Evaluation - Q7

7)- Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? 

The purpose of the preliminary task was to get familiar with using the camera equipment and software Final Cut Pro x, and gain knowledge and experience before making our thriller. Also, it was to help us get used to creating the shots needed that I would be using in future in my opening thriller sequence. Before this task, I didn't know how use the equipment such as a tripod as I'ver never come across it, but this task helped me gain understanding on how to use it properly. This task help establish who in my group was best at taking control of the equipment and filming so that when filming our thriller it would be to our best standard.

What I learnt from the preliminary task, was how to screw on the camera to the tripod securely. Before, I didn't even know that there was a scroll and simply thought you'd have to just place the camera on top of the tripod. However with the explanation from my teacher in lesson, I took in the information on how to attach the camera on the tripod, and easily performed this whilst shooting the mini clip. Another thing I learnt from this task was how to make the camera not blurry, this was a technique again taught by my teacher. What I had to do to make the camera focus and not blurry was put a sheet of paper in front of the lens so that it focused more onto it and remove the blurriness. Furthermore, I've learnt that different camera shots give different meanings and feelings towards the audience. For example, a over shoulder shot establishes that the person in front of the camera is talking to the person who's shoulder is being shot from. This shot is commonly used when theres a conversation, alternating the view between the different speakers. 

The skills I've learnt through this task was how to set up the camera; this was useful and made the filming process quicker when actually filming thriller. Also, Ive learnt how to create the different types of shots of cinematography e.g for a panning shot, you need to place the camera onto the tripod in a fixed position and adjust the suitable height of the tripod, then use the handle to move the camera side to side. This shot followed the moving object or person whom walks across the frame. Moreover, I've learnt how to use the software Final Cut X Pro, which was used in the editing stage of both the preliminary task and thriller. Specifically, from this task i've gained the skill of trimming and placing clips into order, so that the full video flows easily. The skills i've learnt in this task were all contributed into my thriller by me and my group members, as we all gained more knowledge and understanding on how to use the equipment and software needed for editing for the final outcome of our thriller. 

Evaluation - Q6

6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Evaluation - Q5

 5)- How did you attract/address your audience? 

I used a variety of methods to address my audience which lead to my primary and secondary research I gathered. The primary research I collected was essential to my production as it gave me an insight of what my audience looked for within a thriller in person. The methods I conducted to gain the results were through a questionnaire that I asked my target audience and Vox Pops; an act of filming an interview with members of public through a media device. Both tasks were very interesting and helpful as it allowed me to see what my target audience really thought about what they wanted in a thriller face to face. Also, they could elaborate more with the Vox Pops making my research more valid and reliable to refer to. 

The research I carried out to create my thriller film was analysis's of thriller films on my blog, film certificates, narrative theory and the questionnaires. 
Firstly, I researched into the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) which is an independent, non governmental body that classifies cinema films and videos/DVDs. In the research I learned the different types of age certificates for films and what their guidelines were. What I found through this was that thriller films were mostly classified as a 15. This was because unlike horrors that are rated 18 and start their movies with either strong violence, strong adult themes or extreme gore.This was not the aim for thrillers as they're about creating suspense instead of making the audience feel scared of their being. 
Secondly, I made a series of blogposts showing the different types of ways thrillers were conventional in each micro element to gain more in depth understanding of the genre. For example, I had a blogpost of an analysis of the ways sound was conventional to a thriller in the film The shining. 
Another, source of research I carried out was the different types of narrative theories,these included Propp, Todorov and Aristole. After learning about the different theories, I decided that my narrative suited the Aristotle theory like most thrillers do because It included an incident, dramatic question, character goal, protagonist and antagonist, a resolution and elements of sympathy and empathy. 

The research was helpful especially when planning my thriller opening as it gave me more of an understanding of the genre and ideas on what to include in my thriller. An example of a inspiration I took from the research and included in my thriller was from the film Halloween. The opening scene for Halloween started with a flashback of the antagonist killed his sister. This inspired me to include a flashback at the beginning of the my thriller however, it was just a glimpse of the antagonist childhood of how he was alone. 

All the primary and secondary research assisted with my planning as it helped me develop ideas on what to include in my thriller to make it successful and conventional to the genre. 

Evaluation - Q4

4)- Who would be the audience for your media product? 

