Conventions

Should you always adhere to them or do they restrict creativity?

For my foundation portfolio I have created an opening to a thriller.  A common convention of thriller films is a build up to action. In my thriller film I have subverted this convention, in order to fulfil another one. I was successful in subverting this convention; the opening of my thriller begins in the middle of the film. The audience are unaware of what has happened and are thrown right in to the aftermath of the action; however they are also given no conclusion leaving them confusion, an important convention of thriller films.

By subverting this convention I was also able to delay the showing of a main event, another convention fulfilled. By showing the aftermath of the action I left my audience confused and not knowing the plot of the film.

I have used realistic settings in my thriller film; I have used a police station, a train station and a high street. These locations enable me to create a sense of the unusual occurring, adding an eerie and intense emotion to the film. This is a common convention within thriller films, it gives the audience the ‘unexpected’. These locations however led me to subverting a dark and shadowy atmosphere, a convention of thriller films. I felt this atmosphere would take the audience away from a ‘realistic’ setting and make the film more predictable therefore I felt it was right to not use this convention.

Flash backs are also a convention, frequently seen in thriller films. I have emphasised this convention through colourisation in my thriller opening. The scenes which are occurring in the past are viewed in black and white. This convention was made more evident through editing. The black and white effect adds and older look to the shot, capturing the connotation of a flashback.

For my advanced portfolio I have created a music video. To stick to real media conventions I have followed Goodwin’s principles. As one of his conventions, I have matched lyrics to visuals in my video.  There are several moments in the video where the visuals will match the lyrics such as ‘grains of sand in the palm of my hand’; you will see exactly what you hear. This adds meaning and depth to the video, and also adds understanding of the song for the audience.

I have used genre characteristics throughout my video. The tempo and pace of my shots match the style of music and location matches the peaceful tone of the song. I have used close ups of the guitar as an image motif to emphasise the guitar in the track. Along with these conventions and my work of matching music to visuals, sections of the music are highlighted in ways which when listening to the track you may not notice. Such as the beat behind the lyrics, I have made transitions sit on the beat on emphasise them.

My skills in editing has enabled me to lip sync my track to the footage. Lip syncing is seen in almost every video, in footage where the artist or band will perform.