Evaluation Question 1

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

Previous to creating the film, i researched into the history of horror and looked specifically at how horror has progressed over the decades and the generic signifiers and conventions in each film. This helped me to ensure my film used conventions and signifiers of a typical horror film for example, i used white and light coloured clothes on my main characters to connote their innocence, this is used in films such as Scream (2001) to connote the characters innocence.

I used fake blood which is the most common convention in horror films. I also used a baseball bat which is a weapon found in horror films, it is not a popular as perhaps a knife but it is still a weapon used. For example, the female in the film The Shining ?(1980) used a baseball bat to defend herself. I have also based my film on Dawn Of The Dead (2004) and have started my film opening with my main character waking up from his steering wheel, this is how Sarah wakes up in Dawn Of The Dead (2004) Similarly, in 28 Days Later (2002) the character Alex also wakes up after being unconscious in hospital and is unaware what has happened as is my character Sam.

I have chosen to start my film off without delving straight into the action like some films do, for example the Saw films often open on a torture scene and this can put viewers off as well as confuse them. Instead i have opted for a simplistic opening that will not confuse viewers. I have used music which is a very generic convention of horrors and are used to set the scene and build up the suspense, i overlapped this music with non-diegetic sound effects which added an eerie feel to my piece.