Having a target audience is essential because when making a media product, you need to know the guidelines and specifications that you have to follow, in order to make your product suitable for your audience. Also, having a target audience helps with your research on whats applicable and well suited for your media product for it to be successful. The task I was given was to make a 2 minutes opening thriller sequence that follows the conventions of the thriller genre well. Before the planning and filming stages, I had to research in depth into the different types of thrillers and see what was conventional and also what I could include in my own. Without a target audience, I wouldn't have an idea on how I would want my narrative to be because there would be no one to make it for. Target audiences are the people that you need to help make your film successful and earn a good profit. 

For my thriller; Humanity off, I decided that my target audience would be the age certificate 15. I chose this because I think children under the age of 15 would find some of the themes quite frightening and disturbing which would not be appropriate for them. For example, in my opening theres a brief exposure of blood seen when the victim is on the road dead. Also, the reason why I did not chose my thriller opening to be rated an 18, was because they often have disturbing themes and their opening sequences usually start gory, this would not be my aim as i am making a thriller and thrillers are all about creating suspense and shock to the audience not making them feel very scared.

There are many aspects that my thriller appeals to my target audience of 15 and above. Firstly, the narrative itself appeals to the audience as its a psychological thriller which is very common nowadays. Also, because of the theme being common, the audience know what to expect as they've seen successful psychological thrillers, that may be similar to mine. Furthermore, the choice of characters in my film are conventional to the genre and also they're roughly the same age as my target audience. This appeals to them as they can relate to the characters e.g the female victims as they're stereotypically represented as gullible, innocent and naive, which makes the audience sympathise them and place themselves in their positions. To accompany this, the use of Mise en scene, through the female victims costumes of outgoing clothes, appeals to the audience as it gives them a sense of realism which makes them relate to the girls. 

When it comes to sound, I used a variety of sounds that helped the thriller achieve the suspense, shock and surprise in the audience. An example of a sound that I believe appeals to the audience is a non-diegetic sound that is heard when Josie finds her friend laying in the middle of the road dead. The use of the upbeat, chase scene like soundtrack helps emphasise the horror josie is witnessing and makes the audience feel on edge and want to find out more on whats happening. 

Moreover, the cinematography used gave the audience an understanding on whats going on and what emotions they need to feel in the moment. For example, I used a extreme close up which appeals to the audience as its quite intimidating and also, creates suspense as they see the antagonist suddenly open his eyes in anger. Also another example that appeals to the audience is when theres a point of view shot where Josie is in the forest and turns around to see the masked antagonist in her way and starts screaming. This gives them a huge adrenaline rush as the camera shot puts them into her position and also the scream emphasises both the audiences and girls shock.

The editing styles I included in my thriller helped make the video flow and also create the 3S's (shock,suspense and surprise). An example would be the reaction shot seen when Josie hears a scream. This shocks the audiences as well as mirror her feelings too.

overall I believe that my opening thriller sequence appeals to my target audience, because I included the suitable conventions that would make them interested in watching the rest of the film.

Evaluation - Q3

3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Evaluation - Q2

 2)- How does your media product represent particular social groups? 

First of all, in order for a thriller film to work, it'll need certain types of characters included to make the audience follow the narrative. The two types of characters thrillers often use are an antagonist and a protagonist. The antagonist would be one of the main characters in the film as thrillers use them to create suspense and tension within the audience as they are the villain and a threat to the other characters. Whereas the protagonists, known as the hero’s and victims, are the characters that unfortunately face the dangers of the antagonist and try to stop them or escape.

In my thriller opening sequence, I was inspired to use the same character representations as the ones in the film Scream 3. My antagonist was male, who wore dark clothing to blend with the dark setting and he wore a white mask, like the antagonist did in Scream so that he would not be identified by his victims. This would appeal to my audience as the use of him hiding his identity, intrigues them to find out why he does making them want to carry on watching the film to find out the conclusion of this.  Firstly, the antagonist is represented as manipulative as he tricks the girl to thinking his hurt or something as he mysteriously lays in the middle of the road. The use of this manipulation shows that he's got a smart mind and knows how to trick his victims gaining the dominate status in the situation as his capable of this. Secondly, another representation of the antagonist is that his secretive performance of hiding his identity with a mask to his victims is intriguing and weird. This makes the audience suspicious on what his going to do next as you cannot tell what his feeling as his facial expressions cannot be seen through the mask. Additionally, the antagonist is represented as frightening as we see in my thriller, the two girls screaming twice both off screen, when they see him. This emphasis his powerfulness and his spookiness, as both times we hear the screams from the girls we don't know what his done to scare them. I included this so that it could Lead to the audience feeling apprehensive when they see him and also curious as they would want to know what his done.
 One of the clear representations of the antagonist is that he is a male. I chose this as it was stereotypical to the thriller genre as well as to the gender because men are seen as stronger, and dominant due to a patriarchal society, implying that their more capable of doing such things due to power. This dominance is seen when the victim is in the forest trying to run away then, turns around to see the antagonist standing in her way; who is quite tall. 
This character would appeal to the audience as his roughly the same age as them; target audience 15+, this makes them relate to the character more and feel afraid of him as his in their age and is capable of doing such horrible things. Reason why the antagonist in my thriller would appeal to them also, is because of his abnormality of laying in the middle of the road randomly. This intrigues the audience and draws them in as its unusual to see someone just randomly lay in the middle of the road for no reason. 

