1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film openings)

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

The first frame is of the production company logo. It is appealing for the audience as it is a moving animation and features key conventions from the genre that the movie is; action. These are things such as explosions and fast cuts. This creates the feeling of a genuine action film as other company logos have the same attributes of moving titles etc.

The second frame is a shot of the hero in the first scene. He is sitting in a cafe drinking a cappuccino telling the story of the Unforgiven. This works well as the extreme close up creates an intense shot of the character which is a generic convention of the action genre. The title overlaying it is also clear but not overpowering the shot, blending it just the right amount to read it but not be distracted by it. I think this works well because it is important to pay attention to the films storyline, and this is the feeling we tried to create by keeping the credits small. 

The third frame is a shot of the hostage, Sam, who is tied up and beaten, in a dark cabin. This works well as a hostage is a typical generic convention in some action films. However the hostage in these films are usually a child and/or female. In this opening sequence it is neither, which slightly ruins the authenticity and strays away from the generic conventions.

The fourth frame shows a shot of the villain and the hostage, which reveals who had taken Sam hostage. This works well as it's clear now who has taken the hostage and that they are both in the room together. I feel the location works well with the eerie feeling of a villains 'lair'. However I feel that if maybe the shot zoomed out from the close up of the hostage to show the villain or didn't even show the villain until later on it would have been more generic.

The fifth frame shows the villain running away after tackling the hero unconscious. The scene has a blood splash and gun shot effect when the hero has shot the villain and this works well as it makes the film feel more genuine and generically conventional. I feel that if the shot was tracked to show them hit the floor it would have made a better shot and made it more appealing and generically conventional.

The sixth frame shows the hero and villain in a chase scene. The shot is an over the shoulder and is a generic convention in action films. I think this works well as it shows the intensity of the chase and sticks to the genre.

The seventh frame shows the villain shooting at the hero. This works well as it's conventional for the villains in action films to have a better gun than the hero as this would give him an advantage and show how the hero is better at the fighting than the villain. This therefore sticks to the action film genre and remains conventional while the gun effects keep the scene looking genuine.

The eighth frame shows the hero tackling the villain into the river. I feel this works well as the opening sequence ends on a cliff hanger which is a generic convention. I feel it would have been better if the villain did not look as ready to be tackled into the river by the hero in the shot as it makes it seem less genuine.

The ninth frame is of the title of the film. I feel that the font used is of the action genre and the fades to black keeps the film conventional and genuine and works well with the film opening sequence.