In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The title of the film;
The title of the film is 'The Last Hit'. This title is relevant to the film opening and suitable to the plot of the film. The title itself implies that something might go wrong and not according to plan; this gives a sense of mystery. The title is only shown towards the end of the film opening. I did this because the audience will watch the opening and then as they slowly realize who the person is and what his job is they will be able to piece the title and the plot together.The article 'The' is a definite article which implies a sense of finality and determination, while the word 'Last' is full of implications with a sense of no return. The word 'Hit' has a sense of sharpness and you can almost hear the sound of the hit as you say the word. It is also relevant that all the three words are monosyllabic , almost like the sound of gunshots.
Setting/ Location;
The entire opening is located and set inside a house, however the house is set up to look and feel eerie to suit the type of personality the main character has. I felt that the dark room in a house was better suited to the intentions of the killer than a large open space. The main setting was in a small room completely set-up to look organized with gadgets and secret compartments for the equipment.The small size would show the contrast between what one man is capable of doing and the enormity of his actions. Another scene is in a narrow corridor just behind the main door which gives it a dark ambiance and gives it a claustrophobic effect.
Costumes and Props;
I wanted to show the personality of the main character through the clothes he was wearing and the equipment he was using. For clothing I went for the traditional clothes associated with a hitman; such as red tie, black suit, black top and black leather gloves but with a difference.These clothes had class . The props also played a huge part in the opening as it showed that the character was organized and used only the best equipment.To achieve this I had to use the best props I could find such as; cheap mobile phone with the sim and battery taken out to show that he is using an untraceable phone. There was also a hard drive that was connected to the laptop to show that he kept the data separate and confined. I also had a credit card to show how money was a significant issue and a switch blade to instill fear. The laptop had images of surveillance videos on it to show that research into his kills are intensive.
In my 9 frames I have used examples of some of the shots I took in the opening. I used close up shots to show the equipment/ props the actor was using, this was done to emphasize the importance of the hi-tech equipment that is used by the hitman. I decided to take short clips ranging from medium to close-up shots to give a sense of mystery and also to never reveal the actor's face, this means that the audience will never be able give this man an identity which keeps the audience in suspense. I took medium range shots of the actor putting his clothes and gloves on as he prepares for work.This created a sense of foreboding. However I did take on medium to long range shot of the actor putting on his blazer through a shadow that was cast on a wall. The last scene was also a long range shot and I had the actor walk into the camera to give a sense of mystery and a sense of doom and at that point the music fades and all you can hear is gun shots. When it came to editing the video I had to increase the contrast and decrease the brightness to achieve a dark and mysterious sensation. This also made the small table light more powerful and that gave an eerie setting. On a clip towards the end I used the focus lens to blur the clip a little to create a deadly sense as to what is coming next.It also contributes to a sense of uncertainty which will motivate the audience to view the rest of the movie.
Title and font styles;
The font style I decided for the title was called 'White Tie Affair' this is also the same font I used during the opening to introduce the director and the production company. I thought this font would be perfect as it is not too complicated but it does have a few splats on the letter 'H' to show blood splatter and also the letters are slightly eroded to give a eerie look. I felt the font would suit my genre and the style of the main character.
Story and how the opening sets it up;
The opening starts off by a message on a phone. This is the first step for the audience to realize who the main character is and what he does as a profession. The character is then introduced with out a face but we can see close-ups of what he is doing; this gives the character a sense of mystery and the audience not knowing who this is will make them want to know more about this character. The opening portrays this man to be very organized and his keen sense to small detail and his obsession with having his equipment in order keeps him away from the traditional stereotype of hitmen. The opening sets up the main story by first showing how much effort goes into making a kill and then the last clip is when the main character is at the entrance of a house and slowly starts walking into the camera - silence then three silenced gunshots. This will then lead into the main story by showing what he is like during the day and his minual day job.
Genre and how the opening suggests it
The genre of my opening is a thriller therefore I had to make sure that the opening was filled with suspense and mystery. My opening sequence portrays a man who is getting ready to kill. Most movies show the life of a killer from the view point of the 'good' guys such as the police, FBI etc. but this time its different. This time we are looking at the life of the killer himself through his own viewpoint. The opening clearly shows the genre because of the fact that the face is never revealed and the small dark room where he does all his work is unknown and finally the mystery of a kill that the audience can't see but only hear. All the aspects of my opening hint towards a thriller because all the things we see are associated with hitmen such as the weapon, the equipment, the clothes etc. So I believe that all these elements that are presented hints us of the mystery and suspense that is to come.
How the character is introduced;
I only have one character in my opening sequence but I had to make it count. I only introduced one character because I wanted to show the audience that the character does the kills by himself, and that he himself does all the planning the preperations and the kills themselves. The character is introduced after the phone message is said and as the opening starts we see the character getting ready as he starts by putting his clothes on, this is an important aspect as it lets the audience know the planning and the precise detail that has gone into planing a kill. The character then starts to check his laptop and look at survalience images. Then the character starts to open hidden files with his equipment inside and as he starts preparing himself. The next part is the gun and this was done with close-up shots because i wanted to empahasis that the character is serious about killing.
Special effects;
I didn't use many special effects as i felt that it was unnessary however I did increase the contrast on my clips to give a more dark feel to it.
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