Evaluating the use of codes and conventions of my opening 2 minutes

       1. Text

• Red text which appears on the tree like blood as the victim runs away slowly dragging her hand across the tree
• Fits in well as the victim has blood all over her hand so it is made to look like the blood from her has smeared on the tree to spell out the title 
• Suits the mysterious feel of our genre and creates sense of tension.

2.      Credits

• Plain white writing which appears on the tree as the victim runs past from the right side of the screen to the left as we wanted to keep it serious we did not want to use crazy, animated type of credits as the audience may not take us so seriously
• We kept if plain so it was enough to see but not enough to distract the audience from viewing the film - this is the convention in our genre where credits tend to be subtle.

         

3 & 4. Characters

•   Thrillers are usually about a female victim who is in danger and finds herself trying to escape so we have followed conventions here.
• Male characters in thrillers tend to be the person committing a crime. They tend to look rugged and have a bad past - again, we have followed this stereotype.
• Female characters in thrillers tend to be the victim. This is because females are stereotypically seen to be more vulnerable and weak
• Our main character is a teenage girl who is portrayed to be weak and scared
• The use of female victims is common in thrillers. These kinds of characters are seen in most thrillers such as ‘The Town’. This is a movie set in Charlestown about a group of bank robbers who take a women hostage. All of the bank robbers are adult males and the victim (the person taken hostage) is a middle aged female
• The person committing the crime is a young male with a vendetta against the female main character.
• The hero that we have used in our film is a male which helps to give a contrast between the male characters.
• The hero is an older character so that he seems more trusting. People think that older people are wiser so therefore trust them more - this is another genre convention.
• The fact that the hero is a police man helps to trust him more as police are seen to help people in need as it is there job.

5 & 6. Mise-en-scene

• Typically, thrillers are set in a large rural isolated location
• Thrillers often use known actors to promote themselves and to help the audience understand that it is not real, although on the other hand, they cast unknowns so you feel less sure they will survive to the end of the film. Also the victims are usually innocent looking people so that it creates a sense of sympathy towards them.
• The criminals are normally people who are naturally scary looking and are not presented a nice light. They are usually actors that have previously played the same role in other well known thrillers.
• Props such as weapons, knifes, blood and torn clothing help to give a sense of danger and help the audience see the genre of the film. The blood and tears on the victims costume tells the audience that she has been attacked. Our use of props will be familiar to audiences.
• The look on the victims face when running and the manner in which she is running in shows that she is being followed and that she is trying to escape from something or someone. By having only one earring in, and the ear with no earring having blood smeared down it also shows that she has been attacked.
• The main location we used was an isolated forest. We used this because it gave a sense of fear and unawareness. The day we filmed was a cold day therefore making it look more scary as the floor was more white than green from the frost on the grass. Also, spider webs can be seen clearer when covered in ice and snow therefore making the natural environment look more scary and unapproachable.  
• The victim was wearing little clothing in what could be seen as a cold environment making her look more vulnerable to not only the male committing the crime but also the place she is in.
• The police officer in image 6 is wearing a suit. This shows that he is important and is a person of power contrasting the villain who is wearing all black rugged clothes (also badge close up- symbol of his authority).
• The police officer is a middle ages man which is the stereotypical view of a police officer. This is why we cast this person.
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7 & 8. Camera Work

• We used many close ups in our opening to show the importance of certain characters. We also did this by giving the female main character the most screen time. This shows the audience that she is the person who will be seen the most in the rest of the film.
• The face of the person who committed the crime is not shown in the whole of the opening. Extreme close up used to create impressionistic feel. This is crucial as if they are shown, there will be nothing for the audience to work out and there will be no need to finish watching the end of the film. This is typical of a film in this genre.
• An over the shoulder shot is used in the police station. The camera is behind the female main character looking towards the police officer. This shows the emotions on the policemen’s face showing that he is worried for the girl.
• There is a 360 degree shot surrounding the female main character. This shows the costume and makeup she is wearing telling the audience that she is in danger.
• We used a high angle shot to give a sense that the criminal is watching the victim without her knowing. We did this shot by climbing up a tree and having the camera look down from the tree whilst the victim runs past. 

9. Editing

• We overlayed some of the opening shots with a desaturation effect to make hint that these events are not in real time. This also helped cover the criminals face keeping it hidden from the audience. We did this in the editing package (Final Cut Express).
• There is a lot of cross cutting between the victim being attacked and her running from the scene of the crime. This was fast paced and created tension. This lets the audience know that it is an important part of the movie and will be a reference for the rest of the movie. This editing style is a common choice for psychological thriller where the audience needs to feel disorientated.

10. Sound

• Non-diegetic music is used to build up tension and atmosphere when the victim is being attacked
• Dialogue is very little in the two minute opening, the fact that the victim hardly speaks so when she does it is very important. The fact she does not speak shows she is very worked up and scared and what happened and does not want to speak
• The close up of the attacker with him laughing, helps to build up tension as he does it in a very aggressive way which puts the audience at the edge of their seats
• The use of echos from the past in the victim’s head in the police room is used to show that the victim is scared about what happened and cannot forget about it - this distortion of sound fits with the idea of mental distortion and so helps create the genre tone.
• The loud screaming used by the victim in the flash backs are used to show the audience that the attacker is hurting her and that he is actually attacking her so they know who is good and bad in this situation