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

A member of our group, Justine, found out that Film 4 offers a support programme for young film makers, this is why we decided to have the opening credits to show their name.

The next credits show that a company called McCarron productions made the film, this combines two of our group members’ last names, Justine Carron and Rachel McClure. They used this name in their production last year and it had a very professional feel to it, so we decided to use it again this year. The very first shot is a point of view shot, showing a hand scribbling on the face of a girl in a picture, then circling another girl. This becomes relevant later on into the film.

The music which accompanies the opening compliments the tense tone to which the film begins with. The montage of credits and eerie shots, along with the tense soundtrack makes an interesting opening, enticing the viewer, making them want to watch more. The main protagonist of the film, Francesca Thurston, takes her dog out for a walk, all seems well in her apparently luxurious life, the big house and the expensive car parked outside suggest this.

The viewer realises that she is being plotted against in the first shot, but a point of view shot from behind the bushes shows that she is being followed by someone. The tense music gets louder at this point and carries on after the shot to show the girl is in danger.

Several continuity shots of both characters are intertwined via parallel editing. As the girl walks her dog, the antagonist runs towards her house, shown through another point of view shot, the soundtrack at this point becomes fast paced and creates yet more tension.



He then changes the girls pills, the shots of this are very jumpy, and skip slightly to show his urgency, as the same soundtrack continues. It then cuts back to the girl, who is completely oblivious to what is about to be done to her, she walks through her front door and goes upstairs, entering her room she pauses for a moment, then closes the window. This suggests that the antagonist may have come in through there, she then goes over and takes one of the pills that have been changed. All the way through this, the same, repetitive tense soundtrack creeps up in moments of anxiousness. As she brushes her hair in the mirror parallel editing show the man downstairs stealing her car key, it cuts back to the girl and as she moves out of the way of the mirror the antagonist is briefly seen in the reflection, creating an extra sense of mystery around the character, sound sting accompanies this shot, as the girl turns round, he is gone and there is an eerie silence as the music fades out. The girl then goes downstairs to make a cup of tea, she feels queasy and feints, this is shown through a blurry point of view shot, her dog walks over to her as the camera fades out, showing she is out of consciousness. It fades back in to see a man’s feet walking towards her, it fades out again as he draws closer.

Several rapid editing shots show the girl in the boot of the Aston Martin, and the antagonist getting in hastily and pulling away.

No music is played during these scenes, silence works better for when the girl is on the floor as the footsteps are very distinctive. The plan was to play a fast paced soundtrack over the car scene to emphasise the urgency of the antagonist, but as it was extremely loud, we decided against it.

The next scene is where the girl is taken to a small room and placed in the corner, next to another girl, this comes as a shock to the audience and also explains one of the opening shots where he is shown scribbling out the face of a girl on a picture. The man places a bag over the protagonists head and scribbles out her face on the picture, showing that the girls are linked in some way, and that he has acquired his target. As he circles the face of another girl the never ending cycle idea comes into place. The music for this part of the film is tense once again and as the antagonist slams the door on the way out, exciting loud music suddenly plays for a sense of excitement. The ending credits we feel, make the film end a very professional note. The titles and credits have all been used in the same font to retain the element of proficiency, the font is also quite bland, representing our main antagonist as little is known about his character.

Overall our film represents the form and convention of a psychological thriller very well because it creates enigmas for the viewer, making them want to find out more, it keeps them watching. Also, character selection and personality was important because the protagonist seems like a normal girl living a luxurious life, then taken away by a madman, which is similar to the storyline of many big name films such as Taken, where a normal teenage girl is kidnapped by a group of fanatical men. The music chosen also fits as it creates a sense of mystery and fear.