Evaluation - Q1 (Harsh Makwana)

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

CONFORMS - as it establishes our protagonist right from the off.

• Close-up of the protagonist Megan holding a match directly in from of her eyes. 
• The mise-en-scene use of prop of the match reveals to the audience the dark nature and interest of our protagonist.

CONFORMS - as it shows the prominent setting of the thriller.

• Panning shot along the skirting board of the hallway, which establishes the setting of the film. 
• This shot features the props of an empty beer bottle and two pairs of shoes; one belonging to a male and a paid of heels, belonging to a female. 
• We placed the empty beer bottle next to the men's shoes to signify his alcohol addiction and the fact its just laying in the hall suggests how alcoholism can lead to an untidy life. 

CONFORMS - there are usually changes within a thriller, therefore this shot conforms to thriller conventions as it portrays a change in the protagonist.

• Shot of our protagonist looking through a photo album. I chose this shot as it symbolises how the protagonist had a normal childhood.
•  In the screenshot, we can see the protagonist stroking the image of her and her mother. This suggests she has a good relationship with her mum.

Challenges - high angle shots are used in thrillers to convey vulnerability.

• High-angle-shots are usually used to portray vulnerability, however in our thriller, our protagonist is not vulnerable.
• By use of the rule of thirds, we places the protagonist and her mother in the centre of the shot, illuminating their importance in the film.

CONFORMS - all genres, particularly thrillers, place their protagonist in the middle of the screen using the rule of thirds.

• Medium-close-up of the protagonist, shown in the middle of the shot to emphasise her importance. 

CONFORMS - thrillers tend to show the underlying problem of the film at the start, in this case, it's alcohol.

• Close-up of glass with alcohol being poured in shows the protagonist's father's addiction.
• Again, placed in the centre of the shot to accentuate the importance of the effects of alcohol within our film.

CONFORMS - thriller openings tend to have a type of "behind closed doors" shot, whereby the audience is shown an event occurring that other characters are not aware of, similar to Shutter Island.

• Close-up of the protagonist burning a picture of herself, her mother and her father.
• On the picture, we made the face of the antagonist damp to ensure the fire burned around his face, accentuating his importance.
  
  

CONFORMS - like our thriller opening, most thrillers feature their title at the end of the opening sequence, similar to Shutter Island.

• The title of our film "PYRO" appears for the first time.
• Use of the black background strongly contrasts the flame in the background, illuminating the letters. 
• We also use a soundtrack of a crackling fire which goes well with the plain font. There is also a build up from the previous scene to the title shot, which will keep the audience engaged for the name of the film.

CONFORMS - to refrain from making an opening sequence look like a trailer, most thrillers set the scene after their title, similar to ours. 

• Shot of the house where the film is shot, creates a domestic setting and environment.
• The normality of how the postwoman goes about her job emphasises the fact that on one knows what goes on behind closed door. 

Our Title Font

• The title of 'Basic' (John McTiernan, 2003) has a simple text font. We too chose to go for this type of font, however to contrast the simplicity of the font, we added a flame in the background of the letters.
• Our simple yet complex title again links to how everything looks fine on the exterior, however there are always ongoing problems behind closed doors.
• Our title has a similar font to that of the film 'Basic', and therefore conforms to thriller conventions.