Evaluation Question 1 In What Way Does Your Media Product Use, Develop Or Challenge Forms And Conventions Of Real Media Products? Hoodwink by Rebecca Bloomfield

The title of the film The title of our thriller film is ‘Hoodwink’ which means ‘to deceive or trick (someone)’. This definition immediately hints that the narrative is going to revolve around a misuse of trust, as well as key thriller elements such as red herrings and fake leads. Setting / location Our setting/location is typical of thrillers as it is set in an urban city where crime is common and not unusual, with a large police force and detectives who have studied similar cases before. We wanted our setting for the protagonist to reflect the darker, more violent side of the city, so chose back alleys and car parks to film in. Similarly, we wanted to show that the antagonist scenes are in a much nicer, richer part of town, so used a typical family home. Costumes & props One of the main props in our opening title sequence is the antagonist’s bag which he picks up after receiving an anonymous call in a phone box. Even though the prop itself isn’t key to the narrative, it gives an insight into the character and what he does, informing the audience that he is the villain and is a criminal. As we had another bag as a prop – used as evidence of the kidnapping during the detective’s thoughts – we created a graphic match between the two. Our main costume item was the antagonist’s hoodie as it hides his identity, but also relates back to our main title Hoodwink.

Camerawork & editing For camerawork, we used a lot of close ups as we didn’t want to show the identities of either characters. This created mystery, but was also vital to the narrative of this one man leading a double life as a police man but also as a criminal. There are also a few panning shots which show the locations, however we did not want to use too many opening shots of the settings as we found that – through our research – thriller films don’t tend to focus too much on where the action is happening, but instead use things such as props and dialogue to tell the story. Title font & style Our title font and style is very simple and bold to make it easy to read. This meant we could add effects such as static and flickering, linking the main title to the crime in the narrative and the overall genre. Story & how the OTS sets it up The title of our film fits in perfectly with our narrative, which revolves around a cop who has secretly kidnapped a young woman for money but is working on the very same case alongside the detective – attempting to stop him from figuring out who the kidnapper is. The OTS sets this up by introducing both of the main characters: the protagonist and the antagonist. The dual narrative – which cuts between the two stories – gives an insight into the good and evil, a theme typical to Thriller films. Using props such as the bag gives it an air of mystery, and suggesting that the case is connected to both of them also builds the foundations of the story in the viewer’s mind.

Genre & how the OTS suggests it Because Thriller is a very wide genre, we decided that our theme would be a Thriller-Crime hybrid. This meant that we had to include props and clues to hint towards criminal activity and law enforcement through the actions of our characters. We did this by using a number of methods, including desaturating the film and using shots that didn’t show the character’s faces – adding mystery. How characters are introduced Our protagonist – a detective working on a kidnapping case – is shown in our OTS to be very average. He lives alone in a big house, and the first shot of him is him making a cup of tea; a very normal, every day action. We want the audience to relate to him, so we show him to be just like them. However we do include shots of the crime scenes he has visited regarding the case, showing his dedication to his work and that he can’t get it out of his mind. In contrast to this, our antagonist is shown at a phone box picking up a call, and then walking the streets in a suspicious manner until he finds a bag abandoned in a car park stairwell. This tells the audience that the phone call wasn’t just one to a friend and that this man is probably doing something illegal. Special Effects We used desaturation on our footage to give it a darker, less vibrant feel, fitting in with the genre which – from research – tends to use blue or yellow filters. The shots of the crime scenes, which are similar to flashbacks or memories, have been made to seem slightly blurry and use a cross fade to show that they’re not happening at present time.