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

The main way in which the opening of our thriller challenges the typical conventions of a thriller, is through the use of soundtrack. The soundtrack we have decided to use is not one typically expected of the genre, but one expected to be featured in an action or adventure film. 

However, we were limited on the choice of sound track due to copy right laws, and found difficulty finding appropriate music for a 1930's/ 1940's Noir thriller, as music from the time,(which we could have used as it was free from copyright laws) did not seem fitting for our film, as it was mainly upbeat with the theme of jazz as the main genre of music during this time.
However, when we found this soundtrack, although it does not necessarily entirely align with the genre of thriller, it does create and build suspense and a pace quickly through the use of stringed instruments, which were the qualities we were looking for in a soundtrack, and essentially qualities of a thriller soundtrack.

When discussing whether we could break away from the typical thriller soundtrack conventions, we researched other Noir thrillers for inspiration, and found that other films such as The Third Man , a hugely well known Noir thriller of its time, had heavily rebelled against the thriller conventions, by using music which was relaxed and optimistic, for a dark and pessimistic scene. This created a juxtaposed affect which was highly effective in making the scene appear more tense and adding to the unease of the audience. 
Through researching other thrillers, and the success of unconventional soundtracks, we decided we would add a soundtrack that we believed would help build suspense, tension, and a sense of apprehensiveness upon the audience, regardless of whether it conformed to the stereo-typical convention or not.

The most dominant way in which our thriller has conformed to the generic conventions of a Noir thriller, is through the carefully constructed Mise-en-scene.

The locations which we used were very much inspired by other Noir style thrillers which would help establish the eerie tense atmosphere that we were going for. For example, in the opening of Casino Royale, (which although is not a film Noir, is shot in a remarkably similar stylised way) it is able to turn a perfectly ordinary setting, into an undesirable threatening environment. It did this by using a usually bustling location, and leaving it deserted, only partially lit, and with the raw contrasting street lamp lighting.

Therefore, we wanted to develop this idea and use it in our own thriller, by selecting a large scale building in a clearly urban setting to create the juxtaposed idea of an unpleasant situation in a perfectly pleasant location. 

We also chose this location because it had a severe lack of lighting, so that half of the building was exposed to darkness like the shot above of the opening of Casino Royale, it uses street lights to give the building an ominous glow to make  the audience apprehensive about Scarlett's fate, waiting near this deserted, dark, large building.



Location shot taken from 'Essex Boys' in an undesirable location

However, it challenges typical thriller convention by using a glamorous and desirable location, not the typical setting expected from a thriller, as it does not connote ideas of misery or appending doom, a convention which is still a common main feature in thriller, such as from the film 'Essex Boys' where the scene is immediately set in a run down, unappealing urban area, unlike the glamorous and attractive locations we have placed Scarlett in.

Example of Symbolism

One way in which we have conformed to the thriller genre is through the use of symbolism through symbolic codes to build up an idea about Scarlett which the audience have personally looked into, and interpreted through the obvious connotations which we had placed within the shot. An example of this is when Scarlett leans forward to blow the candle out. This candle is the only visible light emanating from the shot, and by blowing it out herself it is to become a symbol of how she is plummeting herself into the dark depths of danger. The flame of the candle is also a symbol of the flame of love and passion between her and her husband, and how she is so quickly choosing to extinguish the flame shows the disregard that she has for her marriage. This use of extinguishing flames as a symbol of upcoming threat is often shown in films, such as Pirates Of The Caribbean Where darkness ascends to indicate the arrival of pirates, and many other thrillers use this feature to build suspense and tension about the upcoming events.


Example of Symbolism

 For example, when establishing Scarlett's character, one of the first few sequences that is revealed of her, is one in which she is applying lipstick in the mirror. By shooting it in this way, it created another reflection to the right hand side of Scarlett so that two reflections of her are revealed to the audience. This give the audience the immediate idea that she has a fragmented and split personality, as if there is herself, and then a small underlying strip of her (as shown in the small stripped reflection in the mirror) that is dark and fatal, giving the audience a clue that she is dangerous. 
Another way in which we have used symbolism within the opening to our thriller is through the use of the striking colour red, which immediately connotes danger and warning, and although by using this colour it makes her appear incredibly glamorous, it also makes her appear more fatal as she is able to lull others into a false sense of security through this glamour.

 This idea of changing the stereo-typical role of women from the damsel in distress and turning them into a deviant woman who is in fact aware of their charms and femininity, and uses this to appeal to others to give them the upper hand, is a concept played with more in modern day media texts.
 For example, inspiration from our character Scarlett was heavily influenced by the role of Irene Adler in Sherlock Holmes, who is a beautiful woman who at first glance, appears vulnerable, and so the audience immediately sympathise and feel at ease in her presence  until we realise what she is capable of, and the tactics she is constantly using to manipulate others into allowing herself to succeed. 

Although it challenges the typical stereo-typical role of women, who are usually the victims in any genre, especially the thriller genre, it is a concept which is becoming more popular in modern day media texts, such as video games of the likes of Tomb Raider, with the strong female gamer, or in thriller films such as 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.'
However, this idea of a strong dominating female character comes from the role of the 'Femme Fatale' which dates back to the 1940's, proving that this role within media texts were although not as common, but 
still present.

