Question 1
How does your product USE or Challenge conventions?
In my clip, I used the convention of darkness. Darkness is used to build suspense and tension as a high-stakes, illegal activity takes place. Darkness is strongly associated with the night and the night has a strong connotation to evil. Secretive and illegal activities are usually perpetrated at night under the cover of darkness, hidden from others. In this clip, the two characters are kidnapping a young girl in the night hours, covered by darkness, with no people to see the events unroll. The clip starts in darkness, which is not always used, as thrillers often start in the light and shift to darkness, increasing the danger over time. In our clip the darkness shifts to the brighter car park white lights, when the innocent kidnapped girls revealed to the audience.
The convention of weapons is used to build the feeling of tension, as weapons, such as the knife that is wielded by the male kidnapper. The kidnapper is presented as aggressive, which is elevated by the use of the knife as he poses a real threat to all the characters. The knife creates a false sense of confidence. This is shown when he is fixated on the knife, treating it with more care that the other characters. The weapon is given character and value as it bestows a kind of power on its user.
The convention of stereotypical gender reactions is used as the male kidnapper is easily angered and gets aggressive quickly. The female characters are both presented as hysterical and worried. The female kidnapper rushes around shouting, clearly acting erratic as she storms in frantically. This is contrasted with the man who is more calm by comparison, thinking out what his next move is. He has to calm the female kidnapper down, however he shows signs of frustration and anger while she is upset and scared. For the short period which the audience is shown, the kidnapped girl is afraid, scared, freaking out as she screams for help. The male deals with checking that that she was still tied up and incapacitated, while the woman kidnapper can only watch.
The convention of specific colours is used to provoke certain feelings and ideas. The use of red commonly signifies danger through it's connection to blood, fire and other symbols of dangerous things. A red cloth is used when wiping the knife clean of blood. There are two reasons for this. One is that blood, being red, would be less visible on a red rag and the other is that the red rag represents the dangers of the knife being prepared for use. The use of black and the use of dark colours connect with the convention of being hidden as the kidnappers enact their evil plan, not wanting any outside attention. The kidnappers both wear torn and worn clothes, dark in colour, connecting both to the aforementioned theme of darkness and to the idea that they come from a lower status area. This links to how they may be kidnapping a girl with nicer clothes who has most likely come from a better area (higher class home) to get a ransom. Another function of her clothes is the light colour, white and light colours are associated with truth and goodness, being out in the open for all to see. This also comes into play with the colours of lighting. Orange lighting is used in the small, cramped spaces to create a sense of limited space. This is contrasted against the white light of the open car park, showing a transition through a small, cramped, safe place to the open, dangerous world where the dark and light clash.
Another convention I used, was singling of a victim. The kidnappers are portrayed as predatory, enacting their scam together against a single girl. The idea of strength in numbers comes into play as a single, helpless young girl is overpowered and captured against her will by the two (who were not much physically stronger individually).
A convention that was challenged, was the way the kidnappers were easily startled. They seemed to be unready for their situations in many ways. The girl was frantic (kidnapper) and the man was figuring out what they should do next. In some ways they were scared, like the girl, which isn't unheard of in films. The difference is that they start the clip scared, before any problems are even present, showing them as inexperienced.
Question 2.
How does your product engage with audiences?
In my film, there are three main characters: one man, one woman and a young girl. The man and the woman are low status kidnappers whose only intention is to make some money out of the young girl. The dynamic between the kidnappers is a classic dynamic of villain and sidekick (partner). The man is steering the operation, setting out both the plan and roles for himself and the woman. These characters are humanised to the audience as though they are enacting an horrendous act on the girl, they get more screen time and show the audience their emotional states. The most fleshed-out characters is the woman as she is shown a a partner in the scene, but she acts hysterical, worried and scared - all feelings normal people feel. On top of her emotional state, she acts completely on the whims of a man. This effectively creates and empathetic response from the audience as she is presented as a puppet who doesn't function without the man who has used and corrupted her.
The man acts as the superior in the clip. What I mean by this is, he commands his "partner" around and he uses the girls for his personal gain, irrespective of the consequences and impacts of his crimes. He is portrayed as the antagonist in every sense.He is shown as being controlling of his partner, who he disregards, and in a demanding tone, tells her what to do more like and underling. He mainly focuses on his own interests, alienating him from any audience empathy, as he acts only on what he wants and what suits his own interests. His character is only humanised through a split second of angry outburst as he tries to get his plan moving forward. He treats the young girl like nothing more than a product to be traded for a profit, not as a living, sentient girl.
The third character, the young girl is what gives the tension and meaning to the clip. The girl is not fleshed out as a character, but rather as an idea or representation. Almost anybody watching could be in her shoes, at the mercy of dangerous individuals (criminals), hopelessly outnumbered and outmatched. The audience automatically takes the place of the young girl trying to figure out what is going through her head.
In this clip, the audience follows two poor thug-like characters who are shown as low class in status. These two characters choose a much younger, vulnerable girl to abduct. She is shown to be in a higher class to them as she is dressed in more quality, higher fashion clothes compared to the two characters abducting her. They intend to use her to get a ransom from her guardians/parents.
The clip starts by showing the female kidnapper rushing into a dimly lit room to meet her accomplice. She is clearly worried as she loudly expresses her concerns to the man. He tells her to calm down and be quiet. He shows clear irritation with her erratic state of mind. She rushes off out of the room. The man contemplates his next actions while cleaning a knife. The clip cuts to him walking into a car park where his car, with the kidnapped girl in the trunk. The clip ends with him driving off into the darkness.
The audience takes on the perspective of no individual character directly. However, the camera follows the actions and mental state of the male kidnapper. Each of the two female characters are only shown in their interactions with the man. Their characters are only shown by their reactions to his actions. The audience is given both first and third person perspectives of the man as we follow his story.
Through voice tones and stressful interactions between characters, the suspense is built to engage the audience. They reveal the states as the young girl's life is used to hook the audience as the clip ends on a cliffhanger. All the interactions between the kidnappers are loud, indicating the situations pressure. The screams of the kidnapped girl link to her panicked nature, drawing the audience into her plight. The quick end after the girls reveal the the girls fate open for the audience's interpretation and ideas.
