In the production of our project, we have made multiple creative decisions as well as done huge amounts of research towards our genre. In the analysis of the suspense/thriller category, we have been able to learn the usual conventions and how they are utilized in movies and film projects overall.
With my group being asked the Creative Critical Reflection question "How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues," we have the knowledge to adequately answer it.
For our project, we wanted to make an opening that would follow the genre conventions and reveal them in a engaging and suspenseful way. The main aspects that we wanted to follow was that an unsuspecting individual would commit murder in cold blood against someone who was rude or threatening towards him. In our story, we were able to achieve that, with Asher wanting revenge against Austin for stealing his paper. Me and my group had found this genre convention from films such as "The Equalizer," with the main character, played by Denzel Washington, having a secret hidden and deadly personality. With this genre convention, we were able to create a strong story, with a narrative surrounding a meek individual with a dark, hidden personality.
Other genre conventions such as a stronger and more intelligent antagonist facing off against a weaker protagonist had been used both ways in our opening. With Austin being the main antagonist in our piece, he would be physically dominant and stronger compared to Asher. However, Asher is more intelligent than Austin and more precise and hidden with his actions. This had contrasted with original conventions because it would not only surprise the audience of Asher's intentions, but also allow a hidden and secret character to be created.
Additionally, we created a story first about a crime committed in order to help draw the audience into our overall narrative, allowing us to build off of that pivotal moment. This is a useful convention in the genre because it provides vital information fast and it proceeds to build upon for the rest of its duration. This tactic is used in films such as Se7en, where the film starts out with an investigation of a murder scene, with the murder being supported by events later in the plot. With this tactic, our audience would be able to understand Asher's murder of Austin further as the story progresses.
We wanted to represent Asher in a weaker light, which was accentuated by his white clothing, in order to paint him as a more pure character. This would help to further surprise the audience with his cold blooded murder of Austin later in the opening. We also tried to make out Austin to be a rude and belligerent character in order to contrast with Asher, making it seem unlikely that they would ever physically be against each other. With this representation, our audience will still see usual genre conventions of the film's category, but will experience differences in relation to the underlying story.
I believe that with our creative choices we will be to accurately depict our characters in a new and meaningful light that attracts audiences. With our decisions relating to genre conventions, we have created a plot line that provides both the usual and unexpected characters of the story. In doing this, we create a strong opening that will heighten our project to the highest quality possible.
Wenk, R., Sloan, M., and Lindheim, R. (2014, September 24). The Equalizer. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455944/
IMDb. (1995, September 22). Se7en. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114369/
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