In contrast, my thriller consisted of 2 protagonists who were victims of the antagonists dangerous motives, and they wore outgoing clothes to convey where they were coming from and what they're doing. A representation of one of the girls was her blonde hair. She was chosen because of the stereotypes of blonde girls being 'dumb' and vulnerable. In my thriller, she was portrayed as careless and gullible as she decides to approach the stranger on the road, even though she was in a drunken state. Also, my victims were represented as careless, as we see this when the two girls are at the bus stop and Josie decided that they should not wait for the bus and just walk home instead. This shows she's careless as they're clearly intoxicated and instead of waiting for public transport she wants to walk where theres hardly no one about. Another representation of the girls is that they're hormonal as Josie picks up her phone call and totally ignores her friend who is clearly upset about her ignoring her that she starts to walk away from her. The fact she didn't tell her to stop, shows her stubbornness and unawareness of the dangers that may happen if they were to split up even when their in a drunken state.
Gender is represented in a stereotypical way as the victims are females who are portrayed as naive, young, oblivious and innocent. These characteristics help make the thriller more realistic as the target audience can relate to what the girls are doing, as they're stereotyped to be these aspects.
 The two female characters would appeal to my target audience as their young and similar to the audiences age (15+), so it's easy for them to relate to them. Furthermore, due to their innocence, vulnerability and age, this appeals to the audience as they know these aspects would interest the antagonist as the victims are usually like this in the thriller genre. Also, The contrast between the two is that the antagonist has his identity hidden which creates enigma and suspicion in the audience, however the girls are normally dressed in what people would wear in reality, this gives a sense of realism and makes the audience want to watch on as they can relate to her because of her clothing.

Evaluation - Q1

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

When researching the generic conventions of the thriller genre through my blog posts, i've found that theses were used to create an impact for the audience whilst watching the films. Most thriller films include the three S’s ; Shock, Suspense & Surprise, as well as building tension to engage their audience with watching the film. More specifically the conventions that really stood out for me were : the character representations (a antagonist and victim), low key lighting, isolated setting, hidden identity, iconography, enigma and these were all used through cinematography, eerie music & sounds and editing. 

Firstly, without this convention there would be no story as you'll need something/someone to follow through the narrative. Characters are essential not only in thrillers but every genre films. In the thriller genre the stereotypical characters included are form the Aristotle narrative theory; which are an antagonist & protagonist. When researching thrillers, I found that the protagonists (victims) where often females who were young and have so much life ahead of them. The reason why females are used as the victims in thrillers is because they're seen as innocent, weak and vulnerable. Moreover females in the thriller genre tend to be oblivious to whats going on and gullible in sticky situations leading the audience to relate and sympathise them. An example of this stereotypical representation of a female victim in thrillers is from the film Scream 3 - shattered glass scene. Through the use of mise en scene, her costume was a pink jacket and a colourful top, these girly aspects connotes her innocence. The normal clothing worn by the female is conventional as the audience can relate to her costume because it creates a sense of realism, making them feel suspicious and tensed. In contrast, antagonists vary depending on the type of thriller however frequently they all have some of the same characteristics. An antagonist in a thriller is seen as the 'bad guy' and is a character that is focused on in a mysterious way in the film. The antagonists tends to be a male as men are seen as stronger and more capable to do the dangerous activities they do. Male antagonists portray dominance and powerful due to a patriarchal society,  this shows that they're in control of the situations the victim faces and is likely to win the battle. You can identify an antagonist in the thriller genre through mise en scene like the victim, with their costume. Antagonists often wear dark clothing to connote a dark atmosphere which is conventional as it creates suspense and tension within the audience and film. In the film scream, the antagonist wears a full length black robe and a mask when seen by his victims. Also in the movie, the costume is considered common and easily purchasable making identifying the buyers difficult and creating the possibility for anyone to be the killer. This is conventional as it creates suspense and tension within the audience because they do not know who the antagonist is behind his costume.

