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

One way in which we kept to the typical conventions of a horror/thriller is the setting. This is because we decided to film in a dark alley, which would create tension for the audience. As a group we decided to keep this convention the same, as we believed that the setting of a horror/thriller should be scary as that basis creates the atmosphere and mood of the film. Having a scary setting is effective as it fits in well with the storyline, and really emphasises the characters. Another way in which we kept to the typical conventions of a horror/thriller film was the type of characters we created. In a typical horror/thriller the main character is usually the villain, in our film, the character "Jack the Ripper" portrays most of the traits which would be visible in a horror/thriller. This is because he is very sly and psychopathic, and kills many people, which shows his gruesome ways.

This film inspired our opening scene, because as a group we saw the impact that the main character had, due to his psychopathic traits. We knew that we wanted our character "The Ripper" to be feared by the audience, as this would make the scenes more effective. Also, because our character is based on a real person, we needed to make sure that our portrayal of the Ripper lived up to expectation.

In some ways we have challenged the typical conventions of a horror/thriller film. One way we did this was with the music, we spent a lot of time discussing how we wanted our music to sound as we knew that this would be a vital part of our opening scene. Nearer the beginning of the process, our group had decided to create a soundtrack which was quite slow and eerie, however when it came down to creating the track, we believed it would be more effective to test the normal conventions. We did this by making a much faster paced track, while still including the eerie touch which would attract the audience. We believed that testing the typical conventions would make our film stand out, as it would surprise the audience.


The film "Taken" also challenges the typical conventions of a horror/thriller. One way it does this is because the film doesn't focus on the villain or the victim. This challenges the typical conventions, because in a normal horror/thriller the film revolves around the suffering of the victim, or the life of the villain. This film also challenges conventions as the music is very fast paced, this causes the audience to feel on edge during tense scenes.