Does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
A successful opening sequence will follow the conventions of an opening sequence; most films use these conventions in order to introduce the audience to the film. For example close ups are used to show a certain feature or part of the subject in most of the frame. In the film ‘Seven’ we see a series of close ups in the opening sequence the use of fast paced editing and close ups creates a sense of urgency and in addition to this draws the audience to the subjects such as fingernails and an unknown text. Furthermore the use of close ups does not reveal to the audience anything but the subject, leaving the audience almost in the dark as they try to discover what the subjects are and figure out the setting. Similarly in our media project we used a series of close ups to draw the audience to our props of a shoe, bracelet and phone, we done this in order to leave the audience in the unknown the close ups acted as clues as the audience attempt to guess why these objects have been left on the flour. Slowly clues are revealed as a close up of each object is shown, this allows us to slowly reveal to the audience the setting – this also allows the audience to ask questions. Refreshingly we challenged this conventions as typically we see close ups paired with fast paced editing in horror films. However we used slow paced editing with close ups in order to draw an emotional response from the reader as the start to come to terms these objects belong to a female.
We also used the convention of titles, these are integral for an opening sequence as it allows the audience to know the main actors staring in the film and the members of the production team. It also allows the audience to guess what the film could be about from the production company that produced it. For example if the audience saw the Lionsgate logo they would expect a horror or thriller film. In our media project we placed are titles on top of action, so the audience could follow the narrative while being informed of who is in the film. Our titles are accompanied by music to establish a mood, we expect our audience to be left in suspense as the music and titles create an eerie film when together. In real media texts titles are mostly present for example in insidious and the Texas chainsaw massacre 1974 we witness the titles appear, in the opening seconds of the film, Texas chainsaw uses serif text, in our media project we do the same, the use of this texts creates a sternness of the film and creates a serious mood straight away. If we used san serif texts we could reflect a light heartedness atmosphere which would not be appropriate for a horror film. Like in the opening sequence of Seven we used white text this creates a cold atmosphere, moreover it can represent how innocence it taken if placed in a dark setting or black background. We gained inspiration from Seven and ‘When a stranger calls’ as it successfully followed the conventions of an opening sequence. 
1st Image: Roll The Dice
2nd Image: 'Seven' Opening sequence
1st Image: Roll The Dice
2nd Image: 'Seven' Opening sequence
Moreover the convention of cinematography is very importance as it can foreshadow what the film could be like. For example the use of establishing shots to display the setting can reflect a light heartedness – this would be used for a romantic comedy. When creating a horror establishing shots are not typically used as it leaves the audience in suspense if the setting is slowly revealed this is demonstrated in memento. We have developed this convention by putting an establishing shot towards the end of the opening sequence this was decided to show the setting slowly in order for the audience to be almost kept in the dark – just like the characters… The use of slow paced editing is also used to build tension or linger on a particular shot. This is seen in the film ‘ Afraid of the dark’ as slow editing is used slowly to build up suspense as make the audience uncomfortable as the linger on a shot. We also done this in our media project to create the same impact as the films we witnessed, we linger on the shot of tied up feet and hands. This was done in order to hide the surroundings and convey a mysterious mood/feeling. Introducing setting/mood is an important convention this can be reflected in the opening of the sequence from aspects like lighting, cinematography and much more. For example in the opening sequence of ‘The Grudge’ dark lighting is used this makes the setting look unsafe. We used low key lighting to establish our mood and setting by using one light source in the scene where there’s a close up of a girls face. This was used to heighten the sense of alienation by the viewer and make the setting feel unsafe.
1st image: Roll the dice
2nd image: The Grudge
1st image: Roll the dice
2nd image: The Grudge
We choose the Horror genre for our opening sequence, when creating a horror films there are also conventions that are usually followed. For example vulnerable characters, these are typically women and act as the damsel in distress within the film. The female is usually week this is to set the film up as the female character is given a problem or mystery they can’t escape. This is demonstrated in ‘The shining’ when the character Wendy is the victim of an axe attack. This is also demonstrated in the film ‘ Last house on the left as we see the character Mari crawl on the floor to escape. In our media project we have developed this convention by having many females playing the victim in order to gain pathos from the audience. We done this by showing the girls tied up unable to move, this shows the girls in a confined space and creates a costraphobic feel to the film.
Low lighting is also a convention of a Horror film, Low lighting is used to build suspense, by the use of colour the audience can depict a mood or atmosphere. The use of low key lighting can create a variety of moods for example, if the lights were very dark and gloomy it could hint to the audience the characters are in danger. This is shown in the film ‘Silence of the lambs’ as low lighting is used throughout the whole film in order to convey the characters are never really safe. Similarly in our opening sequence we have done the same thing, as we use low key lighting in most of our shots like when the characters are tied up and when the possessions of the girls are slowly revealed. Another convention is the use of tracking and panning shots, these are used to create suspense and mystery in the opening scenes so that the audience get grasped into the movie. An example of this is in the ‘Silence of the Lambs’ when the main character is running; tracking shots were frequently used to reflect urgency. We use a panning shot in our media project when a close up of a shoe is shown it then pans to a bracelet the use of panning allows us to slowly reveal clues about the film.
Another convention of Horror films is blood and weapons. The use of these props can help the audience identify what kind of character would use which weapon for example. In chainsaw massacre the audience know this is his weapon of choice and whenever the noise of the chainsaw is heard they know another life would be lost. Interestingly we have chosen a prop that does not follow the typical conventions of a weapon, the use of dice does not immediately scream danger however the use of editing a cuts it’s slowly revealed the dice determines the victims future. The use of this prop refreshingly creates a unique sense of danger as the dices outcome is unknown.
The use of ambient sounds and diegetic sounds are conventions of a Horror. These sounds are used in order to build a certain atmosphere at the beginning of the film. This is used in the opening of Memento when we hear the diegetic sound of the bullet rolling on the floor. In our media project we have not used obvious diegetic sound in order to show the girls are not alone as the antagonist is always watching them. However you can hear the dice rolling slowly this creates slight tension and draws the audience to the frame as all they can hear is the specific sound.
