Evaluation 1

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

Virago is a psychological thriller so we decided that following the conventions and codes of this genre would aid to achieve a successful short film. Firstly was tackling the shots, one theme that we found throughout many similar films were isolating shots where the protagonist is shown alone in a wide shot when it is not necessary.

For this we began the film on a wide shot to create a symbolic impression of loneliness, however this also shows the protagonist visiting the location of his wedding which is foreshadowing a later scene in the film. Foreshadowing is also a very key convention to psychological thrillers and can be seen in many of films. For example, the film psycho feature a taxidermist and the use of crows can be seen through out the film, this connotes death as an arching over figure due to the placement of these crows often being placed higher in the room as seen below.

During this introduction, short shots are edited into a fast pace. This relates to Richard Dyers theory of utopia, one dimension Dyer states is energy, since this short film will lack physical energy due to the plot and story constraints, we had to incorporate the energy elsewhere which is why we felt editing is the next best platform to display this.
After this establishing scene, we used a focus pull to contrast between the protagonists helmet and where he is heading, again foreshadowing that there is a conclusive end to the film (Eddies suicide). As the focus shifts from deep to shallow, we are shown an emphasis on Eddie looking straight forward which insinuates that he is heading into his own inevitable end voluntarily and embracing it which is conveyed by Eddie riding his motor cycle which is a large pass time for many people.

Mise en scene elements such as sets and props were also inspired by films. One of the most notable examples is the similarities to the thriller John Wick, John loses his wife and turns to his muscle car as a form of escapism to get away from the stresses. Similarly Eddie is in the same position but has motor cycle which is highlighted throughout the intro to the film.

As we approach the act within Eddies house, we begin to engage in the more person and up close shots of our protagonist. The reasoning for this is that creating person scenes allows for the audience to empathise and identify with the characters, this links to another utopian solution of Richard Dyer known as "transparency". This states that honestly and openness of a character allows for an audience to feel forced into pairing with the protagonist and instead to decide that themselves.

We accomplish this by using close shots when Eddie can be seen drinking and smoking as it gives a personal and up close observation of him during this time of addiction and escapism.

As we approach the final act, we begin to interject fast paced editing as Eddie takes his life, showing his memories as. Again this was in line with Richard Dyers theory of utopia however the utopian solution used here was the dimension of intensity that is key for enticing drama pieces within film, this section of virago is objectively the most intense part so we find this combines perfectly with the intense dimension.

As we enter the suicide scene of Eddie, there can be clear influences seen from "The Royal Tenenbaums"

This scene is what could bump Virago from a 15 to a 18 as it includes self mutilation and suicide. The film did not dwell too much on this scene as we wanted to include it as a final act to conclude the film to and thought 20% of the duration was fitting.
Sound
During the editing process, we made a conscious effort to remove the raw audio from scenes, this is because there is no dialogue and the audio from the camera is just producing back ground noise and wind. Since we did not have the time to do ADR (Automated dialogue replacement, where sounds on screen are re-recorded at a higher quality in post production), we had to resort to non diegetic music that was synchronous to the mood and atmosphere of Virago.

During editing, I sampled around with soundtracks and could not settle on one. I decided to look around at other films and found a common theme of no more than 4 to 5 tracks on each song, this creates a rather simplistic sounding song. For instruments, the songs tended to have distinct beginnings and ends to each not, for this I found a piano will be most fitting to match this theme.

Since we did not have the resources or time to compose our own sound track, we found non copy righted songs that we would be legally okay to use from sites such as YouTube. For the Title sequence, there was slow transitions from one note to the next, this was so that I could include a form of arrhythmic editing so that cuts felt natural and were not jarring.