Evaluation Activity 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The first frame is a low angle shot of the victim walking past. This shot is quite ominous due to the low key lighting as it is quite a shadowed shot introducing the audience straight to the codes and conventions of a horror genre due to the surrounding of the gloomy forest. The low angle shot creates a mysterious effect as you cant see the victims face making the audience feel anticipated to see more. It also allows the audience to see the surroundings of a forest which gives them an understanding that she could be in danger. Again, just from this opening shot we can tell she is a vulnerable school girl and something bad is about to happen.
The next frame is a close up of the victims face; as you can see her facial expression represents frustration as she bumps into a man walking, this is what we know the antagonist. The antagonist is introduced in a subtle way with his head down and hood up hiding his identity adding enigmas for the audience. Who is he? Why is he so mysterious?. This shot also captures the logo on her shirt confirming to the audience that she is a school girl on her way home straight away introducing the young teenage girl as exposed and defenseless. This frame creates a lot of tension because she carries on as normal and even puts her ear phones in. This creates tension as the audience may be anxious that she wont hear the antagonist.
Linking in from frame two the third frame shows match on action as she puts her earphones in expecting to be home shortly. The effect of this is that the camera shot changes creating more suspense, we see a close up of her taking her earphones out, then of her face as she is relaxed, then as the camera tacks her from behind we see her suddenly turn around in a medium shot with her face full of worry.
The next frame is a high angle shot, this is effective as it takes all the power away from the victim making her look even more vulnerable than she is. It captures her looking back to see if anyone is there as she hears a noise, This helps the audience feel the sense that she is being followed and they may start to fee frightened for the teenage girl in this dark forest.
In the fifth frame the audience are shown a shot of the location, this is especially effective as we are shown this through an over the shoulder shot tracking the surroundings. As the girl turns around and sees no one she carries on walking home. The long shot allows a wider view of the location, again conveying the codes and convention of a setting of a horror genre.
The sixth frame is a shot with both the antagonist and victim in, the antagonist is standing in the background looking creepy ready to capture her. This shot is highly effective as it is the climax of the build up. As well as this it really shows the costumes of both characters with the girl clearly wearing a school uniform and the man dressed in dark clothing always looking so secretive. The boy being the antagonist and the girl being the victim follows the codes of conventions as males are known to be the bad guys and girls are known to be weak, helping other girls feel sympathy towards the character in this circumstance as they can put themselves in the victims shoes. The long shot of the antagonist makes the shot look eerie as we are shown the surroundings behind him and we can see this deserted forest with only him and her waiting for him to attack.
In the next frame this is a simple shot that is seen in many horror films. The victim falls over, slowing her down allowing them to be more vulnerable to the antagonist getting them, keeping the audience on the edge of their seat wanting to watch more.
The next frame shows the action of the horror, it is a two shot capturing the victim trying to push the antagonist off her.From this medium shot we can see her escaping this time, but its not the end. We can see how frightened she is in her body language as you can see her putting all her strength in trying to get him off her.
The final frame before the title is a close up of the victim screaming. The close up is effective as it emphasises how frightened she is as she screams hoping to be saved. This makes the audience feel sympathy towards her as she has very little hope and was so close to escaping. This follows the codes and conventions of a horror genre as she is kidnapped which is found in many horror movies allowing anything to happen afterwards. This then creates enigmas. What will he do to her? What will happen next?
Finally, the last frame is the title. We decided to put the title at the end as the audience have just watched the trailer and get a clear insight to what the film is about which will then help them understand and relate more to the title. We followed the more traditional codes and conventions of  a horror genre which is white capital writing on a black background, standing out, looking powerful and representing the dramatic event that has just happened. This is compared to red writing on a black background which was popular years ago.