Evaluation Question 1

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

At a technical level, our film incorporated a range of media conventions to achieve a plethora of factors, such as the maintenance of continuity and to create a film that appeared seamless.

180° Line

In order to maintain the immersive effect of our movie, we followed the ‘180° Rule’, meaning that the

camera was placed at one side of an imaginary 180° line, so that the audience was able to identify which characters were engaged in conversations with the utmost simplicity and the film was able to flow smoothly. Although in some instances, this imaginary line is broken for artistic purposes, our film maintained it throughout.

Shot-reverse-shot

By utilising the technique of shot-reverse-shot, a classic convention of many thrillers, within our movie, we were able to display the emotions of our characters clearly, by showcasing their facial expressions. This technique was omnipresent within the film in order to establish a line of dialogue between two characters in a clear and comprehensible manner.

Emotions were portrayed through the use of this technique, for example, the expressions portrayed by the character of Tony when he is reprimanded by his boss, Ms. Novinscak, are those of someone who appears dejected, whereas Novinscak, herself, portrays her feelings of disapproval, or even, disgust in her employee.

Shot-reverse-shot was also employed within a fight scene between Tony and Daniel, coupled with some fast-paced editing, creates a tense, frantic atmosphere between two characters, clearly at odds with one another.

 

Match on action

To maintain continuity within the film, match on action was used frequently. This technique, in which an action begins to take place within one shot and subsequently completed in a succeeding shot is used so that acts are presented as appearing continuous, was used in abundance in editing, partially to ensure that transitions were smooth in between shots and to ensure continuity was maintained. Match on action was also used so that different angles, portraying the same action were captured without breaks in continuity; most notably, this was used in the final fight scene between Tony and Daniel, in which Tony was attacked by a briefcase held by Daniel. Not only did this create a fast-paced atmosphere, but also highlighted the, already established, importance of the case.

Settings

Within thrillers, a wide variety of settings are used to indicate a variety of different things, this is also true of ‘Misplaced’. The action begins in a park, to highlight the normality

of the situation, the character who is initially there, Tony, is a seasoned veteran of his trade and the tranquil nature of the park reflects his relaxed and comfortable nature. However, to represent the shady, criminal nature of his activities, he is later pictured within a poorly lit room along with his employer. Similarly, Daniel, although technically the protagonist, is engaged in a series of illicit activities, and thus this is reflected through his use of an isolated and hidden shed, where he can escape to. The setting that best sums up the genre of the film and the nature of the characters, however is the dark, damp woodlands where the final scene takes place. This creates suspense, the narrow woods imply fear, as though something could jump out at any moment; they are discreet, and ultimately, dangerous.

Character Roles

Our film generally follows the archetypal rules of thrillers, namely that there is a protagonist (or in our case, an anti-hero), attempting to avoid capture or death at the hands of an antagonist, who is out for revenge. This convention has been utilised by many films; such as ‘The Terminator’ and ‘Road Kill’, from which we drew inspiration.

The villainous entity within our film, is that of a hierarchical crime syndicate, headed by a strong female leader. Although the ‘pecking order’ aspect of this is common place, as evidenced within movies such as ‘Pulp Fiction’, where assassins Jules and Vincent are under the orders of professional criminal, Marcellus Wallace, and thus forced to do his bidding. This character is present within the James Bond series aswell, Ernst Stavro Blofeld is the head of SPECTRE, and commands a legion of followers, yet, the role of a dominant leader is typically reserved for a male. By including a strict, aggressive leader of a criminal organisation in the form of Ms. Novinscak, typical gender norms are subverted. A typically masculine leader of a syndicate is used in order to appear threatening to the protagonist, yet within our film, this proves to be irrelevant and women are shown to be of equal status to men, capable of leading an association without the need for male assistance.

Chase Scenes

Through the use of chase scenes, a common feature of thriller films, we were able to create a nerve-wracking atmospheric tone for the audience; when coupled with the

fast-tempo music and the hand-held point-of-view camera angles, this point was exacerbated and the action on screen felt much more exciting. Chase scenes have been found in many a film of the thriller genre, but our inspiration typically came from Alfred Hitchcock’s, ‘North by Northwest’, and the James Bond film series.

Sound

Most of the music within our film was non-diegetic incidental music added in during the process of editing. Thrillers particularly use fast-paced music in order to correlate to the general feel of their movie, and ours is no different. Typically, much of the music within our feature is that of the rock genre, alluding to the fast-paced action of our film.

Costume

The costumes decided upon fit the conventions of a typical thriller, whilst also reflecting the

characters traits. Ms Novinscak, by wearing a formal, black turtleneck, she is established as a villainous character; the black symbolically indicating her evil nature, whilst being entirely covered up represents her mysterious nature. The character of Tony is similar, his smart attire; a plain white shirt, a black tie and a pair of black trousers indicates his role as an assistant, yet that he is a significant cog in Novinscak’s operation. The gloves adorning his hands seemingly imply that he too is mysterious, wishing to remain covert. Finally, the character of Daniel is dressed in casual clothing, to make him relatable to the audience, after all, he is the (anti)hero. However, due to the obstruction of his face, his hood is permanently up, and a baseball cap is omnipresent, his legitimacy is called into question and his criminal identity becomes apparent, establishing him, not as a protagonist, but an antihero.

Iconography

The briefcase is the central and recurring focus of our film, as the plot followed Daniel attempting to break into the case, and Tony attempting to regain it for his boss, Ms Novinscak; the case connected all three characters. The case’s contents were the main source of mystery within the film, a plot device inspired by Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film, ‘Pulp Fiction’, in which a briefcase acts as the device connecting all the major plotlines. Similarly, to our film, the contents of the case is not shown on screen for the duration of the movie, adding to the suspense and creating a genuine thrill factor; keeping the audience guessing as to what the contents may be.

 

What type of pleasure did we attempt to create?

When applying Richard Dyer’s theory of entertainment and utopia, our film tends to create an energetic feel. Watching characters, onscreen, engage in combat or chase scenes, we are able to provide the viewer with energy in their lives which otherwise may have been absent. In addition to this, we also successfully created an intense pleasure filled with suspense and excitement. Through the use of editing and fast paced music, we essentially provide the viewer with joy, as though they were partaking with the action on screen; a catharsis, or escape from otherwise tedious lives, into a larger than life situation.