Evaluation Question 1.

Question 1. In what ways does your media production use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media productions?

Our product is a small horror title sequence with an artistic take on our treatment that I wrote and directed. The film is presented by a series of flashbacks and flash-forwards centering on the life of a woman who over time forms a relationship with a man.
The beginning of the film portrays the fact that the woman is a murderer (antagonist), which is very significant as it forms the audience’s belief that she committed the murder of a little girl who is the main victim. We are then taken back in time starting from the man and woman’s first encounter that follows with the growth of their strange relationship. Developing from what seems to be a fairly normal domestic life their relationship generates into a series of bizarre encounters and events. This leads to the climax following the revelations of the truth.
Alone and suspicious of the woman, the man looks through her bag and comes across a tape recorder. As he listens to the tape, all the information the man has told the woman about his life and past is repeated. (This is where it is first brought to our attention that she is an agent of some sort.) Realizing that there is something wrong, the man hides the tape recorder from her when she returns from collecting the little girl from school.
As we see her late at night writing down notes in a file she looks in her bag for the tape recorder. Realizing its gone she leaves for the mans flat. As she comes up the stairs the opening sequences are repeated. This is where we realize that it was not the woman who killed the little girl. Knelt on the floor we see the man lifting the child off the floor repeating the words in a hysterical state “what have I done, what have I done….”.
We are then taken back to the continuation of the second sequence after he has left the tube station and received the text. “Meet me at my house in 10”. As he enters her house, she explains to him that next time he tries to gain a new identity he should think it through more thoroughly. She tells him that she knew of his intentions all along. That before she got too close to finding the truth behind the murder of his wife he decided to kill his little girl and make it look as if she had done it. He congratulates her on her win and explains to her that he is now going to kill her the way he killed the others.

The next sequence is in the interrogation room where the whole story becomes apparent. She was imprisoned for murder but she was sent to a psychiatric hospital because of her state of mind. This is where her taking of pills is explained. The medication she took was to help her control her schizophrenia. Then when she realized the young man’s intentions she stopped taking her medication to reduce her sentence. Despite her unstable mental state she was a young woman who would not rest until she reached the bottom of the case. She knew that he would kill her when she confronted him, so she placed a microphone underneath her skin on the side of her spinal cord. When the body was found the police finally had the recorded evidence they needed to convict him for murder. She was a private detective who was willing to risk her life for a just world. She had been on this case for 5 years because of her knowledge but had little proof of the young mans first victim who was in fact her sister. Also revealing the fact that the little girl was her sister’s child making her her niece. Explaining their connection and similarity.

The title sequence is a 1:46 minuet artistic reflection of the film representing the key contributors, production team as well as our actors. The idea of this sequence was to produce something, which was unique and would in theory capture the viewer’s attention. Despite the title sequence the presentation of the film would be naturalistic. We wanted to use these to juxtapose presentations to heighten the end of the film in which the audience is presented with a horrific vivid killing.

It is our presentation of the killings, the title sequence and the story line that makes this product a unique horror film. In regards to the title sequence that we are initially presented with, the artistic display is very interesting. The reason that its interesting is the fact that we filmed it from under a Perspex table upwards allowing us to capture interesting shapes, patters and movements. Our main objective however was to present an ambiguous presentation of the murders in order to subvert audiences expectations into believing that it would be either one of the characters who is in fact the murderer. To represent this objective successfully we filmed short sequences of both male and female whipping away the evidence left by the murder. As well as presenting certain symbolic objectives which are central to the film plot to signify that these will act as motives. For example the tape recorder in which she tapes information on the man's past, as well as the cleaver, which is a tool for the vivid killings.

To heighten the presentation we used the color rule in which we chose the classic horror colours white, black and red. It was through this that we captured a stylized form, which was inspired by the film Sin City. Although I looked at many professional media horror productions and originally created a typical narrative idea, I was advised to change it shaping it into something more artistic and original. I received little inspiration from films when gathering ideas for my artistic reflection. My predominate sources of inspiration came from violent art displays such as the work of Herman Nitch. This helped me to produce a good idea for a horror film with an edge and a twist. Although the plot is represented more as a thriller, the presentation of the killings and the title sequences heighten the horrific elements. The main convention of horror which we incorporated was the little girl who presents the classic vulnerable female victim. On the other hand however we juxtaposed the idea of the female being the classic incapable victim, by representing the strength and intelligence of a woman who out smarts a sharp fearful man who has not yet stood trial for the murders of more than four victims. Although she was his last victim, it was the most effective way to conclude the story. As by planting a microphone by the side of her spine knowing she was to be killed would leave the police with recorded evidence. This shows that it was the strength, bravery and determination of a woman who took the initiative for a just world. In relation to classic conventions of horror films not only did we show this through our characters; it was also represented through threatening killing tools and isolated locations such as the warehouse all of which heightened the suspense and terror.