Evaluate how your product used, developed or challenged the form and conventions of real media products

                 1        Title

• White text with quite a formal and serious feel to it which is against a black background
• This title fits with our theme because our film is quite serious as it has a scary feel to it. Also avoids distracting from the atmosphere build which is common for the genre.

 2 Credits

• Have the same font and style as the actual title
• Wanted to keep the feel the same throughout the starting of the film and wanted the credits to be simple because it’s not supposed to be happy and upbeat.

3, 4 and 5 Characters

• The characters that are children is psychological thrillers are normally quite curious and nosey which is shown when Georgina opens the front door when told not to
• Quite a lot of the time, they live in normal middle class houses
• They also have quite interesting bedrooms that contain personal items such as pictures with friends and family etc.
• This also creates a sense of normality that makes the disruption more noticeable - this is a narrative convention in horror and thriller.

           6 + 4 Mise-en-scene

• For mise-en-scene, we used props including the picture shown in number 6. This picture emphasises how Gillian misses her sister Georgina because she still has the picture in her room. Photos from the past are often used in the genre as memory plays a big part in psychological thrillers.
• The table in the kitchen is a significant prop as well because it is where Ellie sees Georgina being taken but the table hides her and is why she doesn’t get kidnapped as well.
• The main location of the film is at Georgina’s house which is significant because it’s where the kidnapping takes place and is an unexpected location - thrillers hope to surprise the audience. All our locations are ordinary and would not make the audience think that something is about to happen.
• Each room that the girls are in are tidy which is again allows for the disruption to be noticed.
• The first location is the hall and the stairs - a neutral environment - we expect the creepy part to be when the cupboard door is opened but this is a red herring.
• The second location is Georgina’s bedroom which is a tidy room with feminine colours like purple and pink.
• The last location is Gillian’s room where we see her having a nightmare and the room is very different to Georgina’s room showing a difference in personalities and that time has passed.
• Costume is simple - quite casual as it was just a normal day to show how they’re lives have been disrupted
• In the last scene with Gillian, she is wearing pyjamas which are important because she’s supposed to be having a nightmare.
• We cast Gillian to play an older Ellie because she has the same features and long brown curly hair and has green eyes.
• There is low key lighting when Ellis is having a nightmare to show that it’s at night and she’s not sleeping well at night as it’s haunting her. This is a conventional use of lighting.

            7, 4, 5, 6 Camera work

• We use a variety of different shots and camera angles in our film such as two shots, close up, tracking shots, establishing shots and shot reverse shots.
• We use close up shots to emphasise key emotions such as Ellie’s face when Georgina is kidnapped and when Gillian wakes up from a nightmare. Also a close up on the picture to show that they were close. This is a conventional use of close ups in openings of every genre.
• We have two shots between Georgina and Ellie firstly at the start when they’re saying goodbye to their mother and it shows their close ups. Another two shot is where they’re arguing. They’re at the edge of the frame. We used these shots to make the scene more intense and to show conflict which is a key part of a thriller.
• There is also a POV shot from Ellie’s perspective when Georgina gets kidnapped which is suppose to be a memory. Heavy breath also follows this to show how scared she is. POV shots are conventional in our genre as the tension builds from only being able to see what the characters see.

            Editing 2, 5

• We used quite a lot of continuity editing in our film so that it would run smoothly and allow the audience to ease into the atmosphere. This is quite standard in film openings unless a more distinctive editing style is chosen.
• We use editing with our transitions as well such as a fade to black and we have Ellie and Gillian’s voices overlapping when they scream ‘Georgina!’ to link with the psychological genre of the film.
• We also use editing for our title and credits; we created a black screen to add a sinister effect.
• Georgina and Ellie get the most screen time to show that they’re the focus which links with certain psychological thrillers where there is one or two main characters.
• The dissolving effect between Ellie seeing Georgina getting kidnapped and her waking up was used to show a distinct difference between dream and reality - psychological thrillers rely on combining these two elements.

             Sound 4, 8

• The main sound we have in our film is dialogue which gives a sense of the plot.
• We have overlapping of dialogue going on as well is important to the genre of psychological thriller as it shows how she is still haunted and effected by what happened to her those years ago.
• We have some non-diegetic music playing when Georgina gets kidnapped - music to establish atmosphere in this way is a thriller convention.
• The screaming from Gillian and Ellie when Georgina is very effective because it shows to the audience how upset they are. Georgina also screams when she is kidnapped to show how scared she is. This is a key sound in thrillers / horror.