Evaluation - Question 1

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

Our film is called the Witness, and is an action thriller with some crime/drama. It is about a 17 year old named Jack, who witnesses 2 members of a gang disposing of a body and is now wanted by that gang. He has nobody to turn to as he himself is struggling with a drug habit, so he must get to the bottom of the gangs business on his own.

Jack is the typical anti-hero. He is the hero of the story but at the same time is a bit of a dark and dodgy character. Similar to Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting, (Danny Boyle 1996) who is the main character and hero, but is also a heroine addict on the side. A more extreme version of this would be Johnny Depp in Sweeny Todd (2007) who is the lead role, and also a violent murderer.

Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting

Johnny Depp in Sweeny Todd

Another film that was great inspiration to us was Taken (Pierre Morel 2008.) This film is an action thriller about a man who is tracking down his daughter who was taken by a sex trafficking business. Our film is also about a gang involved in sex trafficking, and our hero is completely alone in trying to put an end to it. Similarly to Taken, there are few other main characters in the Witness other then Jack, making him seem more isolated and unaided. However our film is a lot less of the explosive action and car chases, and more about the struggles and hardships that Jack suffers throughout the film.

According to Todorov’s theory of equilibrium, most films follow the same narrative structure of:

This structure is especially true with action/thrillers or crime films which our film fits into. We therefore chose to follow the same pattern, and our story goes as follows:

 

Equilibrium

Disruption

Similarly to most other films that follow this narrative structure, the equilibrium and disruption are present in the opening sequence. The hero's journey will make up most of the rest of the film, and the resolution comes right at the end.

The main purposes of a film opening sequences are:

-To introduce the characters – We introduced the main character and have left introducing other characters for later on in the film. We also showed two of the villains, but they covered their faces and therefore didn’t have much of an identity suggesting that they are quite low down in their gang.

-To establish a setting and key themes – The setting in our opening sequence is in the middle of the woods making the main character seem isolated and alone. We also showed a shot of Jack walking away from some houses, showing that he belongs in an urban setting.

-To engage the viewer and make them want to watch on – We tried to do this by having a fast paced chase scene with exhilarating music. We also ended the opening with a cliff hanger; we don’t know what happened to Jack and therefore want to watch on to find out.