Another generic convention in the thriller genre is the use of low-key lighting.This convention creates enigma and tension as the characters in the scene; mainly victims, and audience cannot see clearly whats going on making the whereabouts of the antagonist unnoticeable. We see this in the film Scream 3 in the scene where the female is trying to run away from the masked antagonist. As the antagonist is wearing all black clothing, the lighting helps eliminate seeing him as he camouflages with the surroundings due to lack of light. Low-key lighting here is used to focus on the victim who's trying to get away with the help of her facial expressions of being scared, builds a closer relationship with her as the audience can relate to her emotional state as they're apprehensive about her fate and also the antagonist capturing her. This helps engage the audiences attention, as they'll continue to watch to get more of an understanding of whats happening when all is revealed with more light later in the scene which is conventional to the thriller genre as it creates shock. 

Iconography in the thriller genre is essential as it creates tension and helps foreshadows whats going to happen in the scene. The generic convention within iconography in a thriller, is always a murder weapon; often a sharp object and these are usually quick to access from the antagonist depending on the setting. The most common murder weapon used by antagonists is the Knife, which is seen in the thriller opening of Halloween and also the signature weapon for the Ghost Face in the film Scream. Firstly in the opening of Halloween, through a point of view shot we see the antagonist enter the kitchen and pick up a knife from a drawer. This alerts to the audience that the antagonist is fearless as he is in someones home and also shows his determination of his goal because his not afraid of accomplishing it as his in control of the murder weapon. Likewise could be said for the Ghost Face in the film scream as they use the weapon to gut, throat slit and stab their victims, showing power and control. 

The setting in any film is very important as it helps inform the audience what type of genre it is. In the case of a thriller, the setting tends to be in isolated places such as abandoned houses, forests etc. This makes the audience feel apprehensive and nervous on what is going to happen which is conventional to the thriller genre as its aim is to create suspense,tension and shock. An example of this vital convention is shown in the film ' The Cabin in the woods'. The title of the film is quite self explanatory as the film is about 5 friends that go to an isolated cabin in the woods for a weekend vacation. The fact that they're in the woods, indicates that there is going to be something or someone dangerous there as woods are isolated, big places where its hard to find help. The use of the isolated setting makes the audience feel on edge and intrigued to see whats in the woods so they'll continue to watch the film to find out what is there and whats going to happen to the characters that are staying there. 

In most thrillers, theres bound to be a handheld or point of views camera shot used at some point of the film. Whether its a shot from a character or object this camera technique has a huge impact on the audience. In the opening of the film Halloween, the scene is shot from the perspective of the antagonist through a point of view shot. The use of this shot allows the audience to connect and have an insight of the antagonists activity. As the character is controlling the frame and leading what the audience are seeing, this creates suspense and tension as they don't know what is going to happen. This is conventional as it helps create enigma within the audience and engage to the film to find out what is going to happen to the character behind the camera and their surroundings. The person behind the camera of a point of view shot can differ to be the victim as thrillers often use this camera technique when the victim is looking around their surroundings for the antagonist or someone else. The panning, point of view shot effects the audience as they feel like their in the film and also makes them feel on edge as their not in control of what their seeing. As its a thriller genre, they'd expect something to pop out somewhere whilst this shot is occurring, provoking suspense and shock when something does appear. 

Michael Myers - Halloween 

A generic convention in thrillers, is a antagonist that has a hidden identity. Whether this is a mask or just simply a point of view shot, thrillers often never show their antagonists unless its the end of the film. The use of the antagonist having hidden identity is so that is conceals who they are provoking tension and suspense when they're seen on the screen or by the victims. In the films Halloween, Strangers and Scream all the antagonists are masked through the use of iconography of a mask. This eliminates showing their facial expressions and emotional state, suggesting that they don't want to be seen or just want a consistent impression to show that their not normal. This intimidates their victims and also the audience as they are suspicious to know who is behind the masked costume, creating tension when ever they see the antagonist, making them feel uncomfortable. 

