Evaluation Activity One:

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

The first frame shows a panning medium shot which sets the scene and enables the audience to see a large amount of the location in which we used. We wanted the location to come across as fairly eerie and freaky, we thought the panning movements would work well in achieving this. This is a convention of a thriller as the location is usually somewhere rather exciting and interesting. The woods created a mysterious interesting effect to our film. As this frame is at the very beginning of our film it shows the audience where its set and to gain information about what will happen in the film. The soundtrack begins at this frame which involves a suspicious tune, attracting the viewers. 

The second frame is a canted angle showing our protagonist and her dog entering 'The Alley'. We wanted to use a canted angle in our film as it creates a suspicious effect. It also looks like they are walking into one particular point in the frame which is really effective. Our protagonist is dressed in a way which makes her look vulnerable and not stand out from the crowd(Mise en Scène). It conforms the conventions of thriller as the main person is usually shown in a crowd blending in and the audience being oblivious to who the main character is. The shot portrays the main character doing a everyday activity which you wouldn't really think much off. However, our protagonist was entering the murder location. We used the dog as a prop to help us make the scene look as if she was doing something normal. 

Furthermore, in the third frame we are shown a long shot of one of our characters showing the audience the location to the other part to our film. We thought this would be an effective way to show the viewers where Ellie is off to and why she is there. We find out she's there to meet the protagonist but little does she know Tara won't be turning up. It looks as if Ellie is walking to the camera but it cuts when she walks past to show innocence and purity which creates a unsure atmosphere. As there is none around it helps create a tense feeling in the film conforming to how a thriller film is. Our character is dressed ordinary as we didn't want her to look suspicious or innocent. Her costume makes you feel unsure about who she is and what her presence is. 

In the forth frame, we used an over the shoulder shot to show the antagonist watching the protagonist. This looks effective as it enables the audience to feel as if the assault scene is about to occur/something interesting will happen. The audience are able to see who the antagonist is and what they are wearing. Our antagonist, Rosemary wore all black and a balaclava to firstly hide her identity and conform to how the antagonist/baddy is portrayed. This is the first viewing of the antagonist and we hope that she comes across as fairly suspicious and scary. To the audience the antagonist is shown to look evil and aggressive due to the dark colours of her outfit. However, when you first watch this they audience won't know who the antagonist is or their gender. You immediately think that this person is the attacker due to the outfit and shot we used. It shows the antagonist spying on the protagonist creating sympathetic emotions from the audience. You see our titles here which are block capitals in white, they fade in and out which conforms the stereotype genre. We used the fade in and out so they come in slyly throughout the opening two minutes. 

Next, the fifth frame is a close up shot of the assault scene. We wanted to use a close up shot as it shows more to the event and helps show emotions. Also, we thought by using a close up it would flash into it quickly showing the audience the type of assault scene we used. We wanted our thriller film to be different but still conform to the stereotype. We thought it would be unique to use suffocation as the attack. Feedback from Sir and other classmates agreed and said it could be really effective and uncommon. By using the close up the audience immediately understand what is happening and how the protagonist is being attacked. The movements we use help show the protagonists struggle and make the audience feel sympathy due to already connecting to our character. We used a dramatic sound effect when our character was being attacked as we wanted the audience to be taken by surprise. 

Our sixth frame is another close up shot of the assault scene however, it shows how our character is running out of breath. As it slows down in pace you are able to see her slowly dying. Its an effective shot as its fairly distressing which conforms the conventions in a thriller film. The assaults in thriller films can be very intense and extreme creating a distressed audience.  

Moreover, the seventh frame is a high angle shot showing our character Ellie slam down her phone and look into the distance. We thought this shot was successful as it shows the character looking powerless and impotent. This particular shot makes Ellie look weak but also uninvolved. The audience are able to realise that she most likely isn't involved in the assault and is unaware of what has happened to her friend Tara. This conforms the conventions of a thriller as there is always someone who loses a loved one and is effected harshly throughout the duration of the film. 

The eighth frame is a low angle fairly close up shot of our protagonist on the floor. It allows the viewers to see where the body has been left and where the film may be based around. It could give clues to the audience about where the body is when people start to look for Tara. 

Lastly, the ninth frame is a extreme close up of our protagonist, Tara's hand. The hand moves ever so slightly causing tension and creates confusion to the audience. We thought it would be good to include this shot as we want to leave the viewers questioning and guessing. They may feel there is a chance for Tara and the film may continue with a different storyline to which you would have initially thought off.