Opening Sequence Evaluation Q1

Q1. In what ways does your media product USE, DEVELOP, or CHALLENGE the forms conventions of real media products?

There are many ways in which our media product uses, develops and challenges the conventions of real media products. One way in which our product uses typical forms of other media products is the formation of our opening sequence. For example, our opening sequence gives the audience clues about what is going to take place throughout the rest of the film and why only one character is shown throughout the sequence. We produced a montage sequence which we thought would challenge the typical convention of films which start right from the beginning. Therefore ours begins at the end. This idea was inspired after watching the opening sequence of the film ‘Momento’. In ‘Momentos’ opening sequence we were shown pictures of various characters throughout the film along with non diegetic sound of that character speaking eventually followed by a character being shot. The non diegetic sound was of certain characters speaking of or from an event which takes place either before or after the scene we are being shown. We thought this challenges the audience’s interpretations of the narrative as they are wondering why someone has just been shot and are also unaware of other characters in the narrative. We used a similar idea in our product as we began showing the mysterious setting which was eventually followed by the main character tied in ropes on the floor. Whist showing the setting we faded into a few black screens which had non diegetic sound of characters speaking of events that happened in the past. This challenged the audience as whilst they were wondering why there was an unknown character tied up on the floor, they were briefly hearing of events that happened in the past which created a jigsaw effect. This meant that the audience were putting together pieces of the film to try and interpret the narrative of the story and create meaning themselves without it being handed to them.

We had elements of possessiveness and obsession which were shown through our setting. This was seen on the walls of our setting which was a confined and mysterious room. There were newspaper trimmings which read ‘Happy Family’ with a cross through it and red writing which read ‘Murder’. This made the character who had obviously captured the boy seem obsessive and possessive as he had spent time trying to track down the boy and capture him to get his revenge. This idea was similar to ‘Shutter Island’, not in the sense of our location or things such as the newspaper articles however the psychological aspects of it. In ‘Shutter Island’ the audience were played mind games on and were constantly left thinking about the truth to the narrative as it was a lie shown to be truth to a particular character. This made it very hard for the audience to understand and follow as usually the audience would look to the main character to try to understand the narrative and follow their actions etc. However in ‘Shutter Island’ the main character was confused himself and was unaware of the truth which made it very hard for the audience to grasp. The difference in our narrative was that the main character was aware of the events that were taking place however as we began with the end of the story it challenged the audience’s thinking and left them wondering why the character was tied up which is similar to ‘Shutter Island’.

Another way in which our media product used typical conventions of media products was due to characters. In our product we only showed our main character. Although he wasn’t introduced to the audience straight away he was established through the non diegetic sounds of the past. We chose to only use one character as we thought it would make our product more effective. This was because by only introducing one character the audience where left in suspense wondering who else was involved in the narrative, also who it was that captured him. The characters were to be introduced later on in the film however were established in the opening sequence in a creative way. This was by showing the setting having pictures of various characters on the walls along with the credits. We only showed the main characters in the pictures, for example the girlfriend and the father. The establishment of the other characters was reinforced b y the non diegetic sound of events which happened in the past. Therefore, although not all the characters were introduced, they were still established briefly and also left the audience in suspense wanting to know who everyone else was and why the event was taking place. This would hopefully make them want to continue watching the entire film as they were left on the edge of their seat.

Another way in which our media product used conventions of other media products was due to the narrative. We used a montage sequence which had a full story line however was shown through flashbacks. This made the narrative unpredictable as the audience would be unaware whether or not they were being shown the future or the past. This is similar to ‘Inception’. This is because in ‘Inception’ we were continuously shown memories from the past which confused the audience and left them wanting to carry on watching to understand the narrative fully. However, in some ways our product developed other media products conventions as it was a generic hybrid. Although generic hybrids are common in today’s films our product challenged them further as we did not just include 2 genres. Our product took elements from romance, thriller and action. We thought this would be a good idea as it would attract a variety of audience who would be interested in various different genres.

Another way in which our product used conventions of other media products was due to sound. In our product we didn’t use the diegetic sound of dialogue. The only diegetic sound we used was of one characters footsteps walking into the room. The non diegetic sound we used was of the non visible characters speaking from the past. They were not shown on screen just simply heard. Also, we have a soundtrack playing throughout the entire opening sequence. This is a parallel sound. We thought this would add effect as it would add even more suspense to the film and again, leave the audience challenged and wanting to know more about the narrative of the story. This challenged some other media products as they usually have diegetic sound which matches most characters or objects on the screen. That makes it easier for the audience to fully understand the narrative from the beginning without leaving them challenged. This therefore adds no suspense.

Finally, another way in which our product used conventions of other media products was due to mise – en – scene. This is everything we see in the camera frame. Colour was one convention we used throughout our opening sequence. As you may notice the main colour is red. We chose to keep the colour red as a reoccurring element throughout the film as it can be connoted to all of our chosen genres. For example, it can be connoted as showing romance, blood, danger etc. These are all parts of our narrative. We see the colour red in many things in our opening sequence, for example, in the main characters hat which is on the floor. The hat is red. The lighting is tinted red and also the writing on the walls is written in red. The lighting acts as a spotlight which is shining on the main character who is on the floor which shows he is in danger. Also, the writing on the walls is also in red which again, suggests danger and violence which is then reinforced by saying ‘murder’ on one wall. Also, in a close up of a picture of two of the main characters you will notice the main character is placing his red hat over his girlfriend. This is to make sure the audience notice the hat and the colour red as it is not simply in an image but is being used and played with.

Heena