Thriller Evaluation: Question 1

Thriller Evaluation: Question1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The opening of my thriller, Evito, is a horror influenced thriller which incorporates influences of classic, generic horror and an infusion of traditional thriller aspects. The main way this is built is up, is through the use of mise en scene and the idea of an enigma.

The title itself 'Evito' is a mystery - a vague latin word meaning to murder, escape, avoid or elude; Evito, as a word is appropriate for our thriller.
The story line is kept very unknown in the opening sequence. Unsurprisingly, the story themes are relative to the title - it follows G. Mattieu, a dirty, down-and-out lowlife of society into a his troubles. He is a dark character with a darker background and past. However, we are not the only one following him, and unfortunately for Mattieu, he is going to encounter difficult circumstance, for reasons as of yet unknown.

Many thrillers use the title to establish, or suggest towards a dilemma or theme within the film itself. An example being Se7en, a crime fiction film involving the Seven Deadly Sins idea, which he uses on his victims.

An influential film for Evito was The Strangers. A film which the killers, or villains in the film use illusion, subtly, shock, mystery and psychological torment to abuse the protagonists. It could be viewed as a Cat and Mouse hunting tactic.

I believe the idea of the killer in Evito works so well, is because the killer never takes an active role. In most shots, he is hiding in the background. The idea of enigma is very much established in his random presence in parts of scenes, and the anonymity of the character - for the entirety of the clip, we never see his face. He hides behind an expressionless Venetian mask, and remains out of focus in shots.

This is contradictory to the usual Slasher Thrillers, as the killer is usually given more attention. This way, the idea of a slow, impending sense of doom or finality is given as he is forever getting closer, but never making contact or seeming to move, thus giving him a superior, omnipresent or omnipowerful persona. 

The primary (one of two) locations for the film is a forest. Simple - the forest we used is a very spacious and unconventional forest. The trees are twisted and bizarre, perfect for the tone of the film. It is located in Wells, Norfolk. Forests are perfect for thrillers as they are empty, expressionless and emotionless. There is never telling what dwells within a forest, and due to it's obscured openness, you can never see what's hiding; perfect for Evito. The inference here is that G. Mattieu is both lost, and trapped. 

The second location is a section of our school, that closely resembled some kind of cell. It was dirty, enclosed and dimly lit, and frequently returned to throughout the film. It's a very undesirable place to be, and represents entrapment, finality and danger

With reference to Mise en Scene, it's important to get costume as best as you can. With G. Mattieu, we wanted him to look as filthy and undesirable as possible. (The only letdown being the fake beard) His appalling motto on the back of his jumper was a device to ensure that viewers do not think highly of him as a person, but his whole image and circumstances are designed so they feel sympathetic towards him too. His attire therefore matches his character. The facial hair, tracker hat, old hoody and track suit bottoms are referential to the archetype of a homeless man, or somebody with little money that is frequent to sleeping rough; the dirty, unkempt and uncaring appearance is somewhat typical. 

The killer, who's name is forever unknown to the audience (but to us for affectionate reference named Karamel Kanu, so therefore K) was a simpler character to design. K says nothing and does not move, so the need to dress him up was a little less relevant. For this reason, K is wearing a suit shirt, jacket and trousers, adding to the unknown background of the character. His mask is a Venetian carnivale mask, it's gold and black design and emotionless features ensured that it was perfect and appropriate for the appearance of K. 

Masks are frequently used in thrillers; the expressionless masks work best. For example, all of the characters in The Strangers wore masks - many of the most famous and reputable horror/thriller films have involved masks - SAW, Friday 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween etc. 

Evito breaks most conventions of Thriller, in that it has no dialogue. It is a completely speechless film; the noises heard are merely diegetic and non diegetic sounds that we felt were appropriate. The only sounds being: looming foot steps, wind blowing through the trees, noises involved in walking, static and noise from mask dropping. The lack of noise enhances the sense of enigma, as nothing is in place to explain the flow or the context to the story, the only sense truly explaining is vision, and the visual elements were most important. 

Lighting is kept purely natural, no lighting was added, and no enhancing of light took place in production.

Conclusively, Evito features forms and conventions that the audience would understand; the suspense theme taken from Hitchcock - a pioneer of suspense, the horror element (along with thriller style of villian)taken from The Strangers. The locations are generic, and typical to Thriller films - blank and repetitive scenes and the use of forest allow the sense of emptiness, entrapment, emotionless and isolation mentioned previously.