Moral ambiguity is an aspect which we tried to portray through lighting in our thriller, so that the audience could explore Ray's personality through the connotations of contrasting black and white, the shadows and black representing the darkness that he has within him, and the contrasting white the idea that he truly loves his wife, and was once a good man, with strong morals, but this side is buried beneath the overcasting shadows that now hang over him.

This is an idea which we incorporated from other media texts such as Casino Royale, where by the chiaroscuro lighting reveals the characters contrasting personalities that he has within him, the extreme good, and the extreme bad, although in this example, the majority of his face is cast in the light, whilst he is aiming a gun, which makes the audience feel as if he is trying to promote justice, and is not committing this sin for evil intentions.

Another way in which we portrayed this ambiguity is through the shot of Scarlett looking and reminiscing over an old photograph of her and her husband, caressing her husbands face with a pained expression as if she has some remorse over what she is about to do, but then stops to slam the jewellery box shut, as if ridding herself of any guilt and feelings she has for her husband. This is also re-inforced by the sound of the jewellery box, which is the only sound during the opening sequence, implying a childish and innocence associated with the owner of the jewellery box (Scarlett) however by slamming the jewellery box, and such an innocent tune so abruptly and harshly, it shows her ruthless and drastic side within her. These two contrasting ideas give Scarlett as a character more depth, rather than the predictable polaroid character so frequently used in media texts and more frequently used in romantic comedies such as 'Leap Year' whereby every striking or important emotion is 

Leap Year example

 revealed to the audience through a constant tracking of the characters emotions through close up camera shots, so that no secrets can be kept from the audience and they feel confident that they know and understand the characters. By not conforming to this and breaking this convention, it isolates the character from the audience, and consequently makes them feel threatened and anxious as they are never truly sure of what they are thinking, which is why we have chosen a complex character type, to make our Femme-Fatale more intimidating.

The camera angles that we used were quite extreme, for example, using extreme tilt shots, makes the audience feel disorientated and uncomfortable viewing the scene, as if it is unnatural to view a shot in this way, creating an unnerving experience for the audience.  By doing this it creates and builds tension as the audience cannot relax whilst viewing the film in this way, and it makes the audience feel powerless as they cannot change the viewpoint of the camera angle, and almost makes them feel trapped. Extreme angles like this are used in old Noir Thrillers such as 'The Third Man' whereby a series of fast paced unique tilt shots are changed by fast cutting, for exactly the same purpose, to make the audience feel disorientated and overwhelmed by the scenario, making the scene much more dramatic and impacting than if these camera angles had not been used.

Another example of extreme camera angles that we used were Birds Eye Shots, not only because they were able to clearly display important events within the shot by focusing in on only the event itself, without the rest of the character which could distract the audiences attention away from what is happening. It also makes the audience take a step back away from the scene so that they have a chance to look at, and reflect on what is happening without the emotional attachment to the character influencing what they think and see is happening within the shot.

Birds Eye example from Coffee And Cigarettes

 Although it is not a commonly wide spread camera angle, it is used in older styled media texts, such as 'Coffee and Cigarettes' to show the distance and space between characters, and create a sense of awkwardness and isolation  not only between the characters, but between the audience and the characters, as a distant onlooker. It is also used in more contemporary films, such as the opening scene of 'Sin City' although now it is more commonly used for long shots over cities, to establish a setting, and the relationship between a character and their geographical location, and so by using these camera angles it both conforms and challenges conventions of media products.

Towards the climax of our opening, we decided to use a shot which only revealed the character of Scarlett's shadow running up the stairs, as it makes the scene more enigmatic and exciting. Using the outcast of a human shadow is an exceedingly conforming aspect of the thriller genre, especially those which are partially of the horror genre, as it is an excellent way to inform the audience of ones presence in a subtle way. It de-humanises the character, and we do not think of them as the character the audience has become associated with, but a new stranger infringing on the scene, and as it is not immediately obvious to the viewer, they have to almost look for the focal point of the shot, which makes the audience apprehensive about what they could find within the shot. By using this strong shadow to follow Scarlett's fast paced movement up the stairs, it does not cast the simple outline of a normal shadow, but instead a distorted and jagged shadow,  which again connotes Scarlett's complexity of her character, as not even her

Example from 'The Big Combo'

 shadow is a simple outline of a human shadow, but this disfigured shape that we see running up the steps representing her emotions and inner personality, about the events she is about to commit.

 Examples within other media texts that use human shadows is the Noir thriller 'The Big Combo' whereby the man himself is not the centre focus of the frame, but his long overcast shadow which stretches dauntingly across the road, giving the impression that he is powerful and immense.

