (non-diegetic and diegetic)
As there was no dialogue within our production, music was very
important in order to deliver emotions and messages to the
audience. We used diegetic and non-diegetic music in order to
support the narrative and help create a certain atmosphere etc. Our
sequence began with soft lullaby-like non-diegetic music this
represents the innocent nature of the protagonist. There is a halt in
the music as the main protagonists sister, Ella, is shown. As the
editor, I did this on purpose to show the lack of significance her role
has and to create a chilling atmosphere. As the antagonist steps into
the frame I have use non-diegetic asynchronous sound of siren to
signal the danger and to change the atmosphere to create anxiety
and suspense. As the antagonist goes into his bag to take out the
music box the non-diegetic music becomes stronger and more
dramatized to create tension. This is present in many thriller films
such as the thriller-drama film Gone Girl which uses high-pitched
string instruments when Amy is plotting her revenge, which
juxtaposes the soft non-diegetic music at the beginning.
Costume
Antagonists-

Nayani Vijayaratnam

The antagonist is wearing a hood, which is covering his face this

creates an enigma, as the audience is unable to see who it is. This
makes the audience feel anxious and creates suspense, which fits
the conventions of the thriller film.

The antagonist is wearing gloves, which again adds to the suspense,

as the audience is unable to see any part of him. All black clothing
connotes evil and darkness, which is what the audience expects of
an antagonist. The colour black also suggests negative and dark
thoughts and feelings, which again add to the suspense and creates
tension, as the audience are unaware of the antagonists negative
and dark thoughts.

Nayani Vijayaratnam
Protagonist-

Rosie is wearing a light pink onesie, which reflects her gender as

pink is stereotypically considered to be a girly colour. This contrasts
the dark colour of the antagonists clothing which is significant as it
shows a contrast between Rosies innocent and good nature and the
antagonists dark nature.
Props

Nayani Vijayaratnam
In this medium close up the audience see Rosie cuddling a minion
toy this represents her purity and vulnerability, which the audience
would expect of a young female protagonist.

The prop of a music box adds to the enigma of the film as the
audience wonder about what the significance of the music box
within the film. It also creates a creepy atmosphere as the adult
antagonist is using a childs music box.

The torch is a prop, which we used to create symbolism. Rosie

represents the light from the torch, which indicates purity while the
darkness she is surrounded by connotes darkness and evil. The
inspiration o using a torch came from the film, The Purge, as
majority of the film is in the dark.
Genre and how the opening suggests it
The genre of thriller is suggested through the first few shots of the
opening sequence as we see Ella leaving in the middle of the night
while Rosie is asleep and making a phone call. These unanswered

Nayani Vijayaratnam
questions create suspense and makes the audience feels anxious.
This tension and anxiety, which is created through the character of
Ella, fits the stereotypical convention of a thriller.

Nayani Vijayaratnam

How the characters are introduced

The protagonist Rosie is introduced to the audience when she is
sleeping in her room. The majority of the frame is pink which
represents her femininity. The high key lighting used in this shot
represents her innocence and purity, which contrasts the next shots
of the antagonist. Rosie is sleeping which creates a sense of
peacefulness, which emphasises her innocence and vulnerability.
This shot challenges the conventions of a thriller as there is no

anticipation, tension, fretfulness etc. created.