06/12/2010

Conventions Used/Developed/Challenged

Here is a list of the conventions that we plan on using, developing and challenging in our film.

Conventions we have used:

Firstly, the opening is set during the early evening and progresses through to the middle of the night/early hours of the following morning. This convention is often used in thrillers since darkness can help to develop tension and adds mystery. People are sometimes scared to go out late of an evening for fear something bad may happen to them, which is exactly the case with this film. Something happens to a person one night, yet they can't remember what it was at all and are left searching for answers. This is due to the effects of a night of drinking and partying, another convention we shall be using. Alcohol is involved therefore inhibitions are lowered resulting in bad things being more likely to happen.

The protagonist is also beaten up/assaulted but can't remember a thing, a convention often used in thrillers. This is then coupled with missing people and a hunt to find them. As has been mentioned several times, memory loss is a key feature of this film and is also a convention associated with thrillers, someone searching frantically for answers, with the story following their journey to find them. We have also included a mysterious character that people are not too sure about in the form of the car that follows the protagonists as they drive away. If the film were to be produced in its entirety then we would have this mysterious character recurring several times throughout, eventually playing an important role in the story.


Conventions we aim to develop:

The opening of the film shows the girl against a black curtain with flashbacks occurring. Although this is a convention that has been used previously, we plan to develop it further by incorporating the fact that she has been obviously been beaten up/assaulted but is desperately trying to remember what happened to her in the past. Because she is actually the cause of all the problems and horrors she has faced, this is the end product of what she has done. Essentially, she has gradually become lost within her own mind and has gradually descended into madness. We are showing this at the start of the film instead of the end as we think it will keep the audience hooked since they will firstly want to know what happened to her and will be very confused as to why she is acting the way she is. Effectively, we are showing the end of the film first, retracing her story and then returning to the conclusion.


Conventions we are challenging:

Our protagonist is a female who has committed horrendous and atrocious acts, yet she doesn't realise it throughout the film. She has caused herself a lot of trouble and has ruined her life, yet she doesn't know it yet and has to retrace her steps, untangling a web within a maze in order to find out what she did. She will also be wearing a white dress at the start of the film, an item of clothing traditionally identified as being pure and showing innocence, however this truly is not the case with our film. After some deliberation, we have also decided to have her come from a well-off family, where 'daddy pays for everything'. This will hopefully lead the audience to believe that because of her better upbringing and education she is less likely to get herself into serious trouble. We may be able to play on this idea by giving her a rebellious streak, just to juxtapose and contrast the two ideas and hint that maybe something has gone wrong.

We also plan on challenging the way the titles are shown. We plan on having our titles incorporated into our film, such as having them written on notes during the shot, written on a photo, even on a steamy glass shower screen.


I shall update this further if we alter the film in such a way that more conventions are used, challenged or developed.

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