 Scarlett's background is one which we clearly try to inform the audience of, through the use of her glamorous clothing, make up, and her home. This shot is an example of how we tried to make it clear to the audience of her wealthy background and home life as this simple shot which is held for only a few seconds makes the audience aware of her luxurious upper class large 4 storied town house, in a pleasant and urban area,  whilst she is dressed in such elaborate clothing immediately gives the audience an impression of her upper class background. This surprises the audience as it is not a typical thriller convention, where we expect any kind of criminal activity to take place, or indeed, any criminals or people of corruption to live in.

 This subverts from the typical conventions of the thriller genre whereby the audience usually expect some kind of dangerous events to take place, such as classic Alfred Hitchock's thriller 'Psycho', is an unnerving, isolated and old fashioned styled house. This is used in thriller films to build a sense of apprehensiveness and suspense at the events that are about to take place, due to the obvious negative connotations of the setting.

However, this idea of corruption in high class areas in thriller films is one that is used in other media texts, such as 'Layer Cake' where a well spoken, well dressed apparently respectable man is in an upmarket urban location to prepare for a drug deal. As you can see from the print screened example from Layer Cake, the setting is one very similar to the location of Scarlett, but by doing this, it makes the audience think of the real life corruption behind closed doors, and by doing so, adds a sense of realism to the scene.

However, our print screened example taken from our thriller does embed within it clues to the audience of some impending doom through the inclusion of the three drains which is a well regarded and well known symbol for bad luck, that many people still believe in today, and consequently feel concerned for Scarlett.

Another dominant feature of the shot that portrays the fall of power and dangerous position  that Scarlett is entering into is through the descending of the stairs that we see Scarlett running down on the way to meet her secret lover. This is a symbol of not only her decreasing power, but of her eagerness to take this course of action, and descend the stairs to meet her lover, knowing it could so easily destroy her life and her marriage and consequently lead to her downfall. This idea of using stair cases as a symbol for power, is one frequently used in Noir films such as Double Indemnity, whereby the woman is shown to be in a position of power above the man. Staircases can also represent not only a characters downfall, but of the uphill struggle a character may have to face, for example in Gone With The Wind the stairs are a symbol of the male protagonists power, and his struggle as he carries the character, ironically also named 'Scarlet' up the stairs, representing his strength, power, love for Scarlett, as well as the uphill struggle that they both must face together.

 

The composition of the shots within our thriller were carefully constructed to build a sense of claustrophobia  and entrapment, for example, by placing the characters in a physically tight space, at the edge of the frame gives the audience the impression of a pressure forced upon the character and the possibility of no escape. This screen shot shows how Scarlett has a limited option for escape, with the small staircase out of the alleyway only barely visible to the audience in the distance, with her husband trapping her from behind, and the tall buildings either side creating a very compact and unsettling scene. The way in which the camera is positioned also puts the audience in a position of unease, as it forces the audiences vision into a small direct path, as the iron gate slants in from the left, and the alleyway wall creeps in from the right. This means that although the shot itself is quite wide, the audience are very restricted on what they can view within this frame.

This is a typical convention of a thriller, as it puts the audience in a position of weakness by restricting what they can see through the camera and composition of the shot, and consequently arises panic within the audience.

The artistically lit street lighting also adds to the stylistic glamour of the time era we were aiming for, and is a typical feature of film Noir representing limiting light, and the sheer white light itself wrapped in a black casing connotes the idea that everything is confined by evil. The idea that old fashioned street lights are also just out of the characters reach represents how they are unable to reach safety, and although the lighting is close to them, it is in fact always going to be further away from their grasp.

Street lamps also represent the false sense of security that the character feels when nearby, as although the light is seen as a source of goodness and reassurance, it only illuminates them to any nearby villains, making them in fact more vulnerable.
An example of the use of street lamps in other media products is in 'Scarlett Street' whereby we see a very similar shot to the one taken from our thriller, with Scarlett standing beside the street light  grasping the light for support, in the same way in which the character from Scarlett Street, is leaning against the post for support, illuminated by the light. This shot also is similar to the screen shot from our thriller, as it is very restricting as to what the audience can see, as only her face is visible within the frame, with the lamp consisting of the majority of the shot. It torments the audience by not letting them view what is naturally more interesting and enigmatic to them (the woman) and instead focuses on something that is not of particular interest to the viewer (the street light.) As it uses a tight shot, it also adds further to the sense of claustrophobia, as if the shot is cluttered although there is in fact only two objects of focus within the frame.

The director of Scarlet Street Fritz Lang also has a similar portrayal of women as to our own character Scarlett. We can see this from the image that she is portrayed as glamorous and beautiful with a great deal of elegance, like the qualities of Scarlett. As well as her physical portrayal, she also has similar personality traits, such as her deviant nature, and ability to manipulate and lie to men, as this was a common portrayal in Noir films at this time, when women wanted a more powerful role in society, and thus the creation of the Femme-Fatale whereby powerful women are in control and take on a dominant role, but usually meet the consequences of their actions, such as typically death to enforce the idea at the time that women should stay in their place. Furthermore, she also meets a similar fate to Scarlett, when she is stabbed to death and murdered at the end of the film by her husband, rather similarly to our own ending. This is an example of how we have conformed to the Film Noir thriller genre, through the use of character types, composition, camera  angles, and props such as street lighting.