1. Evaluation question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge the forms and conventions of real media products? by Mahli Macwana

2. Introduction  My opening title sequence conforms to the genre conventions of a psychological thriller film. Our film challenges some parts of the usual conventions of a thriller film for example: the OTS is set in the woods which is typical of a thriller but its also in the daytime this is not typical of a thriller film but it gives the effect of safety which is then turned into danger this makes the audience alarmed. Our film originally took inspiration from the film se7en but we decided later on to make a different type of a thriller film which took inspiration from the film ‘Hostel’ which is about a group of people are captured and tortured which is similar to ours because our film involves a group of people getting abducted and being experimented on.

4. The title of the film.  We came up with our name very quickly and all of us agreed on the name “Trial and Error”. This refers to the trials of experiments the antagonists perform on the victims and the errors they make on the way. This also tells us that the antagonist is very methodical, intelligent and patient in achieving their final goal. This is typical of the antagonist in most thriller films as they are also usually very intellectual for example verbal in usual suspects who ends up being Kaiser soze. The title of our film is on the last scene of the OTS. It is next to a dripping tap. A dripping tap connotes the feeling of losing control.

5. Setting/Location  The main settings in our OTS is the woods and a dark room. These locations creates an uneasy and eerie mood. The woods are typical of a thrillers films Because the woods are very isolated and they are segregated from the city. Making the victim more vulnerable and crimes more easy to conceal, for example the Blair witch project. The dark room is quite typical of a thriller film because its very dark and darkness resembles evil this creates a feeling of darkness. The dark room could be seen as a base for the criminal mastermind to work for example in se7en.

6. Costume & Props The costumes we used in our OTS were: a shirt and jeans for the antagonist and a school uniform for the victim. The shirt on the antagonist suggests that he is intelligent this is typical of thriller films as the antagonist are usually sophisticated criminal masterminds and sometimes unstoppable. The victim is wearing a school uniform this suggests that the victim is youthful and innocent. The props we used included a black bag which is used to capture the victim and abduct her. Another prop we used was the equipment in the dark room for example the camera and the photos that were being developed these items suggest that the antagonist is obsessive, perfectionist and maybe has a compulsive disorder.

7. Camerawork and editing We used camera angles that are typical of thriller films for example extreme close ups and shots of the feet and legs. This is so the antagonists face isn't shown so it creates an enigma to make the audience wonder who the antagonist is. We also did POVs from the antagonist looking through the bushes at the girl this makes the viewer feel anxious and worried for the girl. All of the shots of the antagonist were in the dark room and you could only see parts of him never his full face this keeps the audience wondering who he is, this is typical in thriller films for example John Doe in se7en.

8. Title font & style The font we used is one that looks like an old typewriter. We chose this because the antagonist in our film is middle aged and we tried to make it feel like he would do his work on a typewriter because he does his work in old fashioned ways for example he develops his own photos. This is typical of the thriller genre as they use font that makes the film tense and suspenseful and like the fim is the work of the antagonist. The colour of our font is white because its on a black canvas so you can see the writing. The last title is the title of the the film “trial and error” and this was done in a scruffy font. Which was chosen in order to mirror the meaning of the title. This was inspired by se7en OTS titles.

9. Story & how the OTS sets it up The OTS sets up the narrative by showing that the antagonist is capturing and abducting someone. and you can see the antagonist in a dark room developing photos this shows that the antagonist is methodical and maybe a psychopath. It also sets the narrative up at the end to show that the film isnt about the capturing of the girl but what they to do once she is captured. It gives an insight to the antagonists life and his mental state.

10. Genre & how the OTS suggests it The shots we used of the girl running away shows she is scared and she is trying to get away from someone. This is typical of a thriller film as the victim is always trying to get away from the antagonist. Also you cannot see the antagonist when he is chasing the victim you can only guess that he is there, this creates an enigma which is typical of thriller films like in se7en when you only see john doe the antagonist till late in the film.

11. How characters are introduced The antagonist is introduced in a dark room where he is working on photos and developing them. We see him as a methodical genius and he is wearing a shirt which suggests intelligence and that he is intellectual. We do not see the protagonist in the OTS which is unusual of thriller films but we thought it would create an enigma on who is going to stop this thought to be unstoppable man. The victim is introduced by being chased and captured by the antagonist. The victim is seen as a helpless girl who is vulnerable and youthful.

12. Special effects Our film is a low budget film and we were going for a realistic film. We dont have any special effects in our opening titles sequence. We did some foley sounds and added them to the OTS like breathing and gasping etc. The lighting that we used was a very dark lighting this gave the effect of a depressing film this creates a tense mood and makes the the audience feel like that can't see what's going on which makes it very suspenseful. This OTS uses similar effects and has a similar mood to the OTS of se7en.