Unit G321-Foundation production

and brief title The titles and opening

sequence of a new fictional film
By Danielle Conneely 0360
 1. In what ways does your media product use,
develop or challenge forms and conventions of real
media products?
The title of my opening sequence is called Pursue, the opening sequence contains many
forms and conventions of real media products. We decided to do this to make sure our
outcome of our production was the best it could be and to follow the conventions of a
thriller film. We used the narrative theory of Barthes as our opening sequence relates to
one of the five codes: Hermeneutic code as throughout the actions of the characters
make the audience enticed to the production and want to know what is going to happen
next. This is because our film doesnt reveal the identity of the intruder and the reason to
why he wants to kidnap Lilly, we done this as we wanted to create an enigma for the
audience and for them to guess what is going to happen to the protagonist Lilly.
 1. (Continued)

Location: Throughout our opening sequence we used one location as the house fit the
conventions of a thriller films as the theme of kidnap films fit the stereotypical location of
where the protagonist is kidnapped. To help us conform to the stereotypical location of a house
we watched Taken and used some of their ideas to help structure the location and use the
thriller conventions from that film and adapt it to ours. This was because we wanted to make
sure that we followed and incorporated as much of the conventions of a thriller film as possible
as well as the conventions of the theme of kidnap. We decided to use this location as we felt
our target audience of all genders 12-35 with socio economic group C1,C2,D&E would be able
to understand the reality of our production. However, there are a few aspects of a thriller film
we didnt follow as you could also take our production as a drama as our production had a
dramatic effect and style however we stuck to the conventions of a thriller as we wanted to
create suspense and for the audience to become entice with the situation that the protagonist is
in. Overall choosing our location of a house was not difficult as it fitted to all of the scenes we
wanted to use as the rooms used e.g. Lilly and Sarah's bedroom also helped the audience
identify their image. We also wanted to create a sense of tension when the audience was
watching the opening sequence as the location was a house we wanted to make the audience
weary of their surroundings after watching.
 1. (Continued)
Title of the film- The title of my opening sequence is called Pursue, the narrative is
about a young girl named Lilly who is left at home by her older sister and is woken up by
the sounds of an intruder. Scared Lilly jumps out of bed and runs into her sisters room
and hides under the bed, the intruder comes upstairs and approaches the bedroom where
Lilly is found by the intruder. So we decided to chose this name as we wanted to base this
on a 90 minute film instead of a opening sequence, this is as we wanted to give an insight
to the audience of what the narrative could possibly be or what it could unfold into. This
can go against conventions of thriller films titles as normally you can tell from the title
what is going to go on in the film. We decided to go against this as we wanted our title to
create interpreted meaning for the viewers as it will entice them into wanting to watch our
full production.
 1(Continued)
Title font and style- The title of my opening sequence is shown at the end of the opening sequence, we used the font
Lucida Bright in the colour white at the size of 252 as we wanted our title to stand out as well as the colour white standing
out on a black background. We didnt want to follow the stereotypical colour and font like other thriller film titles such as
Taken, as they used red we wanted ours to be unique and stand out to our target audience. We deiced to place our white
text over a black background to symbolise suspense and the unknowing of what could happen next. Similar, to Takens
opening title we put our title in caps as it also helped it stand out and add suspense to the narrative of our production
which is around kidnap. We added a fade in and out effect to our title as this helped the title stand out to our target
audience and to other viewers as this could help catch their attention of our production.

Costumes and props- The costume of our protagonist played by Olivia Conneely follows the stereotypical look of a young
vulnerable girl who is wearing emojis pyjamas which represents that she is a typical young girl who follows the new crazes.
This also shows the audience that she is a normal young girl for her age as the costume used is what another young girl
would wear making her look realistic, we chose this as we wanted her to look as if she was in her normal routine to make
the audience unaware of what was going to happen. As for her sister played by Danielle Conneely (myself), we decided we
would put her in crop top and a black skirt to show the audience that she is going out. We decided to pick this as its
modern and shows the stereotypical image of a teenage girl going out as teenagers are now the target in the clothes
industry of wearing crop tops, we chose to follow this as the audience could identify her style. As for our antagonist we
wanted to hide his identify as he was the intruder, so we choose black gloves, jumper, jacket, tracksuit and boots to keep
the audience guessing of who the intruder could be. This fits with the stereotypical way of how a kidnapper looks as we
wanted to keep the audience wondering of who the intruder is. Throughout the opening sequence we used the main prop
of a photo frame which is shown to the audience as the intruder looks at the photo of the young girl and this prop wakes
up Lilly who realises that there is an intruder in the house. This then causes the audience to also get scared and feel for the
young girl as the intruder is in the house. We saw this as effective as it creates a focus of the photo frame as it shows the
audience that the intruder knows about the young girl which connotes a enigma.
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Camerawork and editing- Throughout our opening sequence we wanted to make sure we included
as many shots and angles as we could to make our production stand out. We used a range of
medium close ups, close ups, povs, long shot and over the shoulder shot. Close up and extreme
close ups fit into the stereotypical shots used in kidnap films as you can see the expressions and
reactions of the young girl. We also used many povs as we wanted to show the audience the
experience and perspective through the eye of the protagonist and antagonist. At the beginning
of our production we used a medium close up to show that her sister is going out this helps set
the scene of what is going on and this fits the conventions of a kidnap film as we've set an
enigma of where the girl is going. As the cinematographer, with the help of 1 other member we
decided to use a variety of panning and hand held shots to add a sense of realism to the opening
sequence.

The story and how the opening sets it up- The first shot used is a medium close up to show that
her sister is going out this was used as it helps set the scene of what is going on and fits the
conventions of a kidnap film. After this, we use a low angle close up shot to show the sister
putting a vodka bottle in her bag this shows the audience that the older sister is going out leaving
the young sister at home. By the younger sister being asleep it makes the audience feel worried
that something is going to happen and this creates suspense as they are unaware of what's going
to happen. This fits with the thriller genre as the codes and conventions are enigma, suspense and
tension.
 1(Continued)

How the characters are introduced- The main protagonist Lilly is introduced to the
audience at the end of the first scene as she is seen asleep in her room, this shows the
audience what she looks like and that she is a young girl. The other protagonist Sarah
is introduced to the audience at the start of the first scene when she is getting ready to
leave the house, this shows the audience that the Sarah is leaving Lilly at home alone
this shows the audience the stereotypical representation of teenagers that they aren't
responsible. The antagonist is shown half way through the opening sequence when
entering the house, they are wearing dark clothing and their face is not shown this
automatically causes the viewer to worry about what could happen to the young
protagonist.