‘In what ways does your media Product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?’

‘In what ways does your media Product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?’

Strangely Media products that are in the genre - thrillers, conventially are either hybrid genres (such as ‘Batman Begins’ which is an Action-Adventure /Thriller) or a sub-genre (such as ‘Goodfellas’ which is a Gangster-thriller). Ours almost follows both conventions, we originally conceived it as a subgenre of psychological/thriller but became a Hybrid genre of a Horror/thriller. This was done through the destruction of the masked assailants which seems to follow the conventions of the latter, but its does develop the conventions of the former. As the violence is never linked, the office psychiatrist scene’s tension is done through performance and music.

Very quickly we decided that by embracing previous Thrillers, our passion for them would bleed through into our thriller. Hence there is a numerous amounts of influences and references.

Firstly that a media product, if done fictionally is never a true reflection of the real world, but a stylised version. Hence all the characters are archetypes making them instantly identifiable. Russell T. Davies (Executive producer and Head Writer of ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Torchwood’) said this of using classic monsters as the viewer immediately knows the rules and the story runs a lot quicker. This applied with our characters. Immediately the audience had a vague understanding of the dynamics between our two characters, because of this we’re immediately aware between the differences of the characters, meaning the tension begins immediately.

The same applied for our masked assailants to a less extent, Steven Moffat (Writer of BBC thriller ‘Hyde’) says the scariest moment is when the monster is about to arrive, hence all the scenes with the assailants is preparation (we even cut a sequence we filmed where the assailants walk into ‘Regent House’, the building we named our piece after, and a further sequence was never filmed where both narratives meet and the assailants burst into the office. We cut these sequences, with regards to time but mainly because the monster ceases to be scary once they are there. Once the assailants were there they wouldn’t be able to use the weapons at all, it would undermine the aura that the first two minutes build up).

We wanted to avoid hooded figures, such as in the fantasy/horror/thriller ‘Demons’, whilst ‘hoodie’ culture is being tried to be tapped into by some modern thrillers, we found it makes the threat mundane. When the convention of a thriller is to have a mundane location with fantastical threat (e.g. ‘War of the Worlds’ where Cruise’s characters normal life is set up, to be disestablished by the earth tremors).
We wanted sharp suits, such as the sci-fi thriller ‘The Matirx’ a sthe Agent’s uniformity is what’s chilling, it plays on our inner drive to not follow ‘the man’. The crispness of their suits, and steely expression show them like tanks, they will always follow you.

We mixed that convention with that of the Joker’s henchmen in ‘The Dark Knight’, all the masks have tormented smiling expressions, there is something scary about a perverted euphoria. Something pure that has been tainted, something we can relate to that has been twisted. I believe that our media product, whilst divertingly develops conventions in a new light (such as when the assailants walking is dissolved in on it self, it gives a mystic effect to them whilst not breaking the reality. Many thrillers tend to stick firmly into a “real worlds” such as ‘Psycho’, or to go into a fantasy film such as ‘Watchmen’. We wanted a stylised world that whilst never contradicts reality, through editing we discombobulate the viewer slightly and hint at a supernatural element).

Yet ultimately our thriller obeys these conventions, as they have been well established, into the culture of film, every viewer on a subconscious basis is scared by the similar principles. We graded our pictures to increase the shadows, because shadows are chilling. We are scared of the dark, because we do not know what is in it. The masks go to the same effect, as we never see exactly what they look like under the mask, our imaginations are much more thrilling then what we could see on screen. We kept to the primary principle, to create mystery. Mystery always unnerves us, which is why thrillers are so successful because they thrive on mystery…

Tim McNiven & Oliver Fitch