EVALUATION:Q1 In what way does my media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Although I'd like to think that our group had thought of our opening without any direct links to any other films, it was inevitable to think that we wouldn't find other films and openings that had similar shots and story lines. Here are a few examples of shots that our film contain that are similar to movies previously released into the general media:

Our movies comparison to a shot from the opening of 'Durval Discos'

A shot following the character is actually not used as often as one may think. However it is said so be a shot that is very frequently used by director Darren Aronofsky, who has directed films such 'The black Swan' and 'The Wrestler.' Unlike 'Durval Disco,' who uses this shot for most of the opening, we don't use it for very long, due to the lack of interesting surroundings.

Another similarity between 'Paradox' and 'Durval Discos' 

The opening of 'Durval Discos' seems so be a kind of point of view shot of someone walking through a 'Latino' style area, although our opening is completely different, there is another shot that is extremely similar to one that we have also used in our films opening. The shot of the last from behind is slightly over the shoulder, as is ours. However, our one is from a closer proximity which changes the atmosphere as a whole. 

A comparison to the film 'Dirty Harry'

Another similar shot is found in the opening of the film 'Dirty Harry' just after, the lady in the pool is shot, the policeman (Clint Eastwood) is the focus of the shot as he walks towards the scene of the crime. Much like our film, a series of panning shots are used to show him strolling calmly during the opening of the 1971 film.

A close up of the 'Main man'

The film also consists of a close up shot of the lead character as he walks round a corner, we hav an extremely similar shot as our lead character walks round the corner to the cemetery. In the actual film, the lighting is quite dark, which makes it quite difficult to see the man's facial expression and the scenery behind him, in comparison, our shot is very well lit, showing the details of both Konrad's face and the setting behind him.

Another congruent shot is of 'Dirty Harry' putting something in an envelope, in this shot, (like much of the other sections in that film opening) it is quite dark, which is quite opposite to our scene as the envelope is seen in bright daylight. Both of the shots are extreme close ups, showing mostly the envelope with slight reference to the fingers or hands that are holding the envelope itself.

The film 'Juno' also has a similar shot as the character crosses the road.

'Juno's entire opening is actually quite similar to ours, it consists of a main character walking towards a particular destination and uses several different shot types, angles and editing techniques to make it more entertaining. Although, due to their light-hearted/childlike introduction, they had added a cartoon effect to the walking, this is something that wouldn't really have fitted the thriller genre easily and needed very skilled and talented people. In my opinion these are two very good excuses why we just couldn't have the drawings instead.

Another corresponding shot is one of 'Juno's legs, although the shot used in our openng sequence is taken from a slightly different angle, the concept is the same. The shot is aiming to show the way and and what speed Juno walks, and we attempted to do a similar thing. Both shots show some of the floor and a bit of the scenery behind the main character, but due to the diverse backgrounds create completely different pictures

So, overall, I believe we have conventionally established a character (a stereotypical businessman), a typical yet interesting location (cemetery in the city centre), as well as polishing it off with a commonly used narrative opening title sequence. Moreover, like many mystery/crime thrillers we have constructed a slow yet interesting and intriguing start to what is sure to be a thrilling and hugely entertaining movie!