When planning my thriller opening sequence, me and my group tried to include as many generic conventions as possible that fitted with our narrative, to make it more unique. 

Firstly, we used the generic convention of low-key lighting throughout the whole scene except the beginning which was a flashback. The flashback of the young boy swinging on the swing used was quite brightly lit, but also in black and white to convey that it was in the past. However, for the rest of the sequence it was low-key as the time of day was the evening so it was dark, this was to minimise the detail seen, creating enigma within the audience. 

Little boy on the swing 

I had 4 settings within my thriller consisting of a park, road, forest and bus stop. Firstly, the flashback was located at a park and through a midshot it showed a swing that was sequently moving then being used by a young hooded boy who's identity cannot be seen. This was conventional as thrillers, tend to use children as characters that are mentality and emotionally unstable, foreshadowing that this child is not safe to be around. Secondly, the bus stop setting was used to convey that the two girls were on their way back from somewhere as they sat at the bus stop waiting for the bus impatiently. As bus stops are for public transport, when the girls are seen there it is isolated because its night time and very few people are out at that time. When Josie suggests to walk home instead of waiting, the setting changes to the road where the antagonist is laying down on. This foreshadows that something is going to happen to the girls as they've reached to the location where the mysterious boy is creating suspense within the audience. Meanwhile, after Josie receives a phone call, she pays no attention to shona who suddenly starts to walk away and head towards the direction where the antagonist is laying down. After finding her friend dead on the floor, Josie starts to run away from the scene and heads to a forest, where she believes she'll get away from the mysterious boy(antagonist). The use of the forest as a setting is conventional as the character is nowhere near possible help when needed, so if she was to get hurt no one would be able to help her. This creates suspense and tension within the audience and also makes the sympathise with Josie, as they know something is going to happen to her as its a thriller and she's in a isolated location where the antagonist is still on the loose. 

Street Camera of the two girls at bus stop

Following the generic convention of having an antagonist and protagonist(victim), my thriller had a male antagonist and two female victims in the opening sequence. My characters were stereotypical as the genders of the two representations followed the aspect of characters within a thriller, also my female characters were played well to being clueless and oblivious on whats going on. For example, Josie suggesting to Shona to not wait for the bus stop, but instead to walk even though their in a drunken state and alone together. This shows that she's careless and not weary about what dangers can happen to her if she walked home. Moreover, Josie is seen as careless again as she loses interest of her friend by picking up a phone call and completely ignoring the fact that Shona is walking away from her. This is conventional to the thriller genre, as girls seem to be more intrigued to find out who's with them resulting of them asking ' who's there?' when they hear or see something strange. This shows dramatic irony as the audience knows that theres an antagonist about as its part of the genre but also the girl doesn't know that she may be in danger. Foreshadowing that something will happen to her, as she's too oblivious to realise that its not safe to be alone. 

POV shot of Shona walking towards body 

In my thriller opening, we used the generic convention of a point of view shot twice from both of the girls perspectives at different times. The first point of view shot was seen when Shona was walking towards the antagonists body to check what was wrong with him. The use of this shot captured the drunken state that she was in by showing her feet only, and capturing her unstable movements as she walked towards the body. This made the audience feel apprehensive and frightened on what could happen to her because the frame was jerky reflecting on how she was currently.

POV of starting point of panning Josie's perspective 

Her unstableness and lack of awareness foreshadowed that she was in danger by walking towards him. Furthermore, the second point of view shot was used differently, this time it was shot at a eye level when Josie is in the woods and looking around for the antagonist. The use of this shot, creates suspense and tension because the victim is in control of whats being seen. Also it made the audience feel on edge as they do not know when the antagonist is going to appear as they restricted with just her perspective. 

Lastly, the generic convention I also included in my thriller, was the use of iconography; a white mask, for the antagonist to wear when approaching his victim. The white mask contrasts his dark clothing which emphasises his hidden identity. This helps the audience establish that he's the antagonist creating fear within the audience and also shock as this is the first time both the victim and audience see him with a mask on. We see him with the white mask through the point of view shot from Josie's perspective in the woods when she turns to find him in her way. 

My groups opening sequence defines the thriller genre by including the codes and conventions such as: male antagonist, female victim(s), low-keylighting, isolated settings and hidden identity through a mask. Overall, the whole sequence built a story and created suspense throughout even when it ended with these elements. In terms of the micro elements; mise en scene, sound, editing and cinematography, my thriller sequence defined the genre well. 

