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

Conventions of an Opening Sequence


-Slow Paced Editing
In an opening sequence the editing tends to be quite slow paced in order to maintain an equilibrium. The fact that it is slow means it shows a relaxed normal state.
-Establishment of Setting/Mood
Opening Sequences often include big establishing shots of the setting so the audience can get a feel for the mood and location of the film.

This is the opening sequence to 'The Shining' it includes long establishing shots of an almost empty but serene area. The camera tracks along with a car indicating its importance, suggesting to the audience the driver could be an important character. The opening sequence also contains slow paced editing to maintain equilibrium.

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This is an establishing shot from our opening sequence, it represents the grey dismal setting but maintains equilibrium. However it does not track along, but a character is centered suggesting to the audience his importance in the film.
-Logos and Titles
Opening Sequences always include titles and logos of the distributing/production companies, the cast and the crew. They always tend to follow the order:
-Distributing Company
-Production Company
-Cast (Most Important to Least Important)
-Crew (Least Important to Most Important)
-Main Title

The order of titles for 'The Sixth Sense' opening sequence.

Order of titles for my own opening sequence following the conventions of an opening sequence.

Conventions of a Thriller Film
My media product generally develops the conventions of thriller films rather than challenging them. The mise en scene is very typical of a thriller film. The setting is quite urban and grey, you can imagine crimes being committed there. The lighting is very low-key, it may be set during the day, but the lack of bright colours brings out the darkness of the scene.

Comparison between our film and another similar thriller 'Taken', Both actors are similar in the way they dress in dark clothes and they both have similar stances, furthermore both settings seem to be quite dull and dark. 

However the first scene is set in a middle class house, which doesn't really follow the conventions apart from the fact that it is a crime scene. The cinematography of our media product follows the general conventions of a thriller, we use a lot of extreme close ups to reveal clues and we have framed a lot of our shots in such a way that it appears someone is actually there, watching what is going on.


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 The editing of our thriller starts of slow and gradually gets faster as it reaches a climatic point, where something is revealed. This is a common technique used in thriller films to build tension. The sound of our thriller opening sequence is also typical of a thriller, it features long ominous tones and swoosh noises, the audience should be wondering whether sounds are diegetic or not.