Throughout the film we have used many different forms and conventions which fit into a thriller, but we have also challenged these forms and convemtions.
Title font and style
The title of the film clearly represents both codes and conventions of a thriller. This is shown through the use of colour and special effects. The colour that we selected to use was red, when an audience sees red they connote the meaning of death and blood, this is what typical thrillers use to connote a thriller theme and conventions. The special effects also play a key role, we made the title 'UNSUSPECTED' have a cut effect, what i mean by this is most of the letters are cut, this connotes to the audience that within the film there may be death and thrills that which again goes with the codes and conventions of a thriller.
Setting/Location
The setting and location of our thriller does go against the codes and convetions of a 'typical' thriller, we used a 'family feel' setting in which is a family home, this makes the audience feel as if the protagonist is safe and no harm will come to her, this has a big impact on the twist of our opening sequence because the audience is suspecting nothing bad will happen, when something does there is a big 'shock' factor that has a big effect on the audience. The location shows a lot of houses when Jessica is running, this again goes against the conventions of a thriller, a typical thriller location would connote an abandonned feel where the protagonist can not get away, by using a crowded location the audience are not suspecting harm to come to the protagonist but when it does, the audience are surprised.
Costumes and Props
The costumes and props that we used when filming did show true conventions of a thriller, for example we used light jeans and light brown shoes for the character of Jessica, this showed her as a nice young woman because of the light colours she was wearing. We also used a black coat and hood for the antagonist, this showed that he was a mysterious character and did not want to be identified. This is what you would find in a typical thriller, by this i mean you would expect the protagonist to be wearing light and fearless colours whereas the antagonist would be wearing dark clothes with a sense of history.
The props we used were put into full effect, we used a telephone as a sort of catalyst to the upcoming thrill, we took the batteries out of the phone which connotes a feeling to the audience that the person who did this does not want to the protagonist to contact anyone, this convention supports a thriller because most thrillers do not want the protagonist to contact anyone, they want them to find a way out themselves.
Title of the film
We chose the title of the film to be 'Unsuspected', we chose this because this title says to the audience before they are even watching the film that something unsuspected is going to happen within the film, this immediately intrigues the audience and makes them want to watch the film. This goes with the conventions of a thriller because it entices the audience immediately from the beginning which most thrillers use.
Story and how the opening sets it up
As the film starts we immediately see a girl running away from a mysterious person, this sets up the film because it says to the audience that there is a reason for this girl running away, she must be in danger and therefore is trying to get away. This is a typical convention of a thriller, some thrillers use this 'girl running away' scene at the beginning to highlight the kind of thriller this is going to be such as Urban legend.
Genre and how the opening suggests it
The genre of thriller, in many movies is introduced by a 'chase scene', they use this because a chase scene is a typical convention of a thriller, this is what we did when opening the film. We showed someone running away from another person, this supports the conventions of a thriller and therefore is why we used this opening.
How characters are introduced
The way in which we introduced the protagonist was by her running away from a person, this connotes to the audience that the protagonist is vulnerable and in a dangerous situation, which is a very common convention used in a lot of thrillers.
The next character we introduced was Melinda, we introduced her by showing her cleaning the windows of her house, this connotes a maternal feel to her and shows that she is caring, this says to the audience that she may not harm anyone, a typical convention for a char
acter of her profile.
Special effects
We used a fast forward special effect on the 'grab' scene. We decided to use this special effect to surprise the audience and shock them, if the shot was slow then no real surprise element would have been installed, but by using this it does create an unsuspected feel to the audience. This convention is used in many thrillers to surprise the audience, so we took this into consideration and then applied it to our film.
Camerawork and editing
The camerawork that we used was to show excitement and intensity to the film, we used a number of shots in which connoted this element of thrillers. A key shot that we used was the Point of View shot of when Jessica was running out of the house but then got snatched, this shot was put in good use because it showed to the audience that she was desperate to get out and in a hurry. This shot creates the convention of intensity and a scared look to the audience, this is why we used this shot and is well used in many other films.
Another key shot that we used was a high angle on Jessica (Protagonist) when she is sitting down and waiting for Melinda to call the police. A convention of a thriller is to make the protagonist look scared, weak and vulnerable and a good way to do this is by using a high angle. This is why we used this shot to follow this convention, it makes Jessica look scared, weak and vulnerable which is what we wanted to connote.
The editing that we used was to show continuity throughout the piece and create a thriller atmosphere. This was evident in the final 'grab' scene . There were 12 different shots that we used all at fast speed, this entices the audience and prepares them for an enigma to take place.