In terms of Mise en scene, firstly we used iconography of a mask, to hide the antagonist identity so that he would provoke the shock element. Moreover, we used the iconography of a phone to show that Josie was busy whilst not listening to what Shona was saying. Also in this part of the scene, we caught shona's facial expressions through the use of an over shoulder shot before she started to walk away. This shot showed shona as annoyed and angry at Josie, because she wasn't paying attention to what she was saying so she took matters to her own hands and walked away from her friend.

The sounds used varied in my thriller depending on what was going on in the scene. In the flashback, we added a non-diegetic sound of a child saying " come out and play with me" this was repeated and connoted the child seen on the swing as mysterious and dangerous due to the tone of the sound. When the girls were seen at the bus stop and at the road, the sound used was diegetic sound of their dialogue. Without the dialogue, the audience wouldn't of understood what was going on so it was essential we had this as it helped them engage more and pay attention to the information the characters were saying to help build the narrative. Another sound we included in our thriller was a non-diegetic soundtrack which was quite upbeat and suspenseful. This was used when josie discovered shona's body on the floor until the end of the sequence, this sound was used for the chase scene and to create suspense and tension as the audience would want to know what happens next. 

The micro element editing was included in my thriller to define the genre, an example of this was a reaction shot. This was seen when Josie's hears a scream and she jumps and gets scared which could relate to the audience as they may be as shocked as she is. 

Cinematography was a key micro element to define the thriller genre as it helped the audience understand the characters more. For example, in the flashback theres a mid shot of a little boy swinging on a swing alone at the park. As his positioned in the middle of this shot, this emphasises his aloneness and suggests that he is troubled or dangerous, making the audience feel curious about his character and wanting to find out more. 

To show more understanding of the generic conventions and developing of a real thriller, I have compares my thriller opening sequence to the film ' Scream (1996)'.  The film is a bout a masked killer that begins killing teenagers in the small town Woodsboro. One young girl and her friends realise that the number of deaths go up, to survive they must follow the rules of horror movies. Firstly, the similarity between my thriller and this film, is the fact that they both include the iconography of a mask for the antagonist. However unlike, Scream my film starts with the audience knowing who the antagonist is behind the mask instead of him hiding it at the beginning. This is because we decided to let the audience know who the antagonist, but fear him even more when his identity is hidden and feel on edge when he's among his victims that done know who he is. Secondly, in comparison to the film Scream, both settings are located at a town where its isolated. The fact that the town Woodsboro is 'small' this implies that theres not many people there, meaning that the victims of the Ghost face wouldn't be saved easily. This is similar to my thriller, as mine is set in a quiet town also and the girls are seen on a road where no one else is to be seen but the antagonist, implying their alone and their safety is at stake. Also, what i found that was similar between my thriller film and Scream opening was that they both used the generic convention of having a female victim. This was conventional as it achieved the sympathy from the audience needed to connect with the characters as they are portrayed as gullible and oblivious. An example of this from scream is that the antagonist would call the girl and ask her questions about horror movies and what she's doing. This is seen as vulnerable as she immediately goes against not talking to strangers but carrying on the conversation with the antagonist on the phone. In my thriller, the gullible female character who's fed up of waiting for her friend who's on the phone, decides to walk towards the antagonist who's on the road. This shows her innocence and careless motive as she's walking towards a stranger she doesn't know and is oblivious to the fact that he may harm her.  Finally, like in any other thriller, theres low-key lighting and in my thriller and the film Scream this is used. In the opening scene for scream, the low-key lighting is used when the character Drew is on the phone having a conversation with an anonymous person. She's in her house but the lights are very dimly lit. The use of this low-key light emphasises her aloneness and that something dark is going cave in on her, foreshadowing her death that happens later. Similarly, throughout my opening scene thriller, it's set in the night so theres already low-key lighting. The use of this is conventional as the audience and girls cannot see much detail of where they're going and who's there. This emphasise their danger and foreshadows that something may happen to them as its night time, easy for the antagonist to hide. As my task was to make an opening thriller and not a full film, it was clear that my thriller would have less conventions than Scream. However the generic conventions I included helped provoke the 3S' s (shock, surprise and suspense), making the thriller intriguing to carry on watching to find out the conclusion of the whole film.