Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop pr challenge forms and conventions of real media productions?

Title of Film

Missed Calls - This is based on the main plot of our film, being that Sarah missed calls from her boyfriend which could have potentially saved her.

Title of the film - 'Missed Calls'.

Titles - Font and Style

For our titles, we have used a font with a graffiti/scratched style. This reflects the irrational behaviour of the kidnapper, emphasising upon his pain and frustration. We thought this style fitted in with the theme of our film, as Sarah also gets taken to a place which could be associated with having graffiti all around it. Scratched style writing is commonly used within the crime-thriller genre.

Sample of the font.

A sample of the 'scratchy' font we used.

Location

For our location we have decided to use Wrexham Town Centre, but also a dark alleyway near St. Giles church. I feel this develops conventions of the crime/thriller genre, as the viewer would recognise this as a tension builder, and know that something bad would be about to happen. Even in children's films, a dark alleyway at night is always seen as dangerous. The film From Hell has many of the killing scenes take place in an alley way, therefore reinforcing a reason as to why we used an alleyway in our kidnap scene.

Our alleyway during daylight

Alleyway happenings in 'From Hell'

The alleyway at night time - just before Sarah becomes the victim of a kidnap.

Costume/Props

Our costume has been everyday wear for Sarah, and for 'Him' we used dark clothing to signify that he may be a danger. Our props were used to help the audience relate to the film (laptop and mobile phone). Other props included leaves - to show Sarah had been dragged to the floor, cable ties - to tie Lowri to the chair making the scene look more authentic, a chair and a bag - used for the kidnap scene.

Props: leaves, gaffa tape, water (tears) and cable ties.

'Him', our stalker is holding on to the past, while checking up on what Sarah has been up to since they split. This scene is a final straw which tips Him over the edge, leading to Sarah's kidnap.

Alex's costume creates the image of
a dark figure, rarher than a person.

Lowri's costume is plain, letting
more people relate to her.

Lighting

One single over head light,
to create tension, and
give a sense of setting.

For the majority of our shots, we used natural light. However, once Sarah had been kidnapped, and was in the room, we used one single over head light. This added an eerie feel, which can be seen in many other crime films.

Natural lighting outside the kidnapper's house.

Characterisation
Our lead role, played by Lowri was made to come across as any normal 17/18, this was so that our audience could connect and relate to her and her feelings. However, we didn't want to alienate certain tastes and fashions, so we dressed her in a simple burgundy dress which could appeal to a wider range of people than say a neon pink one. Furthermore, we had our kidnapper, or 'Him', act strangely. He is not shown with friends, wears dark clothing, and still keeps a birthday card that Sarah had given him while they were together. This shows that he is still holding onto the past, unable to move on. The audience may be able to relate to his empathise with his emotions, but not how he becomes obsessed to the point where he kidnaps Sarah. Odd behaviour is a key convention in a film where there is a stalker/killer, so the audience would be able to recognise this.

Sarah out with friends - we added a green filter to create a sense of mystery, which will build up to the kidnap scene.

Alex - 'Him'

Lowri - 'Sarah'

Camera Angles

We used a variety of camera angles throughout our opening sequence. Close up shots were used to show the fear in Sarah's eyes as she was tied to the chair. Developing the close up further, we had an over head shot of Sarah, as if the kidnapper was looking over her, this added variety to our shots, and thereofre gaining audience interest. We also used close ups to show the phone - that Sarah had missed a call, and to show the Facebook page that let the audience know Sarah was in a new relationship. There was also a cut in, to show a picture which was on the stalker wall, this was to show the extremity that the stalker's obsession had gone to. We used long shots to establish the setting within our film.

Overhead shot we did of Lowri

Low shot of Sarah being kidnapped,
this made the kidnapper look more intimidating.

Another variety of the close up shot!

Editing Transitions/Visual Effects 

We have used a variety of transitions which would emphasise the mood we were creating in that particular shot. We had fades to add a softness - relieving the audience from tension, to then have a simple cut - building up the tension again. Cuts are also typical of the crime genre. The experimentation with fades made shots more interesting for the audience, and eliminating the possibility of repetition with transitions.

Fade - kidnapper's street to kidnapper's house

Playing around with the focus on our camera.

Genre
Our group went the theme of 'kidnapping' as we felt this fitted in well with the crime genre. We didn't particularly challenge the conventions of 'Crime' as a genre, but as a group we used these conventions, and developed them to push stereotypes of teenagers, and show how love can quickly become obsession.

Brief shot of our 'stalker wall'.

A stalker wall from the film 'Flashforward'.